In the prosperous age, hundreds of insects are born

Chapter 572: Prosperous Era, Hundred Insects Born

Although the process and result of this battle were deliberately played down by the official Myriad Immortals Alliance, clues could still be glimpsed from the Alliance's various actions after the battle.

The various offensive orders that had been issued not long ago were urgently canceled; instructions were given to all provinces to strictly guard and defend against the infiltration of Five Elders Association Cultivators; no province was allowed to easily start a war, and the task at hand was primarily defense.

The requisition orders sent from the front lines to various provinces also became more frequent.

"Changing policies overnight, what a slapdash operation!"

Almost overnight, the combat strategy underwent a 180-degree turn, causing every Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance Cultivator to complain from the bottom of their hearts.

However, awed by the celestial might of the Myriad Immortals Alliance, no one dared to say it directly to their faces. They could only sigh bitterly during private gatherings.

The progress of the war did not shift according to the will of the Cultivators.

It was just that they suddenly went from seeming to hold an absolute advantage to a stalemate between both sides.

The foreign wars suffered setbacks, and there was no peace internally either.

At the Myriad Immortals Alliance Headquarters, it was said that many high-ranking Cultivators were dismissed from office and investigated, and even some veteran Dao Integration Cultivators with deep backgrounds and long tenures could not avoid it.

However, no one knew the reason why they were being interrogated.

Even after these Cultivators were released, and even though they had been tortured and looked extremely weak at a glance, they remained tight-lipped about the matter and refused to discuss it in detail no matter how much they were pressed.

This further caused suspicions to arise everywhere and everyone to panic.

After all, no one wanted to become the next target inexplicably taken away for interrogation.

But Li Fan knew that the Myriad Immortals Alliance was catching a non-existent mole.

No matter how hard they racked their brains, how could they have imagined that the leaker of the Heavenly Mystery Spirit-Sealing Array Diagram was actually a mere Golden Core cultivator who had never touched the matter and was far away in the borderlands of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance: the Congyun Sea?

Therefore, this was an investigation destined to have no result.

Perhaps the result of the case would eventually end hastily with a few unlucky fellows being forced into false confessions.

And on Li Fan's list of victims, the names of a few more innocent people would be added.

Roughly understanding the course of the war over the past year, Li Fan turned back to look through the numerous messages sent by He Zhenghao to "Zhou Qingang".

They were basically asking and urging him on when he would emerge from seclusion.

At the beginning of his seclusion, they were very frequent. It was just that later, whether he gave up or for some other reason, the messages became fewer and fewer.

"Lord Secret Envoy is in deep seclusion, and you are the same, Daoist Zhou."

"I can't even get in touch with a single person."

"Now this is great; everyone is imitating them nicely, directly destroying their communication spiritual talismans one by one and claiming they've gone into seclusion."

"If this goes on, our Congyun City Government Affairs Hall won't even be able to scrape together ten working officers! When Lord Secret Envoy returns, how am I supposed to explain this to him?!"

…

He Zhenghao poured out his bitter grievances, but Li Fan let out a cold snort.

"Do you still have me, this Lord Secret Envoy, in your eyes?"

Refusing to bicker with this dying man, Li Fan cleared the messages in the communication spiritual talisman in the blink of an eye, then left the secret seclusion room and quietly appeared in the Government Affairs Hall main hall.

"Brother Gao, the position of Medicinal Pill Quality Inspector in the Dan Hall has recently become vacant. Someone offered me 50,000 Contribution Points to buy this position. What do you think?"

"I actually think it's a bit too little, at least 80,000."

"After all, the position of Martial Arts Hall queue leader earned a full 130,000 Contribution Points not long ago. This time…"

As He Zhenghao was speaking, he suddenly noticed an extra person in the room.

His voice came to an abrupt halt. He Zhenghao looked at "Zhou Qingang" with a face full of awkwardness, feeling somewhat embarrassed for a moment.

Gao Yuan, on the other hand, slightly narrowed his eyes, showing not the slightest bit of panic at being caught abusing power for personal gain.

Instead, with a smile on his face, he very naturally greeted "Zhou Qingang", saying, "Daoist Zhou, long time no see! Just in time to help us brainstorm and advise us!"

As he spoke, he affectionately grabbed Zhou Qingang and faithfully recounted the matter of the two of them selling vacant positions in Congyun City all over again.

Furthermore, he looked at Li Fan with eyes full of anticipation, awaiting his answer.

This move instantly resolved the awkward situation between him and He Zhenghao, while dispelling the estrangement between him and the long-unseen Zhou Qingang, turning around to pull him into their partnership instead.

Even Li Fan, who had lingered in officialdom for hundreds of years, could not help but praise, "Brilliant."

Gazing at the two with a half-smile, he did not choose to act as a righteous person who abhorred evil and vowed to report and expose them.

After pretending to ponder for a moment, he suddenly slammed the table: "Eighty thousand Contribution Points?"

"It's still too little! Final offer, one hundred and sixty thousand Contribution Points!"

"Take it or leave it!"

He hadn't expected Zhou Qingang's appetite to be even bigger than his own, doubling the price right off the bat.

He Zhenghao was instantly dumbfounded.

But a moment later, he came back to his senses, smiling bitterly as he persuaded: "Daoist Zhou, you might have just woken up from seclusion and don't understand the current market."

"The position of Medicinal Pill Quality Inspector can only sell for 80,000 at most. After all, it's not just our Congyun Sea selling it; people choose us simply because the prices here are low and it can be bought to use as a stepping stone."

"You suddenly doubled it…"

He Zhenghao shook his head: "With this kind of money, why wouldn't people go to Luoyan Province or other more prosperous places?"

Gao Yuan also nodded in agreement.

Li Fan sneered as he looked at the two of them, a trace of mockery in his eyes: "I don't understand the situation? Could the two of you think that during this period of seclusion, I knew nothing about what was happening in the outside world? In my opinion, you two are the ones who don't understand the situation right now!"

This demeanor of "Zhou Qingang" was vastly different from his past style of action.

Moreover, Zhou Qingang was a relatively steady person and not someone who would shoot without a target.

Could it be…

Gao Yuan and He Zhenghao looked at each other, both of their eyes filled with shock and suspicion.

As the saying goes, those who do no evil have no fear of ghosts knocking on their door; just such a simple sentence had bluffed the two of them.

He Zhenghao leaned forward, asking cautiously: "Daoist Zhou, how can you say that?"

"Zhou Qingang" did not answer, merely casting a disdainful glance at Gao Yuan beside him.

A flash of anger crossed Gao Yuan's eyes, but he quickly forced it down, revealing a smiling face and adopting a posture of seeking guidance.

At this moment, Li Fan slowly spoke: "The battle of Tianling Province is nearing its end, and the hostilities are about to subside. The behavior of you two reselling official posts by taking advantage of the chaotic battle situation and the special period of no jurisdiction is almost coming to an end!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Gao Yuan and He Zhenghao were both filled with shock.

This time, it wasn't put on.

After a brief shock, a trace of disbelief appeared in both of their eyes.

He Zhenghao hurriedly asked: "There has been completely no wind of this matter spreading, so how did Daoist Zhou know about it?"

"It is not that we don't believe you, Fellow Daoist, but this truly concerns major matters of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance; Fellow Daoist must not speak rashly," Gao Yuan also chimed in.

"How do I know?" Zhou Qingang squinted at the two of them, a cold gleam in his eyes.

"Naturally, it was Lord Secret Envoy who sent a message to inform me!"