Chapter 50 – Tai’an Has Spirit Fruit

The prices of items sold within the Celestial Mystery Mirror were not fixed.

Prices were regulated by the Celestial Mystery Mirror itself, rising in direct proportion to the number of buyers.

For instance, at this very moment — the moment news spread that glazed pearls had been cut off from supply and glazed pills could no longer be refined for some time — a portion of people immediately began buying in a frenzy.

Some of these buyers genuinely needed glazed pills to accelerate their cultivation, but the majority were like Li Fan: hoping to corner the market and make a tidy profit.

And so the price of glazed pills shot up from 6 points to 9 points in short order.

The sudden price movement drew the attention of those who had not yet heard the news.

After asking around, they learned that glazed pearls were on the verge of disappearing entirely.

These people promptly joined the wave of panic buyers.

The price of glazed pills rose again.

It briefly reached the staggering price of 12 points per pill.

Li Fan judged that the moment was right and chose to unload every glazed pill in his possession.

He sold them directly to the Celestial Mystery Mirror, naturally.

Because so many people were buying, the Mirror’s buyback price was not nearly as punishing as it had been when it bought back the Halt Stele Fragment — which had been close to half price.

Instead, it offered the “generous” rate of 10 points per pill.

Li Fan was not greedy. He swiftly sold off all 350 glazed pills he was holding.

3,500 points of contribution came in. Combined with the 129 points he had left over from before, Li Fan’s total contribution now amounted to a remarkable 3,629 points!

After Li Fan made his move, the feverish atmosphere in the market began to cool.

A price of 12 points per pill was clearly beyond the glazed pill’s actual worth.

After all, the effects of glazed pills were not irreplaceable. There were plenty of pills with similar functions. The very reason glazed pills had been so popular in the first place was their low price.

The temporary surge in glazed pill prices was simply the result of the market participants losing their heads in response to the shock of sudden news.

Once everyone calmed down, the glazed pill settled back to a relatively reasonable and stable price.

8 points of contribution per pill.

At that point, Li Fan bought another 100 glazed pills for his own cultivation use.

That spent 800 points, leaving him with 2,829 points of contribution.

Through this series of maneuvers, Li Fan had not only gained 600 points of contribution — he had also gotten 100 glazed pills for free!

600 points of contribution was equivalent to a full year’s savings for an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator who diligently stuck to their tasks without any side ventures.

To say nothing of those 100 glazed pills, which were as good as hard currency.

Murderers and arsonists wear golden belts, while those who build bridges and mend roads leave no trace behind!

Li Fan sighed to himself.

But sighing was just sighing. It did nothing to slow the spending pace of Li Fan, the man who had already secured his gains.

《Introductory Formation Theory》, 《A Primer on the Pill Dao》, 《Fundamentals of Artifact Refinement》, 《Illustrated Compendium of Treasures in the Cultivation World》 — useful or not, Li Fan bought them all first and would figure out the rest later.

Body-protecting spirit robes, qi-concealing talismans, basic composite formations, basic pill-refining sets — all the standard items cultivators commonly used, Li Fan swept them up without a second thought.

As his storage ring filled steadily to the brim, his contribution points plummeted just as steadily, dropping down to 346.

Li Fan did not feel the slightest pang of regret. Once he had finished his shopping, he swallowed a glazed pill, activated the Celestial Mystery Mirror’s cultivation assistance mode, and began practicing the 《Minor Ripple Water Art》.

Abundant water-attribute spiritual energy surged forth, and Li Fan once again experienced what it truly meant to cultivate at the speed of a genius.

The Mirror’s cultivation assistance mode, combined with the effects of the glazed pill, made Li Fan’s cultivation progress nothing short of extraordinary.

In just two days, Li Fan broke through the early Qi Refining stage. In the three days that followed, he pushed the 《Minor Ripple Water Art》 all the way to the peak of the mid Qi Refining stage.

No bottlenecks. A natural, effortless flow. Pure, unbridled exhilaration. And still he wanted more!

