Chapter 222: Nine Mountains Cannot Fly

"If fellow Daoist is concerned about protecting your interests, you could spend some money to find a backer. At most, it would be a 70-30 split, with you taking the smaller share. This would still be far more profitable than selling them privately yourself. Fellow Daoist cultivates the Myriad Puppet Dao, so when dealing with these powerful figures, you needn't worry about your safety. You can contact several of them before making a decision."

Li Fan spoke voluminously, explaining in detail to Jiao Xiuyuan all the matters that required attention. He analyzed how to resolve special situations if they arose. No detail was too small, as if he had truly experienced it all himself. Jiao Xiuyuan listened, captivated and entranced. Even after Li Fan finished speaking, he remained immersed in thought for a long time, not yet recovering.

"Heh heh, with this, is fellow Daoist still worried these small Medicine King Cauldrons won't sell?" Li Fan asked with a smile.

Jiao Xiuyuan startled awake from his contemplation and sighed in admiration, "Fellow Daoist's talent is rare in this world. Many of your brilliant ideas about business are truly unheard of. Listening to your words for a moment is worth decades of my diligent cultivation! Just the value of fellow Daoist's plan alone is a hundred times that of those small cauldrons. I will gift you the Medicine King Cauldrons you need this time for free. If I truly profit from the small Medicine King Cauldrons later, thanks to your plan, I will certainly not be stingy. I will definitely share some of the profits with you!" Jiao Xiuyuan promised, patting his chest.

"By then, my clone will probably have already returned to the Great Dao!" Li Fan thought to himself, yet his expression remained unchanged as he calmly accepted the four small Medicine King Cauldrons Jiao Xiuyuan offered him. He then ended his conversation with Jiao Xiuyuan.

"It will take some time for Jiao Xiuyuan to set things up and for the events to unfold," Li Fan mused. "Although this strategy is based on a false premise, it's essentially true, so there's no fear of it failing. To avoid my clone being traced back after the prophecy comes true, I can't keep this clone. It needs to die before the incident occurs. Hmm, I can also observe from close quarters how this era's joint attack on Crimson Flame differs. And when the fifteen-year anchor point arrives, when the stars fall and return to Cangwu, and the Medicine King Cauldron truly returns to the Cosmic Yellow Realm... I presume quite a few people in the immortal cultivation world will be able to link the fire meteor with the Medicine King Cauldron. This era's struggles and scramble should also come early. I cannot guarantee that cultivators above the Nascent Soul realm won't participate in the scramble, so I won't keep this Medicine King Cauldron on me. Perhaps I can give it to a few of the younger ones from Fuxian, if their strength is sufficient by then... I am indeed very curious about this boat cauldron that tore through space thousands of years ago. Let them be my eyes and explore the true Medicine King Cauldron to find out what's inside. If there truly is some great fortune there, I will seek it in later lives."

The seed has been planted; now, only time is needed for the events to bear fruit.

"This clone's mission is complete. I can consider a trip to the Myriad Arts Merchant Association in Nine Mountains State to purchase some cultivation techniques." Thinking this, Li Fan's clone began searching for companions in the Celestial Phenomenon Mirror.

Things went smoothly. Seven days later, a team consisting of one Nascent Soul cultivator, three Golden Core cultivators, and over a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators was successfully formed.

On the agreed departure day, upon meeting the team members, Li Fan discovered, after some casual conversation, that the leading Nascent Soul cultivator was an acquaintance. Of course, it was a one-sided acquaintance; Li Fan knew him, but he didn't know Li Fan. This person was none other than True Lord Azurewood Transfiguration.

From being the hidden manipulator behind the earlier Spirit Mist Grass incident, he had become a participant in the current events. True Lord Azurewood Transfiguration had also suffered heavy losses. Furthermore, with the premature exposure of his wood-attribute grotto-heaven, Azurewood's primary livelihood, the spirit medicine cultivation business, was severely impacted. His income was halved, then halved again.

Utterly helpless, Azurewood had no choice but to begin transforming his business. After all, as a Nascent Soul True Lord, he could undertake various missions. Over the past few years, through various attempts, Azurewood had indeed found a relatively easy way to earn contribution points: engaging in arbitrage.

