chú le dào páo zhì fú hé shēn fèn yù dié zhī wài ， hái yǒu yī méi tè zhì dì tōng xùn líng fú 。
除了道袍制服和身份玉碟之外，还有一枚特质的通讯灵符。
Besides the Dao robe uniform and identity jade plate, there was also a special communication spirit token.
líng fú chéng yuán xíng ， zhōu wéi diāo kè zhe fán zá de wén shì ， zhōng jiān kè zhe yí gè wàn zì 。
灵符呈圆形，周围雕刻着繁杂的纹饰，中间刻着一个万字。
The spirit token was circular, adorned with intricate patterns around it. In the center, there was the character for "ten thousand."
shén shí chén jìn ， dùn shí fǎng fú chū xiàn zài xīng hǎi zhī zhōng 。
神识沉浸，顿时仿佛出现在星海之中。
As his divine consciousness immersed itself, he suddenly seemed to appear in the starry sea.
zhōu wéi yǐn yuē kě jiàn wú shù àn dàn de xīng chén 。
周围隐约可见无数黯淡的星辰。
Faintly visible were countless dim stars around him.
zhè xiē dōu shì wàn xiān méng tǐ zhì nèi de chéng yuán 。
这些都是万仙盟体制内的成员。
These were all members within the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance system.
lǐ fán nǎo hǎi zhōng shǎn guò hé zhèng hào de shēn yǐng 。
李凡脑海中闪过何正浩的身影。
Li Fan's mind flashed with the image of He Zhenghao.
qǐng kè zhī jiān ， jiù zài wú shù xīng chén zhōng zhǎo dào le dài biǎo hé zhèng hào de nà kē 。
顷刻之间，就在无数星辰中找到了代表何正浩的那颗。
In an instant, he found the star representing He Zhenghao among the myriad of stars.
lǐ fán fā chū le hǎo yǒu shēn qǐng 。
李凡发出了好友申请。
Li Fan sent a friend request.
guò le yī huì ， nà kē huì àn de xīng xīng ， biàn míng liàng le qǐ lái 。
过了一会，那颗晦暗的星星，便明亮了起来。
After some time, that dim star brightened up.
zài yī piàn hēi àn de qún xīng zhōng ， shā shì xiǎn yǎn 。
在一片黑暗的群星中，煞是显眼。
It stood out prominently in the dark cluster of stars.
“ dào yǒu dòng zuò hǎo kuài ， zhè jiù chéng gōng rù zhí le ？ gōng xǐ gōng xǐ a ！” hé zhèng hào de xiāo xī tí shì dùn shí fā le guò lái 。
“道友动作好快，这就成功入职了？恭喜恭喜啊！”何正浩的消息提示顿时发了过来。
"Friend, your actions are swift. Have you already successfully joined? Congratulations!" came a message from He Zhenghao.
“ hái yào duō xiè hé dào yǒu le ！” lǐ fán huí le tiáo xiāo xī 。
“还要多谢何道友了！”李凡回了条消息。
"Thank you very much for your help!" Li Fan replied.
nà biān què shì zài méi yǒu huí fù ， xiǎn rán yòu shì chén jìn zài duì shān hé dà zhèn de yán jiū zhōng le 。
那边却是再没有回复，显然又是沉浸在对山河大阵的研究中了。
There was no reply from him, as he seemed to be engrossed once again in his research on the Great River Array.
lǐ fán yòu xiàng chén yīng 、 zhāng zhì liáng 、 gōng bó yǔ děng rén fā sòng le hǎo yǒu shēn qǐng 。
李凡又向陈英、张志良、宫伯羽等人发送了好友申请。
Li Fan then sent friend requests to Chen Ying, Zhang Ziliang, Gong Buyu, and others.
suí hòu shén niàn cóng tōng xùn líng fú zhōng tuì le chū lái 。
随后神念从通讯灵符中退了出来。
His divine consciousness withdrew from the communication spirit token.
