According to Zhou Qing'ang's memories, the territory under the Five Elders Council was divided into five great Celestial Domains, each governed by a different Heavenly Venerable.
Each Celestial Domain possessed distinct, vivid characteristics utterly unlike any other place.
His homeland was called the Land of Gentlemen.
It earned this name because everyone within its borders was incapable of telling a lie.
Of course, that was what the people of the Land of Gentlemen called themselves.
Cultivators from other regions of the Five Elders Council preferred to call it the Land of Truth.
Regardless of the name, it did not change its beautiful nature.
There, people were always honest with one another, constantly revealing their truest selves.
While conflicts and killings inevitably occurred from time to time, compared to the external world brimming with falsehoods, Zhou Qing'ang loved his homeland dearly.
To the north of the Land of Truth lay the dreamland for countless cultivators, the Paradise of No Troubles.
As for the other three domains, Zhou Qing'ang had been selected for spy training before he learned about them.
***
Before the evolving dreamscape shattered, Li Fan replayed the dream once more to ensure the accuracy of the information obtained.
He repeated this process three times.
After collecting some biological material from Zhou Qing'ang, Li Fan used it as a template to refine an avatar.
Several days later, a body identical to Zhou Qing'ang's appeared.
Li Fan gave a slight nod, then proceeded in the same manner, activating Arcana True Spirit Transformation to change his own appearance to match Zhou Qing'ang's.
A rather odd scene unfolded within the small, sealed chamber at the bottom of the sea: three bodies with completely identical features, yet each wearing a different expression.
"Marvelous, simply marvelous!"
Li Fan remarked with satisfaction.
Gazing at the still-unconscious Zhou Qing'ang, whose lips were curled in a faint smile, a strange light flickered in Li Fan's eyes.
I won't kill you in this lifetime, lest I leave any clues.
To be forever lost in an illusory dream... for you, that might not be such a bad fate.
Using materials found nearby, Li Fan fashioned a stone coffin for Zhou Qing'ang.
After placing him inside, he threw in a pile of spirit stones to sustain his vitality.
With the Cloudwater Dream Illusion at its core, Li Fan then set up an array capable of maintaining the illusion for at least twenty years.
He then sealed the coffin shut with a massive stone and buried it deep beneath the seabed.
This way, aside from me, no one in the world should ever discover your disappearance.
After meticulously covering his tracks, Li Fan's gaze seemed to pierce through the ocean floor, settling upon Zhou Qing'ang slumbering within the illusion.
His actions were inspired by the Eternal Immortal Wall.
When a cultivator of the Xuanhuang World died, heaven and earth would sense it, manifesting strange phenomena in the sky.
Li Fan had not yet mastered a method to prevent these phenomena from occurring. Yet for now, he could not allow anyone to discover that Zhou Qing'ang had been replaced.
Thus, this method was perfectly suitable for his needs.
Having completed all this, the avatar returned to Tai’an Island to continue serving as a guardian of the Myriad Immortals Alliance.
His true self set off towards the rendezvous point in Zhou Qing'ang's memories to meet his handler.
Zhou Qing'ang actually knew very little about his own handler, as contact had always been largely one-way.
Furthermore, the meeting location would change after every rendezvous.
Li Fan arrived at a deserted island, searched it, and indeed found an ordinary-looking stone with a few inconspicuous small holes at specific positions. These holes represented certain coordinates in the Congyun Sea.
Based on the coordinates, Li Fan determined the location for their rendezvous. Then, he crushed the stone and flew directly towards the destination.
One day later, within an underwater ruin, Li Fan found the target: a seemingly ordinary fragmented slab of stone.
Li Fan placed both hands on it and activated a secret technique. Instantly, his palms began emitting a yellow light.
Simultaneously, the same pale yellow glow surged from within the stone fragment, swiftly scanning Li Fan's entire body.
The verification was a success, and the light retreated back into the stone.
Not long after, the surface of the stone fragment became smooth as a mirror. A blurred image of a human face appeared within it.
"What's going on? Didn't I tell you to lay low and not make contact for now?" The other party's tone was icy.
Li Fan imitated Zhou Qing'ang's tone: "Boss! I have important intelligence to report this time, that's why I'm breaking protocol to contact you!"
"Important intelligence?" The other side was clearly skeptical, their tone unfriendly. "Let's hear it."
Li Fan lowered his voice, leaning closer. "A Fellow Daoist I've befriended claims he can get his hands on the exam papers for this Myriad Immortals Alliance entrance recruitment examination."
The face was first stunned, then immediately cursed. "Another swindler? You believe something so outrageous? And you specifically reported it to me? Zhou Qing'ang, oh Zhou Qing'ang, have you been in Congyun Sea so long that your brain's filled with seawater?"
Li Fan immediately put on an expression of great grievance. "Boss, this time it's as true as it gets! I guarantee it!"
Seeing Li Fan's earnest demeanor, the face grew somewhat hesitant. "Explain."
Li Fan said, "This Fellow Daoist of mine... has connections on the inside! As I reported to you before, I got acquainted with He Zhenghao, the guardian of Liuli Island. This man, like me, is at the Foundation Establishment realm.
“Not long ago, he was complaining to me about how hard it is to accumulate contribution points, saying he didn't know how long it would take to switch techniques. Who would have thought, after not seeing him for a few days, he had already switched to a Nascent Soul technique!"
