Chapter 52

"The ordinary people on the island had all disappeared. The city where they once gathered had now become a forest of lush trees, resembling a primitive forest."

"On the branches of those trees hang numerous Taian Fruits."

"When a gentle breeze passes by, the fruit's human faces reveal an eerie smile."

As He Zhenghao narrated, Li Fan felt as if he could see countless human faces smiling at him.

Thinking about how he had just eaten one of these fruits, Li Fan involuntarily felt a shiver down his spine.

He Zhenghao continued speaking.

"The Golden Core guardian, after recovering from his shock, went down to investigate the city."

"There wasn't a single ordinary person left on the entire island; they had all turned into smiling fruit. However, the Golden Core guardian couldn't figure out why this bizarre event had occurred. So, he had no choice but to report it."

"The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance sent someone to investigate, but no one knows what the specific results were. However, all the trees in the city were later cut down, and the city was restored to its original appearance. The human-faced fruits acted as if nothing had happened, continuing to live in the city in the same way."

"Generation after generation, they've reproduced until now. The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance has also constructed a great formation here, and dedicated individuals guard and harvest the fruits."

Upon hearing this, Li Fan couldn't help but say, "In this case, aren't these Taian Fruits essentially human?"

He Zhenghao shook his head, saying, "How can they be human? They have no consciousness of their own and act solely on instinct. At most, they retain some remnants of human desires."

Li Fan pondered for a moment and ultimately didn't argue.

This matter was too extraordinary, and he didn't know how to categorize these Taian Fruits.

However, once the effect of prolonging one's life was discovered by cultivators, these details became unimportant.

Not to mention these Taian Fruits, even if they were genuine ordinary humans, if consuming them extended one's lifespan, they couldn't escape the fate of being consumed.

Li Fan fell into contemplation.

He Zhenghao also seemed to recall something and fell into silence.

After a long while, the two of them finally snapped back to reality.

Next, He Zhenghao briefed Li Fan on some matters to pay attention to regarding guarding the island.

Li Fan remembered them all.

"The great formation covers the entire island, and each operation of the formation extracts a trace of spiritual energy from the ordinary people within it."

"The amount extracted is very small and won't have any significant impact on ordinary people. However, when these traces of spiritual energy gather and accumulate, the quantity becomes considerable."

"This energy, after conversion, can enhance the density of spiritual energy within the formation."

"Hence, while cultivating within this island protection formation isn't as efficient as using the assistance cultivation mode in the Tianxuan Mirror, it's still considerably faster than regular cultivation outside."

Finally, He Zhenghao smugly revealed a secret known only to those who had served as island guardians.

After some more advice and telling Li Fan to contact him if he had any questions, He Zhenghao left contentedly.

With the island guardian token in hand and the array's enhancement, Li Fan's consciousness enveloped the entire island.

The ordinary people on the island and the Taian Fruits in the central core formation were all busy living their lives.

After observing for a long time, Li Fan sighed.

"Harvest the essence of the world to serve one's cultivation."

If possible, Li Fan naturally wanted to do something. Unfortunately, he was currently just a small Qi Condensation stage cultivator.

Currently, the only thing he could do was to work hard in his cultivation.

Li Fan suppressed various thoughts in his mind.

From then on, Li Fan stationed himself on Taian Island.

It had to be said that being an island guardian was relatively relaxed.

The ordinary people on the island wouldn't disturb the Immortal Master for trivial matters.

The only thing Li Fan needed to do was to check the island protection formation from time to time and harvest the ripe Taian Fruits, among other such trivial tasks.

During the rest of the time, Li Fan had his own discretion.

Li Fan wholeheartedly devoted himself to diligent cultivation.

'A Hundred Techniques of Spiritual Qi Usage,' 'Basic Understanding of Spells,' 'Surefire Secrets of Winning Duels - Strike First and Be Strong,' 'Victory Is in Being Swift,'...

Starting with this fundamental cultivation knowledge, Li Fan gradually grasped some simple minor spells.

Techniques like breath-holding, feigning death, flight, and temporary strengthening, among others.

While learning, Li Fan couldn't help but marvel at how the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance held monopolies on knowledge.

These techniques were the knowledge he bought from the Tianxuan Mirror, and using them for personal learning posed no problem.

But teaching them to others after learning them was not allowed.

Unless your strength surpassed the Tianxuan Mirror and naturally could decipher the restrictions embedded within.

Li Fan didn't know the specific strength of the Tianxuan Mirror.

However, judging by common sense, it should be at least not below a Soul Transformation stage cultivator.

The might of a Soul Transformation cultivator was far beyond what Li Fan could speculate at present.

So, even if he was dissatisfied, he could only accept the reality for the time being.

After finishing these books, Li Fan started attempting to read about alchemy, artifact forging, formations, and related topics.

Compared to the previous section on spells, these contents were much more complicated.

It was a vast and complex field, and Li Fan didn't know where to start.

Just reading through the basics of alchemy in 'Introduction to Alchemy,' which included the harvesting of various herbs and their effects as well as identification and analysis, took Li Fan a full ten days.

Not to mention what came after: choosing and controlling the alchemical fire, furnace control, and alchemy practice. Li Fan estimated it would be impossible for him to fully read through all this in less than a year.

Knowing that learning these skills often required being guided by a master, after some hesitation, Li Fan finally chose to temporarily give up.

So, he temporarily set aside distracting thoughts and started practicing 'Jade Cosmos Thousand Variations Sutra.'

This ancient technique from the Tianji Sect was truly obscure and difficult to comprehend. It was entirely different from the 'Minor Yan Water Technique' that Li Fan had practiced before, not belonging to the same system at all.

Even with the assistance of Liuli Pills to enhance his comprehension, Li Fan still spent nearly half a year just to barely grasp the basics.

The hardship made Li Fan contemplate going to the Tianxuan Mirror and practicing 'Jade Cosmos Thousand Variations Sutra' in the super-assisted cultivation mode.

But in the end, he suppressed this thought.

Ultimately, Li Fan couldn't let go of his concerns about the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.

Judging from their way of doing things, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance was clearly not a benevolent group.

If he aroused the interest of the Tianxuan Mirror and exposed the Nascent Soul technique, it wouldn't be much of an issue. But if the existence of was exposed, that would be a genuine disaster.

So, Li Fan chose to cultivate slowly, despite his numerous frustrations.

And so, a year passed.

Li Fan returned to Ten Thousand Immortals Island and received the reward for acting as the temporary guardian, 800 contribution points. He then exchanged these points for the later stages of 'Minor Yan Water Technique.'

After practicing for five days in the assisted cultivation mode of the Tianxuan Mirror, he reluctantly returned to Taian Island.

Five days of rapid cultivation made Li Fan faintly feel that he was not far from the later stages of Qi Condensation.