After conquering the Empress, I proved my Dao with the Heaven and Earth Spirit Furnace!

Longjishan Mountain.

The largest mountain within the territory of the Wendan Sect.

This mountain soars into the clouds, and is shrouded in white clouds and mist year-round, starting from its halfway point.

Surrounded by sacred mountains, it has become the setting for many legends.

The mountain's summit is covered in ice and snow, making it impossible for ordinary people to climb.

Especially outside Dragon Ridge Mountain, where cultivators from the Asking Pill Sect have been guarding it year-round, this place is like a forbidden zone.

Even disciples of the Wendan Sect are not allowed to climb this mountain without a special token, let alone people from other sects.

Unless it is an extremely important event for the Wen Dan Sect, it will not be held on Dragon Ridge Mountain.

There are even rumors that the original site of the Wendan Sect was Dragon Ridge Mountain.

However, something happened later that forced the Wendan Sect to relocate.

Despite this, it was always strictly guarded by the Dan Sect.

It's less of a forbidden area and more of a sacred place!

At this moment, on the summit of Dragon Ridge Mountain, there is a huge alchemy furnace.

The surface of this alchemy furnace is uneven and covered with countless runes.

A sense of vicissitude emanated from the alchemy furnace, suggesting that it had existed for tens of thousands of years.

If Qin Chuan were here, he would recognize him at a glance.

This alchemy furnace... is the very same illusory image of the alchemy furnace that everyone in the Asking Alchemy lineage can see in mid-air every time they travel to the Immortal Land.

And this is clearly where its true form is located!

Outside this alchemy furnace, there are currently a thousand alchemists from the Asking Alchemy lineage, a hundred main furnace masters, and ten red furnace alchemists.

People like Su Anfu and Lin Canghai were all there!

Further out, there are the six sects and four clans of the entire Southern Region, as well as some other sects that mainly focus on alchemy.

Each of them had elderly people sitting cross-legged on the mountaintop in all directions.

Each time the Wen Dan lineage advances to the Red Furnace Trial, it is not only a grand event for the Wen Dan Sect, but also a major event for the entire Southern Region.

Besides, this Red Furnace Alchemist is the pinnacle below the Alchemy Master.

It’s because…

This so-called "Advancement to the Red Furnace" is actually just a disciple-acceptance ceremony by Dan Chen!

The current Wendan Sect has ten Red Furnace Alchemists, all of whom are disciples of Master Danchen.

Becoming a Red Furnace means formally becoming Dan Chen's disciple!

The few alchemists who were trained in the Purple Furnace were merely nominal disciples.

Besides, there are others like Fang Yuyan, who was taken in as an extra disciple because Master Danchen valued her alchemy talent.

But there was only one such person!

In reality, alchemists of the Wendan lineage do not approve of this method.

The only thing they truly respected was working their way up from the ranks as apprentice medicine boys through sheer hard work.

Then came the alchemist, the green furnace alchemist, the purple furnace alchemist, until finally stepping into the red furnace and becoming a disciple of Dan Chen.

However, it's a bit better for Fang Yuyan, as her status is secondary.

The key point is that she herself is quite famous in the alchemy lineage.

In addition, her beautiful appearance is another reason why people can accept her.

Even so, advancing to the Red Furnace Alchemist level is still of great importance to her.

At this moment, Fang Yuyan stood in the crowd, her eyes revealing a determined glint.

She was determined to seize this opportunity to be promoted to the Red Furnace.

She wants to become a true disciple of Master Danchen!

While pondering, Fang Yuyan looked at the middle-aged man behind a Red Furnace Alchemist.

This man was handsome, and his expression exuded an air of authority even without anger.

Dressed in a purple alchemist's robe, with a faint fragrance of pills emanating from him, he was clearly quite extraordinary.

Furthermore, his expression sometimes revealed an air of arrogance, as if he were out of place with his surroundings.