lǐ fán yòu zài tiān xuán jìng zhōng ， sōu suǒ chá kàn qǐ le gōng xūn rèn wù 。
李凡又在天玄镜中，搜索查看起了功勋任务。
Next, Li Fan searched through the Ten Thousand Immortals Mirror for merit tasks.
hé nà xiē zhuàn qǔ gòng xiàn dù de rèn wù bù tóng ， gōng xūn rèn wù jī běn dōu shì wàn xiān méng guān fāng zhí jiē fā bù de 。
和那些赚取贡献度的任务不同，功勋任务基本都是万仙盟官方直接发布的。
Unlike those that earned contributions, these merit tasks were mostly directly issued by the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
rèn wù lèi xíng yě shì cóng sōu jí wù zī dào cān yù wéi chí wàn xiān méng rì cháng yùn zuò ， yīng yǒu jìn yǒu 。
任务类型也是从搜集物资到参与维持万仙盟日常运作，应有尽有。
The task types ranged from gathering supplies to participating in maintaining the daily operations of the alliance.
hái yǒu yī lèi rèn wù bǐ jiào tè shū ， jiù shì jiǎn jǔ jiē fā wǔ lǎo huì huò zhě qí tā qí tā xiū xiān zǔ zhī hùn rù wàn xiān méng de jiàn dié 。
还有一类任务比较特殊，就是检举揭发五老会或者其他其他修仙组织混入万仙盟的间谍。
There was another special type of task: reporting spies from the Five Elders Association or other cultivation organizations who had infiltrated the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
cǐ zhǒng rèn wù gēn jù jiàn dié zhí wèi de gāo dī ， huò dé bù tóng de gōng xūn 。
此种任务根据间谍职位的高低，获得不同的功勋。
Based on the spy's position, different merits were awarded.
mù qián lǐ fán de quán xiàn děng jí shì yǎn yī 。
目前李凡的权限等级是衍一。
Currently, Li Fan's authority level was Derivative One (衍一).
jī běn shàng zhǐ yào suí yì wán chéng rèn yì yí gè gōng xūn rèn wù ， jiù néng tí shēng dào yǎn èr le 。
基本上只要随意完成任意一个功勋任务，就能提升到衍二了。
He could generally advance to Derivative Two (衍二) by completing any merit task at random.
bù guò jiē qǔ wán chéng gōng xūn rèn wù ， yǒu cì shù xiàn zhì 。
不过接取完成功勋任务，有次数限制。
However, there was a limit to how many such tasks he could complete each year—only three times.
měi nián zuì duō zhǐ néng wán chéng sān cì 。
每年最多只能完成三次。
Li Fan did not rush to take on these tasks.
lǐ fán yě méi yǒu zháo jí jiē qǔ 。
李凡也没有着急接取。
There were other ways to earn merits besides tasks.
chú le rèn wù zhī wài ， hái yǒu qí tā fāng fǎ kě yǐ huò dé gōng xūn 。
除了任务之外，还有其他方法可以获得功勋。
For instance, like He Zhenghao had done, recommending cultivators to join the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance or providing valuable intelligence.
bǐ rú xiàng zhī qián hé zhèng hào yī yàng ， jǔ jiàn xiū shì jiā rù wàn xiān méng 。
比如像之前何正浩一样，举荐修士加入万仙盟。
These had no restrictions and were always welcome.
yòu huò zhě tí gōng yī xiē yǒu jià zhí de qíng bào 。
又或者提供一些有价值的情报。
What interested Li Fan was that the required merits for advancing his authority level were not a fixed value but shown as a progress bar.
zhè xiē dōu méi yǒu shén me xiàn zhì ， lái zhě bù jù 、 duō duō yì shàn 。
这些都没有什么限制，来者不拒、多多益善。
This was because the Ten Thousand Immortals Mirror adjusted based on the real-time value of the merits.
ràng lǐ fán bǐ jiào gǎn xìng qù de yì diǎn shì ， quán xiàn děng jí de tí shēng suǒ xū yào de gōng xūn ， bìng bú shì yí gè dìng zhí 。
让李凡比较感兴趣的一点是，权限等级的提升所需要的功勋，并不是一个定值。
For example, a merit task involving the submission of "Red Cloud Ice" had always existed.
