Here lies an immense plaza, its human throngs stretching endlessly to the horizon, their thunderous clamor rising like a great dragon's roar, resonating across the heavens. Under the relentless pressure of this sonic wave, even the sky's clouds are fragmented and scattered. Suspended in the upper half of the plaza are numerous stone platforms—these will be the focal point of the entire event, as the final confrontation of this Dan Festival will unfold upon them. After a slight lull in the previous days, today's plaza has reached its peak in attendance, for today marks the opening of the Dan Realm; only those who successfully emerge from it will be eligible to continue in the Festival. The atmosphere throughout the arena was intensely vibrant, with countless eyes fixed on the central plaza. There, a massive gate constructed from black rock stood, its spatial fluctuations visibly distorted—this was the exit of the Dan Realm. Soon, the contestants who successfully passed the second stage would emerge through this gate. Yezhong, standing by, smiled and offered a word of reassurance, only to then feel that his remark was somewhat off, and thus offered a dry chuckle. "After all, with Xiao Yan's sharp mind, passing through this second checkpoint should be no issue at all." Unconvinced by Yezhong's comfort, the young physician could only shake her head in resignation. As she was about to speak, her gaze suddenly shifted sharply toward the arena—the space gate there suddenly began to radiate intense spatial tremors. "The space gate has opened!" At the very moment the tremors appeared, the endless sea of spectators surrounding them erupted into thunderous cheers. Instantly, countless pairs of eyes turned, then settled firmly upon the space gate. Under the collective gaze of the entire audience, the gate's tremors grew stronger and stronger. Eventually, one by one, figures began to emerge from within, stepping slowly forward. Finally, amid the roaring applause, their feet touched the ground of the plaza. Before these successful contestants, thunderous cheers erupted on the stands. Those who had made it this far were essentially among the outstanding炼药师 across the entire continent; even if they withdrew from the competition, they would be welcomed as honored guests by various factions. As more and more figures gradually stepped out through the spatial gates, the cheers grew ever more intense, and the vast plaza trembled subtly beneath the powerful sound waves. "Boom!" The spatial gates rippled once again, and then a particularly striking and graceful figure emerged, stepping into the warm sunlight. Instantly, the cheers surged even higher. Over the years, Cao Ying's name had grown increasingly prominent—everyone knew she was a strong contender for the championship of this herbal medicine gathering. Compared to Cao Ying, the light of Song Qing, behind him, appears somewhat dim. Under the brilliance of such an extraordinary woman, even though he is hailed as a prodigy, he has consistently struggled to match her. After Cao Ying, a large number of figures began to emerge, yet no matter how diligently Xiao Yixian and the others searched, they still failed to spot Xiao Xin's figure. As a result, Xiao Yixian's delicate features subtly changed, and her jade hands unconsciously tightened. If Xiao Xin encountered any unforeseen mishap within the Dan Realm, it was unimaginable how utterly frantic she would become. Just as the hearts of the young healers began to sink, the spatial gate surged again, and gradually a slender figure emerged, finally stepping out from within the gate and landing on the ground. "It's Brother Xiao Yan!" Upon seeing this slender figure, Xinlan's face immediately lit up with surprise, and she exclaimed eagerly. Hearing this, the young healers also felt a surge of relief, quickly turning their gaze—there, indeed, stood the figure they had known so well. All of them breathed a sigh of relief. "Ah, I always thought it impossible for Brother Xiao Yan, with his strength, to fail the second trial," said Ye Zhong, finally setting his mind at ease and smiling. As the crowd exhaled in relief, Xiao Yan, who had stepped out of the gate, turned his gaze toward them and nodded warmly. "Look at him," murmured Xiao Yi, shaking her head in admiration, and sighing with a touch of resignation. ... At the heart of the vast plaza, Xiao Yan listened to the bustling sounds around him and found himself momentarily disoriented. Though the Dan Realm had been quiet, he had always felt as though something was missing. Now, upon stepping out, he realized it was the lack of human presence. Standing within the plaza, Xiao Yan scanned the surroundings, gazing at the spatial gate that continued to pour out people one after another. A sense of astonishment flickered across his eyes—given the numbers on the plaza, it seemed at least a thousand had made it through the two rounds of selection. He hadn't expected such a large number to remain after the filtering process. The sheer gathering of alchemists was far surpassing even the previous Alchemist Assembly held in the Jia Ma Empire. Of course, this wasn't just about quantity—quality was equally impressive. Any single alchemist drawn from this group would easily have claimed the championship of the past assembly. "The Three Pillars of Dan Ta, huh..." Xiao Yan's gaze swept over the three figures, then paused slightly, as he noticed that the elegant woman in a qipao—someone he had never seen before—was now firmly fixing her eyes on him. Though they had never met, her position on the stage immediately revealed her identity. A subtle sense of alertness stirred within him; at this level, he simply couldn't afford to provoke her. He dared not linger, only glancing briefly before quickly shifting his gaze. The soul resonance of this young one seems rather unusual. If my judgment is correct, he may have come into contact with the Spiritual Realm...” The elegant woman smiled gently and spoke slowly. “Indeed, there's a touch of the Spiritual Realm about his soul.” The older man beside her, with dark skin and a stern demeanor, nodded in agreement, a look of surprise briefly crossing his face. “Master Yaochen’s eyes are truly sharp—truly admirable.” “Should he actually attain the Spiritual Realm, even Cao Ying and Dan Chen would find it difficult to surpass him in this Dan Conclave.” The woman chuckled. Xuan Kongzi nodded. When he last saw Xiao Yan, he hadn’t sensed such a transformation. Clearly, this change must be linked to his journey through the Dan Realm. "Oh well, is it really that difficult to beat that old man once?"... On the plaza, as the waves of spatial disturbance persisted for nearly half an hour, they finally began to subside, the twisted spatial ripples gradually dissipating, and the spatial gate once again returning to stillness. As the gate closed, the number of contestants on the plaza increased significantly, prompting a subtle surprise in Xiao Yan's heart. These were nearly the finest alchemists from every corner of the Qi Continent—each one vying for the championship of the Dan Festival would have to climb over the shoulders of others, step by step, until reaching the pinnacle. When the gate finally closed, the once bustling plaza fell into a remarkable calm. Everyone knew that now, the true climax of the Dan Festival had just begun. … On the elevated platform, Xuankongzi scanned the entire gathering, his gentle cough echoing clearly in the ears of each person, drawing everyone’s gaze firmly to him. "First of all, congratulations to all of you who have made it here—you’ve passed the second round of selection. However, I’m sure you all know that the next round is truly the most crucial phase of the Dan Assembly. Those who reach the final stage in this round will be crowned the champion of this year’s Dan Assembly!" "The stone platform above the sky is your stage for performance—on it, I hope you will shine with your most radiant moments!" "Glory will be born among you!" With these few words, the atmosphere erupted like sparks igniting explosives—suddenly, the entire realm roared to life! The most prestigious gathering in the realm of alchemical arts had finally arrived.