The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

Early the next morning, he went to the largest teahouse in Fire Crystal City and met with representatives of the major forces in Skyfire Plains.

An hour later, Ning Yao, Fei Song, the leader of the rogue hunter group, and the people sent by the ancients had all arrived.

In front of everyone, Xiao Fan briefly explained the connection between the runes on the broken sword, the patterns on the token, the three underground passages of Yaoguang Valley, and the half of the "General Outline of Formations" left by Elder Jiao, revealing a piece of news that shocked everyone present:

"At the far west of the Heavenly Fire Plains lies a great gate, which requires three keys to open. The first is the spatial crystal I obtained underground in the Radiant Valley. The second is the token I brought out of the rift, and this broken sword. The third…"

He paused, glanced around, and said, "The third key is on the last page of the book left by Mr. Jiao. It mentions a mountain on the westernmost side of Tianhuo Plain, called Ash Mountain."

A silence fell over the teahouse.

Fei Song put down his teacup, looked at Xiao Fan, and a complex look flashed in his eyes.

Ning Yao asked directly, "When are you going?"

"We'll set off in three days." Xiao Fan stood up, clasped his hands in a fist salute to the crowd, and said, "Within three days, those who want to come with me can decide for themselves. On Ash Peak, whoever obtains the third key first will have to rely on their own abilities."

Upon hearing this, the leaders of the various factions exchanged bewildered glances.

A group of independent cultivators began to whisper among themselves. Fei Song frowned, then relaxed, and turned to leave.

Ning Yao raised her teacup to Xiao Fan to indicate that she understood, and then left with her group of people.

The cultivator Cheng standing next to Xiao Fan whispered, "If you spread this news, aren't you afraid it will cause chaos?"

Xiao Fan picked up the tea, which had gone half-cold, and drank it all in one gulp. He said, "With too many people, things will get chaotic. The Fei brothers can't possibly hide it from everyone, and I'm the only one who knows the location of the third key best. So even if they reach Ash Peak, they'll be a step slower than me."

Early on the third day, Xiao Fan and Cheng Xiushi set off from the west gate of Fire Crystal City and headed west as shown on the map.

At first, there were only two people, but by the afternoon of the second day, more than thirty people had followed. Among them, the five-person team of the Silver Hammer Society and two teams of rogue cultivators followed closely behind, while the people of the Purple Crystal Alliance were half a mile away.

Ash Peak has a unique shape. It is not a conical mountain, but a flat plateau. Its top is a grayish-white powdery rock, which seems to have been burned at high temperatures and then cooled and solidified.

Xiao Fan led the team around and climbed to the top of the platform along a barely visible path. In the very center of the platform, there was a circular crack about a foot in diameter. The rocks around the crack emitted the same spiritual energy fluctuations as the warm gold zone of Yaoguang Valley.

He bent down and inserted the broken sword fragments into an inconspicuous groove at the edge of the crack.

As the two keys were in place, a crack appeared in the center of the platform, revealing a spiraling stone staircase in front of everyone.

Xiao Fan went down the stone steps first, followed by Cheng Xiushi.

People kept following behind, their footsteps echoing on the winding stone steps.

At the end of the stone steps, there was a small stone chamber.

This stone chamber is enclosed on three sides, facing a wall with a golden rhombus-shaped crystal embedded in it. It is exactly the same as the space crystal, only larger and with much more complex patterns.

The third key is right there, within easy reach.

Xiao Fan stepped forward and took the rhombus-shaped crystal in his hand.

But the instant his finger touched the crystal, a burst of intense light erupted from the stone wall, repelling his finger, and a light curtain composed of dense runes appeared between the group and the crystal.

The combination of runes on the light screen perfectly matched the "Illusory Fire Guiding" array pattern on the silk offered by Elder Jiao. To penetrate the light screen and retrieve the crystal, one must resonate with the corresponding spiritual energy frequency.

The group of people following behind him had already surrounded the stone chamber, while Fei Song and the others stood on the outermost edge, staring intently at the light screen.

Several rogue cultivators tried to reach out to the light screen, but were repelled. Ning Yao glanced at them but did not make any rash moves. Instead, she focused her gaze on Xiao Fan.

Xiao Fan stood in front of the light screen, closed his eyes, adjusted the frequency of his spiritual core, and made his mental power match the frequency of the "Virtual Fire Guiding" array pattern before reaching out his hand again.

This time, his palm passed directly through the light barrier, as if touching a layer of warm liquid.

The people behind him all gasped in shock.

Fei Fei was so anxious outside that he kept stamping his feet, but Fei Song grabbed his shoulder and stopped him from going forward.

Xiao Fan's hand passed through the light barrier, firmly grasped the prismatic crystal in his hand, and then took it off the stone wall.

After the crystal left the stone wall, the light curtain also disappeared, and the entire stone chamber returned to normal.

With all three keys gathered, a complete and stable energy cycle was formed, and the three keys resonated at the same time.

As he spoke, he put the three keys together, forming a dark golden seal.

The talisman was covered with fine, flowing lines that pointed towards the end of the Heavenly Fire Plains, but its destination was unknown.

Fei Song took a step forward, then stopped. He looked at the talisman and said in a deep voice, "Young Master Xiao, what is that unknown area?"

Xiao Fan stored the talisman into his spatial artifact and calmly scanned the area: "It's right where the talisman points. I'll let everyone know when I see it."

Cheng Xiushi followed closely behind, and Ning Yao waved in the direction of the Silver Hammer Society before following them as well.

The three of them walked up the spiraling stone steps, and the noise from the stone chamber gradually faded away.

News of what happened at Ash Peak spread throughout Fire Crystal City that very day.

Xiao Fan combined the three keys to form a complete talisman, which became the hottest topic in the entire city.

They lost face for the Amethyst Alliance in front of so many people. More importantly, no one knew what the unknown place indicated by the talisman meant, but everyone knew that it was definitely a place worth visiting.

Xiao Fan did not go directly to the place indicated by the talisman, but returned to the inn and meditated for two days.

Over the past two days, he combined the half of the silk that Elder Jiao had offered him, the jade plate he obtained from the Light Pool, the crystal smelting experience from the bottom of Yaoguang Valley, and the spiritual energy resonance data when the three keys were fused together, and confirmed that the direction indicated by the runes was the westernmost direction of Tianhuo Plain.