Chapter 9: A Simple Trap (Part 2)

Eagle Demon said, “It’s worth it! I’ve advanced again—to Intermediate Talisman Martial Saint! Haha, I can’t believe it myself!”
Luo Zhan’s expression was a mix of joy and sorrow. After a long while, he said, “Sigh… At the Northern Talisman Sect, I fought hard… barely managing to advance to Junior Grand Talisman Martial Master. After going out with Guo Shier twice… damn it, I’ve even reached Advanced Talisman MartialMaster Master Master! Just one step away from Saint! It’s incredibly fast!”
Eagle Demon said, “That’s not important. What matters is that you’ve obtained the true inheritance of the Ancient Talisman People!”
Luo Zhan hadn’t had time to examine the inheritance he’d received, so he naturally didn’t understand its immense benefits. He casually asked, “Is that so?”
Kumu said coldly, “He’s right!”
Luo Zhan knew Kumu’s temper and didn’t care. He knew this guy was only patient when talking to Guo Shier; toward everyone else, including Monier, he was impatient.
He said, “Oh, I see. Hehe.” He still didn’t understand, but he wasn’t stupid enough to argue with Kumu. It was also because he had seen too little and risen in rank too quickly, so he didn’t know much about many things.
Guo Shier said, “It’s a pity. I was just one step away from becoming a Grand Saint. But this inheritance seems different from the last one—I’ve gotten more, including cross-level inheritances… Now I understand. No wonder my soul feels boiling. If this continues, my soul might even burn!”
Kumu said, “Boiling… Good! That’s exactly the feeling—very dangerous, very terrifying! I can’t even calm this horrible sense of boiling.”
Five green lights enveloped the five people once again, and a voice sounded in their souls, “Very good! All of you have received the inheritance and managed to keep your souls calm! You’ve passed!”
Guo Shier couldn’t help asking, “What if we fail?”
“Death!”
It was a simple and clear answer that sent chills down everyone’s spine. What was terrifying was that there was no prior warning. Even Kumu and Monier, who hadn’t received the altar inheritance, still got it. In other words, unless something unexpected happened, none of the five could escape this terrifying inheritance.
“Good. These are Ancient Miluo Talismans—one for each of you. Don’t touch them. Each Ancient Miluo Talisman is unique.”
Five small dots descended along the green light columns onto each person’s head, then transformed into star-shaped objects that pierced their foreheads, leaving a faint mark.
“Don’t worry. Besides serving as an identity proof, this also enhances the soul.”

The five of them couldn’t muster any desire to resist and could only accept it quietly.
“Since you’ve passed the inheritance test, I’ll give each of you a sacrificial treasure, and then you can leave.”
After placing five small, delicate items down, five green light columns vanished suddenly, and the five of them were sent out of the defensive talisman array.
Looking at the stone stele in the distance and holding the so-called sacrificial treasures in their hands, all five had dumbfounded expressions on their faces. Even Kuumu’s stiff face showed surprise.
“Sacrificial treasure? What is that?”
It was the first time they had heard such a term, so they hurriedly searched through their inheritance memories. It was Guo Shier’s soul that was most active; he quickly found the answer and said in disbelief, excitedly, “Damn… It’s used on the soul altar! So this is what they call a sacrificial treasure!”
On Li Ran and Chou Mo’s soul altars, Guo Shier had seen these treasures before—Li Ran’s was a sacrificial treasure in the shape of a canopy, while Chou Mo’s was bell-shaped. At that time, he didn’t know that the object at the top of the altar was called a sacrificial treasure; it was extremely precious.
Each person received a different sacrificial treasure. Kuumu got a blue ring, Monier got a purple ribbon that floated erratically like a purple mist, Eagle Demon got a wheel with six blades, and Luo Zhan’s was the simplest—a hammer-shaped sacrificial treasure.
Guo Shier fiddled with his own sacrificial treasure. It was a crimson ball, semi-transparent, with a wisp of white flame at its center. He said with a wry smile, “What kind of sacrificial treasure is this? Just a ball of flame?”
Kuumu said, “No matter what kind of sacrificial treasure it is, we can’t use it for now. Let’s put it in our life talismans first.”
Eagle Demon couldn’t help but laugh. He said, “Shier, you seem destined for balls!”
Guo Shier retorted irritably, “Destined for balls?!” But then he realized he indeed seemed destined for balls—first, he got a life talisman ball, while others got books or albums as their life talismans; only he had a ball. Now he’d gotten another ball-shaped sacrificial treasure, which left him at a loss.
He said, “I don’t know how to use this sacrificial treasure.”
Kuumu said, “Don’t try to use it now. Without the support of a soul altar, the sacrificial treasure can’t be activated.”
Guo Shier thought it made sense, so he stored his sacrificial treasure in his soul like the others. Except for Guo Shier, everyone’s soul trembled for a while, and their bodies shook violently as well. Guo Shier asked curiously, “Why are you shaking?”
Kuumu was surprised. “Why aren’t you reacting?”
Guo Shier asked in confusion, “What reaction?”

