Hearing the clear, resonant sound echoing through the forest, Master Mu Gu's face subtly tightened, and his gaze swept across the trees before suddenly fixing on a massive tree trunk not far away. There, a little girl dressed in purple sat upon it, her legs gently swaying back and forth. Upon seeing this girl, even Master Mu Gu's composed demeanor could not help but be startled; his eyes filled with wonder. Only participants in the Dan Conclave—herbalists engaged in the cultivation of elixirs—were typically granted entry into the Dan Realm. Yet this girl clearly did not belong to that group. How had she arrived here? Unfazed by Master Mu Gu's astonished gaze, the purple-clad girl pushed off the trunk with her small hands and leapt down from the height, landing softly at Xiao Yan's side. Noticing his expression of surprise, she beamed and gave him a cheeky grin, her delicate appearance utterly endearing. "Zi Yan... how did you end up here?" Xiao Yan's astonishment lasted for a while before gradually fading, and then he pulled the young girl who had been missing for some time close to him, examining her carefully. Her delicate, porcelain-like appearance remained as endearing as ever, just as it had always been. "I managed to escape! Hehe, I knew you'd be coming to the Dan Assembly, so I've been waiting here for you all this time," said Zǐ Yán, smiling like a little fox with her eyes crinkled into crescents. "I'm so terribly sorry—I've been so miserable since I left. I no longer have any delicious pills, and every day, those awful people force me to drink these awful, revolting concoctions that taste like death!" Grasping firmly at Xiao Yan's sleeve, the large, bright eyes of Zǐ Yán instantly glistened with tears. In her eyes, these past days had been nothing short of a living hell compared to her days spent with Xiao Yan. Whenever she could, she had eagerly slipped away. "Your family?" Xiao Yan was taken aback, then seemed to grasp something, and asked in surprise. Zi Yan nodded firmly, clearly deeply resentful of how her family had treated her; yet if her family knew of this, they would likely be driven to collapse from shock and gasp with fury—after all, in this world, good people truly never get rewarded. Xiao Yan shook his head helplessly. He understood Zi Yan's nature well—anything she said always seemed magnified in importance. Thus, he couldn't place much faith in her words. As for what she had been given, at least at the moment, she appeared remarkably vibrant, far better than when she had left earlier. "Oh, well, did we finish talking? Miss, this one isn't easy to handle..." the sturdy man, growing impatient, turned back and glanced at them. "Big guy, don't rush. Go ahead and fight him, settle him. Then your task will be nearly complete." Zi Yan pouted slightly, then pointed at the gloomy old man standing at a distance, speaking with a clear, bright voice. Upon hearing this, both the large man and the old man involuntarily drew their faces. "You actually think highly of me—I'm already doing quite well to hold him off. If it weren't for my unique constitution, I wouldn't have stood a chance against him," the large man said, clearly feeling out of sorts at the task assigned to him by Zi Yan. "This gentleman here?" Xiao Yan glanced at the two, smiled politely, and bowed. "His name is Xiong Zhan—I call him the Big Fellow. He's the head of this Wanyao Mountain Range, and, well, all the rare herbs and treasures here fall under his jurisdiction," Zi Yan chuckled, a hint of longing flashing in her water-lily eyes. Hearing this, the man named Xiong Zhan immediately shivered, recalling the precious herbs Zi Yan had eaten like snacks—this youngster was truly a spoilsman. "The head?" Xiao Yan was slightly startled. If that were so, then wasn't the Bear War precisely the legendary fearsome beast spoken of by Song Qing and the others? "Esteemed friend, I had no intention of entering this mountain. Should there be any offense, please accept my sincere apologies. However, this individual is a target I must capture—please do not intervene!" The older man, Mu Gu, finally spoke with a grave expression. Though the Bear War's rank might not surpass his own, his combat prowess was astonishing, and the outcome of this encounter remained entirely uncertain. Upon hearing this, the Bear War blinked slowly and then said in a deep, resonant voice, "I heard the young lady's words just now. This person I absolutely must protect. Then, how about this—though I acknowledge your intrusion, I shall not hold it against you. Simply turn and depart, shall we?" Mu Gu's lips twitched, and his eyes grew steadily colder. For Xiao Yan, he had made up his mind from the start—no matter who stood in his way, he would not waver in his determination. "Then, so be it..." The old Mu Gu paused, his eyes suddenly blazing with fierce intensity, and coldly declared, "You shall die!" As the words settled, he swept his sleeve, and the colossal crystal-hand that had been driven back by Xiong Zhan surged forth once more, flashing into Xiong Zhan's presence in an instant. The giant hand clenched into a fist and slammed straight into his head. "Seeing Master Mu's effortless strikes whenever he chooses to act, even Bear Zhan's face flickered with fierce intensity. His fists clenched tightly, golden-yellow energy surging forth from within his body, then he launched a powerful punch—directly meeting the crystalline giant fist with the most raw, unrefined force. 'Boom!' The two forces collided with tremendous force, sending out a shockwave of powerful energy that rippled outward like lightning. Within a hundred-meter radius, grassy turf was lifted nearly half a meter high, and several towering trees were severed right at their midsections, splintering into fine wood shavings and dust. Xiao Yan, however, moved swiftly—just as the shockwave erupted, he caught Zǐ Yán in his arms, leaping upward with a fluid motion. Gazing down at the patch of yellow land emerging amid the vast forest sea, he couldn't help but marvel. Truly, a battle at the Du Zun level—such force was evident even in the simplest gestures." In the forest shrouded in dust, Xiong Zhan stepped back two paces with firm, resonant footfalls—each landing sending ripples through the earth—only after two such strides did he finally settle his stance. Then, he suddenly lifted his gaze, his eyes blazing with intense fervor, fixed upon the Mu Gu elder across the battlefield, and roared, "Excellent! That's satisfying! One more!" "Good thing I didn't listen to Song Qing's persuasion. The difference between taking half a step toward Dou Zun and fully entering Dou Zun is absolutely fundamental. With their previous formations, going would have meant certain death." Hearing this, Xiao Yan couldn't help but silently marvel—Song Qing truly wasn't reliable. ... On the yellow soil violently cleaved open by the surge of air, Master Mu Bone stared with a grim expression at the battle-hungry bear warrior, his mind already brimming with murderous intent. Bear War's tenacity far exceeded his expectations, yet this did not deter him from proceeding. With a dry hand sliding out of his sleeve, he swiftly formed a seal! "Yōmei Yōhō Arm!" As Master Mu Bone issued his commanding cry, deep blue flames erupted from within him like volcanic activity, swiftly flowing into the crystalline giant claw. With an ever-increasing surge of deep blue flames pouring into the crystalline giant claw, the cracks on its surface gradually healed. Behind the claw, a deep blue flame-arm slowly extended forth. As the flames rose, the arm exuded an extreme coldness, like the arm of the Death God. Gazing at the deep blue flame-wreathed giant arm, Bear Zhan's face grew serious, and a low roar emerged from his throat. His palm, broad as a fan, trembled slightly. "Those who stand in my way—die!" The elderly Mu Gu elder's eyes flashed with icy intensity. With a sudden change of hand seal, the flame-arm surged violently and then descended like a meteor, crashing straight toward Bear Zhan's position. Along its path, space shattered violently, revealing numerous dark voids. The flame giant arm swept down, and as it reached a certain distance, the flames on its surface suddenly surged, causing the arm itself to expand dramatically—within an instant, it grew nearly ten zhang in size, casting a massive shadow that enveloped a hundred-meter radius of forest.