ér shì yǐ jìn dù tiáo de fāng shì xiǎn shì 。
而是以进度条的方式显示。
After completing it, he would receive a lower-grade merit.
zhè shì yīn wèi ， tiān xuán jìng huì gēn jù gōng xūn de shí shí jià zhí ， duì qí jìn xíng tiáo kòng 。
这是因为，天玄镜会根据功勋的实时价值，对其进行调控。
However, the intrinsic value of Red Cloud Ice fluctuated constantly.
jǔ gè lì zi ， bǐ rú mǒu gè shàng jiāo 【 chì yún bīng 】 de gōng xūn rèn wù ， shì yì zhí cún zài de 。
举个例子，比如某个上交【赤云冰】的功勋任务，是一直存在的。
While generally these gathered supplies did not have extreme fluctuations in value, there were instances in Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance history where certain items drastically depreciated.
wán chéng rèn wù hòu ， huì gù dìng huò dé yí gè xià děng bǐng gōng 。
完成任务后，会固定获得一个下等丙功。
Thus, the mirror adjusted based on its current value to maintain precision.
ér 【 chì yún bīng 】 běn shēn de jià zhí shì zài bù tíng fú dòng de 。
而【赤云冰】本身的价值是在不停浮动的。
Li Fan's attention was drawn to a merit task that offered an intermediate-grade merit as reward.
suī rán yì bān qíng kuàng xià ， zhè xiē chóu jí de wù zī jià zhí bú huì fú dòng de tài kuā zhāng 。
虽然一般情况下，这些筹集的物资价值不会浮动的太夸张。
A small progress bar appeared next to the task description.
dàn zài wàn xiān méng de lì shǐ shàng ， yě céng jīng chū xiàn guò mǒu gè wù zī dà fú dù biǎn zhí de qíng kuàng 。
但在万仙盟的历史上，也曾经出现过某个物资大幅度贬值的情况。
Above it, there were tiny numbers indicating 1.43.
suǒ yǐ tiān xuán jìng huì gēn jù qí jià zhí ， shí shí diào kòng ， jīng zhǔn kòng zhì 。
所以天玄镜会根据其价值，实时调控，精准控制。
This meant that the merits Li Fan would earn from completing this task could advance his authority level by one step and add 43% more progress.
lǐ fán de zhù yì lì jí zhōng zài le bào chóu shì yí gè zhōng děng bǐng gōng de gōng xūn rèn wù shàng 。
李凡的注意力集中在了报酬是一个中等丙功的功勋任务上。
The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance had a total of forty-nine authority levels, inspired by the concept of "Great Dao is fifty, Heaven's calculation is forty-nine."
yí gè xiǎo xiǎo de jìn dù tiáo dùn shí fú xiàn zài le rèn wù jiè shào de páng biān 。
一个小小的进度条顿时浮现在了任务介绍的旁边。
At first, it was easier to advance but became increasingly difficult as he went higher.
jìn dù tiáo shàng fāng ， hái yǒu xiǎo xiǎo de shù zì shuō míng 。
进度条上方，还有小小的数字说明。
After understanding how merits and authority levels worked, Li Fan began searching for mystical techniques.
yī yòu sì shí sān 。
一又四十三。
Immediately, he noticed some differences in the search results.
