The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

After examining the map and some simpler maps, the old hunter Pei confirmed that the area was located on White Camel Ridge, in the middle of the Silver Plain. It was surrounded by frozen soil and low shrubs, and there were several spiritual material areas nearby, so it should be rich in spiritual energy.

Following standard procedures, Master Cheng categorized the survey application as a "data exchange support plan." It was neither spirit stones nor spirit materials, but rather measurement records. During the first half of winter, Master Song went to the central part of the Silver Plains to conduct on-site location and data collection.

Grandpa Pei included all the precautions for winter travel in the project documents.

After this inspection, no high-intensity signals were detected in the array room again.

In the month following the departure of the Southern Continent Ancient Sect, no trace matching the sect's insignia and equipment characteristics could be found in the patrol records outside the Silver Plains. Regular observations of the relevant locations remained as calm as ever, with no new discoveries.

After the onset of winter, Shuangjietai enters its quietest period of the year.

Thick snow covered the open space around the city walls and blocked the road leading to the Anvil Village. The glow emanating from the banners illuminated the white earth, making it appear even whiter.

The guards continued their patrols in the heavy snow. Master Cheng had received reports since the first week of winter that all facilities were operating normally and supplies were sufficient to last the entire winter.

After the heavy snow, the number of wanted posters decreased significantly, but the registration office continued to process previously unfinished documents and records.

After winter set in, the old hunter Pei compiled a special mission assessment manual, which marked the travel time for each area, the activity patterns of spirit beasts, and the terrain features. All of this was written on the table at the registration office for those on winter duty to refer to before setting off.

When Ning Yao was taking stock of the winter storage in the Iron Rust Rift Valley, she made a special check. The batch of high-purity spiritual material powder was sealed and the surface was dry. If you touched it, you could feel the spiritual energy inside constantly fluctuating.

It was already the third week of winter when Bai Ye arrived at Shuangjietai, and this time, she stayed there for a long time.

The spiritual energy records on the Silver Frost Sword need to be archived segment by segment. Xiao Fan used a short stick to input the first cycle of data from the Twin Realms Platform to the North Tower into the synchronous recording layer of the Silver Frost Sword.

She looked up at the darkening sky outside the window, where snowflakes were falling heavily. The Golden Mane Beast lay outside the magic array gate, its pale golden mane shimmering in the snow.

One winter night, the snow stopped.

The wind stopped for a moment, and the array flags on the walls of the Twin Realms Platform emitted a uniform light, enveloping the entire platform in a faint halo.

The charcoal fire in the main room was burning fiercely, and a few pieces of firewood were burning in the stove, making crackling sounds from time to time.

Cheng Xiushi went to rest, while Ning Yao checked the accounts in the main house's accounting room before returning to her own room.

Hunter Pei was organizing his tasks in his temporary residence, while only Xiao Fan and Bai Ye were in the main hall.

On the table next to Xiao Fan, there was a silver frost sword and a short staff.

The two stood an arm's length apart, each holding a cup of hot tea.

Bai Ye took a sip of tea, put down the teacup, and said, "Since the Southern Continent Ancient Sect withdrew, the load on the northern pipeline has stabilized considerably."

Xiao Fan toyed with the teacup in his hand and said, "After the Spring Equinox, we haven't had a major earthquake for half a year. The next earthquake is very likely to come from another direction, but until then, this pipeline is sufficient."

Bai Ye stopped speaking and leaned back in his chair, remaining silent.

The charcoal fire burned silently in the hall, with occasional small flames popping out from the firewood, making a soft sound in the quiet winter night.

The Earth Core Golden Mane Beast adjusted its posture slightly, concealing its body in the crevice.

Halfway through winter, on a bright and sunny day, a person came through knee-deep snow from the direction of Tiezhenji.

This is a message from a young miner from Tiezhenji: deep in the mine to the north, there is a natural collapse that has revealed a narrow man-made corridor.

The miners immediately reported to the woman surnamed Shi, who in turn reported to the Shuangjietai.

After listening to the miners' stories in the main house, Xiao Fan briefly discussed it with Hunter Pei and Cultivator Cheng, and then decided that Xiao Fan would personally lead Hunter Pei to Iron Anvil Village to find out the truth.

After receiving the news, Bai Ye followed.

In the afternoon, the group arrived at the collapse site.

The cave entrance is located at the bottom of the rock strata at the end of the southern branch, surrounded by some loose stones, while the stones at the entrance of the passage are neatly piled together.

There was no wind in the narrow corridor, and the walls were marked with carvings similar to those in the Taixu Dansheng system, but rougher.

Xiao Fan inserted the crimson short staff into the narrow passage. According to his spiritual energy feedback, there was still a faint layer of spiritual energy remaining in the narrow passage. Although it was not very strong, it was very stable.

Bai Ye scanned the area with his Silver Frost Sword and confirmed that the psionic structure of this region overlapped to some extent with the low-frequency characteristics of the southern node of the Dual Realm Backup Network. This channel was likely a detection channel left over from the early network layout, which was later abandoned or modified and has not been used to this day.

Old Man Pei squatted at the entrance of the narrow passage, tapped the stone wall with the back of his knife, and said, "Both sides are empty and very deep. This narrow corridor is not the main building, but an entrance to the main building."

Xiao Fan memorized the location and direction of the alley and left some residual spiritual energy data in the array room as a reference for the future. Then he led Pei the Hunter and Bai Ye back to the Anvil Square.

The miners stood at the collapsed entrance, watching the group leave. After checking, they sealed the entrance with temporary safety measures, just in case.

On this day, before the winter sun set, it illuminated the roof of the anvil-shaped house, casting a cool and lasting light across the northern horizon.

The next day, Xiao Fan, carrying a short staff, along with the hunter Pei Laoshou and Bai Ye, reappeared north of Iron Anvil Village.

The narrow corridor entrance was temporarily closed. After moving the stone aside, Xiao Fan stepped into the narrow corridor.

The narrow corridor was much longer than it appeared from the outside. It took a full half hour to walk to the end and come to a heavy stone door. There were no runes or grooves on the stone door, only a smooth stone slab.

When Xiao Fan placed the red crystal on the stone door, the crystal began to emit a faint light.

A dull thud came from the stone door, and a thin crack split open in the middle, slowly extending to both sides until it was more than a foot wide before stopping.