“Fellow Daoist Li, please proceed!”
The square-faced cultivator stepped forward, speaking to Li Fan in a deep tone.
Earlier, when Li Fan had eavesdropped on this group discussing their plans, he had overheard from Zhou Kebao that this man’s surname was Long.
In their group, he seemed to naturally hold a leadership position.
Furthermore, on the contract that Zhou Kebao had signed, only one person with the surname Long had left his name.
Thus, Li Fan was able to determine the identity of the cultivator before him.
Long Yueyou.
The surname Long was not exactly common.
Back when he was in Tianquan Prefecture, Li Fan had heard of the famed Long Clan at the Heavenly Pole Institute of the Extreme Heaven Sovereign.
Even though most of them held basic positions, when united, they were a force not to be underestimated.
Whether Long Yueyou was connected to that Long clan was still unclear to Li Fan.
This thought flashed through his mind, but Li Fan pretended not to recognize Long Yueyou and asked, “And who might this be?”
Long Yueyou gave a slight, proud smile but did not speak. Instead, one of his followers quickly introduced him to Li Fan.
Just as Li Fan had guessed.
“An honor! Truly an honor!” Li Fan clasped his hands in greeting, feigning surprise.
Internally, however, Li Fan’s evaluation of Long Yueyou had already dropped by a few notches.
Long Yueyou nodded as a response.
Li Fan didn’t mind and, surrounded by cultivators, followed Zhou Kebao as they flew into the suspended city in the sky.
The protective formation had not been activated, allowing free movement throughout the city.
This was the first time Li Fan had an overhead view of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance’s Immortal city.
The perspective was different, lending a unique flavor to the experience.
Zhou Kebao began explaining the various facilities within the city to Li Fan.
Li Fan could see that this Immortal city’s cave estate was indeed almost identical to the usual city layouts of the Immortal Alliance.
After a tour of each building, Li Fan nodded in satisfaction.
When the time seemed right, Zhou Kebao took out a seven-colored command token and handed it over.
“This is the control hub for this cave estate. Just refine it with your blood, and you’ll be able to control the city’s formations at will.”
“In addition to the standard functions that every Immortal city has, we added special features based on your requirements, such as long-distance teleportation, illusion mirages, and the virtual mustard seed storage function.”
“Of course, you can also distribute certain control permissions of the cave estate to other cultivators.”
…
Zhou Kebao diligently showcased the strengths of this Immortal city cave estate to Li Fan and even offered helpful reminders.
“Long-distance teleportation requires a lot of energy. Besides premium spirit stones, you’ll need resources like [Void Splitting Sand] and [Fixed Orbit Mystical Crystal], which are rare and quite expensive in the market. If you need, you can get them from us at a reasonable price.” Zhou Kebao whispered, causing a round of chuckles from the cultivators around.
“By the way, there’s something important to note. Long-distance teleportation requires precise spatial coordinates of the destination. Otherwise, minor location errors are manageable, but if it sends you into endless void, that would be a problem.” Zhou Kebao added gravely.
Li Fan nodded in acknowledgment.
“Lastly, the self-destruction function you specifically requested.” Zhou Kebao’s tone grew slightly tense.
“We put in a lot of effort to accommodate this request.”
“During the city’s construction, we embedded special materials capable of triggering [Silent Obliteration Thunder].”
“Additionally, since this Immortal city cave estate was crafted using the artifact refinement method, it has a self-destruct feature for offensive purposes.”
Zhou Kebao paused.
“Our calculations show that if this cave estate were to explode suddenly, even a Dao Integration cultivator would be severely injured without precautions.”
At these words, the surroundings fell silent.
All the cultivators present, including Long Yueyou, glanced at Li Fan with strange expressions.
However, none asked further.
After all, as Li Fan himself had said, he had been ambushed by a spy from the Five Elders Association and possessed significant wealth. Carrying such a powerful weapon for self-defense was quite reasonable.
Whatever Li Fan’s true intentions, as long as they sold the Immortal city to him and received their contribution points, it was enough.
At most, they would avoid crossing paths with him unnecessarily in the future.
This was the shared thought among Zhou Kebao and the others.
The cultivators, amidst awkward laughter, let the matter pass without further discussion.
Once Li Fan completed the contribution point transaction, he refined the seven-colored control token of the cave estate in front of everyone.
Looking down at the vast city below, he felt an empowering sense of control.
Simultaneously, the methods of activating various functions surfaced in his mind.
With a thought, the Immortal city cave estate transformed into a small bead of light and entered Li Fan’s dantian.
“What a treasure!”
Li Fan clapped, clearly impressed.
“If you ever need anything else, you’re always welcome.”
“As long as you have enough contribution points, anything is possible,” Zhou Kebao replied with a big smile.
