Chapter 574: A Flourishing Age Breeds A Hundred Vermin
Though the Myriad Immortals Alliance officially downplayed the battle's progress and outcome, its subsequent flurry of actions told a different story.
Freshly issued offensive orders were urgently rescinded. Instructions went out to every province to hold their defenses and resist infiltration by the Five Elders Council. No province was to initiate hostilities rashly; the primary task of the current phase was defense.
Conscription orders from the frontlines to the various provinces grew increasingly frequent.
"Decrees changing by the hour—what a ramshackle operation held together with spit and prayers!"
The entire operational doctrine had flipped overnight, and every Alliance cultivator felt the sting of it. Yet cowed by the Alliance's overwhelming authority, none dared voice their complaints openly. They vented they bitter frustrations in private gatherings instead.
The progress of war does not bend to the will of man.
It was a shift from what had seemed like overwhelming advantage to a grinding stalemate.
And the setbacks on the battlefield were matched by turmoil within.
At Myriad Immortals Alliance headquarters, word spread that many high-ranking cultivators had been dismissed and subjected to investigation. Even veteran Dao Unity cultivators with deep backgrounds and long tenures had not been spared.
The reasons, however, remained unknown to all.
Even those who were eventually released—some visibly weakened, bearing signs of torment—refused to speak of what had happened, no matter how they were pressed. This only fed the rampant speculation and unease. After all, no one wanted to be the next one quietly taken away for questioning.
Li Fan knew the truth. The Myriad Immortals Alliance was hunting for a traitor who did not exist.
No matter how hard they searched, how could they ever suspect that the one who had leaked the Xuantian Spirit-Sealing Array diagram was an insignificant Golden Core cultivator from the remote Congyun Sea who had never so much as laid eyes on it?
The investigation was doomed from the start. It would probably be closed eventually with a few unlucky souls tortured into false confessions.
And Li Fan would simply add a few more innocent names to his list of casualties.
Having pieced together the war's general course over the past year, he turned his attention to the many messages He Zhenghao had sent to "Zhou Qing'ang."
Most were inquiries or urgings about when he would emerge from seclusion. They had come frequently at first. Later, whether from giving up or some other reason, they grew sparse.
"The Secretary-Envoy is in deep seclusion, and you, Fellow Daoist Zhou, are no different. I can't reach a single person.
"And now look at the mess we're in. Everyone's following your lead—smashing their communication spirit talismans one by one and claiming they've entered seclusion.
"At this rate, our Congyun City Administration Hall won't be able to scrape together ten people actually doing their jobs. What am I supposed to tell the Secretary-Envoy when he gets back?"
Li Fan read He Zhenghao's grievances and gave a cold snort.
So you still remember I'm the Secretary-Envoy?
He saw no point in wasting energy on a dead man walking. With a thought, he cleared all messages from the spirit talisman, then left his seclusion chamber and stepped silently into the Administration Hall's main room.
"Brother Gao, the Pill Quality Inspector position in the Alchemy Hall just opened up. Someone offered me fifty thousand contribution points for it. What do you think?"
"Too low. Eighty thousand, at minimum."
"Fair enough. The Martial Drill Squad Leader post in the Martial Hall went for a full hundred and thirty thousand not long ago, so this time..."
He Zhenghao's voice died in his throat upon noticing someone new in the room.
He stared at "Zhou Qing'ang," his face going rigid, momentarily lost for words.
Gao Yuan, by contrast, only narrowed his eyes slightly. There was not a single trace of panic at being caught. He smiled warmly and greeted "Zhou Qing'ang" as though there was nothing unusual whatsoever. "Fellow Daoist Zhou, it's been far too long! You've arrived just in time to help us think this through!"
He spoke with easy familiarity and took Zhou Qing'ang by the arm, then laid out the whole scheme without reservation—every detail of how the two of them had been selling vacant official positions throughout Congyun City. When he finished, he looked at Li Fan with open expectation.
The move dissolved the awkward situation in a single stroke, bridged the distance created by Zhou Qing'ang's long absence, and drew him into the scheme all at once.
Even Li Fan, who had navigated bureaucratic circles for centuries, had to inwardly concede it was masterfully done.
A faint, knowing smile touched his lips as he surveyed the two men. He had no intention of playing the righteous figure, furious and ready to denounce them.
Instead, he pretended to consider the matter, then slammed his hand on the table.
"Eighty thousand contribution points? Still too low! Set it at one hundred and sixty thousand. Tell them to take it or leave it!"
Neither man had expected Zhou Qing'ang's appetite to exceed their own, let alone double the price in a single breath.
He Zhenghao was struck dumb.
After a moment, he recovered, and offered a helpless smile. "Fellow Daoist Zhou, you've just come out of seclusion, so you may not have a feel for the current market.
"Eighty thousand is already the absolute ceiling for the Pill Quality Inspector position. We're not the only ones in the Congyun Sea region selling posts like this. People choose us precisely because our prices are low. It's a stepping stone for them.
"Doubling it outright..."
He shook his head. "With that kind of money, why wouldn't they go to Luoyan Province or somewhere more prosperous?"
Gao Yuan nodded in agreement.
Li Fan looked at the two of them with cold amusement, his gaze contemptuous. "Not familiar with the situation? Do you honestly think that because I've been in seclusion, I'm blind to what's happening outside? As far as I can see, it's the two of you who don't understand the situation."
"Zhou Qing'ang's" manner was nothing like his usual self.
Zhou Qing'ang was a measured man. He did not make groundless claims.
Could it be...
Gao Yuan and He Zhenghao exchanged a glance, eyes wide with shock and doubt. As the saying goes, a clear conscience fears no knocking at the door. This single, simple sentence had thoroughly spooked them.
He Zhenghao leaned forward and asked carefully, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, what do you mean by that?"
"Zhou Qing'ang" said nothing, only casting Gao Yuan a sidelong, dismissive look.
Irritation flashed in Gao Yuan's eyes, but he quickly suppressed it. He forced a smile and settled into an attentive posture.
Only then did Li Fan speak. "The war in Tianling Province is nearing its end. The fighting is about to cease. Your little business of buying and selling official positions, a trade that only flourishes under the chaos and lax oversight of wartime, will soon be over."
Genuine astonishment spread across both their faces. This time, it was not an act.
After a brief silence, disbelief surfaced in their eyes.
"There hasn't been so much as a whisper of this," He Zhenghao said. "How did you come by this, Fellow Daoist Zhou?"
"We don't doubt you," Gao Yuan added carefully, "but this concerns the Immortal Alliance itself. You must not make such a claim lightly."
"How did I find out?" Zhou Qing'ang gave them a cold, sidelong look. "The Secretary-Envoy himself sent word and told me."