In his previous life, in order to secure a spot in Liuli Island's Purifying Spirit Pool, Li Fan had spent the greater part of his looted wealth by laundering it under the guise of salvage.
What remained in the end had converted to a mere 235 contribution points.
In this life, however, holding a value of 863 contribution points in total made Li Fan truly understand why some cultivators would secretly help mortals smuggle themselves into the cultivation world.
He had merely raided the estates of a few corrupt officials and local tyrants, yet had earned over eight hundred contribution points.
For those cultivators to haul in over a thousand points in a single run must be quite normal.
One had to know that a Qi Condensation cultivation method cost only a little over a thousand points.
Making a trip once every ten-odd years could be considered quite a handsome income.
"Wealth truly moves human hearts..."
Li Fan sighed with emotion, then retrieved the liuli pearl obtained from the giant liuli fish's body.
"Exquisite liuli pearl, convertible to 850 contribution points."
Thinking it over, this exquisite liuli pearl was essentially a weakened version of a liuli pill. Though slightly inferior in efficacy, its advantage lay in not being consumed upon use.
He would certainly find a use for it in his future cultivation, so Li Fan chose not to exchange it and put it away instead.
Looking at his total of 2,831 contribution points, Li Fan shook his head.
Still not enough—far too little!
Information regarding wonders of heaven and earth alone cost over two thousand points.
Back when he was hunted by the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals' protector, Li Fan had realized that although he possessed the realm of the late Qi Condensation stage, his actual combat strength was abysmally low.
As the primary technique he currently cultivated, the Golden Chapter of Thousand Mechanisms and the Jade Cosmos lacked effective methods of slaughter.
Apart from the Formless Killing Intent he had comprehended himself, he had no other means to confront enemies.
Although Formless Killing Intent was formidable, it had a fatal flaw: it often required a period of time to take effect.
It was suited only for ambushing from the shadows, not for facing an opponent head-on.
Once locked in direct combat or surrounded, Li Fan's only choice would be to run.
Yet at present, he knew only the most rudimentary Wind Riding Technique, so in all likelihood, he would fail to outrun anyone.
Unable to win in a fight and unable to get away.
Tragedy would be inevitable.
Therefore, the dazzling array of offensive arts, escape arts, defensive arts, and even magical artifacts, formation diagrams, and pills within the Wanxuan Mirror...
Li Fan wanted them all!
This meager sum of contribution points was nowhere near enough.
After pondering for a moment, he began browsing the bounty missions posted by other cultivators in the Wanxuan Mirror.
When he had assimilated with the ocean's consciousness in his previous life, he had glimpsed many hidden secrets and treasures across the Congyun Sea.
Among them were some he could retrieve with his current strength, such as the exquisite liuli pearl.
There were also many that were extremely dangerous, which not even Foundation Establishment cultivators could lightly covet.
Rather than letting those secrets rot away in the ocean, it was better to pick a few to sell off early and convert them into personal combat strength as soon as possible.
His gaze swept across the listings rapidly.
Upon seeing one of the missions, Li Fan paused immediately.
With a stir of divine sense, he brought up the mission details.
"Elder Chen of the Medicine Hall requires an auxiliary ingredient for pill crafting: blue-blood coral.
"Now posting a bounty to all members of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals: whoever provides verified information regarding its whereabouts will be rewarded 1,000 contribution points.
"Whoever directly delivers blue-blood coral will be rewarded 3,000 contribution points."
Li Fan reviewed the remaining missions once more, but among those he had knowledge of, this one offered the most generous reward.
Thus, Li Fan accepted the mission.
"In the northwestern waters of the Congyun Sea, over two hundred li west of Mist Crow Island. I once saw this kind of coral on the seabed.
"Regrettably, a sea serpent guards the coral.
"The serpent's exact strength is unknown, but merely catching a glimpse of it from afar filled me with a sense of mortal danger."
...
Li Fan fabricated a believable account and submitted the mission.
He trusted that with the efficiency of Wanxian Island, the authenticity of the information he provided would be confirmed before long.
Sure enough, after less than half a day, Li Fan received the reward.
Intriguingly, however, the bounty mission for the blue-blood coral was not removed because of this; it remained posted as before.
"It seems Elder Chen requires quite a substantial quantity of blue-blood coral. I wonder what kind of pill he is refining."
To spare no expense, offering 3,000 contribution points for just an auxiliary ingredient, the pill he intended to craft was evidently extraordinary.
Still, Li Fan was merely curious.
Elder Chen was said to be the chief elder of the Wanxian Island Medicine Hall, a grand cultivator of the Nascent Soul realm. That level was still far too distant for Li Fan at present.
Suppressing his fleeting curiosity, Li Fan turned his attention to the most conspicuous entry among all the bounty missions.
This was the very reason he felt so pressed to build his strength.
"Mission: Bounty for Cloud Water Chart and Talismans.
"Reward: 100,000 contribution points."
Two plain lines of text, devoid of any further details.
Yet that figure—one hundred thousand contribution points—stirred the minds of every cultivator who laid eyes upon it, leaving them unable to contain themselves.
That was a full hundred thousand contribution points!
Many cultivators in the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals might never amass that much in an entire lifetime.
With these hundred thousand contribution points, reaching the Nascent Soul realm was hard to say, but cultivating to the Golden Core realm would certainly pose no challenge!
Envious cultivators had stared at those two lines of text countless times, imagining the glorious scene of completing the mission.
Unfortunately, the bounty had hung there for more than ten years; to say nothing of being fulfilled, no one had even figured out what the Cloud Water Chart and Talismans actually was.
The poster of the mission was also exceedingly mysterious, having never once shown their face or offered any explanation from start to finish.
It was as if to tell everyone: those who understand already know; to those who don't, explaining is pointless.
In the entire Congyun Sea, not a single person currently knew where the Cloud Water Chart and Talismans was.
Except Li Fan.
"Cloud Water Chart and Talismans, Cloud Water Heavenly Palace," Li Fan repeated in his mind.
This Cloud Water Chart and Talismans, worth a staggering hundred thousand contribution points, lay within the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace.
The Cloud Water Heavenly Palace—or rather, the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace ruins—was the exact place Xiao Heng had mentioned in his letter during Li Fan's previous life, where Xiao Heng went to seek a wonder of heaven and earth.
And the sole reason nobody knew this secret right now was simply that the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace had not yet emerged into the world.
In his previous life, Li Fan had taken an interest in the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace only because of Xiao Heng's message.
Through that, he had firmly etched into memory this monumental event that would soon shake the Congyun Sea.
The Cloud Water Heavenly Palace stood isolated beyond the seas.
It had once been the mightiest sect across the Congyun Sea during ancient times.
When the Great Cataclysm arrived, the disciples of the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace slaughtered one another until barely one in a thousand remained.
The survivors decided to activate the sect-protecting grand array, secluding themselves from the world from that point onward.
As a result, the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace had remained veiled by the formation, hidden deep within the waters at the center of the Congyun Sea.
Not until Anchor Year 11, when the formation shattered, did the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace, concealed for ten thousand years, finally reappear before the world.
Yet, having chosen seclusion, the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace still could not escape the fate of ruin.
Only when the cultivators of the Congyun Sea stepped inside did they discover that the Cloud Water Heavenly Palace had long since become a desolate ruin teeming with eerie horrors.
Chapter 65