Chapter 524: Chapter 496 Li Fan Thinks of a Solution

Li Fan’s eyes involuntarily narrowed.

Upon seeing the drastic discrepancy between the list of supplies delivered by Zhou Kebao and what was originally ordered, Li Fan momentarily quelled his anger and decided to take a cooler approach.

The list had been subtly adjusted, leading to a fifty percent discrepancy in quantity.

This simply implied that the actual list contained significantly more items than the one in his hands.

Although there were inevitably some behaviors of corruption and private benefit within the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals, at the very least, everyone knew to maintain a semblance of integrity on the surface.

However, this blatant act of deceit was borderline insanity!

While handling a project as large as rebuilding the Immortal City, Zhou Kebao audaciously cheated him, Li Fan, who was currently serving as the acting Island Master. Moreover, the quantity of materials consumed was remarkable.

There was only one explanation – the group conspiring against him in the shadows was targeting him, Li Fan.

Indeed, his ascension to the role of acting Island Master might have followed due process.

However, that didn’t prevent opportunists from exploiting this news to launch their schemes against him.

Perhaps they were after Li Fan, or perhaps they were after the vast amount of contribution points he had acquired.

So far in this world, Li Fan hadn’t intentionally disguised his various actions, be it profiteering from the Universal Leisure True Leaf or accumulating other cultivators’ contribution points for reinvestment.

Apart from his deal with the Empire, all of his transactions were transparent and traceable.

One did not have to be overly meticulous, even a rough estimation would leave one astonished by the sheer amount of contribution points Li Fan currently possessed.

Greed often led to conflicts, and it was hardly surprising that Li Fan was being targeted.

Furthermore, there was also the factor of resentment.

Dan Taixian, who had suffered losses during Li Fan’s speculation in the Universal Leisure True Leaf, might also be instigating chaos in this process.

Usually, one proceeds after careful planning. With thoughts racing through his mind, Li Fan once again scanned the list in his hands.

After a short while, he gave a slight nod and carefully kept the list again.

Then, with a seemingly casual tone, he asked: “Brother Zhou, do you have anything else to hand over apart from this list?”

“No, no.” Zhou Kebao replied with a bright smile, shaking his head repeatedly.

Upon seeing this, Li Fan let out a cold snort in his mind.

However, he did not pursue the matter further for the time being, but merely cupped his hands and said, “Rebuilding the Immortal City is a serious affair. It involves various aspects and is extremely complicated. I need a good think about how to proceed.”

Li Fan seemed to ponder for a while.

He then said, “Let’s do it like this. I’ll prepare first. On the day we officially start, I will contact you, brother Zhou!”

Zhou Kebao slapped his chest, agreeing readily, “Of course! If there’s anything you need, Master Li, just say it. I will do my utmost to cooperate and do my best to complete the task assigned by Prince Jinglun.”

Li Fan didn’t respond, he only looked at Zhou Kebao with cold eyes for a moment.

Then, he swiveled his cloak and flew off the Dustcrosser Boat hovering in the sky.

Watching Li Fan’s disappearing back, Zhou Kebao gradually retracted his smile of triumph, his eyes filled with disdain and mockery.

“Let’s see how you deal with this situation in half a year…” he snorted coldly, took out a Communication Talisman, and reported everything to an unknown contact.

Zhou Kebao, who thought he had Li Fan securely in his grasp, couldn’t have imagined that every move he made was tracked by Li Fan through the “Heavenly-Earthly View” of the Formless Killing Machine.

“As expected, there’s something fishy…”

“It appears that I can’t rely on the support from Jinglun for now. If I want to rebuild the Immortal City, I must primarily use the people I have control over…”

Upon returning to Bodhisattva Island, Li Fan, seeing Tianyang, who was immobile and watching over the children at leisure, felt somewhat relieved.

“With Tianyang, who has achieved the God Transformation phase, watching over everything, at least those minor villains can be kept at bay. So far, there seem to be no major issues.”

“However, this is not enough…”

Li Fan took out a glowing jade token carved with the symbol “万”. It was the Island Owner’s Token which had been handed over to him along with the acting Island Master’s appointment letter.

Besides serving as a symbol of the Island Master, its most important function was to allow him to check and contact all the cultivators within his jurisdiction through it.

A vast network of relationships instantly surfaced in Li Fan’s spiritual consciousness.

Naturally, he, Li Fan, was at the top.

Below him, according to various departments, entries were listed under Array Strategy Hall, Martial Arts Battle Hall, Tiantong Hall, Island Guard, external personnel of various departments, and so on.

Each entry represented a cultivator.

Focusing on a single entry allowed one to see brief information about the corresponding cultivator and establish a direct contact with them.

“The actual number of cultivators affiliated with Misthaven Sea is surprisingly large…”

Li Fan couldn’t help but marvel.

Besides the usual positions, there were also some unusual and unheard-of posts.

Such as the representative collecting feedback from the Misthaven Sea cultivators, the liaison officer for Misthaven Sea, and Leyline Custodian, among others.

Face after face emerged one after another.

Among these people, many were familiar to Li Fan. Initially, he had only viewed them as ordinary cultivators; he hadn’t realized they also held the status of affiliated cultivators.

The entries representing the majority of the cultivators had become dim, indicating that these cultivators had either perished or were presently uncontactable.

However, the number of remaining active cultivators was still quite impressive.

“Looks like the main workforce for rebuilding the Immortal City will have to be selected from amongst these cultivators.”

“However, there’s a wide range of talent among the cultivators, and I have only a passing acquaintance with them. How can I select the right candidate?”

With furrowed brows, Li Fan eliminated from consideration the cultivators who had been captured by the Five Elders Organization.

He then began carefully reviewing the remaining cultivators’ information.

Suddenly, his gaze lingered on one of the cultivators.

“Eh, this is…”

An idea instantly struck Li Fan.

—————–

In a secluded Cave Mansion within Misthaven Sea, that was unknown to the rest of the world.

Gao Yuan, who was in closed-door cultivation, woke up with a start from a nightmare.

The day the Five Elders Organization launched a sudden attack on Misthaven Sea, forcibly abducting Ten Thousand Immortals Island, led to the deaths of hundreds of cultivators.

Fortunately, Gao Yuan was out for official business that day, and he had managed to narrowly escape the calamity.

However, the horrific scene he had witnessed from afar had been deeply ingrained in his memory, evolving into his heart demon.

“I can’t believe the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals is so incompetent. They couldn’t even prevent an entire Immortal City from being abducted, and they did nothing in response.”

“Instead, they sealed off Misthaven Sea and vented their anger on us.”

“I slaved away at the gates of the Governance Hall for decades…”

“Maybe I should defect to the Five Elders Organization…”

Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Gao Yuan couldn’t help but think such thoughts.

Just at that moment, the Communication Talisman, which he believed would never light up again, suddenly glowed.

Gao Yuan’s heartbeat ramped up. He panicked, thinking that the authorities had discovered his thoughts of betrayal.

However, when he nervously picked up the Communication Talisman and carefully inspected it, an inexplicable expression appeared on his face.

“Acting Island Master, Li Fan?”