"Sorry. I truly cannot help with this matter. I have a premonition that a breakthrough is imminent, and I will need to venture out in search of opportunities within the next two years, making it impossible for me to guard Glass Island for long periods."
With just over a year until the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace opens, Li Fan certainly would not miss the chance to enter early for the sake of a small amount of contribution points.
Thus, he had to refuse He Zhenghao outright.
"I see. Then I will have to find someone else. I wish you a successful foundation establishment soon!" He Zhenghao replied regretfully.
No further messages came through the communication talisman.
Li Fan paid it no mind and spent contribution points to activate the auxiliary cultivation mode.
He began practicing the Ru Ying Sui Xing Jue.
After all, being merely an auxiliary technique, Ru Ying Sui Xing Jue was significantly easier to cultivate than the other two techniques.
With the dual enhancement of the Qi Ling and the Linglong Glass Pearl, Li Fan cultivated it to the late stage of Qi Refinement in less than ten days.
At this moment, Li Fan was testing the effects of Ru Ying Sui Xing Jue.
He used 100 contribution points to simulate a chase with a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator in the Tian Xuan Mirror.
The surrounding space transformed into a range of continuous mountains.
In the forest, a figure was rapidly fleeing into the distance.
That was the target set for him to pursue.
Watching the figure grow more distant, Li Fan's divine sense stirred, and his form suddenly darkened.
It was as if he was shrouded in a layer of dark mist, making him even harder to detect under the omnipresent shadows.
As the target was about to completely disappear from view, Li Fan surged forward, flying after them.
Compared to his previous simple Wind Riding Technique, Li Fan's speed had significantly increased.
Moreover, he felt an implicit connection with the target he was pursuing.
The target's speed increase, to some extent, also accelerated Li Fan's own speed.
It truly felt as if Li Fan had become the target's shadow, making it impossible for them to shake him off.
He could constantly traverse and leap through the shadows on the ground.
Thus, it did not take long for Li Fan to catch up to the fleeing figure.
The surrounding scenery blurred, and both the mountains and the illusion of the cultivator vanished simultaneously.
They returned to a pitch-black space.
As the chase concluded, Li Fan was very satisfied with Ru Ying Sui Xing Jue.
Its effect of concealing one's presence was already impressive, and when paired with the Cangxing Talisman, it became even harder to detect.
Although Sikong Yi was somewhat mysterious, his cultivation level should definitely be in the late stage of Qi Refinement.
Having prepared so much in advance, Li Fan felt he had the upper hand.
With the aim of obtaining the Yun Shui Tu Lu, it should not pose much of a problem.
Now that everything was in place, he only awaited the intelligence from Jiao Xiu Yuan and the official opening of the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace.
In the Tian Xuan Mirror, Li Fan gazed into the distance with a deep expression.
…
Two months later, on Ten Thousand Immortals Island, at Qian Li Hall.
After receiving a message from Jiao Xiu Yuan, Li Fan activated the Cangxing Talisman and hurried over.
Upon meeting Jiao Xiu Yuan, he feigned anger, "What kind of business is Qian Li Hall running? It's just a minor Qi Refinement cultivator, and it took you so long to gather information. I thought you had forgotten this matter and were preparing to find someone else!"
Jiao Xiu Yuan felt somewhat embarrassed, but he quickly pulled Li Fan aside and activated the array of the shop, blocking external surveillance.
Only then did he whisper, "Please lower your voice! The delay was truly for a reason."
"Really?" Li Fan's expression shifted slightly as he awaited further explanation.
"Hehe, to be honest, the difficulty of this task exceeded my expectations. The fifty contribution points we agreed upon last time were far too little! You see, I had to enlist the help of a senior in the late stage of Foundation Establishment to get this done..." Jiao Xiu Yuan looked at Li Fan with eager eyes, his meaning clear.
"What, are you going to breach the agreement?" Li Fan narrowed his eyes, staring at Jiao Xiu Yuan with a displeased expression.
Jiao Xiu Yuan scratched his head, "Could you add a bit more...?"
Li Fan turned to leave.
Jiao Xiu Yuan nearly jumped up in panic, "Oh dear, my dear grandfather, I really am having a streak of bad luck! Two consecutive deals have turned out to be losing propositions."
"Fine, fine! We'll stick to what was agreed upon, fifty it is!" he gritted his teeth and said.
"Here, along with the previous deposit, it amounts to exactly fifty contribution points." Li Fan coldly stated as he tossed four mid-grade spirit stones over.
"It's not easy for me to earn this little money." Jiao Xiu Yuan grimaced as he caught the spirit stones, then handed a jade slip to Li Fan.
Li Fan took the jade slip, examined it with his divine sense, and his expression changed.
He then stored the jade slip and left.
Watching Li Fan's departing figure, Jiao Xiu Yuan's previously fawning expression suddenly vanished.
He stroked the spirit stones in his hand, letting out a series of cold laughs.
"One is mysterious with an unknown background; the other is hidden and has ulterior motives."
"I'll have to see what the two of you are really up to."
…
In the Tian Xuan Mirror, Li Fan read through the contents of the jade slip carefully before finally destroying it.
"Two people?"
Li Fan frowned slightly, feeling that things had become a bit tricky.
According to the intelligence gathered by Jiao Xiu Yuan, Sikong Yi usually kept to himself and rarely made appearances.
He had a friend named Bai Li Chen, who was also a male cultivator.
Bai Li Chen's strength was somewhat weaker, being at the mid-stage of Qi Refinement.
Sikong Yi and Bai Li Chen seemed to have a very close relationship, always staying together during missions, inseparable.
Moreover, they appeared to possess some kind of combined attack technique.
When fighting, their cooperation was seamless, as if they were one person.
These two generally stayed within Ten Thousand Immortals Island, only venturing out to complete tasks and accumulate contribution points.
However, during Jiao Xiu Yuan's investigation, the two had mysteriously gone missing once.
After leaving Ten Thousand Immortals Island, they lost all traces, and no one knew where they had gone.
"Who is this Bai Li Chen? Why do I have no recollection of him?" Li Fan recalled carefully but found no information about Bai Li Chen in his memory.
"It seems this person must have fallen within the ruins of the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace."
"However, I didn't expect to have one more cultivator to deal with. My current preparations seem insufficient."
"Fortunately, there is still plenty of time."
With thoughts swirling in his mind, Li Fan began to plan anew.
…
One year later.
On the eleventh year of anchoring, in the central sea region of Congyun Sea.
The sky, having brewed thunderstorms for several months, rumbled continuously.
The thick swirling clouds had turned black, slowly rotating and accumulating power.
The clouds appeared like towering walls, guarding the center of the vortex.
There, streaks of blue light flickered incessantly.
With each flicker, the central sea region seemed to undergo some indescribable change.
This anomaly naturally attracted cultivators.
There were even whispers that an ancient sect's ruins were about to emerge here.
As a result, over the past few months, the number of gathered cultivators had increased significantly.
Li Fan was naturally among them.
His gaze swept through the crowd, briefly lingering on Sikong Yi and Bai Li Chen.
Then, he spotted Jiao Xiu Yuan's figure.
Jiao Xiu Yuan stared at the swirling clouds in the sky, his expression quite excited.
"This person probably thinks he has encountered an opportunity and believes he can gain some advantage."
"Little does he know, he is merely seeking his own demise."
A glint of cold light flashed in Li Fan's eyes.
Thank you to the book friend San Ren for the reward. Thank you for your support!
(End of Chapter)