Chapter 8: The Ancient Scorpion (Part 1)

The servant said, “Xi Fu Men’s great beast talisman master, Wu Yanyan, has arrived.” Before Luo Jie and the others could stand up, someone at the door said, “What a nice fragrance! Old Master Luo, I’m sorry for coming unannounced. Little Brother Twelve, do you welcome your sister?” Wu Yanyan stepped in.
Guo Shier felt a headache coming on—this woman was quite bold and acted without restraint. Luo Jie said, “Arrange a table for Master Wu so she can try Shier’s cooking.” Wu Yanyan giggled and said, “Old Master Luo, just call me Yanyan.” She glanced at Guo Shier and asked, “What? Don’t you welcome your sister?”
Guo Shier forced a smile and said, “How dare I? Please, Sister Wu.”
Wu Yanyan walked over to Guo Shier.
Guo Shier asked, “Sister Wu, did you come here for something?”
Wu Yanyan leaned down with a smile and hugged him, saying, “What? Don’t you want your sister here?”
Guo Shier was helpless but had no choice but to say, “Welcome, welcome! How could I not welcome you… Hehe… It’s a good chance to try the dishes I cooked.”
Wu Yanyan was surprised. “You can also cook talisman food?”
Guo Shier replied, “I’m a talisman master, so of course I can.”
Wu Yanyan was familiar with Lan Tianbao. She said with a smile, “Sister Lan is here too? Yingying is here too! Come, let your sister hug you.” She picked up Lan Yuying and sat down smilingly.
Guo Shier felt dizzy hearing her call Lan Tianbao “sister” and have Lan Yuying call her “sister.” How could this mess be resolved? He said, “Someone, serve Sister Wu some talisman food.”
Wu Yanyan acted as if she belonged there, brought a small table over to Guo Shier’s side, sat down next to him, and said, “Let me see what delicious things Shier has cooked.”
A servant placed several dishes on the table—fortunately, Guo Shier had cooked a lot. Wu Yanyan tasted a few bites. She wasn’t very interested in spicy dishes but loved braised pork ribs and wild chicken and bamboo shoot soup. She also praised the tender meat of the steamed mutated green mantis.
By the time everyone had almost finished eating, Wu Yanyan was already hungry. She started eating heartily. Women from the northwest ate just as eagerly as men, without any trace of ladylike grace—devouring their food at speeds comparable to beasts. Guo Shier was used to this by now.
Everyone enjoyed the meal. Eagle Demon smacked his lips, still wanting more, and said, “It’s really delicious, but there’s not enough. Bring me a plate of grilled meat and some noodles.”
Wu Yanyan also ordered some grilled meat and meat soup. She wasn’t full either—talisman food was just an appetizer.

Lan Tianbao and her daughter were a bit unaccustomed; they ate in a rather refined manner. Lan Yuying bit her finger, tilted her head, and kept staring at Wu Yanyan. Eventually, she couldn’t hold back and said, “Sister Yanyan, you eat even faster than our little Tiger!”
Guo Shier asked curiously, “Who’s your little Tiger?”
Lan Tianbao hurriedly said, “Don’t listen to Yuying’s nonsense.”
Lan Yuying said aggrievedly, “I’m not lying! Little Tiger is the tiger beetle I raised…”
Guo Shier rubbed his nose and said, “I didn’t say anything… Sister Wu, go on… Hehe.”
Wu Yanyan acted as if she hadn’t heard. She had eaten countless talismanic dishes and could make them herself, but she had never tasted anything this delicious. These dishes had completely impressed her. As for Lan Yuying’s words, she paid no attention at all—children just speak without thinking.
Soon everyone finished eating. Wu Yanyan, who ate at an extremely fast pace and finished almost at the same time as the others, sighed and said, “It’s been so long since I’ve eaten this satisfyingly. Shier’s cooking is really great. Hehe, I’ll come back again when I have time.”
Waiters came to clear the tables. Guo Shier invited the guests to another room to sit down, making sure to bring his master along as well.
In the small living room, there were seven people: Luo Jie, Qi Nanshan, Wu Yanyan, Lan Tianbao and her daughter, Guo Shier, and Eagle Demon. After sitting down, Guo Shier said, “Sister Lan, when did you come to the Western Talisman Gate? Hehe, to be honest with you, this is the first time I’ve met a master from the Southern Talisman Gate.”
Lan Tianbao smiled and said, “I’ve been living at the Western Talisman Gate for almost half a year, just to attend this trade fair of the sects in the northwest. We came from the Southern Talisman Gate, and it took us over three years on the road. At that time, Yuying was only five years old.”
Luo Jie laughed and said, “The South… I was there when I was young, almost two hundred years ago. Is the Southern Talisman Gate still the same? I remember that your two major sects in the South used to fight fiercely.”
Not only was Lan Tianbao surprised, but Wu Yanyan was too, because Luo Jie looked like a middle-aged man. A talisman master over two hundred years old definitely wouldn’t look like this—both of them were well aware of that. Unless the master had advanced, but masters were already the top professionals here, so they couldn’t figure out why.
Lan Yuying counted Luo Jie’s age by using her fingers. Ten fingers weren’t enough, so she added her ten toes. After counting for a long time, she still couldn’t figure it out and looked at Luo Jie with a confused expression.

