Chapter 64 – Reentering the Myriad Immortals Alliance
by spirapiraLi Fan stood suspended in the air, observing Glazed Glass Island as it was in Anchor Year 9.
At this point, Glazed Glass Island was far from the prosperity Li Fan had seen in his previous life.
The population was less than a third of what it would be ten years later, and naturally it lacked that vibrant, flourishing vitality where all things thrived.
Along the island’s edges, one could still faintly make out the scars left by the ravages of the great windstorm, and smiles were rarely seen on the faces of the mortals.
Glazed Glass Island had yet to recover from the devastating windstorm of Anchor Year 5.
“If Return to Truth’s recharge speed could be further increased, perhaps I’d have a chance to witness it with my own eyes.” Li Fan mused silently.
Back when he was still a mortal, hearing that the windstorm’s fury had sheared away two-thirds of Glazed Glass Island, Li Fan had been deeply awed by the terrifying power of heaven and earth.
But later, Li Fan had witnessed with his own eyes Crimson Flame boiling the sea, transforming vast oceans into mountain ranges over the span of a dozen years.
By comparison, the windstorm hardly amounted to much.
……
Li Fan was currently waiting for He Zhenghao to return from Ten Thousand Immortals Island.
According to He Zhenghao, cultivators at or above the late Qi Refining stage who ventured there without authorization would be automatically attacked by the Ten Thousand Immortals Grand Array.
So He Zhenghao had gone ahead to arrange passage clearance for Li Fan.
He didn’t keep Li Fan waiting long, though.
Before long, He Zhenghao returned.
“Mission accomplished!” He handed Li Fan a jade spirit talisman engraved with the character for “Myriad.”
“Fellow Daoist, you just need to leave an imprint of your aura on this passage talisman.”
Li Fan took the talisman and infused it with spiritual energy.
On the talisman’s “Myriad” character, a flash of light flickered and vanished, then flew off to parts unknown.
Seeing this, He Zhenghao nodded. “That should do it.”
Then he added a reminder: “Once you’ve officially joined the Myriad Immortals Alliance, remember to return this passage talisman. Whatever you do, don’t lose it—otherwise, you’ll have to compensate with the equivalent value in contribution points.”
He Zhenghao seemed to recall something extremely unpleasant, and his face twitched. “Such a tiny little talisman, and it costs a hundred contribution points. It’s really…”
He trailed off mid-sentence when he noticed Li Fan watching him with evident amusement, and abruptly stopped.
“Apologies for the embarrassment, Fellow Daoist!” He Zhenghao gave a light cough, his expression instantly returning to normal.
Leading Li Fan inside the island protection formation, He Zhenghao activated the teleportation array.
After a wave of dizziness, Li Fan finally found himself once again on Ten Thousand Immortals Island.
In Dao Transmission Plaza, the statue of the old man with his tall crown and long beard stood silently, gazing down upon Ten Thousand Immortals Island.
Cultivators hurried to and fro, passing through various teleportation arrays to reach different corners of the Layered Cloud Sea.
……
Among them at this moment, who could possibly foresee that everything here would soon be reduced to utter nothingness?
Li Fan felt a twinge of emotion.
He Zhenghao simply assumed Li Fan had been overwhelmed by the grand spectacle of Ten Thousand Immortals Island and paid it no mind.
Just as in his previous life, he gave Li Fan all manner of introductions.
“This is Dao Transmission Plaza. It was built to commemorate the Immortal Venerable’s preaching of the Dao…”
Li Fan listened and nodded along.
Following the path, the two arrived at the location of the Celestial Mystery Mirror.
“Since you were previously a rogue cultivator, you wouldn’t know this. Members of our Myriad Immortals Alliance can recommend outside rogue cultivators for admission. Depending on the recommended cultivator’s realm and potential, the recommender receives a corresponding reward in contribution points.”
Before entering the Celestial Mystery Mirror, He Zhenghao seemed to recall something and turned back to Li Fan. “So you see, Fellow Daoist, coming to me for help actually suits me perfectly.”
