"Big Brother Ding Lin, I wonder if I have the honor to become your brother?"

At this moment, Long Ren gazed sincerely at the other party and asked. To Long Ren, he genuinely wanted to befriend Ding Lin. He truly admired Ding Fan's actions. Even before meeting Ding Fan, Long Ren had heard some stories about him from Tian Qi, which made him admire Ding Lin greatly and fueled his desire to become brothers with him.

Ding Fan heard his words and was filled with a heroic spirit. He also had a good impression of the other party. With a faint smile, Ding Fan said:

"Alright, as long as you don't mind the bond, why not!"

"Big Brother Ding Lin is unparalleled. Becoming brothers with Big Brother Ding Lin is an honor for me. How could I mind? It truly is my honor!"

Upon hearing Ding Fan's words, Long Ren couldn't help but feel extremely excited. He spoke with a face full of admiration.

Soon after, an elder, whose cultivation Ding Fan couldn't even discern, prepared some incense and arranged some fruit offerings for Ding Fan and Long Ren. The two then proceeded to hold three sticks of sandalwood incense, faced the heavens, and paid their respects. After three bows, Ding Fan and Long Ren became brothers, and both felt immensely satisfied. Consequently, Ding Fan did not rush to Lan City but sat down with Long Ren and the others for a chat.

At this moment, Chai Er and Wu Qianwen, witnessing this scene, felt puzzled for Ding Fan. The two just became blood brothers out of nowhere, which seemed somewhat exaggerated, right? They knew Ding Fan had only just met the cultivator, and becoming brothers on the first day they met was a bit over the top! Moreover, they knew that Ding Fan was at least a decent cultivator with considerable strength, and Ding Fan also seemed quite skilled in alchemy.

However, the young man seemed unremarkable at first glance to Chai Er and Wu Qianwen, leaving them puzzled about why Ding Fan wanted to become brothers with him.

For Ding Fan, making a brother did not require any particular reason, as long as they hit it off. What's wrong with becoming brothers if they felt a connection? Moreover, to Ding Fan, forming a brotherhood did not necessarily require rituals or ceremonies, as long as both acknowledged each other as brothers in their hearts, didn't it amount to the same thing? Ding Fan also knew everyone was different.

Evidently, such thoughts may not sit well with Long Ren, thus Ding Fan indulged him with the ritual since Long Ren wanted it.

After all, forming a brotherhood meant mutual support and compromise, didn't it?

During the following period, Ding Fan and Long Ren got along well. Through their conversation, Ding Fan learned more about Long Ren. To Ding Fan's surprise, Long Ren's cultivation seemed not much lesser than his own and possibly even surpassed him, which left Ding Fan somewhat shocked. Considering Long Ren was even younger, yet his cultivation had outpaced his own.

Ding Fan understood that cultivators in the Cultivation World with higher cultivation than himself, and who were also younger, were indeed rare. After all, Ding Fan knew his cultivation talent was quite remarkable, and there were almost no cultivators in the Cultivation World with a more potent cultivation talent than his; it was utterly astonishing!

However, Ding Fan wasn't feeling any inferiority. Considering all sorts of prodigies existed in the Cultivation World, Ding Fan was convinced there must be others more talented than himself. He also didn't think of himself as the greatest under the heavens. Moreover, Ding Fan knew, although Long Ren's cultivation was a bit stronger, he didn't necessarily consider himself inferior in terms of strength.

Moreover, Ding Fan knew his achievements in alchemy were evidently far more advanced, considering he was already a Grade Nine Alchemist. In this regard, Ding Fan believed hardly anyone could surpass him, knowing full well that mastery in alchemy was far more difficult than cultivation.

"Big Brother, why do you harbor such animosity towards the Wild Wolf Gang?"

After a short while, Long Ren heard about Ding Fan's slaying of the Wild Wolf Gang's cultivator, which piqued his curiosity. After all, the Wild Wolf Gang wasn't just any ordinary group. Since wiping out the Dayang Sect, it became one of the larger sects on the Donglai Continent. Not only ordinary cultivators, but even usual sects wouldn't dare to provoke them lightly.

And yet Big Brother Ding Lin openly slew the Wild Wolf Gang's elder in Dancheng, a feat hardly achievable by an ordinary cultivator.

When Ding Fan heard Long Ren's words, he recalled the Wild Wolf Gang, his face showing signs of anger as he said:

"You've heard of the Dayang Sect, right? My dear brother?"

"Of course, it used to be a remarkable Great Gate Sect!" Long Ren answered directly.

"I am a disciple of the Dayang Sect."

Ding Fan said with a hint of sorrow on his face.

"What? Big Brother, you are a disciple of the Dayang Sect? But as I heard, all the Dayang Sect's cultivators were slaughtered by the Wild Wolf Gang, and the only one who escaped was a cultivator named Ding Fan. It's said the Wild Wolf Gang is relentlessly searching for Ding Fan to kill him! Ding Fan... could it be that Big Brother is Ding Fan?"

