The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

In the center of the hall, there was a white box with a ring of gold powder inside, exactly like the grooves on the silver plain. A letter was also pressed against the edge of the box.

The letter was unsigned, with only a deep purple thread wrapped around the envelope, matching the pattern on the fabric fragment.

Xiao Fan opened the envelope and took out the letter inside.

"The core component is indeed with me. Follow the third branch in the southern part of Starfall Plains until you reach its end. A figure will enter. Destroy it immediately if anything unusual is detected."

Below the letter was a purple symbol the size of a fingernail, representing the identity of the Frostshadow Cult.

After reading the letter, he folded it and put it back in the envelope. He then carefully examined the remaining golden powder in the jade box and confirmed that it was indeed the spiritual energy left behind by the core component of the Silver Plain node.

The Earth Core Golden Mane Beast sat quietly at the doorway, silently watching the purple runes in Xiao Fan's hand, showing neither wariness nor urging.

After putting away the envelope, Xiao Fan did not make a decision immediately. Instead, he returned to the Watchers camp and made some simple preparations.

He took out two spare heat-insulating magical artifacts, a blank recording scroll, and some dry rations from the camp, and then walked alone along the south side of Starfall Plain.

The Earth Core Golden Mane Beast followed closely behind, heading south of the city.

The third side street is much narrower than the main urban area, with low but well-preserved buildings on both sides.

At the end of this branch, there is a domed stone palace with its doors wide open, inside which is a dark purple crystal pillar that emits a faint light.

When he reached the entrance of the main hall, he saw a person standing on a high platform.

She was a young girl in a long white dress, her hair reaching her waist, her face as cold and jade-like as ice.

She glanced at Xiao Fan, then at the Golden Mane Beast at his feet, a hint of doubt flashing in her amber eyes, and muttered something under her breath.

"You are the one who has walked the path of the Supreme Pill Saint."

Her voice was not high-pitched, but steady and clear, as if resonating with the starlight of Starfall Plains. "I am the current leader of the Frostshadow Cult. You may call me White Night."

Xiao Fan stood at the doorway, about ten steps away from her, and asked, "Why did you take the core node component from the Silver Plains?"

Bai Ye glanced at the inlaid token on Xiao Fan's waist, then looked at it again before shifting his gaze to the starlight on Xingluo Plain.

"I need it to open a sealed space in Starfall Plains. The natal magic weapon of the first leader of the Frost Shadow Sect is inside. Back then, she and the Grandmaster of the Void were sealed in that space because of their differing ideologies, and the magic weapon was left there. I've been searching for so many years, and only the core component of the node and your talisman can break that seal."

She turned her head and looked at Xiao Fan. There was no hostility or pleading on his cold face, only a kind of almost desperate calmness.

"If you are willing to cooperate in breaking the seal, I can return these parts to you, but these magical artifacts will be mine."

Inside the main hall, Xiao Fan silently watched her.

The Golden Mane Beast from the Earth's Core lay at Xiao Fan's feet, seemingly waiting for something.

"Where is the space?" he asked.

Bai Ye glanced at the Earth Core Golden Mane Beast beneath Xiao Fan, then at its golden scales, and said, "This is the entrance to the sealed space. Successive Frost Shadow Sect Masters have known its location, yet they have never been able to open it—this lock is a talisman mark personally carved by the Taixu Pill Saint. Only the person holding the talisman can open the first restriction."

It was a palm-sized, dark gold disc, with runes on it that were exactly the same as the connection point in the center of the silver plain.

She held the disc up to Xiao Fan's face, almost within reach.

"I didn't make any changes when I took it," she said calmly. "If you want to verify, you can see it now."

Xiao Fan took the disc in his hand.

The spiritual energy of the Moon-Rank Spirit Core automatically scanned the disc the moment it came into contact with it, confirming that the spiritual energy structure on the disc was the same as the backup interface and had not been modified by external forces.

He turned the disc over and saw a line of small characters on the bottom of the disc, the handwriting of which was exactly the same as the handwriting on the bottom of the metal book page.

"The keys are all here." He picked up the disc and looked at Bai Ye, asking, "Do the Frostshadow Cult's scriptures contain a precise description of the exact location of the sealed space beneath the stone hall?"

Bai Ye turned around and walked to the innermost wall of the stone hall.

She squatted by the wall, her fingers sliding down a thin crack at the base of the wall to reveal a dark copper ring embedded in the ground.

She grabbed the copper ring and lifted it up, silently lifting the stone slab to reveal a staircase leading underground.

"The sealed stone door lies beneath the stairs. For over a hundred years, every Frostshadow Cult Leader has sent people down to inspect it, but no one has ever been able to break the seal."

Bai Ye stood up and walked towards the stairwell, making way for Xiao Fan.

He walked down the stairs, taking more than ten steps, before finally reaching the basement.

The basement level was much more spacious than I had imagined, and more than ten feet high. The walls were undecorated and without any runes, except for a complete stone door embedded in the innermost wall.

The stone gate was entirely gray, with a layer of dark silver halo covering its surface, like a square platform. In the very center of the gate was a palm-sized groove, exactly the same as the talisman in his hand.

Bai Ye followed closely behind, keeping his eyes fixed on the stone gate.

Xiao Fan placed the talisman into the stone gate.

The moment the rune disappeared into the groove, a uniform silver light shone on the stone door. The halo flowed around the surface of the stone door a few times before condensing into a silver spot, just like the crescent moon pattern in Xiao Fan's spirit core.

The light flickered for three breaths, then suddenly contracted inward, accompanied by a dull creak of a spring grinding together, and a palm-width crack appeared in the stone door.

Bai Ye's breathing became barely perceptible behind Xiao Fan.

As she spoke, she stepped forward, holding a disc in her hand: "The second key needs to release its spiritual power together with the talisman in order to open the second key."

Xiao Fan took the disc and affixed it, along with the talisman, to the stone gate.

The spiritual power of the Moon-Rank Spirit Core surged into the two keys, and the two streams of spiritual power from the same source converged on the stone door, causing a layer of silver light to spread out from the cracks in the stone door.

An ancient and dry spiritual energy emanated from behind the door, its scent like the ashes in the stone chamber in the northwest corner of the Aurora Plain, carrying an ancient aura that had been sealed away for a long time.

When the stone door was fully opened, a pitch-black space appeared before everyone.

The space contained a large hall, with a thin layer of grayish-white dust on the ground, and a silver-white longsword standing on the ground.

The longsword sank several inches into the ground.

The entire sword emitted a spiritual energy fluctuation similar to the star projection of Xingluoyuan, but it was much more condensed than the star map of Xingluoyuan.