The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

An invisible shockwave swept outwards, and the dozen or so candidates at the forefront vomited blood and collapsed on the spot, their souls severely damaged.

Xiao Fan felt a sharp pain in his sea of ​​consciousness. The Qiankun Creation Cauldron automatically protected its master, shining brightly with golden light, blocking the soul attack of the Soul Devouring Beast.

"Get back, all of you!" Gu Yuan shouted, flying into the sky and clapping his hands repeatedly. Golden rune chains shot out, attempting to seal the Soul-Devouring Beast once again.

However, the Soul-Devouring Beast's strength far exceeded Gu Yuan's expectations, and the golden chains shattered as soon as they approached.

It opened its blood-red maw and bit down on Gu Yuan, and an invisible spiritual force rushed over.

Gu Yuan's face was pale, and his body swayed precariously.

"Elder Gu is dying!" Su Jin shouted.

Xiao Fan gritted his teeth, and the Qiankun Creation Cauldron in his sea of ​​consciousness began to vibrate violently. An unprecedented power surged out of the cauldron and into his body.

His cultivation level increased dramatically at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Yin Realm, fourth rank, fifth rank, sixth rank, seventh rank...

A brilliant golden light shone brightly in his dantian, and deep within it, a golden core slowly took shape.

Yang Realm First Grade!

The surge only stopped when the individual reached the third rank of the Yang Realm.

Xiao Fan was enveloped in golden light, his feet off the ground, standing suspended in mid-air.

He stared at the Soul-Devouring Beast, waved his right hand, and the Qiankun Creation Cauldron in his sea of ​​consciousness immediately flew out, expanded in the wind, and transformed into a bronze cauldron several meters in size, with dragons and phoenixes roaring on its body.

"In the beginning of heaven and earth, the Myriad Spirits Cauldron stood firm!"

The giant cauldron pressed down on the Soul-Devouring Beast, its golden light, like the sun, dispersing all the surrounding black mist.

The Soul-Devouring Beast let out a miserable howl. Its enormous head, scorched by the golden light, instantly became riddled with holes, turning into a wisp of black smoke as it once again disappeared into the crack at the top of the tower.

Emperor Guyuan formed a hand seal, and the golden chains sealed the crack once again.

Everything fell silent.

The square was in chaos, with some candidates lying unconscious on the ground, others clutching their heads.

Xiao Fan put away the Qiankun Creation Cauldron. When he landed on the ground, his legs went weak and he almost lost his balance.

That attack just now almost drained his true essence, and his cultivation level plummeted rapidly, all the way down to the first rank of the Yang Realm.

Gu Yuan walked over, glanced at him, and his expression was extremely complicated.

"Xiao Fan, who are you?"

Xiao Fan took a deep breath, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "I am just an alchemist who wants to join the Pill Tower."

Master Gu Yuan remained silent for a long time before finally letting out a sigh.

"No matter who you are, you saved the Pill Tower. From now on, you are an outer disciple of the Pill Tower."

He paused for a moment, then said, "I will report your achievements to the Tower Master. Also... you should discuss the matter of the Soul-Devouring Beast with the Tower Master."

"Why?" Xiao Fan's heart skipped a beat.

Gu Yuan looked at him and said in a low voice, "Because this Soul-Devouring Beast was imprisoned in the Pill Tower. And among the people who captured it, there is one you will recognize."

"who?"

"Xiao Yuanshan".

The ninth floor of the Dan Tower.

Xiao Fan stood at the door, carefully observing the old man.

The tower master was not as imposing as I had imagined. Instead, he was as thin as a rake, wearing a faded gray cloth robe, with his gray hair casually draped over his shoulders. He sat cross-legged on a futon, with a pot of warm wine beside him, looking every bit like an ordinary farmer.

However, Xiao Fan did not dare to underestimate it in the slightest.

This person is named Jiang Yuanji. He is said to be the only eighth-grade alchemist in the Great Qing Kingdom. His cultivation is unfathomable, and no one can fathom his true strength.

Everyone in the capital city treated him with utmost respect, but now they were all smiling at Xiao Fan, as if he were their own grandson.

"Kid, sit down." Jiang Yuanji pointed to the futon on the other side.

Xiao Fan sat down and, without exchanging pleasantries, went straight to the point: "Tower Master, Elder Gu said that my father, Xiao Yuanshan, was among those who captured the Soul-Devouring Beast back then. I want to know what happened."

Jiang Yuanji took a sip of wine and slowly said, "Your father, Xiao Yuanshan, was a genius. He broke through to the Yang Realm at just over thirty years old, and his alchemy skills were unparalleled among his peers."

When the Dan Tower discovered the Soul-Devouring Beasts were rampaging, it sent a small team to suppress them. Your father was one of them and made a significant contribution.

"And then?"

"Later..." Jiang Yuanji put the wine pot on the table and sighed, "Then he discovered something he shouldn't have known."

Xiao Fan immediately tensed up: "What?"

Jiang Yuanji remained silent for a long time, seemingly considering his words: "Although the Soul-Devouring Beasts are ferocious, I am well aware that their essence is man-made. They are not naturally formed, but have undergone special modifications."

"Who did this?"

Jiang Yuanji shook his head and said, "It's not that I don't want to tell you, but that I can't. If I tell you, you'll die here. The less you know now, the better."

Xiao Fan frowned and asked, "What about my father?"

Jiang Yuanji took a piece of yellow paper from under the futon and handed it to Xiao Fan.

"Your father entrusted someone to send it back before he died. He always wanted to give it to the Pill Tower, but that person didn't dare to send it directly and hid it for fifteen years. It wasn't until Gu Yuan met you in Donglin City that he confirmed your identity and entrusted someone to bring this thing back to the Pill Tower."

Xiao Fan took the scroll, opened it, and saw densely packed text and a hand-drawn map.

These words were written very hastily, clearly written in a very short time. The very first sentence stunned Xiao Fan.

"My son, Xiao Fan, by the time you see this letter, I will already be dead. Don't seek revenge for me; just live well. If you ever become strong, do one thing for me—destroy the Zhao family's underground alchemy chamber; the secret of the Soul-Devouring Beast is hidden inside."

Xiao Fan's fingers were trembling.

The Zhao family...

The secret of the Soul-Devouring Beast.

It turns out that the things my father was concerned about before he died were these two things.

"The Soul-Devouring Beast was created by the Zhao family?" He looked up at Jiang Yuanji.

Jiang Yuanji answered irrelevantly, "Your father left behind a map with the entrance to the Zhao family's underground alchemy chamber marked on it. That's the Zhao family's top secret; even within the Zhao family, very few people know about it. That's a place capable of overthrowing my Great Qing Empire."

"Master, since you know about the Zhao family's affairs, why don't you take action directly?"

Jiang Yuanji smiled wryly, "Kid, it's true I'm an eighth-grade alchemist, but the Zhao family's backing is equally formidable. Moreover," he pointed upwards, "the waters of the capital are deeper than you think."

Xiao Fan pondered for a moment, then put the parchment away.

"Master, I need to enter the Zhao family's underground alchemy chamber."

"Your cultivation level isn't strong enough yet," Jiang Yuanji said bluntly. "A first-grade Yang Realm cultivator is less than an ant in front of the Zhao family. You know Zhao Wutian, right? A seventh-grade Yang Realm cultivator. The Zhao family patriarch, Zhao Changfeng, is at the peak of the Yang Realm. Among the Zhao family's guest elders, there are even Tribulation Realm experts..."