The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

Within a radius of a hundred feet, he discovered three more cracks, each containing roughly the same amount of solar marrow.

Four portions of gold paste mixed together are enough to upgrade a magical artifact.

He carefully put the jade bottle into his spatial artifact, stood up and looked at the sky. The sun was setting, and the orange-yellow crystals on the Flame Crystal Plain formed a dazzling sea of ​​light under the glow of the setting sun.

Master Cheng added, "The temperature drops sharply at night, becoming even hotter than during the day. Let's find somewhere to hide."

Before nightfall, the two found a makeshift camp built of stones, which seemed to have been set up by a passing monk.

There were still some traces of spiritual energy used to reinforce the walls of the shack, although they were very faint, but it was better than nothing.

The two lit a small campfire in the tent, ate some dry rations, and rested against the wall.

Just as Master Cheng said, the temperature in Yanjingyuan dropped sharply at night, turning from the heat of the day into a bone-chilling cold.

Xiao Fan used his spiritual core to create a thin protective shield, lowering the surrounding temperature to the minimum, and also used his spiritual energy to protect Cheng Xiushi.

Master Cheng felt a heat on his head and chuckled softly, "You've thought of everything."

Xiao Fan stopped talking and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes to rest.

The night wind blew in through the cracks in the stone wall, making a soft whistling sound, but the embers of the campfire in the shed still glowed faintly red, illuminating the small space with a dry and warm light.

The next day, the two left Yanjingyuan at sunrise and returned to the ruins by the same route.

Xiao Fan wanted to find a place near the altar, a stable place to forge his second spiritual weapon. The stone hall in the center of the ruins still had a complete spiritual energy shield, which was perfect for forging weapons.

He cleared a space and placed the Crimson Flame Python's inner core, Flame Marrow, Sun Marrow, and some other scale fragments in front of him.

He was already very familiar with the refining process on the metal sheet, but the added solar marrow was a completely new variable. How to integrate it and how to balance it were things he needed to figure out on his own.

He first used the Fire of Creation to melt the inner core of the Crimson Flame Python. The inner core emitted pure spiritual power, forming a dark red ball of spiritual power.

Then, he used the Thunderfire Token to guide a thin bolt of lightning, which traveled through the mist, distributing spiritual energy evenly within it.

The third step is to grind the scales into powder and add it to the mist to enhance its strength. Finally, the sun marrow is added to the spiritual mist.

As soon as the three drops of solar marrow entered the mist, the entire mass of red spiritual energy first expanded, then contracted back, its color changing from dark red to a warm golden red, with fine sunlight patterns appearing on it.

Xiao Fan enveloped the spiritual energy with the Flame of Creation, slowly condensing it into a palm-sized shield.

The edges of this protective mirror are smooth and rounded, and there is a rune in the middle. This rune is somewhat similar to the ancient characters on the token, and it appears and disappears as spiritual energy flows.

When the second spiritual weapon was forged, he felt a slight tremor in the spiritual core in his dantian, and a powerful spiritual energy fluctuation emanated from it.

He tried placing the breast protector on his chest, and a warm sensation emanated from the mirror, enveloping his entire body. The light emanating from the breast protector also thickened slightly.

Master Cheng sat at the entrance of the main hall, watching Xiao Fan finish everything, and shook his head, saying, "With your current equipment, you'd be more than capable of fighting another medium-sized battle."

Xiao Fan adjusted the chest protector and fixed it in front of his chest, feeling a warm sensation enveloping his chest.

With the pure fire-attribute spiritual power within the Crimson Flame Python and the sunlight power of the Sun Marrow, this Heart-Protecting Mirror not only possesses extremely strong defensive capabilities, but also provides him with even more spiritual power when he fully activates the spiritual core.

He stepped out of the stone hall and stood in the sunlight, the breastplate on his chest gleaming faintly with golden light.

Master Cheng asked, "Where are we going now?"

Xiao Fan clenched his fist, feeling the compatibility between the spiritual core within his body and the two spiritual artifacts, and turned his gaze to the distant horizon.

There are still some unexplored areas. The Sun Marrow has been explored, but deep within the Flame Crystal Plains, it is said that veins of even higher purity are hidden.

"Go west, keep going. There's still some road ahead."

When Xiao Fan and Cheng Xiushi returned to Tianhuoyuan, they encountered several groups heading east.

Everyone was talking about the same thing—Fire Crystal City.

It is said that this is the largest gathering place for cultivators in Tianhuo Plain, and there is also a large auction house in the city. The auction is about to start in three days.

It is said that the highlight of this auction is a fragment of a Heaven-Rank Spiritual Artifact, unearthed from an ancient ruin, which is said to contain a long-lost core cultivation technique of the Fire Path.

Upon hearing this, Master Cheng's eyes lit up: "I've been to the auction in Fire Crystal City, and there are indeed many good items. If you don't need these materials, you can exchange them for a large number of high-grade spirit stones at the auction. These spirit stones can be used to buy things you urgently need."

Xiao Fan pondered for a moment, then nodded.

Materials such as the scales, fangs, and spine of the Crimson Flame Python, as well as some scraps collected in the Flame Marrow Cave and Crimson Flame Valley.

He himself doesn't need these things, but if he were to auction them off, they could still fetch a good price.

The two traveled westward and arrived at Fire Crystal City around noon on the third day.

The walls of Fire Crystal City are made of large blocks of crimson fire crystal stones, which emit a soft red glow under the sunlight.

At the city gate, people came and went, dressed in various monks' robes.

Xiao Fan discovered that among the cultivators entering the city, many were at least at the sixth rank of the Tribulation Realm, and some even possessed a powerful aura approaching the eighth rank.

Just then, an impatient voice came from behind: "Hurry up, what are you all standing there for?"

Xiao Fan turned his head and saw a tall, thin young man dressed in bright yellow brocade robes, with a jewel-encrusted sword at his waist, impatiently fanning himself.

With a cultivation level at the early stage of the sixth rank, he looks very young and should be a disciple of some powerful force.

Xiao Fan didn't say anything, but simply moved aside to let Fei Fei pass first.

The young man glanced at him sideways and snorted, "A poor wretch is a poor wretch. He doesn't even have a pass. If he wants to enter the inner city, he'll have to queue for ages." After saying that, he strode past Xiao Fan, took out a golden token from his pocket, showed it to the gatekeeper, and walked in with his head held high.

Cheng Xiushi whispered from behind, "This is a collateral descendant of the Fei family of the Purple Crystal Alliance, named Fei Fei. Ignore him."