The bizarre price fluctuations of Spirit Mist Grass had long since thrown Myriad Immortals Island into an uproar.
After a few inquiries, Li Fan understood the situation.
Just as expected, someone had set a trap, ruthlessly harvesting cultivators like He Zhenghao who had sought to profit from the chaos.
The destruction of the Spirit Mist Grass island was real. Once the news was confirmed, many had rushed to invest, hoping to make a killing.
What they didn't know was that the Myriad Immortals Alliance had recently discovered a grotto-heaven sealed away for a thousand years. It was said to be brimming with wood-attribute spiritual qi and overgrown with all manner of rare spiritual flora.
Spirit Mist Grass, in particular, was abundant; so plentiful that one could crush several plants underfoot with a single step.
This information had initially been known only to the upper echelons of the Alliance. The news was only suddenly released after the market players had already fought tooth and nail over Spirit Mist Grass. No wonder the price had plummeted so abruptly afterward.
It seems Fellow Daoist He has no hope of recouping his losses. Li Fan mused with a mix of amusement and pity. Still, this mastermind isn't playing fair.
Li Fan reviewed the transaction records within the Tianxuan Mirror.
Eminence Qingmu Huasheng was the individual who had first driven up the price of Spirit Mist Grass. Then, during the battle between the bulls and the bears, he had delivered the final, crushing blow, smashing the price into the ground.
An obvious insider who knew the truth all along. Li Fan thought with silent derision.
But when a Nascent Soul Eminence made a move, those who suffered losses likely lacked the courage to seek retribution. They could only swallow their bitterness and accept their misfortune.
Li Fan even darkly speculated that this Nascent Soul Eminence might have been the one to secretly destroy the Spirit Mist Grass island in the first place.
The market is truly treacherous. Li Fan shook his head.
Just as Li Fan was indulging in a bit of schadenfreude, a message arrived from He Zhenghao.
"Fellow Daoist, I have sold all the goods we retrieved from the Li World." He Zhenghao's voice sounded drained and utterly listless. "We obtained a total of 2342 contribution points. As we agreed, we will split them evenly."
Despite his devastating losses in this investment venture, He Zhenghao had not embezzled Li Fan's rightful share.
Receiving 1171 contribution points from He Zhenghao, plus the 125 he had left before, Li Fan's total now stood at 1,296 points. It was enough to get by for a little while.
After a moment's thought, Li Fan decided against going into seclusion immediately. Instead, he searched for information on Jiao Xiuyuan.
He'd heard this man could acquire large quantities of Form-Concealing Talismans from the Myriad Immortals Alliance's Talisman Hall, suggesting that he had significant connections.
This was a good opportunity to buy some spirit talismans and see if he could also pry some information about Sikong Yi from him.
Myriad Immortals Island was roughly divided into three concentric sections from its core to its outskirts.
The innermost core district housed the official buildings of the Myriad Immortals Alliance. This included structures like the Council Hall, the Martial Hall, the Medicine Hall, and the Talisman Hall.
The middle ring consisted of individual cave dwellings. With enough contribution points, one could purchase one of these, escaping the cramped quarters assigned by the Tianxuan Mirror.
These cave dwellings were fully equipped; anything achievable within the Tianxuan Mirror's space could be done there.
The outermost ring was a mix of commercial and residential districts.
The Dao Transmission Plaza and the Tianxuan Mirror were located at the border between this outer ring and the middle ring.
The residences here offered only basic shelter, with no spiritual qi amplification or connection to the Tianxuan Mirror. For proper cultivation, one still had to return to the Tianxuan Mirror's space.
As for the commercial district, it consisted of shops independently operated by various cultivators, separate from the Tianxuan Mirror's trading system.
The prices of goods in these shops were often lower than those in the Tianxuan Mirror, but the quality was unreliable.
Jiao Xiuyuan ran a shop here.
Following the information he had received from the Tianxuan Mirror, Li Fan arrived at the location.
He glanced up at the slightly crooked signboard that read “Thousand Li Hall” and walked inside.
The shop was small and cluttered with miscellaneous items piled all over the floor. A man's voice could faintly be heard.
"Listen, we're trading these ten Form-Concealing Talismans at the price we agreed on. I don't care how much the price has dropped now..."
"What? You're canceling the deal? You're not even taking the deposit back?"
Bang!
"Dammit! Another one! You think I’m so easy to mess with, huh?" A man with a stubbly beard and dark complexion slammed the table, roaring with frustration.
But almost immediately, his energy deflated, and he muttered under his breath, "It's over, it's over. I, Jiao Xiuyuan, never do business at a loss, but now I'm stuck with this huge batch of Form-Concealing Talismans..."
It was then that he noticed a customer had entered the shop.
He couldn't make out the person's features. Clearly, they were using a Form-Concealing Talisman.
He'd seen plenty of this sort before, so Jiao Xiuyuan wasn't particularly bothered.
"Looking for something? Arrays, talismans, artifacts, pills—we have everything. Bulk discounts available!" he called out lazily.
"How much for the Form-Concealing Talismans?" the person asked.
Jiao Xiuyuan's eyes immediately lit up, and he perked up.
"Ten contribution points each. How many do you want? If you’re taking more than ten, I'll give you twenty percent off. More than a hundred, and it's half price!"
Li Fan smiled. "Why would I need so many? Five or six is plenty."
He paused, then added, "Besides, your price isn't right. I bought one from the Tianxuan Mirror before coming here. A Form-Concealing Talisman that can block the scrutiny of a Golden Core cultivator only costs twenty points now. And you're selling these defective ones for that much?"
Jiao Xiuyuan's face twitched, and he quickly backtracked. "Eight points each, and that's as low as I can go. You have to understand, crafting talismans has its costs!"
"Fine, I'll take six." Li Fan didn't bother haggling further.
Afraid Li Fan might change his mind, Jiao Xiuyuan hurriedly produced six Form-Concealing Talismans.
"How would you like to pay?"
The Tianxuan Mirror didn't support anonymous transactions. A direct contribution point transfer would inevitably expose one's identity.
But Li Fan had come prepared.
"Spirit stones," he said, pulling five mid-grade spirit stones from his storage ring and handing them over.
Standard spirit stones were jointly produced by the Myriad Immortals Alliance and the Five Elders Council. They came in different grades and served as the cultivation world's legal currency, complete with unique anti-counterfeiting marks.
The exchange rate between top-grade, high-grade, mid-grade, and low-grade spirit stones was 1:10 with each drop in grade.
Within the Myriad Immortals Alliance, one low-grade spirit stone could be exchanged for one contribution point in the Tianxuan Mirror.
The five mid-grade spirit stones Li Fan handed over were thus equivalent to fifty contribution points.
"Keep the change." Li Fan stored the Form-Concealing Talismans and casually asked, "Do you take requests to investigate other cultivators?"
Jiao Xiuyuan immediately grew wary.
He studied Li Fan, thinking for a long moment before finally gritting his teeth. "I’ll take it. Why wouldn't I take it? My legitimate business is bleeding me dry. If I don't take on some private jobs, I won't be able to survive!
"What's their name and cultivation level?" Jiao Xiuyuan asked, his voice dropping to a whisper.
"Sikong Yi. Mid-stage Qi Refinement realm."