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"The Taian Fruit has a quota of thirty fruits that must be submitted each year. Any extra can be kept for personal use, as a benefit of the position of Guardian."
"On average, you can save two Taian Fruits each year. In the Heavenly Profound Mirror, the price of a Taian Fruit is generally around 90 to 100 Contribution Points."
"So, if you add it all up, the compensation for being a temporary Guardian is quite substantial." He Zhenghao said with a smile, introducing Li Fan to the details.
Li Fan nodded. Although He Zhenghao had used some minor tactics, what he said was true.
In Myriad Immortals Island, it was extremely rare for a Qi Condensation stage cultivator to earn 1,000 Contribution Points annually.
In this matter, He Zhenghao would benefit, and Li Fan would get a share of the spoils.
"I must thank you, Senior." Li Fan clasped his hands in gratitude.
"No need to thank me, no need to thank me. Since you are from the island I guard, it's only natural for me to help you. As long as you improve your cultivation in the future, it won't be in vain..." He Zhenghao was saying when he suddenly paused.
He let out a light "hmm" and looked at Li Fan with a surprised tone. "You've advanced to the middle stage of Qi Refinement?"
Li Fan was taken aback, not expecting that even with the Concealment Talisman, he could still be detected.
He nodded and admitted, "Yes. Xiao Heng and I have a deep relationship. Before he left, he left me a Water Attribute Cultivation Technique. This technique is very compatible with me, and my cultivation has progressed rapidly. I just broke through a few days ago."
"Hehe, you are quite cautious, little friend. If it weren't for my special technique, I might not have noticed. Did you use a Concealment Talisman?"
Li Fan nodded.
"It's understandable; after all, caution is never a mistake. In this world of cultivation, there are many people with ill intentions..." He Zhenghao was saying when he suddenly noticed Li Fan looking at him strangely. He quickly changed the subject with a laugh: "I didn't expect you to have such a good relationship with Xiao Heng. He even left you a cultivation technique."
"Xiao Heng is truly a prodigy. He has only been cultivating for a few years, and he is almost at the Foundation Establishment stage. His future is boundless!" Clearly, He Zhenghao had been closely following Xiao Heng's progress, and he spoke with a mix of admiration and envy.
"Achieving the Golden Core stage, or even the Nascent Soul stage, is not impossible. You have a deep bond with him, which is truly a great blessing." He Zhenghao's tone grew warmer as he spoke.
"Meeting you, Senior, is also a fortunate event." Li Fan flattered him casually.
He Zhenghao laughed heartily, clearly pleased.
At this moment, he stopped and turned to look in a certain direction in the city: "Just in time, a Taian Fruit has ripened. I will demonstrate how to harvest it for you."
Li Fan nodded and followed He Zhenghao to a residence.
Even before entering the courtyard, they could hear wailing and crying.
Upon entering, Li Fan found that there were several dozen human-faced fruits kneeling in the house, wearing mourning clothes and white garments.
In the center, a coffin lay with a human-faced fruit inside, seemingly asleep.
The fruit had its eyes closed, its mouth tilted to one side, and a strange smile on its face, while its body remained motionless.
None of the human-faced fruits in the house noticed Li Fan and He Zhenghao's arrival; they were only mourning the loss of a loved one.
The scene was both absurd and terrifying.
As they approached, Li Fan caught a whiff of a strange fragrance emanating from the coffin.
He Zhenghao stood beside the coffin, chanting softly, and touched the forehead of the smiling fruit inside.
A soft light enveloped the fruit, which slowly rose from the coffin and floated in the air.
It then gradually shrank, transforming into a small, bright red fruit.
As the Taian Fruit took shape, the human-faced fruits in mourning clothes suddenly fell silent.
Their white mourning clothes slowly disappeared, and their expressions shifted from sorrow to confusion.
After a moment of bewildered glances, they silently dispersed.
"How was it?" He Zhenghao handed the Taian Fruit to Li Fan.
"Quite peculiar." Li Fan felt a chill run down his spine, but he managed to respond.
Li Fan took the Taian Fruit and examined it closely.
The fruit resembled an apple but was a strikingly bright red.
A continuous stream of fragrance wafted from the Taian Fruit.
The scent seemed to penetrate deep into one's soul, and Li Fan found himself involuntarily swallowing.
"You haven't tasted the Taian Fruit before, have you? Why don't you try it?" He Zhenghao suggested.
"Lifespan-enhancing items have a natural allure for cultivators. The longer they last, the more irresistible they become." He Zhenghao added with a smile, noticing Li Fan's hesitation.
Indeed, the effect of the fragrance seemed to accumulate. As Li Fan hesitated, the scent grew stronger.
The fragrance stirred a deep-seated hunger within him.
After a moment, Li Fan no longer hesitated and swallowed the Taian Fruit whole.
The hunger vanished instantly. Despite its small size, Li Fan burped, as if he had just eaten a large meal.
Li Fan checked his [True Illusion] panel and found that his physiological age limit had increased by five years.
He smacked his lips, savoring the taste of the Taian Fruit: "This is the first time I've encountered such a miraculous item that can increase lifespan. It is truly extraordinary. It's just that its appearance is a bit strange, looking like a human, which is quite unsettling."
He Zhenghao laughed in response: "The Taian Fruit is indeed transformed from humans, so it naturally looks like one."
Li Fan's expression froze.
Suppressing the churning in his stomach, Li Fan asked in shock: "Are the Taian Fruits in this city all real humans?"
He Zhenghao was not particularly fazed by Li Fan's reaction.
However, since Li Fan had only recently entered the cultivation world, he understood and continued to explain: "Strictly speaking, the Taian Fruit is a fruit, not a human."
Li Fan breathed a slight sigh of relief but was still uneasy: "What do you mean by 'transformed from humans'?"
"To explain that, we need to go back to the origin of the Taian Fruit." He Zhenghao led Li Fan back to the city's upper air and continued.
"Five hundred years ago, Taian Island was just an ordinary island. The surrounding sea had no valuable resources, and only a few thousand mortals lived on the island."
"There are countless such small islands in the Congyun Sea."
"But one day, everything changed."
"First, the mortals on neighboring islands noticed that they hadn't seen the residents of Taian Island in a long time. Previously, merchants from the island would occasionally visit, but they hadn't been seen for over a year."
"Driven by curiosity, some people sailed to Taian Island to investigate."
"One group after another went but never returned."
"Realizing something was amiss, they reported the matter to the island's Guardian at the time."
"At that time, the Guardian was already a Golden Core cultivator. Even so, he was deeply terrified by what he saw on Taian Island."
(End of Chapter)
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