Before [Qing] could speak, the Oracle swung his dust whisk.

The sky darkened, and a talisman filled with golden characters appeared instantly above the island.

It blotted out the sky and the sun, as if it was about to suppress everyone in the Empire the next moment.

Qing's expression changed drastically. Two blue beams of light shot up into the sky like sharp blades.

They collided with the massive talisman.

The golden talisman was torn apart, revealing the sky once again.

However, the golden characters on the talisman didn't disappear.

Instead, they floated down, drifting towards the ground.

Blades of light continuously emerged from Qing's body.

One by one, the characters were dispelled.

It was clear that both sides were extremely restrained in their exchange.

The phenomena they triggered were confined to the area around the island, not affecting bystanders like Li Fan, Li Chenfeng, and others in the slightest.

After a moment, when Qing had fully suppressed the Oracle's golden talisman,

She forced down her anger and was about to question his intentions.

But she noticed that the mysterious person who had cast the talisman had already spoken something to Li Fan and left on his own.

Qing narrowed her eyes slightly but did not stop him.

She watched as Li Fan approached boldly.

"What does your Federation of All World's mean by this?"

Only then did Qing ask coldly.

Li Fan shrugged. "We mean no harm. But since we're going to cooperate, it's only natural to test your strength and see if you're worth it."

"Fortunately, you've barely gained recognition from above."

Qing snorted coldly, staring at Li Fan.

Li Fan remained unfazed, smiling as he said, "The Federation has agreed to your previous proposal for cooperation."

"We'll help the Empire accelerate its plan to break away from the Xuanhuang Realm, but in return, you need to allocate some of your forces to join the Federation."

"However..."

Li Fan paused slightly. "Considering the current situation of both sides, the organization believes that we can gradually implement the cooperation plan."

"How do you plan to proceed gradually?" Qing's tone softened.

Li Fan tossed a storage ring over. Qing caught it and, after checking it, was taken aback.

Inside were all sorts of resources the Empire needed.

Green Spirit Crystals, Ten Thousand Flower Jade Silk, Arm of Profound sage...

Although the quantities were small, each type was present.

Having been away from the Xuanhuang Realm for thousands of years, she didn't know the current market prices.

But Qing also knew that the value of the materials in this storage ring was certainly not insignificant.

So, her expression gradually softened.

"This is the first batch of supplies."

"The quantities you require are enormous. To avoid attracting attention from the forces of the Xuanhuang Realm, we're only purchasing them in small batches."

Li Fan explained.

Qing found the explanation reasonable and nodded slowly.

"At the same time, we're also looking for a future foothold for the Empire's branch."

"Both safety and secrecy must be absolutely guaranteed. In the current Xuanhuang Realm, such a place is hard to find. So, it will take some time."

Li Fan continued.

"To alleviate your concerns and demonstrate the organization's sincerity, these materials are provided to the Empire for free."

"Around a year from now, when the next batch of materials is procured, I'll come back."

"But by then, the Federation of All Worlds, hopes to see the Empire's attitude."

"Then we'll discuss the next steps of our cooperation."

Li Fan cupped his hands, and without waiting for Qing's response, he left directly.

"Saint Master..."

Li Chenfeng looked at Qing, wanting to speak but hesitating.

Qing frowned and carefully examined the storage ring again. After finding no tricks, she cautiously put it away.

"For now, it seems their intention to cooperate is quite sincere."

"He wasn't wrong; we can gradually start cooperating. First, exchange some of the less important technologies with them."

"If anything goes wrong, we can stop the losses in time."

Qing said to Li Chenfeng and the others.

"I need to return and discuss this further with the Imperial Princess and Hong."

What she didn't say was that, for some reason, she always felt there was something strange about the messenger from the Federation.

It seemed far more complicated than it appeared on the surface.

Ten Thousand Immortal Island.

After thanking the Oracle again, Li Fan, as usual, began searching for information in the Tianxuan Mirror.

The results of the entrance exam had been gradually announced, with some rejoicing and others lamenting.

There was still considerable controversy over some of the positions' selections.

However, the disputes quickly disappeared.

In the southwest sea of Congyun sea, a storm ravaged the area, causing the disappearance of more than a dozen mortal islands.

The price of the specialty product, Bixuan Dew, saw a slight fluctuation. Li Fan bought low and sold high, making a small profit.

In Taihua Prefecture, one of the ten veins of the Taihua Mountain, the Taixu Mountain Range suddenly collapsed for unknown reasons.

When Li Fan skimmed over this piece of information, his gaze sharpened slightly.

"Hmm? The ten veins of Taihua Mountain? I remember in previous lives there were only nine veins of Taihua."

"It seems the casualties this time were quite severe."

Li Fan pondered but didn't delve deeper.

He simply marked it as a priority and continued browsing other important news.

Afterward, Li Fan separately searched for the latest information on "Old Fisherman," "Martial Madman," "Zhong Shentong," and "Shuo feng."

The Old Fisherman was still wandering near the central four prefectures of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance.

Martial Madman and Zhong Shentong had not yet made a name for themselves.

Shuofeng had not yet restarted his cultivation, still renowned as a Nascent Soul True Lord.

Li Fan, based on his experiences from previous lives, speculated on the likely timing of their encounters with opportunities.

...

A month later, Li Fan woke up from his seclusion.

Feeling that the time was right, he directly transferred 500,000 contribution points to He Zhenghao.

"This time, I was lucky. I quickly sensed the opportunity and completed the goal early."

Li Fan spoke lazily.

A moment later, He Zhenghao's voice, filled with ecstatic surprise, came through.

"Senior's divine abilities are truly incredible!"

"Heh. The sect's secret technique still carries unavoidable backlash. The next recruitment will still be at the previously agreed time. Make sure to explain this to them clearly."

After giving some instructions, Li Fan stopped paying attention to He Zhenghao and swallowed a Enlightenment Pill, going back into seclusion.

Time flew by quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was year 9 since the starting of Anchor.

During this period, Li Fan's plans began to show initial results.

More than twenty strands of feedback, of varying amounts, began to appear in Li Fan's dantian one after another.

Coupled with nearly a year's worth of arduous cultivation under the dual effects of the Spirit Awakening and Dao Enlightenment Pills,

Li Fan reached the peak of the mid-stage Golden Core and, fortunately, was only troubled by the 'Heaven's Calamity' bottleneck for a little over ten days.

Then, he smoothly advanced to the late stage of the Golden Core.

Li Fan slowly exhaled, pausing his cultivation.

"From now on, whether it's to intimidate the people of the Empire or to explore the void of Tianling Prefecture, it's hard to manage everything alone."

"Perhaps it's time to find some assistance."

Li Fan pondered for a moment, then quietly left Ten Thousand Immortal Island.

He headed straight for Tian yang Cave Mansion.

Along the way, he tried dozens of times and finally managed to barely create a face that resembled the Second Senior Brother of Tian yang, Ling Xiao.