Traveling afar to the Myriad Arts Merchant Association in Nine Mountains State to purchase goods, then bringing them back to Coiling Cloud Sea to sell privately, he earned a significant profit from the price difference. A single round trip yielded substantial gains. Although Nine Mountains State was quite chaotic, with the Ancestral Immortal Alliance's control being weak and the constant risk of attacks, with his Nascent Soul cultivation, self-preservation was not an issue. Having tasted the sweetness of profit, Azurewood, adhering to the principle of earning as much as possible, began leading teams as a business venture.

By paying a certain amount of contribution points, one could join Azurewood's team and receive his protection throughout the journey. The fee was one thousand for Foundation Establishment cultivators and six hundred for Golden Core cultivators. Azurewood could earn nearly twenty thousand contribution points per trip. Li Fan promptly paid his contribution points and departed with the team.

Due to the significant cost, they did not directly use inter-state teleportation. Instead, they first teleported to the border of Coiling Cloud Sea, entering Stonefall State. Then, they used the teleportation array in Stonefall City as a transfer point to reach Suspended Stone City, which was close to Nine Mountains State. From Suspended Stone City, they then flew all the way to Nine Mountains State.

Nine Mountains State was named for the nine continuous mountain ranges within its borders. Each mountain range stood like a towering city wall, stretching across the land. Moreover, these nine mountain ranges each possessed unique mysteries. Cultivators below the Nascent Soul realm, without having cultivated a grotto-heaven domain, could not fly over the mountain ranges. They could only pass through the mountains like mortals, using the mountain passes. Every year, some disbelieving cultivators, attempting to fly over the Nine Mountains, would plummet to their deaths directly onto the mountain walls. The Myriad Arts Merchant Association was located on the last of the Nine Mountains, Heavenly Constancy Mountain. Li Fan's clone followed the team and set off towards their destination.

Meanwhile, his main body, after three months of cultivation, suddenly awoke from seclusion. This was because he sensed Ye Feipeng on the deserted island beginning to stir. The perspective shifted to the deserted island.

Ye Feipeng was seen hiding to the side, watching Xiao Heng practice his killer move, Water Dragon Roar. The spectacular sight of thousands of water dragons dancing together made Ye Feipeng envious. "Although my cultivation technique, Vast Ocean Ascending Wave, also has a move called Wave-Treading Interrogation of Heaven, which is quite powerful, it's not as imposing as Xiao Heng's move. Its practical combat effectiveness also seems slightly inferior." Ye Feipeng's eyes darted around as he pondered inwardly. "No, my cultivation technique can't compare to Xiao Heng's, and my cultivation talent can't either. If this continues, the gap between us will truly widen completely. By my calculations, the day Zhang Haobo obtains his fortuitous encounter is also approaching..." Ye Feipeng immediately made a decision.

While Xiao Heng was engrossed in his cultivation, Ye Feipeng quietly left the deserted island alone. He flew towards Glass Island, which he remembered. Li Fan smiled faintly, using a teleportation array to arrive at Glass Island ahead of him. To ensure the events remained under his control, Li Fan needed to be present personally.

Seven days later, Zhang Haobo, still a mere mortal, set out on another fishing trip, leading the Cangyuan. Naturally, Zhang Haobo would not notice a pair of eyes intently fixed on him from above. And Ye Feipeng, who was monitoring Zhang Haobo, also did not realize that further away, another pair of eyes was watching them from a distance.

On the Cangyuan, Zhang Haobo's expression was somewhat dazed. As he looked around the surrounding sea, a strange sense of familiarity suddenly surged within him. Suddenly, he spotted a seemingly familiar reef ahead. His spirits lifted, and he ordered his crew to drop anchor, stopping the boat there. Then, relying on his excellent swimming skills, he dived into the sea.

In this not-so-deep seabed, Zhang Haobo searched around, guided by his intuition. Soon after, a skeleton resting on the seabed caught his attention. He returned to the surface for a breath. When he submerged again, intending to investigate further, Zhang Haobo was bewildered to find that the skeleton, which had just been there, had suddenly vanished. He did not see Ye Feipeng, who, filled with excitement, had retrieved the jade slip from the skeleton's embrace nearby. He began reading it carefully.

"A heaven-shaking palm, turning the world into a vast ocean with a flip of the hand...""All living beings possess their own consciousness.""The Coiling Cloud Sea is no exception...""So that's how it is, so that's how it is..."A flash of realization flickered in Ye Feipeng's eyes.