After several days of inquiries, Ding Fan, though still without news of Zhou Ruoran and Gusu Qingwen's whereabouts, had heard quite a bit about the matter of the Alchemy Cauldron preservation. Ding Fan wasn't sure if it was due to the Nascent Soul Stage of being here in Dancheng, but the cultivators here seemed to have an exceptionally keen interest in alchemy. Ding Fan noticed that almost everyone here, whether a cultivator or not, was constantly discussing the unveiling of the Alchemy Cauldron preservation method.

Ding Fan was a bit speechless and didn't know what to say, never expecting that a casual act of his would stir up such a sensation. Even Ding Fan himself was quite shocked.

Time passed quickly for Ding Fan, and in the blink of an eye, it was already the time for the Great Alchemy Competition. During these days, Ding Fan spent his time strolling the streets during the day and gathering fresh news, primarily focusing on the news about Zhou Ruoran and Gusu Qingwen. Sadly, Ding Fan did not manage to acquire any particularly useful information about them. As for the Wild Wolf Gang's information, Ding Fan dared not inquire openly, knowing his current strength was yet insufficient for that.

Therefore, Ding Fan has been discreetly gathering some information about the Wild Wolf Gang. Now Ding Fan could confirm that there were indeed many Wild Wolf Gang disciples present in Dancheng; some with relatively high cultivation, even beyond his capability, and many disciples with lower cultivation were evidently tasked with gathering intelligence. This was the result of Ding Fan's covert observations.

While Ding Fan wasn't entirely satisfied with this, he had no other options. The Wild Wolf Gang's power was formidable, clearly not something average cultivators could contend with. Even with deep-seated hatred for them, Ding Fan needed to act cautiously.

In these days, aside from occasionally accompanying Ding Fan to gather information, He Qianyao spent the rest of her time alone at the inn. The inn was clearly favored by He Qianyao, especially the cultivation area equipped with a Spirit Gathering Array, making it an excellent cultivation site. Having not encountered a particularly good cultivation location since leaving the Dayang Sect, He Qianyao dedicated most of these days to training upon discovering this inn's suitability.

After all, He Qianyao was well aware of numerous important matters in her heart: to avenge her father, her sect, and understanding Ding Fan's formidable strength, her own strength in comparison was noticeably insufficient.

Although by now He Qianyao had gained some insights into the fist technique taught by Ding Fan and could exert a certain combat effectiveness, with few opponents within the Early Nascent Soul Stage. However, this was not He Qianyao's ultimate goal. Clearly, she aspired to become someone as powerful as Ding Fan, thus realizing the long road ahead.

When the Great Alchemy Competition officially commenced, Ding Fan and He Qianyao headed straight out of the inn towards Wuji Square. This time, the Great Alchemy Competition was held precisely in Dancheng's Wuji Square, famously known throughout Donglai Continent as the venue for each Great Alchemy Competition. Many cultivators were aware of this place, and its renown had made it a synonym for Dancheng, prompting the City Lord's Mansion to reconstruct Wuji Square several years ago.

Currently, Wuji Square was no longer merely an enormous plaza; its scenery was top-notch with all public facilities perfectly established. Importantly, the City Lord's Mansion had transformed Wuji Square into a platform for medicine pill transactions, regularly attracting numerous cultivators.

Not only were many renowned alchemists from Donglai Continent present here, but a vast array of precious spiritual materials and medicine pills led most cultivators to choose this location for transactions. Considering the City Lord's Mansion heavily regards this enterprise, Wuji Square generates almost two-thirds of Dancheng's spirit stone income annually. Naturally, the City Lord's Mansion devotedly manages this site.

Hence, the security of Wuji Square is famously first-rate, where any form of violence is absolutely forbidden unless approved by the City Lord's Mansion, which obviously is quite difficult. Consequently, transactions involving medicine pills and spiritual materials within Wuji Square are extremely safe. In the Cultivation World, many rare spiritual materials and medicine pills are considered precious, rapidly becoming targets for many experts once they appear.

Hence, many cultivators of moderate strength with opportunities to acquire some rare spiritual materials, medicine pills, or even other items opt to trade here, given its relative safety. Additionally, the City Lord's Mansion is obliged to safeguard every transaction and the safety of both trading parties.

This alone draws quite a few cultivators to come.

Having spent days gathering information, Ding Fan was evidently well-acquainted with these circumstances. Ding Fan was already quite clear about Wuji Square's location and could easily find it by following the unified crowd flow on the streets. On the first day of the Great Alchemy Competition, Ding Fan and He Qianyao set out quite early.

