Five million contribution points was no small sum, however, so the human face did not make a decision on the spot.
After pondering for a moment, the face said cautiously, "This matter requires further consideration. We shall meet again in seven days."
After transmitting a set of coordinates to Li Fan, the face quietly vanished.
Yet merely an instant later, it surfaced once more.
"Right. Regardless of the outcome, this He Zhenghao is of high value to win over.
"You must build a good relationship with him. Even if these examination questions turn out to be fake, his connection to the Heng family of Tianyu Province alone makes him worth spending heavily on.
"I heard from your earlier report that this man is utterly infatuated with formations?
"Perhaps you can start from that angle."
After giving a few more reminders, the face finally departed.
A yellow glow flared up, and the smooth broken stone crumbled inch by inch, tumbling to the ground in pieces.
Li Fan stepped forward to inspect it, finding it utterly destroyed.
He stood in contemplation for a moment, then quietly flew off, still bearing Zhou Qing'ang's appearance.
Only after flying far enough and ensuring he was neither followed nor monitored along the way did Li Fan duck into the shadows and revert to his previous middle-aged guise.
"The bait is cast. Now to see if the Five Elders Association bites."
As he flew, Li Fan reflected on Zhou Qing'ang's memories regarding the Five Elders Association.
"The Carefree Paradise...
"The one who rules that Heavenly Domain must be the Longevity Heavenly Venerable capable of making people forget calamity.
"Yet what is the deal with the Country of Truth? The principle of Heaven and Earth that Heavenly Venerable Wuyou defied should cover roughly the entirety of the Xuanhuang Realm.
"Yet the Inability to Lie clearly has not affected other regions, taking effect only in that specific domain.
"Senior Sister Zhao's All Minds as One seems to be the same.
"Wuyou and Chuanfa ought to be a tier higher than the two of them...
"No wonder the Five Elders Association, despite having five Longevity Heavenly Venerables overseeing it, remains exceedingly wary of Chuanfa.
"Even when making a probing move, they act with utmost caution."
Li Fan was deep in thought.
Establishing contact with the Five Elders Association was by no means an impulsive whim.
Beyond maximizing profits from the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals induction exam questions, a counterweight from the Five Elders Association was vital to prevent the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation from evolving toward the Profound Net in the future.
Having an avatar serving as a Five Elders Association spy would make future actions far more convenient.
Next, instead of returning to Wanxian Island, Li Fan flew toward the southeastern waters of the Congyun Sea.
The secluded small island situated in the heart of that maritime area was his objective for this trip.
More than half a day later, Li Fan spotted the compound on the island from afar.
In the courtyard sat five cultivators cross-legged.
An elderly man with a ruddy complexion and crane-white hair, looking exceptionally vigorous, was pacing back and forth beside the cultivators.
His mouth constantly droned on with profound, esoteric, and utterly baffling words.
This late Foundation Establishment cultivator was precisely the Foundation Establishment Master Li Fan had encountered back then.
Together with the gatekeeper Li Chenfeng and the man surnamed Xiao who acted as their shill, all three were in fact Dharma thieves who had smuggled themselves in from a small world.
Their homeland, a small world known as the Empire, was currently attempting to rely on the combined might of a pod of a hundred thousand Realm-Rifting Whales to break free from the Xuanhuang Realm's shackles.
As for the three of them, they bore the heavy responsibility of stealing immortal cultivation scriptures from the Xuanhuang Realm so that they could reestablish an immortal cultivation lineage after the Empire broke away.
For an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, accumulating enough contribution points to redeem a Dao Integration technique through conventional means was nothing short of a pipe dream.
Thus, they took a desperate gamble, using this fraudulent method to amass wealth.
Li Fan had not come looking for them for the modest sum of contribution points in their hands, but to capitalize on the Foundation Establishment Master's renown among the numerous Qi Condensation cultivators.
Li Fan smiled faintly, altered his face to another unfamiliar appearance, and descended openly before the Foundation Establishment Master.
"Quiet your mind and focus your spirit; comprehend with care..." The Foundation Establishment Master was swaying his head, reciting his pitch like a scripture.
Seeing Li Fan descend from the sky, his words cut off abruptly.
"A Golden Core cultivator?!"
In an instant, countless thoughts surged through the Foundation Establishment Master's mind.
Yet his years of living under cover enabled him to feign composure. "May I ask what Senior..."
Li Fan simply gave a gentle wave of his hand, first knocking the other four Qi Condensation cultivators present unconscious.
Leaving only the actor surnamed Xiao and the Foundation Establishment Master, he said indifferently, "So it is you who smuggled yourselves here from the small world?"
With that single sentence, the faces of both men changed drastically.
Just as the Foundation Establishment Master was about to offer an excuse, he felt a net tightly bind him in an instant.
Along with losing control of his body, he could not even utter a sound.
He could not even take his own life.
A trace of despair inevitably flickered across the Foundation Establishment Master's eyes.
Li Fan was just about to speak when he suddenly sensed something rapidly approaching from behind.
His figure shifted instantaneously, flashing away from his spot.
Looking back, Li Fan's eyes narrowed slightly.
A towering figure roughly two zhang tall stood there. Looking at the features, it was none other than the Qi Condensation cultivator Li Chenfeng.
Yet at this moment, his appearance had undergone a tremendous transformation.
His frame had expanded several times over, and a cuticle resembling the carapace of a strange beast had grown over the surface of his body.
Two pairs of transparent wings flapped rapidly on his back, keeping him suspended in mid-air.
His hands had been replaced by a pair of razor-sharp, dark-gold giant claws.
His face appeared to be covered by a mask painted in the guise of a monstrous beast, revealing only two pairs of eyes.
The entire man seemed like a fusion of human and strange beast, carrying an eerie aesthetic beauty under the sunlight.
"Intriguing. What is this thing?"
The transformation before him was outside Li Fan's expectations.
He stared at Li Chenfeng and discovered that this beast-mutated body was actually capable of shielding itself from spiritual sense to a certain degree.
A two-zhang-tall giant felt no larger than a flying insect to spiritual perception.
"Senior, leave us a way out. Pretend you saw nothing. Would that be acceptable?"
Li Chenfeng spoke with a voice layered with a dual resonance.
Yet without waiting for Li Fan's reply, his massive frame vanished from the spot.
He reappeared behind Li Fan.
The giant claws swung high, poised to rip Li Fan's head apart.
Li Fan's expression changed slightly.
He discovered that his Insect Binding divine ability had actually lost its effect on Li Chenfeng.
This was the very first time such a thing had happened since he had learned it from Junior Brother Chong.
Though startled, he did not panic. In a split second, he laid down several formations around himself.
Turning his hand, he met the attack head-on with a palm strike.
An azure giant palm collided with the dark-gold giant claws, erupting in a thunderous boom.
Li Fan used the recoil to open up distance, while a blue water sword lit up heaven and earth.
The Congyun Sword sliced straight through Li Chenfeng's torso, cleaving him in two.
A shower of blood rained down, yet Li Fan did not let down his guard.
The two halves of Li Chenfeng's bisected body healed their wounds in an instant, then charged at Li Fan from the left and right.
Right at that moment, the formations Li Fan had previously laid down quietly activated.
After flying forward a short distance, Li Chenfeng seemed to freeze in mid-air, unable to advance even half a step further!
Chapter 428