Chapter 561: Contract Binding the Celestial Venerable

"How long will it take for you to acquire the array map?" the Five Elders Association spy eagerly pressed, not waiting for Li Fan to speak.

Li Fan pondered for a moment before replying, "It will take at least twenty days."

The person opposite immediately grew anxious: "That's too slow! On the battlefield, things change in an instant. In over twenty days, who knows..."

He stopped abruptly mid-sentence. Then he stated directly, "We can't wait that long!"

Li Fan's eyes narrowed, and he let out a cold snort. "It seems your Five Elders Association is truly desperate. Even a preliminary array map isn't easily stolen. It requires careful planning; it's not something you can just conjure up."

Hearing this, the Five Elders Association spy's expression turned grim.

"However..." Just then, Li Fan suddenly changed his tone. "There are slow methods, and there are fast methods. If you want to get the array map quickly, it will depend on your sincerity."

Witnessing Li Fan's blatant price gouging, the Five Elders Association spy exclaimed, "What else do you want?"

Li Fan's face showed displeasure. "What we just agreed upon was the price of the array map. What we're discussing now is the price for exceptionally expediting the process. Is there a problem? If you're unwilling to make the trade, then forget it..."

With that, he turned and walked away without hesitation.

"Wait! Let's talk this through!" The Five Elders Association spy immediately panicked, rushing forward to bring Li Fan back. "Fellow Daoist Zhou, please don't be so impulsive. I told you, everything is negotiable," he said with a forced smile, gritting his teeth.

Li Fan sat down again and said indifferently, "Our organization is taking a significant risk by agreeing to this transaction with you. Of course, we must receive sufficient benefits in return."

Using his finger as a pen, Li Fan wrote a few lines of small characters on the stone table, then said, "We don't need contribution points. Some of your Five Elders Association's special products, however, are in high demand and quite popular with us. They can serve as bargaining chips."

The Five Elders Association spy looked closely and saw written on the table: Enlightenment Pills, Puxian True Boat, Worry-Free Crystal Grid, Human Dao Stardust, True Temptation Fruit... His eyelids immediately began to twitch.

Previously, Li Fan had used Jiao Xiuyuan's puppet body to visit the Five Elders Association. His gains were not limited to the tender moments in Senior Sister Zhao's illusion; he also acquired a general understanding of the basic conditions and customs within the Five Elders Association's territory.

Enlightenment Pills, Puxian True Boat, and Worry-Free Crystal Grid go without saying. Human Dao Stardust is a unique product of the Human Dao Celestial Realm, corresponding to the stars in the firmament formed by cultivators. In the Celestial Realm, cultivators must transform heaven and earth to ascend to the sky and become starlight. By absorbing the stardust, one can clearly comprehend the process of heaven and earth being transformed. The transformation of heaven and earth within the Human Dao Celestial Realm is, in fact, a lower-level "reversal of the principles of heaven and earth" under the system created by the Human Dao Celestial Venerable. Although its level is not comparable to the reversal of principles in the Xuanhuang Realm, it is perfectly suited for cultivation and enlightenment. The changes in laws involved are not only extremely valuable to Hedao cultivators; cultivators of any other realm would also greatly benefit from studying it.

As for the True Temptation Fruit, it is a unique item from the Land of Truth. The information contained within the fruit can be set in advance. After consumption, it can distort a cultivator's thoughts, making them firmly believe in things they originally perceived as "false." Turning falsehood into truth, its wondrous uses are limitless. Below the Longevity Realm, even a Hedao cultivator who consumes it cannot escape its influence.

Shifting his gaze from the stone table, the Five Elders Association spy looked up at Li Fan, who was sitting with his eyes closed and silent, feeling a sudden dryness in his throat.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, please wait."

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he turned around again. This time, it took even longer than before. His entire body seemed to be under immense shock, trembling incessantly. It wasn't until dusk that a result finally came from their side.

As if he had just been through a great battle, the Five Elders Association spy was physically exhausted and almost stumbled. Taking a deep breath, he finally said, his voice barely a whisper, "Agreed. However, the quantities of each item will need further detailed discussion."

Li Fan, who had been feigning sleep with closed eyes, suddenly opened them and smiled. "Excellent!"

Next, they entered the bargaining phase.

After a long while, when both parties finally reached an agreement, the Five Elders Association spy opposite looked deeply at Li Fan. "Now, it's time to sign the contract."

Following that, something that slightly astonished Li Fan occurred. Brilliant golden light surged from deep within the opponent's body. While completely engulfing him, it transformed into a contract scroll, floating silently before Li Fan. The Five Elders Association cultivator, meanwhile, vanished completely, as if dissolving into the golden light.

Li Fan suppressed his discomfort, took the golden contract scroll, and read it carefully. The writing was a faint, dark gold. The items of trade listed on it were exactly as they had previously agreed upon. What caught Li Fan's attention was that one party of the transaction was left blank, naturally, for him to sign. The other party, however, was represented by five mysterious symbols engraved on the scroll, constantly flickering and reappearing. Although he didn't understand the exact meaning of these symbols, the moment he saw them, Li Fan understood that they represented the five Longevity Celestial Venerables of the Five Elders Association.

Recalling the content spoken by the scholar responsible for brainwashing in the Five Elders Association valley, Li Fan had an epiphany. "This contract seems somewhat similar to the Five Elders Association's Soul Contract. One party consists of the Longevity Celestial Venerables; it's just that the content of the transaction is different."

Li Fan's hand touched the contract, and he hesitated, wondering which of his names to sign. A faint, inexplicable sensation suddenly surged into his mind. "Confirm," Li Fan thought in response. The inexplicable sensation didn't disappear but surged again. This time, it was stronger than before. Li Fan confirmed again.

After doing this three times, a golden light leapt deep into Li Fan's soul body, while the rest tore through space, disappearing to unknown whereabouts.

"The contract is formed. No one named on it can violate it," Li Fan mused, his eyes narrowed, sensing this. "Even a Longevity Celestial Venerable... cannot. For a powerful figure like Senior Sister Zhao, whose thoughts are unfathomable, to submit, it could only be another Longevity Celestial Venerable of the same realm. Perhaps, this one's cultivation is even a bit stronger."

At this point, Li Fan finally verified his conjecture regarding the last unidentified Longevity Celestial Venerable of the Five Elders Association. It was precisely the existence of Their contractual power that allowed the Five Elders Association to maintain order.

Thousands of miles away, Li Fan's main body, after his clone Zhou Qingang signed the contract, closed his eyes and concentrated, carefully examining the anomaly that had appeared within his body. Nothing seemed to have happened. But Li Fan had a faint premonition: should he violate the contract, the corresponding punishment would likely follow through the clone and affect him.