zhè biǎo shì ， lǐ fán wán chéng zhè ge rèn wù suǒ huò de zhōng děng bǐng gōng ， zú yǐ ràng lǐ fán de quán xiàn děng jí ， tí shēng yī jí zài jiā shàng bǎi fēn zhī sì shí sān de jìn dù 。
这表示，李凡完成这个任务所获的中等丙功，足以让李凡的权限等级，提升一级再加上百分之四十三的进度。
Some were prominently marked in gold font, indicating that these techniques could only be seen by members of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance system.
wàn xiān méng de quán xiàn děng jí yī gòng yǒu sì shí jiǔ jí ， qǔ dà dào wǔ shí ， tiān yǎn sì shí jiǔ zhī yì 。
万仙盟的权限等级一共有四十九级，取大道五十，天衍四十九之意。
Moreover, such techniques could only be used for personal cultivation; they couldn't be given to others.
zuì kāi shǐ tí shēng jiǎn dān ， yuè wǎng shàng yuè nán 。
最开始提升简单，越往上越难。
If "lost," and learned by someone else, the Guardian Hall personnel would reclaim them and penalize the original exchangeee with deducted merits.
liǎo jiě le gōng xūn 、 quán xiàn děng jí de yùn zuò jī zhì zhī hòu ， lǐ fán yòu sōu suǒ qǐ le gōng fǎ qǐ lái 。
了解了功勋、权限等级的运作机制之后，李凡又搜索起了功法起来。
Li Fan carefully examined these restricted techniques.
mǎ shàng ， lǐ fán jiù chá jué dào le hé yǐ wǎng de bù tóng zhī chù 。
马上，李凡就察觉到了和以往的不同之处。
Some of the gold text was bright, indicating that he could acquire them at his current authority level (Derivative One).
yī xiē sōu suǒ jié guǒ ， hěn xǐng mù dì yòng jīn sè zì tǐ biāo shì zhe 。
一些搜索结果，很醒目的用金色字体标示着。
Others were dark, requiring a higher authority level than what Li Fan currently had.
zhè dài biǎo zhe ， zhè xiē gōng fǎ ， shì zhǐ yǒu wàn xiān méng tǐ zhì nèi chéng yuán cái néng kàn dào de 。
这代表着，这些功法，是只有万仙盟体制内成员才能看到的。
He could only see their descriptions but couldn't acquire them.
ér qiě ， cǐ zhǒng gōng fǎ zhǐ néng yòng lái duì huàn hòu zì jǐ xiū xíng ， bù néng jiāo yǔ páng rén 。
而且，此种功法只能用来兑换后自己修行，不能交予旁人。
Generally, one could view results up to three levels above their own as an incentive.
ruò yǒu “ yí shī ”， bèi tā rén xué qù 。
若有“遗失”，被他人学去。
Li Fan casually looked through a dark gold technique for the Golden Core period.
yǒu hù fǎ táng rén yuán fù zé huí shōu ， bìng qiě hái huì duì dāng chū de duì huàn rén yuán jìn xíng chǔ fá 。
有护法堂人员负责回收，并且还会对当初的兑换人员进行处罚。
[庚金养剑功] (Gengjin Nang Jian Gong).
kòu chú yí dìng de gōng xūn 。
扣除一定的功勋。
It required 65,000 contribution points and Derivative Three authority level to acquire.
lǐ fán zǐ xì chá kàn zhe zhè xiē shòu xiàn gōng fǎ 。
李凡仔细查看着这些受限功法。
"Absorb庚金之气(Gengjin Qi) in your body and nurture sword intent. Can control a sword for flight or use as a magical weapon."
zhè xiē gōng fǎ de jīn sè zì tǐ ， yǒu yī bù fèn shì liàng jīn sè ， dài biǎo yǐ lǐ fán mù qián de quán xiàn děng jí ， néng gòu duì huàn 。
这些功法的金色字体，有一部分是亮金色，代表以李凡目前的权限等级，能够兑换。
"The power is indeed much stronger than what I've seen before, and the price is significantly higher."
