According to Zhou Qing'ang's memories, the domain under the governance of the Five Elders Association was divided into five great Heavenly Domains, each under the jurisdiction of a different Heavenly Venerable.
Furthermore, each Heavenly Domain possessed striking characteristics vastly different from the rest.
His homeland was called the Country of Gentlemen.
It earned this name because no one within it could tell a lie.
Of course, that was what the inhabitants of the Country of Gentlemen called it themselves.
Cultivators elsewhere in the Five Elders Association preferred to call it the Country of Truth.
Whatever it was called, it did not alter its wonderful nature.
There, people always treated one another with complete sincerity, consistently showing their truest selves.
While a bit of bloodshed inevitably occurred from time to time, compared to an outside world rife with deceit, Zhou Qing'ang loved his homeland dearly.
North of the Country of Truth lay the dreamland of countless cultivators: the Carefree Paradise.
As for the other three domains, Zhou Qing'ang had been too young when chosen for espionage training to have learned anything about them.
...
As the manifested dream was about to collapse, Li Fan replayed it once more to ensure the accuracy of the gathered information.
He repeated this three times.
After taking some biological material from Zhou Qing'ang, Li Fan used him as a template and began refining an avatar.
Several days later, a body identical to Zhou Qing'ang appeared.
Li Fan gave a slight nod. Following the same pattern, he activated the Wondrous Profound True Spirit Transformation, turning himself into Zhou Qing'ang as well.
A rather bizarre scene unfolded within this small undersea chamber.
Three bodies with identical appearances stood there, yet their expressions and demeanors were completely distinct.
"Splendid, truly splendid!" Li Fan nodded in satisfaction.
Looking at the still-unconscious Zhou Qing'ang, whose mouth curved slightly upward in a smile, a strange glint flickered in Li Fan's eyes.
"I will spare your life in this incarnation, so as not to give away any flaws. For you, remaining forever immersed in an illusory dream might not be a bad thing after all."
Gathering materials on the spot, he crafted a stone coffin for Zhou Qing'ang.
After placing him inside, Li Fan scattered a heap of spirit stones over him to sustain his vital energy.
He then laid down a formation centered around the Cloud Water Illusory Dream, capable of sustaining the illusion for at least twenty years.
Next, he sealed the stone coffin shut with a massive boulder and buried it deep beneath the seabed.
"This way, aside from me, no one in this world should ever discover that you have vanished," Li Fan said in satisfaction, his gaze seeming to pierce through the seabed to look upon Zhou Qing'ang slumbering in his dream, once all traces had been thoroughly erased.
His approach had been inspired by the Eternal Immortal Wall from the future Profound Net worldline.
When a cultivator of the Xuanhuang Realm died, Heaven and Earth responded, causing anomalies to appear across the sky.
Li Fan had not yet mastered a way to prevent these anomalies from occurring, and for now, he could not allow anyone to discover that the real Zhou Qing'ang was dead.
Handling it this way was truly the most suitable option.
With all this done, the avatar returned to Tai'an Island to continue serving as an Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals garrison.
Meanwhile, Li Fan's true body headed toward the contact point with Zhou Qing'ang's handler from his memories.
In truth, Zhou Qing'ang knew very little about his superior.
Their contact had basically always been a one-way street.
Moreover, after every meeting, the location for the next encounter would change.
Li Fan arrived at an uninhabited island. After searching it, he indeed found a stone that looked completely ordinary.
However, in specific spots, there were several inconspicuous small holes.
These holes represented coordinates within the Congyun Sea.
Using the coordinates, Li Fan calculated the location for this rendezvous.
After crushing the stone to dust, he flew straight toward the destination.
A day later, Li Fan located his objective among some undersea ruins: a broken rock that appeared completely ordinary.
Li Fan placed both hands against it and circulated the secret art, causing his palms to glow with yellow light.
In an instant, a matching pale-yellow sheen surged from the broken rock and swiftly swept across Li Fan's entire body.
Verification passed, and the light receded into the rock.
Shortly after, the surface of the broken stone became as smooth as a mirror, and the blurry image of a human face surfaced within it.
"What are you doing? Didn't I tell you to lie low and stay out of contact recently?" the other party rebuked coldly.
Li Fan mimicked Zhou Qing'ang's tone: "Chief! I have crucial intelligence to report this time, which is why I made an exception to contact you!"
"Crucial intelligence?" The other side was clearly doubtful, his tone unfriendly. "Let's hear it."
Li Fan lowered his voice, leaned in close, and said, "A fellow Daoist I befriended claims he can get his hands on the questions for the upcoming Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals induction examination."
The face was taken aback at first, then immediately snapped, "Which fraud is it this time? You actually believe something so absurd? You even went out of your way to report this to me? Zhou Qing'ang, oh Zhou Qing'ang, have you stayed in the Congyun Sea so long your brain has turned to mush?"
Li Fan immediately put on an aggrieved expression. "Chief, this time it couldn't be more real! I swear it!"
Seeing Li Fan's utter certainty, the face grew somewhat hesitant.
"What makes you so sure?"
Li Fan replied, "This fellow Daoist of mine has connections up top! Didn't I report to you before that I became acquainted with the Liuli Island garrison, He Zhenghao? Like me, he's at Foundation Establishment. Not long ago, he complained to me about how difficult it was to save contribution points, saying who knew how long it would take before he could switch to a different technique.
"Who would have thought that after just a few days apart, he had already switched to a Nascent Soul technique!"
Li Fan spoke in an exaggerated tone.
