Chapter 636: The Blade Over Our Heads

"So remnants of the former Xuantian Sect truly still exist in this world. The one who fled to the Purple Firmament Sect... could it be..." The cultivator from the Five Elders Council murmured under his breath.

He turned his gaze toward Zhou Qing'ang.

"Confirming this matter is of great importance to our Five Elders Council. Though this is a transaction, I must still thank you, Fellow Daoist. As for laundering the contribution points..."

He paused briefly, then continued, "Within a month, over ten cultivators of different identities will come to your doorstep carrying clean, standard spirit stones. You simply need to transfer the contribution points to them, Fellow Daoist."

As if worried Zhou Qing'ang might have concerns, he added, "These cultivators all use shell identities our Five Elders Council has spent ages cultivating. Shortly after the transaction is complete, they will all die off for various reasons. There's no need to fear investigation or leaks."

After carefully handing over the secret codes for recognition, the transaction between the two parties was essentially complete.

"We look forward to cooperating with you again," the black-robed Five Elders Council cultivator said slowly, looking at Zhou Qing'ang as they prepared to part.

"As do I," Zhou Qing'ang replied, cupping his fist with a smile.

With that, he turned and departed.

Only once Zhou Qing'ang's figure had vanished on the horizon did the Five Elders Council cultivator furrow his brow. 

Zhou Qing'ang... Li Fan...

What are their true identities? We've investigated for so long, yet haven't found a single scrap of useful information.

Does the Heaven-Toppling Society truly exist? Or is it simply a story concocted by cultivators within the Myriad Immortals Alliance who want to trade what they know for resources?

After a long moment of thought, he let out a resigned chuckle.

No matter. So long as they keep providing us with intelligence, it's fine. The more chaos inside the Myriad Immortals Alliance, the better!

The Five Elders Council cultivator's form grew fainter and fainter, gradually dissolving into the air.

With the transaction complete, Zhou Qing'ang returned to Congyun Immortal City as if nothing had happened.

Knowingly spending such a massive amount of contribution points, he had long been prepared for this information to be exposed. But it didn't matter. At most, the Five Elders Council could deduce that "Li Fan of the Heavenly Mechanisms Sect" was also a member of the Heaven-Toppling Society, and might even guess that the ancient cultivator identity was a disguise.

But they would never guess Li Fan's true identity.

Who could imagine that the cultivator stirring up such a disturbance in the Xuanhuang World was actually a "mortal" from a minor world?

Either way, the truth would soon be buried in the world-ending calamity. Even if they wanted to investigate, they would have nowhere to begin.

The river of time surged ever forward, and everything proceeded in an orderly, stable manner.

The number of awakened Medicine King Sect cultivators, including Liu San, had reached 346.

The vast majority were at the Foundation Establishment or Golden Core realms, with only five Nascent Soul cultivators among them.

But together, they formed a force that could not be ignored. More crucially, as time passed, the effects of Bloodline Transference grew more pronounced, and their reverence for Li Fan deepened with each passing day.

Coupled with Li Fan's constant reinforcement of the goal of "reviving the Medicine King Sect" to solidify his brainwashing, the look in their eyes when they gazed upon him gradually filled with fanaticism. 

Li Fan believed that, before long, even if he ordered them to sacrifice their own lives for the Medicine King Sect, they would not hesitate for a single moment.

The Bloodline Transference technique is truly extraordinary.

He was thoroughly satisfied with the effects of this divine ability.

Of course, the results of Bloodline Transference varied depending on the difference in power between Li Fan and the subject.

He had once attempted it on a cultivator at the Spirit Transformation realm, and the result was a complete failure. Even dealing with the five Nascent Soul cultivators had been exceptionally difficult; only with Liu San's help had he barely managed to complete the task.

Now that he had enough hands to work with, Li Fan gradually ceased awakening more Medicine King Sect cultivators.

Li Fan knew that the Myriad Immortals Alliance monitored the number of cultivators in each province. An increase of just over three hundred, given the vast base of cultivators across the Congyun Sea as a whole, still fell within a reasonable range. But adding more might arouse suspicion and invite investigation. So he decided to hold off.

After asking Liu San for detailed information on the Dao Unity elders still in slumber, Li Fan used a second Truth-Binding Fruit.

He awakened a Dao Unity cultivator named Fang Zaiji.

This man was an elder of the Medicine King Sect who specialized in artifact forging. The Mini Medicine King Cauldrons used by the disciples were all his handiwork.

Fang Zaiji had not originally been part of the Medicine King Sect. Years ago, when he was on the verge of death while fleeing his enemies, Liu Ruchen had saved him. To repay that debt of gratitude, and to evade those enemies, he had stayed on within the Medicine King Sect as a sect elder.

He held little attachment to the sect itself. What he was intensely interested in, however, was the method for forging the sect's supreme artifact, the true Medicine King Cauldron.

Back then, Liu Ruchen had won him over by promising to lend him the Medicine King Cauldron for study.

Li Fan used the Truth-Binding Fruit to alter Fang Zaiji's memories.

Now, in Fang Zaiji's perception, his time in the Medicine King Sect had been spent at a distance from the other disciples.

The sole exception was Liu Yihang, that is, Li Fan, who had pestered him every single day. He had practically watched Li Fan grow up, and in his heart had come to regard him as half a son.

Woven into this was Li Fan's command for absolute trust.

Soon, the Truth-Binding Fruit faded and Fang Zaiji awoke.

After Li Fan explained the situation, Fang Zaiji quickly grasped their current predicament.

"It seems the Myriad Immortals Alliance is even more treacherous than the Ten Immortal Dao Sects of old." A shadow passed through his eyes.

"You should have awakened me sooner, Sect Leader." There was a hint of reproach in his tone.

Li Fan shook his head slightly and explained, "Back then, I wanted to secure Longevity Valley as a foothold first, so naturally I awakened Elder Liu before anyone else.

"Just when I thought to wake you, Mister Fang, I learned that the Myriad Immortals Alliance was monitoring cultivator numbers in each province. Since I didn't understand the matter at the time, I kept putting it off for safety's sake. I've since worked out that it seems tied to the new cultivation methodology current cultivators use. Since you wouldn't be affected by it, I decided to awaken you now."

Fang Zaiji gave a slight nod, accepting the explanation.

"That monitoring of cultivator numbers might be related to the Immortal Ruins." After a moment, as though something had come back to him, he spoke abruptly.

"Oh?" Li Fan raised an eyebrow, curious.

"During my travels back in the day, I once heard that the Ten Immortal Dao Sects had laid down an array covering the entire Xuanhuang World." Fang Zaiji seemed to sink into memory.

"It was like a blade hanging over the heads of all living beings. From the day of their birth, every creature in the world, regardless of cultivation, race, or origin, was caught within that array.

"This array could not only dispose of any cultivator in the world with ease, but could also gather the combined power of all living beings and, reaching across the infinite void, lock onto the positions of other cultivation worlds. From there, one could open cross-world passages and launch campaigns of conquest."

Fang Zaiji spoke slowly.