The Eternal Saint of Alchemy

After a hearty meal, he excused himself, saying he was tired, and returned to his room. There, he unfolded the ancient parchment again and examined the mountains and rivers on the map inch by inch by the light of the lamp.

The map was marked with hundreds of tiny spiritual energy nodes, each with a brief annotation. Xiao Fan spent half the night and finally saw three familiar names next to one of the nodes: Thousand Mist Mountain, Black Stone Valley of Southern Xinjiang, and... Sunset Valley under Qingyun Mountain.

These nodes are all built around the nine towers, but the towers themselves cannot cover these areas.

They were like dregs scattered on the edge of the seal. Although suppressed by the aura of the Nine Towers Formation, they were not completely erased.

Xiao Fan folded the parchment and put it in his pocket, tapping his fingers lightly on the table.

It seems that the next step is far more complex than simply repairing the nine towers. These lingering embers of the moon are everywhere, each a potential hazard. If they are not eliminated one by one, they will inevitably return sooner or later.

Outside the window, the bright moon hangs high, and the Dry Bone Ridge is like a sleeping giant, silent and profound.

The next morning, Xiao Fan left the Pill Tower.

In Lingwu City, in the city lord's study, he spent the entire morning drawing out the seven places on the map closest to Lingwu City.

These nodes are scattered throughout the Kugu Ridge area, spanning three hundred miles. Some are in valleys, some in abandoned mines, and some in remote, untouched places.

"I might be staying here for a while these next few days." Xiao Fan looked at Master Gu Yuan, then at Han Fei, and said, "If we don't resolve the flame nodes marked on this parchment as soon as possible, they might cause problems at any time."

"Perfect timing. We're already in Lingwu City. Let's clear out the surrounding monsters first, so they don't have to come here again later."

Master Gu Yuan stroked his beard and nodded. Han Fei had already volunteered to go to the City Lord's Mansion to borrow horse rations from Zhou Keqing.

The first node is located below a cliff in the southern part of Drybone Ridge, in a vast valley.

Xiao Fan led the group down the steep hillside and found a hidden crevice among the rocks.

The crack was not deep, but its chilling aura was very similar to the icy poisonous mist in Luoxia Valley of Qingyun Mountain, only much thinner.

When the fire of creation is probed into the crevice, the crimson-gold flames spread in circles along the rock wall, and the blackish-gray residue attached to the rock wall breaks and peels off, turning into ashes that drift into the air.

In less than half an incense stick's time, the chill in the crack had completely disappeared, and it had returned to being an ordinary crevice in the mountain rock.

The second location was an abandoned silver mine, a full thirty miles away. The ash here was even more stubborn, hidden behind a piece of quartzite at the bottom of the mine shaft.

This time, Xiao Fan did not use the Creation Fire directly, but first used the Thunderfire Token to draw out a small bolt of lightning as a stepping stone.

The moment the silver arc made contact with the gray shadow, it emitted a piercing shriek. The gray shadow twisted violently for a moment, then completely dissipated, leaving only a thin layer of black ash.

Master Gu Yuan picked up a talisman, dipped it in the powder, and examined it. A solemn expression appeared on his face: "This powder is exactly the same as the black lotus from the Southern Frontier Tower. Although most of the Yin energy has been sealed, some scraps have still leaked out."

Xiao Fan dusted off his cigarette ash and remained silent.

He inspected each of the seven nodes one by one, and it took him half a day to clean them up.

By the time the last spot was cleared, it was dusk. The grayish-white rocks of Kugu Ridge turned reddish-brown under the setting sun, as if the entire wilderness had been gilded with a faint golden light.

After returning to Lingwu City, Xiao Fan rested briefly and embarked on his journey home the next day.

The carriage traveled eastward, and he leaned against the side of the carriage, closing his eyes to rest. The silver thread on his fingers glittered in the sunlight.

The discovery of the Taiyin Embers made him think of another problem: although the Nine Towers had stabilized, those scattered fragments were like small holes in a dam. Although they were not visible, they would eventually crack over time.

He decided that once he got back, he would study the ancient parchment carefully, marking all the nodes on the map and then cleaning it up according to different areas. Although it was a tedious and time-consuming task, it had to be done.

Three days later, Elder Shen sent someone to invite Xiao Fan to Yun Cang Mountain to fulfill his promise to him regarding the spiritual vein cultivation. Xiao Fan asked Master Gu Yuan to help him organize all the nodes on the scroll, and then went to Yun Cang Mountain alone.

The location of the spiritual vein in the back mountain is a cave with ancient pines and cypresses.

The temperature inside the cave remained constant, and the air was filled with a dense, almost tangible spiritual energy. With each breath, one could feel the true essence within their dantian automatically accelerating its flow.

Xiao Fan sat cross-legged, circulating the Qiankun Refining God Technique, guiding the spiritual energy between heaven and earth into his meridians.

He cultivated in the spiritual vein for ten days, which was equivalent to only ten days in the outside world, but the true essence in his dantian was more than he would have accumulated in several months of arduous cultivation.

On the day he emerged from seclusion, the density of spiritual energy within his body had increased by a full 30%, the silver patterns on his fingertips had become clearer, and the harmony between the power of thunder and fire and the true essence in his dantian had reached an unprecedented level.

On the way down the mountain, Elder Shen personally escorted him to the halfway point. Before leaving, he suddenly said, "A few days ago, we received news from the northern ice plains that some glaciers on the ice plains had cracked open, and black smoke was rising from inside. The Alliance Leader is not yet sure if it is true. If it is, then we will have to trouble you."

Xiao Fan nodded and made a mental note of it. The Northern Ice Sea was one of the nine towers he repaired first. If this ice fissure was very close to that ice tower, he definitely needed to be careful.

As evening fell, the two returned to Danta's courtyard.

Han Fei was cooking, while Yun Ruoxi sat in the courtyard reading. The oil in the pan sizzled. The setting sun shone obliquely on the green tiles, and wisps of smoke rose from the chimney, mingling with the afterglow of the sunset to create a warm, hazy glow.

Xiao Fan had just stepped into the courtyard and hadn't even sat down properly when he heard hurried footsteps coming from outside.

Old Zhao, the gatekeeper, rushed in, panting, holding a letter sealed with wax. On the letter was a tiny dark red mark, like a lotus flower in flames.

"Young Master Xiao, the urgent message that the gatekeeper just delivered was left by the messenger, and I didn't have time to ask who it was."

Xiao Fan opened the envelope and pulled out its contents. The words on the letter were unfamiliar and sharp, consisting of only three short sentences:

"I heard you obtained the Thunderfire Token. I, Wei from the Earthfire Hall, am here to await your arrival. If you do not come, I will report the Thunderfire Token to the Blackfire Sect of the Western Regions."