Chapter 1: The Life Talisman Ball (Part 2)

A faint green mist seeped from Guo Shier’s face. After a moment, it condensed into a small talisman ball, about the size of a finger, emitting a cool glow as it hovered in front of his mouth and nose. Guo Shier kept his eyes closed, seemingly deeply immersed in it.

Li Ran screamed in fright, “Damn it… This can’t be possible!”
Guo Shier suddenly opened his eyes, and the ball-shaped talisman instantly turned into a beam of green light that rushed into his nostrils. He said in confusion, “What can’t be possible? Brother Li, you scared me!”
Guo Shier didn’t understand what was going on, but everyone present was a formidable figure and understood what this meant. It meant Guo Shier already had a life talisman, yet he was only nine years old—this was astonishing.

Li Ran asked, “Shier, how old are you exactly? Are you really only nine?”
Luo Jie smiled bitterly. “Sometimes… I doubt he’s even nine, but I know he really is. There’s no doubt about it. Heh, we have a nickname for him… ‘Little Demon’!”
Guo Shier protested, “Master, don’t slander me like that! I’m just a bit smarter, with a higher IQ and better aptitude… Uh, by the way, Brother Li, what did you say couldn’t be possible?”
Li Ran asked, “How did you find that life talisman?”
Guo Shier replied, “It was easy, Brother Li. Why would it take ten years to find it? Isn’t it better to find it earlier?” He felt a bit uneasy.

Li Ran was completely speechless. After a long while, he said, “Your master is right. You’re… a Little Demon!”
Guo Shier suddenly remembered something and asked happily, “Master, master, have I advanced to a talisman master?”
Luo Jie sighed and said, “This is… just a nominal talisman master. I’m not sure if it counts as an advancement. Your situation is too special, and my master can’t give an accurate assessment. Shier, whether you’ve advanced or not isn’t important. What matters is… your strength must improve. Have you done that?”

This cold splash of water snapped Guo Shier out of his daze. He said, “Hmm, it seems my strength isn’t enough. I still lack too many things.”
Li Ran looked strange. He seemed to want to say something but then closed his mouth. After a while, he said, “Brother Luo Jie, you’re really lucky. But as for the development of your disciple… heh, it’s better if you don’t interfere too much. Let him develop freely. Heh, you just need to guide his direction.”

Luo Jie pondered for a moment before agreeing, “Indeed, this kid is progressing too fast. I’m a bit at a loss too. Well, fine, I’ll follow your advice.”
Li Ran stood up and said, “Well, it’s been great meeting you all. I need to leave for now. You can stay in this thatched cottage. Just leave when you go.”
Li Ran left so quickly that his figure disappeared into the Talisman Gate. It wasn’t until the gate vanished that everyone came back to their senses.
Luo Jie asked, “What do you all think?”
Qi Nanshan said, “Elder, I don’t think he’s talking nonsense… The things he brought are rare treasures even in our world, especially those related to the Talisman Gate… This is the first time I’ve seen such amazing talismans that can allow one to enter and exit secret realms at will. By the way, Elder, can you replicate them?”
Luo Jie kept his Talisman Gate spirit talisman in his life talisman book. He could analyze it in detail without taking it out, even more clearly than holding it in his hand. After a while, he shook his head and said, “I don’t know what method was used to create them. It’s different from our system, and their techniques are more advanced.”
Qi Nanshan said, “I sensed a powerful force in him. If I fought him, I wouldn’t have any confidence of winning.”
Guo Shier said, “Grandpa Nanshan, could he be a Talisman Warrior? But there are no talisman patterns on him.”
Qi Nanshan shook his head. “Yes, but if a high-level Talisman Warrior advances, the talisman patterns on their body should be able to hide inside their body. I don’t know if he’s at a higher rank than me, but they clearly have a different system—one that’s more advanced than ours.”
Luo Jie nodded as well. “Hmm, from our conversation, it’s clear they’re stronger than us. I think Li Ran is also a high-ranking professional among them, though I don’t know what his profession is. He refused to reveal it.”
Guo Shier suddenly remembered and said, “Master, Brother Li said he’s 600 years old. Do you think that’s possible?”
Luo Jie remained silent for a long time before saying, “At first, I didn’t believe it, but… he doesn’t seem to be bluffing. It’s a pity he’s so reserved with us, and we can’t say too much either. Both sides have their concerns. Thankfully, he has no ill intentions. If he turned against us, I’m not sure I could fight him.”
He gave a bitter smile and added, “It’s purely a feeling. Even invisibly, he can affect my fighting spirit… He’s very powerful.”
Qi Nanshan nodded. “I feel the same way. It makes one lose the will to fight, as if losing is inevitable the moment battle starts! I can’t imagine what kind of existence they are.”

