The Golden Core behemoth was subdued by Jiang Zhengji and Du Xingchang working together.
The red-furred abnormal beasts across Wanlai Island finally showed looks of panic.
They began fleeing toward the distance.
Some even tried to leap into the sea to escape.
However, the purple formation Jiang Zhengji had laid down beforehand had already completely sealed Wanlai Island.
"Kill!"
At Jiang Zhengji's command, the five members of the Tianbian Squad resumed their wanton and efficient slaughter.
By this time, Li Fan also put on the appearance of having finished resting. Activating the Heavenly Spirit Fire Dragon Formation, he occasionally swung out a faint blue sword ray, reaping the lives of the red-furred abnormal beasts.
This time, no further complications arose.
Less than half a day later, at sunset, only a quarter of the red-furred abnormal beasts on Wanlai Island remained.
"Halt!"
Only then did Jiang Zhengji speak again.
Heavy snow began to drift down once more as he displayed the method he had used to capture the Golden Core behemoth earlier.
He turned more than half of the island's surviving red-furred abnormal beasts into tiny snowmen.
Then he collected them, stowing them away heaven knew where.
"This mission went rather smoothly. We can return to the island," he said in a relaxed voice.
Exhaustion painted on their faces, the five squad members breathed long sighs of relief one after another.
Li Fan likewise wore the look of having severely overdrawn himself.
"We owe much of our success this time to you, Fellow Daoist. If not for those crucial formations of yours, I doubt they would have passed their trial," Jiang Zhengji said politely to Li Fan on the journey back.
Li Fan displayed an abashed look. "The fellow Daoists from the Martial Practice Hall exerted all the effort throughout. I merely set up a few formations and didn't actually slay many beasts."
Jiang Zhengji smiled. "Isn't that precisely what formation masters are supposed to do? I can see Fellow Daoist's formation mastery is quite formidable. Though it might not compare to those few grandmasters, the role you played in actual combat was immense. Especially that Entangled Murky Water Formation—truly ingenious."
"I have taken part in culling missions dozens of times and encountered plenty of formation masters. Yet one with adaptability as outstanding as yours, Fellow Daoist, is exceptionally rare."
Li Fan shook his head. "You flatter me too much. It was merely a flash of inspiration."
Then, out of curiosity, he asked, "Fellow Daoist, you have participated in dozens of culls? Could it be that these red-furred abnormal beasts have some special value? Otherwise, why not simply exterminate them all in one go?"
Jiang Zhengji nodded. "Your guess is spot on, Fellow Daoist. These red-furred abnormal beasts are indeed somewhat useful."
"The large batch I captured alive earlier instead of wiping them all out was precisely for this reason."
"The Martial Practice Hall headquarters of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals has a standing mission requiring various regions to collect and submit a certain quota of rare treasures and abnormal beasts capable of absorbing sound each year."
"These red-furred abnormal beasts feed on sound. Although individually weak, their vast numbers perfectly fit headquarters' mission requirements."
"Headquarters is also very satisfied with the sound-devouring effects of these beasts, and the quota demanded of us each year is growing larger and larger."
At this point, Jiang Zhengji showed a hint of pride.
"However, these red-furred abnormal beasts have no natural predators, nor do they need to worry about a lack of food. They reproduce far too quickly."
"On top of that, they can devour their kin to evolve. If their numbers grow too high, there is no guaranteeing they won't evolve into a Nascent Soul monster."
"That would be troublesome. To prevent such a scenario, we must periodically cull the beasts on the island," Jiang Zhengji explained with a smile.
"Therefore, the number of these red-furred beasts cannot be too high, nor can it be too low."
"Keeping them at a relatively low level is best."
"Neither too many nor too few..." Li Fan nodded slowly upon hearing this, murmuring under his breath.
As if struck by a realization, he cast an almost imperceptible glance toward the sky, then lapsed into deep thought.
Without further incident on the road, the group safely returned to Wanxian Island, where Li Fan bid farewell to everyone.
Once back inside the Heavenly Profound Mirror, he added Du Xingchang and the others as friends in one go.
Sitting cross-legged in the Heavenly Profound Mirror, Li Fan knitted his brows tightly.
He recalled his twelfth lifetime, when his frenzied transmission of methods had cultivated a massive number of Foundation Establishment cultivators ahead of time—which had even drawn the pursuit of a Dao Integration cultivator.
"Neither too many... Is that because the new method plunders Heaven and Earth, so if the cultivator population is allowed to balloon unchecked, the world's resources will be depleted?"
"Then why must the cultivator population not be too few?"
"Having attained Longevity, why would they still care about ant-like cultivators?"
"The establishment of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals and even the Five Elders Association serves the deliberate cultivation of cultivators."
"The red-furred abnormal beasts are useful to the Alliance, so a certain number must be maintained."
"What use, then, do cultivators have to a Longevity Heavenly Venerable?"
Before transmigrating, Li Fan had heard the saying: 'Beneath the Saints, all are ants.'
High and aloof, Saints regarded all creation as straw dogs.
The life and death of myriad beings never entered a Saint's eyes.
Even if a great calamity arrived and plunged all life into misery,
a Saint would view it with indifference, caring not in the least.
Why, then, did the Longevity Heavenly Venerables of the Xuanhuang Realm require a certain number of cultivators instead?
After the endless slaughter wrought by the incompatibility of immortal methods,
atop a wasteland of cultivation, why did the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable, having already attained Longevity, found the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals in the first place?
Compassion?
Or...
In an instant, several different answers surfaced in Li Fan's mind.
Yet none could be proven at this moment.
He could only bury them deep in his heart, leaving them to be verified in the future.
Calming his churning thoughts, Li Fan checked his clearance level.
The reward for the mission to cull the red-furred abnormal beasts was a Lower Ding merit.
The actual increase to his clearance level was two levels and sixty percent.
With just this single mission completed, Li Fan's clearance level rose to Yan Three, sixty percent progress.
"It seems that in the early stages, raising clearance levels is quite easy."
Li Fan looked through the newly unlocked cultivation methods once more.
Regrettably, he still could not find one capable of granting multitasking capability.
Over the following period, Li Fan took on and completed two more merit missions.
One offered an Upper Bing merit, and the other was likewise a Lower Ding merit.
Both missions went very smoothly without any setbacks.
While getting acquainted with numerous internal members of the Alliance on Wanxian Island, Li Fan's clearance level was also upgraded to Yan Five as a result.
His annual quota of three merit missions had been exhausted, yet he had still not found a suitable method.
"It seems that even within the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, where the Yanfa Jade deduces methods without limit, multitasking remains an exceptionally precious technique."
"I wonder what clearance level is required before it appears on the exchange list."
"The exchange lists for different clearance levels are also classified and cannot be spread at will. The higher the clearance level, the higher the confidentiality. If leaked carelessly, the punishment ranges from deduction of merits at best to pursuit and execution at worst."
"If not for that, I could simply ask someone else to at least get a rough idea."
"For now, I can only look for opportunities to raise my clearance level as much as possible first."
During this period, Tai'an Island Overseer Zhou Qing'ang had behaved quite normally throughout.
However, Li Fan had plenty of patience.
He believed that before the Crimson Flame Burning Sea descended, Zhou Qing'ang would surely show his true colors.
Chapter 187