Chapter 493: Disorder in the Ragtag Troops

"Even Jiao Xiuyuan says so; it seems these strategic materials of the Myriad Immortals Alliance truly cannot be acquired through conventional means," Li Fan pondered to himself.

He knew very well that a massive project like rebuilding an entire floating immortal city could not be completed without some loss. The immortal city, like a huge and precise instrument, might not function properly if certain crucial components were missing. Even if he could somehow conceal it, he would inevitably be reported by those secretly watching.

Therefore...

"The one who caused the problem must solve it," Li Fan's eyes narrowed slightly. These orchestrators behind the scenes were scheming against him, simply for revenge or profit. They certainly didn't want the situation to escalate beyond control, attracting scrutiny from higher authorities. Cloud-Striding Immortal City would ultimately be rebuilt. This was the supreme will of the Myriad Immortals Alliance, which no one could defy. As for who completed the rebuilding work, the Myriad Immortals Alliance didn't actually care. However, it concerned the future prospects of Li Fan and the group of cultivators who followed him.

"The parts withheld from the material list must still be with Zhou Kebao and his group," Li Fan thought. "What needed to be done now was to find a way to make them regurgitate what they had swallowed."

Thinking of this, Li Fan activated his Formless Killing Intent, his gaze falling upon Zhou Kebao.

In a dark room within the Dust-Crossing Boat, Zhou Kebao was anxiously pacing back and forth. Before him, an indistinct light-shadow flickered continuously. Soon after, the light-shadow stopped flickering, and several figures appeared within it.

"How is it? What did Tantai Can say?" Zhou Kebao asked eagerly.

"The message was sent, but there was no reply."

"He didn't reply to me either."

"He directly rejected it!"

Different voices immediately chimed in. Zhou Kebao's face instantly turned a liverish purple, so enraged that he wanted to curse directly. However, his lips trembled slightly, and he ultimately held back.

After a moment of silence, a figure on the opposite side couldn't help but ask, "What exactly does Tantai Can mean by this?"

"Indeed, he was instigating us just before, so why did he suddenly change his mind and side with Li Fan?"

"Enough! Stop arguing!" Just as everyone was discussing heatedly, a magnetic voice suddenly reprimanded them. This person seemed to possess great authority; as soon as he spoke, the other cultivators all fell silent.

"As it stands, it seems we've fallen into Tantai Can's trap," he calmly analyzed. "First, he used Li Fan's tens of millions of contribution points as bait to lure us in. Then, after we spent a considerable amount of money to open up the so-called channels he provided, intending to force Li Fan into submission... he then turned against us..."

Zhou Kebao suddenly slammed the table: "This makes no sense! What is Tantai Can trying to gain? While we may not compare to his Tantai Clan, united, we are not to be trifled with! Why would Tantai Can needlessly make so many enemies?"

His words prompted widespread agreement from the others; clearly, they truly could not comprehend Tantai Can's actions.

"Perhaps Tantai Can doesn't want to be hostile towards us, but rather wants to completely subdue us!" At that moment, a figure suddenly spoke. "I heard that due to the recent incident involving the Ordinary Leisure True Leaf, Tantai Can received a direct criticism from Immortal Venerable Li Luo. During this period, his position within the clan has become extremely precarious. Even many of his original advisors have switched allegiance to other descendants of the Tantai Clan."

"He must be trying every method to consolidate his position. That's why he set his sights on us."

This statement prompted everyone to ponder deeply.

"Indeed! It now seems his scheme was very successful. We are now caught in a difficult situation, unable to back down! The plan to threaten Li Fan with the Cloud-Striding Immortal City's construction deadline has clearly fallen through. Li Fan and Tantai Can are in cahoots; he likely isn't lacking the materials we withheld at all."

"Spiritual Skeletons of Transmission, Heavenly Profound Fragments, Fading Phantom Ancient Wood..."

"These items are strictly forbidden for personal hoarding. We're fine keeping them for a short time, but if we can't use them and they're discovered..." Zhou Kebao couldn't help but shiver. "We'd like to sell them, but besides building immortal cities, these things have no other use!"

"Currently, besides Cloud-Striding Sea, where else in the world is there a floating city under construction?"

"That Tantai Can brat is truly despicable! He'll probably come to threaten us soon!"

"Indeed, very likely. After all, both withholding city-building materials and secretly offering bribes are illicit activities."

The more they discussed, the more agitated everyone became. It was the majestic voice again that calmed everyone down.

"Don't panic; the situation isn't as bad as we imagine. Everything is just our speculation; it's possible we're only scaring ourselves. Since we can't contact Tantai Can, let's first sound out Li Fan. Let's see what the situation truly is."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Kebao nodded.

"Although this person is an ancient cultivator, he is quite mysterious. Even with a Core Formation cultivation, he can stir up trouble and associate with many established Soul Transformation experts. We must not be careless," the person cautioned.

"Fellow Daoist Long, please rest assured, I will be prudent," Zhou Kebao promised readily.

The light-shadow gradually dispersed, and Li Fan withdrew his gaze.

"So, they're just a bunch of rabble," he sneered with a smile. He then carefully considered how he could strip a layer of skin off this group.

Zhou Kebao's patience, however, was somewhat beyond Li Fan's expectations. Even after the reconstruction of Cloud-Striding Immortal City had vigorously commenced, and more than ten support cultivators from the Myriad Immortals Alliance headquarters had arrived, he still did not try to sound out Li Fan. Instead, he merely pretended that nothing was amiss, greeting Li Fan as usual every day. If not for the Dao Transformation Stone in his mind clearly recording their conversation faithfully, Li Fan would have thought his perception was merely an illusion.

However, Li Fan also possessed great patience. "No rush, I'll play along with him."

There were still over four months until the deadline for the immortal city's reconstruction; Li Fan could certainly afford to wait. After acquiring some conventional materials through Jiao Xiuyuan, the basic construction progress of the immortal city had not been delayed at all. Meanwhile, major structures such as the Hyper-Spatial Teleportation Array, Heavenly Profound Mirror, and Governance Hall were to be constructed together at the end. Moreover, the materials he possessed still provided one opportunity for trial and error. Thus, Li Fan was not in a hurry at all.

Of course, while building Cloud-Striding Immortal City, he also didn't forget the task assigned by the First Scripture: to construct the Profound Heaven Spirit-Locking Array within the immortal city's foundation. Li Fan's current level in array formations had already achieved minor success. Furthermore, he had personally participated in the construction of the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Array, his vision far surpassing that of ordinary cultivators. In this array blueprint for the Profound Heaven Spirit-Locking Array, Li Fan clearly saw the shadow of the Spirit-Locking Array.