The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

"It did not form naturally."

Han Fei glanced at it and exclaimed in surprise, "This is... an ancient formation?"

Xiao Fan nodded and began to examine it carefully.

In his previous life, he had also studied some formations. Although he was not a top-notch formation master, he could still get a general idea of ​​them.

The arrangement of these lines clearly forms a teleportation array.

Xiao Fan said, "Someone has opened up a secret realm inside the mountain."

"A secret realm?" Han Fei's eyes lit up. "If that's the case, then there must be treasures inside!"

"It might just be dangerous," Xiao Fan said. "Are you going in?"

Han Fei gritted his teeth and said, "Go in! Now that we've come this far, we can't leave empty-handed."

Xiao Fan wasted no time. He took out a few spirit stones and began to inlay them one by one according to the pattern of the formation.

hum!

The patterns on the stone wall suddenly lit up and began to buzz. A portal emitting a faint blue light slowly emerged from the stone wall.

"Walk."

Xiao Fan went in first, and Han Fei followed him in.

The light faded, and they arrived at a huge underground cave.

The cave is about a hundred feet long and wide, and its walls are inlaid with luminous pearls, illuminating the interior as if it were daytime. Inside the cave is a cold pool with clear water that exudes a chill.

In the very center of the icy pool, there was a snow-white ice lotus, its petals crystal clear and gleaming with a cold, eerie light.

Han Fei's gaze sharpened, and he exclaimed, "This is... the Ice Soul Lotus!"

The fourth-grade spiritual herb, "Ice Soul Lotus," is extremely rare in the world. It is said that consuming it can temper the body and elevate one's physique to a higher level.

The most crucial point is that the Ice Soul Lotus is the main material for refining the Breakthrough Pill, and its value is more than ten times that of the Cold Marrow Fruit!

Xiao Fan wasn't too excited; instead, he looked at a skeleton by the pool.

It was a skeleton, sitting cross-legged on the ground, its robes long since decayed, leaving only a skull. Beside the skeleton lay a bamboo slip and a storage ring.

He stepped forward, carefully picked up the bamboo slip, and then opened it.

The bamboo slips were densely covered with ancient Chinese characters, but Xiao Fan had read some books in his previous life, so he could barely understand them.

"My name is Han Ziming, a disciple of the Tianxuan Sect. I was ordered to guard this secret realm, but I was ambushed and poisoned to death. Knowing my days were numbered, I left this jade slip behind, awaiting a destined person..."

Xiao Fan glanced down quickly, his expression turning serious.

It turns out that this secret realm was the place where the Tianxuan Sect suppressed ancient ferocious beasts.

It was a ferocious creature called the "Soul-Devouring Beast," which possessed the terrifying ability to devour souls. The Heavenly Profound Sect had to pay a considerable price to seal it away.

This seal is centered around the Ice Soul Lotus.

Xiao Fan: "Brother Han, come and take a look."

Han Fei took the bamboo slip and handed it over.

Han Fei glanced at it and was immediately stunned: "Tianxuan Sect? That was founded by our Han family ancestors!"

"Your Han family?" Xiao Fan was taken aback.

"Yes!" Han Fei exclaimed excitedly, "The Sect Master of the Heavenly Profound Sect is none other than my ancestor, Han Ziming! It wasn't until the Heavenly Profound Sect was destroyed that the Han family moved to the capital, which led to our current situation. I just never imagined, never imagined, that our ancestor would perish here..."

With a thud, he knelt down before the skeleton and kowtowed three times.

"My ancestors, your unworthy descendant Han Fei, has been fortunate enough to witness your legacy today. I will surely bring you back to my Han family for burial!"

Xiao Fan watched from the side without saying a word.

He already believed Han Fei's words to a great extent. This was because the jade pendant hanging from Han Fei's waist had the character "Han" engraved on it.

"Brother Xiao," Han Fei stood up, his eyes red as he looked at him, and said, "This Ice Soul Lotus is the foundation for sealing the Soul-Devouring Beast. Once it's removed, the seal will naturally break. I... I can't bring myself to release that ferocious beast to wreak havoc on the world."

Xiao Fan stared intently at him.

Faced with such great temptation, he was able to maintain his integrity; Han Fei is a man worth befriending.

"Who said the seal would break after obtaining the Ice Soul Lotus?"

Xiao Fan stepped forward and carefully observed the texture of the water.

"What do you mean?"

"The core of the seal is not the Ice Lotus, but the cold water," Xiao Fan pointed to the bottom of the pool and said, "You see, this is the sealing formation. The Ice Lotus is only used to absorb the power of extreme cold; it will not affect the seal."

Han Fei leaned closer to take a look, and saw that the bottom of the pool was indeed covered with dense array patterns.

"real?"

"Why would I lie to you?" Xiao Fan smiled. "It's just that you need to be careful when taking the lotus. You must not damage its foundation, otherwise the cold energy will leak out and the seal will really become unstable."

He rolled up his trousers and stepped into the icy pool.

The icy lake water submerged his knees, making him shiver involuntarily.

He gritted his teeth and continued walking towards the center of the pool.

Reaching the Ice Lotus, Xiao Fan crouched down and carefully dipped his hand into the water, touching the lotus's roots.

Its roots penetrated deep into the bottom of the pool and entangled the rocks.

He circulated his true energy, covering his hands, and slowly peeled the roots away from the rock.

This process lasted for two full hours. Xiao Fan's hands were already red from the cold, and he was almost completely numb.

Finally, the last rope was untied.

The Ice Lotus trembled slightly, rose to the surface, and floated in front of Xiao Fan.

"It's done!"

Xiao Fan put away the lotus flowers and returned to the shore.

Han Fei looked at him with admiration: "Brother Xiao, not only are you highly skilled, but you are also proficient in formations. You are simply an all-rounder."

Xiao Fan waved his hand and said, "Stop flattering me. Hurry up and pack up your ancestor's remains and leave. That Golden Horned Python might be outside."

Han Fei nodded and put away the skeleton and bamboo slips.

Just as the two were about to leave, a violent tremor suddenly came from the cave.

boom!

The sealing array at the bottom of the pool shone brightly, and a terrifying aura emanated from the bottom of the pool, cold and sinister, making people tremble in their souls.

Xiao Fan was shocked: "Oh no! The seal is starting to loosen!"

It was as if something had drained the water from the cold pool.

The sealing array at the bottom of the pool shone brightly, dazzling and radiant.

Xiao Fan and Han Fei both felt a sense of suffocation.

"Hurry up!" Xiao Fan grabbed Han Fei with one hand and pulled him towards the portal with the other.

But it was too late.

A giant, jet-black claw emerged from the bottom of the pool, grabbed the edge of the icy water, and crushed the stone into powder with a powerful squeeze.

Immediately afterwards, a huge head emerged from the water.

The head was the size of a millstone, completely black, and had no eyes.

A piercing scream emanated from its mouth, sounding like the cry of an infant or the wailing of a ghost.

Soul-devouring Beast!