The elder knew in his heart that those naturally gifted alchemists could become outstanding alchemy masters even without a mentor's guidance. Of course, such alchemy masters pay a higher price than ordinary alchemists, and they are evidently more respected.

The elder remembered his own master was once a completely self-taught alchemy master, and he was renowned in the Cultivation World as an extraordinary existence.

At this moment, as the elder looked at Ding Fan, he couldn't help but be reminded of his former master. Therefore, the elder had a very good impression of Ding Fan and sincerely believed that Ding Fan would certainly become someone important in the future.

Ding Fan chatted with the elder for a while, and from Ding Fan's own words, the elder learned that Ding Fan was about to participate in the Great Alchemy Competition in Dancheng. The elder's heart couldn't help but be filled with excitement, clearly envisioning the exhilarating moment when Ding Fan would win the top prize.

In Master Nanyang's heart, Ding Fan was unquestionably destined to become the champion of the Dancheng competition—there was simply no doubt about it.

Ding Fan modestly accepted the elder's praise. In fact, Ding Fan himself was unsure how his alchemy level stood in the Cultivation World, but judging from the elder's expression, it was clear his alchemy skills were remarkable, as even such a formidable elder highly appreciated him.

After some time, Ding Fan rose to bid farewell to the elder, unable to afford any more delay. Originally, the elder wanted Ding Fan to stay longer at his mansion, but Ding Fan refused. The elder still left a good impression on Ding Fan, clearly a respected and reclusive alchemy master with a likable personality, as he was quite amiable and approachable.

Ding Fan could also discern that the elder's amiable demeanor was seemingly reserved for him alone, evidently due to his high alchemic talent, something Ding Fan understood very well.

Overall, the elder left a very positive impression on Ding Fan.

However, Ding Fan did not accept the elder's invitation to stay, as he had many important matters to attend to and couldn't waste any more time.

Upon hearing Ding Fan's refusal, the elder understood and subsequently gifted him nearly thirty precious spiritual materials and some "Tranquil Spirit Tea". Those were exceedingly rare materials that filled Ding Fan's heart with delight upon seeing them, though he initially wanted to refuse.

But under the elder's persistent insistence, Ding Fan ultimately accepted them.

"Young friend, this is a Jade Plate; keep it. Perhaps it will be of use when you arrive in Dancheng."

At this moment, the elder spoke to Ding Fan with great sincerity, handing him a Jade Plate. He knew Ding Fan was going to participate in the Dancheng competition, and obviously, the plate was something he wouldn't be using shortly, so he straightforwardly gifted it to Ding Fan.

Ding Fan picked up the Jade Plate and examined it briefly, confirming it was indeed a very ordinary plate; thus, he accepted it without further delay.

Finally, Ding Fan and his companion bid farewell to the elder, the young cultivator Qing Feng, and the two small boys and girls and continued on their journey.

Watching Ding Fan and his companion gradually depart, the elder and the rest returned directly to the mansion. At this moment, Qing Feng appeared to have many questions to ask his master, evidently puzzled, but feared he might be reprimanded. Ultimately, Qing Feng summoned the courage to ask the elder:

"Master, although his alchemic talent is superior, is it not inappropriate to give him such a precious Jade Plate? In addition, those medicine pills and spiritual materials are not ordinary objects; each one is a rare existence that all cultivators strive to obtain, but master gifted him over thirty. Isn't that a bit exaggerated?"

The two small boys and girls couldn't help but feel curious upon hearing their senior brother's words. Clearly, their master was behaving unusually today, and they eagerly looked at the elder, hoping he would answer their elder brother's question.

Seeing his disciples looking at him with such curiosity, the elder couldn't help but smile lightly. He then spoke with some sentiment:

"You don't understand, this child is no ordinary person!"

After the elder finished his words, he didn't want to hear any replies from his disciples and, smiling, returned to his room. Though today resulted in significant losses for him, including some "Tranquility Spirit Tea", over thirty precious spiritual materials, and the Jade Plate sent by an old friend, his mood remained joyful.

The elder understood the importance of not focusing solely on the losses today but also on what he gained. Each of these gains was extremely rare, and he was willing to sacrifice years of his lifespan to establish a relationship with such an alchemic genius. Indeed, knowing a self-taught alchemic genius like Ding Fan was the luckiest thing for an alchemist.

Alchemic geniuses like Ding Fan were exceedingly rare, and the elder sincerely believed Ding Fan would achieve great success in the field of alchemy, even possibly surpassing him in the future. Clearly, establishing a good relationship with him before he fully matured was a very wise choice.

"Qing Feng, learn well from him. Despite his youth, his alchemic attainments surpass yours. Do not let me down..."

