Chapter 331: Heavenly Capital Feather Transformation Pill

Clone Xiao Fan's appearance was completely different from Clone Lin Fan's ordinary look. When Li Fan created him, he deliberately sculpted him to be eight feet tall, with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, fair skin, and exceptional handsomeness.

"The more attention-grabbing, the better. Go claim Immortal Venerable Jicheng's reward, and then, drawing everyone's notice, head to Yuandao Prefecture," Li Fan instructed. "Let's see if that monster hovering over Yuandao Prefecture is truly undetectable by anyone."

Clone Xiao Fan smiled and nodded. He transformed into a wisp of blue light and left the secret chamber.

Li Fan did not leave immediately. Instead, he stayed put for over a month until it was Fixed Year 29, then he leisurely returned to Tianyu Prefecture.

During this period, the clone was focused on one task: obtaining a legitimate identity within the Myriad Immortals Alliance. After cultivating to the Golden Core stage, joining the Myriad Immortals Alliance was no longer as simple as just finding someone to recommend you. After all, cultivation is difficult, and it's already incredibly hard for rogue cultivators to reach Foundation Establishment. A Golden Core rogue cultivator was truly uncommon. While it wasn't as rigorous as joining the official system, which required passing the White Jade Heart-Questioning Platform test, at the very least, interrogations and some probationary tasks were still necessary.

Fortunately, Li Fan had already inquired about the procedures beforehand. Although it took some effort, he ultimately succeeded in joining the Myriad Immortals Alliance. He also incidentally befriended Zhou Luo, the garrison commander of Juyu City in Tianyu Prefecture. Zhou Luo was a late Nascent Soul stage cultivator, but because Clone Xiao Fan was young, yet a rogue cultivator who had already reached the Golden Core stage, he was quite courteous towards the clone. After the two exchanged communication talismans, the clone used a teleportation array to first arrive at Tianyu City for a transfer. He then headed straight for Tianquan Prefecture. The location for Immortal Venerable Jicheng's reward event was there.

Tianquan Prefecture, as its name suggests, had intricate connections with the concept of "power" or "authority." Many cultivators holding important positions in the Myriad Immortals Alliance would acquire properties and build cultivation abodes in this prefecture. Their relatives and subordinates often followed suit. As a result, land prices in Tianquan Prefecture soared, making every inch of land exceptionally valuable. Unlike other prefectures with continuous stretches of wilderness, here, the vast Tianquan Prefecture was covered in private arrays, indicating human habitation everywhere one looked. Those able to reside within Tianquan City were the elite among the powerful. Immortal Venerable Jicheng's Tianji Institute was located within Tianquan City.

After exiting the teleportation array, Li Fan's clone quickly learned the location of the Tianji Institute with a quick inquiry. At the entrance, two cultivators in grey robes stood on either side of the gate. Judging by their cultivation, they were both Nascent Soul stage cultivators. Their expressions were stern, radiating an aura that warned people to keep their distance. However, upon learning that Li Fan was there for the reward, possessing a rare longevity treasure, they immediately put on extremely welcoming expressions. A flash of mirror light swept across the gate, confirming the clone's identity. One of them immediately greeted, "Fellow Daoist Xiao Fan, please come this way." He then led Li Fan into the Tianji Institute.

After several turns, they arrived at a large hall. Quite a few cultivators had already gathered inside, their gazes fixed on a mirror suspended in the center of the hall. Li Fan looked, and saw lines of text clearly displaying cultivators' names and the longevity treasures they had presented. Amidst the cultivators' discussions, Li Fan learned the reason. It turned out that the reward event had caused too much of a stir, not only attracting countless cultivators to offer treasures but also provoking dissatisfaction among some. They believed that the opportunity to use the Yanfa Jue was a reward from the Myriad Immortals Alliance for Immortal Venerable Jicheng's great contributions and hard work. It was a symbol of honor. But now, to survive, Immortal Venerable Jicheng had chosen to transfer this honor to others. This, they claimed, was a desecration of the Myriad Immortals Alliance's honor!

Anyone with discernment could see that this rhetoric was purely intended to stir up trouble. Immortal Venerable Jicheng had presided over the Garrison Institute for over five hundred years; though his position was high and powerful, he had inevitably made many enemies. Now, gravely injured, having resigned as commander-in-chief, and with his lifespan clearly nearing its end, those enemies naturally wanted to come out and cause a commotion. Although for the sake of the big picture and the Myriad Immortals Alliance's reputation, they wouldn't engage in outright combat, they could certainly, both openly and covertly, make things difficult for Immortal Venerable Jicheng. Consequently, various rumors and gossips almost erupted overnight. All of them, from a moral high ground, denounced Immortal Venerable Jicheng. The turmoil was so great that later, even rumors subtly spread outside, claiming that Immortal Venerable Jicheng, under pressure, had already internally designated the three Yanfa Jue usage slots to the descendants of other Immortal Venerables to pacify the situation. The cultivators, it was said, would have offered their longevity treasures for nothing, merely serving as wedding dress makers for others. Although the rumors were clearly false, they were spread so widely that some people inevitably took them seriously. Many cultivators began to waver.

At this point, Immortal Venerable Jicheng, who had remained silent throughout the affair, finally spoke. "The matter of internal designation is purely baseless," he declared. "To ensure fairness, justice, and public trust, the Tianji Institute will not participate in the evaluation of these longevity treasures. Instead, the results will be publicly displayed via the Tianxuan Mirror, preventing any possibility of backroom dealings." When the cultivators heard that the Tianxuan Mirror would directly appraise and rank the treasures, they all settled down. The Tianxuan Mirror, of course, would not lie. Immortal Venerable Jicheng then further promised that even if the cultivators offering treasures did not secure one of the top three spots, he would still provide compensation at double the market price. With this elder Immortal Venerable's personal promise, the number of cultivators participating in the reward event finally increased again. As the three-year deadline for the reward approached its end, none of the cultivators left after submitting their longevity treasures. Instead, they remained in the hall, constantly watching the rankings displayed on the Tianxuan Mirror.

Li Fan also looked towards the list. He saw that the name of the cultivator in the first place was unclear, but the name of the treasure was already known: a Longevity Fruit extending life by five hundred years. The second place, however, was significantly lower. "Wanyu, Greenwood Longevity Pill. Can extend life by two hundred and eighty-six years." Seeing this, Li Fan couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. "I didn't expect my Rebirth Longevity Fruit to still rank second. How fortunate." Li Fan continued scanning down the list; all the longevity treasures listed were ones he had never heard of before. "Immortal Venerable Jicheng has consumed too many longevity treasures, so only those that are virtually unique and difficult to replicate would have any effect now."

Just as he was deep in thought, another cultivator entered the hall. Ignoring everyone else, and without even glancing at the surrounding cultivators, he walked directly to the Tianxuan Mirror in the center. He took out a purple wooden box and slowly opened it. "I have a Heavenly Capital Feather Transformation Pill, capable of extending life by eight hundred years, which I offer to Lord Immortal Venerable Jicheng!"

Though his voice was soft, it struck everyone's ears like thunder, making them all stand up in surprise and scrutinize the newcomer. Li Fan, too, couldn't help but fix his gaze on the person. "Heavenly Capital Feather Transformation Pill? From Yuandao Prefecture? Wait, this person... why do they look a bit familiar?" In an instant, Li Fan recognized the cultivator. It was Han Yi, the cultivator who, at the end of Fixed Year 16 in Congyun Sea, won the top prize for the Dingyu lottery, raking in a staggering 1.56 million contribution points.