As for the true nature of the war, it was beyond Li Fan’s current knowledge.
As the dark clouds lingering over everyone gradually dispersed, and the mobilized cultivators returned to their hometowns, the eight-month-long war left an impression on people as if it were a dream and hadn’t happened.
It was only when occasionally mentioning those fellow Daoists who were lost that the memories of this fierce war would flicker in their minds.
Li Fan naturally had acquaintances among the fallen cultivators.
The first was the Medicinal Hall’s Chen Ying, who died early in the ambush by the Five Elders Association.
In the Cong Yun Sea’s Martial Hall, Jiang Zhengji and Du Xingchang both perished.
The Formation Hall also suffered heavy losses.
Out of the three mobilized, Gong Boyu and another Nascent Soul Formation master named Mu Bowen were involved in a battle between Soul Transformation experts and did not survive.
Only Zhang Zhiliang survived.
There were countless other cultivators holding various positions on Ten Thousand Immortals Island who had only briefly interacted with Li Fan and had perished in this war.
The brutality of the Tianling Province war was evident.
Fortunately, what the world lacked least was cultivators who would step forward and sacrifice their lives for a cause.
With a single notice from the Tianxuan Mirror, the war and the deaths it brought were quickly forgotten by everyone.
Within three years, every cultivator could purchase a technique at a discounted rate of seventy percent off the original price.
Each person was limited to purchasing one, and it was not transferable.
Once this news came out, the cultivators who were still somewhat melancholic all perked up and became excited.
Those who were just barely short on contribution points now had enough to afford their desired technique at a discounted price. They naturally seized the opportunity and joyfully began cultivation.
As for those who were considerably short on contribution points but could barely afford the technique with three years of effort, they started frantically taking on tasks to accumulate contribution points.
Finally, those who had little remaining contribution points and had no chance even with three years of effort resorted to borrowing or “get rich quick” schemes.
As the most renowned method of sudden wealth accumulation in the Cong Yun Sea, the upcoming fish gambling event at the end of the 16th year attracted several times more participants than usual.
The sky above the islands was densely packed with people who came to join the excitement.
Li Fan was naturally among them.
He vividly remembered that this time, the fish king was a white pomfret.
Although his contribution points were already sufficient, Li Fan wouldn’t let go of any opportunity for wealth growth.
Choosing his target, he placed his bet.
The observation period of twenty-seven days quickly passed.
Soon, the day when the lake water erupted towards the sky arrived, and the grand prize was born.
Most cultivators had bloodshot eyes, looking tense, not daring to make any unusual sounds, only staring intently at the countless fish struggling with each other in the lake below.
The final result surprised Li Fan.
The fish king this time was not the white pomfret he remembered.
Instead, it was a spirited swordfish covered in golden light.
“I won! I won! The grand prize! I won!”
Amid the murmurs and curses of the cultivators, a particularly excited howl stood out.
Looking in the direction of the sound, Li Fan saw a young cultivator with disheveled hair and tattered clothes, yet was incredibly excited, his face flushed.
“Grand prize! I won the grand prize!”
As if afraid that others wouldn’t know, he shouted frantically.
Ignoring many murderous gazes, the young cultivator laughed heartily, looking almost crazy.
“Damn, isn’t this Han Yi? Heard that he got swindled by some Foundation Establishment Grandmaster a few years ago and became extremely miserable. Unexpectedly, fortune has turned in his favor today, and he hit the jackpot!”
“What kind of dog shit luck is this!”
“How come I never get a chance like this? I just lost all the few hundred contribution points I had painstakingly saved up!”
“So many people this time, and the jackpot is winner takes all. It’s the end of the year, and they’re going to empty the usual prize pool…”
“Damn, the final reward is estimated to be at least a million contribution points or more!”
After a rough estimate, the gazes of the cultivators towards Han Yi changed.
Due to winning the jackpot, Han Yi, who had somewhat forgotten himself, finally noticed something amidst the increasing number of eyes fixed on him.
Under the many scrutinizing gazes, his expression became increasingly nervous.
Fortunately, the rules of fish gambling were still in place, and the safety of the winner was guaranteed under the public eye.
Otherwise, if it was so easy to kill and seize the jackpot, the number of cultivators participating in fish gambling would surely decrease over time.
It would be better to take advantage of the opportunity to promote the event widely, attracting even more cultivators in the future?
A destitute Foundation Establishment cultivator with no way out gambled desperately and received a complete change of fortunes.
From then on, they would ascend to the peak of life, with Nascent Soul and even Soul Transformation in sight.
What advertising slogan could be more attractive than this living example?
Under the exchanged glances of the fish gambling organizers, Han Yi was soon brought to the center of the crowd.
After some calculations, the organizers immediately transferred the huge reward of 1.56 million contribution points to Han Yi on the spot.
Upon receiving the reward, Han Yi’s expression lost his excitement and instead became confused, as if he couldn’t believe all of this was real.
His face still had a somewhat blank look.
And the greed that flowed from the eyes of those onlooker cultivators became more and more frightening.
To ensure the safety of this fortunate winner, the fish gambling organizers decided to personally escort Han Yi back to Ten Thousand Immortals Island.
Those cultivators who had lost all their money to Han Yi followed unwillingly.
Soon, under the crowd’s escort, Han Yi left the area.
Only the swordfish, still quietly digesting the spiritual energy of other competing fish, remained.
As well as Li Fan.
Watching the swordfish’s aura constantly strengthening, Li Fan couldn’t help but sink into deep thought.
“Why is the result of this life different from what I experienced?”
“Where was the variable?”
Li Fan, who lost the grand prize, didn’t feel too bothered.
Besides fish gambling, he had many other ways to earn a large number of contribution points.
The cause behind the different result was what truly interested him.
“Logically, except for the increase in participants, there shouldn’t be anything that could affect the result of the fish gambling.”
Li Fan stood still, pondering for a long time without getting a reliable answer.
He decided to use the secret technique “Divine Transformation Dao,” continuously replaying the scene of fish gambling in his mind.
Slowly, Li Fan saw something.
What Li Fan thought of as “no major variables” was from the perspective of a cultivator.
But from the perspective of the countless fish participating in the fish gambling, variables were everywhere.
Perhaps it was the change in water flow caused by some item casually discarded by a cultivator.
Or it might be a fish whose trajectory was altered due to being intimidated by the aura of a cultivator.
…
Because the fish were too weak, and the cultivators were too powerful.
Those who were weak could only be dragged by the waves of the powerful and be at the mercy of their every minor action.
Li Fan gained some insight.