The cultivators no longer discussed the dark past that had been exposed; after hearing so much of it, they had grown accustomed to it.
Instead, they began inquiring and gathering information on past Alliance induction examinations.
Rubbing their hands in eagerness, each vowed to become part of the Alliance's system.
A crisis potent enough to spark internal strife was quietly resolved just like that.
The method was so ingenious that even nearly half a month later, Li Fan could not help reviewing the situation and marveling in secret.
"With a mere gesture, defusing a crisis into nothingness."
"And all it took was a single public notice."
Li Fan admired it from the bottom of his heart. After all, he could not have devised a better solution himself.
"The induction examination six months from now will be grand and momentous. How could I not take a share of the pie..."
"Still, though this life hasn't been going on for long, the trajectory has already begun to deviate substantially. Those test questions ought to have changed somewhat as well."
With this thought, information on the past induction examination questions he had collected in previous lifetimes flashed through Li Fan's mind.
"All variations remain true to the core. While predicting the exact questions is impossible, compiling an approximate question bank within the general scope won't be difficult."
Taking out a blank jade slip, the Dao Transformation Stone crystal in his mind suddenly flared with a blue light.
A massive stream of data then poured wildly into the jade slip.
It took the time to finish a cup of tea before the infusion was complete.
"A Dao Transformation Stone upgraded to the middle grade is indeed far more efficient. Its computing power has more than doubled."
Li Fan trailed a finger over the smooth surface of the jade slip, nodding with deep satisfaction.
The Dao Transformation Stone had finally advanced, thanks not only to his unremitting efforts across every reincarnation to fuse with the one in the Tomb of Yi Yin, but also crucially to the low-grade Dao Transformation Stone provided by the Five Elders Association in this recent transaction.
Though both were low-grade, this one was far superior in quality to the piece from Yi Yin's tomb, virtually infinitely close to the middle grade.
After devouring it, the stone in Li Fan's sea of consciousness instantly leapt into the middle grade.
"What a pity that the Five Elders Association was only willing to part with this single piece. They'd rather offer extra Heavenly Venerable creations than give me another Dao Transformation Stone."
"Could it be that they have a special use for them as well?"
Li Fan frowned in thought, but after a moment, he let it go.
Although creations of Heavenly Venerables were extraordinarily precious, they could ultimately be produced repeatedly. Compared to Dao Transformation Stones, which grew fewer with each piece consumed, it was genuinely hard to say which was more valuable.
"Hmm, an Alliance induction examination question bank. I should be able to trade this with them for something more."
"Whether they use it to plant spies or cause disruptions, it holds great potential."
Li Fan schemed silently.
"Tianci!"
Moments later, he called out.
A figure flashed, and Shang Tianci scrambled over to Li Fan with fawning eagerness.
With Lin Ling around, the passionate youth, who had already been successfully brainwashed by Li Fan, was now completely obedient to his every word, doing everything he could to show off.
His previous trips to gather scenery were no longer casual sightseeing tours; after blazing through the required wonders at full speed, he rushed back without a single moment of rest.
It was fortunate that he could teleport using the Heavenly Scenery Gourd, or traveling such vast distances in such a short time would have exhausted him to death.
Yet despite his desperate efforts, Tianyang's arrival still gave him an overwhelming sense of crisis.
Compared to the chatterbox Shang Tianci, who was constantly currying favor, Lin Ling seemed far more intrigued by the wooden, stone-faced Tianyang.
This drove Shang Tianci out of his mind with anxiety. He had no choice but to take a roundabout approach, trying to curry favor with Li Fan to salvage the situation.
"Senior, what orders do you have?"
Li Fan tossed the jade slip to him. "Duplicate a hundred copies of this jade slip first."
"Right away!" Shang Tianci agreed immediately, assuming it was nothing strenuous.
However, once he caught it and inspected its contents, he let out a groan of pain and clutched his forehead.
Then he cried out in shock, "Senior, isn't this way too much?!"
"If it weren't much, I could've copied it with a flick of my hand. Why would I need you?" Li Fan scoffed. "Remember, this is urgent. Give them to me within seven days."
Shang Tianci's face fell into misery. Glancing at Li Fan's stern expression, he did not dare protest and could only grit his teeth and set to work.
Li Fan turned his gaze toward the treants toiling diligently across the land of the Spirit Wood Realm.
"A pity that these treant creations clearly fall outside the scope of the Immortal-Sitting Art."
Compared to when Li Fan first entered the Spirit Wood Realm, the overall strength of these treants had taken a noticeable leap.
The largest group had advanced from early Qi Condensation to strength comparable to the late Qi Condensation stage.
Treants possessing the strength of Foundation Establishment and Golden Core stages were also erupting in numbers.
The treant matriarch had benefited the most, now capable of fighting on par with an ordinary Soul Formation cultivator.
Such stark progress was partly due to Shang Tianci constantly transporting wonders of Xuanhuang, but more crucially to the treasure gained from the transaction with the Five Elders Association: the Heavenly Droplet Earth Dew.
This was once the supreme treasure of the ancient Divine Wood Sect. For the flora of heaven and earth, it offered wonders unmatched by other treasures.
With just a single drop, the spirit tree's size had surged by another half.
Its canopy had reached the heavens, appearing poised to pierce the sky itself.
Lin Ling was also the greatest beneficiary of this new transformation.
From possessing combat power barely rivaling Dao Integration upon her birth, to now standing solidly within the Dao Integration realm, barely a month or so had passed.
Moreover, considering she enjoyed the secret care of the venerable Earth Vein Ancient Tree...
"Truly, comparisons are odious."
"Even forming a Nascent Soul requires me to jump through countless hoops."
At the same time, Li Fan faintly realized that once resources accumulated beyond a certain threshold, nurturing cultivators of formidable combat strength became remarkably simple.
"The prominent clans of the Alliance are certainly not as simple as they appear on the surface."
Li Fan pondered for a moment, then shifted his attention back to the treants spread across the realm.
Their duties were broadly divided into two parts.
One portion was tasked with constructing the complex for the Myriad Realms Association.
The other treants transported and arranged various materials across designated locations in the Spirit Wood Realm to prepare for "formation refining."
The so-called "formation refining" was a method of refining dharma treasures.
To completely refine a dharma treasure, aside from the conventional methods of fire refining and blood essence refining, there was this particular technique, mostly favored by array masters.
By carving intricate formations onto the treasure itself, one could not only fully claim it for personal use, but also use the formations to amplify the treasure's innate power.
Li Fan was not yet proficient in artifact crafting, and he naturally had no intention of learning it from scratch just to refine a single treasure.
Possessing a supreme treasure like the Terminal Dissociation Disc, "formation refining" was naturally the best suited for him.
However, having undergone multiple transformations, the Spirit Wood Realm had grown far more vast than an ordinary pocket world.
To successfully refine it, he would still need to take it step by step.
Chapter 829