Chapter 8: The Ancient Scorpion (Part 2)

As the Ancient Insect Talisman entered its own talisman sphere and began rotating around it, various pieces of information flooded Guo Shier’s soul. He easily understood the talisman, and a look of surprise and delight appeared on his face. It was actually a True Spirit Talisman, completely intact with no damage at all.
“Hehe, hehe… Haha!”
Guo Shier burst into loud laughter, his face turning red with excitement. He had scored a huge bargain.
Luo Jie asked, “Shier, what’s wrong?”
Guo Shier replied with a smile, “Sorry, I now know what kind of scorpion is inside this talisman.”
Lan Tianbao asked curiously, “What is it?” She sensed something wrong.
Guo Shier said cheerfully, “It’s a Dark-Wing Demon Scorpion from the Secret Insect Clan. Hehe, what a fascinating name… By the way, Sister Lan, what exactly is the Secret Insect Clan?” This was information transmitted to him by the Ancient Insect Talisman; there were some things he truly didn’t understand, as he wasn’t from the Nanfu Sect and knew very little about insects.
Lan Tianbao, holding her daughter, felt a wave of shock. She said, “The Secret Insect Clan… I’ve only heard of it. In our region, there are the Poison Insect Clan, the Fierce Insect Clan, the Gu Insect Clan, the Tiny Insect Clan, the Giant Insect Clan, as well as the Talisman Insect Clan and the Mutated Talisman Insect Clan…” She sighed and continued, “The Secret Insect Clan… I heard from the elders in the inner sect that it existed in ancient times but has since been lost. How did you know about it?”
Guo Shier replied, “It’s the talisman that told me. Hehe, Sister Lan, this talisman is really good.” He couldn’t help but laugh again. He had scored such a huge deal that he hardly knew how to contain his joy.
Only then did Wu Yanyan understand what Luo Jie meant—Guo Shier hadn’t suffered any loss; it seemed this kid had taken advantage of the situation again.
Lan Tianbao asked, “Shier, can you release it?”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “If we go to a bigger room, we should be able to release it… But the Dark-Wing Demon Scorpion doesn’t seem to like cold. Well, it just doesn’t like it, not that it’s afraid.” Everyone stood up and moved to a larger room.
Lan Tianbao was surprised, “Do we really need such a big room?” She had once used a special method to release this Ancient Insect Talisman, but all that came out was a scorpion the size of a human face. What was most infuriating was that the scorpion was weak and listless, as if its parents had just died, and it wouldn’t obey any commands.
Guo Shier said, “Everyone, step back.”
Luo Jie and the others moved to the wall. He said, “Okay, Shier, release the insect now.”
Lan Tianbao watched closely as Guo Shier released the Ancient Insect Talisman.

Guo Shieru spat out a thick stream of dark black mist, from which blue arcs flickered, emitting a crackling sound. The mist spread rapidly, making it impossible for anyone to see anything around them. Lan Tianbao said, “Everyone, stay still!”
The dark mist suddenly contracted, revealing a giant scorpion over four meters long. What was terrifying was that its curled tail was also over four meters long, as thick as a bucket, and kept swaying back and forth.
Silence filled the room. Suddenly, Lan Yuying said, “Wow, what a beautiful scorpion…” Everyone broke into sweat.
Lan Yuying was right—it was indeed a very beautiful scorpion. Its pitch-black body emitted a faint blue glow, with deep blue runes flashing on its hard shell. Steel-like spines as thick as fingers covered the shell. A pair of nearly transparent wings were tightly attached to its body. There were also hundreds of bulging pouches on its back, each the size of a washbasin—these were tiny scorpions. Its bright red head was covered in numerous tiny runes, and it hissed, exuding a formidable presence.
Lan Tianbao stared at the beautiful scorpion greedily. After a while, she exhaled and shook her head, saying, “I can’t believe it was released by Shieru. It’s a shame… a real shame…” Though disappointed, she wasn’t regretful, as this talisman had been in her possession for over a decade and was useless, no different from a worthless talisman. Still, she felt somewhat displeased and upset.
The Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion turned slightly toward Guo Shieru, extending one of its giant pincers to gently touch him, showing a subservient attitude.
Lan Tianbao was truly moved. She exclaimed, “Good heavens! This scorpion… it even has sentience!”
Guo Shieru smiled and said, “That’s right. It can sense my commands, hehe.”
Lan Tianbao said, “This is a mutated talisman insect. It should belong to the mutated talisman insect lineage. How could it be from the secret insect lineage?”
Guo Shieru replied, “I don’t know either, but once this talisman was placed in my life talisman sphere, I naturally knew.”
Luo Jie said, “Shieru, put it away. Hehe, the little guy has scored another bargain.” He was also very happy.
With a gesture of his hand, the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion suddenly shattered into dark black mist, which Guo Shieru sucked in in one breath. Satisfied, he said, “It’s a pity we can’t practice here. Hehe, master, let’s go back.” A vague thought flashed through his mind, but he failed to grasp it.

