The idea was wonderful, but before it was formally implemented, numerous problems needed to be resolved first.
For instance, were there already similar organizations in the current Myriad Immortals Alliance?
Would his actions infringe upon others' interests, causing him to be casually executed by some powerhouse?
After some investigation, Li Fan felt reassured.
Currently, the Myriad Immortals Alliance lacked large-scale, organized lending practices.
Firstly, contribution points were difficult to obtain. Merely sustaining one's own cultivation was challenging enough—where would one find surplus contribution points to lend others?
Another crucial reason was that lending was easy, but collecting repayment was exceedingly difficult. The cultivation world was vast, and cultivators possessed countless methods to conceal themselves. One could simply hide in some remote mountain range, seclude themself for ten years, and never repay their debt. What could be done about it?
Perhaps powerful cultivators could perform precise tracking, but they likely prioritized their own cultivation and disdained taking on such distracting tasks with little practical benefit.
However, Li Fan was more than willing to go through the trouble.
During his return to Brightmoon Lake, Li Fan began formulating various plans for the future in his mind.
Over twenty days later, Li Fan returned to Brightmoon Lake.
In around forty days, the underwater cave dwelling was nearly completed. Yet these structures were only superficially ornate. Aside from the Myriad Immortals Array Banner Set, there were no other defensive measures whatsoever.
Considering future prestige and security, Li Fan spent a fortune of twenty thousand contribution points to purchase a complete Torrent Phantasm Grand Array from the Tianxuan Mirror.
This array differed entirely from the Myriad Immortals Array Banner Set; once deployed, it could not be moved.
Designed for areas near large bodies of water, the grand array combined concealment, protection, and defensive capabilities against enemies. At full power, it was said to be able to withstand attacks from mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.
Li Fan personally deployed it, and soon, the Torrent Phantasm Grand Array was successfully activated.
Gazing at the faint blue protective barrier above the underwater cave dwelling, Li Fan felt much more at ease.
With the cave dwelling formally completed, a celebration was in order.
Everyone gathered at the cave dwelling's entrance, their faces alight with excitement as they admired the structure that had consumed dozens of days of effort.
As Li Fan surveyed the scene, he felt something was missing. So, he purchased a jade plaque and two jade pillars from the Mini Tianxuan Mirror.
After installing them, a blue sword flew out from his dantian. Li Fan's brush moved with great vigor and flourish, like a soaring dragon or slithering serpent.
On the left jade pillar, he inscribed four large words: "Compassionate Ferry to Salvation."[1]
On the right jade pillar, he wrote four large words: "Relieving Suffering and Hardship."
Finally, on the central jade plaque, he inscribed two majestic words: "Brightmoon Palace."
Li Fan retracted the blue water sword, nodding in satisfaction at his masterpiece.
Meanwhile, Su Xiaomei and the others were deeply moved and mesmerized as they beheld Li Fan's calligraphy.
Su Xiaomei's eyes sparkled like stars, while Xiao Heng and Su Changyu were utterly captivated by the imposing spirit conveyed in the words.
"Compassionate Ferry to Salvation, Relieving Suffering and Hardship..."
As the one who had roamed the cultivation world the longest among them, Zhao Erbao understood the weight of these eight words more deeply than the others. Thus, he grew even more uncertain of Li Fan's cultivation level, not daring to harbor any ulterior motives.
Li Fan led the group into Brightmoon Palace, beginning their tour of this newly constructed cave dwelling.
Brightmoon Palace spanned a radius of five li, with its buildings arranged in a semi-cross formation.
At the center stood the Brightmoon Hall, intended for meetings and receiving guests. Residences for the members lined both its left and right wings.
Behind Brightmoon Hall stood a series of buildings, one housing the Mini Tianxuan Mirror, some storing Dao resonance artifacts, and another serving as Li Fan's secluded cultivation chamber.
Currently, Brightmoon Palace was an empty shell, devoid of interior decorations, tables, or chairs. Yet achieving this much in just forty days left Li Fan quite satisfied.
Beyond the five thousand contribution points expended, the Yin sisters from Tianbao Pavilion and Sun Zhang had contributed tremendous effort.
Sun Zhang in particular had meticulously designed Brightmoon Palace's architectural layout.
After instructing everyone to complete Brightmoon Palace's decorations as quickly as possible, Li Fan proceeded to his cultivation chamber. His avatar had remained there ever since Brightmoon Palace's completion.
It wasn't idle—rather, it was deciphering the array seal on the small black case Zhang Zhiliang had entrusted to Li Fan.
Perhaps because this avatar had absorbed some of He Zhenghao's talent for arrays, the decryption progressed much faster than Zhang Zhiliang had anticipated. Li Fan estimated that he would break the seal in just over six months.
He felt genuine anticipation for what lay inside.
In the following period, Brightmoon Palace's residents remained exceptionally busy. While steadily furnishing the vast palace, they also safely relocated tens of thousands of Dao resonance artifacts.
Meanwhile, Li Fan quietly traveled alone to Yuandao City and began spreading rumors.
Gradually, many Qi Refinement cultivators in the Myriad Immortals Alliance learned of an eight-hundred-li Brightmoon Lake at the border of Yuandao Province.
Within Brightmoon Lake stood an establishment called Brightmoon Palace. For a negligible price, final-stage Qi Refinement cultivators could loan Foundation Establishment techniques and Curios there to undergo Foundation Establishment in advance. After breaking through, they could slowly repay the equivalent value in contribution points.
Foundation Establishment cultivators earned contribution points far faster than Qi Refinement cultivators. The 36% annual interest became negligible compared to the benefits of achieving Foundation Establishment years earlier.
This offer sounded too good to be true, clearly resembling a scam, thus most Qi Refinement cultivators simply laughed it off.
Yet as the rumors spread, one or two individuals tucked the information away in their minds.
***
Three months later, in the underground treasury behind Brightmoon Hall, tens of thousands of Dao resonance artifacts stood neatly arranged.
Li Fan moved among them, setting up an array.