The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

The time, place, and people involved have all been confirmed. Tomorrow's battle will be a combined effort of three forces; whoever steps forward first will be doomed.

The group arrived as agreed at noon the following day.

At the foot of the main peak, Zhou Yanzhi had already set up twelve array plates, each with a location where spiritual energy fluctuated. This time, he was going to set up all the array plates.

This time, the stone needle swung much more widely and faster than before, like a giant drumstick striking the ground.

Meng Boyuan and six other disciples of the Three Flames Hall stood about fifty feet south of the main peak, spread out in a fan shape, each holding a fiery red broadsword, looking ready to strike.

Elder Zhao led eight disciples of the Ice and Fire Pavilion, each holding a blue and white spirit pearl, and headed northeast along the mountain ridge. At the same time, the spiritual energy within their bodies had almost been circulated.

Elder Hu and Ye Ruolin led the barrier team to set up twelve layers of restrictions around the main peak. At the edge of each restriction, there was a stone full of spiritual energy, like a large net that covered the entire mountain.

Xiao Fan stood alone at the location closest to the main peak, about twenty zhang away. He could clearly feel the spiritual energy underground constantly contracting and expanding, like a giant heart beating incessantly.

As the sun moved westward, the earth began to tremble.

At first, the ground trembled slightly, as if a heavy vehicle had driven by in the distance.

Before long, the tremors became more intense, with loose rocks tumbling down the main peak and branches shaking violently. At the foot of the mountain, everyone felt their feet sink and then bounce back.

A huge crack stretched from the mountainside all the way to the foot of the mountain, and the surrounding rocks could not withstand the enormous pressure and collapsed one after another.

A murky, grayish-brown current, carrying a strong earthy scent, accompanied by an explosion of spiritual energy, caused all the vegetation within a radius of several dozen feet to prostrate on the ground.

Immediately afterwards, a colossal creature appeared in the crack.

It was a monster covered in gray-black rocks, which looked like a giant python, but was much larger.

It leaped up, reaching a height of tens of feet, raised its head, and let out a deep roar that was so loud that even the pine trees hundreds of meters away trembled.

Meng Boyuan took the lead and made the first move. He clasped his hands together, and a crimson giant sword, three zhang long and covered in raging flames, slashed down at the behemoth.

The flaming greatsword struck the rocky shell with a piercing metallic clang, leaving a charred mark. However, the object merely veered slightly and did not suffer any substantial damage.

"Such a thick shell!" Meng Boyuan's expression changed slightly, but his hands did not stop moving at all, slashing again and again.

The other disciples of the Three Flames Hall followed suit, and six blades of Yang Fire slashed at the Rock Serpent from all directions, like six red-hot steel spikes, smashing heavily onto the Rock Serpent's carapace.

The stone serpent, attacked repeatedly, twisted its body and lashed out with its giant tail, striking him.

Xiao Fan was positioned right in the path of the snake's tail. He moved swiftly, unleashing his lightning and fire powers to dodge the tail's attack. At the same time, he waved his right hand, sending out a beam of gold and silver light that slashed at the third segment of the snake's tail.

This was a naturally formed weak point in the rock crust as it continuously expanded and contracted. Just as the beam of light struck the crevice, the entire rock snake's tail jerked violently, as if it had suffered a fatal wound.

"These three joints are the weakest," Xiao Fan said. Everyone adjusted their attack positions, and Meng Boyuan, holding a flaming greatsword, pointed it at the crack.

Following closely behind was the group to Zhao Lao's left, where seven or eight blue and white beads exploded simultaneously, and a force of both ice and fire spread from the snake's tail, instantly freezing that small piece of rock into an ice block.

The rock serpent hissed, its body trembled violently, and cracks appeared on its outer shell.

Xiao Fan swung his sword again. This time, he fused the power of thunder and fire with the fire of creation, forming a spiral cone of light the thickness of a finger, which pierced the crack in the stone shell with unparalleled precision.

The light cone pierced the rock serpent's body, and the rock serpent let out a shrill scream. Its body stiffened, and it collapsed to the ground with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.

After the smoke and dust cleared, a huge gray-brown figure appeared at the foot of the mountain. Its thick shell was covered with charred marks and spiderweb-like cracks. It trembled slightly, and then remained still.

Everyone fell silent. Next up was Zhou Yanzhi.

Then, Han Fei followed and began to dance at the foot of the mountain. Meng Boyuan suppressed his fire elemental power, gave Xiao Fan a thumbs-up, and gave him a knowing look. Old Zhao, leaning on his cane, slowly squatted down, looked at the stone snake on the ground, and shook his head.

Xiao Fan had already walked less than ten steps away from the rock snake, and the warmth of that attack still lingered on his palm.

He glanced down at the enormous corpse. In the cracks of the corpse, the once crystal-clear spirit core had lost its luster, turned gray, and lost all vitality.

Ye Ruolin stepped out of the barrier and walked up to Xiao Fan. Looking at the corpses scattered on the ground, a smile appeared on her lips. "Congratulations! Such a huge rock hasn't been chiseled in who knows how many years."

As Xiao Fan spoke, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

In the distance, the people of the Three Flames Hall and the Ice and Fire Pavilion had gathered together again, the campfire was lit once more, and a burst of rough laughter echoed through the night.

Using the gradually brightening firelight, he turned around and looked at the main peak of Qingyun.

The fissure still exists, but the gray airflow that once spewed from it has disappeared, leaving only a tranquil mountain rock and the bright moonlight of the rising sun shining on the ridgeline.

The lingering effects of the three interconnected formations had long been cleared away, and the mountain returned to its former tranquility.

The enormous carcass of the rock serpent lay sprawled at the foot of the mountain, its grayish-brown shell gleaming faintly in the darkness.

The onlookers stood several feet away, their eyes glued to the enormous creature, many with expressions of excitement and tension on their faces.

"It's so huge, there must be a crystal core inside," a disciple of the Three Flames Hall couldn't help but ask.

Those present were all cultivators proficient in the Way of Fire. They all knew that this kind of earth vein rock creature, after being nourished by spiritual energy for hundreds of years, could form a pure spiritual core within its body, which was extremely valuable.

Xiao Fan nodded and walked to the junction of the rock serpent's torso and head.

He crouched down, carefully examined the exposed soft tissue, and then tested it with the Fire of Creation before finding a suitable spot to put his hand inside.