The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

Ning Yao was leaning against a large rock by the roadside, drinking water. When she saw them coming, she waved the water bag in her hand and asked, "Did you come because of this news too?"

Xiao Fan parked the car beside her and said, "I originally planned to explore the fissure, but it's not the legendary ancient artifact. However, since everyone is going, let's just leave each other alone."

Ning Yao raised an eyebrow and smiled, put the water pouch back on her waist, and jumped off the rock: "Okay, then I'll stop at the valley entrance and see how many people have come." After saying that, she waved to Xiao Fan and led a few people over.

Looking at her retreating figure, Master Cheng turned to Xiao Fan and said, "She's a smart person; she never competes or tries to steal."

Xiao Fan responded while placing his hand on the breastplate in front of his chest.

The warmth seeped through his clothes and into his palms, calming him down considerably.

When we arrived at the entrance to Yaoguang Valley, there were already twenty or thirty people waiting.

Fei Song and his group occupied an open space, Ning Yao and others from the Silver Hammer Society stood on the other side, and the remaining independent cultivators were scattered, forming a delicate balance.

Fei Song stood with his hands behind his back in front of the Purple Crystal Alliance group and said loudly, "The space deep within Radiant Valley is limited. With so many people crammed together, no one can see anything clearly. Our Purple Crystal Alliance proposes that each side send one representative, and the rankings will be determined by drawing lots. Regardless of whether we actually gain anything, we will withdraw and then move on to the next group. What do you think?"

This statement sounds fair, but Fei Song's words placed him in the middle, subtly elevating his own status.

The crowd looked at each other, none daring to utter a single word of dissent.

Ning Yao leaned against an obsidian stone, arms crossed, a faint smile playing on her lips.

The independent cultivators discussed amongst themselves, but no one stood up to refute them.

From the back of the crowd, Xiao Fan stepped out, unhurried and unhurried.

Fei Song glanced at him and said politely, "Young Master Xiao, what do you think of my suggestion just now?"

Xiao Fan stood there, his gaze sweeping over everyone present. He spoke in a calm yet clear voice, "Yaoguang Valley is vast, and there are many places to explore below."

Going separately is much more efficient than waiting forever. If you trust me, I can tell you the approximate location, and we can split up. If we find anything, we can also let each other know.

Upon hearing this, the leaders of the independent cultivators exchanged glances, and some nodded in agreement.

One of Fei Song's attendants looked displeased and seemed about to say something, but Fei Song stopped him. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Young Master Xiao, what do you mean?"

Xiao Fan took out a simple map and showed some of the canyon entrances and terrain features he had noted down after circling around the center of Yaoguang Valley.

As he spoke, he pointed to several points on the map. To the south was the territory of Ning Yao Silver Hammer Society, to the east was the territory of the Loose Cultivator Hunter Group, and to the north was the entrance to the territory of Fei Song Purple Crystal Alliance.

Fei Song looked in the direction he pointed, where there was a warm golden crack. He narrowed his eyes, said nothing, and simply nodded: "Then let's go our separate ways as Young Master Xiao suggests."

The crowd dispersed in a commotion.

Ning Yao walked past Xiao Fan and said in a low voice, "You pointed to the north, I went to check, it's very shallow there, there's nothing there. I'm worried he'll come back empty-handed and cause you trouble."

Xiao Fan also whispered, "By the time he finishes this part of the journey, I will have already finished." Ning Yao smiled, said nothing more, and led the group south.

Xiao Fan and Master Cheng moved rapidly southwestward in the central part of Yaoguang Valley.

The spiked shoes clicked on the ground, casting long shadows of two figures in the valley.

The edges of the golden crack were much brighter than before, and the ancient spiritual energy emanating from the crack was also much clearer.

Xiao Fan crouched down, hammered nails into the obsidian on both sides, secured them with ropes, and then climbed down the mountainside.

The crack was much deeper than the one he had seen before.

He climbed down nearly twenty feet and finally reached the bottom, which was a relatively empty and dark space. The obsidian on the walls was dark gold and covered with fine spiritual energy patterns.

He landed on the ground and looked up. He saw that the light in the crack had shrunk to the size of a copper coin.

Master Cheng followed closely behind.

The space they were in was small, only the size of an ordinary hall, but each of the three walls was inlaid with a dark silver metal plate, the same material as the broken sword, and each metal plate was engraved with a sequence of runes.

Xiao Fan recognized them at a glance; these runes and the patterns on the broken sword were of the same origin, only each segment was taken from a different part.

Holding the broken sword fragments, he infused the blade with the fire of creation, activating the runes within.

The broken sword fragments emitted a soft light, illuminating the three metal plates, and the runes on them lit up one after another.

When all the runes on the three stone slabs lit up, the obsidian on the ground began to tremble slightly, and a platform the size of a millstone slowly rose up. In the very center of the platform was a narrow groove that perfectly matched the fragment of the broken sword.

Xiao Fan placed the broken sword fragments inside, fitting them perfectly.

The entire underground space was trembling violently, and the three metal plates contracted inward, revealing three deep passages.

Each of these three passages exudes a different kind of spiritual energy: the left one is fire-based, the right one is earth-based, and the middle one gives off an indescribable feeling.

There are only three choices.

The broken sword opened a passage, but which one it was was up to him to choose.

He stood at the crossroads, closed his eyes, and sensed the resonance between the token and the broken sword, both pointing to the mixed passage in the middle, exactly as he had predicted in his first simulation.

Mo Wuji sheathed his broken sword and led Cheng Xiushi onto the middle path.

The road was much shorter than they had imagined. After walking more than a hundred steps, the two finally reached the end.

This is a circular stone chamber, with a fist-sized golden orb of light floating in the very center of the chamber.

At the center of the ball of light was a angular crystal, somewhat similar to the Golden Sun Crystal Core he had previously photographed, but this crystal core was smaller, its color was much purer, and the spiritual energy patterns on it were much more complex.

He reached out and grasped the golden crystal in his hand. An extremely close resonance immediately occurred between the spirit core and the crystal, as if something that had always existed had finally merged together.

As soon as he got his hands on the golden crystal, Xiao Fan's spiritual core in his dantian immediately began to operate, and its speed increased once again.