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Without explaining too much to Xiao Heng and reassuring him, Li Fan hurried to Tianbao Tower.
Yin Yuzhen was somewhat surprised by Li Fan's sudden arrival.
After listening to the reason for Li Fan's visit, Yin Yuzhen explained the entire situation with a look of anger.
It turned out that after several months of investigation, the various forces on Jade Island finally discovered that Star Sea Sand was actually Heavenly Meteoric Iron.
However, when they tried to gather the meteoric iron, they found that all the Star Sea Sand within the range of the Jade Island's sea had already been completely scavenged by Tianbao Tower.
The chaos in the Jade Island market was also due to Tianbao Tower's covert machinations.
"Tianbao Tower is treating everyone like monkeys!" In their humiliation and anger, they went to the Jade Island's lord to seek an explanation.
Yin Yuzhen naturally defended himself with righteous indignation, claiming that his actions were legitimate business competition.
The lord of Jade Island also believed that although Yin Yuzhen's methods were a bit extreme, the competition for the Purifying Spirit Pool slots was based on individual capabilities. As long as the required materials for the Immortal Master could be gathered in the end, even if the methods were slightly out of bounds, it was still acceptable.
Therefore, the lord did not punish Tianbao Tower but instead reprimanded those who caused the disturbance.
How could these people be content?
A few days later, rumors began to spread on the island that Tianbao Tower was secretly doing human smuggling.
The rumors became more and more exaggerated, suggesting that Tianbao Tower would soon be punished by the Immortal Master and wiped out entirely.
"So, how serious is this matter? Will the Immortal Master really blame us?" After understanding the situation, Li Fan couldn't help but ask.
"This is the tricky part of the matter." Yin Yuzhen frowned. "The law is unpredictable, and its power is immeasurable. There has never been an explicit ban on helping humans smuggle, but it is still a taboo and cannot be done openly."
"Moreover, over a decade ago, an Immortal Master happened to witness a smuggling incident and, in a fit of anger, killed all the humans involved."
"Since then, everyone has tacitly agreed to do this smuggling business quietly."
After listening, Li Fan also frowned. "So, this matter can be big or small, depending entirely on the Immortal Master's mood?"
"That's right. If the Immortal Master doesn't care too much, then there's nothing to worry about. But if the Immortal Master is in a bad mood, then..." Yin Yuzhen didn't finish his sentence, but his face turned pale.
Li Fan fell silent.
He recalled the scene when he first met Kou Hong and Daoxuanzi.
In the eyes of these cultivators, humans were like ants, to be killed at will.
"To risk decapitation and still engage in this smuggling business, the profits must be extremely high," Li Fan sighed.
"That's true. The cost of one smuggling operation often requires a small world to be plundered for nearly ten years. You can imagine how much profit there is," Yin Yuzhen nodded. "That's why some Immortal Masters can't resist and secretly join in to get a share."
"These Immortal Masters will never admit their involvement. When they interact with us, they use divine techniques to conceal their appearances and take the majority of the profits," Yin Yuzhen said, somewhat helplessly. "So, we have to handle this matter ourselves."
Li Fan recalled the Immortal Master he met when he first entered the cultivation world and nodded.
"Then, what is the character of the Immortal Master stationed on Jade Island? What is his attitude towards this matter?" Li Fan asked next.
"The Immortal Master of Jade Island rarely shows himself, and I haven't seen him many times. So, I can't be sure of his attitude. However, from his past handling of mundane matters, he is not a soft-hearted person," Yin Yuzhen said solemnly.
After analyzing the situation, Li Fan finally sighed.
Li Fan knew that no matter how many schemes he had, they were all futile in the face of an absolute power disparity.
For such a ticking time bomb, Li Fan had no solution.
Li Fan suddenly remembered the large amount of Mortal Immortal Miasma stored in one of the cabins of the Great Derivation Boat.
"If in the Great Xuan, there were thousands of Death Warriors, perhaps we could have a chance. Unfortunately..."
But he quickly suppressed this dangerous thought.
"Let's set a time to meet. This matter shouldn't be allowed to escalate too much," Li Fan said.
"Yes, I agree," Yin Yuzhen replied.
"They just want us to hand over some Star Sea Sand. Since we have the advantage and have gathered enough, we might as well give up a part of it and let them fight among themselves. There is no unbreakable alliance in this world," Li Fan coldly snorted.
...
Three days later, Tianbao Tower met with the various forces on Jade Island and proposed the following terms:
Tianbao Tower agreed to hand over some Star Sea Sand but required the other party to provide equal value in exchange.
At the same time, the specific distribution of the Star Sea Sand would be decided by each party.
Finally, Tianbao Tower must be guaranteed one slot in the Purifying Spirit Pool.
The terms were not too harsh, so after some discussion, both sides quickly reached an agreement.
After all, there was no deep-seated enmity between them; they were just competing for slots in the Purifying Spirit Pool.
Thus, Tianbao Tower, at the cost of dozens of meteoric iron pieces, successfully extricated itself from the chaotic situation.
Almost immediately, the rumors about smuggling on the island disappeared without a trace.
The other forces, in their competition for the dozens of meteoric iron pieces, were too busy to pay attention to Tianbao Tower.
Time passed quickly, and the day for the opening of the Purifying Spirit Pool was approaching.
After the final tally of the materials submitted by each party, the slots for the Purifying Spirit Pool were finally determined.
There were a total of thirteen slots, and Tianbao Tower had one of them.
With the major issue settled, Li Fan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
He just had to wait for the opening of the Spirit Pool, and Li Fan could rid himself of the miasma and officially embark on the path of cultivation! This day had been a long time coming.
Even with Li Fan's composure, he couldn't help but feel excited.
Name: Li Fan
Realm: Mortal
Biological Age: 42/99
Mental Age: 505/1299↑
Virtualization Recharge Progress: 121%
Anchor Recharge Progress: 51%
Current Anchor Count: 1
Bound Items: Thousand Mechanisms Jade Ring Golden Chapter, Great Derivation Boat, Halt Stele (Damaged)
Li Fan looked at the panel of [Zhenxian]. After two years of transformation, his biological age had reached the 99-year limit and showed no signs of further growth.
His mental age, however, continued to grow slowly due to his daily practice of the Mystic Yellow Purifying Heart Spell.
What changes would occur after the baptism of the Spirit Pool? Li Fan was looking forward to it.
The day of the Spirit Pool's opening finally arrived. On this day, Li Fan took the Dust-Departing Pill given by Yin Yuzhen and, under the guidance of a specialist, entered the central array on Jade Island.
(End of Chapter)