The avatar Xiao Fan looked entirely different from the plain, passerby appearance of the avatar Lin Fan.
When Li Fan crafted him, he deliberately molded him to stand eight feet tall, with sword-like brows, starry eyes, fair skin, and striking handsomeness.
"The more eye-catching, the better. Go claim Immortal Venerable Jicheng's bounty, and then, carrying everyone's attention, head to Yuandao Province.
"Let us see whether that monster coiled above Yuandao Province truly cannot be noticed by anyone."
The avatar Xiao Fan smiled faintly and gave a slight nod.
Transforming into a wisp of blue light, he departed from the secret chamber.
Li Fan did not leave immediately.
Instead, he remained in seclusion for over a month until the calendar crossed into Anchored Year 29. Only then did he leisurely make his way back to Tianyu Province.
During this time, his avatar had focused on doing just one thing: obtaining legitimate identity within the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
Once a cultivator reached the Golden Core realm, joining the Alliance was no longer as simple as casually having someone introduce them as before.
Cultivation was an arduous road, after all; for a rogue cultivator to reach Foundation Establishment was already fraught with difficulties.
A rogue Golden Core cultivator was exceedingly rare.
While he did not have to undergo the test of the White Jade Heart-Interrogation Platform as official personnel within the system did, basic interrogations and a few trial missions were still unavoidable.
Fortunately, Li Fan had already investigated the entire procedure in advance.
Though it took some effort and maneuvering, Xiao Fan ultimately succeeded in joining the Alliance.
Along the way, he even made the acquaintance of Zhou Luo, the garrison of Juyu City in Tianyu Province.
Zhou Luo was a late Nascent Soul cultivator, but seeing that Xiao Fan was so young, a rogue cultivator, and had already cultivated to the Golden Core realm, he treated the avatar quite courteously.
After exchanging communication talismans, the avatar used the teleportation array to first transfer through Tianyu City before heading straight for Tianquan Province.
The place to submit entries for Immortal Venerable Jicheng's bounty was located right there.
Tianquan Province, as its name suggested, was inextricably linked to the concept of "authority." Many cultivators holding prominent positions in the Alliance purchased property and built immortal abodes here, and their relatives and subordinates often followed in their wake. Consequently, land values in Tianquan Province soared ever higher, making every inch of ground worth an inch of gold.
Unlike other provinces that possessed vast stretches of barren wildlands, as far as the eye could see across this province, the wilderness was blanketed by one private formation after another, marking each parcel as inhabited. And those who could live inside Tianquan City itself were the elite of the elite among the powerful and noble.
Immortal Venerable Jicheng's Tianji Courtyard was situated right within Tianquan City.
Upon stepping out of the teleportation array, Li Fan's avatar asked around and quickly learned the location of the courtyard.
Arriving before the entrance, he saw two cultivators clad in gray robes standing tall on either side of the gate.
Judging by their aura, both were actually at the Nascent Soul stage. Their expressions were aloof and stern, exuding an air that warned strangers away.
Yet upon hearing that Li Fan had come to participate in the bounty and carried a wondrous longevity-extending treasure, they instantly put on warmly hospitable smiles.
A streak of mirror light swept across the doorway, verifying the avatar's identity.
One of the guards immediately greeted him, "Fellow Daoist Xiao Fan, this way, please."
He then led Li Fan into Tianji Courtyard.
After winding through numerous corridors, they arrived in a grand hall.
Quite a few cultivators had already gathered inside, their gazes fixed entirely on a massive mirror hanging at the center of the hall.
Li Fan looked over and saw lines of names and submitted longevity treasures clearly inscribed upon it.
Listening to the murmurs among the cultivators, Li Fan grasped what was going on.
It turned out the commotion caused by this bounty had grown too large. Beyond attracting countless cultivators eager to present treasures, it had also provoked the dissatisfaction of certain factions.
