The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

The constantly dissipating Yin energy was evenly distributed among the surrounding rock layers and crystal walls, as if a precise conduit was guiding this Yin energy into a pre-arranged passage.

He stood up, leaning against the stone wall. Now, the source of pollution is no longer a dangerous one; it operates smoothly, without uncontrolled outbreaks or stagnant depletion.

After the core had been operating stably for half an hour, something unexpected happened to Xiao Fan.

Just then, a pale golden light shone from the cave wall. The light surged from the stone walls, crystal layers, and underground, illuminating the entire space.

Then, these golden rays began to converge on Xiao Fan, as if he had recognized the golden light and it had become the guide for this.

A warm and pure spiritual energy flowed into his dantian through his meridians, forming a circulation within his body. This spiritual energy resonated strongly at the core of the Extreme Fire Abyss Technique.

He could feel that the concentration of spiritual energy in his body was much higher than usual, and the stagnation in his meridians was completely washed away by this resonance.

Without realizing it, he sat down cross-legged. After several compressions and expansions, the spirit core had become the size of a fist, and its color had changed from its original dark gold to a translucent golden-red, with faint silver patterns showing through.

Within the spiritual core, a continuous stream of new spiritual energy surged forth, automatically flowing along the meridians and filling all the gaps in the dantian.

The golden light gradually faded, and Xiao Fan slowly opened his tightly closed eyes. He felt the spiritual energy within his body flowing more smoothly than ever before, with every pore on his body absorbing and releasing pure spiritual energy.

He looked inward at his dantian and was shocked to find that it had completely changed—the spiritual core had turned completely golden and was operating at full power. Its size was more than three times larger than when he broke through to the fourth rank, and the spiritual energy flowing on its surface was even and full.

He is at the late stage of the fifth rank of the Tribulation Realm, only one step away from the sixth rank.

What was originally a task that would have taken one to two years to complete is now more than halfway done.

He stood up, stretched his body, held the short sword, and felt the surging power generated by the accelerated operation of the spiritual core within his body.

The core at the very front remained stable, with a faint golden halo spreading outwards and then flowing back inwards, like an internal circulation, without any problems.

Once the guidance is complete, the Source of Yin transforms from a source of danger into a stable node of spiritual energy. It requires no external force to maintain and can operate sustainably for hundreds of years.

Xiao Fan lingered in the space for a while longer, confirming that the spiritual energy within the space was flowing along the predetermined path before climbing upwards along the same route.

After passing through the middle layer of the crystal wall, the scattered lights seemed to pave a path for him, guiding him back to the upper layer. When he got closer, the light curtain on the monument opened automatically, and when he stepped out of the light curtain, he was already standing on a pitch-black land.

The white light still stood on the square monument, but it was much brighter than before, radiating a warm aura.

Along the way, he was getting familiar with this body.

He can now maintain a high level of spiritual energy output without using a dagger. With the automatic replenishment of his spiritual core, he can walk faster across the desert than he did on the way there.

He did not linger at the West Volcano Gate, but met with Old Woman He and briefly explained the situation beneath the square stele.

After listening, Old Lady He remained silent for a long time. Finally, she patted the back of his hand and said in a rare tone of emotion, "You have done a great thing. If the Grandmaster of Alchemy were still alive, he would be pleased."

Xiao Fan bowed to Old Woman He and then headed east. Upon entering the border of the Great Qing Empire, the road began to level out, with several post stations and some travelers along the way.

While he was resting at the post station, the post station steward handed him a letter, saying that it had been sent by Danta a month ago and was for passing travelers to take back.

This is a letter from Ye Ruolin. It states that nothing major has happened in Daqing since departing from Danta and heading west.

In the Purple Cloud Pavilion, the man surnamed Zhong had long since withdrawn from the core circle, and the Three Flames Hall and the Ice and Fire Pavilion had also joined forces. Everything was proceeding in an orderly manner. Zhou Yanzhi had finished copying the three basic cultivation techniques, and the headmaster of the Thousand Fire Sect had even personally written a letter to him.

The letter ended with: "Write back to me as long as you're gone, so people don't think something's happened in the West. Chen Yuan's library received some old files these past few days, including some about the geological structures near the South Crater. You can come and take a look when you have time."

Xiao Fan put the letter away, rested at the post station for the night, and set off early the next morning.

Half a month later, he stood on the official road outside the south gate of Danta, looking at the ginkgo trees in the distance that had sprouted tender green leaves, and the summer sun shining down from the top of the wall, blocking half of the city wall.

In the courtyard, Han Fei was chopping wood. Looking up, I saw Han Fei holding an axe and nearly chopped my foot. "Brother Xiao, you're finally back!"

Master Gu Yuan looked at him, put down the talisman in his hand, smiled slightly, and slowly stood up. This trip was worthwhile.

Xiao Fan took off his backpack and placed it on the stone table in the courtyard. He picked up a cup of cold tea and gulped it down, finally quenching his thirst.

Sunlight streamed through the ginkgo leaves, falling into the courtyard. A breeze carried the scents of grass, trees, and earth.

He looked up and let out a long sigh. The source of the Northwest had been dealt with, and the lingering threat of the Taiyin embers had also been eliminated. Now, he only needed to focus on his cultivation and strive to break through to the sixth rank.

They returned to the Dan Tower.

Xiao Fan made a rubbing of the entire stone tablet array diagram and placed it in the library of the Pill Tower. Then he compiled the Sand Fire Method of the Western Fire Sect and the Geothermal Tempering Method of the Thousand Fire Sect into a book and filed them in categories.

He had also seen the scroll that Old Lady He had given him and confirmed that the description of the crustal barrier structure on it was completely consistent with his own personal experience. Therefore, he added some of his own experimental data to the edge of the scroll.

As expected, news came from Chen Yuan that he had received an old file containing deep geological information about the area near the South Crater.

Xiao Fan made a special trip to the Great Library and browsed through some ancient documents. He found that some of the information matched the information he already had, so he copied it down and added it to his research notes.

Another half year passed.

With the arrival of autumn, the spirit core began an unprecedented contraction and expansion. After these days of continuous compression, the spirit core gradually formed a brand new shell, its surface covered with fine spiritual lines, as if the entire spirit core had been reshaped.