Chapter 38: Enduring Entry into the Spirit Pool

Without explaining much to Xiao Heng, and after assuring him, Li Fan rushed to the Sky Treasure Pavilion without delay.

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

After hearing the reason for Li Fan's visit, Yin Yuzhen, with a look of indignation, explained the whole situation.

It turned out that after several months of inquiries, the various factions on Glazed Island finally understood that the Stardust Quicksand was actually heavenly meteorite iron.

However, when they tried to collect the meteorite iron, they discovered that all the Stardust Quicksand within the Glazed Island sea area had already been completely collected by the Sky Treasure Pavilion.

The chaotic situation in the Glazed Island market earlier was due to the Sky Treasure Pavilion's secret manipulations.

“The Sky Treasure Pavilion is treating everyone like fools!” Out of shame and anger, they went to the Lord of Glazed Island, demanding an explanation.

Yin Yuzhen naturally defended herself righteously, stating that her actions were legitimate business competition.

The Lord of Glazed Island also believed that although Yin Yuzhen's methods were a bit extreme, the competition for a spot in the Spirit Purification Pool was inherently about individual ability. As long as the required materials for the Immortal Master could eventually be gathered, even if the means were somewhat unconventional, it was permissible.

Therefore, the Island Lord did not punish the Sky Treasure Pavilion; instead, he reprimanded those who caused trouble.

How could these individuals be content?

Thus, a few days later, rumors began circulating on the island that the Sky Treasure Pavilion was secretly involved in smuggling mortals.

The rumors became increasingly outlandish, suggesting that the Sky Treasure Pavilion would be investigated by the Immortal Master tomorrow and completely wiped out.

“So, how serious is this matter? Will the Immortal Master truly lay blame?” After understanding the situation, Li Fan couldn't help but ask.

“That’s the troublesome part of this matter,” Yin Yuzhen said, her brows furrowed. “As the saying goes, if the punishment is unknown, its deterrent power is immeasurable. There has never been an explicit prohibition against helping mortals smuggle. However, it is ultimately a taboo, something that cannot be brought to light.”

“Furthermore, over a decade ago, an Immortal Master happened to encounter a smuggling operation, and in a fit of rage, killed all the mortals present.”

“Since then, everyone has tacitly conducted this smuggling business in secret.”

Li Fan listened, his brows slightly furrowed. “So, this matter can be either trivial or grave, depending entirely on the Immortal Master's mood when dealing with it?”

“Exactly. If the Immortal Master doesn't dwell on it, it’s nothing. But if the Immortal Master is in a bad mood, then…” Yin Yuzhen left her sentence unfinished, her face a little pale.

Li Fan fell silent.

He recalled his first encounters with Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi.

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

“To risk beheading just to conduct this smuggling business, the profits must be incredibly high,” Li Fan sighed.

“Naturally,” Yin Yuzhen nodded. “The profits from a single smuggling operation often match what a small world could yield over nearly ten years of scavenging. You can imagine how much profit there is.”

“Precisely because of this, some Immortal Masters couldn't resist secretly joining in to get a share of the profits.”

“These Immortal Masters would never admit to being involved in such matters,” Yin Yuzhen said, sounding somewhat helpless. “When they interact with us, they use immortal arts to conceal their appearances, making it impossible to see their faces. Moreover, they take the majority of the profits in the end.”

“So, the Sky Treasure Pavilion must handle this matter ourselves.”

Li Fan recalled the Immortal Master who guided people from other worlds when he first entered the cultivation world, and nodded.

“So, what kind of temperament does the Immortal Master stationed on Glazed Island have? And what is his attitude towards this matter?” Li Fan then asked.

“Immortal Master He of Glazed Island usually lives in seclusion, and I’ve only met him a few times,” Yin Yuzhen said gravely. “So I'm really not sure about his attitude. However, judging by his past methods of dealing with mortal affairs, he is not someone who is soft-hearted.”

After a round of analysis in his mind, Li Fan ultimately sighed.

Li Fan knew that even with a hundred strategies, everything was futile in the face of an absolute power disparity.

Li Fan had no solution for such a ticking time bomb of instability.

A thought stirred in Li Fan's mind. He recalled the large quantity of Immortal-Mortal Miasma stored in a certain cabin of the Taiyan Boat.

“If I were in Great Xuan, with tens of thousands of loyal fighters, perhaps I could still put up a fight. But alas…”

But he quickly suppressed this dangerous thought.

“Let's arrange a time to meet. It's best not to blow this matter out of proportion in the end,” Li Fan said.

“Yes, I think so too,” Yin Yuzhen said.

“All they want is for us to hand over some Stardust Quicksand,” Li Fan sneered. “Since we had the upper hand and collected enough, we might as well throw out a portion of it and let them fight among themselves, scrambling for it. They'll surely start squabbling quickly. There's no such thing as an unbreakable alliance in this world.”

Three days later, the Sky Treasure Pavilion met with the various factions on Glazed Island and put forward the following conditions:

The Sky Treasure Pavilion agreed to hand over a portion of the Stardust Quicksand, but required the other parties to provide materials of equivalent value in exchange.

Additionally, how the Stardust Quicksand would be divided among the different factions was to be decided by each faction themselves.

Finally, one spot in the Spirit Purification Pool had to be guaranteed for the Sky Treasure Pavilion.

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

After all, there was no deep-seated animosity between the two sides; they were merely competing for a spot in the Spirit Purification Pool.

Thus, after paying the price of several dozen pieces of meteorite iron, the Sky Treasure Pavilion successfully extricated itself from the chaotic vortex.

Almost on the same day, the rumors about smuggling on the island vanished without a trace.

Meanwhile, the other factions began open and covert struggles for those several dozen pieces of meteorite iron, no longer having time to bother with the Sky Treasure Pavilion.

Time flew by, and the day the Spirit Purification Pool would open was fast approaching.

After the tallying of materials submitted by each faction was complete, the spots for the Spirit Purification Pool were finally confirmed.

There were a total of thirteen spots in the pool this time, with one belonging to the Sky Treasure Pavilion.

With the major issue finally settled, Li Fan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Once the Spirit Pool opened, Li Fan would be able to remove the miasma from his body and officially embark on the path of cultivation!

He had waited too long for this day.

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

Name: Li FanRealm: MortalPhysical Age: 42/99Mental Age: 505/1299↑Void Transformation Charge Progress: 121%Anchoring Charge Progress: 51%Current Anchor Points: 1Bound Items: Thousand Machine Jade Universal Golden Scroll, Taiyan Boat, Restrained Stone Tablet (damaged)

Li Fan looked at the updated panel. After two years of transformation, his physical age had reached its limit of 99 years, with no further signs of increase.

Meanwhile, his mental age cap was still slowly increasing due to his daily cultivation of the 'Profound Yellow Pure Heart Mantra'.

He wondered what changes would occur after the Spirit Pool's baptism.

Li Fan felt a sense of anticipation.

The day for the Spirit Pool to open finally arrived. On this day, Li Fan took the Dust-Removing Pill given to him by Yin Yuzhen, and guided by a specialist, entered the formation array in the center of Glazed Island.