“The mandated annual quota for Tai’an Fruits is thirty. Any surplus may be kept for personal use. Consider it a benefit that comes with the guardian position.
“On average, one can keep around two Tai’an Fruits each year. In the Tianxuan Mirror, they typically trade for around ninety to one hundred contribution points each.
“So when everything is tallied, young friend, the compensation for serving as a stand-in guardian is rather substantial,” He Zhenghao explained with a cheerful laugh.
Li Fan nodded. Though He Zhenghao had employed some underhanded methods, this was indeed the truth.
On Myriad Immortals Island, only a scarce few Qi Refinement cultivators could earn a thousand contribution points annually.
He Zhenghao took the lion’s share of this arrangement, but Li Fan was content with the scraps.
“You have my thanks, Senior,” Li Fan said, cupping his hands.
“Think nothing of it,” He Zhenghao waved dismissively. “You come from the island under my guardianship. It is only natural that I would guide you. So long as your cultivation advances in the days to come, my efforts will not have been—” He paused mid-sentence.
He looked Li Fan over, then gasped softly, his voice tinged with astonishment. "You’ve broken through to the mid-stage Qi Refinement realm?"
Li Fan’s heart jumped. He hadn’t expected He Zhenghao to see through his Qi-Concealing Talisman.
Still, he nodded and admitted, “Indeed. I share a close relationship with Xiao Heng. Before his departure, he left me a water attribute technique. It suits my constitution remarkably well, and my progress has been swift. I broke through just a few days ago.”
“Heh. You are quite cautious, young friend. If not for my unique technique, I might have missed it entirely. You’re using a Qi-Concealing Talisman?”
Li Fan nodded again.
“Understandable. Better safe than sorry. The world of cultivation has no shortage of those with ill intentions...” He Zhenghao trailed off as he noticed the peculiar look in Li Fan’s eyes.
He quickly laughed it off and changed the subject. “I hadn’t realized you and Xiao Heng were so close that he would leave a technique specially for you.
“That Xiao Heng is a truly heaven-sent talent. How many years has he been cultivating, and he’s already approaching Foundation Establishment? His future is limitless!” Clearly, He Zhenghao had been keeping tabs on Xiao Heng as well. His tone was full of admiration and envy.
“Achieving Golden Core, or even Nascent Soul, isn’t out of the question. You are truly blessed to share such a bond with him, young friend.” He Zhenghao’s tone grew increasingly enthusiastic.
“Meeting you is also a great fortune, Senior,” Li Fan offered some flippant praise.
He Zhenghao laughed heartily, clearly pleased.
Just then, his steps halted. He turned, gazing toward a specific part of the city. “What a coincidence. A Tai’an Fruit has just ripened. Allow me to demonstrate the proper method of harvesting it.”
Li Fan nodded and followed He Zhenghao to the front of a residence.
Even before entering the courtyard, they could already hear mournful wailing coming from within.
Stepping inside, Li Fan saw over a dozen kneeling human-faced fruits, clad in the white hemp mourning garments.
A coffin stood before them. And within it lay a human-faced fruit, looking as if it were asleep. Its eyes were closed, its mouth was twisted into a faint, bizarre smile, and its body was utterly still.
None of the gathered fruits noticed Li Fan and He Zhenghao’s arrival, consumed entirely by grief for their departed kin.
The scene was both macabre and strangely absurd.
Moving closer, Li Fan caught a strange, fragrant scent drifting from the coffin.
He Zhenghao approached the coffin, murmuring incantations under his breath, then pressed a finger to the center of the smiling fruit’s forehead.
A soft light enveloped the fruit, and it slowly rose from the coffin, hovering mid-air.
It then began to shrink, transforming into a small, vividly crimson fruit.
As the Tai’an Fruit took shape, the grieving human-faced fruits clad in mourning garments suddenly fell silent.
Their white funeral attire gradually faded away, and the expressions on their faces shifted from sorrow to confusion.
After glancing around blankly for a few moments, the fruits eventually dispersed in silence.
“Well?” He Zhenghao handed the Tai’an Fruit to Li Fan.
“It is very peculiar,” Li Fan forced the words out. The entire harvesting process had left him inexplicably unsettled.
Li Fan took the fruit in his hand, examining it closely.
It resembled an apple from his memories, but its color was a startling, almost glaring red.
At the same time, streams of delectable fragrance drifted from it.
The aroma seemed to penetrate deep into his very soul. Li Fan inhaled, and despite himself, he swallowed.
“You’ve never tasted a Tai’an Fruit before, have you? Why not try it now?” He Zhenghao suggested.
“Cultivators are naturally attracted to items that extend our lifespans. The longer you wait, the greater the temptation becomes,” he added with a smile, noticing Li Fan’s hesitation.
Indeed, the effect of the fragrance seemed to accumulate. The more Li Fan hesitated, the richer and more potent the scent became.
Spurred by the aroma, a deep, primal hunger welled up from within him.
A moment later, Li Fan’s hesitation vanished. He devoured the Tai’an Fruit in one gulp.
The hunger vanished instantly. Though the fruit was small, he let out a satisfied belch, as if he’d just finished a full meal.
Li Fan checked Return to Truth’s panel. Sure enough, his biological age’s upper limit had increased by five years.
He smacked his lips, savoring the aftertaste. “A Curio that extends one’s lifespan... that’s truly remarkable, something I've never seen. The only drawback is its appearance; it looks so eerily human, and frankly, that gives me the chills.”
He Zhenghao chuckled in response. “Tai’an Fruits are transformed from humans. Of course they look human.”
Li Fan’s expression froze instantly.
Suppressing the churning in his stomach, he asked, horrified, “You mean... all the Tai’an Fruits in this city... were real humans?”
He Zhenghao seemed somewhat dismissive of Li Fan’s reaction.
But, considering Li Fan was new to the world of cultivation, he understood. He continued his explanation, “Strictly speaking, the Tai’an Fruit is a fruit. It is not human.”
Hearing this, Li Fan felt slightly relieved, but a knot of unease remained. “Then what do you mean by ‘transformed from humans’?”
“That relates to the origin of the Tai’an Fruit itself,” He Zhenghao said, leading Li Fan as they flew back up above the city.
“Five hundred years ago, Tai’an Island was just an ordinary island. The surrounding waters held no valuable specialties, and only a few thousand mortals lived here, generation after generation.
“The Congyun Sea has countless little islands like this. No one knows just how many there are.
“But one day, everything changed.
“First, the mortals on neighboring islands realized they hadn’t seen any denizens from Tai’an Island in a long while. Merchants from the island used to come and go occasionally, but for over a year, there had been no sign of them.
“Driven by curiosity, some set sail for Tai’an Island to investigate.
“Yet wave after wave of people went, and not a single one returned.
“Realizing something was wrong, they hurried to report it to the island’s guardian at the time.
“That guardian was already a Golden Core cultivator. Even so, when he saw what had happened on Tai’an Island, he was plunged into deep terror.”