The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

"This is the first time I've known that the Dan Tower is such a large place, even though it's been a hundred years since it was built." Jiang Yuanji squatted down and ran his finger along the edge of the floor tile, discovering a slight dent in the ground.

Xiao Fan also squatted down and poured the aura of the Creation Fire into the crack.

A crimson-gold light spread from the cracks in the bricks, flowing along the edges of the floor tiles like water. The tiles all sank downwards, creating a sloping staircase that could only accommodate one person.

The stairs were much longer than he had imagined. Xiao Fan roughly counted and found that there were five turns in total. It took about half an hour to reach the bottom.

Below is a stone chamber about three zhang in diameter, with all four walls made of green jade. A giant map of the nine towers is engraved on the walls, and the location of each tower is clearly marked with gold lines.

In the very center of the stone chamber is a spring about the size of a bowl, its water as still as a mirror, reflecting a crystalline light.

Xiao Fan squatted down and put his hand into the spring water. The moment his fingertips touched the water, an extremely powerful spiritual energy surged up his meridians, resonating strongly with the Creation Fire in his sea of ​​consciousness.

The spiritual energy flowed continuously across the distribution map of the nine towers, as if an invisible net was spreading out in all directions from the depths of the earth.

"This is the central point." After the Heart Fire returned to the lineage of the Fire Seekers, there was a period of inactivity in the meridians, but the spring still functioned.

He took out half of the Immaculate Fire from the jade bottle, used the grafting method from the Supreme Elixir Scripture to wrap the half of the Immaculate Fire, and then carefully sent the ball of white fire into the spring.

As soon as the Immaculate Fire entered the water, the spring shone brightly, and the cool spiritual energy spread outwards along the underground veins.

With his eyes closed, Xiao Fan extended his divine sense along the transmission route, sensing the locations of the nine towers. All nine towers were receiving this cool power, like a long-parched riverbed suddenly receiving the irrigation of a clear spring.

In the Black Stone Tower and Thousand Mist Tower of Southern Xinjiang, the Azure Wave Island of the East Sea, and the Black Sand Sea of ​​the Western Regions, one place after another, a faint light appeared.

When the last white pagoda in the South China Sea was also enveloped in spiritual energy, Xiao Fan felt his meridians return to normal.

Although not as fiery as the fire of the heart, the neutralizing and gentle nature of the immaculate fire makes the entire network operate more smoothly, like a tamed river, without any ripples or waves.

He withdrew his consciousness from the spring, stood up, and felt the coolness coming from his hands.

"It's done." He sighed, his tone relaxed, as if a heavy burden had been lifted. "The three-year agreement has been submitted."

Jiang Yuanji stood with his hands behind his back before the jade wall, studying the map of the nine towers. Hearing this, he turned around, smiled slightly, and said, "Only a few months have passed since the three-year agreement, and you're already fully prepared. What do you plan to do for the remaining two years?"

After a moment's thought, Xiao Fan turned his gaze to a line of extremely small characters at the bottom of the jade disc. After the entire scroll was completed, the Grandmaster of the Void added another line, the characters very light, seemingly written casually:

"The Nine Towers are complete, and I have no regrets. But the greatest scourge in this world is not the power of Yin. If anyone wishes to advance further, they can go to the Thunder Ruins beyond the Far East. There are things I left behind there that may solve the problems of the future."

He finished reading slowly, then turned to look at Jiang Yuanji, a half-smile on his face, and said, "Senior, have you ever heard of the Thunder Ruins beyond the Eastern Pole?"

Jiang Yuanji raised an eyebrow, and after a long while, he clapped his hands and said, "You really can't hold your temper. When I was young, I also heard people talk about that place. It is said that the entire sea area is covered with thunderclouds all year round, with lightning and thunder, and ships can't get close at all."

Even seabirds would detour around it. The Grandmaster of the Void said he left something there.

Xiao Fan dusted himself off and turned to walk up the stone steps.

"Then you should prepare yourself first. Once I fully understand this blueprint, we'll head to the East."

His shadow was stretched long by the faint light from the jade wall as he climbed upwards step by step. Behind him, the white flames in Wang Quan's eye sockets burned silently, stitching together all the cracks between the nine pagodas.

There is still a long way to go to reach the East China Sea, and the legend of Leixu Old Ruins remains to be verified.

But at least for this moment, the pagoda beneath his feet, the spring underground, and the dustless fire that was half integrated into his meridians all told him that this was a stable path.

The aroma of wine and the sound of Han Fei cooking wafted over from the courtyard. Xiao Fan quickened his pace and stepped into the sunlight.

Seven days' journey eastward from Danta leads to the sea.

This time, he did not choose the South China Sea, but instead chose the Min River, which is northeast of the Daqing Empire.

Han Fei had already made contact with an iron ship. The ship's owner was a burly, dark-faced man in his fifties named Liao, who spent most of his life at sea. It was said that he had seen the ruins of Leixu from afar when he was young, but dared not approach them.

"That sea is too eerie."

Captain Liao shook his head and carried the buckets onto the boat. "Dark clouds are gathering, and lightning flashes one after another. Each lightning bolt can send water columns several meters high into the sea. Even iron would be melted."

Xiao Fan glanced at him and smiled slightly: "As long as Captain Liao can take us to the edge of Thundercloud, the rest is up to us."

The ship owner, Liao, sized him up. He noticed that although the man was young, he had a strong presence. There was also an old man beside him with a talisman bag hanging from his waist and a short sword on his back. Liao figured that the old man was also a cultivator with considerable strength. Liao nodded in agreement.

After leaving the mouth of the Minjiang River, we sailed eastward for three days. The sea gradually turned from deep blue to gray-black, and the sky grew darker and darker.

On the morning of the fourth day, a large, thick, leaden-gray cloud layer could be seen where the sea met the sky. Occasionally, bright white lightning would flash across the clouds, making the sea surface appear to light up and darken.

The boat captain, Liao, stopped his boat and pointed to the dark clouds ahead, saying, "We've arrived. We'll be struck by lightning two or three miles ahead. My boat is too flimsy to withstand it."

Xiao Fan paid the fare and led his group to exchange for a small spirit boat, which had been prepared in advance.

This spirit boat was an antique that Jiang Yuanji found in the Danta Library. It was made entirely of thunderwood and engraved with lightning runes, which could resist ordinary lightning.

Master Gu Yuan then affixed three more lightning talismans to the ship to ensure its safety.

As the spirit boat left the large ship and entered the area shrouded in thunderclouds, the surroundings suddenly darkened. The dark clouds hung low overhead, seemingly within reach, with lightning flashing and deafening thunder rumbling through them.

The sea was turbulent, and although the waves were not large, tiny arcs of electricity danced on the crests, as if the entire sea was shrouded in thunder.