The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

"I know what I'm doing." After swallowing the pill, a warm feeling spread from his dantian throughout his body, and a faint red glow appeared on his skin.

Yun Ruoxi glanced at him but didn't stop him. She only said, "If you don't come out in half an hour, I'll fish you out."

Xiao Fan smiled slightly: "Okay."

After saying that, he plunged headfirst into the dark seawater.

The moment he entered the water, a chilling sensation seeped into his skin through the medicinal power of the Fire Essence Pill. Xiao Fan activated the Qiankun Refining God Technique, his divine sense spreading like a net throughout the water.

The deeper they went, the dimmer the light became. The seawater was a deep, almost inky blue, and huge, dark shadows occasionally flashed by; it was impossible to tell whether they were icebergs or sea monsters. Xiao Fan steadied himself and continued deeper into the water.

They descended about a hundred feet.

It was a black reef several meters in diameter.

The surface of the reef was covered with a faint white pattern, like the veins on a black lotus root. Dozens of black lotus roots, as thick as an arm, stretched out from the crevices of the reef, extending all the way to the deeper seabed.

Xiao Fan swam over and reached out his hand towards the white patterns.

The phantom of the Qiankun Creation Cauldron trembled, and golden light disappeared into the white patterns.

Another image then came to mind.

The same Montenegro. Only this time, the camera zoomed in a bit.

Before the nine-story stone tower stood a person, dressed in white, obscuring his face, yet his figure was as straight as a pine tree. The person made hand seals, and countless black lotus roots sprouted from his feet, enveloping the entire stone tower layer by layer.

In the video, the man in white raises his head and looks up at the sky.

Xiao Fan couldn't hear anything. He only saw the white-robed man make one last move: placing a jade slip on the steps in front of the tower. Then, the man gradually faded, turning into specks of light and disappearing into the world.

The image disappeared.

Xiao Fan then came to his senses and realized that his hand was still on the reef. He withdrew his hand, and the white runes on it had completely faded, as if they had used up their last bit of strength.

He turned around and went upstream.

As the water broke through, a gust of cold wind rushed towards him. Xiao Fan gasped for breath and climbed up the ropes of the ice boat.

Master Gu Yuan pulled Han Sen aside and said, "What do you think? Did they freeze to death?"

Xiao Fan shook his head, white smoke rising from his body, but his face remained calm and composed. He walked towards Yin Tianyuan and said, "Palace Master, beneath the Black Lotus Seal, there is a nine-story stone pagoda sealed within. In front of the pagoda is a jade slip left by the Grandmaster of the Void."

Yin Tianyuan narrowed his eyes: "You saw it?"

"Yes." Xiao Fan wiped the seawater off his face and said, "All the information about the Taiyin Danzun's seal should be in this jade slip."

The pagoda lies buried deep in the sea, surrounded by layers upon layers of black lotus roots. To retrieve the jade slip, the roots must first be cleared away.

Yin Tianyuan pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "The Grandmaster of Pill Refining didn't place the jade slip inside the tower, but in front of it. This shows that the jade slip was originally prepared for future generations. He wanted future generations to know the truth, but he didn't want them to open it casually."

Xiao Fan nodded and said, "This is what I want."

Yin Tianyuan glanced at him and said, "Are you alone?"

"No." Xiao Fan glanced at Yun Ruoxi and Gu Yuan and said, "Let's go."

Master Gu Yuan blew on his beard and glared at him: "At my age, do you think I'd want to go into business?"

Xiao Fan laughed heartily: "Elder Gu is an excellent swimmer. Back in Jiangnan, he was known as the 'Water Monkey'."

Master Gu Yuan blushed slightly: "Who told you that?"

Yun Ruoxi smiled slightly.

Three days later, Xiao Fan, Yun Ruoxi, Gu Yuan, and the four disciples selected by Yin Tianyuan from the North Sea Pill Palace dived into the icy sea together.

Xiao Fan refined another batch of Fire Essence Pills and distributed them to everyone. Each person also carried a cold-resistant talisman for self-defense. The group, with long ropes tied around their waists, slowly descended along the anchor chain hanging from the ice ship.

The seawater was icy cold, and the deeper one went, the greater the pressure and the dimmer the light became. Further down, it was pitch black, and only the spirit pearl in one's hand could barely make out what lay ahead.

Master Gu Yuan gripped the anchor chain in one hand and the spirit pearl in the other, his face ashen: "It's...so dark here..."

Yun Ruoxi followed closely behind Xiao Fan, her hair slightly disheveled by the waves, but her face remained calm. Xiao Fan reached out and grasped her wrist, channeling a surge of true energy into her body to help her resist the cold.

In the darkness, a huge black reef slowly emerged.

The white veins on the reef had faded and lost their luster; only the black lotus root, as thick as an arm, was still swaying gently in the water, like the tentacles of some creature. Xiao Fan swam towards the reef and pointed to the area below the root.

Following the sound, everyone looked and indeed, among the layers of roots, they could vaguely see the outline of a stone house. The tower was grayish-brown, completely different from the roots of the black lotus.

"Over there." Xiao Fan waved his hand, signaling everyone to get started.

Soon, disciples of the North Sea Pill Palace, following Xiao Fan's instructions, took out a special medicinal liquid and applied it to the roots. The liquid seeped into the roots, and the originally thick, black roots quickly shrank, becoming thinner, as if they had lost their nutrients.

Xiao Fan did not use a knife, but instead used the Qiankun Refining God Technique to activate the power of his divine soul, condensing his divine consciousness into a line, like an invisible fine needle, which pierced into the texture of the roots.

"Buzz—"

The tree roots trembled violently, then quickly withered and turned into black powder, which dissolved into the seawater.

This was much faster than the medicinal liquid. Xiao Fan used the same method again, cleaning the roots on the tower one by one. Yun Ruoxi assisted from the side, constantly using her spiritual power to maintain the warmth and prevent the cold air from penetrating his body.

About half an hour later, the tower finally came into full view of everyone.

This tower is about three zhang tall and has nine stories. It is grayish-white all over and covered with densely packed runes.

The tower gate was tightly shut, the roots of the black lotus sealing off the gaps. However, on the stone steps in front of the tower, there was a thumb-sized, bluish-gray jade slip, emitting a faint light.

Xiao Fan held the jade slip in his hand; it felt warm and smooth to the touch, radiating extremely pure spiritual energy.

Just as he was about to take a look, the tower beneath his feet suddenly trembled slightly.

The tremor was very slight, but it was exceptionally clear in the deep sea. Xiao Fan looked towards the tower gate, his expression changing slightly. The black lotus root in the crack of the gate had withered, but a faint light flickered deep within the crack.

Gu Yuan also sensed something was wrong and tugged at Xiao Fan's sleeve, signaling him to "hurry up and leave."

Xiao Fan put away the jade slip and gestured for everyone to continue swimming forward.