"I am precisely Ding Fan!"

Ding Fan couldn't help but speak with a sense of dignity. However, Ding Fan was also somewhat curious in his heart; for most cultivators, they only knew that the Dayang Sect was annihilated by the Wild Wolf Gang. Some even heard that the Wild Wolf Gang had killed a Dayang Sect disciple named Ding Fan. But very few people knew that he was the only disciple of the Dayang Sect who escaped; those aware of this were not many. Apart from himself, only the higher-ups of the Wild Wolf Gang knew, as well as those other sect leaders allied with the Wild Wolf Gang.

But Ding Fan didn't expect that the other party's dear brother knew so much in detail, causing Ding Fan to begin speculating about Long Ren's true identity. But Ding Fan trusted Long Ren. Ding Fan could see that this Long Ren was definitely not a person from the Wild Wolf Gang, mainly because he lacked that kind of evil aura. Otherwise, he wouldn't have become brothers with him, and Ding Fan knew that since they had become brothers, he was evidently not keen on hiding his secrets from him.

At this moment, Chai Er heard Ding Fan's words and couldn't help but be startled. They rarely went out and clearly hadn't heard about Ding Fan's matters with the Dayang Sect, nor did they know much about Ding Fan's background. But hearing that Ding Fan could escape alone when an entire sect was slaughtered was already quite remarkable.

After all, they had heard of the Wild Wolf Gang. It was no ordinary sect; it was evidently a massive force, not something that an ordinary cultivator could deal with.

At this time, Long Ren heard Ding Fan's words, and couldn't help but be very shocked, yet also more delighted. He clearly hadn't expected that Big Brother Ding Lin was Ding Fan. He had evidently heard of Ding Fan's exploits, which were all incredibly remarkable, and couldn't help but admire him even more, saying to Ding Fan with a look of awe:

"Big Brother, rumors in the martial world say that you wiped out several sects overnight. Is that true?" Long Ren asked with curiosity written all over his face. He had evidently heard about that particular legend concerning Ding Fan and felt a strong curiosity now that they had become brothers, wanting to know if it was true.

"That's not true. I didn't wipe out so many sects overnight, especially since my strength at that time didn't reach that level, but now I could accomplish a bit."

Ding Fan replied rather calmly. Obviously, Ding Fan had heard many such legends before, but Ding Fan evidently hadn't debunked them. After all, Ding Fan back then wanted his reputation to grow a bit, as it would be easier to find Zhou Ruoran and others that way. With a slightly larger reputation, there would be a better chance that Zhou Ruoran and the others might hear about him.

At this moment, Long Ren heard Ding Fan's words and couldn't help but agree wholeheartedly, saying:

"Big Brother's strength is extraordinary; you can surely do it."

After their chat, Ding Fan became somewhat curious about Long Ren's background and couldn't help but ask, "Dear brother, where are you from, and which sect?"

Upon hearing Big Brother Ding Fan's words, Long Ren couldn't help but feel a bit troubled as he replied:

"Big Brother, I'm also from the Donglai Continent; it's just that regarding my sect, I'm feeling a bit troubled right now and can't tell you, but I promise I will tell you. It's just not now."

Ding Fan, upon hearing these words, found his assumption was correct; his dear brother was no ordinary person. Otherwise, what would be the hesitation in saying it? Ding Fan knew that in the Cultivation World, few people exist without secrets. Since Long Ren wanted to wait some time before telling him, there must be a reason for it, and Ding Fan nodded, saying:

"Alright."

"Thank you for understanding, Big Brother. You're heading to Lan City as well, right?" Long Ren observed that Big Brother Ding Fan's previous direction was precisely towards Lan City, and given that there's only one Lan City nearby, he directly asked.

"Yes, are you also heading to Lan City?"

Ding Fan responded and inquired in return.

"Yes, Big Brother, then let's go together. It's getting dark soon; how about lodging in Lan City for the night?" Long Ren answered.

Then Ding Fan readily agreed, and he, Long Ren, and others set off together towards Lan City. Lan City was already quite close by, and within just a few hours, they reached Lan City. During the journey, Ding Fan had enjoyable conversations with Long Ren; he hadn't expected Long Ren and his companions were also headed to Lan City for the auction, so they could reside together.

Upon entering Lan City, Ding Fan and his companions walked down the bustling streets, feeling the prosperity and vibrance of the city. Ding Fan could tell that the auction was evidently just a few days away, drawing significantly more cultivators than usual to Lan City. Even the number of street vendors seemed to have increased, with stalls selling everything from medicine pills to spiritual materials and magic artifacts, all readily available.

As Ding Fan and his group walked along the street, observing the numerous vendors on both sides, it was clear that these vendors only had relatively low-level items. Such vendors evidently wouldn't attract high-cultivation cultivators; those with higher cultivation levels would surely purchase things in larger shops, as those bigger stores had many high-level items needed by advanced cultivators, though the value was quite significant.

However, for those high-level cultivators, the spirit stones involved were far from being of concern.