The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

The jade talisman returned to its original platinum color, and the light from the Soul-Suppressing Lamp shone down from the top of the tower, making all the runes on the surrounding walls shine brightly.

The seal has been repaired.

He withdrew his hand, took a deep breath, and looked at the crack in the southeast corner of the tower base, where there was a huge fissure.

"Elder Gu, Han Fei, and Ruoxi, all retreated to the edge of the open space."

Xiao Fan's expression turned serious, and he turned around to say, "I need to retrieve something from the bottom of the tower."

Yun Ruoxi looked at him with suspicion, but didn't ask anything. She simply dragged Han Fei to the edge of the open space.

Gu Yuan also took a few steps back, but he had already clenched a protective talisman in his hand, just in case.

Xiao Fan walked alone to the southeast corner of the tower base, squatted down, and placed his palm on a stone next to the crevice.

He closed his eyes and activated the Qiankun Refining God Technique, condensing his divine sense into a thin line and slowly probing into the crack.

This time, he did not use his true essence to protect himself, but instead directly probed his divine sense into the dark red ball of light.

The scorching energy surged into his sea of ​​consciousness like a tidal wave, but at that moment, the illusory image of the Creation Cauldron of Heaven and Earth shone with golden light, absorbing all the heat.

The patterns on the cauldron looked as if they had been licked by flames, turning from dark to light and gleaming with a golden-red luster.

Xiao Fan gritted his teeth and probed his divine sense inch by inch.

"There is a spirit within the cauldron. The spirit is the guide, and the will is the rope."

He silently recited the Supreme Elixir Scripture in his heart, and his divine sense transformed into countless threads, layer upon layer, wrapping around that flame of creation.

The ball of light pulsated violently, as if it were constrained by an external force and trying to break free.

Sweat dripped from Xiao Fan's forehead, but he did not relax in the slightest.

He knew very well that he only had one chance to subdue this flame of creation, and once he let go, he could never take it back.

"Return!" he shouted.

He suddenly let out a low shout, withdrew his divine sense, and forcibly pulled that ball of dark red light out of the ground.

In an instant, the entire base of the tower shook.

A dark red beam of light shot straight into the sky, illuminating the surrounding white mist in a crimson hue.

The beam of light circled once in the air before entering Xiao Fan's mind through his forehead.

Xiao Fan's body stiffened, as if he had been frozen in place by a spell.

At the same time, a phantom image of the Creation Cauldron of Heaven and Earth appeared in his sea of ​​consciousness.

After entering the sea of ​​consciousness, that ball of creation fire seemed to find its home, slowly drifting towards the cauldron, and finally transforming into a golden-red light that flew into the cauldron.

At this moment, all the patterns on the cauldron lit up, and a red and white light burst forth in the sea of ​​consciousness, illuminating the entire space of consciousness.

The Fire Control Chapter of the Supreme Elixir Scripture was fully unleashed at this moment, and countless words poured into Xiao Fan's mind like flowing water. The originally obscure and difficult method of fire control suddenly became clear.

He felt a peculiar resonance between the true essence in his dantian and the fire of creation, as if a long-parched river had finally found water.

After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes.

The white mist that had originally enveloped the tower had dissipated considerably under the illumination of this crimson-gold beam of light.

Yun Ruoxi walked over quickly, grabbed his arm, and looked at him with worry in her eyes.

Xiao Fan reached out and gently patted the back of her hand, smiling, "It's nothing."

Feeling the now-stabilized flame of creation within his sea of ​​consciousness, an indescribable sense of security welled up within him.

This is a trace of the Creation Fire of Heaven and Earth left behind by the Great Sage of Alchemy. Although it is only a trace, it is enough to raise his alchemy skills and fire control ability to a new level.

From afar came Master Gu Yuan's voice: "Young Xiao, have you been burned?"

Xiao Fan turned around and chuckled, "No, no, Elder Gu, don't worry."

He stood up, dusted himself off, and looked into the distance. The mist over Thousand Mist Mountain continued to drift slowly, while the open space in front of the tower was brightly lit.

"Rest tonight, and we'll set off tomorrow."

From the Thousand Mist Mountains to the capital, the weather grew hotter day by day along the way.

The June wind, carrying the fragrance of grass and trees, blows across the fields.

Xiao Fan rode on horseback, occasionally reaching out to pick up the fallen petals, a faint smile on his face.

Within his sea of ​​consciousness, the Flame of Creation had completely stabilized and merged into his true essence.

This time, the illusory image of the Creation Cauldron was noticeably more solid, and the patterns on the cauldron's body became clearer, with a faint reddish-gold hue.

He tested the newly acquired Creation Flame, and the time it took to condense the core was halved, while the quality was also significantly improved. This gave him even more confidence for the upcoming Nine Towers Competition.

Upon arriving at the Pill Tower, Jiang Yuanji personally came out to greet them.

The old tower master glanced at Xiao Fan, making no attempt to hide his admiration: "Very good, this trip to the Thousand Mist has been very fruitful."

Xiao Fan clasped his hands and smiled, "I have to thank Elder Gu for his talisman technique. If it weren't for him, it wouldn't have been an easy task to complete the runes on this tower."

The monk Gu Yuan sneered from behind, "Finally, someone is standing up for us. Old Tower Master, you'd better raise my monthly salary."

Jiang Yuanji glanced at him sideways and said, "I don't have a monthly allowance, but I can get you a pot of fine aged wine from the Dan Tower's storeroom."

Master Gu Yuan laughed heartily.

As night fell, Xiao Fan sat alone on the balcony of the top floor of the Pill Tower, holding a bronze ball in his hand and staring ahead.

In the Nine Pagodas diagram, the five pagodas that have been restored have a stable golden light, while the one in the southern border appears brighter due to the presence of the Soul-Suppressing Lamp.

The light of the Thousand Mist Tower gradually stabilized and merged with the five towers in front of it.

Of the remaining three illusory figures, the one located at the edge of the far western desert is the most distant, spanning the entire Western Regions and covering an extremely long distance. As for the Thousand Mist Mountains in the southeast, there's no need to return for now.

What concerned him most was the last tower located in the far south.

This phantom was even dimmer than the Southern Frontier Pagoda, but the patterns on the surface of the copper ball were much more intricate, densely packed, as if layers of restrictions were stacked upon each other, as if it had been deliberately sealed for ten thousand years.

Just as Xiao Fan was lost in thought, a soft footstep came from behind.

Without turning his head, he moved the bronze ball to the side so that Yun Ruoxi could see it more clearly.

Yun Ruoxi sat down beside him, silently gazing at the patterns on the sphere, then asked, "Have you checked the location of this tower?"

"I've checked." Xiao Fan put away the bronze ball, then took out a map from his pocket. On it was written a line: "This is what I found in Master Jiang's library."

The far south has no specific name, only a sea called the Sea of ​​No Light, said to be shrouded in mist year-round, where even sunlight cannot penetrate.