The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

During the verification process, several small marks that had not been recorded before were found at the junction of the lines. They were the same shape as the edge of the road sign components, but smaller in size and made of dark gray stone. They can be identified as auxiliary positioning marks that were deployed at the same time.

After Xue Han recorded these marks one by one on the map, the marks on the entire passage became even denser.

Since the exchange, the Gu Ling lineage has never appeared in the area north of the Gray Rift. After the return of the real Bronze Short Bell, its spiritual power has remained stable for a long time, without any signs of decay or deviation.

Since the beginning of this summer, the Star Pattern Sect's observation post has been regularly contacting and confirming intelligence through the Dual Realm Platform, while the Azure Rock Sect has maintained its regular communication during the summer.

As agreed, the Mongol observers of the Azure Scale Clan have obtained some intelligence about the Scale Ridge Land and, through the regular channels of the Twin Realms Platform, have fed back the spiritual energy environment data of the southeastern Silver Plain, thus forming a data exchange between regions.

The array flags on the walls of the Twin Realms Platform shimmered in the late summer twilight, and the six road signs and the real bronze bell in the array room were connected by a stable spiritual force.

Xiao Fan compared the map extracted from the metal scroll with the data on the gray rift metal scroll, marked the coordinates of the endpoint at the northernmost point of the copper disk map, and left a blank line under the ancient text "Core of Fire" for later supplementation.

As summer transitioned into autumn, Xiao Fan, Bai Ye, Xue Han, and the cultivator surnamed Song—a group of five—set off from the entrance of the Gray Rift Valley and headed north, following the directions marked on the map.

The six road signs and the real bronze bell are all placed stably in the storage artifact at the same frequency. When they pass the marked road sign nodes, the corresponding components in the storage artifact will emit a brief resonance, aligning with the position of the next road sign.

Two days ago, they walked along the low tower and to the end marked on the route map. On the third day, when they entered the Scale Ridge, the ground had changed from black rock to dark gray stone, which was much thicker than the stone of the Scale Ridge. It was also covered with a layer of fine minerals, which made a "rustling" sound when stepped on.

Bai Ye scanned the ore on the ground with his Silver Frost Sword and confirmed that it contained extremely high levels of fire-type spiritual energy, similar to the spiritual energy remaining on the lamp base in the Rift Valley Stone Gate.

Xue Han walked at the front and noticed that the ore particles on the ground were not evenly distributed. Along a specific route, the ore particles became finer and finer, forming a clear track with good width and continuity. He walked along the marked line for about a mile, determined the direction of the route, and then returned to report the route.

When they set up camp that night, the real bronze bell emitted a soft hum as night fell, lasting for more than ten breaths, pointing straight north.

After confirming the bell's reaction, Xiao Fan made a mark on the map, which was roughly the same as the destination on the metal scroll, confirming that the road sign was guiding the team to the destination.

The next morning, the short bell in his storage artifact lay there quietly, without making any sound or vibration. But when he took the short bell out of the storage artifact and placed it on the ground, the thin layer of silver paint on the bell suddenly lit up and pointed north.

On the fifth day, a vast open space appeared ahead, steaming with heat.

On the sixth day, the ground was dark red, covered with spiderweb-like cracks, from which a faint orange-red light emanated, as if a layer of flames was slowly burning underground.

On the seventh day, the hot fog formed a continuous veil of mist a few feet above the ground, resulting in very low visibility.

Bai Ye scanned the hot mist with his Silver Frost Sword and confirmed that it was not water vapor, but water vapor formed by the heating of fire-attribute spiritual energy. Although it would not cause any damage to the meridians, it would accelerate the consumption of spiritual energy.

Xue Han walked to the edge of the open space and looked around. He found that the dark red land was several miles in circumference. There were no obvious cracks or signs of collapse on the ground, and there were detours on both sides.

Following standard procedures, the monk surnamed Song confirmed that there was no danger of ground collapse and that the surface temperature was evenly distributed, indicating that the underlying structure was stable.

Xiao Fan used his short staff to switch frequency bands, making his spiritual energy field cover a wider area than usual. Bai Ye adjusted the spiritual energy on the Silver Frost Sword to match the frequency of the staff.

With the blessing of the two magical artifacts, the group entered a clearing and proceeded along a natural passage formed by cracks in the dark red ground.

The ground temperature is not affected by the presence of the spiritual energy field. The heat is isolated within a foot around the body by the spiritual energy field and does not directly contact the clothes.

As Bai Ye walked, he continuously recorded the temperature changes on the ground. The temperature remained stable in each section, without sudden increases or decreases.

It took nearly an hour to cross this open space. After crossing it, the ground turned back to the gray-black color of the edge of the scaly ridge, and the heat gradually dissipated.

After confirming that the bronze bell in the storage artifact had stopped buzzing, Xiao Fan chose an open area and a flat clearing to set up camp.

On the seventh day, a hazy, gray barrier appeared in everyone's sight. This barrier was both tall and wide, and its shape did not resemble a naturally formed fog layer, nor was it a reflection from the ground. Rather, it seemed to be a barrier composed of countless tiny gray particles.

Bai Ye used the Silver Frost Sword to collect some samples at the edge of the barrier, confirming that their composition was the same as the ore at the edge of the Scale Ridge, containing extremely high levels of fire-type spiritual energy, somewhat similar to the spiritual energy remaining at the bottom of the lamp in the Rift Stone Gate, but much more concentrated.

Xue Han walked eastward along the edge of the barrier for a distance to confirm its location before returning to report: "The barrier is about ten meters wide, with natural open spaces on both sides, so we can go around it."

The group walked north along the barrier and soon came to see a gray, misty land.

After walking for about half a day, a stone gate appeared before them. The archway was about the height of two people and the width of three people walking side by side. The door frame was covered with a layer of silver-gray halo, and there were seven shallow grooves embedded in the halo. The shape and spacing of the grooves matched the arrangement of the six road signs and the real bronze short bell.