Returning to the room, Luo Jie said, “Lan Tianbao, my disciple has reaped quite a few benefits from this deal. Well, this is my compensation for you.” He took out the forelimb of a green scorpion, the same large blade that had been shattered from its forelimb. Lan Tianbao said in delight, “Thank you so much!” She quickly bowed in gratitude. This compensation made her very happy, and any lingering displeasure vanished completely. Wu Yanyan and Luo Jie also completed their deal. After chatting a bit more, Lan Tianbao and Wu Yanyan took their leave. After seeing them off, Luo Jie asked, “Guo Shier, how were you able to absorb that talisman? It’s strange—something that even the masters of the Insect Talisman Sect can’t do, how did you manage it?” A flash of insight struck Guo Shier, who exclaimed, “I understand!” The vague thought that had crossed his mind earlier suddenly became clear. Luo Jie asked, “Understand what?” Guo Shier replied, “It must be the life talisman ball given by Senior Li Ran!” Luo Jie was puzzled. “What do you mean?” Guo Shier explained, “Master, the life talisman books here are too low-level! At best, they can only store ancient talismans; maybe they can barely hold true treasure talismans, but definitely not any talismans above true spirit talismans… That’s why many people, even if they obtain true spirit talismans or true ancient talismans, treat them as ordinary or useless talismans because they can’t activate them!” Luo Jie also understood. He said, “Just like your senior brother—because of a high-level talisman, it ended up hindering him.” Guo Shier nodded repeatedly. “That’s exactly it!” Luo Jie pondered for a long time before saying, “This time, after returning to the Northern Talisman Sect… we should prepare for a few years before going back to the Secret Realm of Tranquility to see if we can find a passage to other continents… If we can find more advanced continents, maybe we can make further progress.” Guo Shier agreed. “Yes, we need to be well-prepared. I hope we won’t be forced to run around in chaos again.” Luo Jie added, “Also, your four companions are too weak. They need to reach at least the level of Talisman Martial Artists to be able to work with you; otherwise, they lose their purpose.” Guo Shier hurriedly said, “Hehe, I’ll focus on that. Master, you can’t compare them to me—they’re already making rapid progress.” He knew in his heart that the master was worried about his companions being too weak, but he had a deep bond with them and surely wouldn’t want to let them go. Luo Jie sighed and said, “Dashan, when you have time in the future, you should train those kids more.”

Qi Nan Shan nodded and said, “No problem. But, old man, you shouldn’t stay idle either. Help the Twelve refine their bodies. If we use the best body-refining talismans, their progress will be fast.”
Guo Shier thanked him, “Thank you, Grandpa Nan Shan.”
Luo Jie said, “Hey, aren’t you going to thank your master?”
Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh. Sometimes his master acted like a little kid. He quickly replied, “Of course, I also need to thank my master.”
Luo Jie said, “Alright, go rest. We still have to go to the trade fair tomorrow.”
…
The master-level trade fair lasted three days. The first two days were for masters to auction their items, while the last day was for them to trade freely. Luo Jie had gathered many materials for making spirit talismans. Such an opportunity was rare, as so few master-level figures gathered together.
Guo Shier’s goal was clear: to find useless talismans and those that the masters couldn’t use.
By the end of the trade fair, Guo Shier hadn’t found a single such talisman. Disappointed, he left the fair and wandered around the free market with a few others.
Guo Shier now had three true spirit talismans—Sword Talisman, Dark Winged Scorpion Talisman, and Life Talisman Ball. He also had one true ancient talisman—Bird Talisman, one spirit-level beast talisman—Iron Armored Bull Talisman, one talisman sect spirit talisman, and one spirit-hiding talisman. In total, there were six talismans stored in his Life Talisman Ball.
Although his strength was decent, it was far from enough to enter the Secret Realm.
The free market was an exchange market formed spontaneously by various professionals. Any professional who could enter the inner sect could set up stalls here to sell or exchange items. It was a very bustling place.
Guo Shier loved such places; it gave him a feeling similar to browsing on Taobao in his past life.
Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan followed Guo Shier and the four kids. They acted as bodyguards and nannies now.
The free market was huge—actually, very long. There was a main road with stalls on both sides, stretching for over ten miles. In addition to items needed by professionals, the stalls also had a large variety of food, daily necessities, and specialties from various Western talisman sects.
The most numerous stalls here were those selling various types of leather. Guo Shier had never seen such a wide variety of furs before. The furs made here were excellent—soft, thick, and odorless.
As a wealthy person, Guo Shier stopped from time to time to buy various furs. Since he had a spirit talisman bag to store them in, he didn’t have to carry them around in large bundles. So he bought an astonishing amount—dozens or even hundreds of furs at once.

In the market, it was common to encounter people arguing. Guo Shier was selecting some silver fox furs when he heard noise not far away. Huo Bao and the others quickly ran over; children always like to watch a spectacle. Guo Shier put down the fox furs and followed as well.
A crowd of onlookers soon gathered around the place where the argument was taking place.
Guo Shier squeezed in. He wasn’t there to watch the fight but because he was worried about his four companions.
Finding Huo Bao and the others, he asked, “What’s going on?”
Huo Bao said excitedly, “It seems like a fight is about to break out!”