“Brother, would you be willing to come along with us?”
Looking at the inquiry from Kou Hong, Li Fan decisively chose to decline.
There should be little danger for the two of them on this journey.
Yet they were also destined to gain nothing.
Otherwise, nine years later, they would not have turned against each other over a single Nascent Soul technique.
With Mingyue Palace’s grand enterprise of ferrying the Dharma in full swing, how could Li Fan run off to the Abyss of Cangwu at a time like this to search for some flaming meteor?
Seeing that Li Fan had not accepted, Kou Hong could not help feeling it was a pity, but said magnanimously, “Don’t worry, Brother Li Fan. If I run into any great fortunes or gains this time, I certainly won't forget to save a share for you!”
Li Fan gave a light chuckle, expressing his gratitude for the goodwill.
This was merely an insignificant episode. Li Fan soon put it behind him, sparing only a thread of his attention to watch over Mingyue Palace’s operations,
while throwing the vast majority of his energy back into the endless study of formations.
A Posthumous Bequest holding 320,000 contribution points was still beckoning to him; he had no choice but to work hard.
By the middle of Anchor Year 42, with the full recovery of Mingyue Palace’s first batch of debts,
the grand enterprise of ferrying the Dharma entered a brand-new stage.
In three years, Mingyue Palace’s assets had more than doubled. The original hundred thousand contribution points had grown to over two hundred thousand, which were lent out again to cultivators.
It had become a mountain of gold that grew with every passing moment.
At this point, not counting those who had already settled their debts, the number of cultivators indebted to Mingyue Palace reached as high as twenty-five.
Every month, nearly thirty thousand contribution points were recouped.
Meanwhile, Mingyue Palace’s reputation grew ever greater, and cultivators from other provinces even traveled from afar, hoping to try their luck.
Li Fan ordered the restrictions relaxed: as long as sufficient contribution points were available, lend them out immediately.
With money generating more money, the scale of Mingyue Palace’s business expanded with increasing speed.
Relying solely on Xiao Heng and Su Xiaomei, the operation became stretched thin against the monthly swell of debtors.
Fortunately, over these past few years, Li Fan had encountered two individuals of exceptional talent.
One was named Zhuge Yu, and the other Sima Cang.
Both had completed Qi Condensation in just a few short years; in terms of cultivation talent, they were only a fraction behind Xiao Heng.
Thus, Li Fan did not charge them contribution points, instead giving them wonders of heaven and earth and Foundation Establishment cultivation techniques free of charge.
Upon completing Foundation Establishment, the two were deeply grateful to Li Fan for selflessly and mercifully ferrying them across the Dharma.
They volunteered to join Mingyue Palace to contribute their own strength to the grand enterprise.
After observing them for a period, Li Fan agreed to their request.
However, he did not allow them access to Mingyue Palace’s core secrets, assigning them only debt collection work.
Even so, Li Fan did not treat them shabbily.
Aside from a fixed salary of five thousand contribution points per year,
they received a three percent commission for every debt they recovered.
Though this percentage was not large, it filled them with drive.
The addition of Zhuge Yu and Sima Cang relieved some of the pressure on the debt collectors.
Yet as the scale grew larger in the future, it would definitely still fall short.
So Li Fan kept an eye open, ready to recruit any promising talent he came across during the Dharma-lending operations.
Such brazen accumulation of wealth by Mingyue Palace inevitably attracted unwanted attention.
First, a late Golden Core cultivator arrived, seeking to probe Mingyue Palace's true depths.
Li Fan came out of seclusion at this time, yet did not show his face.
He simply merged with Mingyue Lake and unleashed a strike of the Congyun Sword.
The sword shadow gleamed coldly.
Under the watchful eyes of numerous Qi Condensation cultivators, this Golden Core Master had his head severed by that single strike, utterly powerless to resist.
The cultivators who witnessed the scene were shaken to the core, growing even more in awe of the mysterious Mingyue Palace.
Yet Li Fan felt not the slightest pride in his heart.
He knew that drawing the attention of higher-realm cultivators had ultimately proved unavoidable.
He had foreseen it long ago, but had not expected this day to arrive so swiftly.
“Weakness is the original sin.”
Li Fan sighed inwardly, yet dared not delay for a moment as he began preparing an escape route.
Spending a fortune, he purchased a single-use random teleportation formation from the Heavenly Mystery Realm.
He set it up near the treasury.
Once activated, the teleportation formation would self-destruct.
The explosive aftershocks would destroy the tens of thousands of artifacts with Dao charm along with Mingyue Palace itself.
Afterward, he upgraded and renovated the Kan Spirit Illusory Wave Grand Formation.
The upgraded grand formation was sufficient to withstand attacks from any Nascent Soul cultivator.
It could even hold off a Soul Formation Immortal Venerable for a brief moment.
That window of time was ample for Li Fan to make a leisurely escape through the teleportation formation.
With a crisis faintly looming, Li Fan did not scale back the grand enterprise of ferrying the Dharma. Instead, holding the mindset of making one final fortune,
he expanded even more frenetically.
The probes from higher-realm cultivators arrived later than anticipated.
In Anchor Year 43, a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator arrived at Mingyue Lake, requesting an audience with the master of Mingyue Palace.
Li Fan merely activated the Kan Spirit Illusory Wave Grand Formation and refused to receive any guests.
This Nascent Soul True Monarch seemed to be someone who knew his trade.
He merely launched a casual strike to test the mettle of the defensive grand formation, and rather than courting further humiliation,
he cupped his hands and departed on his own.
After Golden Core came Nascent Soul; would Soul Formation follow after Nascent Soul?
Watching the distant silhouette of that Nascent Soul cultivator flying away, Li Fan looked grim.
Though that Nascent Soul cultivator had failed to meet the master of Mingyue Palace in person, his purpose had already been served.
Inside Mingyue Palace, there was definitely no cultivator above the mid-Nascent Soul stage.
Otherwise, they would not have chosen to shut their doors and refuse guests.
With their cards revealed, the aura of mystery evaporated.
Debt collection operations grew steadily more difficult.
First, Xiao Heng and Su Xiaomei were ambushed, nearly losing their lives.
Fortunately, they carried protective treasures bestowed by Li Fan, allowing them to escape disaster.
Zhuge Yu and Sima Cang were not so lucky.
Sima Cang was captured, his fate unknown.
Zhuge Yu returned gravely wounded, unconscious.
The situation took a sharp turn for the worse; a mountain of outstanding debts was on the verge of becoming uncollectible.
Hardening his heart, Li Fan directly activated Formless Killing Intent, slaying two or three cultivators who were deliberately defaulting.
Only then did he temporarily suppress this perverse trend of refusing to repay debts.
“Starting your own business is truly too difficult,” Li Fan could not help sighing as he looked at the dispirited crowd inside Mingyue Palace.
“I’ll endure as long as I can. Thankfully, I feel I’m not far from breaking through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.”
“If it really comes down to it, I can change names, move to another province, and start over.”
Facing this predicament, Mingyue Palace suspended its Dharma-lending operations,
focusing all efforts on calling back contribution points, prepared at any moment for an all-out evacuation.
Yet this time, fate unexpectedly stood on Li Fan’s side for once.
A sudden major event plunged Yuandao Province once more into a storm of blood.
The vast majority of Nascent Soul and Soul Formation cultivators were swept into endless slaughter.
No one had the time or attention to spare for this insignificant Mingyue Palace anymore.
The two prodigies of Yuandao Province’s Blue Feather lineage, Dugu Xi and Dugu Shi,
had vanished simultaneously.
Chapter 156