“Even Jiao Xiuyuan said so. It seems that obtaining these strategic resources from the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance through regular means is truly impossible,” Li Fan thought to himself.
He was well aware that rebuilding an entire floating immortal city was an immense project, and it was impossible to achieve without any losses. The city itself was like a massive, intricate machine, where missing a few key components might prevent the whole thing from functioning properly. Even if he could find a way to cover it up, those lurking in the shadows would likely report him.
So…
“Only the one who tied the bell can untie it,” Li Fan’s eyes narrowed.
Those behind this plot had targeted him for either revenge or profit. However, they surely didn’t want the situation to escalate to the point where it attracted the attention of higher authorities. The reconstruction of the Congyun Immortal City was a top priority for the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance, and no one could defy that order.
However, who handled the actual work was a matter that concerned Li Fan and his followers’ future prospects.
“The missing materials from the resource list must still be with Zhou Kebao and his group. Now, I need to figure out a way to make them cough it up,” Li Fan thought, activating his hidden killing intent as he fixed his gaze on Zhou Kebao.
—
In a dim room aboard the Dust-Crossing Boat.
“So, what did Tantai Can say?” Zhou Kebao asked urgently.
“The message was sent, but there was no response.”
“No reply at all.”
“It was outright rejected!”
Different voices spoke up immediately.
Zhou Kebao’s face flushed deep red with anger, almost as if he were about to explode. However, after trembling slightly, he managed to hold his tongue.
After a moment of silence, one of the figures across from him couldn’t help but ask, “What is Tantai Can up to?”
“Yeah, he was the one who incited us to act earlier. Why has he suddenly changed his mind and sided with Li Fan?”
“Enough! Stop arguing!” A deep, commanding voice suddenly interrupted the bickering.
The speaker seemed to hold considerable authority, as the other cultivators immediately fell silent when he spoke.
“From what I can see, it seems we’ve fallen into Tantai Can’s trap,” he analyzed calmly. “First, he used the tens of millions of contribution points on Li Fan as bait to lure us in. After we spent a fortune to clear the so-called ‘connections’ he provided, thinking we could force Li Fan into submission, he then turned around and betrayed us.”
Zhou Kebao slammed his hand down on the table. “That doesn’t make sense! What does Tantai Can stand to gain from this? We may not be able to compare to the Tantai clan, but united, we’re not easy to mess with either! Why would he deliberately make so many enemies?”
His words were met with nods of agreement, as everyone clearly struggled to understand Tantai Can’s actions.
“Maybe he doesn’t want to oppose us; maybe he’s trying to completely subdue us!” A figure suddenly interjected.
“I heard that not long ago, during the Samantabhadra True Leaf incident, Tantai Can was publicly criticized by the Immortal Lord Li Ruo. Recently, his status within the family has been very shaky. Some of his former advisors have even switched allegiance to other members of the Tantai clan.”
“Given that, he must be trying every possible way to secure his position. And so, he’s set his sights on us.”
The room fell into deep contemplation as everyone considered this new possibility.
“Indeed! Looking at it now, his plan has been quite successful. We’ve gotten ourselves into a situation where we can’t back down. Our plan to use the Congyun Immortal City’s reconstruction timeline to pressure Li Fan has clearly failed. Li Fan and Tantai Can are in league with each other, and the materials we’ve siphoned off probably aren’t something he’s lacking.”
“Dao Transmission Spirit Bones, Tianxuan Crystal Shards, Nether Transformation Ancient Wood…”
“These are items strictly prohibited for personal use. It’s fine if we hold onto them for a short time, but if we’re caught with them later…” Zhou Kebao shuddered.
“We’d like to sell them, but these materials have no use outside of city construction!”
“And aside from the Congyun Sea, where else is there a suspended city under construction?”
“That sly Tantai Can! It won’t be long before he comes knocking on our door to threaten us.”
“Ugh, that’s likely. After all, skimming construction materials and bribery are things that can’t be exposed.”
The more they discussed it, the more anxious everyone became.
Once again, the authoritative voice spoke up to calm the group.
“Don’t panic. The situation isn’t as bad as we’re imagining. This is all just speculation for now. We might be scaring ourselves over nothing.”
“Let’s do this: since we can’t get in touch with Tantai Can, let’s start by probing Li Fan. See if we can figure out what’s really going on.”
Zhou Kebao nodded upon hearing this.
“Even though this man is an ancient cultivator, he’s quite mysterious. Despite only being at the Golden Core stage, he’s stirred up quite the storm and gotten involved with many long-established Soul Transformation cultivators. We can’t take him lightly,” the person cautioned.
“Don’t worry, Daoist Long, I understand,” Zhou Kebao promised.
The light gradually dissipated, and Li Fan withdrew his gaze.
“So, just a disorganized rabble,” he chuckled to himself.
He began contemplating how to peel another layer off these people.
—
Zhou Kebao’s patience exceeded Li Fan’s expectations.
As the reconstruction of Congyun Immortal City proceeded in full force, and more than ten supporting cultivators from the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance headquarters had arrived, Zhou Kebao still hadn’t tested Li Fan.
He merely went about his daily routine, greeting Li Fan as if nothing were amiss.
If it weren’t for the clear records in the Dao Stone in his mind, Li Fan might have thought it was all an illusion.
But Li Fan’s patience was equally unyielding.
“No rush. I’ll play along for now,” he thought.
With over four months left before the deadline for the city’s completion, Li Fan could afford to wait.
Through Jiao Xiuyuan, he replenished the necessary materials, so the basic construction of the city proceeded without delay.
The primary buildings, such as the long-distance teleportation formation, the Tianxuan Mirror, and the Hall of Administration, would be constructed last.
And there was still enough material for at least one trial-and-error attempt.
So, Li Fan was in no hurry.
At the same time, he hadn’t forgotten the task given to him by Lord Jinglun: to build the Xuantian Nether-Lock Formation into the foundation of the city.
Li Fan’s skills in array formations had improved considerably, and he had even participated in the construction of the Tianxuan Spirit Locking Formation, giving him far greater insight than the average cultivator.
In the formation diagram of the ‘Xuantian Nether-Lock Formation’, he could clearly see traces of the Tianxuan Spirit Locking Formation’s design.
