Chapter 8: Searching for Li Ran (Part 1)

Guo Shier explained briefly, saying, “I’ve always found Senior Li Ran very mysterious. Should we go to this place and take a look?” He was extremely curious, wondering why Li Ran had given him that coordinate in the first place.
Luo Jie pondered for a moment. Qi Nanshan said, “Let’s go! Why not? I know this guy likes to hide his strength, but… we’re not at the same level as back in the Secret Realm. Heh, I don’t believe he’s still stronger than us now!”
Guo Shier shook his head. “I’ve seen him with a six-layer altar. All these years later, he should have at least a seven-layer altar, or even higher… Besides, Senior Li Ran doesn’t have any ill intentions toward us.”
Luo Jie said, “Then let’s go take a look?” He was a bit hesitant; his focus was on revenge right now, not on finding someone he had met ages ago, even if that person was a mysterious high-level professional.
Guo Shier made up his mind and said, “Let’s go. I always feel that Senior Li Ran… well, maybe he knows the continent where the Gu Mi family is located.” As soon as he said this, it immediately impressed Luo Jie.
Luo Jie said, “That’s good. If that continent is nearby, then there’s no reason he wouldn’t know about the Gu Mi Continent.”
Guo Shier immediately activated the Inter-Realm Talisman and said, “Let’s go. Together.” The group stepped through the talisman portal.
In the blink of an eye, Guo Shier and the others emerged from the portal. What greeted them was a dense forest, with a winding dirt road not far away, leading somewhere unknown.
Soon, they realized that the trees here had been deliberately pruned. Following the dirt road for a while and passing by a large artificial rock, they saw a unique small building.
Guo Shier found it familiar. The building resembled the small villa from his past life, even having a somewhat European style. He understood that Li Ran must have some connection to his past life’s world—perhaps, like himself, he was also reincarnated. Just as he could instantly recall the name of braised pork ribs, there were things both of them knew but were unwilling to mention.
Standing in front of the building, Guo Shier took a deep breath and asked, “Is anyone here?”
There was silence inside the building. Luo Jie said, “I’ve checked. There isn’t a single person within a hundred miles around here.”
Guo Shier sighed, stepped up the stairs, and pushed the door open—only for it to swing open easily. He said, “Let’s go in and take a look. Since he gave me this coordinate back then, he must have left something behind.”

Upon entering the gate, Guo Shier immediately deduced that Li Ran must not have been from Europe or America in his past life, but rather someone just like himself. Inside the modest hall stood an Eight Immortals table and six grand armchairs, all with an antique look; on the table lay a jade talisman.

Luo Jie glanced around and said, “Quite strange furnishings…”

Guo Shier stepped forward, picked up the jade talisman, and examined it before forcing a wry smile. Li Ran had only left not long ago—perhaps just two or three days. He had left a message saying that anyone who came here could use anything in the small building at will. If they wanted to meet him, they could follow the coordinates left on the talisman to find him directly.

Luo Jie said decisively, “Let’s go find him.”

Guo Shier knew that his master wasn’t concerned about Li Ran personally, but believed that Li Ran must know where the Gu Mi Continent was. He said, “Okay, let’s go.”

One advantage of the Great Cross-Realm Talisman was that it had no time limit on use. Initially, the talismans Guo Shier used had both time andnumber restrictions. Now, although there was still anumber limit, there was no time limit—it could be used anytime, anywhere, even in areas restricted by spells, making it extremely powerful.

The group stepped back into the talisman gate.

The coordinates were very far away. Fortunately, they had the Great Cross-Realm Talisman; otherwise, it would have been difficult to reach. Guo Shier found it more strenuous to activate the talisman this time, but thankfully, there weren’t many people. With more people, it would likely be hard to reach the destination.

Upon emerging from the talisman gate, they saw a magnificent city in the distance, with countless huge talisman towers and countless tall talisman pillars, their spells of light reaching into the sky. The city seemed endless, and its size was unknown. Numerous flying vehicles, many of them extremely luxurious, flew in the sky.

The spot where they came out of the talisman gate was about ten miles outside the city. It was a small hill with sparse low trees, surrounded by no buildings. Many people flew overhead.

Guo Shier narrowed his eyes and observed carefully for a while before saying, “This city… must belong to the Gu Mi family, right?”

Luo Jie asked, “Did you not have these coordinates before?”

Guo Shier replied, “No. When I entered, there seemed to be spell restrictions, but they couldn’t stop my Great Cross-Realm Talisman.”