Li Fan narrated with exaggerated emphasis. "Such an anomaly naturally caught my attention. After great effort, I finally found out..."
The stone-face was now somewhat drawn in by Li Fan's story. Seeing him suddenly pause for dramatic effect, it immediately scolded, "Out with it!"
Li Fan chuckled. "This He Zhenghao is no simple man! On the surface, he's just an utterly ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator. In reality, his background is terrifying! He has a daughter named He Xinxin. Hmph, though in truth, she should be called Heng Xinxin!
“The Heng Family of Tianyu Province in the Myriad Immortals Alliance—have you heard of them, Boss? Heng Ruoshui, the treasured daughter of the Heng Family, a young Nascent Soul technique weaver master... she's actually He Zhenghao's old flame! Who would believe that if you told them? But it's actually true!
“It seems that because He Zhenghao's cultivation level was too low in the past, he was forced to cut ties with the Heng Family. So he lived quite poorly. But recently, it seems things have taken a turn."
Li Fan paused, glanced at the face, and continued. "He Xinxin has come of age. She knew how pitifully her old father was living and couldn't bear it. But if she helped him openly, she was afraid her family would find out.
"So she had to find another way, quietly passing along information she'd overheard to He Zhenghao.
"Thanks to his daughter's help, He Zhenghao completely turned his fortunes around!"
Li Fan's tone was excited, tinged with envy. "He learned in advance that the price of Stygian Obsidian was about to skyrocket, so he went all in, staking everything he had to buy up as much as he could.
"When the price doubled, he sold it all immediately.
"That one transaction netted him over a hundred thousand contribution points!
"A hundred thousand, boss! That's more funding than I'd get in years!
"He Zhenghao was afraid word would get out and endanger his daughter. So he cooked up some nonsense about being guided by an ancient Heavenly Mechanisms Sect cultivator and spread that story everywhere.
"Pah! He really thinks we're fools!
"Luckily, I was clever. I pestered him relentlessly, wore him down, and finally pried the truth out of him."
Li Fan wore a look of smug satisfaction, as though waiting for the praise to roll in.
"The source of the leaked exam questions was also He Xinxin.
"Boss, how solid does this sound?"
The figure on the stone fragment didn't get angry this time. It remained silent, as if checking something.
A long time passed before the face's voice came through again.
"Heng Ruoshui does indeed have a daughter, though the father's identity has always been a mystery.
"But many years ago, she once returned home accompanied by a young man. Not long after, that young man vanished without a trace.
"Let me see what he looked like... it really is He Zhenghao!"
The face was shocked.
"And just before the Stygian Obsidian price spike, unusual trading records appeared. Someone was buying it up in huge quantities, then selling at the peak.
"The timing was just too perfect. It's hard to believe they didn't have insider information."
"The buyer... was also He Zhenghao!"
A loud noise, like a heavy fist slamming a table, came from the face's side.
"So, the Myriad Immortals Alliance’s entrance exam questions... they might very well be real?"
The other party's breathing grew noticeably quicker.
Li Fan nodded vigorously. "That's why I rushed to find you, boss! You know the entrance exam is happening soon.
"If we can get the questions in advance before then, we can plant more of our people in key positions within the Myriad Immortals Alliance!"
The face clearly understood the gravity of the situation and hurriedly asked, "What did he say?"
At this, Li Fan suddenly became hesitant.
He stammered, "Boss, the price He Zhenghao is asking this time is a bit... high..."
The face snapped angrily, "Just say it! It's just some spirit stones. How can they compare to the entrance exam questions?"
Li Fan held out his hand, indicating a number. "He wants this much."
"Five hundred thousand contribution points? That's not impossible—" the face began, but before it could finish, Li Fan quickly shook his head, cutting him off.
"No. Five million."
The face froze.
"Five million? Is he insane?!" Its voice trembled slightly.
But quickly, the face regained its composure.
The face suddenly darkened, its voice laced with a thread of killing intent. "Have you been exposed?!
"Faced with an individual, and only a Foundation Establishment cultivator at that, he would never quote such an outrageous price.
"Unless... he already knows that an organization is standing behind you."
The image on the stone fragment flickered, dim one moment and bright the next, as if it might vanish at any second.
The face stared intently at Li Fan, awaiting his reply.
Li Fan responded with a touch of exasperation. "Boss, in your mind, am I really that unprofessional?
"I just told him that I, too, have backing.
"Anyone who manages to get a post in the Myriad Immortals Alliance has connections of some sort.
"Rest assured, Boss. Even if He Zhenghao has his suspicions, he would never leap to the conclusion that I'm a spy.
"In truth, He Zhenghao is just casting a wide net. He knows the risks of selling the entrance exam questions, so he only does one-off deals.
"A single transaction with one party, and with a strict limit: no more than ten people can use the procured questions to take the entrance exam..."
As the face listened to Li Fan's explanation, it gradually relaxed.
The image grew bright and clear once more. The face pondered for a moment, then said, "Five hundred thousand contribution points per person... The cost is a bit high, but still acceptable.
"However, it is a significant sum. If this He Zhenghao provides counterfeit questions..."
Li Fan waved off the concern. "He Zhenghao said that since the entrance exam lasts seven days, he can provide us with the first day's questions for free. Once we verify their authenticity, we proceed with the final transaction."
Hearing this, the face couldn't help but feel a sudden thrill of anticipation.