He Zhenghao was taken aback by Li Fan’s reaction.
Fortunately, he didn’t dwell on it and instead smiled warmly. “There’s no need to be so nervous. I just wanted to ask if you might be interested in serving as an island guardian.
“Not Liuli Island, of course, but Tai’an Island, west of here.
“The current guardian of Tai’an Island is a friend of mine. He’s reached a bottleneck in his cultivation and wishes to venture out in search of opportunities.
“However, his duties bind him to the island, preventing him from leaving without permission. So he asked me if I could recommend someone suitable for the job.
“And as luck would have it, I happened to meet you,” He Zhenghao explained.
“To guard an island, one must be at the Foundation Establishment realm at least, right? I’ve just entered the early-stage Qi Refinement realm; can I really serve as a guardian?” Li Fan asked, surprised.
Throughout the Congyun Sea, any island with valuable local resources was assigned a cultivator to guard it.
Guardianship terms could last anywhere from ten to a hundred years.
Since the role required staying on the island with little freedom of movement, the restrictions were significant, but so was the pay.
Depending on the island’s size and importance, guardians could earn several hundred to over a thousand contribution points annually.
As a result, island guardianship was a highly sought-after position, one that required connections to secure.
The most prosperous islands were especially competitive, often having their next guardians arranged well before the current ones stepped down.
“Of course, it wouldn’t be an official guardianship appointment. My friend would issue you a direct commission to stand in for him temporarily. Besides, Tai’an Island isn’t particularly large. With its island protection array in place, a Qi Refinement realm cultivator would be more than capable of overseeing it for a time. You needn’t worry,” He Zhenghao reassured him enthusiastically. “And as the one recommending you, I would naturally receive a share of the compensation as well.”
“How long can I be away from the island during the temporary guardianship?” Li Fan pressed.
“The island protection array is typically activated once every five days. If you need to leave for any reason, it’s best to return within five days. You shouldn’t be away more than three times in a year.”
Assuming Li Fan was concerned that this task would affect his cultivation, He Zhenghao added, “After receiving your annual contribution points, you can exchange them at the Tianxuan Mirror for five days in the Assisted Cultivation Mode. Those five days are often equivalent to half a year of ordinary practice.”
Recognizing this as an excellent opportunity, Li Fan agreed immediately, then added, “However, I’ll need to return to Myriad Immortals Island to complete my current mission task first.”
“Of course, please go ahead. I’ll accompany you to Tai’an Island in a few days,” He Zhenghao replied with a smile.
With that, Li Fan bid farewell to He Zhenghao and returned to Myriad Immortals Island.
There was no need to visit the Medicine Hall. He could simply submit the Liuli Pearls through the Tianxuan Mirror.
After a moment, the Medicine Hall confirmed receipt of the twenty-three Liuli Pearls.
Since the pearls varied in quality, Li Fan was awarded 21 contribution points as payment.
Current total contribution points: 26.
Too few. Only enough for two days of cultivation. Li Fan shook his head.
He took out the gold, silver, and Halt Stele Fragment from his storage ring and requested to convert them to contribution points.
A moment later, the Tianxuan Mirror delivered its assessment.
“Batch of gold and silver. Convertible to 235 contribution points.
“Curio of heaven and earth: Halt Stele Fragment. Quality: Flawed. Convertible to 1968 contribution points.”
Li Fan opened the Tianxuan Mirror’s redemption catalog to search for Curios of heaven and earth.
He discovered that intact Curios of heaven and earth cost at least 4000 contribution points.
The Tianxuan Mirror’s buyback price was literally half that.
What a rip-off!
Sure, it had some flaws, but that didn’t justify slashing the price in half.
Li Fan’s face twitched, but after a moment’s thought, he still chose to convert it.
The Tianxuan Mirror didn’t offer anonymous transactions. So to trade with other cultivators, one had to reveal their true identity.
But as a cultivator who had just stepped into the Qi Refinement realm, rashly producing a Foundation Establishment Curio would undoubtedly attract considerable attention. It would very likely bring unnecessary trouble.
Trading directly with the Tianxuan Mirror alleviated that worry.
The Myriad Immortals Alliance was vast, and the number of cultivators who stumbled upon fortuitous encounters was beyond counting.
A Qi Refinement cultivator possessing a Foundation Establishment Curio might be rare here in the Congyun Sea, but viewed against the entire cultivation world, it wasn’t such a big deal.
“Confirm.”
The gold, silver, and Halt Stele Fragment slowly vanished, and Li Fan’s contribution points reached 2229.
Li Fan didn’t immediately choose to splurge his newfound wealth. Instead, he first voiced his concerns to the Tianxuan Mirror.
“Will there be any disasters occurring soon in the Congyun Sea region?”
Li Fan recounted the various abnormal events Zhang Haobo had described to the Tianxuan Mirror.
The Tianxuan Mirror fell silent.
Only after a long while did it reply.
“Please do not worry, cultivator. These are normal fluctuations of heaven and earth. Calculations indicate no major disasters will occur within the next ten years.”
Since the Tianxuan Mirror said so, Li Fan set his mind at ease.
Afterward, he thought for a moment and searched for information on Liuli Pills.
Liuli Pills were a type of auxiliary pill used by cultivators at the Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment realms.
After consumption, a cultivator’s mind would turn clear and pure like glazed glass.[1]
They produced an effect similar to an epiphanic state, improving one’s comprehension of techniques and increasing one’s cultivation speed.
Furthermore, its effect could be stacked with the boost from Tianxuan Mirror’s Assisted Cultivation Mode.
Since the vast majority of cultivators in the Myriad Immortals Alliance spent most of their years traveling abroad to accumulate contribution points, their cultivation time was precious.
Thus, Liuli Pills, which could improve cultivation efficiency, became even more valuable.
Liuli Pills were highly sought after among Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment cultivators, with the price of a single pill fluctuating between five and six contribution points.
Li Fan did a quick check. The current price was six points per pill.
Liuli Fish have nearly vanished for unknown reasons, so the price of Liuli Pills is bound to soar. Li Fan pondered.
He then spent 2100 contribution points to purchase 350 Liuli Pills from the Tianxuan Mirror in one go.
Only then did he report the near disappearance of the Liuli Fish schools around Liuli Island to the Tianxuan Mirror.
The Tianxuan Mirror was silent for a moment, emitting only faint ripples of energy.
After a while, Li Fan received a reward of 1 contribution point.
This was the Tianxuan Mirror confirming the information’s validity.
Indeed, providing information to the Tianxuan Mirror was also a way to earn contribution points. The higher the value of the information, the greater the reward.
Logically speaking, the value of the information Li Fan provided was certainly worth more than 1 contribution point.
Perhaps the Tianxuan Mirror viewed Li Fan’s hoarding behavior as somewhat unscrupulous, hence it only granted him a single point.
Li Fan didn’t mind. His objectives for this maneuver had already been achieved.
First, it proved that the Tianxuan Mirror was unaware of events that occurred after he left Myriad Immortals Island. In other words, so long as he wasn’t on Myriad Immortals Island, there was no need to fear the Tianxuan Mirror’s prying eyes.
Second, it confirmed that the Tianxuan Mirror indeed possessed a will of its own. The obvious, deliberate pettiness of awarding him a single contribution point was a clear slight aimed at Li Fan.
Third, and most naturally, he could now seize this golden opportunity to turn a tidy profit.
The market’s reaction was swift. The price of Liuli Pills skyrocketed in a short time, soaring from six contribution points per pill to nine.
1. 琉璃(liúlí) primarily refers to a type of colored, translucent glass or crystal, often with a beautiful, shimmering quality. ☜