Tai'an Has a Spirit Fruit

Tai'an Has a Spirit Fruit

The prices of items sold in the Heavenly Xuan Mirror were not set in stone.

They were regulated by the Heavenly Xuan Mirror and were positively correlated with the number of people buying them.

For example, when news spread that Liuli Pearls had run out of supply and Liuli Pills could no longer be refined for some time, it immediately sparked a buying frenzy among some people.

Some genuinely needed Liuli Pills to speed up their cultivation, but even more were like Li Fan, hoping to hoard them and make a killing.

Thus, the price of Liuli Pills rose from 6 points to 9 points in a short time.

This sudden price change also caught the attention of those who had yet to hear the news.

After asking around, they learned that Liuli Pearls were about to vanish entirely.

They hurriedly joined the army of buyers as well.

The price of Liuli Pills rose once more.

For a brief time, it reached the astonishing price of 12 points per pill.

Seeing that the time was right, Li Fan chose to sell off all the Liuli Pills in his possession.

Naturally, he sold them directly to the Heavenly Xuan Mirror.

Since there were many buyers, the Heavenly Xuan Mirror's purchase price was not nearly halved as it had been when buying the Halting Remnant Stele.

Instead, it stood at the "high price" of 10 points per pill.

Li Fan was not greedy. He readily sold all 350 Liuli Pills he held.

With 3,500 Merit Points added to his account, plus the 129 points he had left over, Li Fan now had a total of 3,629 Merit Points! After Li Fan made his move, the feverish mood in the market gradually began to cool.

A price of 12 points per pill had clearly exceeded the inherent value of Liuli Pills.

After all, the effects of Liuli Pills were not irreplaceable. There were quite a few pills with similar functions. The reason Liuli Pills were so popular was precisely because they were cheap.

The temporary surge in the price of Liuli Pills had only come because the people in the market had been jolted by sudden news and temporarily lost their heads.

Once everyone calmed down, Liuli Pills returned to a relatively reasonable and stable price.

8 Merit Points per pill.

At that point, Li Fan bought another 100 Liuli Pills for his own cultivation.

He spent 800 points, leaving him with 2,829 Merit Points.

Through this maneuver, Li Fan had increased his Merit Points by 600 while also getting 100 Liuli Pills for free!

600 Merit Points were equivalent to a whole year's savings for an ordinary Qi Refining Cultivator who diligently focused only on completing tasks.

Not to mention those 100 Liuli Pills, which were practically hard currency.

Those who killed and set fires wore golden belts, while those who built bridges and repaired roads left not even a corpse behind!

Li Fan sighed.

Yet a sigh was just a sigh. It did not slow the spending of Li Fan, the beneficiary, in the slightest.

"Introduction to Arrays," "Elementary Understanding of the Dao of Pills," "Fundamentals of Artifact Crafting," "Cultivation World Treasure Compendium"—whether they were useful or not, Li Fan bought them first and worried about it later.

Protective robes, Aura Concealing Talismans, basic composite arrays, basic pill-refining sets, and other items commonly used by cultivators—Li Fan bought them all to his heart's content.

As his Storage Ring gradually filled up, his Merit Points plummeted, falling to 346.

Li Fan did not feel the slightest heartache. After finishing his shopping, he swallowed a Liuli Pill, activated assisted cultivation mode, and began cultivating the "Minor Evolution Water Art."

Abundant water-attributed spiritual qi surged forth, and Li Fan once again experienced what the cultivation speed of a genius felt like.

The Heavenly Xuan Mirror's assisted cultivation mode, coupled with the effects of the Liuli Pill, made Li Fan's cultivation progress advance by a thousand miles each day.

In just two days, Li Fan broke through Early Qi Refining. Then, after another three days, he cultivated the "Minor Evolution Water Art" to perfection at the Qi Refining Mid-Stage.

