Finally Entering the Spirit Pool

Finally Entering the Spirit Pool

After giving Xiao Heng only a brief explanation and telling him not to worry, Li Fan hurried straight to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

Yin Yuzhen was somewhat surprised by Li Fan's sudden arrival.

But after hearing why Li Fan had come, Yin Yuzhen explained the whole sequence of events with an angry look on her face.

It turned out that after several months of inquiries, the various powers on Liuli Island had finally discovered that the Star Sea Quicksand was Meteorite Iron fallen from the heavens.

But when they tried to gather the Meteorite Iron, they found that all the Star Sea Quicksand within Liuli Island's waters had already been swept clean by the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

And the earlier chaos in Liuli Island's markets had all been the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion stirring trouble behind the scenes.

"The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion is treating everyone like monkeys!" In their shame and fury, they went to the Lord of Liuli Island to demand an explanation.

Naturally, Yin Yuzhen defended herself with righteous conviction, claiming that her actions had merely been legitimate business competition.

The Lord of Liuli Island also believed that although Yin Yuzhen's methods had been somewhat excessive, the contest for Purification Spirit Pool slots was inherently a matter of each relying on their own abilities. So long as the supplies required by the Immortal Masters could ultimately be gathered, even slightly unconventional methods were not unacceptable.

Thus, the island lord did not punish the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. Instead, he reprimanded those who had caused the disturbance.

How could those people accept that? A few days later, rumors began circulating on the island that the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion was secretly running a business smuggling mortals across the border.

And the rumors grew ever more outrageous, as though the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion would be called to account by the Immortal Masters tomorrow and slaughtered to the last man.

"So how serious is this matter, really? Will the Immortal Masters truly place the blame on us?" After learning what had happened, Li Fan could not help asking.

"That is exactly what makes this matter so troublesome." Yin Yuzhen frowned. "When the law is unknowable, its terror is immeasurable. There has never been any explicit rule forbidding the smuggling of mortals. But this matter is ultimately somewhat taboo, something that cannot stand the light of day."

"Moreover, more than ten years ago, an Immortal Master happened to come across such a smuggling operation. In his rage, he slaughtered every mortal present."

"Since then, everyone has tacitly understood that this smuggling business must be conducted quietly and in secret."

Li Fan frowned slightly after hearing this. "So this matter can be either major or minor. How it is handled depends entirely on the Immortal Master's mood?"

"Exactly. If the Immortal Master does not dwell on it, then it is nothing. But if the Immortal Master is in a bad mood, then..." Yin Yuzhen did not finish, her face merely turning somewhat pale.

Li Fan fell silent.

He recalled the scene when he had first met Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi.

In the eyes of cultivators like them, mortals truly were like ants, to be killed at will.

"They would rather risk losing their heads than run this smuggling business. The profits involved must be staggering." Li Fan sighed.

"Of course. The price of one smuggling trip often requires a Small World to be stripped bare for nearly ten years before it can be met. One can imagine just how great the profits are." Yin Yuzhen nodded. "Precisely because of this, even some Immortal Masters cannot resist joining in secret to take a share of the pie."

"Those Immortal Masters would never admit to being involved in such matters. Whenever they meet with us, they use immortal techniques to conceal themselves, so we cannot see their faces clearly. And in the end, they take away most of the profits." At this point, Yin Yuzhen was also somewhat helpless. "So the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion has to handle this matter ourselves."

Li Fan thought of the Immortal Master who had received the people from the Departed Realm when he had first entered the Cultivation World, and nodded.

"Then what kind of temperament does the Immortal Master stationed on Liuli Island have? What is his attitude toward this matter?" Li Fan asked afterward.

"He Immortal Master of Liuli Island usually keeps to himself, and I have only met him a few times. I truly cannot judge his attitude. But judging from the way he has handled mortal affairs in the past, he is no soft-hearted man." Yin Yuzhen said gravely.

After turning the matter over in his mind, Li Fan ultimately let out a sigh.

Li Fan knew that no matter how many schemes he possessed, before an absolute disparity in strength, everything was futile.

He had no solution for such an unstable factor, like a ticking bomb.

Li Fan's heart stirred as he recalled the vast amount of Immortal-Mortal Miasma stored in one of the Taiyan Boat's cabins.

"If this were Great Xuan, with tens of thousands of death warriors, perhaps there would still be a chance to fight. Unfortunately..."

But he quickly suppressed that dangerous thought.

"Set a time. We should meet them. This matter should not be allowed to grow too large." Li Fan said.

"Mm, that was what I was thinking as well," Yin Yuzhen said.

"They want nothing more than for us to hand over some Star Sea Quicksand. We had the first move and gathered enough of it already. We might as well throw out part of it and let them fight like dogs over a bone, scrambling against one another. They will surely begin fighting among themselves soon enough." Li Fan snorted coldly. "There is no alliance in this world that cannot be broken."

Three days later, the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion arranged a meeting with the various powers on Liuli Island and put forth the following demands:

The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion agreed to hand over part of the Star Sea Quicksand, but the other side had to provide supplies of equal value in exchange.

At the same time, how that Star Sea Quicksand would be divided among the various parties would be decided by the parties themselves.

Finally, one Purification Spirit Pool slot for the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion had to be guaranteed.

The conditions were not particularly harsh, so after some discussion, both sides quickly reached a reconciliation.

After all, they held no deep-seated grudge against one another. They were merely competing for Purification Spirit Pool slots.

Thus, after paying the price of several dozen pieces of Meteorite Iron, the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion successfully extricated itself from the chaotic whirlpool.

Almost that very day, the rumors concerning smuggling vanished from the island without a trace.

Meanwhile, the various other powers began openly and secretly fighting over those several dozen pieces of Meteorite Iron, leaving them with no time to concern themselves with the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

Time flew by, and the day the Purification Spirit Pool would open soon arrived.

After the tally of the supplies submitted by each party was completed, the slots for this Purification Spirit Pool were finally determined.

There were thirteen slots to enter the pool this time, one of which belonged to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

With the major matter finally settled, Li Fan could not help letting out a sigh of relief.

Once the spirit pool opened, Li Fan would be able to purge the miasma from his body and formally set foot upon the path of cultivation! He had waited too long for this day.

Thus, even with Li Fan's depth of composure, he became somewhat excited.

Name: Li Fan

Realm: Mortal

Physiological Age: 42/99 Mental Age: 505/1299↑

Transformation of Emptiness Charging Progress: 121%

Anchor Charging Progress: 51%

Current Anchor Point Count: 1 Bound Items: "Thousand Machines Jade Ring Golden Chapter", Taiyan Boat, Halting Remnant Stele (damaged)

Looking at the Return to Truth panel, Li Fan saw that after two years of transformation, his physiological age had reached the limit of ninety-nine, with no further signs of growth.

Meanwhile, because he cultivated the "Profound Yellow Heart Cleansing Mantra" day and night, the upper limit of his Mental Age was still slowly increasing.

What changes would occur after the spirit pool's cleansing? Li Fan felt somewhat expectant.

At last, the day the spirit pool opened arrived. On this day, Li Fan swallowed the Worldly Dust Severance Pill Yin Yuzhen had given him and, under the guidance of a designated attendant, entered the formation at the center of Liuli Island.