Without offering Xiao Heng too much explanation, Li Fan simply told him not to worry before heading straight to Tianbao Pavilion without stopping to rest.
Yin Yuzhen was somewhat surprised by Li Fan's sudden visit.
After hearing why he had come, Yin Yuzhen explained the sequence of events with a face full of indignation.
As it turned out, through months of inquiries, the various factions on Liuli Island had finally figured out that Star Sea Flowing Sand was actually meteoric iron fallen from the heavens.
Yet when they set out to collect it, they discovered that every trace of Star Sea Flowing Sand across the sea territories of Liuli Island had already been scraped clean by Tianbao Pavilion.
Furthermore, the earlier chaos in Liuli Island's market had been secretly orchestrated by Tianbao Pavilion from the shadows.
"Tianbao Pavilion played everyone for fools!" In their humiliated fury, they took the matter directly to the Liuli Island Master, demanding an explanation.
Naturally, Yin Yuzhen defended herself with righteous conviction, claiming that her actions were merely legitimate business competition.
The Liuli Island Master also deemed that while Yin Yuzhen's methods were somewhat aggressive, the contest for spots in the Purifying Spirit Pool had always been a matter of individual capability. As long as the materials required by the immortal master were gathered in full, a slightly out-of-line tactic was entirely acceptable.
Thus, the Island Master did not punish Tianbao Pavilion; instead, he severely reprimanded the rabble-rousers.
How could those people accept that?
A few days later, rumors began to circulate across the island alleging that Tianbao Pavilion was running an illicit mortal-smuggling business in secret.
The tales grew wilder by the day, making it sound as though the immortal master would hold Tianbao Pavilion accountable tomorrow and slaughter them to the last man.
"Just how serious is this matter? Will the immortal master truly lay down blame?" Having learned what had happened, Li Fan could not help but ask.
"That is precisely what makes this so troublesome." Yin Yuzhen's brow furrowed. "As the saying goes, 'When the punishments are unpredictable, the authority is unfathomable.' There has never been an explicit rule forbidding the smuggling of mortals. Yet it is ultimately a taboo, something that cannot see the light of day.
"Moreover, a dozen or so years ago, an immortal master happened to run across a smuggling operation. In his fury, he slaughtered every single mortal present.
"Ever since, everyone has maintained an unspoken understanding, conducting this smuggling business only in secret."
Li Fan's brow also furrowed slightly upon hearing this. "So this matter can be either trivial or grave—the outcome depends entirely on the immortal master's mood?"
"Indeed. If the immortal master pays it no mind, then nothing will happen. But if he is in a foul mood, then..." Yin Yuzhen trailed off, her face turning somewhat pale.
Li Fan fell silent.
He recalled the scene when he had first encountered Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi.
In the eyes of cultivators, mortals were truly like ants, fit to be slaughtered at will.
"To brave the risk of beheading just to conduct this smuggling business, the profits must be exceedingly high," Li Fan sighed.
"Naturally. The price for a single passage often takes an entire small world nearly a decade of plundering to afford. You can imagine the margins," Yin Yuzhen nodded. "It is precisely because of this that some immortal masters cannot resist joining in secretly to take a cut.
"Those immortal masters will never admit to their involvement. Whenever they interact with us, they conceal themselves with immortal arts, preventing anyone from seeing their faces. And in the end, they still take the lion's share of the profits." At this point, Yin Yuzhen showed a trace of helplessness. "So Tianbao Pavilion must resolve this on our own."
Li Fan recalled the immortal master who had guided the arrivals from the Li Realm when he first entered the cultivation world, and he nodded in understanding.
"Then what sort of temperament does the immortal master stationed on Liuli Island possess? What is his attitude toward such matters?" Li Fan then inquired.
"Immortal Master He of Liuli Island lives in secluded retirement. Even I have only seen him a few times, so it is genuinely difficult to gauge his stance. However, judging by his past handling of mortal affairs, he is certainly no soft-hearted man," Yin Yuzhen said in a heavy voice.
After turning the situation over in his mind, Li Fan ultimately let out a sigh.
He knew that no matter how many schemes he devised, everything was futile before an absolute disparity in power.
Faced with an unstable variable akin to a ticking time bomb, there was little Li Fan could do.
A thought stirred in Li Fan's mind as he remembered the vast quantity of immortal-mortal miasma stored within one of the Taiyan Boat's cabins.
*If this were in the Great Xuan, with tens of thousands of death-sworn soldiers at my command, perhaps I could put up a fight. Unfortunately...*
He quickly suppressed the dangerous thought.
"Set a time to meet with them. This matter shouldn't be blown out of proportion after all," Li Fan suggested.
"Mm, I was thinking the same thing," Yin Yuzhen agreed.
"They want nothing more than for us to hand over some Star Sea Flowing Sand. Since we seized the initiative, we've gathered plenty. We might as well toss out a portion to let them tear into one another like dogs over a bone. They will inevitably turn on each other in no time," Li Fan said with a cold scoff. "There is no such thing as an unbreakable alliance in this world."
...
Three days later, Tianbao Pavilion arranged a meeting with the various factions of Liuli Island and put forth the following terms:
Tianbao Pavilion agreed to surrender a portion of the Star Sea Flowing Sand, but the other parties had to provide materials of equal value in exchange.
At the same time, the specific division of the Star Sea Flowing Sand would be determined entirely by those factions themselves.
Finally, Tianbao Pavilion had to be guaranteed one of the spots for the Purifying Spirit Pool.
These terms were hardly harsh. After a round of discussions, the two sides swiftly reached an accord.
After all, there was no deep-seated feud between them; it had merely been a scramble for a spot in the Purifying Spirit Pool.
Thus, at the cost of several dozen pieces of meteoric iron, Tianbao Pavilion successfully extricated itself from the chaotic whirlpool.
Almost that very day, the rumors of smuggling vanished without a trace from the island.
Meanwhile, the remaining factions threw themselves into open and veiled power struggles over those dozens of pieces of meteoric iron, completely lacking the leisure to bother Tianbao Pavilion any further.
Time slipped past, and the day for the opening of the Purifying Spirit Pool drew near.
Following the tally of the materials submitted by each faction, the spots for the Purifying Spirit Pool were finally confirmed.
There were thirteen spots in total this time, and Tianbao Pavilion held one.
With the major matter finally settled, Li Fan could not help but let out a sigh of relief.
Once the pool opened, he could cleanse away every trace of miasma and formally step onto the path of cultivation!
He had waited far too long for this day.
Consequently, despite Li Fan's deep composure, he felt a flutter of excitement.
Name: Li Fan
Realm: Mortal
Physiological Age: 42/99
Psychological Age: 505/1299↑
Reversion Charging Progress: 121%
Anchor Charging Progress: 51%
Current Anchors: 1
Bound Items: *Golden Chapter of Thousand Mechanisms and the Jade Cosmos*, Taiyan Boat, Step-Halting Broken Stele (Damaged)
Li Fan looked at True Reversion's status panel. After two years of transformation, his physiological age had reached its limit of ninety-nine, showing no further signs of increasing.
Meanwhile, the upper limit of his psychological age was still slowly climbing thanks to his day-and-night cultivation of the *Xuanhuang Mind-Clearing Incantation*.
He wondered what kind of changes would take place once he underwent the baptism of the spirit pool.
Li Fan felt a stir of anticipation.
The day the spirit pool opened arrived at last. That morning, Li Fan swallowed the Dust-Transcending Pill Yin Yuzhen had given him and, guided by an attendant, stepped into the formation array at the center of Liuli Island.
Chapter 38