Chapter 488: Rebuilding the Ten Thousand Immortals Island

"Cloudmist Sea, Luoyan Province, Cangwu Abyss, Thousand Ridge Province..." Scholar Jinglun recited a list of place names, some familiar to Li Fan, others unknown.

"The reason for this is the existence of Netherworld Tunnels in these locations," Scholar Jinglun explained. "The true nature of these tunnels is still undetermined. However, our research shows that if they are left exposed, the number of bizarre incidents in that region will drastically increase. Therefore, they must be suppressed using the Profound Heaven Sealing Array."

The answer Li Fan received from First Scholar Jinglun was completely unexpected.

"When the Myriad Immortals Island still existed, we never discovered this particular Netherworld Tunnel beneath it. We only inferred its presence based on the annual reports of strange occurrences from the Cloudmist Sea's Celestial Mechanism Hall," he continued. "Who would have thought it would be at the bottom of the place where the Law-Imparting Celestial Venerable once preached? The Celestial Venerable's immense power, even a minuscule residual force, could effectively seal the Netherworld Tunnel for a millennium. But now that Myriad Immortals Island is gone, this tunnel must be sealed."

"While the existence of bizarre phenomena isn't a secret, few know that they can also spread. To prevent panic and maintain the stability of the Myriad Immortals Alliance, strict secrecy is required," Scholar Jinglun stated unhurriedly.

"All this mystery is because of this?" Li Fan couldn't help but feel a bit speechless, surprised that such an odd request was related to the bizarre occurrences scattered throughout the world.

"Is it just because of this?" First Scholar Jinglun cast a cold glance at Li Fan. "Island Master Li, you must not underestimate these bizarre phenomena. They are not as easy to deal with as you might imagine." His words carried a hidden meaning, but he offered no further elaboration.

Hearing this, Li Fan dropped his dismissive expression and nodded slightly.

Changing the subject, Li Fan asked, "Then why was I suddenly appointed acting Island Master? And this Cloudmist Sea..."

First Scholar Jinglun interrupted Li Fan's question, slowly shaking his head. "It seems that internal strife and deception were quite severe in sects during ancient times. Island Master Li, you are perhaps overly suspicious. Rest assured, everything is handled according to regulations and procedures. According to rules passed down since ancient times, when the Myriad Immortals Alliance structure in a certain region is completely destroyed, the highest-ranking surviving cultivator in that region automatically inherits the primary administrative position. If there are several cultivators of the same rank, the actual candidate is decided based on combat capability. You single-handedly slew four Nascent Soul cultivators, though you claimed to have used external aids. Such excuses might fool others, but attempting to deceive our Myriad Immortals Alliance is a bit too idealistic. We have extremely detailed and precise evaluations of the destructive power of every item sold in the Celestial Profound Mirror. While it is indeed possible for a Golden Core cultivator to defeat a Nascent Soul cultivator, it is utterly impossible to do so without leaving any trace, as cleanly and efficiently as you did that day. Among the surviving cultivators in the Cloudmist Sea, your combat power is paramount. If not you, then who else could be the acting Island Master?" First Scholar Jinglun replied, looking at Li Fan with a faint, enigmatic smile.

Li Fan's heart grew heavy, but he put on an embarrassed expression, alternating between pale and flushed, as if his secret had been exposed. "In that case, I've simply overthought things," he said openly. "Since it is so, I accept!"

Regardless of how much truth or fabrication lay in First Scholar Jinglun's words, he had made his point. If Li Fan didn't agree now, he might not even be able to leave the room. Seeing Li Fan's sensible response, First Scholar Jinglun nodded slightly with satisfaction.

"The blockade of the Cloudmist Sea will not be lifted until Cloudmist Immortal City is rebuilt," First Scholar Jinglun explained. "Of course, headquarters will also dispatch corresponding cultivators to assist with your reconstruction efforts in the Cloudmist Sea. However, for certain reasons, their numbers won't be significant. There will only be limited support in a few specific areas, such as long-range teleportation arrays. The most important thing is that you must rely on yourselves."

"I will also assign a deputy to help you complete the reconstruction of the Immortal City," he added. "You can request all necessary construction materials from him. A relevant material list will also be sent to you shortly. Your primary task is to coordinate and manage the surviving cultivators in the Cloudmist Sea, guiding and supervising them to rebuild Cloudmist City as quickly as possible." Only after giving these instructions did First Scholar Jinglun allow Li Fan to leave.

Afterward, a cultivator named Zhou Kebao found Li Fan and presented the approved material list.

"Island Master Li, this is the detailed list of materials approved for this project. Please take a look," the chubby Zhou Kebao said with a smile.

Li Fan took the list and examined it carefully.

The long list of details took a considerable amount of time to even glance through. It contained a dazzling array of items, some Li Fan recognized, others he didn't. Only names were listed, with no specific uses, leaving one confused and unclear about their purpose.

Li Fan was an amateur in other areas, but anything related to array formations did not escape his notice.

One of Cloudmist Immortal City's most crucial functions was connecting various teleportation array nodes. Including the long-range teleportation array, Myriad Immortals Island originally had eleven thousand six hundred and eighty-seven teleportation arrays. Li Fan located "Profound Void Stones," the special material used for building teleportation arrays, and began calculating based on the quantities listed in the inventory.

A moment later, Li Fan indeed discovered something amiss. If only the materials listed on the inventory were used, they wouldn't even be enough to build all the small teleportation arrays, let alone the long-range one.

Li Fan's expression immediately darkened. "Fellow Daoist Zhou, is there a mistake on this list of yours? Please double-check it." Unconcealed killing intent radiated from his eyes.

Zhou Kebao was momentarily startled. He took the list and re-examined it, muttering, "Mistake? How could that be? Could it be Island Master Li, you..." Before he could finish, Li Fan cut him off coldly. "Fellow Daoist Zhou, I made a military pledge in front of First Scholar Jinglun. If I fail to complete the task on time, I'm afraid my fate won't be pleasant. I'm a narrow-minded person who holds grudges! If, by then, there's truly no hope of completing the task, I wouldn't mind dragging those who secretly obstruct me down with me!"

Zhou Kebao wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and quickly patted his chest. "Island Master Li, please don't get so agitated. I'll go and double-check it carefully!" With that, he dared not look at Li Fan again and hurried away.

Li Fan, meanwhile, snorted coldly and closed his eyes to wait.

After almost half a day, Zhou Kebao appeared before him with a brand-new list. "Heh heh, Island Master Li truly has sharp eyes! There was indeed a mistake!" he said. "The previous list was an initial budget, and it certainly had fewer materials compared to the final list."

Li Fan took the new list and saw that the quantity of materials on it was strikingly more than half of what was on the previous one.