“Then I’ll surely have to trouble you all often!” Li Fan said, glancing around with a smile, drawing a round of laughter.
After a few more polite exchanges, Li Fan took his leave, using the nearing completion of Congyun City as an excuse for his busy schedule.
“This man is truly daring; if avoidable, best not to make an enemy of him.” Long Yueyou said, watching Li Fan’s fading figure.
“Indeed, no ordinary cultivator would carry such a terrifying weapon. If he ever loses his mind and detonates it in a Immortal city somewhere…”
“Tsk, tsk…”
“Ancient cultivators are unpredictable. If he really had anything against our Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance, then it would be strange.”
“Anyway, we got our contribution points, and it’s none of our business,” they all joked and laughed.
—
At Congyun Sea.
Li Fan inspected the Immortal city cave estate resting peacefully in his dantian, feeling much more secure.
With this destructive power for self-defense, along with the [Ten Thousand Essence Blood] in the [Truth] bonded space, Li Fan felt confident that he now had enough power to deter even Dao Integration cultivators.
As for Zhou Kebao and the others, whether they’d left any hidden triggers in the estate didn’t bother Li Fan.
After all, its fate was already sealed.
Before his identity as “Li Fan, an ancient Heavenly mechanism’s Sect cultivator” disappeared, this cave estate would shine one last, brilliant display within the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance’s territory.
Different future scenarios flashed in his mind, and he let out a cold smile.
Settling his thoughts, Li Fan then headed back to the Dust Crossing Boat, requesting to see the Lord Diyi Jinglun before the official Congyun City foundation ceremony.
“Young Master Jinglun, after months of hard work, the Alliance mission is complete. I’ve also carried out the tasks you assigned.”
“You see…”
Li Fan spoke tactfully, confident that the perceptive Diyi Jinglun would understand the meaning behind his words.
Frowning as he reviewed the glowing, shifting documents on his desk, the Diyi Jinglun didn’t even look up.
“Don’t worry, the Alliance never shortchanges those who contribute.”
“The appropriate reward has been decided. Originally, I intended to announce it at the foundation ceremony, but since you’re in such a hurry, take a look.”
Diyi Jinglun tapped the desk lightly, and a beam of light shot towards Li Fan.
Unable to dodge, the light entered his body, and an announcement appeared in his mind.
“This is to commend Li Fan, Acting Island Lord of Congyun Island, for his diligence and exceptional efforts in supervising the construction of Congyun City.”
“We hereby promote him to the position of [Secret Envoy] of Congyun City’s Administrative Hall, with full authority over all governmental affairs in the absence of the Island Lord.”
“In addition, we award him a contribution of 100,000 points and an A-rank superior merit.”
…
“Heh, ‘the Alliance never shortchanges those who contribute’—I’ve heard that one before.”
“But the reward for this mission truly lives up to those words.”
Li Fan thought to himself.
Upon carefully reviewing the order from the Administrative Hall, he found that his upcoming position as a [Secret Envoy] granted substantial authority.
In reality, within the actual operations of regional governance, many matters were ultimately decided by these Secret Envoys of the Bureau of Governance. Only special events that reached a certain level required approval from the City Lord of the Immortal City.
After all, in a single state, there are countless minor affairs, and if the City Lord had to personally address everything, no matter how trivial, even several clones might not suffice to manage it all. Moreover, the City Lords of the various Immortal Cities are often at the Soul Transformation level of cultivation.
At this level, who wouldn’t aspire to go further and achieve Dao Integration?
One must understand that once one steps into the realm of Dao Integration, their status becomes entirely different from that of a Soul Transformation cultivator.
In a smaller sense, one would become the true ruler of a single state; on a larger scale, they could be transferred to the core of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, reaching the center of power in the near future.
Therefore, they must ensure ample time for cultivation.
As an aide to the City Lord, the Secret Envoy helps shoulder the burden of handling administrative matters. Generally, a single state will have three to five Secret Envoys.
However, the situation in Congyun Sea is unique.
The upper echelon has been temporarily reassigned elsewhere by a single command, while almost all of the mid- and lower-level cultivators were captured in a single sweep by the Five Elders Association.
To expedite the operations of the newly rebuilt Congyun City, the Bureau of Governance headquarters has, for the time being, appointed only one Secret Envoy, while also granting Li Fan extensive authority.
He now has the right to recommend candidates for one-third of the vacant positions. As for the remaining posts, they will soon be filled by cultivators transferred from other states.
“With both Immortal Lords Hongxi and Ziyun of the Soul Transformation stage absent, it can be said that I am solely in charge of Congyun City.”
“These past few months of relentless effort were well worth it,” Li Fan thought, his face revealing excitement.
“Thank you, Young Master, for your support! From now on, I shall serve you with unwavering loyalty, repaying your kindness!”
Li Fan vowed with conviction.