After placating Xiao Heng, Li Fan hurriedly went to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.
Yin Yuzhen was a bit surprised by Li Fan's sudden arrival.
After listening to Li Fan's reason for coming over, Yin Yuzhen explained the ins and outs of the matter with a resentful expression.
It turned out that after several months of inquiries, the various forces on Liuli Island finally figured out that the Starry Sea Quicksand Liuli Island was actually meteorite iron from the sky.
But when they wanted to collect the meteorite iron, they found that the Starry Sea Quicksand in the area of Liuli Island had already been plundered by the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.
And the previous chaos in the market on Liuli Island was caused by the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's manipulations.
"Heavenly Treasure Pavilion is making a fool of everyone!" In shame and anger, they went to the Immortal Master of Liuli Island to seek an explanation.
Naturally, Yin Yuzhen eloquently defended herself, stating that her actions were justified business competition.
The master of Liuli Island also believed that although Yin Yuzhen's approach was a bit excessive, the competition for the quota of the Pure Body Spirit Pool was based on individual abilities. As long as they could collect the materials needed by the immortals in the end, even if the means were slightly out of line, it was acceptable.
So the island master did not punish the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion but instead reprimanded those who caused trouble.
How could these people willingly accept this?
So a few days later, there were rumors on the island that the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion was secretly involved in smuggling businesses for mortals.
And as the rumors spread, it seemed like the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion would be questioned and wiped out by the immortals tomorrow.
"So, how serious is this matter? Will the immortals really blame us?" Li Fan, after understanding the whole story, couldn't help but ask.
"This is the tricky part of this matter," Yin Yuzhen frowned, "If the punishment is unknown, then the threat is immeasurable. Smuggling mortals was never explicitly prohibited. But this matter is somewhat taboo and should not see the light."
"Moreover, more than a decade ago, a certain immortal happened to witness the act of smuggling, and in his anger, he killed all the mortals present."
"Since then, everyone has tacitly engaged in this smuggling business secretly."
Li Fan listened and furrowed his brows slightly, "So you mean, this matter can be big or small. How it is handled depends on the mood of the immortals?"
"That's right. If the immortals don't take it too seriously, then there's no problem. If the immortals are in a bad mood, then..." Yin Yuzhen didn't finish her words, but her face turned a little pale.
Li Fan fell into silence.
He thought of the scene when he first met Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi.
In the eyes of these immortals, mortals were like ants and could be killed at will.
"I'd rather take the risk of being beheaded than give up this smuggling business. I think the profits involved in this must be extremely high." Li Fan sighed.
"That's for sure. The cost of a single stowaway requires a small world to scavenge for nearly a decade to fulfill. You can imagine how much profit is involved." Yin Yuzhen nodded. "Precisely because of this, some immortals can't help but secretly join in and take a share of the profit in the end."
"These immortals will never admit that they are involved in these things. When they come into contact with us, they use immortal techniques to conceal their appearance. And in the end, they take away most of the profits." Speaking of this, Yin Yuzhen was also a bit helpless. "So, we have to deal with this matter on our own in the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion."
Li Fan thought of the immortal who guided them into the immortal realm when he first entered the immortal world and nodded.
"So, what is the temperament of the immortal stationed on Liuli Island? What is his attitude towards this matter?" Li Fan asked again.
"Master He Zhenghao of Liuli Island is usually reclusive, and I haven't seen him much. So I can't be sure about his attitude. But judging from his previous ways of dealing with mundane matters, he is not a softhearted person." Yin Yuzhen said in a deep voice.
After analyzing it in his mind, Li Fan sighed in the end.
Li Fan knew that even if he had many schemes, in the face of absolute power disparity, everything was in vain.
Regarding this kind of time bomb-like unstable factor, Li Fan had no solution.
Li Fan was reminded of the large amount of Immortal-Mortal Mist stored in a certain cabin of the Tai Yan Boat.
"If we were in the Land of Immortal Extinction, with thousands of elite warriors, perhaps we could still put up a fight. But alas..." Li Fan quickly suppressed this dangerous idea.
"Let's set a time and meet. This matter should not be stirred up too much." Li Fan spoke.
"Yes, that's what I think too," Yin Yuzhen said.
"They just want us to hand over some Starry Sea Quicksand. Since we have the advantage and have collected enough, we can throw out a portion of it and let them fight amongst themselves. They will surely start fighting each other soon." Li Fan snorted. "There's no unbreakable alliance in this world."
...
Three days later, the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion met with the various forces on Liuli Island and made the following demands:
The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion agreed to hand over a portion of the Starry Sea Quicksand but required the other party to provide equivalent value in goods for the exchange.
At the same time, how the Starry Sea Quicksand would be divided among the families would be decided by each family themselves.
Lastly, it must be ensured that the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion would receive one quota for the Pure Body Spirit Pool.
These conditions were not too demanding, so after some discussion, the two sides quickly reached a reconciliation.
After all, the two sides did not have deep-seated hatred. It was just for the sake of contending for the quota of the Pure Body Spirit Pool.
Thus, after paying the price of dozens of meteorites, the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion successfully extricated itself from this chaotic vortex.
Almost on the same day, the rumors about smuggling on the island disappeared without a trace.
And the other forces, in order to obtain those dozens of meteorites, began to openly and secretly vie with each other, no longer paying attention to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.
Time flew, and the day when the Pure Body Spirit Pool would open was approaching.
After the tally of the materials provided by each family, the quotas for this Pure Body Spirit Pool were finally determined.
There were a total of thirteen quotas for this entry into the pool, and the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion had secured one.
With the major issues settled, Li Fan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
He only awaited the opening of the Spirit Pool, where he would be able to remove the miasma from his body and officially step onto the path of cultivation! This day, he had been waiting for far too long.
So, even with Li Fan's calm demeanor, he was starting to feel a bit excited.
Name: Li Fan
Realm: Mortal
Physical Age: 42/99
Mental Age: 505/1299↑
Virtualization Charging Progress: 121%
Anchor Charging Progress: 51%
Current Anchor Points: 1
Bound Items: "Jade Cosmos Thousand Variations Sutra," Tai Yan Boat, Stone Tablet of Prohibition (Damaged) Li Fan looked at the interface provided by [Truth]. After two years of cultivation, his physical age's limit had reached 99 years, with no sign of further increase.
As for the limit of his mental age, due to his continuous cultivation of the Cleansing Heart Mantra, it was still slowly increasing.
He wondered what changes would occur after the baptism of the Pure Body Spirit Pool?
Li Fan was looking forward to it.
The day of the Pure Body Spirit Pool opening finally arrived. On this day, guided by a servant, Li Fan ingested the Body Cleansing Pill given to him by Yin Yuzhen and entered the central array of Liuli Island.