The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

Mo Yuan looked at the talisman, a faint smile playing on his lips. "The rules set by Taixu only take effect for those who have his approval."

He stretched out his hand, and a jet-black spiritual energy condensed into an illusory palm, which he slapped towards the talisman in Xiao Fan's hand.

At the same time, Xiao Fan made his move. He flipped his left hand, and a short axe appeared in his hand. He swung it at the dark hand, and a dark golden spiritual energy emanated from the axe, directly splitting the dark hand in two.

The halved phantom swept past him, crashed into the wall of the circular chamber, and then vanished.

"Interesting." Mo Yuan withdrew his hand, looked at the short axe in Xiao Fan's hand, and asked, "Did you forge a Heaven-Rank spiritual weapon yourself?"

Xiao Fan put away his axe, stood still, and activated his spiritual core at full power, making the protective shield around him even thicker.

His palms were a little hot, but his expression remained calm: "If Senior Mo wants to prove whether I am qualified to possess these things, then let's set some rules first."

"Whether it's a fight, a contest, or a battle of formations, I'm ready to oblige. However, if he tries to forcibly seize it based on his cultivation level, everyone in the teleportation array will testify, and news of Senior Mo's bullying will quickly spread throughout the entire Heavenly Fire Plains."

Everyone else in the room looked at the two of them. The gray-robed cultivators behind Mo Yuan remained motionless, but were all ready to make a move at any moment.

After a brief silence, Mo Yuan suddenly chuckled softly. The laugh wasn't loud, but it carried a rare air of interest. "Interesting. Three days from now, atop the white tower in the center of the Gray Domain, everyone will rely on their own abilities, their fates to be decided. If you win, my seal is yours. If you lose…"

He looked at the seal in Xiao Fan's hand and said, "Leave the seal and the small dish behind."

"Deal." After saying that, Xiao Fan led his men up the steps.

The footsteps gradually faded away until they could no longer be heard, and the invisible pressure in the room also dissipated.

Cheng Xiushi stepped forward, his face grim, and said, "Mo Yuan is a hundred times more difficult to deal with than the Fei brothers."

Xiao Fan twitched his axe-wielding hand, the warmth in his palm now gone. "He's already obtained a seal in the Gray Domain, and the fact that he dared to say such things means he knows far more about the white tower in the center of the Gray Domain than I do. Rather than letting him spy on me in secret, it's better to bring things to the table."

Ning Yao crossed her arms and listened quietly. She glanced at Xiao Fan and suddenly asked, "Three days. What's your plan?"

Xiao Fan took out the half of the general outline of formations that Elder Jiao had given him, as well as the method for refining underground crystals in Yaoguang Valley. He turned to the last page and wrote on the variant of "Void Fire Guide": "Understand this first, and then go to the center of the Gray Domain."

Xiao Fan, Cheng Xiushi, and Ning Yao walked out of the circular room and, guided by the dark silver disc, headed towards the center of the gray domain.

Along the way, they passed through several different areas, including gentle slopes covered with a thick layer of grayish-white fine sand, low-lying basins scattered with large pieces of charred black gravel, and dried-up riverbeds.

The rocks beneath the riverbed have a glassy sheen, which is due to the high temperature causing them to melt and then solidify again.

After walking for about an hour, the outline of a tall white tower came into view.

This white tower is built with an unknown white stone. There are no carvings or runes on it, but the whole tower gives people a very harmonious feeling. Even from a distance, people can't help but stop and stare at it.

Xiao Fan looked up and saw that the tower formed a near-perfect cone shape against the purple sky, standing over ten meters tall. The tower doors were already open.

Behind the door is a wide stone staircase that spirals upwards, its surface polished smooth as a mirror, clearly indicating that people have walked here before.

Xiao Fan went inside and walked up the stone steps, his spiritual core sensing growing stronger. When he reached the tenth floor, he was drawn to a wall with a shallow groove about the size of a silver disc, its edges covered with dense runes.

He tried placing the small disc into the groove. The rune glowed faintly, then vanished in a flash, as if he recognized the rune, but it wasn't complete. The information on this wall needed two marks to resonate simultaneously to activate.

The seal in Mo Yuan's hand complements the seal in his own hand.

Xiao Fan took the small plate and continued walking forward.

When he reached the top of the tower, a cool breeze blew in his face. The platform at the top of the tower was not very big, but the view was excellent.

You can take in the entire gray area, from the hazy plains to the dilapidated buildings, to the dried-up riverbeds, and to the scattered depressions—everything is within your view.

Mo Yuan had reached the other end of the tower. He stood with his back to Xiao Fan, gazing at the distant horizon, without turning around, because he heard footsteps. "You arrived a day earlier than I expected."

Mo Yuan glanced back at Xiao Fan and said with a hint of appreciation, "Not bad. Since you're here, it's better to familiarize yourself with the terrain first than to spend three days in seclusion."

Xiao Fan stood about ten steps away from him and asked, "Senior Mo, what did you discover in the tower?"

Mo Yuan stretched out his right hand, and a three-dimensional projection appeared in his palm. Two light spots on the projection were slowly flashing, which were the marks on their hands.

"When these two runes are activated, the spiritual energy of the entire Gray Domain will be guided to the bottom of the tower. This is the true purpose of Taixu leaving the Gray Domain behind; it is not a relic, but a backup energy source."

Mo Yuan put away the projection, turned to look at Xiao Fan, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes: "Now you know why I need that seal, right?"

"If you're alone, you won't know how to use it. Taixu's scheme will just be a bunch of scattered parts in your hands. But if you and I join forces, the entire Gray Domain will come alive."

Xiao Fan remained silent for a moment. "So, Senior Mo's mention of a battle in three days isn't about getting anything from me, but about proving who's truly in charge of this integration."

Mo Yuan smiled faintly and said, "So you finally know."

A breeze blew from the top of the tower, ruffling their robes. Xiao Fan stood on the edge of the tower, looking down at the gray earth dotted with dilapidated buildings, like a beautiful painting. He turned and walked down the stone steps.

Back at the temporary camp, Xiao Fan told everyone everything he had seen Mo Yuan say from the tower.

Ning Yao paced back and forth on the disc, frowning as she said, "Backup energy? Just how many escape routes did the Grandmaster of the Void leave behind when he set up this system?"