The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

Xiao Fan wrote on the bulletin board in the main hall, "White Camel Ridge is located north of Aurora Plain," and added, "Neutral commercial nature."

In the following days, no further unusual events occurred in the northern part of the city, and no markers were left at the temporary observation post at Baituo Ridge.

Eleven days after the observation tower was erected, Baituo Ridge officially sent an envoy to Shuangjietai.

The newcomer was young, dressed in brown leather armor, with a storage bag made of camel hair tied around his waist.

He handed a bronze token to the door, engraved with a spirit camel, indicating that White Camel Ridge wanted to establish a connection with Twin Realms Platform.

Xiao Fan welcomed him into the main hall.

The envoy got straight to the point: "White Camel Ridge has seen that Shuangjietai and Ice Wolf have joined forces, and they believe that Shuangjietai is qualified to serve as a fixed intelligence network in the southern part of White Camel Ridge."

In return, White Camel Ridge will regularly provide Twin Realms Platform with high-precision terrain data of the far north of Aurora Plains, and will also regularly report to Twin Realms Platform on the movements of various major forces.

The envoy produced a map, which marked several unknown roads leading to the far north and beyond.

Xiao Fan took the map and looked at it carefully. He found that several places matched the information provided by the Ice Wolf Tribe very well, while the terrain of several places on the map of White Camel Ridge was much more detailed than that on the map of the Ice Wolf Tribe.

He didn't agree immediately, but instead handed her the map and asked her to give him an answer in three days.

The visitor wasn't in a hurry. He placed the storage pouch containing the communication tools on the table, then took his leave and departed the main hall.

Three days later, the envoy from White Camel Ridge reappeared at White Camel Ridge. Xiao Fan signed an intelligence exchange agreement between White Camel Ridge and Twin Realms Platform. Both sides agreed to exchange maps of the northern region and information on each other's movements every quarter.

Master Cheng recorded the agreement in a document and archived it along with a map of the Taipei side of the Twin Realms. He then notified the personnel on duty at the North Tower, letting them know that White Camel Ridge was accessible.

The first map sent by Baituo Ridge led to an important discovery for Shuangjietai: there was an unmarked iron ore vein located north of Aurora Plain and at the border of Heishi Pass. It was situated at the northern end of Shuangjietai's backup network, bordering Heishi Pass.

The iron ore is of medium to high quality. Although it cannot compare to the fire-type spiritual materials in the Ironrust Rift, it has direct practical value for the daily construction and maintenance of defensive facilities in the Twin Realms Platform. In particular, it can save nearly 30% of the cost when used to reinforce city walls and forge weapons.

Xiao Fan, carrying the short staff and accompanied by the Earth Core Golden Mane Beast, headed to that area to investigate.

The vein was much wider than he had expected, stretching for miles through a rock formation, with some scattered fragments of ore found on the ground.

With each step the Earth Core Golden Mane Beast takes, its mane shimmers slightly, signifying a continuous flow of metallic energy within the vein.

Back at the Twin Realms Platform, Xiao Fan, Cheng Xiushi, and Ning Yao discussed the mining operation.

The patrol teams from Qinglu Village and the Ice Wolf Tribe were both located to the west of the mine. Black Stone Pass only dispatched one team of guards to establish a preliminary mining site near the mine and marked the surrounding area.

Master Cheng then began to arrange the development of the iron ore vein.

When planning the iron ore transportation route, Roland referred to the terrain information provided by Baituo Ridge and set up alternative plans at several key locations to determine the route for transporting the ore.

Iron ore was first used to reinforce the tower walls. Thirty percent of the first batch of ore produced was used to repair the outer walls, while the rest was distributed to the warehouses of the Twin Realms Platform.

Shortly after autumn arrived, a small team of about twenty people approached from the north of the mine. They did not introduce themselves or negotiate with anyone, but directly crossed the markings around the mine and entered the outer perimeter.

The mine guards sounded the alarm as planned. They did not retreat or approach the mine, but instead lined up on a high ground to the north of the mine, seemingly to show their stance.

When Master Cheng and the other two guards arrived, the convoy was still standing still.

Cheng Xiushi shouted to explain the ownership of the Twin Realms Platform to the man. One of them responded from afar. Although it was hard to hear clearly, it was obviously in a local accent. There was no provocation in it; it was just a routine report.

Upon receiving the news, Xiao Fan and Bai Ye rushed over together.

Bai Ye scanned the spiritual energy structure of these people with his Silver Frost Sword and found that there were no traces of iron casting or hard markings on their bodies.

Although these people were well-equipped, their cultivation levels were not high. The leader was an eighth-rank cultivator with a calm gaze, seemingly having no intention of making a move.

He walked forward alone, and when he was about five steps away, a middle-aged woman who was the leader approached him. She was wearing an old gray leather armor and had a calm expression.

She said she came from an independent miners' settlement called "Tiezhanji" in the north. Last winter, the mines dried up, and there had been no stable harvest for more than half a year. When they heard that there were new mines here, they came to take a look. They did not want to take over the mines, but wanted to become miners and earn some money.

The Iron Anvil Collection had appeared sporadically on the map of White Camel Ridge. After comparing it with the records in the filing cabinet, Master Cheng confirmed that the Iron Anvil Collection did indeed exist.

Xiao Fan and the woman reached an agreement that day, and some tools from the anvil were transported to the east side of the mine. According to the agreement between the two parties, mining began in batches.

After the iron ore mining cooperation was on track, the people of Tiezhenji built a simple temporary dwelling on the east side of the mining area.

Over the next month, Xiao Fan went to the mine again to check on the progress. Each time, he saw the people from Iron Anvil Village digging deep underground, not the local miners from Twin Realms Platform.

In the harsh environment of the far north, they accumulated a wealth of experience, which greatly improved their efficiency.

The leader of the Iron Anvil Village, a woman surnamed Shi, once said that the Iron Anvil Village has a detailed record that describes a frozen geothermal area in the far north of the Aurora Plains.

That was a place neither the Ice Wolf Tribe nor White Camel Ridge had detailed records of, but the people of Iron Anvil Village had ventured deep into that area to search for mineral veins and recorded their findings.

Xiao Fan checked the data and confirmed that the spiritual energy characteristics of this area were consistent with the unmarked branch line on the bronze disc map of the Twin Realms Platform.

Inside the magic array room, he compared the frequency of the data on the anvil with the red crystal on the short staff, confirming the connection between the two.

That geothermal area is likely a dormant node in the Shuangjietai underground network, which is located on the far northern edge.

The three settlements of Beita, Tiekuangzhai, and Tiezhenji together form a route extending northward, while Baituoling provides broader regional background information for the north, and the Ice Wolf Tribe has established a solid outpost further north.