Zhou Qing'ang stammered in defense, "With the way the price of Spirit Mist Grass was soaring back then, who could resist? Word spread like wildfire. Out of all the island overseers across the Congyun Sea, hardly any of them weren't speculating!
"If I'd stood out and done things differently, wouldn't that have blown my cover?
"Who could have known the price would collapse so fast..."
Then, as if realizing something, he shot a suspicious look at the face on the broken stone. "Boss... you didn't speculate too, did you?"
Evading the question, the face barked, "Cut the nonsense! How much do you need?"
Zhou Qing'ang hesitated for a moment and whispered, "A hundred thousand..."
"A hundred thousand?!" The face's voice rose sharply.
"Out of the question! Funds are tight right now. You lot have been undercover for so long without producing any tangible results. What grounds do I have to ask higher-ups for funds?" The face refused without hesitation.
Seeing this, Zhou Qing'ang hurriedly said, "There are results, there are results! I've already deciphered most of the outer structural array of the Tianyuan Creation Formation. In seven or eight years at most, I can completely crack the formation core!
"That He Zhenghao suffered catastrophic losses this time as well. Requesting these hundred thousand contribution points is also so I can seize this chance to deepen my ties with him.
"He is adept in formations and even took part in setting up the Island-Protecting Grand Formation. Besides, he doesn't have much cunning. With his help, we'll surely master the formation completely all the sooner."
Hearing this, the face softened slightly.
After pondering for a moment, it slowly said, "In that case, transmit the deciphered formation data to me first."
Zhou Qing'ang nodded, pressing both palms onto the broken stone again and closing his eyes slightly.
An earthy yellow light flickered continuously. Only after quite a while did he release his hands.
His face had turned deathly pale, as if the mental exertion had drained him severely.
The face remained expressionless, appearing to verify the authenticity of the data.
"Mm, well done," the face nodded after a while.
"However, one hundred thousand is indeed too much. Fifty thousand!" The face pivoted abruptly.
Zhou Qing'ang's expression turned bitter. "Boss, fifty thousand is far too little! Seventy thousand, or even sixty thousand would do!"
The face ignored him completely. "Fifty supreme-grade spirit stones. Pick them up in a month at the usual spot.
"That will be all!"
Before the words finished echoing, the light and shadow on the broken stone vanished, reverting into an ordinary rock.
With a dark expression, Zhou Qing'ang shattered the broken stone with a palm strike.
Changing back to his original appearance, he returned to Tai'an Island in silence the entire way.
He stayed dutifully inside the Island-Protecting Grand Formation, showing no trace whatsoever of being an undercover spy.
'It seems that besides Zhou Qing'ang, quite a few people have infiltrated through his superior's line alone.
'Still, the spies in this line probably don't hold very high positions within the alliance. Their current mission objective is still limited to obtaining the Island-Protecting Grand Formation.
'In addition, their method of contact seems to require a fresh setup for every transmission. Although it's a bit troublesome, one-way contact reduces the risk of being wiped out all at once.'
Seeing Zhou Qing'ang settle back into his undercover routine without making any further moves, Li Fan withdrew his attention and calculated how to maximize his gains from this affair.
'Besides the method to fool the White Jade Heart-Interrogation Platform, Zhou Qing'ang's appearance-altering technique would also be extremely useful to me.
'It would be best to get my hands on both methods before reporting him to earn merits.
'The pity is, up until now, I still haven't found the legendary technique of soul searching.'
The Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals seemed to strictly regulate this technique; even with Li Fan's current clearance of Yan Eight, he couldn't find a single mention of it.
'I wonder if there might be an opportunity in the Fallen Immortal Realm.'
Not long ago, Li Fan had inexplicably sensed that he could enter the Fallen Immortal Realm once more.
It was just that he had been busy taking on merit missions hunting down defectors, so he hadn't re-entered.
Now that he finally had some free time, Li Fan once again thought of exploring the Fallen Immortal Realm.
Without delay, he set up the ritual once more.
"Fortune-Bearing Xuanhuang Heavenly Venerable!"
As he finished silently chanting the final incantation, countless noisy, fragmented voices flooded his ears.
Li Fan stepped into the Fallen Immortal Realm once more.
"Junior Brother? Junior Brother?"
When Li Fan took in his surroundings clearly, his heart sank slightly.
"Junior Brother, what are you thinking about? Why have you spaced out for so long?"
The speaker was a cultivator clad in a purple-and-white Daoist robe, with a purple lightning mark etched between his brows.
This person was no stranger to Li Fan; it was none other than Zhang Qianmo, whom he had met the last time he entered the Fallen Immortal Realm.
'Why is it here again?' Countless question marks flashed through Li Fan's mind in an instant.
According to Chen Ying's explanation, every entry into the Fallen Immortal Realm should place someone in a different, random location.
Why was his entry point for the second time completely identical to the first?
Even the exact point in time was identical without the slightest deviation.
Was there some special reason?
Connecting this to his peculiar trait of having two lives in this Fallen Immortal Realm, a name surfaced in Li Fan's mind in a flash.
'Could it be due to the Xuanhuang Heart-Refining Incantation again?'
Li Fan guessed instinctively.
'Last time, I revealed my divine sense avatar, proved no match for Zhang Qianmo, and was slain by him.
'If I defeat him this time, will the outcome be different?
'However, this Senior Brother Zhang is not so easy to deal with.
'Or perhaps, if I avoid letting him discover the true self hidden beneath Li Chen's shell...'
In an instant, several thoughts surged through Li Fan's mind.
Still, he did not forget to reply to this seemingly cynical senior brother before him.
Recalling what would happen next, Li Fan's thoughts raced. "Uh, Senior Brother, for some reason I suddenly feel an uneasy restlessness. It feels as though our journey to retrieve the Longevity Fruit won't go so smoothly."
Zhang Qianmo paused slightly. Instead of brushing it off with a laugh, he actually took it with unusual seriousness.
He lightly pinched his fingers in divination, purple clouds seeming to drift through his eyes.
"Eh?" A moment later, Zhang Qianmo's expression grew solemn.
"Junior Brother, your premonition was right. There really is something strange about Ningyuan City!"
"Really?" Li Fan put on a look of utter surprise. "Then Senior Brother, what should we do next?"
Zhang Qianmo pondered for a moment and said, "The divination shows that while there is some risk, our lives are not in peril.
"The Longevity Fruit must be retrieved. If we return to the sect to call for reinforcements without even personally setting foot in Ningyuan City, wouldn't our fellow disciples mock us?
"Why don't the two of us sneak into the city in secret first and scout out the situation before deciding?"
Li Fan naturally had no objections. "Senior Brother is right!"
Zhang Qianmo circulated an unknown technique; the lightning mark on his forehead gradually receded, and his aura was completely concealed.
Watching this, Li Fan followed suit convincingly as if by instinct, completely concealing his own aura.
'So it's the breath-concealment art from the Purple Empyrean Thunder-Controlling True Scripture...'
Much like controlling a character in a game, Li Fan could now employ Li Chen's various techniques and moves, yet he understood little about the cultivation methods themselves.
Chapter 194