Chapter 78: Cloud and Water Heavenly Palace Awakens

"I apologize. I truly cannot help with this matter. I have a premonition that I'm on the verge of a breakthrough, and I'll need to go out to seek opportunities within two years, so I won't be able to guard Glazed Island for long."

The Cloudwater Heavenly Palace is set to open in just over a year, and Li Fan certainly wouldn't miss the chance to be among the first to enter for the meager contribution points earned by guarding the island.

He thus had no choice but to straightforwardly refuse He Zhenghao.

"Oh, I see. In that case, I'll have to find someone else. I also wish you an early Foundation Establishment, Fellow Daoist!" He Zhenghao replied with regret.

No further messages came through the communication talisman.

Li Fan paid no mind to it, and spent contribution points to activate the auxiliary cultivation mode.

He began cultivating the 'Shadow Pursuer Art'.

After all, it was merely an auxiliary cultivation method, and cultivating the 'Shadow Pursuer Art' was far simpler than the other two cultivation methods.

With the dual enhancement from Spiritual Enlightenment and the Exquisite Glazed Pearl, Li Fan cultivated it to the late Qi Refinement stage in less than ten days.

At this moment, Li Fan was testing the effects of the 'Shadow Pursuer Art'.

He used 100 contribution points to simulate a chase battle against a late Qi Refinement cultivator in the Heavenly Mystery Mirror.

The surrounding space transformed into continuous mountain ranges.

In the mountains, a figure rapidly fled into the distance.

That was the target he was set to pursue.

Watching the opponent's figure grow increasingly distant, Li Fan's spiritual sense stirred, and his body abruptly darkened.

As if covered by a dark veil, he became even harder to detect, concealed by the ubiquitous shadows.

Just as the opponent was about to vanish from sight, Li Fan suddenly accelerated, soaring to catch up.

Compared to his previous simple wind manipulation flight, Li Fan's speed was now greatly enhanced.

Moreover, he subtly formed a connection with the locked target he was pursuing.

The opponent's increase in speed, to some extent, also caused Li Fan's speed to accelerate.

It was truly as if Li Fan had become the opponent's shadow, making it impossible for them to shake him off.

Furthermore, he could continuously traverse and leap by utilizing the shadows on the ground.

In this manner, it didn't take long at all before Li Fan caught up with the figure ahead.

The surrounding scenery blurred, and the illusions of mountains and the cultivator vanished simultaneously.

The space reverted to its original pitch black.

With the chase battle concluded, Li Fan was quite satisfied with the 'Shadow Pursuer Art'.

Its ability to conceal one's aura was already considerable, and coupled with a Concealment Talisman, it would be even harder to detect.

Although Sikong Yi was somewhat mysterious, his cultivation should undoubtedly be late Qi Refinement.

Having prepared so much in advance, and approaching with deliberate intent against an unsuspecting target,

his plan to acquire the 'Cloudwater Scroll' shouldn't pose too much difficulty.

Now that everything was ready, all that remained was to await information from Jiao Xiuyuan and the official opening of the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace.

Within the Heavenly Mystery Mirror, Li Fan's gaze was profound as he stared into the distance.

Two months later, at the Thousand Mile Hall on Myriad Immortals Island.

Upon receiving a message from Jiao Xiuyuan, Li Fan hastily arrived after activating his Concealment Talisman.

As soon as he met Jiao Xiuyuan, he feigned anger: "How do you people at Thousand Mile Hall conduct your business? It's just a minor Qi Refinement cultivator, yet it took you so long to gather intelligence. I thought you'd forgotten about it and were planning to find someone else to handle it!"

Jiao Xiuyuan looked a bit embarrassed, but he quickly pulled Li Fan aside, and, following his lead, activated the shop's formation to block external prying.

Only then did he explain softly, "Please keep your voice down! The delay was really for a good reason."

"Hmm?" Li Fan's expression shifted slightly as he waited for him to continue.

