The mortals on the island have all disappeared. In the cities where mortals once gathered, towering trees now grow, lush and verdant like a primeval forest.
Hanging from the branches of these trees are fruits with human faces.
As the breeze passes by, a chilling smile spreads across the faces of these fruits.
With He Zhenghao's narration, Li Fan seemed to see countless human faces smiling at him.
Recalling that he had just eaten one of these fruits, Li Fan couldn't help but shiver.
He Zhenghao continued speaking.
"The Golden Core cultivator stationed here was initially shocked but then regained his composure and descended into the city to investigate."
"Not a single mortal survived on the entire island; all had turned into these smiling face fruits. The reason behind this bizarre occurrence remained unclear, even to the Golden Core cultivator, so he reported it."
"The Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals sent specialists to investigate, but no one knows the exact findings. However, the trees in the city were later cut down, and the city returned to its original appearance. The smiling face fruits continued to live in the city as if nothing had happened."
"Generation after generation, they have thrived to this day. The Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals also constructed a grand formation here, appointing people to guard and harvest the fruits."
After hearing this, Li Fan couldn't help but say, "So, these Tai'an Fruits are essentially people?"
He Zhenghao shook his head, "How could they be people? They have no consciousness of their own and act purely on instinct. At most, they retain some human obsessions."
Li Fan pondered for a moment but ultimately did not argue.
The matter was too mysterious, and he didn't know how to define these Tai'an Fruits.
However, once their life-extending properties were discovered by cultivators, none of that mattered.
Not to mention the Tai'an Fruits, even if they were real mortals, if consuming them could extend life, they couldn't escape being eaten.
Li Fan fell into contemplation.
He Zhenghao also seemed lost in thought, and both remained silent for a long time.
Eventually, they snapped back to reality.
He Zhenghao then explained to Li Fan the important aspects of guarding the island.
Li Fan committed everything to memory.
"The grand formation covers the entire island, and each time it operates, it extracts a trace of essence from the mortals within."
"The amount extracted is minimal and won't affect the mortals. However, when these traces accumulate, the quantity becomes considerable."
"These essences, once transformed, can increase the concentration of spiritual energy within the formation."
"Thus, cultivating within this Island Protection Array isn't as efficient as using the auxiliary cultivation mode in the Profound Mirror, but it's still faster than the ordinary outside world."
Finally, He Zhenghao shared a secret known only to those who have served as island guardians, much to Li Fan's intrigue.
After a few more reminders to contact him if any issues arose, He Zhenghao leisurely departed.
Holding the guardian token, with the grand formation's support, Li Fan's divine sense enveloped the entire island.
The ordinary mortals on the island and the Tai'an Fruits in the central core formation were all busy with their lives.
After observing for a while, Li Fan sighed.
"Extracting the world's marrow to serve cultivation."
If possible, Li Fan naturally wanted to do something. Unfortunately, he was still just a small Qi Refining stage cultivator.
For now, the only thing he could do was focus on cultivation.
Li Fan suppressed his thoughts.
From then on, Li Fan settled down on Tai'an Island.
It must be said, the position of island guardian was quite relaxed.
The mortals on the island dared not disturb the Immortal Master without cause.
All Li Fan needed to do was periodically check if the Island Protection Array was functioning properly and promptly harvest and store the mature Tai'an Fruits.
The rest of the time, Li Fan could freely allocate.
Naturally, he devoted himself entirely to diligent cultivation.
"One Hundred Techniques for Using Spiritual Energy," "Introduction to Spells," "Secrets to Winning Duels—Strike First," "Survival is Victory," "Speed is Invincible"...
Starting with these basic cultivation knowledge, Li Fan gradually mastered some simple spells.
Such as the Breath Concealment Technique, Feigned Death Technique, Wind Riding Technique, and Great Strength Technique.
During his studies, Li Fan couldn't help but marvel at the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals' monopoly on knowledge.
The knowledge purchased and learned from the Heaven's Mystery Realm could be used personally without issue.
But teaching it to others after learning was not allowed.
Unless one's strength surpassed the Profound Mirror, enabling them to break the restrictions interwoven within.
The specific level of cultivator power that the Profound Mirror, this spiritual treasure, equated to, Li Fan didn't know.
However, common sense suggested it was at least not below a Nascent Soul stage cultivator.
The might of a Nascent Soul cultivator was far beyond what Li Fan could fathom at present.
So, despite any dissatisfaction, he could only accept reality for now.
After finishing these books, Li Fan attempted to read about alchemy, artifact refining, and formations.
Compared to the previous spell section, these topics were exceedingly complex.
With endless intricacies, Li Fan didn't know where to start.
Just reading through the basics of alchemy in "Introduction to Alchemy," including the years and efficacy analysis of various herbs, took Li Fan over ten days.
Not to mention the subsequent sections on choosing and controlling alchemical fire, refining cauldron rituals, and practical alchemy, which Li Fan estimated would take at least a year or more to fully comprehend.
Understanding that these skills often required a master to guide one into the path, Li Fan, after some hesitation, temporarily chose to give up.
Thus, he set aside distractions and began cultivating the "Thousand Mysteries Jade Golden Seal."
This ancient Heavenly Mechanism Sect technique was incredibly abstruse, vastly different from the "Small Cyclic Water Art" Li Fan previously practiced, as if from an entirely different system.
Even with the constant aid of the Glass Pearl to enhance his comprehension, it took Li Fan half a year to barely get started.
The difficulty made Li Fan consider going to the Profound Mirror to cultivate the "Thousand Mysteries Jade Golden Seal" under the super auxiliary cultivation state.
But ultimately, Li Fan suppressed this thought.
After all, Li Fan still couldn't fully trust the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
Judging by their methods, the alliance was clearly not benevolent.
If he attracted the Profound Mirror's interest, exposing the Nascent Soul technique was one thing, but revealing the existence of [Return to Origin] would truly be disastrous.
So Li Fan preferred to cultivate slowly on his own.
And so, a year passed.
Li Fan returned to the Ten Thousand Immortals Island, received his reward for acting as a guardian, 800 contribution points, and then exchanged them for the late Qi Refining section of the "Small Cyclic Water Art."
After cultivating in the Profound Mirror's auxiliary mode for five days, he reluctantly returned to Tai'an Island.
The five days of intensive cultivation made Li Fan feel he was not far from reaching the late Qi Refining stage.
(End of Chapter)