The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

After walking for half a day, a bright light suddenly appeared before my eyes.

Ahead lay a wide valley, its bottom riddled with crisscrossing fissures from which flowed bright red lava, bubbling with white smoke.

Xiao Fan stopped and used his divine sense to explore the canyon. After confirming that there were no unusual spiritual energy fluctuations in the canyon, he signaled everyone to continue forward.

After crossing the valley, the terrain changed again. The mountains ahead suddenly became steep, and cone-shaped volcanoes rose from the ground. Some volcanoes emitted thick smoke, and flames could even be seen rolling inside some of them.

The surrounding air became unbearably hot, and even his breathing felt like it was being burned.

Suddenly, Xiao Fan stopped.

It was an extremely faint fluctuation of spiritual energy, seemingly emanating from deep underground. This fluctuation was not as violent as magma, but rather a uniform and calm pulsation, like the beating of a heart deep underground.

"There seems to be something down there." Xiao Fan pointed to a patch of black basalt at his feet. "Following this fluctuation, we've descended about four hundred meters. Judging by the frequency and the nature of this spiritual energy, it's definitely not an ordinary volcanic eruption."

Master Gu Yuan lay on the ground, listening intently. After a long while, he raised his head and said with a look of surprise, "Yes, but with our current cultivation level, it's simply unrealistic to dig out that fire vein."

Xiao Fan shook his head. The bamboo slips recorded that the belly of the Upside-Down Mountain was hollow, so the Immaculate Fire was inside the mountain, not deep underground.

This fluctuation is coming from underground, meaning the mountain we're looking for likely has extremely deep roots, connected to the earth's fire veins. Go up there and find the exposed parts of it.

He re-established his direction and headed southwest along the ridge.

After walking for about two hours, the outline of the mountain range ahead suddenly became strangely eerie—a solitary peak abruptly emerged from the center of the valley, its upper half as if it had been forcibly cut off by something, and the upper part was tilted, like an inverted pyramid, hanging in the air above the valley, as if it would fall at any moment.

"Upside-down Mountain..." Xiao Fan glanced at the strange mountain and muttered to himself, his voice carrying a hint of solemnity.

The mountain was entirely gray, with an incredibly smooth surface, as if it had been repeatedly polished.

Looking up from below, there is a crack in the mountain wall, through which a very faint light shines. The light is neither red nor yellow, but a soft white, like moonlight settling into the stone.

The Creation Flame within Xiao Fan's body suddenly flickered, a feeling even stronger than before in front of the tower.

"Found it. The Immaculate Fire is inside."

The group carefully made their way along the edge of the valley toward the upside-down mountain peak.

The further you go in, the lower the temperature becomes. A cool breeze emanates from the mountains, like icy spring water gushing from a sea of ​​fire, completely out of place with the surrounding environment.

Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, Xiao Fan discovered that the mountain was not "floating" in mid-air. At its base, there was a thin stone pillar connected to the earth, like a giant nail, pinning the entire mountain into the ground.

The stone pillar was so thick that it would take several people to encircle it, and its surface was as smooth as a mirror, unlike the roughness of the first half.

Xiao Fan placed his hand on the stone pillar, and a cool spiritual energy surged from his palm into his meridians. The spiritual energy was as warm as water, complementing the blazing fire of creation, as if the yin and yang energies were flowing simultaneously within his body.

"That's it." He withdrew his hand, a glint of light flashing in his eyes, and said, "The Immaculate Fire is a heatless substance, which can neutralize the heat of the earth fire, yet it can provide enough spiritual power for the nine towers. In three years, it can replace the Heart Fire."

"Then, how do we take it out?" Gu Yuan looked up at the crack on the mountain wall. The crack was dozens of feet above the ground, and the mountain wall was extremely smooth with no place to get a foothold.

After watching for a while, Xiao Fan suddenly generated a flame of creation in his palm, which transformed into a crimson-gold flame that slowly rose up along the stone pillar.

Wherever the flames touched, the smooth surface of the stone pillar softened slightly, revealing spiral-shaped protrusions, like layers of stairs.

"The Fire of Creation can resonate with this mountain." Xiao Fan explained as he walked up step by step, "This sentence is not on the bamboo slip. I felt the aura of the Fire of Creation when I touched the stone pillar."

This mountain is a massive natural array. When the Great Sage of the Void came here, he left a mark that resonated with the Creation Fire.

Yun Ruoxi followed behind her, with Master Gu Yuan and Han Fei close behind. Xiao Fan slipped into a crevice in the mountain's belly; the space inside was much larger than he had imagined, enough for more than ten people.

The cave walls were white, gleaming with a faint silver light. And in the very center of the stone chamber, there was a ball of white flame.

The flame emitted no heat whatsoever; its color was like white jade, radiating a soft, cool light that contrasted sharply with the scorching environment of the surrounding Flame Abyss.

Xiao Fan stepped forward and extended his palm toward the white flame. The Immaculate Flame seemed to sense the approach of the Creation Flame, and leaped slightly, as if reuniting with an old friend after a long separation.

"How many do you think I should take?" Yun Ruoxi asked.

Xiao Fan thought for a moment and said, "The Heart-Suppressing Tower only needs 70-80% of its spiritual power. Let's leave the rest here, so that if there's any need, it won't be completely destroyed."

Within his sea of ​​consciousness, the illusory image of the Creation Cauldron of Heaven and Earth flew out, its mouth facing the Immaculate Fire. Using the fire-controlling technique "Fire Splitting," he split the ball of white fire in two.

Half of it slowly fell into the cauldron, and under the protection of the Creation Fire, it sank into the sea of ​​consciousness. The other half floated quietly in place, its light slightly dim, yet still pure and flawless.

Xiao Fan carefully sealed the Immaculate Flame within his dantian, and feeling the refreshing spiritual energy, he felt relieved.

"I'm going back."

He turned around; he was the last to burst through the mountain crevice. He stood on the steps halfway up the mountain, looking at the crack that shimmered with white light, and followed the spiral pattern, step by step, down the mountain.

The crimson light from Yan Yuan shone on his back, making his shadow appear very long.

The most important step of this journey has been completed. Next, he needs to return to the Pill Tower and connect the remaining half of the Immaculate Flame with the Nine Towers Formation to fulfill the agreement made three years ago.

The group packed up their belongings and returned the way they came. The journey there had been difficult, but the return trip was faster than expected. They didn't know if it was because they were familiar with the route or because the cool aura emanating from the Immaculate Flame had improved their condition considerably.

As they left Yan Yuan Pass, a red sun rose slowly from the eastern Gobi Desert, dyeing the entire wasteland orange-red. Xiao Fan reined in his horse, glanced back at the dark red mountains in the distance, and then at the road home.