"Such an anomaly naturally drew my attention. I went to great lengths before I finally managed to find out..."
By this point, the face was already somewhat intrigued by Li Fan's words. Seeing him suddenly pause for suspense, he immediately barked, "Out with it already!"
Li Fan chuckled. "This He Zhenghao is no simple character! On the surface, he's just an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, but in truth, his background is terrifyingly grand!
"He has a daughter named He Xinxin. Hmph, in truth, she ought to be called Heng Xinxin!
"Have you heard of the Heng clan of Tianyu Province in the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, Chief?
"The apple of the Heng clan's eye, Heng Ruoshui—who became a Nascent Soul law-weaver at a young age—turns out to be He Zhenghao's old flame!
"Who would believe this if told? Yet it happens to be the absolute truth!
"In the past, it seems He Zhenghao's cultivation was far too poor, so he was forced to cut ties with the Heng clan. That's why he lived in such hardship.
"Recently, however, things seem to have taken a turn."
Li Fan paused, glanced at the face, and continued, "He Xinxin has come of age. Seeing her poor old father living such a wretched life, she couldn't bear it. But if she helped him openly, she feared her family would discover it.
"So she resorted to another method, secretly feeding He Zhenghao information she overheard.
"Relying entirely on his daughter's help, He Zhenghao made a complete turnaround!"
Li Fan's tone carried a mix of excitement and envy. "He knew in advance that Wugu Obsidian was going to skyrocket, so he went all-in, putting up everything he owned to buy it up in bulk.
"As soon as the price doubled, he dumped it immediately.
"With that single trade, he pocketed over a hundred thousand contribution points!
"Over a hundred thousand! Chief! How many years of operational funding would that be for me?!
"He Zhenghao was terrified the news might leak and harm his daughter, so he made up some nonsense about receiving guidance from an ancient Heavenly Mechanism Sect cultivator and spread the tale everywhere.
"Bah! He really took the rest of us for fools!
"Chief, luckily I was sharp. I pestered him relentlessly, wheedling and wearing him down, until I finally dragged the truth from his mouth."
Li Fan looked smug, angling for credit.
"The source of the leaked induction examination questions also comes from He Xinxin.
"Chief, you tell me: is that reliable or not?"
The figure on the broken rock did not lose his temper this time. Instead, he fell silent, seemingly verifying something.
After a long while, the face's voice came through in bursts.
"Heng Ruoshui does indeed have a daughter, but the father's identity has always been a mystery.
"However, many years ago, she did travel home accompanied by a young man. Shortly thereafter, that young man vanished without a trace.
"Let me look at his portrait...
"It really is He Zhenghao!"
The face was visibly shocked.
"There is also this...
"Before Wugu Obsidian skyrocketed, unusual transaction records did appear. Someone bought heavily, then dumped at the peak.
"The timing was far too precise. It is hard to believe they did not possess inside information in advance.
"The purchaser...
"Was also He Zhenghao!"
From the face's side came a heavy thud, like someone slamming a desk with great force.
"In that case, the questions for the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals induction examination could very well be genuine?"
The other party's breathing could not help but turn rapid.
Li Fan nodded vigorously. "That's why I hurried to find you, Chief! You know the induction examination is taking place very soon.
"If we can obtain the questions in advance...
"We can plant moles in even more key positions throughout the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals!"
The face evidently understood the gravity of the situation and urgently asked, "What are his terms?"
At this moment, Li Fan suddenly appeared hesitant, stammering, "Chief, the price He Zhenghao quoted this time is a bit steep..."
The face barked, "If I tell you to speak, speak! What are a few spirit stones compared to the induction examination questions?"
Li Fan held up a hand and gestured. "He wants this much."
"Five hundred thousand contribution points? That isn't entirely out of the..." Before the face could finish, Li Fan shook his head vigorously, cutting him off.
"No. Five million."
The face instantly froze.
"Five million?! Has he lost his mind?!" His voice even trembled slightly.
Soon, however, the face realized something.
His expression abruptly darkened, and a trace of murderous intent crept into his voice. "Are you compromised?!
"To a mere individual, and a Foundation Establishment cultivator at that, he would never demand such an absurd sum.
"Unless he already knows that behind you lies an entire organization..."
The image on the broken stone flickered between light and darkness, as though it might vanish at any moment.
The face glared fixedly at Li Fan, awaiting his response.
Li Fan replied with a touch of exasperation, "Chief, in your eyes, am I really that unprofessional?
"I only told him that I have backers as well.
"Anyone serving in the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals has relatives or connections.
"Rest assured, Chief. Even if He Zhenghao has his suspicions, he would never jump to the conclusion that I'm a spy.
"In reality, He Zhenghao is just casting a wide net. He knows the risks of selling examination questions, so he is only doing a one-off deal.
"He will only trade with a single party, and he stipulated that no more than ten people who know the questions may take the induction examination."
...
Listening to Li Fan's explanation, the face gradually relaxed.
The image brightened and cleared up again. After analyzing it carefully for a moment, the face said, "Five hundred thousand per person... While the cost is somewhat high, it is still acceptable.
"However, it is a massive sum after all. If the questions He Zhenghao provides turn out to be fake..."
Li Fan dismissed the concern casually. "He Zhenghao said that since the induction examination lasts seven days anyway, he can give us the first day's questions upfront for free. Once we verify that they are genuine, we will proceed with the final transaction."
Hearing this, the face could not help but be thoroughly tempted.
Chapter 427