Chapter 420: Lion's Big Ask

According to Zhou Qingang’s memory, the Five Elders Association governed a total of five Great Heavenly Domains, each under the jurisdiction of a different Celestial Venerable.

Each of these domains possessed distinct characteristics, setting them apart from other places.

His homeland was called the Land of Gentlemen.

It earned its name because everyone within it was incapable of lying.

Of course, this was how the inhabitants of the Land of Gentlemen referred to themselves.

Cultivators in other parts of the Five Elders Association preferred to call it the Land of Truth.

Regardless of the name, it did not alter its beautiful essence.

There, people always treated each other with sincerity, consistently showing their true selves.

Although minor conflicts would inevitably occur from time to time, compared to the outside world filled with lies,

Zhou Qingang deeply loved his homeland.

North of the Land of Truth lay the dreamland of countless cultivators, the Carefree Paradise.

As for the other three domains, Zhou Qingang was still young when he was selected for spy training and thus did not learn about them.

As the evolving dream was about to dissipate, Li Fan replayed it again.

This was to ensure the accuracy of the information obtained.

He repeated this process three times.

Taking some biological material from Zhou Qingang, Li Fan began to refine a doppelganger using it as a template.

Several days later,

a body identical to Zhou Qingang appeared.

Li Fan nodded slightly, then replicated the process, activating the Mysterious Spirit Transformation to turn himself into Zhou Qingang's likeness as well.

A rather bizarre scene unfolded in the small underwater secret chamber.

Three bodies, identical in appearance, displayed different expressions.

“Wonderful, truly wonderful!”

Li Fan nodded in satisfaction.

Looking at the still unconscious Zhou Qingang, whose lips curved upwards slightly, a peculiar glint appeared in Li Fan's eyes.

“I won't kill you in this world, to avoid any flaws being exposed.”

“Forever immersed in an illusionary dream might not be a bad thing for you.”

Using materials at hand, he crafted a stone coffin for Zhou Qingang.

After placing him inside, he scattered a pile of spirit stones to sustain his life force.

Li Fan then set up a formation, centered around the Cloud Water Illusion Dream technique.

This illusion could be maintained for at least twenty years.

He then sealed the stone coffin with a large boulder and buried it deep beneath the sea.

“This way, no one in the world, except for me, should discover your disappearance,” Li Fan said with satisfaction, after completely erasing his traces, his gaze seemingly penetrating the seabed to see Zhou Qingang slumbering in the illusionary dream.

He did this, inspired by the Eternal Immortal Wall in the future Xuan Net worldline.

When cultivators of the Xuanhuang Realm died, heaven and earth would react, and unusual phenomena would appear in the sky.

Li Fan had not yet mastered a method to prevent these phenomena from occurring.

And he could not yet let others discover that the real Zhou Qingang was dead.

Therefore, adopting this method was perfectly suitable.

After completing all this, the doppelganger returned to Taian Island to continue serving as a Myriad Immortals Alliance guardian.

The main body, meanwhile, headed towards the rendezvous point with the contact, as remembered by Zhou Qingang.

Zhou Qingang actually knew very little about his contact.

Communication had always been largely one-way.

Moreover, after each meeting, the location for the next encounter would change.

Li Fan arrived at an uninhabited island, searched it thoroughly, and indeed found a seemingly ordinary stone.

However, in specific spots, there were a few inconspicuous small holes.

These small holes represented coordinates from the Cloud Sea.

Based on the coordinates, Li Fan calculated the location for this rendezvous.

After crushing the stone, he flew directly towards that location.

One day later,

within a ruin on the seabed, Li Fan found his target.

It was a seemingly ordinary broken stone.

Li Fan placed his hands on it, simultaneously activating a secret technique, and yellow light emanated from his palms.

Instantly, a similar faint yellow glow emerged from the broken stone, quickly scanning Li Fan's entire body.

Once verified, the light retracted back into the broken stone.

Shortly after, the surface of the broken stone became smooth as a mirror.

A blurry image of a human face appeared within it.

“What’s going on? Didn't I tell you to lie low and not make contact recently?”

The other party's tone was cold as he reprimanded.

Li Fan, mimicking Zhou Qingang's tone, replied, “Boss! I have crucial information to report this time, which is why I made an exception to contact you!”

“Crucial information?” The other side clearly didn't believe him, his tone unfriendly. “Let's hear it.”

Li Fan lowered his voice and leaned closer, saying, “A fellow cultivator I befriended, he claims he can get the exam questions for this year's Myriad Immortals Alliance entrance examination.”

The human face paused, then immediately cursed, “Another swindler? You believe something so outrageous? And you specifically reported it to me?”

“Zhou Qingang, Zhou Qingang, have you been in Congyun Sea for too long? Has your brain turned to mush?”

Li Fan immediately put on a very aggrieved expression: “Boss, this time it's absolutely true! I guarantee it!”

Seeing Li Fan's resolute expression, the human face became somewhat hesitant.

“How so?”

Li Fan said, “This fellow cultivator of mine has connections!”

“Didn't I report to you before that I befriended He Zhenghao, the guardian of Glazed Island? He's at the Foundation Establishment cultivation level, just like me. Not long ago, he even complained to me about how difficult it was to accumulate contribution points and how long it would take to switch cultivation methods.”

“Who would have thought that after just a few days, he'd already switched to a Nascent Soul cultivation method!”

Li Fan spoke in an exaggerated tone.

“Such an anomaly naturally caught my attention. I put in a lot of effort to find out...”

