In the Martial Hall, the cultivators exchanged glances, suddenly finding themselves in a bit of a predicament.

Indeed, according to the rules, any cultivator affiliated with the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance could apply for certain rewards from the Martial Hall if they managed to kill a member of the Five Elders Association.

Killing four opposing Nascent Soul cultivators was a significant achievement no matter which region it occurred in.

However, this young master before them had gone too far. The four cultivators from the Five Elders Association were obliterated to the point that not even their remains were left.

Not to mention the valuable bodies, limbs, or remnants of their souls.

While the battle results were impressive, the actual significance wasn’t as great.

If they didn’t give a reward, the news would spread, tarnishing their reputation.

If they did reward him, the Martial Hall in Congyun Sea was already tight on budget this year.

If they allowed Li Fan to take such a large sum, how would the rest of the brothers survive for the remainder of the year?

Moreover, Master Li Fan didn’t seem to be someone in need of contribution points.

Even if the Martial Hall gave a generous reward, it likely wouldn’t satisfy his appetite.

More importantly, this person was now quite renowned, and trying to suppress or force him to "voluntarily" give up the reward wasn’t an option.

Thus, how to structure the reward in a way that satisfied both parties was indeed a challenging issue to discuss.

Li Fan sat there, calm and composed, giving the impression that he wouldn’t leave until he received a satisfactory result.

The cultivators of the Martial Hall frowned slightly, secretly transmitting messages to discuss.

After several rounds of negotiation and probing, they finally reached a conclusion that pleased everyone.

With this outstanding achievement, Li Fan was appointed as a Special Deacon of the Martial Hall, officially entering the system of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance.

All his rewards were given in the form of contributions points.

After the cultivators of the Martial Hall calculated, they determined that this was enough to raise Li Fan’s authority level to Level 16 in one go.

To put it into perspective, a typical cultivator within the system would need at least thirty-four years of hard work to reach this level.

Yet Li Fan achieved it in an instant.

The number of contribution points no longer mattered to Li Fan; receiving contribution points was an outcome he couldn’t have hoped for more.

Thus, Li Fan readily agreed.

What followed was completing the necessary procedures in collaboration with the Martial Hall.

The Martial Hall submitted the request, and the Political Hall swiftly approved it.

After going through the formalities at the Jade Platform of Heart Inquiry, Li Fan officially became a member of the Martial Hall in Congyun Sea.

Then came the distribution of merit points.

After Li Fan left the central core area of Ten Thousand Immortal Island, apart from the aura of being an Ancient Cultivator from the Heavenly Mechanism Sect, skilled in deduction, he also gained another layer of identity: A member of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance system, with Level 16 authority.

"Now that I’m under the protection of an official title, even if someone wants to act against me, they can't do it openly."

As Li Fan walked along, he felt much safer.

Having gone through several lifetimes within the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance, Li Fan had come to deeply understand the importance of order and rules in the current Immortal Alliance.

Even a Dao Integration Immortal Sage, if they violated the rules, would face consequences.

The case of Guan Xingxiu, who lost a layer of cultivation and was exiled to Lanlin Prefecture, was a vivid example from the previous lifetime.

Having an official position in the system was undoubtedly an additional protective talisman.

However, to temporarily extricate himself from the commotion caused by killing four Nascent Soul cultivators, Li Fan immediately secluded himself in the Tianxuan Mirror.

A Golden Core cultivator slaying Nascent Soul cultivators, especially in a four-on-one situation, was an extraordinary feat.

Such an event would cause an explosion of discussions.

There was no need to intentionally stir the pot; the cultivators themselves eagerly discussed and spread the story of this miraculous event.

Some doubted it, others were curious.

And some, itching for a fight, wanted to challenge Li Fan themselves.

But when they learned that Li Fan had purchased a "Sharp Weapon" from the Tianxuan Mirror to kill the four Nascent Soul cultivators, their reactions were strikingly unanimous.

"Money really is a wonderful thing!"

Yes, for some reason, the secret of the assassination, which should have been highly classified and known only to the cultivators in the Martial Hall, spread just as quickly as the news of Li Fan’s achievement.

The truth behind the incident had spread across all the regions of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance, along with Li Fan’s reputation.

Regardless of their opinion on Li Fan, cultivators admired his ability to lead everyone toward wealth.

As a result, the number of cultivators seeking advice from He Zhenghao surged.

Even Daoist He became somewhat famous among the cultivators.

But amidst all the external chaos, Li Fan paid no attention.

He cut off all communication with the outside world and immersed himself in cultivation within the Tianxuan Mirror.

Time flew by, and before long, the end of the ninth year arrived.

The August period of the previous year, when Li Fan last entered the Fallen Immortal Realm, had passed, and he was suddenly awakened from seclusion by a premonition.

"Mr. Bai, the Creation Furnace Technique…"

A glimmer of anticipation flashed in Li Fan’s eyes. After a bit of preparation, he chanted, "Blessings to the Heavenly Venerable Of Xuanhuang"."

In an instant, the scene before him blurred.

When he regained clarity, he found himself once again in the Fallen Immortal Realm.

The first thing Li Fan did after entering the Fallen Immortal Realm was not to observe his surroundings but to recall the teachings of Mr. Bai’s Creation Furnace Technique in his mind.

The brilliant words immediately resurfaced, allowing him once again to witness the Supreme Path and Profound Art.

Li Fan was captivated, completely immersed.

"Marvelous!"

He sighed once more in admiration.

"Little Black, you’re finally awake?"

At that moment, an ill-timed voice dragged him out of that wonderful state.

It was Xu Ke’s somewhat foolish voice.

Feeling a wave of annoyance, Li Fan swiped at Xu Ke's head with a claw.

Scanning the surrounding environment, he noticed that it was different from the landscape of the Beast Taming Sect where he had previously been.

"What happened after I fell into slumber?" Li Fan asked Xu Ke through telepathy.

"Eh? Little Black, you can finally talk?" Xu Ke, looking surprised and a bit slow-witted, asked cheerfully.

After scratching his head a few more times, Xu Ke finally recounted the entire story to Li Fan.

It turned out that after Li Fan swallowed Song Yang's Ink Immortal Tiger and fell into a deep slumber, Xu Ke followed the jade token’s guidance from Senior Brother Lu Ya and successfully met with Lu Ya and the Wise Beast Emperor Sanmo.

When the Emperor Sanmo saw the sleeping Heavenly Fate Mystical Bird, he said some cryptic words and then inserted a strand of white hair into Li Fan's body.

After that, Li Fan fell into an even deeper sleep atop Xu Ke’s head.

He only woke up now.

"So, you're saying I've been asleep for three years?"

"And you've come to this valley world to search for a creature called the Rift Whale?"

Li Fan asked in a deep voice.

"That's right! Little Black, you wouldn’t believe how hard it is to find this big guy. Even though it's massive, it hides in the clouds and can even conceal its form."

"Normal detection spells and magic tools are completely useless. It’s really hard to find," Xu Ke complained.