The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

A cold laugh came from beneath the mask: "You're just a Yang Realm cultivator, what right do you have to bargain with me?"

Xiao Fan didn't speak, but instead threw the red and blue flames in his hand above his head.

Flames shot into the sky, forming a blue and red pillar of light.

At that very moment, the Creation Fire in his sea of ​​consciousness resonated strongly with the last trace of warmth within the White Tower, causing a golden rune to light up at the very bottom of the tower.

That was the last restriction left behind by the Grandmaster of the Void Pills deep within the tower's foundation.

The man with heterochromia froze instantly, because the golden rune had been sealed beneath his feet, separating him from the dissipating inner fire within the tower.

"This is the last restriction set up by the Grandmaster of Pill Refinement."

Xiao Fan spoke, "It only lasts half an hour, but that half an hour is enough for your inner fire to completely dissipate in this sea. Do you want a whole heart, or do you want to wait another three hundred years?"

The person with heterochromia remained silent for a long time.

Above the sea, the eerie blue flames ceased their movement, as if awaiting their master's decision.

Finally, the man slowly raised his hand, and beneath the mask, his voice grew even deeper: "Three years. At most three years. If you still can't offer anything else in return after three years, then I will personally crush those eight pagodas and take back what belongs to me."

Xiao Fan placed his palm on the golden runes at the base of the tower and activated the power of the Creation Fire, gradually gathering the dissipating white heart fire together.

That ball of flame floated above his palm, pure as the moon, warm and smooth as jade, radiating an ancient and gentle light.

As Jiang Chen spoke, he pushed the Heartfire towards the man with heterochromia.

The person stretched out a slender, delicate hand and gently grasped the ball of white flame in her palm.

The moment the flame entered his palm, his aura surged dramatically, and even the surrounding air distorted slightly due to the intense heat.

He glanced at his palm, then at Xiao Fan. The wariness in his eyes behind the mask seemed to have lessened somewhat, but a strong sense of vigilance remained.

"A promise is a promise." He turned around, his clothes fluttering, and walked towards the sea.

The blue flames, like a flock of birds summoned, rose from the sea and disappeared into the aura surrounding him.

After an incense stick had burned, hundreds of dark figures vanished without a trace, and the sea returned to calm.

The figure of the person with heterochromia also disappeared into the mist, as if it had never existed.

Xiao Fan sighed deeply, his legs went weak, and he plopped down on the black rocks in front of the tower.

His back was soaked with cold sweat, and the red and blue flames in his hand disappeared at that moment.

The monk Gu Yuan and Han Fei ran down from the high place and were taken aback when they saw Han Fei's appearance.

"It's nothing." Xiao Fan waved his hand, his hoarse voice coming through the air. "There's a three-year agreement."

Yun Ruoxi walked over, squatted down, took out a Spirit Recovery Pill, and fed it to his mouth.

He opened his mouth and inhaled, and instantly, a cool sensation spread throughout his body, relieving his fatigue somewhat.

"Did you return his inner fire?"

"I've returned it," he said. Xiao Fan glanced at the gradually calming sea and said, "However, within three years, I must find a spiritual object that can replace the transmission of the Heart Flame. Otherwise, after ten years, the Nine Towers seal will still have problems."

"Three years? But where can you find a spiritual object of this level? Even a Grandmaster of the Void Pill can withstand it with his inner fire, so an ordinary spiritual object probably wouldn't be of much use."

Xiao Fan remained silent for a moment, without saying a word.

He closed his eyes and began searching for the fire control technique he had obtained from the altar on Crimson Cloud Mountain, which contained records about "Innate Spiritual Fire".

Among them is a rare flame called "Immaculate Fire," which is said to be able to replace all the original sources of fire in the world and connect the spiritual veins between heaven and earth.

However, the Immaculate Fire is just a legend and there are no specific records of it.

Xiao Fan stood up, looked at the cracked white pagoda, and said, "Let's go back first."

The inner fire within the tower has returned; the tower is now dark, yet it has not collapsed. The stone walls remain sturdy, but the golden runes upon them have lost their luster.

A group of people boarded the ship and left the dark ocean.

The ship emerged from the fog, sunlight streaming onto the deck. Xiao Fan stood at the stern, watching the black island and white tower gradually recede into the distance until they were completely out of sight.

He held the bronze ball, and the last pagoda phantom in the Nine Pagodas Map finally solidified. However, compared to the previous eight pagodas, this pagoda's light was dimmer, as if it might dim at any moment.

"Three years," he murmured the last sentence, then looked towards the northern sea.

During these three years, he not only had to find the Immaculate Flame, but also had to deal with the threat from the person with heterochromia.

This journey to the South China Sea is not yet over; it is just proceeding in a different way.

When I returned to the capital, it was already mid-July.

Inside the tower, lotus flowers bloom and cicadas chirp, creating a stark contrast with the dark and gloomy waters of the South China Sea.

When Xiao Fan entered the gate of the Pill Tower, Jiang Yuanji was sitting in the pavilion in the courtyard drinking tea. When he saw Xiao Fan return, he quickly waved and gestured for him to come over.

Xiao Fan sat down and began to recount in detail his journey, from the Crimson Cloud Pill Gathering to the Earth Fire Altar, to the breakthrough of the Fire Crystal, to the Sea of ​​No Light at the White Tower, to the hundreds of years of guarding, and to the agreement with the heterochromatic people.

Jiang Yuanji listened quietly, the tea in his cup had gone cold, but it wasn't filled to the brim.

After listening to Xiao Fan's words, Jiang Yuanji put down his teacup and sighed, "I know that when Taixu Dansheng set up the Nine Towers Formation, he drew from the heart fire of others. But who could have imagined that he would guard the South Sea for three hundred years?"

"Senior Jiang, have you ever heard of the Immaculate Fire?"

Jiang Yuanji tapped the table three times lightly, as if recalling something. After a while, he stood up and said, "Come with me."

He led Xiao Fan through the main hall of the Pill Tower, through several corridors, and to a wooden door locked with a copper lock.

Jiang Yuanji took out a worn-out key, unlocked the door, and went inside.

This is a very small library with tall bookshelves on three walls, filled with all kinds of books and classics, covered with a thick layer of dust, clearly indicating that it has not been maintained for many years.

Jiang Yuanji went straight to the deepest bookshelf, took out a yellowed bamboo scroll, brushed off the dust, and handed it to Xiao Fan.

"This is a handwritten note left by the third generation master of the Pill Tower. When he was young, he traveled all over the world and once saw traces of the Immaculate Fire in the ruins of a volcano in the far west."

He recorded everything he saw at the time, but due to various reasons, he was unable to conduct a thorough investigation.