The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

Everyone floated to the surface, with the disciples of the North Sea Pill Palace being the last to arrive. Just as Xiao Fan had swum less than ten zhang (approximately 33 meters), a muffled thud suddenly sounded from behind him—

He turned around abruptly and saw a thick black mist gushing out from the gap in the nine-story tower, rising slowly with the seawater as if it were alive.

"Hurry up!"

Xiao Fan grabbed Yun Ruoxi with one hand and the monk Gu Yuan with the other, his true essence surging, and he soared into the air. The black mist pursued relentlessly, and wherever it went, the seawater temperature dropped sharply, and the spirit pearl quickly dimmed.

Fortunately, they were getting closer and closer to the water. As soon as Xiao Fan broke out of the water, he threw Yun Ruoxi and Gu Yuan onto the ice boat, then leaped onto the deck.

"Phew—" He let out a long breath.

He lay on the deck, panting heavily. The dark seawater churned and rolled, as if something enormous was churning beneath the surface. Moments later, the black mist seemed to encounter an invisible barrier and quickly retreated.

The sea has returned to calm.

Yin Tianyuan stood at the bow of the ship, his expression solemn: "The things inside this tower have been alerted."

"This is……"

Xiao Fan lay on the deck, clutching the jade slip in his hands, gazing at the hazy sky.

"As long as you get it."

Yun Ruoxi knelt beside Li Mo, wiping the water from his face with her hands. Her face was pale, but she remained silent. Gu Yuan coughed for a long time, then cursed, "This old bone of mine almost died here!"

Xiao Fan smiled slightly, picked up the jade slip in his hand, and placed it in front of him.

As the light swirled, faintly, it seemed as if the words carved by the Great Sage of the Void were emerging on it.

The truth is hidden here.

On the way back to the ice ship, Xiao Fan sat alone in the cabin and poured his divine sense into the bluish-gray jade slip.

The contents of the jade slip far exceeded his imagination.

The Grandmaster of Alchemy sealed everything he had seen in his life into this book, which appeared in his mind like a thick history book.

That was a scene from ten thousand years ago.

Taiyin and Taixu are from the same school.

Both were exceptionally talented individuals who had already made a name for themselves in their youth, known as the twin pillars of alchemy. Together they comprehended the Dao of Heaven and Earth and refined ninth-grade immortal pills, drawing ever closer to the realm of celestial beings.

However, the closer one gets to the end of the road, the more obvious the divergence becomes.

Taixu Daoren believed that the Dao of Alchemy is a great path that unites heaven and man, using spiritual energy as material and the soul as a furnace to absorb the essence of heaven and earth without harming them.

The Taiyin Ancestor believed that the power of heaven and earth is finite, and that refining elixirs with spiritual energy would ultimately bind one to heaven and earth. Only by using living beings as a guide and the fire of life could one make further progress in the art of alchemy.

At first, it was just a debate about ideas, but soon it turned into reality.

Taiyin used living creatures as a catalyst to begin refining elixirs. First came the spirit beasts, then the demon beasts, and then... humans.

Xiao Fan's pupils contracted slightly as he watched this scene.

The jade slip says that back then, the Taiyin Pill Master used thousands of ordinary people from a small border town to refine the Yin-Yang Life and Death Pill. On that day, thousands of cultivators were all reduced to ashes, and the Taiyin Pill Master stepped into the realm of celestial beings.

Upon learning of this, Taixu Dansheng was furious and fought Taiyin Town for three months. In the end, he set up the "Black Lotus Sealing Heaven Formation" created by Taixu at the bottom of the North Sea.

But he couldn't bear to kill his fellow disciple, so he used the roots of the black lotus to seal him in the nine-story stone tower, allowing him to live.

"If you repent, you may break free from this seal. If you remain obstinate, then you shall sleep eternally in this tower for all eternity."

These are the original words left by the Taoist Master Taixu in the jade slip.

Xiao Fan withdrew his divine sense, closed his eyes, and pondered for a long time.

Back then, the Grandmaster of the Void gave him a way out, but the Grandmaster of the Yin showed no remorse whatsoever.

The roots of the Black Lotus were severed, and the stone wall at the bottom of Qingyun Mountain was broken open. All of this indicates that someone wants to find the mark left by Taiyin Danzun and release him.

That's definitely not Yin Tianyuan.

Putting away the jade slip, Xiao Fan walked out of the cabin. Yin Tianyuan stood with his hands behind his back on the deck, gazing at the distant Obsidian Peak.

"Palace Master." At this moment, Xiao Fan took a step forward and called out.

"Finished reading?" Yin Tianyuan turned his head.

Xiao Fan nodded. Beneath the icy sea lies a nine-tiered stone tower, the Taiyin Prison.

Yin Tianyuan pondered for a moment, then asked, "And what about that coffin on Qingyun Mountain?"

Xiao Fan said, "This is another situation. The Black Lotus Sealing Heaven Formation is not just one; the nine stone towers, serving as the array eyes of the Grand Void Pill Saint, are distributed throughout the world. The coffin at the foot of Qingyun Mountain is probably also a tower, only the seal was partially broken by external forces."

"Nine seats?" Yin Tianyuan's expression changed slightly.

Xiao Fan said, "The jade slip doesn't record the location of every tower, but the one on Qingyun Mountain has been tampered with. Someone is trying to find a flaw in the formation."

Yin Tianyuan's face darkened: "Tell me, who could it be?"

Xiao Fan glanced at the distant snowstorm and said, "We don't know yet. However, this person was able to break the seal right under the nose of Medicine King Valley, so his cultivation level is at least above the Spirit Realm, and he is also proficient in the Taiyin Technique."

"Palace Master, I would like to borrow the intelligence network of the North Sea Pill Palace. Please investigate who has seen someone similar to the Black Lotus in the Northern Region, Southern Frontier, and Western Region in the past few years."

Yin Tianyuan turned his head and looked at him with a scrutinizing gaze. After a long while, he nodded slightly: "Okay."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Palace Master," Xiao Fan said, cupping his hands in greeting to Qin Wentian.

Yun Ruoxi sat in a corner of the cabin, reading a medical book in her hand.

"How is it?"

Xiao Fan sat down beside her and briefly explained the contents of the jade slip. Yun Ruoxi frowned slightly upon hearing his words, "Is someone trying to break the seal?"

"Yes," Xiao Fan replied. Granny Miao's witchcraft, the northern cold poison, and the ice silk of Qingyun Mountain—all bear traces of Yin energy. This person may have already infiltrated the major sects of alchemy."

Yun Ruoxi closed the book in her hand, looked at him, and asked, "So, what are you planning to do?"

Xiao Fan took her hand, glanced at the churning sea outside, and said in a deep voice, "Let's find the second place first. If we can find the seal before him and reinforce it, we can stop Taiyin Danzun from breaking the seal."

Yun Ruoxi leaned against the ship's side and said softly, "Nine pagodas, scattered throughout the eight directions of the world. How long will it take you to find them yourself?"

Xiao Fan thought for a moment and said, "That's why I need to ask someone for help."

He looked up out the car window; the wind and snow were getting heavier, and Obsidian Peak was right in front of him.