Chapter 9: Rewards (Part 1)
The entire Ancient Soul Altar was wrapped in countless runes. Chou Mo, along with his two disciples, ten attendants, and a hundred Grand Saints, conjured countless virtual runes, layering them atop the Ancient Soul Altar. Chou Mo’s personal altar had expanded to the size of a small hill. He sat atop it, with a massive bronze bell rotating above his head.
“Float Mountain!” Two characters were spoken.
The ground began to shake, accompanied by loud rumbling sounds and cracking noises. The Ancient Soul Altar was slowly lifted off the ground.
Finally, the Ancient Soul Altar was free from the ground. Sweat beads appeared on Chou Mo’s face. Li Ran said smilingly, “It’s a bit strenuous, but you’ve done very well.”
Chou Mo sat cross-legged on his personal altar and cast several spells. The bronze bell above him shook violently, emitting loud booms. One after another, virtual runes flew out from the bottom of the bell and disappeared directly into the top of Chou Mo’s head.
“Shrink!”
With one word, the Ancient Soul Altar began to shrink rapidly.
Guo Shier said in surprise, “It can actually get smaller?”
Li Ran replied, “That’s not strange. This altar originated from Chou Mo’s personal altar when the Ancient Rune Man perished. Its ability to shrink relies on Chou Mo and his disciples’ spiritual power. Of course, it can never become his personal altar again.”
Guo Shier said with a wry smile, “It’s really complicated.”
Li Ran asked, “Shier, do you plan to go to the Advanced Continent?”
Guo Shier shook his head. “No, I’m not ready yet. I plan to go back first. Maybe when I’m older, I’ll venture to the Advanced Continent… Not now. My strength is too weak, and I’m too young. I’d just be bullied there… I don’t like being mistreated.”
Li Ran laughed heartily and nodded. “That’s true. Going to the Advanced Continent is easier for Grand Saints. Saints are far behind, and as for Mad Masters and Great Masters, they’re practically nothing… Well, I’ll leave you a Rune Gate coordinate. When you grow stronger, you can use it to enter the Secret Realm. It’s a pretty good Advanced Continent.”
Guo Shier’s heart stirred. He smiled and asked, “Brother Li, do you know anyone from that Advanced Continent?”
Li Ran chuckled inwardly. He knew what the kid was thinking. He said, “What? Looking for a suitable place to settle?”
Guo Shier replied, “Yes. It would be best if it’s a slightly larger sect. I don’t want to go to too powerful sects, nor do I want to join a family… Is there such a place?”
Li Ran said, “I didn’t expect you to be so scheming. Well, in too large sects, you won’t be taken seriously. As for families, you can only serve as guest scholars—or bodyguards and protectors—which isn’t very meaningful… A slightly larger sect is actually the best choice. Hehe, the sect I’ll introduce you to will surely satisfy you. You don’t need to worry anymore.”
Chou Mo had already put away the Ancient Soul Altar. He was extremely tired, his face full of exhaustion, yet his eyes shone with intense excitement.
Li Ran smiled and said, “The deal is done!”
Chou Mo nodded. “Yes, the deal is done!”
Guo Shier asked curiously, “What are you trading?” Suddenly, he understood and said, “I see.” He glanced at Li Ran.
Li Ran smiled. “You’ll get a reward. It was you who discovered it, after all, hehe.”
Guo Shier realized that even though he had found the Ancient Soul Altar, it was useless without a skilled professional like Li Ran. Without him, he wouldn’t have had another chance to see the altar.
Li Ran asked, “You should have received the inheritance of the Ancient Soul Altar, right?”
Guo Shier nodded. “Yes.”
Chou Mo turned to look and said, “Huh? It’s hard for someone who hasn’t received the basic inheritance to gain recognition from this Ancient Soul Altar. Have you received the basic inheritance?”
Guo Shier was shocked and firmly denied it, “No!”
Chou Mo wore a meaningful smile and said, “Brother Li, we’ll head ahead first. I’ll come to find you in a while.”
Li Ran nodded. “Go ahead. We need to leave too.”
Chou Mo’s two direct disciples immediately activated a large talisman gate and led a group of people inside. Chou Mo smiled and said, “Shier, hope we meet again soon, hehe.” With that, he disappeared from the spot, and the large talisman gate gradually vanished as well.
With a wave of his hand, Li Ran created a smaller talisman gate. He said, “Shier, I’ll take you to the Secret Realm of Tranquility.”
……
Guo Shier stepped out of the talisman gate and immediately recognized it as the thatched cottage where he first met Li Ran. At the same time, he noticed that all the coordinates in the talisman gates inside his life talisman ball had lit up. He couldn’t help but sigh, “I can finally use talisman gates!”
Li Ran waved his sleeve, and all the dust in the room vanished instantly. He sat cross-legged and said, “Sit!”
Guo Shier and Eagle Demon sat down obediently.
Li Ran couldn’t help but laugh at Guo Shier. The kid was staring at him eagerly, as if waiting to share the spoils. He asked, “What kind of reward do you want?”
Guo Shier was stunned. He had no idea what reward he wanted and said, “Brother Li, I don’t know. How about… giving me some choices?”
