Chapter 195: Clues Finally Revealed

The entire Wanxian Island, and even the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, was shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere for a period of time thereafter.

Every Cultivator seen on the road appeared to be distraught.

Li Fan even heard that many Cultivators, after losing everything, chose to end their own lives in despair.

Every now and then, fireworks could be seen lighting up in the sky.

There were also some gamblers who had leveraged themselves and were ready to take a chance, but after the sharp drop in lingwu grass prices, they incurred huge debts.

It reached a point where they couldn't pay it back even if they worked for a lifetime.

To avoid debt, some chose to resist with force.

Others directly chose to defect, leaving the Immortal Alliance and joining the Five Old Men Association.

It was estimated that too many Cultivators were defecting, and the Yanwu Hall's manpower was insufficient.

The tianxuan mirror rarely issued many additional merit-based bounty missions in a row.

There was no limit to the number of times they could be accepted.

For a time, the entire Xuanhuang World was in turmoil, restless.

This showed the immense impact of the lingwu grass incident.

Li Fan also followed suit and completed several bounty missions, raising his Rank to Yanba.

What was remarkable was that, after just over a month, the turmoil subsided on its own.

The sorrow on the Cultivators' faces gradually dissipated, and they returned to their usual spirited appearance.

It seemed as if they had simply forgotten the lingwu grass incident from not long ago, rarely mentioning it in their conversations.

Even if it was occasionally brought up, everyone did not appear heartbroken.

Instead, they even spoke with a hint of jest and mockery.

"You only lost 50,000 contribution points? How dare you speak?"

"Heh heh, look at us, which one of us didn't lose one hundred thousand or eighty thousand?"

Conversations like these were commonplace.

Gradually, the collective memory of the lingwu grass incident among all Daoist Cultivators faded.

Ultimately, only the lament of "contribution points are really hard to earn" remained.

However, Li Fan's memory did not diminish because of this.

Firstly, because he was a complete beneficiary in this turmoil. He had no memories of pain or worry.

Secondly, the enormous 650,000 contribution points on him constantly reminded him.

"It seems I won't have to worry about contribution points for a long time."

As Li Fan thought this, he sent another message to He Zhenghao.

Earlier, Li Fan had gone to visit He Zhenghao.

In this life, he seemed to have suffered even greater losses than in the twelfth life.

The entire person appeared to be severely traumatized, his gaze vacant and dazed.

Calling him only elicited instinctive responses.

It was only recently, under the influence of Chang Sheng Tian Zun, that he slowly recovered.

He regretted not having listened to Li Fan's warning at the time.

After learning that Li Fan had successfully withdrawn completely before the bubble burst, he was even more envious.

"Alas, Fellow Daoist Li, how good it would have been if I had listened to your advice back then."

This was not the first time Li Fan had heard He Zhenghao say this.

"If you ask me, investing depends on talent. Fellow Daoist He, you are clearly not suited for it. Listen to my advice: from now on, it's better to honestly do missions to accumulate contribution points!"

"Fortunately, you're fine, and your cultivation is still there. At worst, you can start over!"

Li Fan said earnestly.

"Yes, yes, Fellow Daoist is right." He Zhenghao nodded vigorously, then tentatively asked, "I wonder how much Fellow Daoist earned this time?"

"Heh heh, a lot. Very much." Li Fan said with a cheerful tone.

He Zhenghao showed envy on his face, wanting to speak but hesitating.

Li Fan saw that He Zhenghao seemed to want to borrow money, but couldn't bring himself to do so, opening and closing his mouth several times.

He just couldn't say it.

Li Fan was not in a hurry to expose him, but planned to let him stew a bit longer.

He Zhenghao was clearly not the only Town Guardian of Congyun Sea who had lost all his lifelong savings due to imprudent investment.

Putting away the communication talisman, Li Fan's attention shifted to Zhou Qingang on Taian Island.

He saw him with a vexed expression and tightly furrowed brows.

He paced back and forth, seemingly wanting to do something but unable to make up his mind.

Suddenly, his expression changed, and he pulled out a talisman, saying resentfully, "Hurry, hurry, hurry! Isn't it just 50,000 contribution points? As a dignified Island Town Guardian, do you think I would shortchange you?"

"Don't worry, I'll definitely pay it back by the end of this month!"

Putting away the talisman, Zhou Qingang's face was gloomy.

He seemed to have finally made a decision. After activating a Hiding Talisman, he flew out from Taian Island's protective formation.

He arrived at an empty, uninhabited sea area, hovering in the air for a moment, his aura suddenly changed.

Not only that, but Li Fan also saw from the perspective of the heavens that Zhou Qingang's physique and appearance completely changed in an instant.

It wasn't a change like an illusion, but a complete transformation into another person.

The original Zhou Qingang was a quiet, young scholar.

But now, he had become a thin, inconspicuous middle-aged man.

After changing his appearance, Zhou Qingang continued to fly discreetly in a certain direction.

"Finally showing your true colors, eh?" A glint flashed in Li Fan's eyes.

He purchased a record stone from the tianxuan mirror and held it in his hand.

At the same time, he slightly adjusted the monitoring angle and began to record the scene he saw with his Divine Sense.

After flying for a whole day, when night fell.

Zhou Qingang arrived on a remote, uninhabited small island.

The island was extremely desolate, without even a single tree. As far as the eye could see, there were only scattered stones everywhere.

Zhou Qingang landed on the small island and looked around.

After observing carefully for a long time, and confirming that no one was tracking him, he began to search on the island.

After a long while, he seemed to have found his target.

With a joyful expression, he held a stone in his hand.

The stone was completely ordinary.

There were no special symbols or marks on it either.

It was just rough and uneven, with a few small holes in specific positions.

Zhou Qingang examined the stone for a long time, firmly memorizing the positions of the small holes.

Then, with force, he crushed the stone into powder.

He flew towards the northwest direction of the small island.

Another half-day passed, and in an uninhabited sea area, Zhou Qingang suddenly stopped.

Then he plunged into the sea.

There was a ruin at the bottom of the sea. Zhou Qingang searched in the ruins for a long time, finally stopping in front of an inconspicuous broken stone.

A yellowish light appeared on his hands, and Zhou Qingang pressed his palms onto the broken stone.

The palm prints matched.

A beam of light emerged from the broken stone, scanning Zhou Qingang's entire body.

Then it returned to the broken stone.

On the smooth, mirror-like surface of the broken stone, a face image suddenly appeared.

"Hmm? Why are you contacting me so much earlier this time?"

"Shouldn't there still be six years left?"

The face's specific appearance was unclear. He looked at Zhou Qingang, full of doubt.

Zhou Qingang's face showed hesitation, and he stammered, "Boss, the funds are not enough. Can you allocate a little more to me?"

The face was slightly startled: "It's only been this long, and you've already used it all up?"

Then, as if remembering something, his voice changed: "You idiot? Did you also speculate on lingwu grass?"