“Mortals had vanished from the island. Where their city once stood, towering trees had sprouted, transforming it into a primordial forest.
“Clusters of fruit hung from their branches, each bearing a human face.”
“Whenever a gentle breeze swept by, those faces would twist into eerie, unsettling smiles.”
As He Zhenghao spoke, Li Fan could almost see countless smiling faces turning toward him.
The memory of having just eaten one of those fruits sent a shiver down his spine, raising goosebumps across his skin.
He Zhenghao continued, his voice low. “After the initial shock, the Golden Core guardian ventured into the city to investigate.
“Not a single mortal had survived. All had become smiling-faced fruits. Yet, despite his efforts, the guardian could not determine what caused this bizarre transformation. He had no choice but to report it to higher authorities.
“The Myriad Immortals Alliance dispatched specialists to examine the phenomenon. What they discovered remains unknown. Eventually, the trees were cut down, and the city was restored to its original state. The smiling-faced fruits continued to live their lives in the city as they always had, as if nothing had ever happened.
“They multiplied, generation after generation, until today. Meanwhile, the Myriad Immortals Alliance established a grand array here, appointing dedicated guardians to oversee and harvest the fruits.”
After listening, Li Fan couldn’t help but remark, “So, in that case, aren’t the Tai’an Fruits essentially... people?”
He Zhenghao shook his head. “How can they be considered people? They possess no consciousness, acting purely on instinct. At most, they retain fragments of human thoughts. Nothing more.”
Li Fan fell silent for a moment, choosing not to argue further. The matter was too strange, too incomprehensible for him to define what the Tai’an Fruits truly were.
Besides, once cultivators discovered these fruits could extend one’s lifespan, none of this mattered.
It wouldn’t have made a difference even if they were truly human; with such miraculous effects, they would still have been devoured anyway.
Li Fan sank deep into thought. He Zhenghao, too, seemed lost in his own reflections, and silence settled between them.
A long time passed before either came back to the present.
Afterward, He Zhenghao explained the duties and precautions involved in guarding an island. Li Fan committed each detail to memory.
Finally, with a note of pride, He Zhenghao shared a secret known only to those who had served as island guardians.
“The array covers the entire island,” He Zhenghao said. “Each time it is activated, it draws a sliver of essential qi from every mortal within its bounds.
“The amount taken is minuscule and harmless to the mortals. But gathered together, these traces accumulate into a considerable whole.
“Once converted, this essential qi elevates the concentration of spiritual qi within the array.”
“Cultivating inside this island protection array isn’t as efficient as activating the Assisted Cultivation Mode within the Tianxuan Mirror, but it is significantly faster than practicing in the world outside.”
After one last reminder for Li Fan to contact him if any issues arose, He Zhenghao took his leave.
Clutching the guardian token, Li Fan felt the array’s power surge through him. His divine sense expanded instantly, enveloping the entire island.
He observed the ordinary mortals and the Tai’an Fruits in the central array going about their lives.
After a long time, he sighed.
Breaking the bones of all under heaven, sucking out their marrow—all to serve the path of cultivation.
If he could, Li Fan would naturally want to do something about it. Unfortunately, he was currently just a lowly Qi Refinement cultivator.
The only thing he could do for now was focus on his own cultivation.
Li Fan suppressed the myriad thoughts swirling in his heart.
From that day onward, Li Fan settled on Tai’an Island.
It had to be said—being an island guardian was genuinely quite relaxing.
The mortals on the island dared not disturb the Immortal Master without cause.
Li Fan’s duties consisted of periodically checking that the island protection array was functioning correctly and promptly harvesting and storing the ripe Tai’an Fruits. These were little more than trivial chores, and he could use his remaining free time however he wanted.
Li Fan poured all of it into rigorous cultivation.
One Hundred Applications of Spiritual Qi, A Primer on Arcane Arts, The Secret to Certain Victory in Combat—Strike First, Survival is Victory, Unbreakable Speed ...
Starting with these foundational texts, Li Fan gradually mastered a number of simple, lesser arcane arts. This included techniques like the Aura Concealment Art, Feigned Death Art, Wind Riding Art, and Great Strength Art.
As he studied, Li Fan couldn’t help but marvel at how far the Myriad Immortals Alliance went to safeguard its monopoly on knowledge.
The knowledge purchased and learned from the Tianxuan Mirror was fine for one’s own study and use. But attempting to teach it to others after learning it was impossible.
The only exception was that one wielded power that surpassed the Tianxuan Mirror itself, and thus was strong enough to break the restrictions woven into the knowledge.
Li Fan did not know what cultivation level the Tianxuan Mirror’s power was equivalent to. But reasoning from common sense, it should be at least on par with, if not superior to, a Spirit Transformation cultivator.
The might of a Spirit Transformation cultivator was far beyond anything Li Fan could comprehend in his current state. So, no matter how dissatisfied he felt, he could only accept reality for the time being.
After finishing these books, Li Fan began attempting to read books related to alchemy, artifact forging, and arrays.
Compared to the earlier books on arcane arts, this material was far more complicated. Bogged down by the sheer complexity of information, Li Fan didn’t know where to even begin tackling them.
The analysis and identification of the age and effects of various herbs was merely part of the foundational knowledge section in the Primer on Alchemy . Yet this section alone took him a full ten-plus days to read through once.
And that was without even mentioning the subsequent sections on the selection and methods of controlling alchemical flames, pill furnace consecration, and practical combat alchemy. Li Fan estimated it would take him at least a year and a half to finish reading it all.
He knew mastering these often required the personal instruction of a master. So after a brief internal debate, Li Fan reluctantly chose to abandon them for the time being.
And so, he temporarily cast aside these distracting thoughts and began cultivating the Thousand Mechanisms Jade Cosmos Scripture.
This technique from the ancient Heavenly Mechanisms Sect was truly obscure and difficult to understand. It was completely different from the Lesser Water Manipulation Art Li Fan had previously cultivated, as if they were products of entirely different systems.
Even with the constant aid of the Liuli Pill to enhance his comprehension, it still took Li Fan the better part of a year just to grasp the basics.
The sheer difficulty of it made Li Fan consider entering Tianxuan Mirror to cultivate the Thousand Mechanisms Jade Cosmos Scripture in the Assisted Cultivation Mode. But in the end, he suppressed that notion.
Ultimately, Li Fan still couldn’t bring himself to trust the Myriad Immortals Alliance. Judging by their methods, the alliance was clearly not some benevolent organization.
If he attracted the interest of the Tianxuan Mirror, exposing a Nascent Soul technique would be one thing, but exposing the existence of Return to Truth would mean true, irrevocable damnation.
So Li Fan chose the slower path, cultivating at his own pace.
A year passed this way.
Li Fan returned to Myriad Immortals Island to collect his reward for serving as acting guardian, 800 contribution points. With them, he redeemed the late-stage Qi Refinement portion of the Lesser Water Manipulation Art.
He then spent five days immersed in the Tianxuan Mirror’s Assisted Cultivation Mode before finally, and reluctantly, making his way back to Tai’an Island.
Those five days of intense cultivation had given him a palpable sense that the threshold of the late-stage Qi Refinement realm was now within reach.