“I see. I was worried I’d be putting you in a difficult position—it seems I was overthinking it.” Li Fan wore an expression of dawning realization, then said solemnly: “Regardless, I will not forget Fellow Daoist’s kindness.”
He Zhenghao nodded with a smile, quite pleased with Li Fan’s response.
The two then entered the Celestial Mystery Mirror.
“This person is the late Qi Refining rogue cultivator I reported earlier. He wishes to join the Myriad Immortals Alliance.” Inside the Celestial Mystery Mirror’s space, He Zhenghao said while looking at Li Fan.
After a moment, a voice resonated through the space.
“For recommending one late Qi Refining cultivator, a Grade D upper merit is recorded, converted to 300 contribution points. Current total contribution points: 1,340.”
He Zhenghao was momentarily stunned, then a glint of something unusual flickered in his eyes.
He stared at Li Fan for a while before venturing to ask: “If you don’t mind my asking, how old are you, Fellow Daoist?”
Li Fan thought for a moment before answering: “Twenty-nine, I believe.”
He Zhenghao drew a sharp breath, his face filled with shock. “Twenty-nine years old at late Qi Refining, and a rogue cultivator at that…”
Then he was overcome with delight. “Fellow Daoist, your talent is truly the most remarkable I have ever seen in my life.”
He immediately produced a mountain-peak-shaped communication talisman and handed it to Li Fan. “You’re new here and will certainly encounter many issues. If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to ask me. I will hold nothing back.”
“And if you run into trouble that you truly can’t resolve on your own, you can come to me for help as well. Though I, He Zhenghao, am only at the mid Foundation Establishment stage, I have quite an extensive network. In the Myriad Immortals Alliance, I do carry some small measure of influence.”
Li Fan nodded gratefully at this.
Only after He Zhenghao gave a few more instructions and departed with an excited expression did Li Fan’s demeanor return to normal.
“The treatment this time around is so much better than in my previous life.” Li Fan tossed He Zhenghao’s communication talisman lightly in his hand.
“In the cultivation world, most cultivators keep to themselves. Someone like He Zhenghao is truly uncommon. Besides, it’s just slightly better cultivation talent—he’s being far too enthusiastic.” Li Fan pondered it but couldn’t figure out the reason.
He had only a vague sense that it might be related to the cultivation technique He Zhenghao practiced. And since he could tell that He Zhenghao bore him no ill will, he put the matter out of his mind.
“Spiritual sense fluctuation recorded.”
“Independent space generated.”
“Cultivator Li Fan, welcome to the Myriad Immortals Alliance. As a new member benefit, you will receive 100 contribution points free of charge. You may use contribution points to exchange for spirit stones, cultivation techniques, magical treasures, and more.”
……
The Celestial Mystery Mirror began its introduction of relevant matters.
Though he was already thoroughly familiar with it all, Li Fan still listened attentively, comparing everything against the circumstances from his previous life.
Li Fan discovered that after advancing to the late Qi Refining stage, the contribution points required to activate the assisted cultivation mode had increased from 10 points per day to 30 points per day.
“The higher one’s realm, the more resources are needed. That’s only natural. It seems I’ll need to acquire a large amount of contribution points first.”
Slowly grinding through tasks to accumulate contribution points was far too slow.
Li Fan couldn’t be bothered with that.
In truth, he had long since devised a plan for earning a large number of contribution points in a short time.
After spending 10 contribution points to purchase a slightly larger storage ring, Li Fan took a trip out through the teleportation array.
In an uninhabited area, he loaded the gold, silver, jewels, and the Halt Stele Fragment plundered from the Taiyan Vessel into the ring.
Then he swiftly returned and requested an exchange.
“One batch of gold and silver: convertible to 863 contribution points.”
“Heavenly-Earthly Wonder: Halt Stele Fragment. Quality: Flawed. Convertible to 1,968 contribution points.”
Moments later, the Celestial Mystery Mirror’s notifications appeared.