ér hái yǒu yī bù fèn shì àn jīn sè 。
而还有一部分是暗金色。
Li Fan checked other dark gold techniques, all similar.
zhè xiē àn jīn sè de gōng fǎ duì huàn suǒ xū de quán xiàn děng jí ， chāo chū le lǐ fán dāng qián de quán xiàn děng jí 。
这些暗金色的功法兑换所需的权限等级，超出了李凡当前的权限等级。
"That Derivative Method Jue tirelessly derives new techniques surely produces many groundbreaking martial arts."
lǐ fán zhǐ néng kàn dào qí jiè shào shuō míng ， ér wú fǎ duì huàn 。
李凡只能看到其介绍说明，而无法兑换。
"Even compared to the founding schools of ancient sects, they wouldn't be weaker by much."
yì bān lái jiǎng ， néng kàn dào gāo yú zì shēn sān gè quán xiàn děng jí nèi de sōu suǒ jié guǒ 。
一般来讲，能看到高于自身三个权限等级内的搜索结果。
"Unable to acquire them, even a glance would still broaden my horizons."
yǐ shì jī lì 。
以示激励。
"Unfortunately, I lack the authority."
lǐ fán suí yì chá kàn le yī mén àn jīn sè de jīn dān qī gōng fǎ 。
李凡随意查看了一门暗金色的金丹期功法。
"Authority, authority..."
【 gēng jīn yǎng jiàn gōng 】。
【庚金养剑功】。
Li Fan recalled the ways to earn merits.
liù wàn wǔ qiān diǎn gòng xiàn dù ， quán xiàn děng jí yǎn sān cái néng duì huàn 。
六万五千点贡献度，权限等级衍三才能兑换。
A figure suddenly flashed in his mind—Zhou Qingang, who guarded Taining Island.
“ xī shōu gēng jīn zhī qì ， zài tǐ nèi yùn yǎng jiàn yì 。 kě yù jiàn fēi xíng 、 kě dàng zuò fǎ bǎo shā dí 。”
“吸收庚金之气，在体内蕴养剑意。可御剑飞行、可当做法宝杀敌。”
In his subsequent lives, he left before the arrival of the Crimson Flame Devouring Sea.
“ wēi lì dí què bǐ wǒ zhī qián suǒ jiàn dōu yào qiáng shàng xǔ duō ， jià gé yě gāo shàng bù shǎo 。”
“威力的确比我之前所见都要强上许多，价格也高上不少。”
To Li Fan, this was quite suspicious.
lǐ fán yòu chá kàn le qí yú jǐ mén àn jīn sè gōng fǎ ， jiē shì rú cǐ 。
李凡又查看了其余几门暗金色功法，皆是如此。
There were two possibilities: either Zhou Qingang had a powerful backer or he had foreseen something significant that others didn't.
“ nà yǎn fǎ jué rì yè bù tíng tuī yǎn gōng fǎ ， dìng rán huì dàn shēng bù shǎo jīng shì hài sú de shén gōng 。”
“那衍法珏日夜不停推衍功法，定然会诞生不少惊世骇俗的神功。”
If it was the latter, who could be behind him? A Great Dao Immortal?
“ shèn zhì bǐ qǐ shàng gǔ zōng mén dà pài de zhèn pài jué xué ， yě bú huì ruò shàng duō shǎo 。”
“甚至比起上古宗门大派的镇派绝学，也不会弱上多少。”
Li Fan thought such a possibility was low.
“ bù néng duì huàn de huà ， nǎ pà kàn shàng yī yǎn ， cháng cháng jiàn shí yě shì hǎo de 。”
“不能兑换的话，哪怕看上一眼，长长见识也是好的。”
If Zhou Qingang indeed had a Great Dao Immortal backing him, there would have been no need to pretend he was seeking opportunities elsewhere and ask someone else to guard Taining Island.
