The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

Upon hearing this, Xiao Fan became even more certain of his guess. It was testing everyone's minds with an inexplicable power, searching for their weaknesses.

After thinking for a moment, he took out several calming and tranquilizing pills from his storage bag and distributed them one by one. With these, they could stabilize their minds and avoid being led astray by the illusion.

The group put the pills in their mouths as instructed, and a cool medicinal power spread across their tongues, instantly clearing their previously drowsy minds.

Another hour passed, and suddenly a low humming sound came from the mist, as if something was slowly moving.

The sound came from afar, gradually becoming clearer, and finally stopped about twenty feet from the bow of the ship.

Xiao Fan waved his hand, signaling Han Fei to stop the fishing boat.

He stared intently, and through the layers of white mist, he could vaguely see a dark shadow floating on the water.

The shadow wasn't large, maybe only the size of a millstone, with a smooth surface and a faint sheen, like a black reef.

But the shadow was slowly spinning.

Xiao Fan extended his divine sense, and as soon as he made contact, he felt an unfamiliar fluctuation of spiritual energy, carrying a scorching aura, like a ball of flame.

Completely different from the Creation Fire, it is gentler and more restrained, more like a variant of fire-type spiritual power.

"Be careful." Yun Ruoxi lowered her voice, and a slender sword appeared at her fingertips.

The dark figure circled in the water a few times before suddenly sinking and disappearing from sight.

The sea was silent except for the faint thumping sounds coming from the ship.

"What exactly is going on?" Master Gu Yuan snorted coldly.

Xiao Fan shook his head and said, "I can't see it very clearly either, but I can sense that there is the aura of a living being on it. It should be a living thing. Moreover, the spiritual energy also carries a trace of fire attribute, which is somewhat similar to the Black Fire Sect's techniques, but also different."

He recalled Liu Changgeng's warning—deep in the South China Sea, lurks a fire-seeker.

Could that dark figure be an informant left by the Fire Watchers?

The ship continued its journey.

After walking for another half hour, the fog suddenly thinned out, as if someone had torn a gap in the middle.

The outline of an island appeared before him.

The island was pitch black and lifeless, as if it had been burned countless times by fire, and every stone was charcoal-black in color.

The island is not very large, only a few miles in circumference, and in the center of the island stands a white stone tower.

This patch of white stands out starkly against the dark island, like a solitary lamp in the night.

This white pagoda was much taller than the one Xiao Fan had seen before, about fifteen zhang high. It was thin and straight, with neither a soul-suppressing lamp nor a tiled roof on top. It was completely open, allowing one to see a deep darkness inside.

After the ship docked, Xiao Fan was the first to jump off the ship and step onto the dark shore.

The rocks underfoot were hard and hot, as if they had been exposed to the scorching sun all day and had not yet cooled down completely.

He raised his head and looked at the white tower. In his sea of ​​consciousness, the flame of creation suddenly flickered violently. This time, it no longer resonated with the previous feeling, but instead showed an unprecedented alertness.

Like a ferocious beast facing a much stronger member of its kind, its fur stood on end.

"It's alive," Xiao Fan said softly. "There's something in the tower."

The group walked along the path paved with black reefs toward the center of the island. The path was hot underfoot, and with each step, a wave of heat seeped into the soles of their shoes.

After walking for a while, Master Guyuan was covered in sweat. He took off his cotton robe and threw it on the ground, cursing the southern weather incessantly.

The white pagoda's gate was tightly shut, devoid of any runes or patterns. Just as Xiao Fan placed his hand on the gate, a strange fluctuation emanated from his fingertips, as if something awaited him behind the gate.

He pushed hard, and the door opened silently.

The tower was devoid of the Soul-Suppressing Lamp, Jade Talisman, Black Lotus, and all the decorations commonly found in the previous eight towers.

The tower was empty, with snow-white walls and a towering dome. Sunlight streamed through the open dome, forming a circular pillar of light.

At the center of the pillar of light, a figure sat cross-legged.

Xiao Fan paused and stopped. The man wore an old gray-white robe, his hair was disheveled, and his face was not clearly visible, but he was very thin, standing straight and motionless.

Xiao Fan used his divine sense to investigate, but he couldn't detect the slightest fluctuation of spiritual energy from him; it was like an empty shell.

However, according to the perception of the Creation Fire, there was a very faint flame burning quietly within that person's body.

Master Gu Yuan poked his head out, glanced inside, then withdrew, asking, "Is there anyone inside? Dead or alive?"

Xiao Fan didn't answer, but slowly walked towards the man. When he was still three feet away from him, the man slightly raised his head.

It was a young face, thin and pale, with eyes tightly closed, and a faint silver line between the eyebrows, like a small rune embedded in the skin.

He opened his mouth, trying to speak, but no sound came out.

Xiao Fan squatted down and placed his palm on the man's forehead.

As soon as he probed with his divine sense, a flood of chaotic memories rushed into his mind—it was as if the person had been doing the same thing day and night, sitting cross-legged and slowly injecting spiritual power into the tower to maintain an extremely fragile balance.

This sitting has lasted for hundreds of years.

Xiao Fan quickly pulled his hand back, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

This is neither a guardian nor a seal.

He is the "fuel" of the pagoda, sacrificing his own cultivation and using the white flame in his heart to maintain a certain formation within the pagoda.

Centuries have passed, and his cultivation has been almost completely depleted, leaving him barely clinging to life, like a candle flickering in the wind.

"He became a disciple of the Grandmaster of Elixir."

Xiao Fan slowly stood up, his tone somewhat solemn, "After the Nine Towers of the Taixu Pill Saint were completed, someone had to guard the Zhenxin Tower to maintain the stability of the core formation. He volunteered to stay, using the fire in his heart as a lamp, and sat there for hundreds of years."

Yun Ruoxi stepped forward, looking at the man's pale face, a complex look flashing in her eyes: "Is there any hope?"

Xiao Fan carefully examined the area, shook his head, and sighed, "His spiritual root is ruined. Without rare and precious materials of the Creation level, there's no way to save him. However, the white flame inside the tower hasn't gone out, which means the formation hasn't been completely extinguished."

He pondered for a moment, then took out a fragment of the Fire Source Crystal obtained from the Crimson Cloud Secret Realm, ground it into powder with his true essence, and lightly sprinkled it on the man's forehead.