Chapter 51: Human-Faced Smiling Fruit

"The annual required上交 amount of tai an fruits is thirty. The surplus can be kept for yourself, considered as a perk of the Guardian position."

"On average, you can save two tai an fruits per year. In the Tianxuan Mirror, the price of a tai an fruit is usually around 90 to 100 Contribution Points."

"So all in all, the compensation for you acting as the proxy Guardian is not low at all." He Zhenghao cheerfully explained to Li Fan.

Li Fan nodded. Although He Zhenghao had used some tricks, these words were indeed true.

On Ten Thousand Immortals Island, it was extremely rare for a Qi Refining Stage Cultivator to earn 1000 Contribution Points annually.

In this matter, He Zhenghao ate the meat, and Li Fan got to drink some soup along the way.

"I must thank you, Senior." Li Fan cupped his hands.

"Easy, easy. Since you came from the island I guard, it's only fitting that I support you. As long as you improve your cultivation in the future, it won't be in vain for me…" He Zhenghao was saying when he suddenly stopped.

He let out a soft exclamation and looked at Li Fan with a slightly surprised tone: "You've broken through to the Middle Stage of Qi Refining?"

Li Fan was startled inwardly, not expecting that the other could see through his Concealing Qi Talisman.

He nodded and admitted generously: "That's right. I have a close relationship with Xiao Heng. Before he left, he left me a water-attributed Cultivation Technique. This technique suits me well, and my cultivation has progressed rapidly. I just broke through a few days ago."

"Hehe, you are quite cautious, my friend. If it weren't for my special technique, I might not have noticed. Did you use a Concealing Qi Talisman?"

Li Fan nodded.

"That's understandable. After all, caution never hurts. In the Cultivation World, there are truly many people with ulterior motives…" He Zhenghao was saying when he suddenly noticed Li Fan looking at him strangely. He quickly laughed it off and changed the subject: "I didn't expect you to be so close with Xiao Heng that he would leave you a technique."

"That Xiao Heng is truly a genius. How many years has he been cultivating, and he's already about to reach Foundation Establishment? His future is limitless!" Apparently, He Zhenghao had been keeping an eye on Xiao Heng, and now he spoke with great emotion and envy.

"It's not impossible for him to achieve Golden Core or even Nascent Soul in the future. You have a close bond with him, so you are truly blessed with deep fortune."

As He Zhenghao spoke, his tone grew warmer.

"Meeting you, Senior, is also a fortunate event." Li Fan casually flattered.

Hearing this, He Zhenghao laughed heartily, very pleased.

Just then, his steps halted, and he turned to look in a certain direction in the city: "As it happens, a tai an fruit has ripened now. Let me demonstrate for you how to pick the tai an fruit."

Li Fan nodded and followed He Zhenghao to a residence.

Before even entering the courtyard, they heard bursts of wailing.

Walking inside, Li Fan saw a dozen human-faced fruits kneeling in the yard, dressed in mourning white.

In a coffin at the center lay a human-faced fruit that seemed to be sleeping.

The fruit had its eyes closed, mouth crooked, revealing a strange smile, and its body was completely still.

None of the human-faced fruits in the yard noticed Li Fan and He Zhenghao's arrival, as they were all mourning the departure of their kin.

The scene looked both ridiculous and terrifying.

As they drew closer, Li Fan smelled a strange fragrance wafting from the coffin.

He Zhenghao approached the coffin, muttered something, and pointed at the forehead of the smiling fruit inside.

A soft light enveloped it, and the smiling fruit slowly rose from the coffin, floating in midair.

Then it gradually shrank, transforming into a small, bright red fruit.

As the tai an fruit formed, the human-faced fruits in mourning clothes suddenly became quiet.

Their white mourning clothes slowly disappeared, and their expressions gradually shifted from grief to confusion.

After looking around blankly for a moment, the fruits silently dispersed.

"How is it?" He Zhenghao handed the tai an fruit to Li Fan.

"Very strange." The sight of picking the tai an fruit made Li Fan feel a bit creeped out, for some reason, and he could only answer reluctantly.

Li Fan took the tai an fruit in his hand and examined it closely.

The fruit looked similar to an apple from his memory, but its color was so red it was almost glaring.

And a continuous stream of fragrance emanated from the tai an fruit.

The fragrance seemed to penetrate deep into one's Soul. Smelling it, Li Fan couldn't help swallowing.

"You haven't tasted a tai an fruit yet, my friend. Why not give it a try?" He Zhenghao suggested.

"Things that increase Lifespan have a natural allure for us Cultivators. The longer the temptation lasts, the stronger it becomes." Seeing Li Fan hesitate, He Zhenghao added with a smile.

Indeed, the effect of the fragrance seemed to accumulate. As Li Fan hesitated, the scent grew stronger.

Driven by the fragrance, waves of hunger surged from deep within.

So, after a moment, Li Fan stopped hesitating and swallowed the tai an fruit whole.

The hunger immediately vanished. Although it was just a small fruit, Li Fan burped after eating it, as if he had consumed a big meal.

Li Fan checked his [Huan Zhen] panel and saw that his maximum physiological age had indeed increased by five years.

He smacked his lips, savoring the taste of the tai an fruit: "This is the first time I've encountered such a wonder that increases Lifespan. It's truly extraordinary. But its shape is a bit strange, looking like a human, which is quite unsettling."

He Zhenghao replied with a smile: "The tai an fruit is transformed from humans, so of course it looks like one."

Li Fan's expression froze instantly.

Suppressing the churning in his stomach, Li Fan asked in shock: "Are all the tai an fruits in this city actually humans?"

He Zhenghao was somewhat dismissive of Li Fan's reaction.

But since Li Fan had only recently entered the Cultivation World, he could understand. So he continued to explain: "Strictly speaking, tai an fruits are indeed fruits, not humans."

Li Fan breathed a slight sigh of relief, but still felt uneasy: "Then what does 'transformed from humans' mean?"

"That leads to the origin of the tai an fruit." He Zhenghao led Li Fan as they flew back above the city, speaking as they went.

"Five hundred years ago, Taian Island was just a very ordinary island. The surrounding sea area had no valuable specialties, and only a few thousand Mortals lived there for generations."

"There are countless such small islands in the Congyun Sea."

"But one day, everything began to change."

"First, Mortals on neighboring islands noticed that they hadn't seen the residents of Taian Island for a long time. Previously, merchants from the island would occasionally visit, but they hadn't seen them for over a year."

"Driven by curiosity, some people sailed to Taian Island to find out what was happening."

"But several groups went and never returned."

"Realizing something was wrong, people quickly reported the matter to the island Guardian at the time."

"That Guardian was already a Golden Core Stage Cultivator. Yet even so, when he saw what had happened on Taian Island, he was deeply terrified."