“ zhǐ kě xī quán xiàn bù gòu 。”
“只可惜权限不够。”
The other possibility increased significantly: Zhou Qingang might be an infiltrator from another organization within the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
“ quán xiàn ， quán xiàn ……”
“权限，权限……”
Li Fan believed that the world's top experts must have foreseen the arrival of Crimson Flame early on.
lǐ fán yòu huí xiǎng qǐ le huò dé gōng xūn de jǐ zhǒng fāng shì 。
李凡又回想起了获得功勋的几种方式。
Although it wasn't clear why, the headquarters of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance did not warn Cunyunhai Island.
yī dào rén yǐng hū de zài tā nǎo hǎi zhōng shǎn guò 。
一道人影忽的在他脑海中闪过。
Other organizations might have sensed some signs. For instance, before the disaster struck, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance had ordered all members to evacuate Cunyunhai.
tài ān dǎo zhèn shǒu ， zhōu qīng áng 。
泰安岛镇守，周青昂。
Zhou Qingang received internal notifications and used a golden cicada shedding its shell method to escape from Cunyunhai.
cǐ rén qí hòu liǎng shì ， dōu zài chì yán fén hǎi lái lín zhī qián ， chōu shēn lí qù 。
此人其后两世，都在赤炎焚海来临之前，抽身离去。
Of course, this was just Li Fan's guess.
zài lǐ fán kàn lái ， pǒ yǒu xiē qī qiāo zhī chù 。
在李凡看来，颇有些蹊跷之处。
To verify it would require further investigation. If he guessed wrong, that was fine.
zhè lǐ miàn wú fēi liǎng zhǒng kě néng 。
这里面无非两种可能。
But if Zhou Qingang was indeed an infiltrator, Li Fan could gain much more than just merits and contributions.
yī shì zhōu qīng áng yǒu hòu tái ， ér qiě shì hěn dà de hòu tái 。
一是周青昂有后台，而且是很大的后台。
More importantly, he wanted to find out how to deceive the Heart of Truth Platform from him.
Besides the Dao robe uniform and identity jade plate, there was also a special communication spirit token.
The spirit token was circular, adorned with intricate patterns around it. In the center, there was the character for "ten thousand."
As his divine consciousness immersed itself, he suddenly seemed to appear in the starry sea.
Faintly visible were countless dim stars around him.
These were all members within the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance system.
Li Fan's mind flashed with the image of He Zhenghao.
In an instant, he found the star representing He Zhenghao among the myriad of stars.
Li Fan sent a friend request.
After some time, that dim star brightened up.
It stood out prominently in the dark cluster of stars.
"Friend, your actions are swift. Have you already successfully joined? Congratulations!" came a message from He Zhenghao.
"Thank you very much for your help!" Li Fan replied.
There was no reply from him, as he seemed to be engrossed once again in his research on the Great River Array.
Li Fan then sent friend requests to Chen Ying, Zhang Ziliang, Gong Buyu, and others.
His divine consciousness withdrew from the communication spirit token.
Next, Li Fan searched through the Ten Thousand Immortals Mirror for merit tasks.
Unlike those that earned contributions, these merit tasks were mostly directly issued by the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
The task types ranged from gathering supplies to participating in maintaining the daily operations of the alliance.
There was another special type of task: reporting spies from the Five Elders Association or other cultivation organizations who had infiltrated the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
Based on the spy's position, different merits were awarded.
Currently, Li Fan's authority level was Derivative One (衍一).
He could generally advance to Derivative Two (衍二) by completing any merit task at random.
However, there was a limit to how many such tasks he could complete each year—only three times.
Li Fan did not rush to take on these tasks.
There were other ways to earn merits besides tasks.
For instance, like He Zhenghao had done, recommending cultivators to join the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance or providing valuable intelligence.
These had no restrictions and were always welcome.
What interested Li Fan was that the required merits for advancing his authority level were not a fixed value but shown as a progress bar.
