Early morning the next day.

Wu Qianwen had already woken up, but even with Chai Er's company, she remained somewhat dazed, her face filled with heartbreak and despondence.

Ding Fan, who had returned from morning hunting, quickly grilled some wild game. For Ding Fan, morning meals were unnecessary, as he had cultivated to the Nascent Soul Mid Stage, nearing the Spirit Severing Initial Stage. Thus, eating once meant he didn't need to eat for a long time afterward.

Ding Fan grilled the wild game for Wu Qianwen. Although Wu Qianwen seemed somewhat indifferent to Ding Fan before, Ding Fan took into consideration Wu Zun, taking care of his two daughters. At the moment, Wu Qianwen clearly looked like a heartbroken woman, and Ding Fan had no good advice for her.

So after pondering, he decided to make some delicious food. After all, there's nothing a good meal can't solve for a woman; if there is, then two meals will do.

Ding Fan didn't know if this saying was credible, but could only try it.

Soon, the aroma of grilled meat wafted into the air. Ding Fan sniffed, feeling quite satisfied. The wild game was from the deep forest, and evidently, after being grilled, the meat appeared crispy and tender, both in color and fragrance, it looked delectable!

After a while, Ding Fan brought a piece of grilled wild game into Chai Er's tent. At this moment, Wu Qianwen's eyes were swollen from crying, her face full of sorrow, with tears streaming down her face like rain on pear blossoms.

"It smells so good!"

The first to catch the aroma was Chai Er, who had been caring for Wu Qianwen. Seeing the grilled wild game in Ding Fan's hand, Chai Er couldn't help but have her appetite whetted. She then said to her sister, hoping to divert her attention to Big Brother Ding Lin's food:

"Sister, look at the wild game Big Brother Ding Lin made for you, it smells so wonderful! Let's eat some, quickly!"

"..."

Wu Qianwen, upon hearing Chai Er's words, tears in her eyes, glanced at the grilled wild game in Ding Fan's hands. Clearly, Wu Qianwen had little interest in food at the moment. She staggeringly walked up to Ding Fan and hugged him tightly, choking out:

"I was wrong! I was really wrong! I should have listened to you long ago..."

Ding Fan, held by Wu Qianwen, gave a knowing smile, then with a comforting expression, said to her:

"It's good that you realized your mistake. Just don't repeat it. Let's have some food first."

Chai Er, hearing Ding Fan's words, looked at her sister fondly hugging Ding Fan, unable to contain herself as she said:

"Let's eat quickly! I'm practically drooling just watching!"

With that, Chai Er sidled up to Ding Fan, opened her mouth wide and began chewing on the wild game with immense satisfaction. Wu Qianwen too stepped away from Ding Fan, watching her sister eat the wild game with a comically exaggerated look of delight, finally breaking into a smile. She casually wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, walking over to Chai Er, and with a bit of reproach said:

"Eat slowly!"

"It's really delicious! You must try it, Sister!"

Chai Er, hearing her sister's words, looked utterly blissful as she spoke to Wu Qianwen. But seeing her sister in a much better state, Chai Er no longer felt as worried. Seeing her sister admit her own mistakes, Chai Er was genuinely happy for her.

At that moment, Wu Qianwen regretted it deeply. She couldn't understand herself. So many people advised her to leave Tong Xie, but why wouldn't she listen? How could she be so stupid? Even Ding Lin warned her when she first got involved with Tong Xie, yet she not only ignored his advice but grew more resentful towards Ding Lin. She was utterly foolish…

Wu Qianwen never imagined Tong Xie could be such a person. She had given him her first time, yet he not only denied their relationship but also claimed she pursued him and seduced him. It was utterly vile, and recalling her first time given to such a scoundrel, she couldn't help but feel a surge of regret…

Ding Fan waited until Wu Qianwen's emotions settled a bit, then informed her about her cultivation situation. Wu Qianwen was immensely shocked, not expecting that scoundrel Tong Xie to be not only a jerk but also an Evil Cultivator, using her to cultivate. It was simply too damaging! Wu Qianwen regretted even more, puzzled as to what made her fall for Tong Xie. Alas, there's no remedy for regret in this world…

Quickly, Wu Qianwen realized the gravity of her situation. For now, the most crucial thing was to cultivate properly; otherwise, her cultivation might drop below the Nascent Soul stage! Thinking of this, Wu Qianwen was filled with lamentation and regret. Cultivating to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage wasn't easy; it took several years of effort. But now, she had fallen back to the Early Nascent Soul Stage; all the hard work over the years had vanished…

Ding Fan watched as Wu Qianwen had already returned to normal, recognizing her situation and understanding that the most important thing was to quickly cultivate. After all, irrespective of gender, cultivation is the most important thing in the Cultivation World. Moreover, Wu Qianwen's situation was even more special; if she didn't seize the time to cultivate, her cultivation level would soon fall below the Nascent Soul. That would be truly lamentable!