Luo Jie nodded. Although he was already an expert at the seventh-tier altar, it was almost impossible for him to refine a large cross-dimensional talisman, so he didn’t have such an auxiliary talisman either. He said, “At least this shows that this place is important. Let’s enter the city first and find out what kind of place it is… By the way, Guo Shier, do you have Li Ran’s message talisman?”
Guo Shier nodded. “Yes.”
Luo Jie smiled. “Good. That way we don’t have to look for people everywhere. Let’s enter the city first.”
With a message talisman, as long as Li Ran was still on this continent, it would be easy to find him—just send the talisman and wait. Once Li Ran received it, he would know where Guo Shier was. This was the most common method of communication among professionals.
The group instantly teleported out and appeared at the edge of the city. There were no walls or fortifications here; the entire city was open, but all buildings were within an invisible line, with none exceeding it. Guo Shier and the others knew that this invisible line must be the city’s defense line.
The defense barrier was outside this line, but it was hard to detect when it wasn’t activated.
These experienced individuals could tell at a glance what was going on and exclaimed in amazement, “What kind of defense talisman array is this? This city is simply enormous.”
Luo Jie was a bit puzzled. He asked, “Could this be the Gu Mi Continent?”
Guo Shier couldn’t be sure. He said, “I don’t know. Let’s ask…” Before he could finish, Eagle Demon had already dashed off. He said, “I’ll go ask. Wait here.”
Most of the buildings here were magnificent, and unlike other places, they had relatively high floors—many buildings had seven or eight floors, and even some had over ten. Although not comparable to his previous life, they were quite unique in this world.
In the distance, the density of buildings was comparable to that of his previous life, which was also rare in this world. Land was the most abundant thing in this world; it wasn’t difficult to find a large territory on any continent. Thus, cities filled with tall buildings like these were very rare, indicating how prosperous this place was.
Guo Shier said, “It’s a very prosperous city—really rare.” He had visited many cities and knew the level of development in this world. The prosperity of this city was truly astonishing.
Luo Jie gazed for a while before saying solemnly, “If this is indeed the Gu Mi Continent, then… this city will no longer be prosperous.”

The Eagle Demon flew back to the ground and said, “This is the famous Wilds Continent. This is the only city on this continent—Wilds City! It has nothing to do with the Gu Mi family. This city is said to be very famous, home to many skilled experts. It’s a… well, how should I put it… ah, yes, a free city. It’s a free city.”
Everyone was stunned. What the heck? There really exists such a continental city?
The Eagle Demon continued, “The most famous thing here is the Professional Mercenaries Association, where you can hire high-level professionals.”
Guo Shier said in surprise, “A Professional Mercenaries Association? There’s such an organization?”
The Eagle Demon replied, “I don’t know much about it in detail. Let’s ask around once we enter the city.” It was already quite remarkable to learn so much in such a short time.
Luo Jie said, “Let’s go check out the Professional Mercenaries Association.”
They walked along the main street. Most of the residents here were professionals, with many grand masters and archmasters, but altar-level professionals were rare. People here usually moved in groups, so Guo Shier and the others didn’t stand out. The Eagle Demon asked someone for directions, and they quickly found the Professional Mercenaries Association.
It was a very simple-looking building, with a rune symbol marking it as the Professional Mercenaries Association. What Guo Shier and the others arrived at was a branch of the association. It was a large hall with many tables, where numerous professionals were resting and drinking. Next to it was a long counter with several professionals sitting there—this was the reception area of the Professional Mercenaries Association.
On the wall hung a large display board with all kinds of information—tasks involving gathering materials, tasks involving protecting caravans, and more, a wide variety of things.
Guo Shier and the others went inside. Luo Jie said, “Let’s rest for a while.” He walked to an empty table, pulled out a chair, and sat down. The others gathered around the table. A professional waiter came over and asked, “What would you like?”
The Eagle Demon asked, “What do you have here?”
The waiter replied, “We have various drinks and snacks.”
Guo Shier said, “I want the best wine here, along with some snacks and fruits. Decide as you see fit, but remember, I want the best.”
The waiter nodded and said, “Please wait a moment…” Then he turned and left.

Guo Shier found that no one gave them any strange looks from start to finish; it seemed as though they had long been integrated into this city. After all, both their attire and demeanor were extraordinary, and they exuded a faint aura of pressure—something that any professional would recognize as a sign of a high-level professional. Yet no one found it odd. This made Guo Shier realize that there must be many high-level professionals here, so much so that it was nothing unusual. After sitting for a while, a waiter brought over a large wooden tray with several bottles of green wine, several plates of meat-filled baked cakes, and a plate of fruit. It was several clusters of fruits that resembled grapes, but they were golden in color, with a gentle, sweet fragrance emanating from them. The waiter said, “That’ll be sixty-one Gold Talisman coins in total. Thank you for your patronage.”