This expression, this appearance, this feeling—all of these are exactly what Fang Yuyan imagined Master Danshui to be.

Almost... exactly the same!

"He will be a formidable opponent in my upcoming promotion to the Red Furnace..."

Looking at the aloof middle-aged man, Fang Yuyan sighed inwardly.

This person is none other than Ye Gutian, a prodigy among the master alchemists!

Among all the master alchemists, Ye Gutian is recognized as having the highest level of alchemy skills.

Its exceptional qualities are rarely seen in a thousand years.

He was even hailed as the alchemist most likely to become a master alchemist in the Red Furnace.

Many years ago, when he first entered the sect, he immediately caused a sensation in the Wen Dan lineage.

Furthermore, Xu Yishun, a master alchemist, was so impressed by this person's talent that he took extra care of him.

With constant support, he became the number one apprentice medicine boy, and then the number one alchemist.

With this identity, he stepped into the ranks of Green Furnace Alchemists, and eventually became a Purple Furnace Alchemist...

Now, after years of silence, his alchemical skills have become widely known, and he has already reached the peak of the Purple Furnace realm, with one foot already in the Red Furnace realm.

What's even more amazing is that this person not only has extremely high attainments in alchemy, but also possesses astonishing cultivation.

He had already reached the Xuanhuang realm many years ago, though he had never broken through it.

Many people speculate that if this person hadn't been so engrossed in alchemy, he would definitely be at the second or even third level of the Profound Emperor realm!

Ye Gutian is the most favored candidate for this Red Furnace Trial.

Fang Yuyan came second.

Although there were several participants, everyone agreed that this trial was a contest between him and Fang Yuyan.

Fang Yuyan's advantage here is that she is already a disciple of Master Danchen.

As for Ye Gutian, his mastery of alchemy was so strong that even Fang Yuyan felt immense pressure.

Nearly 90% of alchemists approve of it, and six Red Furnace Alchemists value it highly.

Even Dan Chen praised it more than once.

All of this is what makes Ye Gutian so proud.

More importantly... this prodigy Ye Gutian has been the subject of much discussion both outside the sect and among outsiders over the past few months.

More and more people are starting to spread rumors that he... is Master Dan Shui!

Throughout the entire process, Ye Gutian never offered any explanation for this statement.

This seemingly tacit agreement undoubtedly caused the matter to spread even further.

Gradually, many people became extremely certain that Dan Shui... was Ye Gutian!

Or rather, Ye Gutian is Dan Shui!

The reason for using water as a mark is because of the person's name, Tian.

Water comes from the sky, and it is water without roots!

Therefore, water was used as a mark.

More and more furnace masters are acknowledging this matter, and even some of the Red Furnace Alchemists are paying attention to it.

Fang Yuyan paid close attention to the matter of Dan Shui, and she even went to Ye Gutian in person to inquire about it.

Although she didn't admit it directly, Fang Yuyan could easily see through her ambiguous tacit agreement.

However, after learning the answer, Fang Yuyan felt somewhat disappointed.

She couldn't explain the specific reason either.

It was as if I had just woken up from a dream, and I was saddened to find that reality and dreams are ultimately different.

"Even if you are a master of alchemy, I will still compete for this red furnace!"

Taking a deep breath, Fang Yuyan's gaze was firm.

Suddenly, in the instant her conviction hardened, the image of a person inexplicably appeared in her mind.

That person was Wang Xueyi.

"Damn it, why did I have to think of him!"

Fang Yuyan frowned and shook her head, trying to dispel the image of Wang Xueyi from her mind…

In the early morning, Longji Mountain is shrouded in mist and has a slight chill in the air.

The mountaintop was a world of ice and snow, and the enormous alchemy furnace exuded the sense of time's vicissitudes.

There was silence.

At this moment, ten Red Furnace Alchemists from the Wen Dan lineage sat cross-legged around the perimeter.

Behind them, hundreds of furnace masters and nearly a thousand alchemists sat cross-legged in meditation.