The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

The staff member quickly took the jade bottle, opened the cap, and his expression changed drastically. He hurried to the counter and said a few words to the appraiser.

Soon, the auctioneer announced: "The first item to be auctioned will include a complimentary bottle of Flame Marrow, which is equivalent to two thousand Fire Crystals. The starting bid is nine thousand."

The entire room fell silent.

In Tianhuo Plains, the price of Flame Marrow was already very high, and among the rogue cultivators present, it was difficult for anyone else to produce a whole bottle in one go.

On the second-floor balcony, Fei Song gently tapped the handrail. Fei Fei's face turned bright red, and he opened his mouth as if to say something, but Fei Song stopped him.

In the end, Fesson did not raise the price any further.

With a crisp knocking sound, Xiao Fan pocketed the Golden Sun Crystal Core.

Xiao Fan took the box and felt an extremely pure spiritual energy fluctuation coming from his palm, creating a gentle and stable resonance with his spiritual core.

After the Golden Sun Crystal Core fell, Fei Fei's expression turned extremely ugly, while Fei Song remained expressionless, only slightly turning his head and whispering a few words to his attendant.

Amidst everyone's anticipation, the final item was brought to the auction stage.

This was a broken sword, with a clean break and a length of over a foot. It was dark silver all over, and the patterns on it were no longer visible. However, the ancient spiritual energy emanating from it made everyone sit up straight involuntarily.

The auctioneer held the broken sword in his hand, waved it in front of the crowd, and said, "This was discovered in an ancient ruin three thousand miles west of Fire Crystal City. After being examined by numerous appraisers, the traces of spiritual energy on this sword perfectly match the forging methods of a Heaven-rank spiritual weapon. Starting bid: 15,000."

Xiao Fan stared at the broken sword for a long time.

The spiritual energy emanating from the broken sword resonated subtly with his lava greatsword and dark gold short axe, as if they were forging masters from the same era.

If we could get our hands on this broken sword, there's a good chance we could use it, whether with ancient forging techniques or to strengthen a heavy sword.

However, the starting price of 15,000 already far exceeds all the assets he owns.

The auction had begun, and the various factions on the second-floor stands raised their paddles. Soon, the price rose from 15,000 to 23,000.

Fei Song was one of them; his posture while holding up the sign was much more composed than before.

Xiao Fan sat motionless below the stage, quietly watching this scene and the faint light emanating from the broken sword.

When the price reached 28,000, a slightly aged voice came from the third-floor platform: "30,000."

The entire room fell silent.

Fei Song's hand, which was holding the sign, stopped in mid-air and slowly lowered.

People from other factions also showed hesitation.

Thirty thousand fire crystals has already exceeded the limit that most medium-sized forces can afford. This is just the starting price. At this rate, the final price is likely to be close to forty thousand.

Ning Yao stood on the edge of the second-floor stands, looking at Xiao Fan, and helplessly shrugged, as if to say, "I can't help you with anything."

Xiao Fan nodded, indicating that he understood, and then turned his gaze to the private room on the third floor.

The spiritual energy curtain in that private room was thicker than the others, making it impossible to see the person inside; all that could be heard was that aged and steady voice.

Ultimately, the broken sword fragment was bought by a private room on the third floor for 35,000 fire crystals.

The staff member placed the broken sword behind the curtain and never came out again. The entire private room was silent until the auction ended, and no one came out.

After the auction ended, Xiao Fan left the venue with Cheng Xiushi.

The sun had already set, but the streets of Fire Crystal City were still bustling with people, who were talking amongst themselves.

Xiao Fan was walking down the main street when suddenly someone chased after him from behind and called out to him.

"Young Master Xiao, please wait."

He turned around and saw a lean young man in a dark gray short shirt. He was a complete stranger, but he had a wooden plaque hanging from his waist with the pattern of a private room on the third floor engraved on it. The young man said, "My master invites you to sit in a teahouse in the east of the city. He says there is something he wants you to take a look at."

Xiao Fan's gaze fell on the cultivator Cheng.

Master Cheng nodded, indicating that he could.

The two followed the young man through several streets until they arrived at a quiet and elegant teahouse.

The boy led the two to a private room on the second floor. Pushing open the door, they saw an old man with a gaunt face and white hair sitting there, who had just called out a price of 30,000.

Upon seeing Xiao Fan enter, the old man stood up, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "I am Gu, from a small place in the western part of the Heavenly Fire Plains. When Young Master Xiao won the Golden Sun Crystal Core at the auction, I knew that you were a cultivator proficient in the Dao of Fire. Please sit down."

After Xiao Fan sat down, the old man took out a wooden box, opened it, and revealed the fragments of the broken sword.

The old man pushed the wooden box in front of Xiao Fan and said, "I originally wanted to study the forging techniques of ancient times, but upon closer inspection, I found that the patterns on this sword are somewhat similar to Young Master Xiao's token. If you are interested, I can lend you this sword for a few days to study, and I only hope that you can share your research results with me."

Xiao Fan lowered his head, looking at the broken sword, then at the old man.

The old man's eyes were honest and calm, as if he had no other purpose.

He placed the token on the table and brought it close to the broken sword. As the broken sword approached, the golden patterns on the token lit up, and the surface of the broken sword also lit up with the same light.

This is a resonance.

Xiao Fan put away his waist token and clasped his hands in a fist salute to the old man: "Senior Gu, thank you for your trust. I will stay at the Luoxia Inn in the west of the city in three days. At that time, you can send someone to retrieve the sword, and I will give you the research results."

The old man nodded.

The two chatted briefly about the situation deep within the Heavenly Fire Plains. The ancient man said that he had been to a place called "Obsidian Valley" a long time ago. There, translucent obsidian was everywhere. Under the sunlight, it would automatically condense into crystals, somewhat similar to sun marrow, but of higher quality.

Xiao Fan secretly memorized the location of Yaoguang Valley.

After finishing his tea, he got up to take his leave, and Master Cheng followed him downstairs.

Stepping out of the teahouse, it was already dark. The streets of Fire Crystal City were filled with colorful lanterns, illuminating the entire city warmly, a stark contrast to the daytime.

The cultivator walked to his side and whispered, "That old man had sharp eyes; he could tell at a glance that this token was extraordinary, and from the moment he spoke, you could tell that he was someone worth befriending."

Xiao Fan nodded.

The spiritual patterns left by the broken sword continued to ripple, overlapping with his perception of the Heavenly Fire Plains.