The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

After the runes disappeared, the stone slab returned to its original gray color, and the halo also disappeared, leaving only a complete map.

After confirming that the stone slab had released a message, Xiao Fan recorded the location of the stone slab in the array room's records and wrote "Confirmed landmark, western extension" on the stone slab.

In the second week of spring, the Twin Realms Platform received a message from the Azure Waves Society: "The Northern Guardian Alliance has reappeared west of the northern passage of the Gray Rift, with more than forty more members than last time."

They erected a simple roadblock using thick ropes and wooden stakes, and planted a blue flag with white lettering that read "Northern Front Defense Alliance" in the middle.

Bai Ye used his Silver Frost Sword to scan the roadblock remotely, confirming that it did not possess a spiritual energy structure but was merely a collection of ordinary wooden stakes and ropes. The people around him were scattered, most of them being mid-stage ninth-rank cultivators, with a few eighth-rank cultivators as well.

After reviewing the records of the Canglan Society, Xiao Fan did not mobilize the garrison or the Hunter's Vanguard Battalion. Instead, he led Pei the Hunter and Xue Han to the checkpoint.

When they arrived, there was a roadblock on the west side of the tunnel, with blue flags waving in the wind.

As Xiao Fan and his group approached, a burly middle-aged man stepped out from under the battle flag and announced loudly, "The Northern Front Guardian Alliance declares that the area north of the Gray Rift and west of the passage is under our control."

Any force wishing to pass through this area must report to us and pay a toll. Your Shuangjietai is the actual administrator here. You must pay the initial declaration fee within seven days; failure to do so will give us the right to take appropriate measures.

Standing in front of the checkpoint, Xiao Fan took out a pass issued by the Chamber of Commerce from his storage artifact and said to the roadblock: "The area north of the Gray Rift and west of the corridor is jointly owned by the parties who signed the contract with the Alliance."

The Twin Platforms have been recognized by the Alliance and possess control over the passage. Your flag, planted within the passage's jurisdiction as defined in the Alliance's charter, constitutes unauthorized occupation. The roadblocks must be removed within half a day.

The burly middle-aged man paused slightly, glancing at the seal on the token.

A slightly younger cultivator approached and whispered something in his ear. Although he couldn't hear what the cultivator was saying, his brows furrowed.

The burly middle-aged man gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "Are you...are you sure? How do I know if your credentials are real or fake?"

Xiao Fan didn't speak, but his gaze fell on Pei the Hunter.

Pei the Hunter pulled out a meeting record from his pocket, turned to the page with the passageway administrator, and aligned that page with the roadblock.

The edge of this page bears the seal of the Silver Plains Central Chamber of Commerce, and at the bottom of this page are the signatures of the representatives of the seven major powers.

The burly middle-aged man looked at the ID, then at the copy, opened his mouth, but said nothing.

Behind him, a group of people began to whisper among themselves, some of them backing away as they spoke.

After a pause, the burly middle-aged man put away the flag and said to the people behind him with a gloomy face, "Go." The forty-odd people then removed the roadblocks and left the passage management area along the way they came.

After confirming that the other side had completely withdrawn, Xue Han marked the roadblocks to determine their activity range.

Pei the hunter put away the credentials and led the two back to the Twin Realms Platform.

In the third week of spring, Xiao Fan, along with Bai Ye and the Earth Core Golden Mane Beast, arrived at the northern part of the Gray Rift Valley, where a dotted line pointed.

The halo on the stone slab had disappeared, while the Earth Core Golden Mane Beast had advanced along the dotted line for half an hour. The light on its mane began to brighten and eventually pointed to the northwest.

As the halo grew brighter, Bai Ye used the Silver Frost Sword to confirm the direction, pointing out a continuous spiritual energy fluctuation in the northwest. This fluctuation was weak but stable, basically consistent with the signals emitted by the dome crystal ball, but its intensity was reduced by about 30%, and it did not weaken with increasing distance.

Guided by the Golden Mane Beast from the Earth's Core, the group traveled for a day and a half.

The surface texture gradually transitions from the dark black rocks of the scaly ridge to a grayish-white slate with a flat, unundulating surface.

Scattered on the stone slab are some crystal fragments, their material exactly the same as the oil lamp base in the Rift Valley Stone Gate. The spiritual energy structure of each fragment is static, but the internal patterns are complete, exactly the same as the patterns on the road sign.

Xiao Fan noticed that on the gray stone slab, there was an arched structure exactly the same as the Rift Valley Stone Gate.

The archway was shorter and narrower than the entrance to the rift valley, but the silvery-gray halo around the frame remained intact.

When Xiao Fan brought the short staff close to the halo, the halo did not change at all, but the crimson-gold crystal on the short staff formed a stable resonance with the halo and remained synchronized with the remote connection of the dome crystal ball.

Bai Ye scanned the area with his Silver Frost Sword and found it to be a long, narrow passage, about the same width as the entrance to the rift valley. The lamp holders inside were intact and seemed to be waiting for use.

Xiao Fan did not immediately enter the archway because he had confirmed that the connection between the short staff and the halo was stable.

He marked the entrance to the door and determined that the opening conditions were the same as those for the gray rift stone door: seven signposts needed to appear simultaneously to activate it.

He matched the location of the archway with the symbol at the end of the dotted line on the stone slab, confirming that the location of the archway matched the dotted line, and the end of the dotted line also coincided with the location of the archway.

This means the archway is waiting to be opened, and once the equipment and personnel are in place, it can be opened at a suitable time.

After returning to the Twin Realms Platform, Xiao Fan went to the array room again and rearranged the positions of the seven Dao Beacons.

The six Dao beacons and the real bronze bell were rearranged according to the resonance state of the archway's halo, and the spiritual energy wavelengths of the seven Dao beacons formed a continuous connection on the floor of the array room.

The endpoint of the link coincides with the location of the western arch of the northern tunnel of the "Grey Rift," and its wavelength termination value is consistent with the spare frequency of the arch top.

Bai Ye used the Silver Frost Sword to confirm the end of the link, and then said, "The spiritual energy channel between the signpost system and the archway is now fully connected."

Once the archway opens, the next passage will extend to the western side of the Gray Rift. The Twin Peaks' territory will then expand further into the northwestern part of the Silver Plains.

Xiao Fan recorded the personnel arrangements needed to open the archway mission, while Cheng Xiushi marked the corresponding dates after confirming the material flow and personnel allocation plan for this season.

Ningyao's Iron Anvil Spring Mine and Iron Rust Rift Valley's Gale Vine Spring Mine have been allocated. The Spring Mine plan for Shuangjietai has been finalized, with personnel allocation and material transfer routes marked on the corresponding dates and locations.