The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

Every day, Old Woman He would personally teach him the way of sand and fire. During the day, he would practice using fire to control sand under the scorching sun, and at night, he would take advantage of the temperature difference caused by the drop in temperature in the Gobi Desert to cultivate the method of releasing spiritual power.

The cultivation environment here is completely different from that in the East, and it also poses a challenge to the way spiritual energy is circulated.

Meanwhile, rumors began to circulate among the disciples of the Western Fire Sect leader that a master from the East was emerging. Every day, while Xiao Fan cultivated in the sand, some young disciples would stand in the shadows of the earthen huts and watch from a distance.

Upon hearing this, Old Lady He stroked her silver hair and smiled, saying, "The people chosen by the Grandmaster of Pill Refining Void are naturally not bad."

The Western Fire lineage holds a sand fire competition every seven days.

Xiao Fan had been here for five days, and this day happened to be the day of the assessment. On the high platform, Old Madam He was watching the competition in the arena with a smile. When she saw Xiao Fan, she was slightly taken aback, and then waved to him.

"Alright. The Way of Sand and Fire can only be understood through actual combat, not through closed-door study."

Xiao Fan nodded, flew out, and landed on the dueling platform. Opposite him stood a tall young man of about twenty years old. He had noticed that Xiao Fan had been cultivating on the sand these past few days, and now, as he stepped onto the platform, his eyes were filled with excitement and anticipation.

The two clasped their hands in a salute, and then the tall young man made the first move.

He pressed his hands into the sand and then pulled them up sharply. A vortex of fire made of rock erupted from his palms and swept towards Xiao Fanxi. It was so fast that it scorched the sand and stones on the ground until they glowed red-hot.

Xiao Fan did not retreat, but charged forward directly. He stretched out his right hand, and a flat, crimson-gold light screen appeared in his palm, facing the sand flow.

Countless pebbles crashed against the light shield, making a crackling sound, but the light shield remained unmoved, as if it had been absorbed by something.

The tall young man was slightly taken aback, clearly not expecting his full-force attack to be blocked so easily.

Just as he was about to launch another attack, Xiao Fan flicked his hand, and an even larger sandstorm appeared out of thin air, grazing the tall, thin youth with perfect accuracy, landing three meters away and kicking up a pile of rubble.

The tall young man was filled with doubt. If that attack had landed, he would have had no chance to avoid it, but Xiao Fan had pulled back his strength at the last moment and changed direction. He was stunned for a moment, then clasped his hands in a fist and said to Xiao Fan, "I lost."

A low murmur arose from the audience. Old Mrs. He sat on the earthen platform, her smile growing wider. Another young disciple stepped forward, his expression calm and focused. "My name is Adun, and I would like to seek guidance from the masters of the East."

Xiao Fan nodded, deeply agreeing. This time, A'dun's attack was completely different from before. He remained motionless, his hands slowly coming together and then slowly separating.

A dark red pillar of fire shot into the sky, aiming straight for Xiao Fan's legs and engulfing him completely. The angle of this attack was extremely tricky and came without warning; if it were an ordinary person, they would probably have been sent flying.

Xiao Fan had already sensed the fluctuations of spiritual energy on the ground, so the moment the pillar of light rose, he leaped into the air, using the power of thunder and fire to land only three steps away from A Dun.

A second golden-red flame had already condensed in his palm and landed on Adun's shoulder.

Adon paused for a moment, then slowly released his grip, clasping his hands together in a fist and saying, "I lost."

The entire room fell silent, and no one knew who was the first to applaud.

The sparring among the disciples of the west Huo Sect had its share of wins and losses, but the fact that an outsider decisively defeated two of the most outstanding young talents in a row was still an overwhelming victory, turning many people's initial curiosity into admiration and recognition.

Madam He clapped her hands and stood up. "Today's competition is over. Ah Ping, go and take that batch of flint and steel we got yesterday to Young Master Xiao so he can take a look at it."

After Xiao Fan stepped down from the stage, the tall young man stepped forward, scratching his head, and asked, "How did you know I would change next?"

As they walked, Xiao Fan explained to him how to judge the other person's spiritual energy flow by sensing the vibration of the sand. The tall man nodded in sudden understanding and followed him forward. But they hadn't gone far when his companion called him back.

As evening fell, in Xiao Fan's room, A Ping was carrying a basket of sand and fire ore.

Xiao Fan opened the bag, and the contents were even better than he had expected. Moreover, the cooking temperature was very even, which made him somewhat incredulous.

He picked up one of the pieces and glanced at it, secretly estimating how much pure fire sand power he could extract if he used the Sand and Fire Technique to refine this ore, for use in traveling.

He put down the ore in his hand, sat by the window, and watched the setting sun gradually sink in the west, becoming more and more determined.

After more than twenty days of practice, Xiao Fan was able to complete the entire sand-fire tempering process on his own. Seeing this, Old Woman He nodded in satisfaction and said, "You can leave now. There's nothing more I can teach you here."

On the morning of the day Xiao Fan left, Old Lady He handed him a heavy leather bag containing the unique Sandfire Essence of the West Fire Sect, as well as several pieces of Sandfire Ore of decent quality.

"If you don't have enough spiritual energy on the way, then use sand and fire as fuel to refine it for three days and three nights. The far west is even more desolate than the Gobi Desert; how far you can go depends on yourself."

Xiao Fan tied up the leather bag and bowed to Old Woman He and the other members of the West Fire Sect. A Ping, along with several disciples, escorted him to the village entrance, told him about the special features to the west, and then watched him leave.

Leaving Xihuomen, the desert turns from ochre red to grayish white, with fine gravel and weathered stone slabs everywhere.

As we walked, the road became increasingly desolate, with only a clump of withered camel thorns peeking out from a crack in the rocks.

They traveled during the day and set up camp in a sheltered place at night. Just as the old woman said, the effects of the Sandfire Essence lasted a long time. A small sip each day was enough to sustain them for the entire day.

After walking for five or six days, the terrain ahead changed, turning into a continuous stretch of sand dunes.

What I was stepping on wasn't hard gravel, but fine, golden sand. The climate here was drier than the Gobi Desert; the sun was scorching during the day, and the sand was so hot it could even seep through my boots.

Using the light emitted by the short staff, Xiao Fan traversed the sand dunes. The array base in his sea of ​​consciousness resonated strongly with the black token, as if an invisible thread was guiding him to the west.

Three days later, he stopped in front of a towering sand dune.

A cluster of building ruins, half-buried in quicksand, came into view. The ruins were much larger than he had expected, with several towering stone pillars peeking out from the sand, some runes faintly visible on them.