The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

Master Gu Yuan also stepped forward, took out a talisman brush and a small bottle of spiritual liquid, carefully dipped them on the door frame, and then carefully examined them: "These runes... come from the same source as the previous towers, and should be the same kind of restriction method."

However, the damage is severe, and repairing it will likely require considerable effort.

Xiao Fan pondered for a moment, then took out the copper ball from his robes and circulated his true energy once more.

The patterns on the bronze sphere began to flow slowly, and the towering pagoda in the Thousand Mist Mountains became clearer. A line of small characters appeared on the surface of the sphere, a message from the Supreme Pill Saint of the Void:

"The Thousand Mist Tower is a lock. When the mist dissipates, the lock opens; when the wind stops, the key breaks. If the embers at the base of the tower still retain warmth, it means there are still residual restrictions. Do not discard it."

Xiao Fan silently repeated it several times, and gradually, he came up with a plan.

He looked up at the ashes near the base of the tower. The charred marks were shocking, but the closer ones were even darker, as if they had been burned repeatedly.

The area farther from the tower, however, was a very light color, seemingly just embers of embers.

"The restrictions around the base of the tower have not completely lost their effect."

Xiao Fan pointed to the black ashes, "The people from the Blackfire Sect only broke through the outer restrictions; they didn't cause any damage to the core array of the tower base."

What we need to do now is repair those damaged talismans and then use the array's core within the tower to suppress and seal them.

Master Gu Yuan stroked his beard and nodded, saying, "It's easier said than done. Completing the runes is not a matter of one stroke at a time. I need to find the remaining patterns on the tower before I can restore it to its original form."

"I humbly request Elder Laogu's assistance," Xiao Fan said, clasping his hands in a fist salute. "I will first use my divine sense to probe the structure inside the tower. If the two of us work together, we can save a lot of time."

Gu Yuan did not refuse. He took the talisman brush and the spiritual liquid, walked to the north side of the tower, and cleaned all the moss off it.

Yun Ruoxi walked to Xiao Fan's side and asked softly, "Is that girl here too?"

Xiao Fan thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Probably not. The poison of the Southern Border Gu Needles takes at least ten days to suppress, the time is not right yet."

However, now that they're here, there's no guarantee they won't have any backup plans. You and Han Fei will keep watch, and if anyone approaches, alert them immediately.

Yun Ruoxi nodded, turned and walked eastward, quickly disappearing into the thick fog.

Xiao Fan took a deep breath, stepped forward, and placed his palm on the cold stone slab. His divine sense, like water, penetrated through layers of stone walls, extending all the way into the interior of the pagoda.

The tower was much smaller than expected, square in shape, with a low dome, and the runes on the walls were more damaged than on the outside. However, a palm-sized jade talisman was floating in the air, emitting a faint green light.

Although the light was dim, it was extremely stable, as if it had never gone out even after countless years.

When Xiao Fan's divine sense came into contact with the jade talisman, the golden soul energy in his sea of ​​consciousness trembled slightly, as if an invisible bridge had been erected in his sea of ​​consciousness.

A gentle spiritual energy flowed along his consciousness and returned to the cauldron.

Several new lines of text appeared on the cauldron. Xiao Fan stared at them and was immediately shocked.

The inscription on the tripod reads:

"The Jade Talisman at the core of the Thousand Mist Tower is already connected to the Soul-Suppressing Lamp. As long as the Jade Talisman remains, the seal will not be broken."

However, the order in which the runes are repaired cannot be confused; it must be from top to bottom, from the foundation to the walls, and from the inside to the outside. One wrong step, and everything will be for naught.

Xiao Fan silently repeated the instructions several times in his mind, and only after confirming that there were no problems did he withdraw his divine sense. He turned to the north and shouted, "Elder Gu, the repair order should start from the base of the tower!"

Gu Yuan's voice came from within the mist: "Yes! I was just about to make my move; you've arrived at the perfect time!"

Xiao Fan walked around the tower again, carefully observing the gap between the tower base and the ground, and discovered some clues.

Sure enough, a small crack appeared in the southeast corner of the tower base. The rocks around the crack were a dark color, as if they had been squeezed out by some heat.

He crouched down, extended a finger, and probed inside.

The moment the true essence entered his body, a scorching aura shot out from the crack, like a venomous snake that had been lurking for a long time suddenly raising its head. Caught off guard, Xiao Fan's arm went numb.

He abruptly pulled his hand back, his fingertips already faintly red.

Xiao Fan stood up, a solemn expression on his face. This intense heat was completely different from the subterranean fire beneath the Black Sand Sea Tower; it was more condensed, purer, and even carried a hint of... otherworldly aura.

He suddenly remembered the words of the Grandmaster of Alchemy in the jade slip: "The fire of heaven and earth is incomparable to ordinary fire. If you encounter it, you should use the Qiankun Refining God Technique to neutralize it."

Could it be that a flame of creation is buried beneath this pagoda?

Thinking about this, Xiao Fan's heart began to race.

The fire created by heaven and earth is an absolute treasure to alchemists. Although he had studied the art of fire control before, he had never truly come into contact with it.

If there really is a Creation Flame beneath the Thousand Mist Tower, it would greatly help his cultivation and sealing.

However, now was clearly not the time to delve into it. He suppressed his excitement, walked back to the tower gate, and probed the tower with his divine sense, establishing a connection with the cyan jade talisman.

The jade talisman glowed slightly, as if in response to him. Xiao Fan drew the wisp of golden soul energy remaining in his sea of ​​consciousness and poured it into the jade talisman little by little through his divine sense channel.

The lapis lazuli and gold intertwined, flowing slowly through the dark tower like silk threads.

Meanwhile, His Majesty Gu Yuan was drawing runes on the north side of the tower base.

His movements were extremely steady. The tip of the talisman pen plunged into the crevice of the stone, and the originally dim array patterns gradually lit up.

After the first rune was completed, a very soft buzzing sound rang out, as if someone was gently striking an ancient bell that had been sleeping for countless years.

Xiao Fan felt the tremors inside the tower and a hint of joy appeared on his face: "It's feasible."

He continuously poured golden soul energy into the jade talisman, while Gu Yuan drew a circle around the base of the tower, filling it with all the runes.

Han Fei, holding a short sword, stood on the high ground to the east of the open space, vigilantly observing the depths of the mist.

Half an hour later, the three circles on the base of the tower had been filled.

Master Gu Yuan stood up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said breathlessly, "I'm exhausted... The pattern below is at least three times more complex than the one above. Every line has to be stabilized with spiritual power. Even the slightest deviation means starting all over again."