As soon as Jiao Xiuyuan heard that the target was only at the mid Qi Condensation stage, he immediately relaxed.
He eagerly said, "Rest assured, it's just a minor cultivator at the Qi Condensation stage. I guarantee to thoroughly investigate his life for you. About the price..."
Li Fan smiled, "Just a minor cultivator at the Qi Condensation stage, I believe it shouldn't be too expensive."
Jiao Xiuyuan wished to slap himself, reluctantly saying, "In this line of work, there's always some risk. How about this price?"
He showed a gesture of eight with his hand.
"Forty contribution points, not a point more," Li Fan shook his head.
"Oh, you're really haggling hard! How about 60 points? Or else, it will be another loss-making deal!" Jiao Xiuyuan exclaimed in distress.
Li Fan turned to leave.
"Wait, wait!" Jiao Xiuyuan hurriedly stopped Li Fan.
"Fifty points, that's the lowest I can go," he said with a pained expression.
Li Fan stopped then.
"First, give me ten contribution points as a deposit," Jiao Xiuyuan said, handing a Communication Talisman to Li Fan. "Once there are results, I will notify you through this talisman."
Li Fan accepted the talisman and handed over a middle-grade spirit stone to Jiao Xiuyuan.
Not in a hurry to leave, Li Fan began to inspect other items being sold in the room.
Seeing a potential big client, Jiao Xiuyuan became even more enthusiastic.
"What else would you like?"
"Do you have any cultivation techniques for sale? Preferably escape techniques, or something similar to the effect of a Concealing Form Talisman?" Li Fan asked.
Jiao Xiuyuan's expression froze.
"Heh, are you playing a joke on me? How about you look at other items? How about this Illusion Array Diagram? It's definitely a top-tier item. Once activated, it can trap a Qi Condensation stage cultivator for a day."
"This Frost Sword isn't bad either, suitable for ambushes..."
"Oh, please don't go!"
...
Exiting Thousand-Mile Hall, Li Fan returned to the Tianxuan Mirror.
He planned to cultivate the "Netherworld Spirit Illusion Technique" to the late stages of Qi Condensation first.
Once the Azure Flame Illusionary Spirit completely stabilized, he could release it for combat.
With the auxiliary cultivation mode activated, Li Fan once again entered seclusion.
...
One month later, in the eastern Dongfang Yanjing Island in the Cong Yun Sea.
In the depths of the sea, Li Fan concealed his aura and followed a group of Flame Sharks.
There were over a dozen Flame Sharks in this group, currently surrounding a solitary Crimsonback Whale.
The Crimsonback Whale was massive, and it usually fed on the seabed Fire Crystals, with skin as tough as rock.
The Flame Sharks had sharp teeth, swift movements, and coordinated attacks.
Although they couldn't inflict significant damage on the Crimsonback Whale for now, they were slowly wearing down its vitality.
The Crimsonback Whale made a few attempts to break through the blockade of the Flame Sharks but without success.
Gradually, its resistance became weaker.
Li Fan watched this scene and knew it was time.
The Azure Flame Illusionary Spirit manifested.
Then it turned into a thin blue light, swiftly passing through each of the over a dozen Flame Sharks and the Crimsonback Whale.
After a moment, Li Fan returned to his sea of consciousness.
The Flame Sharks and Crimsonback Whales suddenly stopped moving.
Then, a cold breath surged from within them, freezing them from the inside out.
In an instant, peculiar ice sculptures appeared on the seabed.
Their expressions and postures seemed lifelike, but they had long lost the breath of life.
"The power of the Azure Flame Illusionary Spirit is indeed remarkable."
"Most of these sea beasts are equivalent to the Qi Condensation stage and have tough skin and flesh. Conventional methods will fail to hurt them. After launching a spiritual attack with the Azure Flame Illusionary Spirit, they are as defenseless as lambs waiting to be slaughtered, without any resistance." Li Fan nodded, satisfied with the initial test of the Illusionary Spirit's destructive power.
Not long ago, after spending more than twenty days, he finally succeeded in breaking through the "Netherworld Spirit Illusion Technique" to the late stage of Qi Condensation.
To test the power of the Illusionary Spirit and earn some contribution points, he undertook the task of "hunting Flame Sharks to obtain their beast cores."
Each beast core earned 5 contribution points, totaling around 60 points. In addition to the materials from the Crimsonback Whale, this task could yield more than eighty contribution points in total.
It was better than nothing.
In the past, he used to gain contribution points in the thousands, so this meager amount couldn't really stir any emotions in Li Fan.
As Li Fan was thinking this, he was preparing to harvest the beast cores of the Flame Sharks.
Suddenly, he felt a tremendously massive figure approaching from the deep sea below.
Li Fan's face changed, and without caring about the nearby beast cores, he quickly retreated.
A dark brown, ferocious-looking sea monster with irregular protrusions on its forehead that seemed like a mix between a dragon and a fish, emerged suddenly from the shadows of the sea floor.
Its huge mouth opened and swallowed a dozen or so Flame Sharks along with the Crimsonback Whale in one gulp!
Its body swayed, and the giant monster swam in a circle before swimming towards a certain direction.
Li Fan, who had barely avoided the giant monster, hadn't reacted yet and watched helplessly as his prey was stolen right before his eyes.
Could he endure this?
Rage surged within Li Fan.
But soon, the Venerable Heart Refinement Mantra circulated, calming him down a bit.
Wait a minute, could this giant monster be the same one that destroyed the island where the Spirit Mist Grass was planted?
It seemed to dawn on him, and Li Fan was stunned.
Before accepting the task of hunting Crimsonback Whales, Li Fan had seen another reward task.
Because this task was somewhat related to Li Fan, he carefully examined it.
It turned out that the group of people who had previously hyped up the Spirit Mist Grass had almost all suffered heavy losses, some losing their entire fortunes.
Frustration and resentment surged within them, making it impossible for them to concentrate on cultivation.
However, they didn't dare to provoke Greenwood Rebirth True Immortal and the Ten Thousand Immortals League. Thus, they could only vent their anger on the mysterious beast that had destroyed the island where the Spirit Mist Grass was planted.
According to witnesses, the attacker was a dragonwhale. It was roughly at the Qi Condensation stage.
The island's guardian was also a Qi Condensation cultivator.
However, the dragonwhale was massive, and the guardian's attacks were like tickles, having no effect at all.
The dragonwhale completely ignored the guardian, broke through the island's protective array, and rampaged on the island, consuming most of the Spirit Mist Grass.
After this, the Golden Core cultivators from the Ten Thousand Immortals League arrived late.
The dragonwhale, after being struck by a blow from a Golden Core cultivator, surprisingly didn't die. It was heavily injured and fled back into the deep sea.
The Cong Yun Sea was vast, and despite their efforts, these people couldn't find the dragonwhale even after searching for more than ten days.
Helpless, each of them contributed the little they had left and jointly issued a reward task.
Those who killed the dragonwhale would receive two thousand contribution points.
Because this dragonwhale was beyond the Qi Condensation cultivators' capabilities, Li Fan, a mere Qi Condensation cultivator, naturally didn't take this task before.
But...
The situation was different now!