The Eagle Demon shook its head and said, “Little brat!” No one had said those words in a long time, so hearing them now seemed quite fitting, and everyone nodded in agreement.
Guo Shier, however, was deep in thought.
Monier asked, “Baby, what are you thinking about?”
Guo Shier replied, “I’m wondering… is that ancestor from the ancient Miluo family still alive?”
No one paid much attention to this question, but upon hearing Guo Shier’s words, they were all stunned. Kuumu said, “Yeah, is he still alive? Judging from the skeletons of those mutated talisman beasts that were slain, at least thousands of years have passed—otherwise, blood soul stones wouldn’t have been formed. Maybe even tens of thousands of years… Could he still be alive?”
Guo Shier said, “Brother Li Ran also has a soul altar. According to him, it’s already six hundred years old. No one believed it back then, but now I think he might be that old. But could an ancestor from the ancient Miluo family live for thousands of years? That’s impossible, right?”
Kuumu said, “Unbelievable!”
Monier kept shaking her head; she too didn’t believe professionals could live that long.
Guo Shier said, “If he can’t live that long, then does the ancient Miluo family still exist?”
Kuumu pondered for a moment before saying, “Let’s not worry about that for now. Whether this family exists or not, and whether he’s alive or not, we’ve already reaped huge benefits. Besides, we don’t need to consider going to the continent where the ancient talisman people live right now. So there’s nothing to worry about. As long as our strength reaches a certain level, we won’t have to fear anything then.”
Guo Shier thought it made sense. For now, they wouldn’t go to the continent of the ancient talisman people. Although they had received coordinates of related continents and secret realms during the inheritance, including the continent where the ancient Miluo family was located. Before they built their own soul altars, they wouldn’t risk entering that continent—it was too dangerous with too many uncertainties.
Guo Shier said, “Then let’s leave here first.”
Kuumu agreed, “Good. Let’s leave first. When our strength improves, we can come back. There are still three skeletons to collect, and there should be some materials we need here too. We’ll come back when we have time and strength enough.”
Not only was Kuumu wary of the stone tablet, but Guo Shier was also uneasy, unsure of what other tricks the tablet might have. None of them could match the power of that stone tablet left by the ancient talisman people—it was too strong to even inspire the thought of resistance.
Although all five of them had gained a lot, they still wanted to leave as soon as possible.

Kumu activated the ancient talisman gate and led everyone back to the Secret Realm of Tongyou.
Back in the Secret Realm of Tongyou, Guo Shierou patted his chest and said, “We’re finally back. I’ve learned a lot this time, hehe.”
Kumu suddenly flew up, hovering about a hundred meters above the ground, and said calmly, “Come out!”
Guo Shierou reacted quickly, shouting, “Defense!” With a thought, a golden armor talisman’s glow appeared on his body, followed by the activation of the Green Lotus talisman. Monier asked, “What’s going on?”
Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan, both with extensive combat experience, immediately activated their defenses and drew out their personal talisman weapons.
With a loud cry, four Great Saints flew out of the woods and quickly surrounded them. Kumu’s pupils narrowed slightly as he said, “It’s you!” The leader was the same Great Saint who had auctioned the ancient talisman gate.
Guo Shierou and the others also flew up, hovering in the air alongside Kumu.
The man said, “Exactly, it’s me! Haha!” He sized up Kumu and said, “Not bad, an intermediate Great Saint. It seems… you’ve reaped great benefits from the Tanya Secret Realm!”
Guo Shierou thought anxiously. By piecing together what had happened, he quickly formed a rough idea of the whole situation. He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, thinking, “No wonder there’s no such thing as a free lunch.”
It was a well-planned trap.
They didn’t dare explore the Tanya Secret Realm themselves, so they used the guise of an auction by their sect to sell the ancient talisman gate, then manipulated things to track down those who obtained it. Since Kumu had exchanged it for Anluo Stone, they couldn’t afford to let him go either. This way, they could get both the Anluo Stone and various materials, along with free labor to explore the secret realm. They only needed to wait outside to reap all the benefits.
After thinking for a moment, Guo Shierou figured out most of it. Kumu wasn’t stupid either; he quickly understood what was going on and flew into a rage, saying coldly, “You deserve to die!”
Among the four people in front of them, two were junior Great Saints, one was an intermediate Great Saint, and the one talking to Kumu was a senior Great Saint. He had originally thought Kumu was alone and a junior Great Saint, so the four of them should be enough to deal with him. Unexpectedly, there were five of them, but he still didn’t care, believing that their combined strength was sufficient to overwhelm them.
He said, “Keep this guy. Kill the rest!”