Li Fan had fallen deeply in love with this way of cultivating — so when the practice came to an automatic halt due to the missing late Qi Refining stage portion of the 《Minor Ripple Water Art》, he was left feeling utterly deflated and hollow.

Fortunately, the price tag on the late Qi Refining stage portion of the 《Minor Ripple Water Art》 — 600 points of contribution — was enough to bring Li Fan back to his senses.

He was just mulling over whether to sell off some glazed pills to fund the next portion of the technique when he received a visit request from He Zhenghao.

Li Fan considered it for a moment. He took the qi-concealing talisman he had just bought from his storage ring and put it on, and only then let He Zhenghao in.

The moment He Zhenghao saw Li Fan, he said with barely contained excitement: “I’ve already arranged things with the warden of Tai’an. I’ll take you to meet him next — all you need to do is accept the commission.”

He Zhenghao then produced a spirit talisman and handed it to Li Fan. “Wear this on you. And remember — don’t say too much when we meet him. Just leave everything to me.”

Li Fan took the talisman and examined it. His expression darkened.

If he hadn’t just bought one exactly like it not long ago, he might not have even recognized what it was.

This talisman was called a “Prestige Chant Talisman,” and its effect was the opposite of a qi-concealing talisman.

A qi-concealing talisman hid the wearer’s cultivation level. A Prestige Chant Talisman disguised the wearer as a cultivator of a specific realm.

By giving him this Prestige Chant Talisman, He Zhenghao was asking Li Fan to impersonate a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator!

Sure enough — all that talk about a Qi Refining stage cultivator being sufficient to guard an island had been nothing but lies to string Li Fan along.

He Zhenghao had planned from the start to have Li Fan pose as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, accept the commission from Tai’an Island’s warden, and pocket the difference in pay!

After all, the contribution points required to hire a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator versus a Qi Refining stage cultivator were not even in the same league.

He Zhenghao had not noticed the change in Li Fan’s expression. Smiling pleasantly, he introduced Li Fan to Tai’an Island’s warden: Zhou Qing’ang.

Li Fan had no good way to expose He Zhenghao, so he could only manage a strained smile as he greeted Zhou Qing’ang.

This man must never be trusted! Li Fan cast a sideways glance at He Zhenghao’s grinning face and quietly cursed him in his heart.

Zhou Qing’ang looked Li Fan over and seemed quite satisfied.

He promptly issued a direct commission to He Zhenghao on the spot.

He Zhenghao accepted the commission, then turned around and issued a commission to Li Fan in turn.

“Stand in for Zhou Qing’ang and guard Tai’an Island while he is away seeking opportunities for a breakthrough. Reward: 800 contribution points per year.”

At least He Zhenghao hadn’t skimmed too outrageously. Things being what they were, Li Fan had no choice but to accept the task.

Zhou Qing’ang handed a jade token to He Zhenghao, then left in eager haste to seek out the opportunity he needed for his breakthrough.

Seeing him go, He Zhenghao let out a quiet breath of relief. He turned and passed the token to Li Fan, saying with solemn gravity: “This is the Warden’s Token of Tai’an Island. With it, you can control the island protection formation. Please take good care of it, my friend — do not lose it.”

Li Fan accepted the token. Then the two of them stepped through a teleportation formation together and arrived on Tai’an Island.

The island protection formation of Tai’an Island was nothing like Glazed Glass Island’s grand, imposing spectacle of a thousand peaks rising in rows. It simply took the form of what appeared to be a bustling city.

What set it apart was that every inhabitant of that city was a piece of fruit wearing a strangely human face.

These fruits lived exactly as real people did — working, living, taking wives, bearing children within this city conjured by the formation.

They lived out their entire lives there.

“This is Tai’an Island’s specialty product: the Tai’an Fruit.” He Zhenghao strolled through the city alongside Li Fan, gesturing at the “crowds” of people hurrying back and forth in every direction.

“When these fruit-people die, it means the Tai’an Fruit has fully ripened. Consuming a ripe Tai’an Fruit can add five years to the lifespan of any cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage or below.”

“It only works the first time a person consumes one,” He Zhenghao added, his tone carrying a note of regret.