"Fellow Daoist Li, after you!"
The square-faced cultivator stepped before Li Fan and spoke in a deep voice.
Earlier, when Li Fan was secretly observing this group conferring on how to handle the situation, he had learned from Zhou Kebao that this man's surname was Long.
Among their circle, he occupied a position of unspoken leadership.
Moreover, on the Commercial Contract signed with Zhou Kebao, there had been only one cultivator with the surname Long who had signed his name.
Thus, Li Fan already knew the identity of the cultivator standing before him.
Long Yueyou.
The surname Long was not very common.
Back in Tianquan State, while at Heavenly Venerable Jicheng's Tianji Courtyard, Li Fan had heard of the Long clan of Tianquan.
Though unlike the Tantai clan, which possessed Dao Integration elders holding high office in the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, the Long clan was exceptionally united, with family members spread throughout the Alliance.
Even though most of them served in grassroots positions, when banded together, they formed a force that could never be underestimated.
He simply did not know whether this Long Yueyou was connected to that Long clan.
The thought flashed across his mind in an instant. Li Fan acted as though they were strangers, looking toward Long Yueyou and asking, "And this is?"
Long Yueyou smiled faintly, looking proud and saying nothing.
The followers beside him eagerly stepped forward to introduce him to Li Fan.
Sure enough, it was just as Li Fan had deduced.
"Long have I heard of your great name!" Li Fan hurriedly clasped his hands with an expression of shock.
Inwardly, however, his estimation of Long Yueyou plummeted by several notches.
Long Yueyou nodded in response.
Li Fan paid it no mind. Flanked by the cultivators, the two followed behind Zhou Kebao and flew up into the floating city in the sky.
The protective grand array was not active, allowing them to fly unimpeded through the city.
This was the first time Li Fan had ever looked down upon an immortal city of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals from above.
From a different perspective, it possessed a unique charm.
Zhou Kebao began introducing the layout and numerous facilities within the city to Li Fan.
In truth, there was little need for detailed explanation; Li Fan could see clearly that this immortal city abode was indeed identical to the Alliance cities ordinarily seen.
They went on to inspect various specific buildings within the city. After examining each in detail, Li Fan nodded in satisfaction.
Seeing that the time was right, Zhou Kebao took out a medallion shimmering with iridescent light and presented it.
"This is the control hub of this abode. So long as you refine it with your heart's blood, you can manipulate the corresponding arrays throughout the city at will.
"Beyond the basic functions possessed by any immortal city, according to Fellow Daoist's specifications, we specially added long-range teleportation, illusory mirages, spatial compression, and many other wondrous capabilities.
"Naturally, Fellow Daoist can also delegate certain control privileges of the abode to other cultivators."
...
Zhou Kebao dedicatedly showcased the formidable strengths of this immortal city abode to Li Fan, thoughtfully adding reminders along the way.
"Long-range teleportation consumes a massive amount of energy. In addition to supreme-grade spirit stones, it also requires a certain amount of rare materials such as Sky-Rifting Sand and Orbit-Setting Profound Crystal, which are quite expensive on the market. If Fellow Daoist has need of them, you can come to us—we offer good, affordable prices," Zhou Kebao said in a hushed tone, drawing a round of chuckles from the surrounding cultivators.
"Oh, right, there is another matter to note. This long-range teleportation requires precise spatial coordinate information for the destination. Otherwise, suffering a minor positional displacement during the transfer is a small matter, but if you mistakenly drift into the endless void, that would be serious trouble," Zhou Kebao warned with a grave expression.
Li Fan nodded to indicate he understood.
"And finally, the self-destruction function Fellow Daoist reiterated time and again." Zhou Kebao's tone suddenly grew slightly tense.
"To meet Fellow Daoist's requirement, we truly expended a great deal of thought.
"When constructing the city, we incorporated special materials throughout that can trigger Extinction Annihilation Thunder.
"Furthermore, because we crafted this immortal city abode using magic artifact forging methods, the artifact itself possesses the capability to detonate and harm enemies."
Zhou Kebao paused.
"According to our calculations, if this abode suddenly detonates, even a Dao Integration cultivator caught unprepared would be severely wounded."
The moment these words were spoken, the surroundings instantly fell dead silent.
The cultivators present, including Long Yueyou, scrutinized Li Fan with rather strange looks.
Yet none of them pressed for details.
Just as Li Fan had said himself, he had been attacked by spies of the Five Elders Association before, and with his considerable wealth, carrying such a massive weapon of slaughter with him for self-defense... was fairly reasonable, right?
Whatever Li Fan's true intentions were, so long as they sold off this abode city and pocketed the contribution points, that was enough.
At worst, unless absolutely necessary, they would simply refrain from provoking this man in the future and steer clear of him.
Zhou Kebao and the others all shared the same thought.
Amid somewhat awkward laughter, the group brushed the subject aside.
Once Li Fan transferred the remaining contribution points, he refined the iridescent control medallion of the abode before everyone's eyes.
Gazing down at the immense city below, a feeling of effortless, seamless command welled up within him.
At the same time, the methods for operating its various functions surfaced in his mind.
With a thought, the immortal city abode instantly shrank into a tiny speck of light and darted into Li Fan's dantian.
"A fine treasure!" Li Fan clapped his hands in praise.
"If Fellow Daoist has any needs in the future, you are always welcome to come to us again.