Lan Tianbao smiled and said, “The Bug Talisman Sect and the Plant Talisman Sect have stopped fighting long ago. Our two factions have separated— the Plant Talisman Sect moved to the Hundred Thousand Mountains, while our Bug Talisman Sect remains in its original location.”
Luo Jie nodded silently. He knew that in terms of combat, the Plant Talisman Sect was inferior to the Bug Talisman Sect, so their retreat was expected. After chatting a bit more, Lan Tianbao said, “Shier, take a look at this talisman… Hehe, it’s an ancient bug talisman that I obtained in a secret realm… First, I should mention that even I find it hard to control. If you think it’s suitable, we can exchange them; if not, we can discuss it further.”
Guo Shier took the talisman and examined it carefully.
After just one glance, he fell in love with this ancient bug talisman. Its shape resembled a flattened scorpion— with a dark blue body, pure blue pincers, a bright red head, and red stinger. Upon closer inspection, there were also a pair of extremely thin wings on its back, beneath which were hundreds of tiny dots.
“A scorpion with wings?”
Lan Tianbao replied, “This is an ancient bug talisman from the Rare Insects Secret Realm. This scorpion… hasn’t even been seen in the south. It must have originated from that secret realm and been turned into an ancient talisman. It’s an ancient flying scorpion… No one knows its true name. I’ve checked many classics, but found no records of it.”
Guo Shier asked, “Sister Lan, can you release this ancient flying scorpion?”
Lan Tianbao’s face turned slightly red as she said, “Shier, I can’t incorporate this talisman into my life talisman book. Using ordinary methods… it’s also impossible to unleash its true power.”
Guo Shier was delighted. He already realized that this talisman must be of high quality. He said, “Even a master can’t control it?”
Lan Tianbao replied shyly, “Hehe, I even invited a great insect sorcerer to control it, but it’s still hard to master… If you’re not satisfied, I can exchange it for another talisman.”
Eagle Demon said, “A talisman that can’t be controlled? That’s just useless, right…”
Guo Shier fiddled with the ancient bug talisman, thinking quietly. He didn’t dare try it yet and said, “Sister Lan, I like this talisman. Hehe, it would make a nice pendant. I want it!”
Lan Tianbao smiled bitterly and said, “Shier, I don’t want to deceive you. If you can’t control this talisman, don’t blame me.”
Guo Shier replied, “That won’t happen. I simply like its shape and color. Hehe, it seems destined for me. So… what do you plan to exchange it for?”

Lan Tianbao said, “One jin of the mutated green scythe bug’s blood… and some of its exoskeletons, just a little will do.” She looked at Guo Shier with slight unease. The price was a bit high.
Guo Shier pondered for a moment before saying, “Sis, this price… Hey, sis, what do you need all that blood and exoskeletons for?”
Lan Tianbao replied, “Hehe, I plan to create an insect talisman.” It wasn’t just any insect talisman—she wanted to create a spirit insect talisman. With the blood of the mutated green scythe bug and a little bit of its exoskeleton, she could revive the green scythe bug. Although its strength would be far inferior to that of the mutated version, it could at least retain one-tenth of its original strength.
Guo Shier said, “Hmm, sis, since this is our first transaction, I don’t want to haggle. Please give me one more insect talisman as a gift.”
Without hesitation, Lan Tianbao took out another talisman and said, “This is an auxiliary treasure talisman, a basic one from our clan— an antidote talisman. It’s very useful in the southern forests.”
Guo Shier nodded and said, “Okay, let’s exchange.”
Throughout the whole process, Luo Jie didn’t say a word; Guo Shier handled all the negotiations alone.
Only after Guo Shier finished negotiating did Luo Jie take out the insect blood and exoskeleton fragments. Lan Tianbao inspected them and happily put them away, saying, “Shier is really generous. Hehe, sis got a good deal this time.”
Luo Jie replied indifferently, “I’ve never seen Shier suffer a loss, hehe.”
Wu Yanyan watched curiously the whole time. She asked doubtfully, “Shier… this is an inactivated talisman. What’s the use for you?” To her, Guo Shier was suffering a huge loss in this deal.
Guo Shier smiled without answering. He said, “Sis Wu, you came here… because you’re interested in my mutated earth dragon blood, right? What do you plan to use as exchange?”
Wu Yanyan replied, “I don’t have any spirit talismans… But I do have blood from mutated talisman beasts. Although it’s not as precious as dragon blood, it’s still a rare and valuable thing.”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “Then talk to my master. I only want spirit talismans and ancient talismans. I don’t need anything else.”
Luo Jie was indeed very interested. No matter how precious a type of blood was, it was just a material. To create talismans, one material alone wasn’t enough; various materials had to be collected. He asked, “What kind of mutated talisman beast blood is it?”
Guo Shier ignored the transaction between Wu Yanyan and his master and tried sticking the ancient insect talisman on his forehead.

Lan Tianbao was shocked. Just as she tried to stop him, the Ancient Worm Talisman turned into a mass of black mist and swiftly rushed into Guo Shier’s forehead. She was too stunned to speak. It was utterly bizarre—how could a senior talisman master from the North Talisman Sect manage to incorporate the Ancient Worm Talisman into his own Life Talisman Book, when she herself couldn’t do so? She had tried many times, but her Life Talisman Book simply wouldn’t accept this talisman, preventing her from understanding its properties. Guo Shier kept his eyes closed. Once a talisman was absorbed by the Life Talisman Ball, it meant it was under Guo Shier’s control—this was the power of the Life Talisman Ball, even with unfamiliar talismans he had never encountered before.