There was no bottleneck; it all flowed as naturally as water reaching its channel, exhilarating and utterly satisfying, leaving him wanting more! Li Fan became deeply immersed in this method of cultivation, so when his cultivation automatically stopped because the Qi Refining Late Stage portion of the "Minor Evolution Water Art" was missing, he felt intense disappointment and emptiness.

Fortunately, the price of 600 Merit Points for the Qi Refining Late Stage portion of the "Minor Evolution Water Art" made Li Fan calm down somewhat.

Just as he was considering whether to sell some Liuli Pills in exchange for the next portion of the cultivation method, he received a visitation request from He Zheng Hao.

Li Fan thought for a moment, took out the Aura Concealing Talisman he had just bought from his Storage Ring and put it on, then allowed He Zheng Hao inside.

The moment He Zheng Hao saw Li Fan, he said excitedly, "I've already settled things with the Tai'an Garrison Commander. Next, I'll take you to meet him, and all you need to do is accept the commission."

He Zheng Hao then took out a spirit talisman and handed it to Li Fan. "Wear this on you. Remember, when we meet him later, don't say much. Leave everything to me."

Li Fan accepted the spirit talisman and gave it a look, his face immediately darkening.

If Li Fan had not just bought an identical one not long ago, he truly would not have recognized what it was.

This spirit talisman was called the Songwei Talisman, and its effect was the opposite of an Aura Concealing Talisman.

An Aura Concealing Talisman concealed one's cultivation, while a Songwei Talisman was used to disguise oneself as a cultivator of a certain realm.

The Songwei Talisman He Zheng Hao had given him was meant to make Li Fan pose as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator!

Sure enough, that nonsense about Qi Refining Stage cultivators being enough to guard an island was all just a lie to fool Li Fan.

He Zheng Hao had long intended for Li Fan to pose as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, accept the commission from Tai'an Island's garrison commander, and pocket the difference!

One had to know that the Merit Points needed to hire a Foundation Establishment Cultivator and a Qi Refining Cultivator could not be mentioned in the same breath.

He Zheng Hao did not notice Li Fan's expression. Smiling broadly, he introduced Tai'an Island's garrison commander, Zhou Qing'ang, to Li Fan.

Li Fan could not very well expose He Zheng Hao, so he could only force a smile and greet Zhou Qing'ang.

This man must never be befriended too deeply! Li Fan secretly complained to himself as he glanced sidelong at the smiling He Zheng Hao.

Zhou Qing'ang looked Li Fan over and was quite satisfied.

He immediately issued a targeted commission to He Zheng Hao.

After He Zheng Hao accepted it, he turned around and issued a commission to Li Fan.

"While Zhou Qing'ang is away seeking a fortuitous opportunity, replace him as the garrison commander of Tai'an Island. Reward: 800 Merit Points per year."

Fortunately, He Zheng Hao had not skimmed off too outrageous an amount. At this point, Li Fan could only accept the task.

After Zhou Qing'ang handed a jade command token to He Zheng Hao, he could not wait to leave and seek the opportunity for his breakthrough.

Seeing this, He Zheng Hao also let out a breath of relief. He passed the token to Li Fan and said rather solemnly, "This is Tai'an Island's Garrison Command Token. With it, you can control the Island Protection Array. Young friend, be sure to keep it safe and do not lose it."

Li Fan accepted the command token, and the two of them traveled through the teleportation array together, arriving at Tai'an Island.

Tai'an Island's Island Protection Array was not as imposing as Liuli Island's, with its thousand towering peaks. It merely took the form of what appeared to be a prosperous city.

What set it apart was that every resident in the city was a fruit with a strange human face.

Like real people, these fruits worked, lived, married, and had children within this city manifested by the array.

They lived out their entire lives.

"This is Tai'an Island's specialty, the Tai'an Fruit." He Zheng Hao strolled through the city with Li Fan, pointing at the endlessly bustling "crowds."

"When the people transformed from these fruits die, it means the Tai'an Fruits have ripened. Consuming a ripe Tai'an Fruit can increase the lifespan of cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Realm and below by five years."

"It only works the first time each person consumes one," He Zheng Hao said regretfully.