"Hehe, to be honest with you, the difficulty of this mission was beyond my expectations. The fifty contribution points we agreed upon last time are simply too little! You should know, I had to ask a senior cultivator at the late Foundation Establishment stage for help to get this done..." Jiao Xiuyuan looked eagerly at Li Fan, his meaning clear.

"What, are you going back on our agreement?" Li Fan's eyes narrowed, staring at Jiao Xiuyuan with an unfriendly expression.

Jiao Xiuyuan rubbed his head: "Could you perhaps add a little..."

Li Fan turned to leave.

Jiao Xiuyuan nearly jumped up in alarm: "Oh, my dear patron! I truly have bad luck this year! Both of my last two transactions have been losing propositions."

"Alright, alright! We'll stick to what we agreed, fifty it is!" he said, gritting his teeth.

"Here, with the previous deposit, that's exactly fifty contribution points," Li Fan said coldly, tossing four mid-grade spirit stones over.

"Is it easy for me to earn this little money from you?" Jiao Xiuyuan said with a bitter expression, catching the spirit stones, before handing a jade slip to Li Fan.

Li Fan took the jade slip, scanned it with his spiritual sense, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

He then put away the jade slip and departed.

Watching Li Fan's retreating figure, Jiao Xiuyuan's previously fawning expression abruptly vanished.

He caressed the spirit stones in his hand, and let out a series of cold sneers.

"One is mysterious, with unknown origins; the other is secretive, with ulterior motives."

"I'd like to see what you two are truly up to."

Inside the Heavenly Mystery Mirror, Li Fan meticulously reread the contents of the jade slip, before finally destroying it.

"Two people?"

Li Fan's brows furrowed slightly, and he immediately felt it was a bit tricky.

It turned out that, according to the intelligence gathered by Jiao Xiuyuan, Sikong Yi typically lived in seclusion and rarely showed himself.

He also had a close friend named Baili Chen, who was also a male cultivator.

Baili Chen was slightly weaker, with a cultivation base at the mid Qi Refinement stage.

Sikong Yi and Baili Chen's relationship seemed exceptionally close; whenever they went out, they were always together, inseparable.

Furthermore, the two seemed to possess some kind of joint attack technique.

When fighting enemies, their coordination was seamless, their minds connected as if they were one.

The two usually stayed on Myriad Immortals Island, and aside from undertaking missions to accumulate contribution points, they generally did not leave.

However, during Jiao Xiuyuan's investigation, the two had inexplicably gone missing once.

They vanished without a trace after leaving Myriad Immortals Island, their destination unknown.

"Who is this Baili Chen? Why do I have no recollection of him?" Li Fan carefully recalled his memories but found no information about Baili Chen.

"It seems this person must have perished within the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace ruins."

"However, I didn't expect there would be an additional cultivator to target. My current preparations seem insufficient."

"Fortunately, there's still plenty of time."

Thoughts churned in his mind, and Li Fan resumed his planning.

One year later.

In Anchor Year Eleven, central waters of the Cumulus Sea.

Thunderstorms, brewing for several months, continuously rumbled in the sky.

Thick, swirling storm clouds had turned black, slowly rotating and steadily accumulating power.

The clouds resembled towering walls, guarding the center of the vortex.

There, streaks of blue light continuously flickered.

With each flicker, this central sea region seemed to undergo an indescribable transformation.

This anomaly naturally attracted many cultivators.

There were even faint rumors that an ancient sect's ruins were about to emerge here.

Consequently, more and more cultivators gathered in these past few months.

Li Fan was naturally among them.

His gaze swept over the crowd, pausing imperceptibly on Sikong Yi and Baili Chen.

Afterward, he spotted Jiao Xiuyuan's figure.

Jiao Xiuyuan was staring at the swirling clouds in the sky, his expression quite excited.

"This person probably thinks he's stumbled upon an opportunity, and that there's some advantage to be gained."

"Little does he know, he's merely walking into his own demise."

A cold glint flashed in Li Fan's eyes.