Chapter 156: Development Amid Twists and Turns

"Brother, are you willing to come with us?"

Receiving this inquiry from Kou Hong, Li Fan decisively refused. He believed there would be no danger on their trip, but it was also destined to yield no significant gains. Otherwise, they wouldn't have turned against each other nine years later over a Nascent Soul cultivation technique.

The Moon Palace's Great Dharma Spreading Endeavor was in full swing; how could Li Fan possibly go to the Abyssal Wasteland at such a time to search for some "fire meteor"?

Seeing Li Fan's refusal, Kou Hong couldn't help but feel a great pity. Nevertheless, he said magnanimously, "Don't worry, Brother Li Fan. If we stumble upon any significant fortuitous encounters this time, I'll certainly remember to save a share for you!"

Li Fan chuckled, acknowledging his good intentions.

This matter was just a trivial interlude, and Li Fan quickly put it out of his mind, dedicating only a sliver of his attention to the Moon Palace's operations. Most of his energy, however, was reinvested in his endless study of formation arrays. With 320,000 contribution points awaiting him, he couldn't afford not to strive harder.

By mid-Anchor Year 42, with the full recovery of the Moon Palace's first batch of debts, the Great Dharma Spreading Endeavor entered a new phase. In just three years, the Moon Palace's assets had more than doubled. The initial 100,000 contribution points had grown to over 200,000, which were then lent out to cultivators again. It had become a constantly growing mountain of gold.

At this point, excluding those who had already settled their debts, the number of cultivators owing the Moon Palace stood at twenty-five. Nearly 30,000 contribution points were recovered each month.

The Moon Palace's reputation grew increasingly widespread, with cultivators even traveling from other states, hoping to try their luck. Li Fan ordered the restrictions to be lifted; as long as cultivators had sufficient contribution points, loans were issued immediately. Through this money-begetting-money approach, the Moon Palace's business rapidly expanded.

However, relying solely on Xiao Heng and Su Xiaomei, managing the increasing number of debtors each month became challenging. Fortunately, during these few years, Li Fan encountered two individuals of extraordinary talent. One was named Zhuge Yu, and the other Sima Zang. Both completed the Qi Refinement process within just a few years, and in terms of cultivation aptitude, they were only slightly inferior to Xiao Heng. Thus, Li Fan did not accept their contribution points but instead freely bestowed upon them rare heavenly treasures and Foundation Establishment cultivation techniques.

After successfully establishing their foundations, both were deeply grateful for Li Fan's selfless and benevolent method of spreading cultivation. They voluntarily joined the Moon Palace, vowing to contribute their strength to the Great Dharma Spreading Endeavor.

After observing them for a period, Li Fan agreed to their request. However, he did not grant them access to the Moon Palace's core secrets, assigning them only debt collection tasks. Nevertheless, Li Fan did not treat them unfairly. In addition to a fixed annual salary of 5,000 contribution points, they also received a three percent commission for every debt recovered. Although the percentage was modest, it filled them with drive.

The addition of Zhuge Yu and Sima Zang alleviated some of the debt collectors' workload. However, it would certainly not be enough once the scale of operations expanded further. Therefore, Li Fan kept an eye out, intending to immediately recruit any promising talent he encountered through the Dharma Spreading business.

The Moon Palace's ostentatious accumulation of wealth naturally and inevitably drew attention. First, a late-stage Golden Core cultivator arrived, attempting to probe the Moon Palace's true strength. Li Fan, having emerged from his seclusion, did not reveal himself. Instead, he manifested as Moon Lake itself and unleashed the "Thousand Clouds Sword" strike. The sword's shadow gleamed with chilling light. Under the watchful eyes of many Qi Refinement cultivators, the Golden Core Venerable, utterly defenseless, was decapitated with a single sword stroke.

The cultivators who witnessed this scene were deeply shaken, and their reverence for the mysterious Moon Palace grew. Yet, Li Fan felt no complacency. He knew that he had inevitably attracted the attention of higher-tier cultivators. He had anticipated this, but not that the day would come so quickly.

"Weakness is the original sin," Li Fan lamented inwardly, yet he dared not delay for a moment and began preparing for his escape. He spent a fortune to purchase a single-use random teleportation array in the Heaven Profound Realm. He set it up near the treasure vault. Once activated, the teleportation array would self-destruct. The residual explosion would destroy tens of thousands of Dao-infused ancient artifacts along with the Moon Palace itself. Subsequently, he upgraded and modified the Kan Spirit Illusory Wave Array. The upgraded array was capable of withstanding attacks from any Nascent Soul cultivator. Even a Spirit Transformation Immortal Venerable could be resisted for a brief moment. This duration would be ample for Li Fan to calmly escape via the teleportation array.

As the crisis subtly approached, Li Fan not only did not scale back the Great Dharma Spreading Endeavor but, driven by the idea of making one last fortune, he expanded it even more aggressively.

The probing from higher-realm cultivators arrived later than expected. In Anchor Year 43, a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator came to Moon Lake, requesting to see the master of the Moon Palace. Li Fan merely activated the Kan Spirit Illusory Wave Array and refused to meet. This Nascent Soul True Monarch seemed to be a discerning individual. After casually launching an attack to test the protective array's quality, he chose not to humiliate himself further. He clasped his hands in salute and departed.

After Golden Core came Nascent Soul, would Spirit Transformation be next? Li Fan's expression darkened as he watched the Nascent Soul cultivator's receding figure. Although the Nascent Soul cultivator did not meet the Moon Palace Master in person, his objective had been achieved. It was clear there were no cultivators above the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm within the Moon Palace. Otherwise, they would not have chosen to simply bar their doors. With their true strength exposed, the sense of mystery vanished. Debt collection efforts also gradually became more difficult.

First, Xiao Heng and Su Xiaomei were ambushed and almost lost their lives. Fortunately, the protective treasures Li Fan had given them allowed them to escape. Zhuge Yu and Sima Zang, however, were not so lucky. Sima Zang was captured, his fate unknown. Zhuge Yu returned severely wounded and unconscious.

The situation rapidly deteriorated, and it seemed a substantial amount of outstanding debt would become unrecoverable. With a heavy heart, Li Fan directly activated the "Formless Killing Intent," executing two or three cultivators who maliciously defaulted on their payments. This temporarily suppressed the negative trend of non-payment.

"Starting a business on your own is truly difficult," Li Fan sighed, looking at the disheartened crowd within the Moon Palace. "We'll hold on for as long as we can. Fortunately, I feel I'm not far from breaking through to mid-stage Foundation Establishment. If worse comes to worst, I'll just change our name, move to another state, and start over."

Under these difficult circumstances, the Moon Palace suspended its Dharma Spreading operations. It focused entirely on recovering contribution points, ready for a full-scale evacuation at any moment.

However, fate seemed to have uncharacteristically sided with Li Fan this time. A sudden major event plunged Yuandao State back into a maelstrom of bloodshed. Most of the Nascent Soul and Spirit Transformation cultivators were affected, drawn into endless slaughter. They no longer had time to bother with the small Moon Palace.

The two prodigies of the Blue Feather lineage in Yuandao State, Dugu Xi and Dugu Shi, both went missing simultaneously.