Chapter 7: The Sage of Talismans (Part 1)

Yu Jie shouted, “Who is it? They’re here!” He hurried over to open the gate. A fat man walked in and said, “Old Yu, has your master returned? Huh, who’s this child?”
The fat man was dressed in a purplish-red robe. Guo Shier was slightly shocked—he already knew that in the Chenxiao Sect, those who wore purplish-red robes held a status equal to that of a master. He said, “Hello, uncle. I’m Guo Shier.”
The fat man exclaimed, “Ah? You’re… Kuumu’s disciple? His direct disciple?”
Guo Shier replied, “Yes.”
The fat man said, “Wow… Kuumu, that old fool, has changed his ways? Tsk tsk, interesting. Kuumu! Old friend has arrived!”
Kuumu stepped out and said calmly, “Fatso, why all the noise?”
The fat man replied, “Kuumu, where have you been these past six months? Did you find some good place again? Hehe, share it with us…”
Kuumu said, “What is there to share? I only found one disciple these past six months—nothing much to share.”
The fat man said, “You’re being stingy again? Fine, let me tell you something—Monier has been looking for you several times. You weren’t there, so she asked me to tell you to go see her as soon as you return.”
Kuumu said, “Why would she want to see me? I’m busy!” With that, he took Guo Shier aside and introduced him, “This fat man is Zhu Juan, your uncle.”
Guo Shier said, “Hello, uncle.”
Zhu Juan smiled broadly and said, “Ah, good boy. How old are you this year? Why did you take this old fool as your master? Here, this is a gift from your uncle.” He handed Guo Shier a talisman.
Guo Shier said, “I’m ten years old. I just became a disciple.” Holding the talisman, he couldn’t tell what kind it was at first, so he placed it on his forehead—immediately, it melted away. Then he closed his eyes and carefully examined the new talisman that had entered his Life Talisman Sphere.
Zhu Juan was surprised and asked, “You already have a Life Talisman?”
Kuumu replied, “To be precise, it’s a Life Talisman Sphere.”
Both Zhu Juan and Guo Shier were shocked. Guo Shier knew he had never shown his Life Talisman Sphere to Kuumu before, while Zhu Juan was surprised that the child already possessed one. In the Chenxiao Sect, there were no more than six people who owned a Life Talisman Sphere—all were renowned warriors, as such talismans came from a higher-level continent of talismans and were extremely rare and precious.

Guo Shierqiang quickly regained his composure. He had identified the new talisman he had obtained—it was a Spirit-Hiding Talisman, capable of holding about two cubic meters of space, twice as large as the one given to him by the Eagle Demon, allowing him to store many talismans.

Zhu Juan was surprised and asked, “Where did you get your life talisman ball?”

Guo Shierqiang replied, “It was given to me by a senior.”

Only then did Zhu Juan observe Guo Shierqiang more closely. The more he looked, the more astonished he became, his eyes filled with envy. He said, “Kumu, you… actually managed to find a child with such potential? Sigh, I’m done living… Why are all the apprentices I find idiots? Hehe, Shierqiang, have you formally taken a master? If not, take me as your master! Haha, I’m richer than him. Look how poor he is… he can’t even support a few people.”

Guo Shierqiang was speechless. This was the first time he had encountered someone who openly tried to steal others’ apprentices.

Kumu stepped forward, and a tremendous pressure suddenly appeared, along with a tyrannical aura on his face. Zhu Juan quickly waved his hands and said, “Ah, just joking… Hehe, Shierqiang, your master is a murderer, a pervert. Be careful… Hehe, Kumu, you’ve really struck gold this time.”

Guo Shierqiang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Kumu said calmly, “I don’t care who it is. If anyone dares to have evil intentions toward Shierqiang… death!”

Zhu Juan was stunned and said, “Damn it, Kumu, are you crazy?”

Kumu replied coldly, “I’m perfectly sane.”

Zhu Juan said helplessly, “You idiot! Alright, alright. Anyway, I’ve delivered Monier’s message. Whether you go or not is up to you. It has nothing to do with me.”

Kumu said, “If there’s nothing else, you can go now.”

Guo Shierqiang didn’t know what to say. This master knew nothing about social norms and spoke in such a blunt manner. If not for his strong strength, he would likely have been killed long ago.

Zhu Juan shook his head and said, “Shierqiang, come visit your uncle when you have time.” He pointed to a mountain not far away and said, “Your uncle’s house is at the foot of that mountain. Come by when you’re free. Your uncle’s place is much livelier than your master’s place, which is so deserted… Well, Kumu, I’m leaving.”

Kumu only said one word: “Go!” After thinking for a moment, he added, “Shierqiang, if you encounter any difficulties, you can go to Uncle Fatty.”

Zhu Juan nodded and said, “You idiot! Forget it. I’m too lazy to argue with you. I’m leaving.”

Kumu said, “I won’t see you off.”

Guo Shierqiang said, “Goodbye, uncle.”

Zhu Juan walked outside, muttering as he went, “This kid is really good. It’s a shame he’s with that deadwood… What a pity…” After stepping outside, he flew into the air, a purplish-red light flashing before he disappeared without a trace.

