The ground trembled more and more violently, to the point where it was nearly impossible to stand.
The vast Ten Thousand Immortal Island began to rise from the ground, slowly ascending towards the sky.
Some cultivators attempted to make a desperate escape, trying to break through the encirclement.
But they all met the same fate.
Anyone who left the Ten Thousand Immortal Island was immediately pierced and killed by beams of light descending from the sky.
Cries of alarm and agony from cultivators could be heard continuously.
The surrounding space seemed to be completely sealed off, and even the falling images of cultivators from the sky appeared strangely distorted, layered upon one another and squeezed into one place.
The fierce attacks from the Five Elders Association temporarily calmed down the cultivators who were panicking like headless flies.
They realized that as long as they stayed on the Ten Thousand Immortal Island, the Five Elders Association seemed to have no immediate intention to attack.
“Could it be that the Five Elders Association made such a grand display just to come after me?” Li Fan, witnessing the scene, couldn’t help but recall the earlier incident when several Nascent Soul cultivators came to capture him. This thought surfaced in his mind.
“That place is not easy to deal with. If I get captured and taken to the ‘Country of Truth,’ where lying is impossible, wouldn’t my secrets about traveling through time and the truth about my Identity be completely exposed?”
Li Fan had a clear understanding of his current strength; he knew he was not yet capable of resisting the principles of a Heavenly Sovereign.
“Should I use the truth…” A hint of hesitation flashed in Li Fan’s heart.
After pondering for a moment, Li Fan decided to wait and see for the time being.
After all, the situation had not yet deteriorated to the point where his life was in danger.
The originally flat horizon in the distance had now disappeared from view.
The entire Ten Thousand Immortal Island was floating in mid-air, and the faces of the cultivators from the Five Elders Association above were clearly visible.
At that moment, a commotion suddenly broke out on the island.
Unexpectedly, a large number of cultivators appeared out of nowhere.
There were so many of them that they seemed to overflow the Ten Thousand Immortal Island, making the island itself almost unable to accommodate them all.
A clamor arose from among them.
“What’s going on? Where is this place?”
“I remember I was meditating in the Tianxuan Mirror! How did I suddenly end up here?”
“Look! The Tianxuan Mirror has turned into a stone!”
Hearing their exclamations, Jiao Xiuyuan muttered under his breath, “This is bad. Even the Tianxuan Mirror has been stripped of its power. It seems we can’t count on these reinforcements anymore.”
Only then did Li Fan realize that these people were actually cultivators who had been meditating in the space within the Tianxuan Mirror on Ten Thousand Immortal Island.
Now that the island was about to be captured by the Five Elders Association, the Tianxuan Mirror, for its own safety, had canceled its so-called ‘empowerment.’
The wondrous sub-mirror on the island had been turned into an ordinary stone.
The cultivators who had awakened from their meditation looked at the overwhelming number of enemies and finally realized the precariousness of their situation.
“Fellow Daoists, I’ve heard that the Five Elders Association has something called a ‘Soul Contract.’ Once you sign it, your soul will be completely under their control. You’ll lose your freedom, and by then, living will be worse than death!”
“That’s right, they definitely want to capture us alive and force us to sign the Soul Contract!”
“If we’re going to be enslaved, we might as well risk everything in a fight. With so many of us, we might still have a slim chance of survival!”
After the initial shock, someone quickly rallied the others to break through the blockade of the Five Elders Association.
It is said that strength lies in numbers.
With the sudden addition of so many reinforcements, the cultivators of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance on the island grew bolder.
Soon, under the leadership of a few cultivators, they launched a desperate charge.
Li Fan, however, did not follow blindly. He pulled at the sleeve of Jiao Xiuyuan, who was darting his eyes around, and asked through voice transmission, “Daoist Jiao, is there any way to escape?”
Jiao Xiuyuan chuckled, held up his hand, and signaled with five fingers.
“Easy! Just fifty thousand contribution points, and I’ll transfer them to you right now!” Li Fan nodded.
Jiao Xiuyuan’s face darkened. “Is Master Li Fan’s life worth so little to you?”
“Five hundred thousand contribution points! And that’s because of our life-and-death friendship!”
Li Fan looked at Jiao Xiuyuan and smiled faintly.
He didn’t haggle with him and immediately made the transaction for five hundred thousand points.
“Brother, I’m not greedy for money. Fair is fair; even blood brothers have to settle accounts clearly.” Jiao Xiuyuan explained for himself.
Then he whispered, “Currently, the only possible way to escape from this Ten Thousand Immortal Island is through that ancient tree in the Qingfeng Hall.”
“Qingfeng Hall…” Li Fan’s eyes flickered.
In his 113th lifetime, he had once contacted Qingfeng Hall, a loan organization hidden on Ten Thousand Immortal Island, through He Zhenghao.
The ancient tree with a human face inside had left a deep impression on him.
The place where the ancient tree was located seemed to be a separate space.
Moreover, it could gather a significant amount of Spirit Mist Grass in an instant, indicating that, like the Tianxuan Mirror, it was connected to other spaces in the outside world.
“Thank you for the advice, Daoist Jiao!”
Li Fan cupped his hands in gratitude and was about to leave.
He suddenly thought of something and returned shortly after.
Li Fan stared closely at Jiao Xiuyuan, making him feel uncomfortable all over.
“Daoist Li Fan, why are you looking at me instead of running for your life?” Jiao Xiuyuan asked, feeling bewildered.
“Daoist Jiao, would you consider selling your current body?” Li Fan asked in a faint voice.
Jiao Xiuyuan was startled, and with a flicker, he widened the distance between himself and Li Fan.
“You…” Jiao Xiuyuan looked at Li Fan with disbelief, as if recognizing his true nature for the first time.
Ignoring Jiao Xiuyuan’s wild thoughts, Li Fan continued, “I’ve been awake for so long, and I’ve always stayed within the territory of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance.”
“Now, I have a basic understanding of the alliance as a whole, but I’ve never had the chance to see the Five Elders Association, which can rival the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance.”
“And the information about them within the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance is pitifully scarce. I’m really curious about the Five Elders Association.”
Li Fan’s gaze swept over Jiao Xiuyuan’s puppet body.
“My true body must escape, of course. But I’d like to take this opportunity to see the other side.”
“Daoist, is there any method that would allow me to temporarily control your puppet body?”
Li Fan asked slowly.
Jiao Xiuyuan finally understood Li Fan’s intentions.
After a moment of thought, he muttered in a low voice, “You should have said so earlier; you scared me.”
“As long as the price is right, it’s not impossible.”
Li Fan was overjoyed upon hearing this.
“Great! Name your price!”
Jiao Xiuyuan once again signaled with five fingers and, not giving Li Fan any room for misinterpretation, said, “This is my first time letting someone possess me!”
“Fifty thousand contribution points, no less!”
“Fifty thousand, it is. I, Li Fan, am not a stingy person.”