At this moment, the elder did not turn back, leaving just this sentence for Qingfeng. When Qingfeng heard his master's words, he fell into silence for a while; obviously, Ding Fan's previous performance had completely surpassed him, which Qingfeng was well aware of in his heart.

Qingfeng knew the meaning of his master. It was clear that he wanted him to work harder and strive to surpass the opponent. Suddenly, a new goal emerged in Qingfeng's heart, and that was Ding Fan. He understood clearly that he must surpass Ding Fan!

...

In the blink of an eye, three days had passed. By this time, Ding Fan and He Qianyao had smoothly arrived at the gates of Dancheng. Standing at the gate, Ding Fan looked at the towering city gate, knowing well that Dancheng was evidently a large city. Just the city gate itself was extremely spectacular, a grand and sturdy gate built of thick stones, tidy, beautiful, and majestic.

Moreover, in the center of this gate stood an enormous alchemy cauldron. Ding Fan could tell that this cauldron was merely an architectural feature, not a real alchemy cauldron. However, from this detail, Ding Fan had already realized that Dancheng was evidently prevalent in alchemy.

Otherwise, there would be no reason to place an alchemy cauldron-shaped structure in the most prominent position of the city gate center, clearly indicating that Dancheng seemed to take pride in alchemy.

It was noon at this time, and many people were coming in and out of the city gate. The guards near the city gate were very imposing, and Ding Fan estimated that these city guard cultivators were roughly at the early Nascent Soul Stage. Such a level of cultivation was evidently not weak.

Importantly, this was merely the cultivation of the city guards, indicating the City Lord Mansion of Dancheng was quite formidable. This was just Ding Fan's deduction, but it was evidently based on substantial facts.

Then, Ding Fan and his companion followed the crowd into the city directly.

Walking on the street, Ding Fan and his companion found the streets bustling with activity, possibly because it was noon. Evidently, many vendors came out to do business, and there were numerous cultivators on the streets. Many cultivators patronized the small vendors on both sides of the street, wanting to buy some things they needed from these vendors.

Of course, the vast streets of Dancheng did not merely consist of small vendors. There were evidently many shops on both sides of the street, and most of them were decorated very exquisitely, clearly attracting many cultivator customers.

Yet, there were still many cultivators who wanted to fish out some treasures from those small vendors, as some unique treasures were more common among the small vendors. Therefore, many cultivators liked to patronize the small vendors in the corners on the sides of the street.

Ding Fan was evidently well aware of this. At present, Ding Fan and his companion occasionally turned their attention to small vendors on the side of the street. After all, Ding Fan had many spirit stones right now, but not much spiritual material. Although Master Nanyang had previously given him thirty precious spiritual materials.

But Ding Fan knew those spiritual materials were too precious. As an alchemist, Ding Fan was evidently aware that merely having thirty precious spiritual materials was clearly not enough to refine some medicine pills. After all, Ding Fan also needed to refine some ordinary medicine pills for himself, which required some common spiritual materials.

To know that any supreme quality medicine pill refining requires a lot of common spiritual materials as auxiliaries, merely having precious main spiritual materials was clearly not sufficient.

In a short time, Ding Fan and his companion suddenly noticed that a few cultivators had surrounded a small vendor at a corner ahead. The cultivators who did not mean well also saw this scene, feeling slightly sorry for that small vendor. However, most cultivators, buying, were clearly angered but dared not express it.

At this moment, seeing this scene, Ding Fan could not help but extend his divine sense, wanting to see what was happening there.

"Kid! Today, you're lucky that I, Zhao Qiang, fancy your alchemy cauldron. Hurry and bring it to the elder, and I will spare your life!"

"Get it out quickly, don't make us take action!"

"..."

At that moment, the people surrounding a very young boy spoke to him harshly. The clothes they wore were somewhat similar, suggesting they might be part of an organization. Evidently, these people fancied the alchemy cauldron the boy intended to sell and wanted to rob it outright.

"This alchemy cauldron needs to be eighty thousand spirit stones, or I won't give it to you!"

The young boy said determinedly, evidently unwilling to compromise. However, the boy obviously felt fear, as the four or five people opposite him were at least at the early Nascent Soul Stage, and the leading middle-aged man was even at the Nascent Soul Middle Stage.

While the boy's cultivation was not even at the Nascent Soul Stage. At this moment, how could he not be afraid, as even the aura they emitted was enough to make him fearful?

At this moment, Ding Fan's divine sense had evidently observed the scene, and Ding Fan roughly understood the situation. Apparently, those unknown capabilities intended to rob the boy of his alchemy cauldron.