Chapter 48 – The Vanishing Glazed Pearls
by spirapiraChapter 48 – The Vanishing Glazed Pearls
Unfortunately, all Li Fan could do right now was daydream about it.
The Celestial Mystery Mirror was the supreme treasure of the Myriad Immortals Alliance—the very foundation upon which it stood.
It was absolutely not something a mere Qi Refining stage cultivator like Li Fan could covet.
Better to stick with accepting tasks and earning contribution points. That was more realistic.
Suppressing the greed in his heart, Li Fan opened the contribution point task list.
He filtered for tasks suited to early Qi Refining cultivators with minimal danger.
At a glance, they were all menial errands—running deliveries and odd jobs—with rewards of only one or two contribution points each.
Moreover, these tasks often vanished within moments of appearing, a clear sign that Li Fan wasn’t the only one watching.
After removing the low-danger filter, quite a few new tasks appeared.
These tasks typically required traveling to various islands across the Layered Cloud Sea to handle some matter. But since the people involved were all mortals and no combat was required, the danger level wasn’t particularly high either.
The rewards for these tasks were around five to ten points.
However, using the teleportation formation on Ten Thousand Immortals Island also cost contribution points—one point per trip.
After deducting the two points needed for a round trip, there wasn’t much left from a single task’s reward.
Earning enough contribution points to stay inside the Celestial Mystery Mirror while still being able to cultivate from time to time was truly no easy feat.
While it was true that earning contribution points would become easier as one’s strength grew, the cost of activating the assisted cultivation mode also increased with higher cultivation levels.
Either way, one would still be running around chasing contribution points.
And on top of that, exchanging for cultivation techniques also required massive amounts of contribution points…
Li Fan suddenly understood why the Celestial Mystery Mirror had made this assisted cultivation function available.
Any cultivator who had experienced that extraordinary cultivation mode would find it nearly impossible to resist trying it again.
Furthermore, given equal amounts of time, accumulating contribution points and then activating assisted cultivation still yielded faster overall progress than grinding away in solitary practice.
Cultivation techniques, resources, assisted cultivation…
The Myriad Immortals Alliance really had cultivators wrapped around its finger.
Li Fan mused to himself while continuing to search for suitable tasks.
Earning contribution points was secondary. Li Fan’s primary goal was to find an opportunity to go out and retrieve the Taiyan Vessel hidden within Return to Truth.
The Taiyan Vessel still contained a considerable amount of gold, silver, and jewels, as well as a heavenly wonder: the Halt Stele Fragment.
These could surely be exchanged for a substantial number of contribution points.
As for why he didn’t just release it directly on Ten Thousand Immortals Island…
He wasn’t stupid. Doing that would be tantamount to announcing to everyone that he possessed a mysterious treasure.
Li Fan was certain that every inch of Ten Thousand Immortals Island was under the surveillance of the Celestial Mystery Mirror.
If he attracted its attention, that would mean trouble.
Although Return to Truth could Turn Reality into Illusion, that still required his conscious control.
What if some powerful being intervened and locked down his spiritual consciousness directly, rendering him unable to think?
He would be completely helpless, at the mercy of others.
Even if there was only the slightest possibility, Li Fan would never take such a risk.
Moreover, judging from the power the Celestial Mystery Mirror had demonstrated, the current cultivation world certainly harbored experts of that caliber.
No matter what, caution and prudence were Li Fan’s foremost principles.
…
Just then, Li Fan suddenly spotted a few familiar words among the pile of tasks.
“Glazed Glass Island.”
His heart leapt with joy, and he hurriedly accepted the task first.
Then he carefully reviewed its details.
As it turned out, the Myriad Immortals Alliance’s supply of glazed pearls—a specialty product of Glazed Glass Island—had been completely depleted.
According to regulations, the next scheduled delivery wasn’t due for another half year.
But the alchemy division urgently needed them, so the pill refining hall had posted a commission recruiting someone to travel to Glazed Glass Island and collect at least twenty glazed pearls.
The reward would be determined by the quality and quantity of the pearls collected.
Li Fan had heard of these glazed pearls ever since arriving on Glazed Glass Island. They occasionally formed inside the bodies of glazed fish.
He simply didn’t know which type of pill they were used to refine.
Regardless, this task couldn’t have been more perfectly suited for him.
After spending five contribution points to purchase the smallest available storage ring as a cover, Li Fan wasted no time. He exited the Celestial Mystery Mirror and headed straight for the Dao Transmission Plaza.
Retracing his earlier path, Li Fan arrived before the same stone statue as before.
Li Fan now knew that the ten thousand statues in the Dao Transmission Plaza each corresponded to an island in the Layered Cloud Sea.
The grand teleportation formation was connected to the island protection formation of each respective island.
The statue before him that symbolized Glazed Glass Island was a leaping glazed fish.
After deducting one contribution point, Li Fan activated the teleportation formation.
This time the dizziness was noticeably weaker, and Li Fan recovered quickly.
“May I ask which esteemed Daoist…” He Zhenghao’s voice drifted over faintly.
“Huh? How come it’s you?” Seeing who had arrived, He Zhenghao was somewhat puzzled.
Li Fan promptly explained the task he had accepted and his purpose of coming to collect glazed pearls.
“Glazed pearls? I’ll have someone take you to get them,” He Zhenghao said with an unconcerned nod. “I must say though, you’ve adapted quite quickly. Already so eager to come out and take on tasks.”
“Well, necessity drives us all,” Li Fan replied with a feigned look of helplessness.
He Zhenghao immediately put on an expression that said he completely understood.
Following a servant to the Glazed Glass Manor, Li Fan met the steward in charge of finances—Steward Qian.
Steward Qian bowed respectfully to the ground. Whether or not he recognized Li Fan was unclear.
After all, Li Fan had once been in charge of a fleet on Glazed Glass Island and had encountered Steward Qian on several occasions.
However, even if he did recognize him, Steward Qian would likely pretend otherwise.
No matter what, in their eyes, an immortal master was a lofty existence who must never be offended.
Having received his orders, Steward Qian swiftly retrieved every glazed pearl in the island’s stores.
“Reporting to the immortal master, the island currently has only twenty-three glazed pearls remaining. This is the entirety of what we on Glazed Glass Island have been able to collect recently. If the immortal master requires more, I’m afraid it would take approximately a year to a year and a half.” Steward Qian spoke with a touch of apprehension.
“Oh? What happened?” Li Fan asked.
“I dare not deceive the immortal master. According to reports from the island’s fishing fleets, it appears that due to overharvesting, the glazed fish schools encountered have been dwindling. We may need to allow them time to recover naturally before resuming catches,” Steward Qian explained.
Li Fan nodded upon hearing this.
Yet in his mind, the words Zhang Haobo had once spoken to him suddenly surfaced.
“I understand,” Li Fan said. He stored the glazed pearls in his storage ring but did not return immediately. Instead, he first made his way to the Listening Serenity Tower.
Entering the residence, Li Fan waited a moment, then extended his spiritual consciousness to confirm that He Zhenghao was not secretly observing. Only then did he release the Taiyan Vessel.
He then swiftly transferred the gold, silver, and the Halt Stele Fragment from within the Taiyan Vessel.
After completing all of this, Li Fan returned to the island protection formation.
Just as he was about to teleport directly back to Ten Thousand Immortals Island, a voice called out from behind him.
“Please wait, my friend!”
The hairs on Li Fan’s body stood on end. He whipped around instantly, fixing He Zhenghao with a wary gaze.