Li Ran nodded and said, “You’ve advanced to a Junior Talisman Saint. There aren’t many talismans you can use—most are auxiliary. Offensive talismans rely on virtual talismans. As for using virtual talismans… since you’ve inherited the legacy of the Ancient Soul Altar, you don’t need to worry too much. With just a few years of study, you’ll be able to master them.”
“I know you have a few decent beast talismans and insect talismans of good quality. Do you plan to improve your control over spirit beasts or learn other methods?”
Guo Shier replied without hesitation, “Both!”
Li Ran shook his head. “You’re really greedy. Well, since you’re young, it can’t hurt to learn more.”
Guo Shier smiled. “Of course I should be greedy. It’s not the time to be modest.”
Li Ran took out a row of real talismans and placed them in front of Guo Shier, saying, “Ten True Ancient Talismans, all auxiliary. Two of them are True Ancient-level Spirit Hiding Talismans… This one is a True Ancient-level Door Talisman that can record two sets of addresses and be used across secret realms. I’ll leave inside it the coordinates of an Advanced Continent. You can go straight there from your current continent without having to pass through a secret realm.”
Guo Shier was surprised. “There are such talismans?”
Li Ran nodded. “These talismans are extremely rare. If you have one in the Bloody Secret Realm, they won’t be able to seal you in at all. You can leave right away.”
Guo Shier was delighted. “Will it be hard for any secret realm to trap me from now on?”
Li Ran said, “I can’t say all secret realms, but I can guarantee that most of them won’t be able to trap you. Most importantly, this talisman… has no usage restrictions. That means you can use it immediately after using it, without waiting.”
A joyous expression appeared on Guo Shier’s face. Every time he got trapped in a secret realm, he wanted a good Door Talisman. He nodded. “Great stuff!”
Li Ran pointed to another talisman and said, “This is a relatively precious True Ancient Talisman, a defensive one called the Green Lotus True Ancient Talisman. It can transform into a green lotus to protect your body. Hehe, I crafted it myself.”
Guo Shier already knew Li Ran’s strength—it was far beyond his reach. The talismans he made must be excellent.
Li Ran picked up two more talismans and said, “These two talismans are very important. You won’t need them for now. You can only use them when you become a Senior Grand Saint. Keep them for now. By then, you’ll know how to use them… Just put them directly into your Life Talisman Ball.”
Guo Shier nodded. After calculating, he realized Li Ran had already deciphered six talismans. Li Ran pointed at a light red talisman and said, “This is a purification talisman, a True Ancient-level purification talisman. Together with void talismans, you can purify almost anything.” After thinking for a moment, he added, “If you have high-grade talisman fire, you can directly seal it into this talisman, which will at least increase its power by 30%.”
“The remaining three True Ancient talismans are all planting talismans. Hehe, I noticed you like talisman food. With high-grade planting talismans, you can obtain more ingredients.”
Li Ran never forgot the ribs cooked by Guo Shier—the taste lingered in his mind. Guo Shier said nothing more and spat out his life talisman sphere, placing the True Ancient talismans into it one by one. Li Ran stared at Guo Shier’s life talisman sphere in surprise and said, “Hey, why has your life talisman sphere changed so much? Hmm, there are seven more layers of ancient talisman arrays! Wow, you’ve really benefited a lot! Wait, don’t move!”
Guo Shier had just finished putting in all ten True Ancient talismans. He stopped and looked at Li Ran. Suddenly, a life altar appeared above Li Ran’s head. The three layers of canopies above the altar slowly rotated, and chains stretched out abruptly, reaching into Guo Shier’s life talisman sphere. Instantly, countless void talismans were emitted, connecting the seven layers of ancient talisman arrays in no time. Li Ran said, “This is even better now.”
Guo Shier watched in confusion. He didn’t understand the purpose of what Li Ran was doing, but he knew it wasn’t bad. Li Ran retracted the life altar and said, “Alright, hehe. Your life talisman sphere is now really powerful. I never expected inheritance could change it. It can even serve as the core of a life altar in the future.”
Guo Shier said, “Thank you, Brother Li.”
Li Ran replied, “There’s no need to thank me. These are ten Soul Bead pearls; I’m giving them to you.” He took out ten pearls the size of eggs and added, “Humans can’t use these Soul Bead pearls. If your soul beasts are injured, you can use them to heal them.”
Guo Shier was overjoyed. “Great! Can Soul Insect… also use them?” He was thinking of the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion. Li Ran nodded and said, “No problem, they can be used.”
Although he didn’t get an offensive talisman, Guo Shier was still very satisfied. He picked up a Soul Bead pearl and examined it carefully. It was completely black, with layers of tiny purple runes surrounding it. He happily stored it in the spirit-storage compartment of his life talisman sphere.
Li Ran said, “If your soul beasts aren’t injured, Soul Bead pearls can also be used to raise their levels, especially when they’re stuck in a level-up bottleneck. Soul Bead pearls are very useful—don’t waste them casually.”
“You’re Eagle Demon, right?”
Eagle Demon didn’t expect Li Ran to speak to him and quickly replied, “Yes, I am Eagle Demon, a follower of the Twelve.”
Li Ran nodded and said, “You’re lucky to have obtained three life talismans. I’ll help you deal with them. Don’t move around.” He used the life altar again to assist Eagle Demon in handling the talismans, then said, “The shield… has now split into two pieces. Next time you level up, be a bit more careful—it should be possible to split it into four pieces.”