The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

Four days later, at dusk, Ning Yao brought news from Aurora Plains: the Zhou family's separatist faction had not returned to headquarters, but had instead gone alone to the desolate forest area west of Aurora Plains, where he stayed for a whole day. Someone noticed that he was carrying a long silver box when he left.

Xiao Fan was watching the projection on the third floor when he heard the news, and his pen paused slightly.

"The torchbearer I sent out went to the west of the Aurora Plains alone to retrieve something, and then left without saying a word to anyone. The shape and size of the long silver box are almost identical to the metal pages in his spatial artifact, suggesting they were made by the same person."

Early the next morning, a young rogue monk rode up to the White Pagoda and handed over an anonymous letter.

"This is a secret manual from the Separatist faction. It records the structure of the unexplored area northwest of Aurora Plains, as well as the records of previous failed explorations. We will meet at the northwest entrance of Aurora Plains at noon three days from now. Old Zhou."

Master Cheng frowned as he looked at the letter. "If he goes alone, could it be a trap?"

Xiao Fan folded the letter neatly: "He went to retrieve that ancient book alone, and he wrote it alone. This means he has already determined that the sect's judgment on the anchor point was wrong, so he wants to use this book to salvage his dignity. Such a person would not betray you in public."

Three days later at noon, Xiao Fan appeared alone in the northwest direction of Aurora Plains.

The elderly man surnamed Zhou was already waiting there, holding a long silver box. Seeing Xiao Fan arrive, he didn't waste any words, directly opened the box, and took out a tattered silk scroll.

"Here lies a complete underground structure to the northwest of Aurora Plain, containing three possible routes and analyses of the reasons for the failures of two of them. The third route is marked 'Unknown' at the end of the silk scroll; I did not complete it when I explored it back then."

Xiao Fan took the silk scroll, glanced at it, and nodded.

The description of the underground structure on this silk scroll is far more detailed than the rough outline he obtained using his spirit core. In particular, the analysis of the reasons for the failure is of great reference value, allowing him to avoid repeating the same mistakes.

The third "unverified" trajectory in the silk manuscript perfectly matches the geographical location of the lunar node recorded on the Fangtai metal book.

He closed the silk scroll and solemnly bowed to Elder Zhou, saying, "This news is very important to me. I will remember Elder Zhou's kindness."

Old Zhou waved his hand, saying somewhat forlornly, "The separatists have persisted for three hundred years. If our judgment was wrong, we must admit it. Now that you've come this far, keep going."

He turned around and walked slowly away along the path he had come from, until he disappeared into the golden light of the aurora plain.

Xiao Fan stood at the door for a long time, holding the silk book, until the cold wind had soaked his clothes before he finally came to his senses.

Following the map's directions, he entered the ice field northwest of the Aurora Plains—the ice here was much thicker than on the main star, and the spiritual energy was becoming increasingly abundant.

The entrance to the third passage was a stone door half-covered by a thick layer of ice. The patterns on the stone door were exactly the same as the Moon Rank resonance frequency in his spiritual core.

Pushing open the stone door and stepping into the passage, a warm and persistent gust of hot air rushed towards me, sweeping away the chill on my back.

The passageway was much neater than he had imagined, with walls on both sides made of dark gray square bricks, each one the same size, and the adhesive between the bricks having been reinforced over centuries.

Every so often, a long-extinguished copper lamp is embedded in the wall, the wax on the lamp now broken into powder.

After walking for about 15 minutes, a soft silver light appeared at the end of the passage.

The light came from a circular stone chamber with a dome, where a metal scroll identical to the metal pages on the square platform floated in mid-air.

The scroll was filled with a seven-colored halo similar to that of star-studded crystals, but clearer, as if it had been purified and filtered.

Next up is the third treasure.

That was a key to the moon.

Xiao Fan reached out and took the metal scroll. When his fingers touched the surface of the scroll, the entire ceiling of the stone chamber lit up. It was a star map similar to a star chart, but the coordinates had changed, as if it had been taken from a different angle.

He opened the scroll, which contained the core guidance method needed to break through to the Moon Rank, as well as the method of merging the array with the previous two pages.

Moon-rank techniques are far more sophisticated than star-rank techniques. They require subtle adjustments to the amplitude and frequency of the seven elemental energies, allowing the already fused seven elemental energies to recombine.

According to the scroll, once you cultivate to the Moon Rank, your spirit core will become more stable.

He closed the metal scroll and placed it into the spatial artifact.

There was a barely perceptible thin line at the edge of the silver projection on the dome. When he touched it, the line receded inward, revealing a round piece of jade about the size of a thumb.

The jade tablet was engraved with a short set of coordinates, which was a place that had never been marked before, at the border between Aurora Plains and Gray Zone.

He put away the jade slip.

Walking back the way we came to the stone gate, it was already afternoon at the Aurora Plain. The pale golden sunlight shone on the ice surface, reflecting a warm and dazzling light.

When he reached the summit of the ice peak, he saw a person sitting on an ice platform in the distance, whose outline looked very much like that of the monk Cheng.

As he walked over, Master Cheng was staring blankly at the ice field. Hearing footsteps, he turned around, his expression calm, but with a hint of relaxation in his eyes.

"Elder Zhou has confirmed your location. He told me to wait for you here," Cheng Xiushi said calmly. Cheng Xiushi stood up, brushed the ice shards off his clothes, and said, "He said you need someone to help you. I'm free right now."

Xiao Fan looked at the silver scroll in his hand, and Cheng Xiushi's eyes lit up. He nodded and said, "The third item. Once I cultivate to the Moon Rank, I can go to the Dark Projection Area in the east of the Gray Domain and collect all the equipment."

The two walked side by side toward the white pagoda.

The wind in Aurora Plains blows from the north, carrying a chilling scent that is refreshing. As Xiao Fan walked, he compared the coordinates on the jade slip with the projection of the entire white tower, confirming that no public information had ever appeared in this area.

That evening, after returning to the White Tower, he began to study it systematically for the first time.

The spiritual energy guiding structure between the two pages, as well as the stability of the spiritual energy output, are all gradual—the Star Rank is responsible for expanding the capacity of the spiritual core, while the Moon Rank is responsible for improving the quality of the spiritual core.