Speaking of this, Ding Fan thought it was indeed a silver lining that Wu Qianwen saw through Tong Xie at this time. Otherwise, if Wu Qianwen had stayed with Tong Xie for a few more days, her cultivation would definitely have fallen below the Nascent Soul. It's known that falling below the Nascent Soul makes it extremely difficult to regain one's cultivation. It's not just a mere rank but an entire level; the difference between them is significant.

Consequently, Ding Fan immediately led Chai Er and the others to continue on their journey, as they were already nearing Lan City.

When Wu Qianwen came out, she discovered that Tong Xie and the people with the black-clad girl had long since disappeared. Clearly, Ding Fan hadn't told her for her own good, making Wu Qianwen feel deeply grateful to Ding Fan in her heart sect, while also feeling a profound sense of shame. She couldn't help but think back on her previous attitude towards Ding Fan and feel that she had indeed gone too far.

Previously, Ding Fan naturally didn't take Wu Qianwen's words to heart. He knew there were many things he needed to deal with in his mind, clearly having no extra energy to focus on Wu Qianwen. Simply considering Wu Zun's face, Ding Fan couldn't just ignore her!

In no time, they walked over a mountain peak without realizing it, and standing at the top, they could even see the silhouette of Lan City. Clearly, Lan City was almost in sight.

As Ding Fan and the others descended the mountain and reached a plain, Ding Fan killed a few Yuan Beasts and discovered a small group resting ahead. Ding Fan glanced over briefly; among the three, all were men—two young and one elder. Ding Fan found nothing particularly special about them. At this point, Wu Qianwen and Chai Er also spotted the distant group and couldn't help but take a closer look.

Subsequently, Ding Fan and his group continued on their journey. Ding Fan had no impression of the three men. Cultivators are rarely seen in such dense forests, so Ding Fan didn't focus much on the three, and it seemed they didn't pay much attention to him, either. But just as Ding Fan was about to continue his journey, someone called out to him.

"Ding Lin!"

Though his name wasn't Ding Lin, Ding Fan had often used this alias before, especially in Dancheng. Although many cultivators in Dancheng later knew him as Ding Fan, for them, they had already gotten used to calling him Ding Lin. After all, ever since Ding Fan completed the Great Alchemy Competition, his deeds had become a hot topic among many Dancheng cultivators.

Thus, when Ding Fan heard someone call out the name Ding Lin, he stopped in his tracks. Clearly, the voice was coming from the direction of those resting cultivators; however, Ding Fan hadn't noticed anyone he knew among them before, which made him a bit curious. Could it be a loyal fan of his? But this was simply a joke in Ding Fan's mind.

At this moment, Chai Er and Wu Qianwen were also surprised and couldn't help but stop with Ding Fan, looking back at the three resting cultivators, curious to know who could recognize Ding Fan.

Ding Fan witnessed this scene and turned around. He saw, among the three not far away, a young cultivator with a face full of joy and excitement, waving enthusiastically at him. Upon seeing Ding Fan's face, the young cultivator became even more thrilled, not expecting it to really be Ding Lin! The young cultivator pulled the other young cultivator beside him, quickly approaching Ding Fan, with the elder following behind the two youth towards Ding Fan.

"It's really you, Brother Lin! Meeting you here is my great fortune!"

The cultivator who had previously called out to Ding Fan walked up to him, looking at Ding Fan with a face full of worship and excitement, indeed seeming like a loyal fan. The young cultivator couldn't help but speak with excitement.

Ding Fan looked at the young cultivator; he seemed somewhat familiar, but Ding Fan couldn't quite recall who it was. He only had a vague familiarity with the face. He was sure he hadn't spoken to this cultivator before, though the person seemed to recognize him, suggesting they might be from Dancheng. Especially now that Ding Fan is the Vice City Lord of Dancheng, he has a favorable impression of it.

So, Ding Fan couldn't help but awkwardly ask:

"You are?"

The young cultivator, hearing Ding Fan's words, showed no trace of blame for Ding Fan not recognizing him. Instead, he became even more excited and said:

"I admire you greatly. I have heard of your great name a long time ago. Back then, I boasted about your prowess while outside with others, but they seemed skeptical. Yet, your outstanding performance at the Great Alchemy Competition proved my words true! Seeing you now is such a joy!"

"Oh, oh, I remember now."

"You remember me? Really? Have you seen me before?"

"Yes, I saw you in a teahouse."

"My gosh, I'm so lucky…"

The young cultivator, hearing Ding Fan, couldn't help but feel extremely excited. He hadn't expected that Ding Lin had actually seen him before and even had some impression. This is truly unbelievable!