Withered Wood said, “Guo Shier, come with me. What’s… your name? Stay here and take care of Guo Shier and your lodging first.”

Eagle Demon smiled bitterly. “My name is Eagle Demon.”

Withered Wood led Guo Shier into a room, passing through the living room outside, to a very small courtyard. Without stopping, he went through a side door at the back and arrived in front of a small hut, saying, “Stand at the door and don’t move.”

Guo Shier stopped and looked around curiously. It was a tiny space surrounded by high walls, with only one room inside. The floor was paved with white jade, polished to a high shine, and inlaid with many talismanic patterns. He couldn’t help asking, “Master, is this a talisman array?”

Withered Wood nodded and suddenly began moving his hands. He said, “There are a total of 108 hand gestures for spells to activate this talisman array.” As soon as he finished speaking, the 108 gestures were completed. The floor rippled, and a hole appeared, revealing a stone staircase leading downward.

“Come with me.”

Guo Shier followed without hesitation.

Withered Wood led the way, and Guo Shier closely followed down the stairs. After about twenty minutes, suddenly, everything became bright ahead—a huge underground hall appeared.

Guo Shier’s eyes widened in astonishment. The hall was as large as a football field from his past life, not including the seating area. It was unclear how it had been dug and built, but people inside seemed extremely small.

Withered Wood said, “This is my underground talisman-making hall, one of the best in the Chenxiao Sect. It’s divided into several areas… This is the specimen area, with the skeletons of eight mutated talisman beasts and one abnormally transformed talisman beast… The eight mutated talisman beasts include three of level five, two of level six, one of level seven, one of level eight. The most powerful one is a level ten mutated talisman beast. It’s a pity we lack one of level nine… This abnormally transformed talisman beast’s skeleton was exchanged with people from the Advanced Talisman Continent.”

That level ten mutated talisman beast was over sixty meters long, with extremely thick bones that looked terrifying.

Guo Shier stared at the huge skeletons in shock. After a while, he asked, “Master, did you hunt all these?”

Kumu said, “This level-10 mutated talisman beast was hunted in cooperation with others, and this level-8 mutated talisman beast was also hunted together. The rest were all hunted by me alone.”
Guo Shier was surprised, “A level-7 mutated talisman beast, hunted by one person?” No wonder Zhu Juan said this master was a madman and a monster. Guo Shier had seen level-7 mutated talisman beasts before—they were terrifyingly abnormal. He never thought this master was even more powerful than the mutated earth dragon.
Kumu nodded and said, “It took a lot of effort. With my abilities, I can only hunt level-7 mutated talisman beasts. If it’s level-8… it’s a bit too much for me alone. I might be able to defeat it, but killing it would be very difficult.”
Guo Shier was completely speechless. Defeating a level-8 mutated talisman beast was unbelievable—how strong must one be? He asked, “Master, what are aberrant talisman beasts?”
Kumu replied, “Aberrant talisman beasts are even more powerful than mutated talisman beasts. Lower-level aberrant talisman beasts are equivalent to level-7 and above mutated talisman beasts. Even I haven’t hunted any of them. Such beasts are rare here; only the higher-level Talisman Continent produces them. This skeleton of a lower-level aberrant talisman beast was exchanged with people from the higher-level Talisman Continent, costing me many precious materials.”
Guo Shier sighed, “Incredible.”
Kumu said, “This area is dedicated to processing materials and creating talismans.” He pointed to a row of over a dozen white jade tables, covered with various materials—animal, plant, and mineral. In addition to these materials, there were also dozens of small talisman pools filled with various substances.
Kumu pointed to another area and said, “This is the talisman testing area. Protected by talisman arrays, you can test your spells freely without worrying about damaging other areas.”
Guo Shier was very envious. This underground talisman-making hall was magnificent, completely different from the dilapidated houses outside. Compared to Master Luo Jie’s hall, it was like the difference between a thatched hut and a villa—the gap was enormous.
Kumu said, “Shier, come here. Let’s go to the talisman testing area to see what your abilities are like.”
Guo Shier knew his master wanted to assess his true strength and see what he had learned. He nodded and said, “Master, I’ve only been learning for less than two years. My skills are quite poor…” He humbled himself first to prevent his master from having high expectations.
Kumu said, “I know that. Come here.”
The two went to the talisman testing area. Kumu quickly activated the talisman array to provide protection. He said, “I’ll be your target. Go ahead and attack freely. I want to see what skills you’ve learned.”

Guo Shier smiled bitterly and said, “I only have two talismans, and my strength is very weak…” He deliberately kept the withered tree under control because he was well aware that this place was far more dangerous than the Lower-Level Talismans Continent. If he performed poorly, he wouldn’t be taken seriously. So he planned to make this master suffer a bit; as for defeating him, he hadn’t even thought about it.
Actually, he still had two more talismans—one was the Insect Talisman, the Dark-Wing Demon Scorpion, and the other was the Beast Talisman, the Iron-Plated Bull. But he didn’t dare to use them. With this master’s strength, killing mutated talisman beasts was as easy as killing chickens, so there was no need for him to show off by using them.