However, upon finding themselves on the street, they realized many had risen earlier, with the streets already brimming with people. Evidently, it was bustling and lively, with people brimming with excitement as this Great Alchemy Competition was indeed a grand event. The streets were filled with participating alchemists, observers, and those with their own agendas.

Of course, most of these people with agendas belonged to various sects. Every sect hoped to enlist their own alchemists, keenly aware that the Great Alchemy Competition had gathered Donglai Continent's most outstanding alchemists, making it the perfect time for recruitment. Specifically, those alchemists displaying immense potential during the competition could be recruited to sects with relatively low compensation. When they grow strong on the path of alchemy, they would become vital resources for the sect, as alchemists are immensely valuable to any sect.

As Ding Fan and He Qianyao traversed the streets, public discussions were rampant, with people's heated exchanges centered on the upcoming Great Alchemy Competition and the major event within the Alchemist Realm—a young man revived an ancient recipe, publicly disseminating the method of Alchemy Cauldron preservation.

Ding Fan listened to such discussions and even began to feel immune to them, clearly considering it a rather ordinary matter. However, when He Qianyao heard about this, she couldn't help but admire the young man immensely, for he selflessly shared the method of preserving the Alchemy Cauldron with the world. But as she listened more, she seemed to recall something.

When He Qianyao heard the words "Master Nanyang," she completely understood. How could that young man be anyone else but Ding Fan himself? At this moment, He Qianyao looked at Ding Fan with a face full of shock, clearly not expecting Ding Fan to be so famous now. However, people didn't know Ding Fan's name, they only heard that it was actions of a young man. In a way, He Qianyao understood.

After all, when she and Ding Fan previously went to Master Nanyang, they did not reveal Ding Fan's real name, so at this moment people only knew the deeds of a young man, but didn't know his name.

He Qianyao looked at Ding Fan with a magnificent expression.

"Now you're actually so famous, it truly feels like an honor to know you!"

Upon hearing He Qianyao's mischievous smile, Ding Fan couldn't help but feel quite helpless, and then said calmly:

"It doesn't matter anyway, people don't know that the young man is me."

After hearing Ding Fan's words, He Qianyao felt a bit of helplessness for Ding Fan, knowing he wasn't someone who wanted to be famous. If Ding Fan wanted to be famous, there must be a reason behind it. As He Qianyao knew, one reason during the Nascent Soul period was that Ding Fan was looking for those few young ladies, and perhaps that's Ding Fan's reason for wanting to be famous.

But at this moment, everyone only knew that a young man revealed the method to preserve the Alchemy Cauldron, yet knew nothing about him. He Qianyao jokingly said to Ding Fan:

"Why don't I announce it for you, tell everyone you're that great young man!"

He Qianyao spoke softly, only Ding Fan could hear, but she didn't fear being overheard by others. Even if someone heard, they might only glance at them with a strange look, since Ding Fan appeared so ordinary, apart from looking handsome, nothing else stood out.

"There's no need for that, I intend to make my name known inside and out at the Great Alchemy Competition!"

At this moment, looking at He Qianyao, Ding Fan spoke with a tone that seemed both joking and serious. For a moment, He Qianyao looked at Ding Fan, unsure of what to say, and finally just gave Ding Fan a mischievous smile, then raised a thumbs-up, clearly having an attitude akin to Ding Fan's.

The two of them laughed and chatted about the Great Alchemy Competition along the way, and soon they followed the crowd and arrived at the entrance of Wuji Square.

The moment they entered Wuji Square, it was already crowded with people. Many vendors were even selling spiritual materials and medicine pills, adding to the bustling atmosphere.

At the entrance of Wuji Square, there were many cultivators passing through, so Ding Fan followed the crowd into the gate. There were two rows of armored cultivators at the gate, undoubtedly sent by the City Lord Mansion to maintain order. Ding Fan glanced at them briefly and saw that these soldiers' cultivation was not weak, mainly at the Early Nascent Soul stage, with some at the Middle Nascent Soul stage.

Seeing this, Ding Fan clearly realized that Wuji Square lived up to its reputation, being impressively well-maintained in terms of security, and even inside the square, more soldiers were stationed in densely populated areas to maintain order. Ding Fan understood that the visible forces weren't weak, implying that hidden experts at Wuji Square must be extraordinarily powerful, making it indeed a very safe place.

Entering the gates of Wuji Square, Ding Fan and He Qianyao headed directly to the registration area for the Great Alchemy Competition. There were three registration channels, with one notably sparse, few people entering it. Ding Fan looked carefully and found it was a VIP channel for alchemists with invitation letters.