"The stipulated annual amount of Taian Fruits to be submitted is thirty pieces. Any extras can be kept for yourself, consider it a perk for serving as a guardian."
"On average, you can save about two Taian Fruits per year. In the Tianxuan Mirror, the price of Taian Fruits generally ranges from 90 to 100 contribution points."
"So all in all, the compensation for acting as the guardian is indeed not low," He Zhenghao explained to Li Fan with a chuckle.
Li Fan nodded. Although He Zhenghao used some tricks, what he said was not untrue.
On Ten Thousand Immortals Island, earning a thousand contribution points per year at the Qi Condensation stage was definitely quite rare.
He Zhenghao enjoyed the benefits while Li Fan got a little share of the pie.
"I appreciate your help, Senior," Li Fan said, clasping his hands in gratitude.
"No need to be so formal. You were born on the island I'm guarding, and it's only right that I guide you. As long as you advance in your cultivation in the future, my efforts won't be in vain..." He Zhenghao was speaking when suddenly he stopped.
He made a soft exclamation and looked at Li Fan with a slightly surprised tone, "You've advanced to the mid Qi Condensation stage?"
Li Fan was startled; he hadn't expected that even with a Hidden Qi Talisman, the other party could still tell.
He nodded and openly admitted, "Yes. I have a close relationship with Xiao Heng. Before he left, he left behind a water attribute technique for me. The technique suits me well, and my progress in cultivation has been rapid. I just broke through a few days ago."
"Hehe, you're quite cautious. If it weren't for my unique technique, I might not have noticed. You used a Hidden Qi Talisman?" He Zhenghao asked.
Li Fan nodded.
"It's understandable. Caution is never a bad thing, especially in the cultivation world where there are many with ill intentions..." He Zhenghao was speaking when he suddenly noticed that Li Fan was giving him a peculiar look. He quickly laughed it off and changed the topic, "I didn't expect you to have such a good relationship with Xiao Heng, and he even left a technique for you."
"Xiao Heng is indeed a rare talent, practicing for only a few years, and he's about to reach Foundation Establishment. His future is limitless!" Obviously, He Zhenghao had been paying attention to Xiao Heng, and at this moment, he spoke with a mix of emotion and envy.
"Reaching the Golden Core stage and even the Nascent Soul stage in the future is not impossible. Your close relationship with him is truly a blessing," He Zhenghao continued, sounding increasingly enthusiastic.
"It's a fortunate encounter to meet a senior like you as well," Li Fan praised casually.
He Zhenghao heard this and burst into hearty laughter, quite pleased.
At this moment, he paused, turned to look in a certain direction in the city, and said, "Coincidentally, a Taian Fruit has ripened now. I'll demonstrate to you, young friend, how to pick a Taian Fruit."
Li Fan nodded and followed He Zhenghao to a house.
Even before entering the courtyard, they could hear cries.
When they went inside, Li Fan saw a dozen or so human-faced fruits kneeling on the ground, dressed in white, wearing mourning clothes.
In the center of the room was a coffin-like structure with a human-faced fruit lying in it, appearing as if asleep.
The fruit had its eyes closed, a crooked mouth, and a slightly eerie smile, remaining completely still.
None of the human-faced fruits in the house noticed the arrival of Li Fan and He Zhenghao. They were grieving for their departed loved ones.
The scene in the room looked somewhat absurd and terrifying.
Li Fan got closer, and a strange fragrance wafted from the coffin.
He Zhenghao came to the side of the coffin, chanting words and gently tapping the center of the human-faced fruit inside.
A soft light enveloped it, and the human-faced fruit slowly floated up from the coffin, hovering in the air.
Then it shrank slowly, turning into a small, bright red fruit.
As the Taian Fruit took shape, the fruit-faced entities dressed in mourning robes suddenly quieted down.
Their white mourning clothes gradually disappeared, and their grieving expressions transformed into confusion.
They looked around blankly for a moment, and then, in silence, these fruit-faced entities dissipated.
"How was it?" He Zhenghao handed the Taian Fruit to Li Fan.
"Quite peculiar." Li Fan found the scene of picking the Taian Fruit a bit eerie, and he answered reluctantly.
Li Fan held the Taian Fruit in his hand and observed it carefully.
The fruit resembled an apple in shape, but its color was even more vibrant red, almost dazzling.
And a continuous fragrance kept emanating from the Taian Fruit.
This fragrance seemed to penetrate deep into the soul. Li Fan involuntarily swallowed when he smelled it.
"Young friend, you haven't tasted the Taian Fruit before, right? Why not try it?" He Zhenghao suggested.
"Items that increase one's lifespan naturally hold great allure for cultivators like us. The longer the duration, the greater the temptation," He Zhenghao said with a smiling expression, seeing Li Fan's hesitation.
Indeed, the effect of the fragrance seemed to accumulate. With Li Fan's indecision, the fragrance became increasingly intense.
Under the influence of the fragrance, a sense of hunger welled up from deep within.
So, after a while, Li Fan hesitated no more and swallowed the Taian Fruit in one go.
The hunger instantly disappeared. Even though it was just a small fruit, Li Fan belched as if he had just finished a large meal.
Li Fan checked his [Truth] panel and saw that the upper limit of his physical age had increased by 5 years.
Smacking his lips, Li Fan reminisced about the taste of the Taian Fruit. "This miraculous item that increases one's lifespan, it's truly extraordinary. It just looks a bit strange, resembling a person and making one nervous."
He Zhenghao responded with a smile, "The Taian Fruit is indeed derived from humans, hence the resemblance."
Li Fan's expression froze.
Suppressing the churning sensation in his stomach, Li Fan asked in horror, "Are all the Taian Fruits in this city real people?"
He Zhenghao wasn't too concerned about Li Fan's reaction.
However, considering Li Fan had only recently entered the cultivation world, he could understand, so he continued to explain, "Strictly speaking, Taian Fruit is a type of fruit, not a human being."
Li Fan breathed a sigh of relief at hearing this but still had reservations, "What do you mean by derived from humans?"
"This goes back to the origin of the Taian Fruit," He Zhenghao said, leading Li Fan back to the city above as he spoke.
"Five hundred years ago, Taian Island was just a very ordinary island. The surrounding area had no valuable special products, and the island had only a few thousand ordinary people living there."
"Such small islands are numerous in the Cong Yun Sea."
"But one day, everything suddenly changed."
"First, the ordinary people on the surrounding islands noticed that they hadn't seen any residents of Taian Island for a long time. Occasionally, merchants from the island used to come and go, but they hadn't seen them for over a year."
"Driven by curiosity, some people sailed to Taian Island to find out what was going on."
"But unexpectedly, several waves of people who went there never returned."
"Realizing something was wrong, the people quickly reported this to the guardian of the island at the time."
"At that time, the guardian was already a Golden Core cultivator. Even so, upon seeing what had happened on Taian Island, he fell into deep fear."