This was because the Ten Thousand Immortals Mirror adjusted based on the real-time value of the merits.
For example, a merit task involving the submission of "Red Cloud Ice" had always existed.
After completing it, he would receive a lower-grade merit.
However, the intrinsic value of Red Cloud Ice fluctuated constantly.
While generally these gathered supplies did not have extreme fluctuations in value, there were instances in Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance history where certain items drastically depreciated.
Thus, the mirror adjusted based on its current value to maintain precision.
Li Fan's attention was drawn to a merit task that offered an intermediate-grade merit as reward.
A small progress bar appeared next to the task description.
Above it, there were tiny numbers indicating 1.43.
This meant that the merits Li Fan would earn from completing this task could advance his authority level by one step and add 43% more progress.
The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance had a total of forty-nine authority levels, inspired by the concept of "Great Dao is fifty, Heaven's calculation is forty-nine."
At first, it was easier to advance but became increasingly difficult as he went higher.
After understanding how merits and authority levels worked, Li Fan began searching for mystical techniques.
Immediately, he noticed some differences in the search results.
Some were prominently marked in gold font, indicating that these techniques could only be seen by members of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance system.
Moreover, such techniques could only be used for personal cultivation; they couldn't be given to others.
If "lost," and learned by someone else, the Guardian Hall personnel would reclaim them and penalize the original exchangeee with deducted merits.
Li Fan carefully examined these restricted techniques.
Some of the gold text was bright, indicating that he could acquire them at his current authority level (Derivative One).
Others were dark, requiring a higher authority level than what Li Fan currently had.
He could only see their descriptions but couldn't acquire them.
Generally, one could view results up to three levels above their own as an incentive.
Li Fan casually looked through a dark gold technique for the Golden Core period.
[庚金养剑功] (Gengjin Nang Jian Gong).
It required 65,000 contribution points and Derivative Three authority level to acquire.
"Absorb庚金之气(Gengjin Qi) in your body and nurture sword intent. Can control a sword for flight or use as a magical weapon."
"The power is indeed much stronger than what I've seen before, and the price is significantly higher."
Li Fan checked other dark gold techniques, all similar.
"That Derivative Method Jue tirelessly derives new techniques surely produces many groundbreaking martial arts."
"Even compared to the founding schools of ancient sects, they wouldn't be weaker by much."
"Unable to acquire them, even a glance would still broaden my horizons."
"Unfortunately, I lack the authority."
"Authority, authority..."
Li Fan recalled the ways to earn merits.
A figure suddenly flashed in his mind—Zhou Qingang, who guarded Taining Island.
In his subsequent lives, he left before the arrival of the Crimson Flame Devouring Sea.
To Li Fan, this was quite suspicious.
There were two possibilities: either Zhou Qingang had a powerful backer or he had foreseen something significant that others didn't.
If it was the latter, who could be behind him? A Great Dao Immortal?
Li Fan thought such a possibility was low.
If Zhou Qingang indeed had a Great Dao Immortal backing him, there would have been no need to pretend he was seeking opportunities elsewhere and ask someone else to guard Taining Island.
The other possibility increased significantly: Zhou Qingang might be an infiltrator from another organization within the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
Li Fan believed that the world's top experts must have foreseen the arrival of Crimson Flame early on.
Although it wasn't clear why, the headquarters of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance did not warn Cunyunhai Island.
Other organizations might have sensed some signs. For instance, before the disaster struck, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance had ordered all members to evacuate Cunyunhai.
Zhou Qingang received internal notifications and used a golden cicada shedding its shell method to escape from Cunyunhai.
Of course, this was just Li Fan's guess.
To verify it would require further investigation. If he guessed wrong, that was fine.
But if Zhou Qingang was indeed an infiltrator, Li Fan could gain much more than just merits and contributions.
More importantly, he wanted to find out how to deceive the Heart of Truth Platform from him.