The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

He could clearly feel that there was no separation between this crystal and his spiritual energy structure, as if this crystal was prepared for him, who had completed the inheritance of the Taixu Dansheng.

After confirming that there was nothing unusual at the entrance of the stone chamber, Master Cheng went inside.

He glanced at the golden crystal in Xiao Fan's hand, nodded, and said, "It was all worth it." When they climbed out of the crack, the sun had already set, and Yaoguang Valley was bathed in a faint golden light under the setting sun.

The two men put away the rope and prepared to leave.

Xiao Fan turned around and saw Fei Song leading a group of people coming from the north, each of them with a hint of hostility on their face.

Fei Song walked at the front, his gaze falling on the spatial artifact at Xiao Fan's waist. He said in an unprecedentedly cold tone, "Young Master Xiao, you're quite the actor. You led us to a place we couldn't see, and then secretly came here to retrieve something."

Xiao Fan stopped, turned around, and looked at him expressionlessly: "However, I didn't choose this place randomly. There's some dew condensed under the obsidian there. If we can collect it, it should be worth quite a few spirit stones. Whether you take people with you or come along is up to you."

Fei Song stopped ten steps in front of Xiao Fan, while behind him stood seven or eight people, surrounding him in a fan shape.

Fei Song lowered his voice, speaking in a deep and suppressed tone, "Take out what you got from down there and let me see. If it's valuable, the Amethyst Alliance will buy it. If it's just ordinary stuff, you can take it."

Xiao Fan glanced at Fei Song, whose left hand had somehow touched the edge of the spatial artifact.

Cheng, the monk standing to the side, also adjusted his posture and gripped the hilt of the dagger.

Ning Yao and the others walked unhurriedly from the south side of the valley. Behind her, three people stood warily. She glanced at Fei Song and the others, her voice soft yet authoritative: "Second Master Fei, this is Yaoguang Valley, not your Zijing Mountain. Why did he want you to see what he was the first to enter the crevice?"

"You couldn't beat them at the auction, so you want to fight here now? If you really want to fight, then go ahead. We Silver Hammer Society members are just killing time anyway, we want to stretch our muscles."

Fei Song's face darkened. He glanced at Xiao Fan, then at Ning Yao and the cultivator Cheng. After a long while, he slowly released the magic weapon in his hand: "I hope Young Master Xiao will reconsider his actions." With that, he turned and hurriedly left with his men.

Ning Yao watched the Purple Crystal Alliance members leave before turning to Xiao Fan and asking, "Did you find anything?"

Xiao Fan took out the golden crystal, briefly explained its function, and shared his speculations.

Ning Yao examined the crystal carefully, whistled, and said, "A core material for the space system, unique in the entire Heavenly Fire Plains. Let's melt it down while there's still time."

While thanking Ning Yao, Xiao Fan put the crystal into his spatial magic treasure.

Ning Yao waved her hand: "You owe me a favor." After saying that, she led her people south.

After Ning Yao had walked away, the cultivator Cheng whispered, "This girl can be a friend. If there's anything we can help each other with, we can do so."

Xiao Fan nodded and led the cultivator towards the entrance of the valley.

Behind it, the Valley of Radiant Light was bathed in a warm golden glow under the setting sun, and the obsidian itself shone with a soft luster in the light of the sunset.

As he walked out of the valley, the golden crystal in his spatial artifact emitted a faint warmth, resonating with the spiritual core in his dantian, like a newly lit lamp.

That night, Xiao Fan did not rest and returned to Fire Crystal City.

Shi Mu sat in his room at the inn, using the Creation Fire to envelop the golden crystal and begin refining it.

The spiritual quality of this crystal is different from that of the previous spiritual artifacts. It is more like a semi-finished product, which has been initially refined and is just waiting to form a stable resonance with the spiritual core before it can be used directly.

The refining process went surprisingly smoothly.

Under the influence of the Creation Fire, the spiritual energy within the crystal was broken down into fine golden threads, which flowed along the meridians into the dantian and merged into the spiritual core.

Each thread that penetrates the spirit core adds a faint layer of golden patterns to its surface.

When the last wisp of golden spiritual energy was absorbed by Xiao Fan, he felt that the spiritual energy in his dantian had undergone a qualitative change. It was no longer unidirectional, but had a new function: to absorb the surrounding spiritual energy.

As the spirit core is upgraded, the resonance of the spirit weapon also increases.

The dark gold battle axe and the breastplate simultaneously lit up, establishing a closer connection with the enhanced spirit core, as if the two weapons were operating simultaneously under the same command.

He opened his eyes, exhaled, and saw that the sky outside the window was already beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

Cheng, the cultivator, knocked on the door and came in carrying a pot of hot tea. Xiao Fan took a sip and found that his spiritual core had completely stabilized. The new functions were still ongoing, like a brand new engine that was slowly adapting.

After reading it, Master Cheng nodded and said, "It seems things have stabilized. Do you know where that crystal came from?"

Xiao Fan put down the teapot, recalling the logical relationship between the broken sword, the token, and the crystal: "The first step is the broken sword, the second step is the token, and the third step is the crystal."

Once the three elements merged, my spiritual power became clearer. Within my spiritual core lay a much larger area—the end of the Heavenly Fire Plains. However, we still need to find the final piece of the puzzle to know what lies within.

After a moment of silence, Master Cheng said in a low voice, "Then let's continue the search."

The two stayed in Fire Crystal City for another day, sending the obsidian crystal dew samples they had collected in Obsidian Valley to the city's appraisal institute for analysis.

The results show that this type of crystallizing liquid has the same composition as solar marrow, but is finer and can be used as a high-quality blending medium.

Xiao Fan put away the appraisal report, which he intended to use to supplement the "Tai Xu Collection".

As night fell, Xiao Fan stood on the second floor of an inn, looking at the brightly lit Fire Crystal City.

On the main street of the city, the crowds had not yet dispersed, and the dark red building of the auction hall stood out conspicuously against the night sky.

He leaned against the windowsill, pondering the next direction after the upgrade of his spirit core, how long it would take for the Heavenly Fire Plains to end, and whether the power of the token and the crystal had already touched the last trace left by the Grandmaster of the Void in this world.

A night breeze blew through the window, bringing the unique coolness of the Obsidian District. He closed the window, sat back down under the lamp, unfolded a blank scroll, and began to record his new discoveries and speculations.

On the very night that Fei Song and his group returned to Fire Crystal City in disgrace, the stronghold of the Purple Crystal Alliance was brightly lit.