Luo Jie shook his head and said, “We can’t go. Maybe Guo Shier has a chance, but we can’t.”
Guo Shier said, “Since the master of this place has left, let’s go too.”
Luo Jie stood up and said, “Shier is right. Let’s leave here first and head over to the pond. Hehe, we’ve gained a lot this time. Although Li Ran is mysterious, he has no ill intentions. We’re fortunate to have met such a great expert.”
Qi Nanshan sighed, “Hehe, it’s the first time in my life that I’ve seen such a mysterious master.”
Guo Shier walked outside and asked as he went, “Grandpa Nanshan, you’ve been to many secret realms. How are they compared to this one?”
Qi Nanshan shook his head. “Each secret realm is different; they can’t be compared. If it weren’t for meeting Li Ran, we still wouldn’t understand many things.”
Luo Jie had been to even more secret realms, and he agreed, “Yes, it’s the first time I’ve seen such a mysterious master. I thought I had reached the highest level among professionals, but it seems I’m still far behind… Hehe, I was like a frog in a well.”
The group stepped out of the thatched cottage, and Luo Jie personally closed the door.
Back by the pond, everyone had set up tents and most of them had gone to sleep. Guo Shier also returned to his tent, which had been set up with the help of Huo Bao and the others. As soon as he entered the tent, the first thing he did was release his Life Talisman Ball again and observe it carefully.
True Life Talisman, True Spirit Talisman, Life Talisman—these three names actually referred to the same thing: the core talisman that made up the Life Talisman Ball. For any sorcerer, talisman maker, or spellcaster, this talisman was the most important in their life. The higher the quality of the Life Talisman, the easier it would be to create a Life Talisman Book in the future.
Guo Shier understood this principle. It was like the foundation of a house. If you prepared a foundation for a single-story house, you could only build a single-story house or at most a two-story one. If you tried to build a seven- or eight-story building, problems with an unstable foundation would arise, and the building might collapse. But if you started by building a foundation for a skyscraper, there would be no issues whether you built a single-story or multi-story building later. This True Spirit Talisman was like laying an extremely solid foundation for Guo Shier.
The True Spirit Talisman was only the size of a finger, emitting a faint green glow. Countless runes appeared and disappeared on it, like fish swimming underwater—sometimes surfacing and sometimes diving beneath. Even more miraculously, this True Spirit Talisman was deeply integrated with his soul, as if it were part of his soul. After admiring it for a long time, Guo Shier finally took it into his mouth in satisfaction.

Then he took out the Spirit Talisman of the Portal. It was a triangular talisman with ancient runes on it. Guo Shier only recognized a few of them; most of the others were unfamiliar to him, and it was also a light green talisman. He placed the talisman on his forehead and used the simplest method to examine it.

When his soul came into contact with the Spirit Talisman, he felt a force rapidly breaking it down. Soon, he noticed a small dot appearing around the true Spirit Talisman within his soul. Guo Shier was stunned—this meant he had begun to form his own Life Talisman Sphere. Having seen the shape of a Life Talisman Sphere before, he knew that the talismans surrounding its core were crucial components of it.

At the same time, once the Spirit Talisman of the Portal entered his soul, he understood how to use it perfectly, able to activate it with just a thought. He hurriedly took out his two precious talismans, trying to integrate them into his soul as well, but to no avail. Confused, he wondered if precious talismans couldn’t be incorporated into a Life Talisman.

After much effort, he realized it was because his Life Talisman was so advanced that those relatively inferior precious talismans simply couldn’t enter it. Even so, he was quite satisfied.

After performing the three sets of basic exercises three times in a row, Guo Shier sat on the soft animal skin and began his daily recitation of the scriptures. The memories of his first life had long faded, and the only thing he could firmly grasp was these scriptures. It was also the only thing he persisted in throughout all three of his lives, never daring to slack off.

During this recitation, Guo Shier clearly sensed changes. As he began to recite, his Life Talisman within his soul started spinning rapidly. With each repetition of the scripture, his soul compressed and purified further. Once the Life Talisman was completely integrated into his soul, he felt his spirit stronger than ever before.

These scriptures were truly surprising—they had an effect even on the Life Talisman, and it seemed to strengthen the soul as well, though the effects were not yet apparent. Over time, they would gradually become evident.

This encounter with Li Ran had opened up a new path for Guo Shier. He didn’t know where this path led, but it was clear it was upward, not downward.

The next morning, Guo Shier went to the pond to wash up and saw his master and Qi Nanshan discussing something. Out of curiosity, he walked over and asked, “Master, where are we going today?”

Qi Nanshan smiled and said, “Your master is worried right now.”

Guo Shier asked in surprise, “Master, what are you worried about?”