"Even Jiao Xiuyuan said so. It seems these strategic materials from the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals truly cannot be procured through conventional means."
Li Fan pondered inwardly.
He knew full well that for a massive project like rebuilding an entire floating immortal city, zero loss was impossible.
And an immortal city was like a vast, delicate machine; missing certain critical components, it might fail to function properly.
Even if he managed to gloss over it somehow, those watching from the shadows would certainly report him.
Therefore...
"To untie the bell, one must look to the one who tied it." Li Fan narrowed his eyes slightly.
Those plotting behind the scenes against him were acting purely out of spite or greed.
They definitely did not want things to escalate beyond control and invite scrutiny from higher authorities either.
Congyun Immortal City ultimately had to be rebuilt.
This was the supreme will of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, something no one could defy.
As for whose hands the reconstruction was completed in, the Alliance did not truly care.
Yet it concerned the future prospects of Li Fan and the cultivators following him.
"The withheld portions of the supply requisition must still be in the hands of Zhou Kebao and his cohorts."
"What must be done now is find a way to make them spit out what they've swallowed."
At this thought, Li Fan activated the Formless Killing Intent, shifting his perspective onto Zhou Kebao.
Within a dim room aboard the Dust-Crossing Boat.
Zhou Kebao paced back and forth anxiously. Before him, an indistinct projection of light flickered constantly.
Before long, the flickering ceased, and several silhouettes appeared within it.
"How did it go? What did Tantai Can say?" Zhou Kebao asked urgently.
"Sent the message. No reply."
"None for me either."
"He outright rejected it!"
Different voices clamored at once.
Zhou Kebao's face flushed dark as pig liver, so furious he wanted to curse their mothers. His lips trembled slightly, but in the end, he held back.
After a brief silence, one of the figures on the other side couldn't help asking, "What in the world does Tantai Can mean by this?"
"Exactly! He was the one egging us on before. Why did he suddenly change his mind and side with Li Fan?"
"Enough! Stop arguing!" Amidst the noisy chatter, a magnetic voice abruptly barked.
This person seemed to carry immense authority; the moment he spoke, the other cultivators fell silent.
"As things stand, it seems we fell into Tantai Can's trap," he analyzed calmly. "First, he dangled the tens of millions of contribution points on Li Fan as bait to hook us.
"Then, after we spent substantial sums greasing the so-called 'connections' he provided to force Li Fan into submission...
"He turned right around and struck a blow against us..."
Zhou Kebao slammed the table violently. "That makes no sense! What is Tantai Can after? We might not compare to the Tantai clan, but united, we're no pushovers! Why would Tantai Can make so many enemies for no reason?"
His words drew murmurs of agreement from the others; clearly, Tantai Can's behavior was completely baffling to them.
"Perhaps Tantai Can isn't trying to make enemies of us, but rather wants to completely bring us under his thumb!" one silhouette suddenly spoke up.
"I heard that not long ago, due to the Puxian True Leaf incident, Tantai Can was singled out and criticized by name by Immortal Venerable Liruo. During this period, his standing in his clan took a terrible hit. Many of his former advisors even jumped ship to other scions of the Tantai clan.
"He will definitely try every possible means to shore up his position. That's why he set his sights on us."
This statement plunged everyone into deep thought.
"Right! It appears his scheme has succeeded. We're riding a tiger now, unable to dismount! Our plan to coerce Li Fan using the construction deadline of Congyun Immortal City has clearly gone up in smoke. Li Fan and Tantai Can are in cahoots; Li Fan probably isn't lacking those materials we embezzled at all.
"The Dharma-Transmission Spirit Remains, Heavenly Profound Shattered Crystals, Nether-Transforming Ancient Wood...
"These things are strictly forbidden for individuals to hoard privately. Sitting on them for a short time isn't a problem, but if we can never offload them and an inspection catches us..." Zhou Kebao couldn't help shuddering.
"We want to sell them, but besides building immortal cities, what use do these things even have?"
"Nowadays, apart from the Congyun Sea, where else in the world is a floating city under construction?"
"That brat Tantai Can is truly vile! I fear before long, he'll come knocking with threats!"
"Hiss, very likely. After all, whether it's embezzling city-building materials or under-the-table bribery, none of it can see the light of day."
The more they discussed, the more agitated everyone became.
Once again, the commanding voice calmed them.
"Don't lose your nerve. The situation isn't as bad as we think.
"All of this is merely our speculation. We might just be scaring ourselves.
"How about this: since we can't reach Tantai Can, let's probe Li Fan first to see how the wind blows. Find out what's really going on."
Hearing this, Zhou Kebao nodded.
"Though that man is an ancient cultivator, he is rather mysterious. With mere Golden Core cultivation, he can stir up storms and connect with so many veteran Soul Formation figures. We cannot be careless," the person cautioned.
"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Long. I know what to do," Zhou Kebao promised readily.
The light and shadows gradually dispersed, and Li Fan retracted his vision.
"Turns out they're just a motley mob." He sneered.
He immediately began pondering how to strip a layer of skin off these people.
-----
Zhou Kebao's patience, however, proved somewhat beyond Li Fan's expectations.
Even as the reconstruction of Congyun Immortal City swung into full gear, and more than a dozen supporting cultivators from the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals headquarters arrived one after another, he still made no move to test Li Fan.
He simply acted as if nothing were amiss, greeting Li Fan every day just like normal.
Had the Dao Transformation Stone in Li Fan's mind not faithfully recorded their conversation in vivid detail, Li Fan might have thought what he had seen was nothing more than an illusion.
However, Li Fan possessed plenty of patience himself.
"No rush. Let's play along with him."
There were still more than four months before the final deadline to finish reconstructing the immortal city; Li Fan could well afford to wait.
After supplementing conventional supplies through Jiao Xiuyuan, the progress on the immortal city's foundation proceeded without the slightest delay.
Core structures such as the ultra-long-distance teleportation array, the Heavenly Profound Mirror, and the Administration Hall would be constructed all at once at the very end.
Not to mention, the materials in hand allowed room for a round of trial and error.
Therefore, Li Fan was not in the least bit of a hurry.
Naturally, while overseeing the construction of Congyun Immortal City, he did not forget the task Diyi Jinglun had assigned him:
Embedding the Xuantian Nether-Locking Array within the immortal city's foundation.
Li Fan's attainments in array dao had reached minor accomplishment.
Having personally participated in the construction of the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Formation before, his insight far exceeded that of ordinary cultivators.
Within this diagram of the Xuantian Nether-Locking Array, Li Fan clearly discerned the shadow of the Spirit-Locking Formation.
Chapter 500