The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

Xiao Fan touched his nose, a little embarrassed: "I'll definitely be back on time."

He rolled his eyes and straightened his collar: "When were you last back? Fine, I'll go with you."

Xiao Fan was taken aback: "What are you doing? It's too cold there."

"I'm never afraid of the cold," Yun Ruoxi said nonchalantly. "I wouldn't feel comfortable letting you go by yourself."

Xiao Fan met her calm gaze, felt a warmth in his heart, and said nothing more.

That evening, the three of them rode their horses northward.

Six days later, they passed through Northwind Town and returned to the Northern Wilderness.

The wind was like a knife, swirling snowflakes and lashing at her face. Yun Ruoxi wore a thick fur coat, her expression unchanged.

As Master Gu Yuan walked, he cursed loudly, saying that it was even colder here than when he came here as a child.

When they arrived at the Dan Palace in Beihai, Yin Tianyuan personally came out to greet them.

He stood three feet from the palace gate, clad in a silver robe, the wind and snow parting on their own. When he saw Xiao Fan with his entourage, a strange glint flashed in his eyes: "Young Master Xiao has returned; surely not to catch up?"

Xiao Fan cupped his hands in greeting: "I beg the Palace Master to investigate. I have come here specifically for this matter. I have found a black lotus seal on Mount Qingyun that shares the same origin as the Ice Sea Ruins, and I have come here to inquire about the details."

Yin Tianyuan's pupils contracted, and he asked, "The Black Lotus Seal? Where was it found?"

"In the Valley of Falling Clouds where Medicine King Valley is located, there is a stone pillar with runes engraved on it that are exactly the same as those on the bronze gate of the Taixu Ruins. Beneath this pillar, there is a coffin, whose aura is very similar to that of the Taixu Pill Saint, but not quite the same."

Yin Tianyuan paused, then stepped aside: "Come in and talk."

Inside the main hall, a brazier burned brightly.

Yin Tianyuan personally poured hot tea for the three of them before saying, "There are also restrictions you discovered on the outer perimeter of the Ice Sea Ruins. I had Yin Beishan investigate, and there are similar things in the Northern Ice Sea, only on a smaller scale. At the time, I thought they were just remnants of an array and didn't think much of it."

Xiao Fan took out the black lotus root and placed it on the table: "Does the Palace Master recognize this?"

Yin Tianyuan picked up the root, examining it closely and gently stroking the white veins on it with his fingers. After a while, he put the root down, his expression somewhat grim. The seal outside the Ice Sea Ruins was the same.

Xiao Fan immediately became interested: "Palace Master, could you take me to the Ice Sea again? I want to see it for myself."

Yin Tianyuan stared at him for a long while before saying, "Do you perhaps suspect that the Taiyin Pill Master was involved in this matter?"

"That's right." Xiao Fan didn't hide anything.

Yin Tianyuan put down his teacup and stood up to walk to the window. Outside, the snow was white, and Obsidian Peak could be vaguely seen in the hazy sky. He stood with his hands behind his back, silent for a long time.

"I only saw the name of Taiyin Danzun on the bamboo slips of the Taixu Relics," he said slowly. "There was a sentence on the bamboo slip that I didn't pay attention to at the time, but now that I think about it, it has a profound meaning."

He turned his head and said, "The Taixu Dansheng says: I and the moon come from the same source. He went astray, so I sealed his path. If future generations see this, do not open it lightly."

Xiao Fan was shocked. The Taiyin Pill Master was actually sealed by the Taixu Pill Saint himself.

Yin Tianyuan nodded slightly: "The true lineage of alchemy lies in the Daoist tradition. The Grand Void Alchemist Saint was likely sealed away intentionally. The coffin you found is very likely the remains of the Grand Yin Alchemist Venerable, or perhaps... the place where his lineage was passed down."

Master Gu Yuan interrupted Han Sen: "So, those tree roots that Palace Master Yin saw earlier were also part of the seal?"

"Exactly," he replied. Yin Tianyuan said, "This Grandmaster of the Void used the Black Lotus as the array base and the North Sea as the array base to set up a huge sealing array that covers the entire North Sea."

The roots of the Northern Region and the roots of Qingyun Mountain are both branches of this formation. The coffin you found is very likely the core of the formation.

Xiao Fan gasped, "What on earth is that thing that's been sealed by this great formation?"

Yin Tianyuan's eyes were deep: "If I had known this would happen, would I have allowed you to set foot in the Northern Region again?"

That night, inside the North Sea Pill Palace, Xiao Fan sat cross-legged and once again took out the black lotus root. Yun Ruoxi sat quietly to the side, watching Li Mo's back without saying a word.

She asked, "What's wrong?"

Xiao Fan stared at the pale white line and said softly, "I'm wondering, if the Grand Void Pill Saint sealed the legacy of the Grand Yin Pill Venerable, then who is the one who will break the seal?"

The black lotus on Qingyun Mountain had clearly been tampered with; there were signs of breakage at the root, indicating that it had been sabotaged. Even the stone wall next to the pillar had been breached from the outside.

Yun Ruoxi frowned slightly. "You mean, someone is already trying to open this coffin?"

Xiao Fan nodded: "That's precisely why I want to know about the seal on the icy sea."

Yun Ruoxi was silent for a while, then took his hand.

Xiao Fan turned to look at her. The firelight illuminated her face, and her eyes were calm as still water, without the slightest ripple.

He gripped her hand tightly and said, "Okay."

The next day, under Yin Tianyuan's personal guidance, the group boarded the ice ship again and traveled through the vast icy sea.

More and more icebergs appeared on the sea, forming vast expanses of floating ice. Iceships glided through them, making creaking and groaning sounds. Master Gu Yuan stood at the bow of the ship, wearing three layers of cloaks, yet he was still stamping his feet from the cold.

"I've never felt such cold in my entire life!" He rubbed his hands together, cursing, "Jiang Yuanji clearly just threw me out to suffer!"

Yun Ruoxi, dressed in a white fur coat, stood beside Xiao Fan, silently gazing at the distant sea. Her breath was frozen into white mist, and her nose was slightly red from the cold.

Xiao Fan took off his cloak and draped it over her shoulders.

She said, "I'm not cold."

"I know," Xiao Fan said with a smile.

Yun Ruoxi looked at him and did not refuse.

The iceship sailed for two days and came to rest beside a huge block of ice. Yin Tianyuan pointed to the sea: "In this area, there are traces of the Black Lotus Root. Last time, I sent someone to dive to the seabed and found its roots clinging to a huge reef, extending all the way to the seabed."

Xiao Fan stood on the deck, looking down at the sea, and muttered to himself. It was pitch black; he couldn't see the bottom.

"I'll go down and take a look."

Master Gu Yuan grabbed his sleeve: "Are you crazy? The seawater here is freezing cold! You'll be frozen solid in less than half an hour!"

Xiao Fan took out a red pill, a "Fire Essence Pill," a high-grade fifth-rank pill that he had refined when he came to the Northern Region. It could withstand the severe cold for a period of time.