Though the course and outcome of this battle were deliberately downplayed by the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals' leadership, clues could still be gleaned from the Alliance's subsequent actions.
Various offensive orders issued only recently were urgently rescinded; instructions were sent to every province to guard tenaciously against infiltration by Five Elders Association cultivators; no province was permitted to lightly initiate combat, with the current phase's objective focused primarily on defense.
Requisition orders sent from the front lines to the various provinces also grew increasingly frequent.
"Orders issued in the morning and changed by dusk—what a bush-league outfit!"
Almost overnight, the strategic direction had executed a complete hundred-and-eighty-degree reversal, prompting bitter complaints from the Alliance's cultivators.
Yet cowed by the sheer authority of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, no one dared voice such thoughts openly. They could only vent their indignation and grief in private gatherings.
The progression of war was indifferent to the desires of cultivators.
It was merely that a situation which had seemed entirely in their favor had abruptly turned into a deadlock between both sides.
While external war suffered setbacks, internal affairs saw no peace either.
At the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals headquarters, it was said that numerous high-ranking cultivators were stripped of their posts and investigated. Even some veteran Dao Integration cultivators with deep backgrounds and long tenures were not spared.
Yet the reason they were being interrogated remained entirely unknown.
Even after these cultivators were released, visibly emaciated and clearly having endured torture, they kept strictly silent on the matter, refusing to divulge any details no matter how closely pressed.
This fueled rampant suspicion and widespread panic.
After all, no one wanted to become the next person mysteriously hauled off for questioning.
Li Fan, however, knew full well that the Alliance was hunting for a mole that did not exist.
Rack their brains as they might, how could they ever imagine that the one who leaked the Tianxuan Spirit-Sealing Formation diagram was a mere Golden Core cultivator who had never had any contact with the project and resided far away in the Alliance's remote frontier: the Congyun Sea?
Thus, it was an investigation doomed to yield no answers.
Perhaps the case would ultimately be wrapped up haphazardly, with a few unfortunate scapegoats tortured into false confessions.
And on Li Fan's ledger of casualties, several more names of the innocent would be added.
Having gained a general understanding of the war's progress over the past year, Li Fan looked through the numerous messages He Zhenghao had sent to "Zhou Qing'ang."
They were mostly inquiries pressing him on when he would conclude his seclusion.
At the beginning of his retreat, they had been very frequent. Later on, whether having given up or for some other reason, the transmissions had grown fewer and farther between.
"Master Secret Emissary is in deep seclusion, and you are doing the exact same thing, Fellow Daoist Zhou."
"I can't reach a single soul."
"Now look what's happened—everyone is following suit! One by one, they've all destroyed their communication talismans and claimed they're going into seclusion."
"If this continues, our Congyun City Administration Hall won't even be able to muster ten working staff! When Master Secret Emissary returns, how am I supposed to account to him?!"
...
He Zhenghao poured out his endless grievances, but Li Fan merely scoffed.
"So you still remember you have a Master Secret Emissary?"
Deciding not to waste his breath on a dead man walking, Li Fan cleared the messages in the communication talisman in the blink of an eye. Then he left the secluded chamber and silently appeared in the main hall of the Administration Hall.
"Brother Gao, the Pill Hall's Pill Quality Inspector post opened up recently, and someone offered me fifty thousand contribution points to buy it. What do you think?"
"I'd say that's a bit low. Eighty thousand at least."
"After all, just a while back, the Martial Practice Hall's Martial Drill Captain post netted a full one hundred and thirty thousand contribution points. This time..."
As He Zhenghao spoke, he suddenly noticed an extra person in the hall.
His voice broke off abruptly, and he looked at "Zhou Qing'ang" in utter mortification, paralyzed with embarrassment for a moment.
Gao Yuan merely narrowed his eyes, showing not the slightest panic at being caught using public office for personal gain.
Instead, with a smile on his face, he greeted "Zhou Qing'ang" in a perfectly natural tone: "Fellow Daoist Zhou, it's been so long! You came at just the right time to give us your advice!"
With that, he warmly pulled Zhou Qing'ang over and laid out the whole matter of them selling vacant posts in Congyun City without hiding a thing.
Then he looked at Li Fan with eager eyes, awaiting his response.
This single move instantly dissolved the awkwardness between him and He Zhenghao, washed away the unfamiliarity born of Zhou Qing'ang's long absence, and brought him in on the scheme instead.
Even Li Fan, who had navigated officialdom for centuries, could not help but praise it internally as brilliant.
Gauging the two with a half-smile, Li Fan chose not to play the role of an upright man full of righteous indignation who swore to report them.
Instead, after pretending to ponder for a moment, he slammed the table. "Eighty thousand contribution points?
"Still too low! Non-negotiable: one hundred and sixty thousand contribution points!
"Take it or leave it!"
Never expecting Zhou Qing'ang's appetite to be even larger than their own, doubling the asking price in a single breath, He Zhenghao was struck dumb.
A moment later, however, he regained his senses and urged with a wry smile, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, having just come out of seclusion, you might not be familiar with current market rates.
"The Pill Quality Inspector post can fetch eighty thousand at the very most. After all, the Congyun Sea isn't the only place selling positions. People choose us only because the price here is low and they can buy it as a stepping stone.
"Doubling it out of nowhere..."
He Zhenghao shook his head. "With that much money, why wouldn't someone go to Luoyan Province or somewhere else far more prosperous?"
Gao Yuan nodded in agreement as well.
Li Fan sized them up with a cold smile, mockery showing in his eyes. "I don't understand the situation? Do you two think that because I was in seclusion, I knew nothing about what was happening outside? If you ask me, you're the ones who don't understand what's going on!"
"Zhou Qing'ang's" attitude was a stark departure from his usual manner.
Moreover, Zhou Qing'ang was generally a steady man who never shot an arrow without a target.
Could it be...
Gao Yuan and He Zhenghao exchanged a look, both pairs of eyes filled with alarm and suspicion.
As the saying went, a guilty conscience needs no accuser; this single remark was enough to thoroughly rattle them both.
He Zhenghao leaned forward respectfully and asked tentatively, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, what do you mean by that?"
"Zhou Qing'ang" did not reply, merely casting a disdainful sideways glance at Gao Yuan.
A flash of anger flitted across Gao Yuan's eyes, but he quickly forced it down, adopting a smiling face and a humble, seeking demeanor.
Only then did Li Fan speak in an unhurried voice: "The Battle of Tianling Province is drawing to a close, and the fighting will soon subside. Your scheme of buying and selling official posts by taking advantage of the chaotic war and lack of oversight is about to reach its end!"
At those words, shock washed over both Gao Yuan's and He Zhenghao's faces.
This time, it was certainly not an act.
After the brief shock passed, skepticism crept into both of their eyes.
He Zhenghao hurriedly asked, "Not a whisper of this has circulated anywhere. How could you know of it, Fellow Daoist Zhou?"
"It's not that we doubt you, Fellow Daoist, but this concerns monumental affairs of the Alliance. You must not speak recklessly," Gao Yuan chimed in.
"How do I know?" Zhou Qing'ang looked at the two of them, a chill gleaming in his eyes.
"Naturally, Master Secret Emissary transmitted the news and informed me himself!"
Chapter 570