"As long as you have enough contribution points, anything can be arranged," Zhou Kebao said with a beaming smile.
"Then I shall certainly be troubling you all frequently in the future!" Li Fan swept his gaze across the crowd and smiled.
This drew another bout of laughter.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Li Fan took his leave of this Vanguard Realm under the pretext of being busy with official duties ahead of Congyun City's imminent completion.
"That man is also one of audacious daring. Unless absolutely necessary, he must not be made an enemy," Long Yueyou remarked, watching Li Fan's departing figure fade away.
"Indeed. What normal cultivator carries such a terrifying monster on his person? If he ever went mad and detonated it inside an immortal city..."
"Tsk, tsk..."
"He's an ancient cultivator, after all—perfectly normal. If he were genuinely loyal to our Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, that would be truly bizarre."
"Heh, anyway, the contribution points are in hand. It has nothing to do with us."
The crowd chatted and laughed with complete nonchalance.
-----
Congyun Sea.
Inspecting the immortal city abode sleeping quietly in his dantian, Li Fan felt considerably more grounded.
With this destructive power to protect himself, along with the Essence-Blood of Ten Thousand permanently kept in True Reversion's bound space, Li Fan believed that even if he faced a Dao Integration cultivator, he now possessed the capital to pose a sufficient deterrent.
As for whether Zhou Kebao and the others had left any backdoors in the abode...
Li Fan could not care less.
Its fate was already sealed anyway.
Before the identity of 'Ancient Heavenly Mechanism Sect cultivator Li Fan' vanished completely, it too would erupt in a final, brilliant blaze within the territory of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
Several possible future scenes flashed through Li Fan's mind, and an inward sneer rose on his lips.
Settling his thoughts, before the groundbreaking ceremony for Congyun City formally arrived, Li Fan returned to the Dust-Crossing Boat to seek an audience with Diyi Jinglun.
"Young Master Jinglun, after months of hard work, the Alliance's assignment is complete. What you instructed me to handle has also been carried out.
"Do you see..."
Li Fan spoke with great tact, but he was confident that Diyi Jinglun was an intelligent man who would understand the meaning behind his words.
Diyi Jinglun, who had his head down and his brow furrowed as he watched the constantly flickering and shifting information on the desk, did not even lift his gaze.
"Rest assured, the Alliance never mistreats those with meritorious service.
"The corresponding rewards were settled long ago. Originally, I planned to send someone to read them aloud at the groundbreaking ceremony. Since you are so impatient, take a look for yourself first."
Diyi Jinglun tapped the desk lightly, and a streak of flowing light immediately flew toward Li Fan.
Unable to dodge in time, the light entered Li Fan's body, and a message instantly surfaced in his mind.
"Acting Island Master of Congyun Island Li Fan, having worked diligently day and night and rendered meritorious service in overseeing the construction of Congyun City, is hereby promoted to Secret Script Emissary of the Congyun City Administration Hall. In the absence of the Island Master from the province's borders, he shall exercise full authority over all administrative affairs.
"Furthermore, he is rewarded one hundred thousand contribution points and First-Grade Superior Merits."
...
*Hmph, 'the Alliance never mistreats those with meritorious service'—those words sound rather familiar.*
*Still, the reward for this mission does live up to the claim,*
Li Fan remarked inwardly.
Reading carefully through this order issued down from the Administration Hall headquarters, Li Fan discovered that the actual power of the Secret Script Emissary post he was about to assume was remarkably extensive.
In truth, during the day-to-day administrative operations across various regions, many matters were ultimately decided by the Secret Script Emissaries of the Administration Hall.
Only special matters reaching a certain grade were submitted to the immortal city lord for approval.
After all, trivial affairs within a single state were endless. If the city lord had to personally attend to every matter regardless of size, even several avatars would scarcely suffice to keep up.
Furthermore, the city lords of the various state immortal cities were mostly of Soul Formation cultivation.
Upon reaching that realm, who did not wish to advance further and achieve Dao Integration?
One had to realize that once a cultivator stepped into the Dao Integration stage, their status was entirely different from Soul Formation.
On a smaller scale, one became the true ruler of a state.
On a larger scale, one could be transferred from the provinces into the heartland of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, with entry into the center of power well within reach.
Consequently, they had to ensure they had sufficient time dedicated to cultivation.
As assistants to the city lord, the Secret Script Emissaries naturally helped shoulder the burden of governance.
Generally speaking, a state's Secret Script Emissaries numbered three to five.
However, Congyun Sea's situation was peculiar.
The top echelon had been reassigned elsewhere by a single order, while the middle and lower echelons had been nearly wiped out in one sweep by the Five Elders Association.
To get the rebuilt Congyun City running as quickly as possible, the Administration Hall headquarters had temporarily appointed only a single Secret Script Emissary, while also granting Li Fan substantial authority.
For the currently vacant positions, he held internal nomination quotas for a third of the vacancies.
As for the remainder, cultivators from other states would soon be transferred to fill them.
*With neither of the two Soul Formation Immortal Lords, Hongxi and Ziyun, returning, Congyun City is practically mine alone to run.*
*These past few months of hard work have not been in vain.*
With these thoughts, Li Fan let an expression of excitement show on his face.
"Thank you for your patronage, Young Master! This subordinate shall serve you faithfully hereafter to repay your favor and recognition!"
Li Fan declared with solemn conviction.
Chapter 538