Chapter 194: Revisiting the Fallen Immortal Realm

Zhou Qing'ang stammered, explaining, "With the price trend of Spirit Mist Grass back then, who could resist? Word spread like wildfire; among the island guardians in Congyun Sea, hardly anyone wasn't speculating. If I had acted exceptionally, wouldn't it have been easy to expose myself? Who knew its price would collapse so quickly..."

Then, as if realizing something, he eyed the human face on the broken stone suspiciously. "Boss, you didn't dabble in it too, did you?"

The human face avoided answering, scolding, "Less talk, how much do you need?"

Zhou Qing'ang hesitated for a moment and whispered, "A hundred thousand..."

"A hundred thousand?!" The human face's voice immediately rose several octaves.

"No! Funds are tight right now. You've all been undercover for so long with no real results. How can I ask for more money from above?" The human face refused without hesitation.

Seeing this, Zhou Qing'ang quickly said, "There are results, there are results! I've almost deciphered the outer formation structure of the Tianyuan Genesis Array. In at most seven or eight more years, I'll be able to completely crack the array's core. He Zhenghao also suffered heavy losses this time. I'm requesting this hundred thousand contribution points partly because I want to use this opportunity to deepen my relationship with him. This person is skilled in formations and even participated in setting up the island's protective array. He's also not very cunning, so with his help, we can certainly master the array completely much sooner."

Upon hearing this, the human face's expression softened slightly. After pondering for a moment, it slowly said, "In that case, first transmit the deciphered array data to me."

Zhou Qing'ang nodded, pressed his palms onto the broken stone again, and closed his eyes slightly. Earth-yellow light flickered continuously. After a while, he released his hands. He appeared greatly drained, his face becoming extremely pale.

The human face remained expressionless, seemingly verifying the data's authenticity.

"Hmm, well done," the human face nodded after a moment. "However, a hundred thousand is indeed too much. Let's make it fifty thousand!" The human face's tone suddenly shifted.

Zhou Qing'ang's face twisted in bitterness. "Boss, fifty thousand is really too little! Seventy thousand, or even sixty thousand would work!"

The human face completely ignored him. "Fifty top-grade spirit stones. Pick them up at the usual place in a month. That's final!"

Before the words finished, the light and shadow on the broken stone vanished, and it reverted to an an ordinary stone.

Zhou Qing'ang, with a dark expression, smashed the broken stone to pieces with a slap. Reverting to his original appearance, he returned to Tai'an Island in silence. He remained quietly within the island's protective array, showing no signs of being a hidden spy.

"It seems that, besides Zhou Qing'ang, many others have infiltrated through his superior's line alone," Li Fan thought. "However, the spies on this line likely don't hold very high positions within the Alliance; their current mission level is still just about acquiring the island's protective array. Furthermore, their method of communication seems to require re-establishing the connection every time. While a bit troublesome, this one-way communication reduces the risk of being completely exposed."

Seeing that Zhou Qing'ang had gone undercover again with no further actions, Li Fan withdrew his attention and pondered how to maximize the benefits from this situation.

"Besides the method to bypass the White Jade Heart-Enquiry Platform, Zhou Qing'ang's appearance-altering technique is also extremely useful to me," he mused. "It would be best to acquire both methods before reporting them to earn merit points. Unfortunately, so far, I still haven't found the legendary Soul-Searching technique." The Myriad Immortals Alliance seems to strictly control this technique; even with Li Fan's current 'Yan Ba' authority level, he hasn't found any mention of it. "I wonder if there will be an opportunity in the Immortal Fallen Realm."

Not long ago, Li Fan had inexplicably felt an urge, indicating he could enter the Immortal Fallen Realm again. However, he had been busy with merit tasks of pursuing defectors and hadn't re-entered. Now that he finally had free time, Li Fan again thought of exploring the Immortal Fallen Realm. He immediately set up the ritual again.

"Fortuitous Birth, Profound Yellow Celestial Venerable!"

As the final incantation was silently completed, countless noisy and fragmented sounds entered his ears. Li Fan entered the Immortal Fallen Realm once more.

"Junior Brother? Junior Brother?"

When Li Fan saw the surroundings clearly, his heart sank slightly.

"Junior Brother, what are you thinking about? Why have you been zoning out for so long?" a cultivator wearing a purple and white Daoist robe, with a purple lightning mark etched between his brows, asked. Li Fan was no stranger to this person; it was Zhang Qianmo, whom he had met during his last entry into the Immortal Fallen Realm.

"Why here again?" A myriad of questions instantly flashed through Li Fan's mind. According to Chen Ying's introduction, each entry into the Immortal Fallen Realm should result in a random appearance in different locations. Why was his second entry point exactly the same as the last time? Even the timestamp was identical. Was there some special reason? Recalling the peculiar fact that he had two lives in this Immortal Fallen Realm, a name instantly surfaced in Li Fan's mind.

"Could it be, again, because of the Profound Yellow Heart-Refining Spell?" Li Fan subconsciously speculated this. "Last time, I revealed my spiritual consciousness avatar, couldn't defeat Zhang Qianmo, and was killed by him. If I defeat him this time, will the outcome be different? However, this Senior Brother Zhang is not so easy to deal with. Or, perhaps, I should avoid him discovering my true self beneath Li Chen's body..."

Several thoughts instantly surged in Li Fan's mind. However, he didn't forget to respond to the seemingly somewhat cynical senior brother in front of him. Recalling what was about to happen, Li Fan's thoughts raced: "Uh, Senior Brother, I suddenly feel a bit uneasy for some reason. It's as if this trip to retrieve the Longevity Fruit won't be so smooth."

Zhang Qianmo paused slightly, and instead of dismissing it with a laugh, he actually took it unusually seriously. He lightly pinched his right hand, and purple clouds seemed to drift through his eyes.

"Eh?" After a moment, Zhang Qianmo's expression became solemn. "Junior Brother, your premonition is correct. This Ningyuan City is indeed a bit strange!"

"Really?" Li Fan feigned great surprise. "Then, Senior Brother, what should we do next?"

Zhang Qianmo pondered for a moment and said, "The divination indicates that although there's a slight risk, there's no danger to our lives. We must retrieve the Longevity Fruit. If we don't even go through Ningyuan City ourselves and just return to the sect for reinforcements, wouldn't our fellow disciples mock us? How about you and I first secretly infiltrate the city, scout out the situation, and then decide?"

Li Fan had no objections: "Senior Brother is right!"

Zhang Qianmo activated an unknown cultivation technique; the lightning mark on his forehead gradually faded, and his aura completely converged. Watching this scene, as if by instinct, Li Fan also expertly concealed his own aura completely.

"So it's the Breath-Concealing technique from the Purple Heavens Lightning Control True Art..." As if controlling a character in a game, Li Fan could now use Li Chen's various cultivation techniques and moves but had little understanding of the techniques themselves.