Yet, the chaotic battles in Yuandao Province provided the perfect breeding ground for Li Fan to lie low and develop the enterprise. Through this unchecked growth, the terrifying power of compound interest was finally revealed.
By the end of Anchor Year 44, the debts owed to Brightmoon Palace had soared to 310,000 contribution points.
By Anchor Year 45, it was 450,000.
By Anchor Year 46, it was 630,000.
By mid Anchor Year 50, the debts owed to Brightmoon Palace had reached the astronomical figure of 2,200,000 contribution points.
In seven years, Brightmoon Palace had successfully helped over five hundred Qi Refinement cultivators achieve Foundation Establishment through paid technique transmission.
For each cultivator who successfully established their Dao Foundation, the Mountain-Sitting Art fed back nearly six months worth of cultivation progress to Li Fan. The accumulated feedback of nearly 250 years of cultivation had long since pushed Li Fan to the late-stage Foundation Establishment realm.
Under the surveillance of Formless Killing Mechanism, Li Fan personally witnessed over five hundred Foundation Establishment processes. By now, his understanding of establishing a Dao Foundation likely surpassed that of any other Foundation Establishment cultivator in this world.
At this time, the prodigiously talented Su Xiaomei had just broken through to the mid-stage Foundation Establishment realm, while Xiao Heng still lingered at the early-stage Foundation Establishment realm.
Such terrifying cultivation speed made Li Fan feel as if he were in a dream. And the enormous amount of contribution points in his hands gave him the sense that he was treading on thin ice. Instead of feeling joy from his rapidly rising cultivation level, his heart grew increasingly uneasy.
He ordered the Brightmoon Palace members to cease the technique transmission operations and quickly reclaim the contribution points.
Li Fan also began studying methods to break through to the Golden Core realm in the Tianxuan Mirror while heightening his mental vigilance, ready to flee at any moment.
***
Somewhere in Yuandao Province, within an unknown space, a black-robed cultivator awoke from secluded meditation.
Out of habit, he formed a hand seal.
Before him, a golden ginkgo tree abruptly materialized.
The black-robed cultivator lightly swept his horsetail whisk.
Suddenly, the ginkgo tree, which had seemed frozen in time, began to transform. The tree swayed, and five golden leaves drifted downward.
A pleased expression crossed the black-robed cultivator’s face. “How is it that five Spirit Transformation cultivators died while I was just in seclusion?”
His hands moved, abruptly forming another hand seal.
Beside the golden ginkgo, another identical tree appeared. But this one glowed with a soft silver light.
As his whisk swept past, twenty-three silver leaves slowly fluttered down.
The black-robed cultivator could barely contain his delight. With a quick calculation, he understood the reason.
“So it was internal strife—what an unexpected surprise.
“Strange, whose scheme is this? I actually can’t deduce it?
“Hmph, no matter. The more deaths, the better.
“My strategy of using Lan Yu’s death to execute my brilliant plan already greatly reduced the number of cultivators.
“Now with this additional development, it looks like I’ll exceed the quota of my assigned task.”
The black-robed cultivator murmured to himself, unable to hide his pleasant surprise.
“Yuandao Province has been peaceful for too long, with far too many cultivators. They should have been pruned back long ago, but that old fool Lan Yu always protected them...
“Hmph, now that you’re dead and your Dao extinguished, you can’t show off anymore.”
A blue ginkgo appeared, this time shedding even more leaves.
The black-robed cultivator’s expression brightened instantly. “Now, the Heavenly Venerable’s assignment is almost as good as done.”
Next, out of habit, he summoned one last tree—a green ginkgo.
To his astonishment, the green ginkgo swelled with the wind. In the space of a single breath, it grew an entire circle larger. Vibrant with life, it swayed gracefully.
The black-robed cultivator shot to his feet, exclaiming in disbelief, “How can this be?
“The number of Foundation Establishment cultivators has tripled in ten years?”
Cold sweat dripped from his forehead as he urgently performed calculations.
“Brightmoon Palace’s technique transmission...”
After a long while, he gritted his teeth and spat out hatefully.
“And all those imitators...
“You will all die!”
Boom!
The gold, silver, blue, and green ginkgo trees before him instantly turned to dust.
Horsetail whisk in hand, the black-robed cultivator took one step forward and vanished.
1. 蓝羽(Lan Yu) means blue feather. ☜
2. 百足之虫，死而不僵. A powerful entity (like a dynasty, organization, or influential family) may be defeated or appear dead, but its remaining influence, connections, and structural power remain active and can still exert force long after its formal demise. ☜