The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

"There's a place down there, but it's very deep. If I go down alone, I might not come back. Next time, more people will come to explore."

Master Cheng nodded knowingly.

The two rested for a while by the cave, ate some dry rations, and then continued on their way.

After leaving the Flame Marrow Cave and heading west, about half a day later, a tall figure blocked their way.

The man had a square face and was about forty years old. He wore a long purple-black robe with a wide belt around his waist, inlaid with seven crystals.

He stood with his arms crossed on a protruding rock by the roadside, his eyes fixed on Xiao Fan across from him.

"So you're the cultivator from that rift?" His voice was calm and unhurried, yet it carried an air of superiority.

Xiao Fan paused and stopped.

The cultivator Cheng whispered, "This man is named Fei He. He is the second-in-command of the 'Purple Crystal Alliance' in the central region of Tianhuo Plain. He is at the peak of the seventh rank of the Tribulation Realm and has an extremely bad temper."

Seeing that Xiao Fan didn't speak, Fei He pressed the corners of his mouth down slightly.

"I don't care who you are or where you come from. The high-level fire beasts and rare ores in the Heavenly Fire Plains are all allocated to various major powers. You took the Crimson Flame Python's spirit core and the items from the Flame Marrow Cave from my Purple Crystal Alliance. What do you say?"

Xiao Fan glanced at him, his expression unchanged.

"I don't know if those areas are within the Amethyst Alliance's territory. Besides, the Crimson Flame Python was first discovered by the rogue cultivator team; I was just helping out. The entrance to the Flame Marrow Cave is covered in mud, so it doesn't look like a mine."

Fei He frowned, stepped forward, and slowly released his spiritual power. The pressure of a peak seventh-grade cultivator was awe-inspiring.

"I'll give you two choices: either hand over the Crimson Flame Python's inner core, or hand over the Fire Marrow. Or, I'll come and take it myself, and then you won't have a single thing left."

Xiao Fan remained silent.

With a flick of his left hand, a dark gold short axe appeared in his grasp, gleaming faintly in the sunlight.

Holding a short axe, he fully activated his spiritual core, his body surging with spiritual power, a stark contrast to Fei He's peak seventh-grade aura.

Fei He looked at the axe, his eyes narrowing slightly.

With his keen eye, he immediately recognized that this item was a Heaven-Rank Spiritual Artifact.

"Interesting, where did that axe come from?"

"I attacked myself." Xiao Fan launched the first attack.

He took a step forward, his entire body like a golden afterimage, and slashed fiercely at Fei He.

Fei He reacted extremely quickly. He crossed his arms in front of him, condensing a thick layer of purple spiritual energy shield. He struck the shield with his short axe, and with a muffled "bang," the shield shook violently a few times, but did not break.

Missing his first strike, Xiao Fan immediately took a step back. His left hand, holding the Thunderfire Command, flashed with silver light, and a bolt of silver lightning traveled from the axe to Fei He's shield.

The lightning struck the shield, causing fine cracks to appear on it. Fei He's expression changed, and he withdrew the shield and retreated, his eyes filled with scrutiny as he looked at Xiao Fan.

"Your cultivation has reached the seventh rank, and you also possess a Heaven-rank spiritual artifact." Fei He slowly withdrew his hand, forcing an unnatural smile. "It seems you are no ordinary rogue cultivator. I will remember what happened today. Please inform the Purple Crystal Alliance if you make any new discoveries in the future."

After saying that, he turned and left without looking back.

Xiao Fan watched his figure disappear around the bend of the hill before putting away the axe in his hand.

The monk Cheng walked to his side and whispered, "Your axe blow just now has made him waver. Fei He is a bully who preys on the weak; he won't fight to the death unless he's absolutely certain of victory."

Xiao Fan didn't say anything, but just glanced in the direction where Fei He disappeared, and continued walking westward.

The power on the Heavenly Fire Plains was beyond his imagination, but what he cared about most now was the materials he had: the inner core of the Crimson Flame Python, the Flame Marrow, the spine of the Thunderfire Beast, the Iron Essence Core, and that short axe, all of which he had crafted.

On their way back, they encountered Ning Yao, a girl from the Silver Hammer Society.

At this moment, she was leading the two out of the valley. When she saw Xiao Fan and Cheng Xiushi, she stopped and bowed.

"Fei He just passed by my room, and he didn't look too good." Ning Yao looked at Xiao Fan and said with a half-smile, "Looks like you ran into him."

Xiao Fan nodded and recounted what had happened.

Upon hearing this, Ning Yao's smile deepened: "Fei He is a very easy person to talk to. If you confront him head-on, he won't make things difficult for you. However, the Purple Crystal Alliance isn't just him. There's a leader above him named Fei Song, who has an eighth-grade cultivation level and is much more difficult to deal with than Fei He."

Xiao Fan kept the name in his heart.

Ning Yao continued, "If you want to continue westward, you can go to the Flame Crystal Plains. It's a desolate place, and even the Fei brothers wouldn't dare go there. Deep within the Flame Crystal Plains, there's a substance called 'Sun Marrow,' which can be used to refine magical artifacts and improve their grade. However, the environment there is very harsh, and fire beasts of the ninth rank or higher often appear."

"The Sun Marrow," Xiao Fan said in a low voice.

Although there was no record of it on the metal leaf, he knew that it was a material very suitable for his cultivation.

He thanked Ning Yao and said that if he had the chance, he would travel west with the cultivator Cheng.

The terrain of Yanjingyuan was even more desolate than the places they had passed through before.

The ground wasn't dark red soil, but rather large swathes of crystal-clear orange-red gemstones that shimmered in the sunlight, giving one the illusion of walking on a giant orange-yellow mirror.

The temperature here is high enough to terrify ordinary cultivators. The spiritual core in my dantian is spinning at an extremely fast speed to maintain the stability of the protective light shield. Even so, I can still feel a scorching heat rushing up from the soles of my feet.

Although Cheng Xiushi did not have a spirit core, he had a layer of earth-attribute spiritual power on his body, which enveloped him and formed a heat insulation layer.

The two walked along the Flame Crystal Plain for most of the day, without seeing a single living creature along the way.

Deep within the Flame Crystal Plains lies a fissure, from which emanates a unique spiritual energy fluctuation, giving one a warm and comforting feeling.

Xiao Fan squatted at the edge of the crack and inserted the axe into it. The axe touched a layer of viscous semi-solid substance. After picking it up, there was still a small piece of light golden glue stuck to the axe, emitting a soft, sunlight-like glow.

The essence of the sun.

Xiao Fan cut off a small piece of the gold paste and put it into an empty bottle. As soon as the bottle touched the gold paste, it emitted a soft golden light.

Even a small piece of it transformed the jade bottle into a tiny energy source, radiating a warm aura.

There is more than one crack.