They argued that the opportunity to use the Yanfa Jade was an honor bestowed by the Alliance upon Immortal Venerable Jicheng for his meritorious service—a symbol of supreme glory. Yet now, merely to cling to life, Immortal Venerable Jicheng had chosen to transfer that glory to outsiders. To them, this was a desecration of the Alliance's honor!
Any perceptive observer could see that this rhetoric was purely meant to stir up trouble.
Immortal Venerable Jicheng had governed the Garrison Court for more than five hundred years. While his standing was lofty and powerful, he had inevitably made numerous enemies along the way. Now that he was gravely injured, had resigned from his post as Commander-in-Chief, and was rapidly approaching the end of his lifespan, those enemies naturally seized the chance to stir up waves.
Though they would not resort to an outright clash of arms for the sake of the greater situation and the Alliance's face, they could still find plenty of overt and covert ways to disgust Heavenly Venerable Jicheng.
As a result, all manner of gossip and rumors sprouted almost overnight, each taking the moral high ground to condemn Immortal Venerable Jicheng.
The turmoil grew so intense that eventually, faint rumors spread outside claiming Immortal Venerable Jicheng had buckled under the pressure and secretly reserved the three usage slots of the Yanfa Jade for the descendants of other Venerables to pacify the situation. Cultivators offering their longevity treasures would only be laboring for another's harvest.
Although the rumor was transparently false, repeated enough times, people were bound to believe it. Many cultivators began to get cold feet.
It was then that Immortal Venerable Jicheng, who had remained silent throughout the affair, finally spoke out.
"The rumors of prearranged slots are utter fabrications.
"To ensure fairness, impartiality, and public trust, members of Tianji Courtyard will not participate in evaluating the longevity treasures. Instead, the rankings will be determined and displayed publicly by the Heavenly Profound Mirror, eliminating any possibility of covert manipulation."
Hearing that the Heavenly Profound Mirror would appraise and rank the treasures directly, the cultivators felt at ease. The Heavenly Profound Mirror would never deceive anyone.
Furthermore, Immortal Venerable Jicheng made a promise: even if a cultivator's submitted treasure failed to make the top three, he would still compensate them at twice the market price.
With this personal pledge from the venerable powerhouse, the ranks of cultivators participating in the bounty swelled once more.
With the three-year deadline nearing its end, none of those who submitted their longevity treasures left. Instead, they lingered in the grand hall, keeping their eyes glued to the rankings displayed upon the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
Li Fan also cast his gaze toward the list. In first place, the submitting cultivator's name was obscured, but the treasure's name was already well known: the Everlasting Life Fruit, granting five hundred years of longevity.
Second place lagged far behind.
"Wan Yu, Qingmu Longevity Pill. Extends life by two hundred and eighty-six years."
Seeing this, Li Fan could not help but heave a sigh of relief.
"To think my Rebirth Longevity Fruit can still take second place. What a stroke of luck."
Li Fan continued reading down the list; every entry beneath it was an obscure longevity treasure he had never heard of before.
"Immortal Venerable Jicheng has consumed far too many longevity treasures in his life. Only these nearly unique, irreproducible items can still take effect on him."
Just as he was lost in thought, another cultivator strode into the hall.
Acting as if no one else existed and without sparing a glance for the surrounding cultivators, the newcomer walked straight beneath the central Heavenly Profound Mirror. He retrieved a purple wooden box and slowly opened it.
"I possess one Tiandu Feathering Pill, capable of extending lifespan by eight hundred years, to offer to Lord Immortal Venerable Jicheng!"
Though his voice was quiet, it struck everyone's ears like thunder. Startled, people rose to their feet one after another, scrutinizing this newly arrived cultivator.
Li Fan likewise could not help turning his gaze toward the man.
"A Tiandu Feathering Pill? Originating from Yuandao Province?
"Wait, this person... why does he look familiar?"
In a flash, Li Fan recognized his identity.
It was none other than the cultivator who, at the end of Anchored Year 16 in the Congyun Sea, had struck the grand prize in fish picking and raked in 1.56 million contribution points:
Han Yi.
Chapter 331