By this point, the human face was somewhat intrigued by what Li Fan was saying.

Seeing him suddenly create suspense, it immediately cursed, “Spit it out!”

Li Fan chuckled, “He Zhenghao is no ordinary person!”

“On the surface, he's just an unremarkable Foundation Establishment cultivator. In reality, his background is astonishingly influential!”

“He has a daughter named He Xinxin. Humph, actually, she should be called Heng Xinxin!”

“The Heng family of Tianyu Prefecture in the Myriad Immortals Alliance, Boss, have you heard of them?”

“Heng Ruoshui, the apple of the Heng family's eye, who is already a Nascent Soul Spellweaver at a young age, is actually He Zhenghao's old flame!”

“Who would believe it if I told them! But it's true!”

“Previously, it seemed He Zhenghao was forced to sever ties with the Heng family due to his low cultivation, which led to a rather difficult life.”

“However, recently, things seem to have taken a turn for the better.”

Li Fan paused, glanced at the human face, and continued, “He Xinxin is now an adult. Knowing her old father's pitiful situation, she felt great pity. But if she helped openly, she feared her family would find out.”

“So, she had no choice but to find another way, secretly passing on information she overheard to He Zhenghao.”

“It's precisely with his daughter's help that He Zhenghao has completely turned his life around!”

Li Fan's tone was a mix of excitement and envy: “He knew in advance that the Wugu Obsidian was going to skyrocket, so he invested everything he had and bought it all at once.”

“After the price doubled, he immediately sold it off.”

“In one go, he earned over a hundred thousand contribution points!”

“Over a hundred thousand! Boss! That's enough funding for me for how many years!”

“He Zhenghao was also afraid of the news getting out and harming his daughter. So, he fabricated a story about receiving guidance from an ancient Heavenly Mystery Sect cultivator and spread it everywhere.”

“Bah! He really thinks we're fools!”

“Boss, fortunately, I'm quick-witted. I pestered him relentlessly, using every trick in the book, until I finally extracted the truth from him.”

Li Fan proudly claimed credit.

“The source of the leaked questions for this entrance examination also came from He Xinxin.”

“Boss, do you think it's reliable?”

This time, the figure on the broken stone did not get angry but remained silent, seemingly searching for something.

After a long time, the voice of the human face gradually became audible.

“Heng Ruoshui indeed has a daughter, though the father's identity has always been a mystery.”

“However, many years ago, she returned home accompanied by a young man. But shortly after, this young man disappeared without a trace.”

“Let me check his appearance...”

“It is indeed He Zhenghao!”

The human face was shocked.

“And this...”

“Before the Wugu Obsidian surged, there were unusual transaction records. Someone heavily acquired it, then sold it at its peak.”

“The timing was so perfect that it was hard to believe it wasn't due to prior inside information.”

“The buyer...”

“It's still He Zhenghao!”

A loud thud, similar to a forceful slap on a table, came from the human face's side.

“So, the exam questions for the Myriad Immortals Alliance entrance examination are very likely real?”

The other party's breathing couldn't help but quicken.

Li Fan nodded repeatedly, “That's why I rushed to find you, Boss! You know the entrance examination is about to be held soon.”

“If we can get the exam questions in advance before then...”

“We could embed more of our people in key positions within the Myriad Immortals Alliance!”

The human face clearly understood the gravity of the situation and quickly asked, “What did he say?”

At this moment, Li Fan suddenly became a little hesitant.

He stammered, “Boss, He Zhenghao's asking price this time is a bit high...”

The human face angrily rebuked, “Just say it! It's only a few spirit stones; how can that compare to the entrance examination questions?”

Li Fan extended his hand and gestured, “He wants this much?”

“Five hundred thousand contribution points? It's not impossible...” The human face hadn't finished speaking.

Li Fan quickly shook his head, interrupting him: “No, it's five million.”

The human face froze instantly.

“Five million? Is he crazy?!” His voice was trembling slightly.

However, the human face quickly reacted.

Its expression suddenly darkened, and its voice carried a hint of murderous intent: “You've been exposed?!”

“Facing a mere individual, and only a Foundation Establishment cultivator at that, he would never quote such an exorbitant price.”

“Unless he already knows that behind you is an organization...”

The image on the broken stone flickered, seemingly about to disappear at any moment.

The human face stared intently at Li Fan, awaiting his reply.

Li Fan, somewhat exasperated, said, “Boss, do you really think I'm that unprofessional?”

“All I told him was that I also have connections.”

“Everyone serving in the Myriad Immortals Alliance has some kind of connection, don't they?”

“Don't worry, Boss. Even if He Zhenghao has suspicions, he would never suspect me of being a spy.”

“In reality, He Zhenghao is just casting a wide net. He also knows the risks of selling entrance exam questions, so he's only doing a one-time deal.”

“He'll only trade with one party and limit the number of people who know the questions and take the entrance exam to no more than ten.”

Listening to Li Fan's explanation, the human face gradually relaxed.

The image became bright and clear again. After analyzing for a while, the human face said, “Five hundred thousand per person, although the cost is a bit high, it's still acceptable.”

“However, it's a significant amount after all. What if the questions He Zhenghao provides are fake...”

Li Fan said indifferently, “He Zhenghao said that the entrance examination lasts for seven days anyway. He can give us the first day's questions for free. Once we confirm they are correct, then we proceed with the final transaction.”

Upon hearing this, the human face couldn't help but be deeply moved.