Before Qing could speak, Shenyuzi flicked his horsetail whisk.
The sky darkened, and a talisman inscribed with golden glyphs instantly appeared above the island.
Blotting out the sky and sun, it seemed ready in the very next second to suppress everyone from the Empire.
Qing's expression changed abruptly. Two emerald beams of light flew into the upper skies like sharp blades, crashing into the enormous talisman.
The golden talisman was torn apart down the center, revealing the firmament once more.
Yet the golden glyphs upon the talisman did not disappear. Instead, they drifted down toward the earth below.
Blade after blade of light surged incessantly from Qing's body, dissolving the glyphs one by one.
It was obvious that both combatants were exercising immense restraint. The phenomenal upheaval of heaven and earth they stirred was confined strictly to the island's periphery; even onlookers like Li Fan and Li Chenfeng were not affected in the slightest.
After a moment, once Qing had thoroughly suppressed Shenyuzi's golden talisman, she forced down her anger and was just about to demand what he intended.
However, she discovered that after saying something to Li Fan, the mysterious figure who had cast the golden talisman simply walked away of his own accord.
Qing narrowed her eyes slightly and did not stop him, watching as Li Fan flew up to her with open poise.
"What is the meaning of this, Myriad Realms Association?" Only then did Qing ask, her face frosted over.
Li Fan shrugged. "We bear no ill will. But since we are to cooperate, we naturally had to see your strength and whether it is worth our while. Fortunately, you have just barely gained approval from above."
Qing gave a cold snort and glared at Li Fan.
Li Fan was completely unbothered, smiling as he said, "The Association agrees to the cooperation plan you previously proposed. We will help the Empire accelerate its plan to break free from the Xuanhuang Realm, and in return, you will allocate a portion of your forces to integrate into the Association. However..."
Li Fan paused slightly. "Taking into account both sides' current situations, the organization believes that we can execute the cooperation plan step by step."
"What kind of 'step by step'?" Qing's tone softened slightly.
Li Fan tossed over a storage ring. Qing caught it, examined its contents, and was taken aback.
Inside were none other than the various supplies the Empire required.
Azure Spirit Crystals, Myriad Blossom Jasper Ancient Silk, Tongbi Profound Ginseng...
Though the quantities were somewhat small, every single variety was remarkably present.
Having left the Xuanhuang Realm thousands of years ago, she did not know the going market prices today. Even so, Qing knew that the value of the materials in this storage ring was absolutely staggering.
Her expression gradually softened.
"This is the first batch of supplies," Li Fan explained. "The quantities you need are far too vast. To avoid alerting the factions of the Xuanhuang Realm, we can only procure them slowly in batches."
Hearing this, Qing found it reasonable and nodded slowly.
"At the same time, we are also searching for a foothold for the Empire's future branch," Li Fan continued. "Both safety and secrecy must be absolutely guaranteed. In today's Xuanhuang Realm, such places are not easy to find, so you will still need to wait for a time. To dispel your doubts and demonstrate the organization's sincerity, these supplies are provided to the Empire free of charge. In about a year, once the next batch of supplies has been procured, I will return. At that time, however, our Myriad Realms Association hopes to see the Empire's attitude. Then we can discuss further matters of cooperation."
Li Fan cupped his hands and, without waiting for Qing's reply, departed straight away.
"Saint Teacher..." Li Chenfeng looked at Qing, hesitating.
Qing furrowed her brow and inspected the storage ring thoroughly. Finding nothing amiss, she carefully put it away.
"For now, their intention to cooperate seems relatively genuine. He is right; we can roll out our cooperation slowly and in phases. We'll start by exchanging technologies of lesser importance. If anything unexpected happens, we can cut our losses in time," Qing said to Li Chenfeng and the others. "I need to return and discuss this with the Imperial Daughter and Hong."
What Qing left unsaid was that, for some inexplicable reason, she always felt a bizarre, inexplicable eeriness about this Association envoy.
He seemed far from as simple as he appeared on the surface.
***
Wanxian Island.
After thanking Shenyuzi once more, Li Fan browsed the Heavenly Profound Mirror for news as usual.
The results of the induction examination were being published one after another, naturally bringing joy to some and sorrow to others. Considerable controversy still flared up over the recruitment outcomes for certain posts, though it quickly died down.
In the southwestern waters of the Congyun Sea, a wind calamity raged, destroying more than a dozen mortal islands. The price of the local specialty, Bixuan Dew, fluctuated slightly. Li Fan bought low and sold high, turning a tidy little profit.
In Taihua Province, the Taixu Mountain Range—one of Mount Taihua's ten veins—suddenly collapsed for unknown reasons.
Scanning past this piece of news, Li Fan's eyes narrowed slightly.
*Hmm? Mount Taihua's ten veins? If I recall correctly, in my previous lives I only ever saw Mount Taihua's nine veins. It seems the casualties this time were rather devastating.*
Li Fan pondered it, but did not delve deeper. He simply noted it as an important detail before continuing to skim other major headlines.
Afterward, Li Fan searched for the current status of Old Man Yufu, Wu Chi'er, Zhong Shentong, and Shuo Feng.
Old Man Yufu was still wandering dazed and bewitched around the central four provinces of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
Wu Chi'er and Zhong Shentong had yet to make names for themselves.
Shuo Feng had not yet restarted his cultivation, still remaining an illustrious Soul Formation Immortal Lord.
Drawing on his experiences from the previous lifetime, Li Fan estimated the probable timeline of their fortunate encounters.
...
A month later, Li Fan emerged from secluded cultivation.
Judging that the timing was about right, he transferred five hundred thousand contribution points directly to He Zhenghao.
"My luck was quite good this time. I sensed an opportunity early on and met the target well ahead of schedule," Li Fan said in a languid tone.
A moment later came He Zhenghao's ecstatic voice: "Senior's divine arts are truly unfathomable!"
"Heh. A sect secret art—the backlash is still unavoidable. The next collection will still follow our previously agreed schedule. Go make that clear to them."
After leaving a few instructions, Li Fan paid no further heed to He Zhenghao. He swallowed another Dao Comprehension Pill and plunged back into seclusion once more.
Time flew swiftly by, and in the blink of an eye, Anchor Year 9 arrived.
During this period, Li Fan's arrangements began to bear fruit. More than twenty trickles of cultivation feedback—some large, some small—manifested in Li Fan's dantian one after another. Coupled with nearly a year of arduous cultivation under the dual buffs of Spirit Enlightenment and Dao Comprehension Pills, upon reaching the limit of the mid Golden Core stage, Li Fan was fortunate enough to be troubled by the Heavenly Calamity bottleneck for only a dozen or so days before smoothly breaking through to the late Golden Core stage as naturally as water flowing into a channel.
Li Fan exhaled slowly and paused his cultivation.
"Moving forward, whether it is deterring the people of the Empire or exploring the void of Tianling Province, acting alone is bound to leave me somewhat stretched thin. Perhaps I should find some assistance."
After pondering for a moment, Li Fan quietly slipped out of Wanxian Island and headed straight for Master Tianyang's cave abode.
Along the way, he experimented dozens of times until he finally managed to forge a face that bore a close resemblance to Tianyang's second senior brother, Ling Xiao.
Chapter 444