"All the mortals on the island vanished. Yet in the city where mortals had once gathered, dense, leafy trees grew one after another without anyone knowing when, looking like a primeval forest."
"From the boughs of those trees hung countless human-faced fruits."
"Whenever a gentle breeze blew past, a chilling smile appeared on the fruits' human faces."
As He Zhenghao spoke, Li Fan felt as though he could see countless human faces smiling at him.
Recalling that he had eaten one of these fruits just a moment ago, goosebumps erupted involuntarily all over his skin.
He Zhenghao continued his tale.
"After recovering from his shock, that Golden Core guardian went down into the city to investigate."
"Not a single mortal on the entire island survived; every last one had turned into a smiling fruit. But as for why such a bizarre thing had happened, even that Golden Core guardian could not figure it out. He had no choice but to report the matter to his superiors."
"The Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals dispatched specialists to investigate, but no one knows what conclusion they reached. Later, however, all the great trees in the city were cut down, and the city returned to its original appearance. As for those smiling fruits, as if nothing had ever happened, they continued living in the city just as before."
"Generation after generation, they reproduced right up to the present day. The Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals also constructed a grand formation here and assigned dedicated guardians to harvest the fruits."
After hearing this, Li Fan couldn't help saying, "Looking at it this way, aren't these Tai'an fruits basically human?"
He Zhenghao shook his head. "How could they be human? They have no intellect of their own whatsoever and act purely on instinct. If pressed, one could only say they retain some lingering human obsessions at most."
Li Fan fell silent for a moment, ultimately choosing not to argue.
The matter was far too bizarre, and he did not know how to define these Tai'an fruits either.
However, once their lifespan-extending efficacy was discovered by cultivators, none of that mattered anymore.
Never mind Tai'an fruits—even if they were genuine mortals, if consuming them could extend life, they would never escape the fate of being eaten.
Li Fan sank into deep thought.
He Zhenghao seemed to have recalled something as well, lapsing into silence.
Only after a long while did the two come back to their senses.
Next, He Zhenghao briefed Li Fan on the matters that required attention when guarding an island.
Li Fan committed each of them to memory.
"The grand formation covers the entire island. Each time it operates, it draws a wisp of essence from the mortals within."
"The amount extracted is minuscule and won't affect the mortals. But when these wisps of essence gather, small amounts add up to quite a substantial sum."
"Once transformed, this essence raises the concentration of spiritual energy within the formation."
"Therefore, cultivating inside this Island-Protecting Grand Formation is not as efficient as activating the auxiliary cultivation mode within the Heavenly Profound Mirror, but it is still considerably faster than in the ordinary outside world."
Finally, He Zhenghao rather smugly shared a secret with Li Fan that only cultivators who had served as island guardians knew.
After reiterating several reminders for Li Fan to contact him anytime if an issue arose, He Zhenghao took his leave unhurriedly.
Holding the Guardian Token, bolstered by the grand formation, Li Fan spread his divine sense across the entire island in an instant.
The ordinary mortals on the island and the Tai'an fruits within the central core formation were all busy living their lives.
Gazing for a long time, Li Fan let out a sigh.
"Scraping the marrow from the bones of all under heaven to nourish cultivation."
If he could, Li Fan naturally wanted to do something. Unfortunately, he was currently merely a minor Foundation Establishment cultivator.
For now, the only thing he could do was strive hard in his cultivation.
Li Fan suppressed the various thoughts swirling in his mind.
From then on, Li Fan settled down on Tai'an Island.
It had to be said that the post of island guardian was truly quite relaxed.
Unless something arose, the mortals on the island dared not disturb the immortal master.
All Li Fan needed to do were trivial matters such as periodically checking whether the Island-Protecting Grand Formation was functioning normally, harvesting and storing the ripe Tai'an fruits in a timely fashion, and the like.
The rest of his time was entirely at his own disposal.
Li Fan naturally poured all of it into arduous cultivation.
*A Hundred Techniques for Utilizing Spiritual Energy*, *Elementary Explanation of Spells*, *Secrets to Certain Victory in Spell Duels: Strike First*, *To Survive Is to Win*, *Only Speed Reigns Supreme*...
Starting by studying this foundational cultivation knowledge, Li Fan gradually mastered a few simple, minor spells, such as the Breath-Concealing Technique, Feigned Death Technique, Wind-Riding Technique, Colossal Strength Technique, and so on.
In the midst of his studies, Li Fan could not help marveling at the extent of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals' protection over their monopoly on knowledge.
With the knowledge purchased and learned from the Heavenly Profound Mirror, studying and using it oneself was fine.
However, teaching it to others after learning it was impossible.
Unless one's strength surpassed the Heavenly Profound Mirror, in which case one could naturally break through the restrictions woven inside.
Li Fan did not know which cultivation realm the Heavenly Profound Mirror's strength as a spirit treasure was equivalent to.
Going by common sense, however, it ought to be at least on par with a Soul Formation cultivator.
The might of a Soul Formation cultivator was far beyond what the present Li Fan could fathom.
Thus, no matter how much dissatisfaction he harbored, he had no choice but to accept reality for the time being.
After finishing these books, Li Fan began attempting to read the relevant materials on alchemy, artifact crafting, formations, and the like.
Compared to the earlier spell materials, these subjects were far too complex.
With countless intricate threads, Li Fan did not even know where to begin.
Just the basics of alchemy in *Elementary Explanation of the Dao of Alchemy*—identifying and analyzing the age and medicinal effects of various herbs—took Li Fan a full ten-plus days merely to read through once in its entirety.
Not to mention what came after: selecting alchemical fire and handling techniques, refining pill furnaces, and practical alchemy. Li Fan estimated that reading through all of that completely would take at least half a year to a year.
Knowing that such arts typically required a master to guide one through the door, Li Fan deliberated for a while before ultimately choosing to set them aside for now.
Putting aside extraneous thoughts, he turned his focus to cultivating the *Golden Chapter of Thousand Mechanisms and the Jade Cosmos*.
This ancient cultivation technique of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect was truly obscure and difficult to comprehend. It differed vastly from the *Lesser Water Derivation Technique* that Li Fan had previously practiced, as though it were the product of a completely different system.
Even with the liuli pearl constantly boosting his comprehension, it took Li Fan a full half a year or more just to barely gain initial mastery.
The sheer hardship of it once tempted Li Fan to head to the Heavenly Profound Mirror and cultivate the *Golden Chapter of Thousand Mechanisms and the Jade Cosmos* under its super auxiliary cultivation state.
Ultimately, however, Li Fan suppressed that impulse.
At the end of the day, Li Fan could not put his trust in the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
Judging by their conduct, the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals was clearly no benevolent entity.
If he piqued the interest of the Heavenly Profound Mirror, exposing a Nascent Soul technique would not be a disaster, but exposing the existence of [True Reversion] would truly lead to eternal damnation.
Therefore, Li Fan preferred to cultivate slowly on his own.
Just like that, a year passed.
Li Fan collected his compensation as acting guardian: 800 contribution points.
He returned to Wanxian Island and exchanged for the late Qi Condensation portion of the *Lesser Water Derivation Technique*.
After cultivating for another five days under the Heavenly Profound Mirror's auxiliary cultivation mode, he reluctantly returned to Tai'an Island.
Five days of rapid cultivation gave Li Fan the faint sensation that he was already not far from the late Qi Condensation stage.
Chapter 52