Amidst the rising wails from outside, Jiao Xiuyuan accepted the contribution points and spoke to Li Fan in a low, serious tone.
"Focus your spirit and calm your mind. Split off a strand of your divine sense and send it to my hand."
As he spoke, a fresh branch extended from his palm. A single leaf rested upon it.
Li Fan split off a strand of his consciousness and sent it flying toward the branch.
As it drew close, the lone leaf seemed to tug faintly at it. Then his consciousness plunged in, uncontrollably.
His vision slowly cleared. A moment later, Li Fan felt as though he had gained a third body, separate from both his true self and his avatar.
Fortunately, he possessed the Unity of Dao Transformation and Mind and had long since grown accustomed to running multiple threads of consciousness at once. Otherwise, the adjustment might have been genuinely difficult.
The experience of controlling the puppet body wasn't vastly different from manipulating his avatar. Yet he could clearly perceive the gap between his consciousness and this physical form. The connection lacked the seamlessness of his avatar; it felt less like another body of his and more like piloting one.
"The transaction is complete. This body is yours to handle as you see fit, Fellow Daoist. You can even destroy it if you wish. Just don't deliberately do anything... distasteful with it.
"One more thing. If the puppet body is damaged, a forced destruction protocol activates to prevent the attached consciousness from being captured. You may experience some shock to your soul at that point."
Jiao Xiuyuan's voice echoed in his mind, then grew fainter and fainter until it faded entirely.
The strand of consciousness set about familiarizing itself with the puppet body while Li Fan's true self raced toward the location of Breeze Hall.
By now, the Heaven-Shifting, Earth-Swapping Array had hauled the entire Myriad Immortals Island to a position directly before the massive purple gate in the sky, and the teleportation array was steadily devouring it, drawing the island into the territory of the Five Elders Council.
The cultivators who had earlier tried to break free by sheer numbers had been utterly annihilated. Taught a bloody lesson, the survivors slumped to the ground in despair and resignation, awaiting whatever unknown fate lay ahead.
Li Fan walked directly into the unremarkable shopfront of Breeze Hall.
The interior was empty and deserted, with no trace of the slovenly old man. Li Fan called out several times and received no answer.
He considered for a moment, then retrieved a pile of top-grade spirit stones from his storage ring and placed them on the floor.
"Will this be enough to purchase a path to safety?" he called out, testing the waters.
A long silence followed.
Li Fan added another pile to the first. Together they approached nearly a million contribution points in total value.
This time, Breeze Hall finally reacted. A ripple of green light shimmered in the air and coalesced into a familiar green door.
A flicker of understanding passed through Li Fan's mind. He stepped through.
His vision blurred. The next moment, he stood within the same space he had visited before. The ancient tree Jiao Xiuyuan had mentioned rose directly before him, though the human face was gone from its bark now, leaving it looking no different from any ordinary tree.
Just as Li Fan was about to inquire, a clear, crisp woman's voice rang out.
"You are certainly generous, Fellow Daoist.
"A'Liu, since you've accepted his payment, help him leave this place."
"Understood, Miss." A human face emerged abruptly on the ancient tree's bark. It glanced at Li Fan and spoke in a muffled voice. "Please enter, Sir."
The ancient tree opened its massive maw, revealing a passage within.
"My thanks, young lady!" Without hesitation, Li Fan cupped his hands toward the direction of the voice and stepped into the opening in the trunk.
His figure vanished. The tree's mouth closed, restoring its ordinary appearance.
"Miss..."
"Haha. Ancient cultivators truly have an interesting way of speaking."
A silvery, bell-like laugh drifted through the air. The ancient tree's branches trembled slightly in response.
***
The sensation was identical to riding a long-distance teleportation array. The surroundings shifted from darkness to a riot of shimmering colors, then finally to a field of pure light.
Once Li Fan had adjusted to the physical discomfort, he surveyed his surroundings.
It looked like he was still inside Breeze Hall. Yet, one or two other cultivators moved through the space, and the sounds of an unhurried, bustling marketplace drifted in from the distance. Together, these details made it unmistakably clear that he was no longer within the Congyun Sea.
After making a few discreet inquiries, Li Fan confirmed his location. He had arrived deep within the territory of the Myriad Immortals Alliance, in Xuanwei Province, adjacent to Tianyun Province.
News of Myriad Immortals Island's fall did not appear to have reached this place yet. For now, Li Fan turned his attention back to his puppet body on the island.
Amidst the despairing wails of the Myriad Immortals Alliance cultivators, the island was finally swallowed whole by the violet teleportation array. A long period of darkness followed. When the sky brightened once more, an exceedingly peculiar scene met every eye.
It had been daytime just moments before. Now, after passing through that violet portal into the territory of the Five Elders Council, it was night.
There was no moon. Instead, countless brilliant stars glittered across the sky, vying with one another in brightness. Rivers of starlight flowed in sweeping bands, mesmerizing to behold. It was a sight of breathtaking beauty.
Nearly nine out of ten people present had never witnessed such a starry spectacle in their entire lives. They stood captivated, minds lost to the view. The incessant weeping and wailing on Myriad Immortals Island ceased all at once, replaced by a deathly silence.
"Esteemed members of the Myriad Immortals Alliance, welcome to the Celestial Realm of Man's Dao."
A middle-aged cultivator in white robes flew above the crowd and spoke in a clear, carrying voice.
"I understand you may harbor deep misunderstandings about our Five Elders Council. But that is alright. It won't be long before those misconceptions are dispelled. By then, I believe you will all make the correct choice—to abandon the darkness, embrace the light, and join the Five Elders Council."
The white-robed cultivator smiled as he spoke.
Seeing that the Five Elders Council did not appear as vicious as the rumors suggested, the crowd exhaled a collective breath of relief. Yet not one of them believed a word of his talk about "misunderstandings."
"First, I must ask you all to leave this island."
At his words, a squad of burly, powerfully-built cultivators flew out. They carried sharp blades, wore heavy armor, and carried themselves more like soldiers than cultivators. From their auras, each one possessed Nascent Soul cultivation.
The expressions of every Myriad Immortals Alliance cultivator present shifted. Not daring to resist, they allowed themselves to be escorted from Myriad Immortals Island under the soldiers' watchful eyes.
They don't seem to be after me. Their target appears to be Myriad Immortals Island itself. Strange. What could be so special about this place?
Hidden among the crowd, Li Fan watched as the white-robed cultivator flew toward the heart of the island, his expression grave. Dozens more cultivators, each radiating formidable auras, appeared in sequence and followed him in.
Then explosive, thunderous roars shook the air. Structures across the island collapsed one after another into rubble and dust.
They were searching for something.