Chapter 2: Conspiracy (Part 2)

Tan Laoxi held the finished artifact and exclaimed excitedly, “It’s finally done! Haha!” With this talisman, his combat strength could at least double. Especially since it was crafted on the spot, the spirit of the beast talisman was preserved almost perfectly, resulting in a high-quality beast spirit talisman. This guy had hardly any friends or followers in the West Talisman Sect. If left to act alone, he would struggle even to hunt wild beasts, let alone beast talismans.
With this beast spirit talisman, he could now look for isolated beast talismans and gradually strengthen his power. This was the advantage of entering the secret realm with Luo Jie’s team.
Three puppets of snow talisman wolves were held by Chen Hong, who gently stroked their fluffy fur and said, “They haven’t opened their eyes yet. How cute…”
Lan Tianbao asked, “Xiao Hong, can I have one of the puppies?”
Chen Hong hesitated slightly and asked, “Sister Lan, what do you want a snow talisman wolf pup for?”
Lan Tianbao replied, “For my daughter Yingying. She also loves small animals.”
Tan Laoxi said indifferently, “Beast talisman puppets are valuable. They might not agree to give it to you…”
Guo Shier said, “Xiao Hong, let Sister Lan pick one.”
Tan Laoxi, furious, turned around and walked away. Only when he reached the hill did he curse violently, “You little bastard! Damn thing! I… I’ll bite you to death…” He didn’t understand why Guo Shier always opposed him.
Chen Hong said, “Well then, Sister Lan, pick one. Please take good care of it. Look how cute the little wolf is.” One of the wolves bit her finger and started sucking hard. She couldn’t help but giggle and say, “Oh, it’s hungry. What should I feed it?”
Lan Tianbao took out a crystal bottle and said with a smile, “I have purified beast blood here, perfect for the pup to drink.” She picked up one of the wolves and said, “Xiao Hong, if you want it to recognize you as its master, you must let it see you the moment it opens its eyes. Remember, otherwise, it will be hard to tame the beast talisman.”
Luo Jie said, “Alright, let’s clean up the snow talisman wolves’ bodies. We’re leaving!”
Eagle Demon came over and carried Guo Shier on his back, and everyone set off again.
……
A group of people surrounded Xu Cheng.
“A Cheng, what exactly happened? Damn it… why are you crying? You’re already a master, yet you act like a child. Someone, help A Cheng up.”
Xu Cheng wailed bitterly and said, “Big brother, you have to avenge me… wuuu…”

Xu Guangheng snapped angrily, “Acheng, stop crying the hell! What’s there to cry about for a man? If you keep crying like this, I’ll slap you to death!”
“Guangheng! Why rush? Wait until Acheng calms down before asking. Is this how a big brother should act?”
Hu Feng stood calmly aside, quietly rebuking Xu Guangheng. He was the great beast sorcerer of the Hu family, and Xu Guangheng was his follower, which allowed him to speak in such a tone.
Xu Guangheng stamped his foot in anger. After a while, Xu Cheng sobbed and recounted what had happened.
Hu Feng frowned. He didn’t care whether Xu Cheng was right or wrong; he was thinking about why the Three Brothers of Wild Wind had retreated without fighting. This meant Xu Cheng’s enemy was extremely powerful, to the point where the Three Brothers didn’t want to risk a fight.
Xu Guangheng cursed the Three Brothers of Wild Wind violently.
Hu Feng said, “Enough. No need to curse them. Let your brother rest properly.” He sighed.
Xu Cheng said, “I’m done… Ugh, I’m done! My life talisman book has been crushed!”
Hu Feng’s calm expression suddenly changed. He asked, “Crushed? Who crushed it?” He knew how tough life talisman books were and how difficult it was to destroy them. It was shocking that someone could crush it.
Xu Cheng said, “It was crushed by a great talisman martial artist!”
Hu Feng asked, “Who is he?”
Xu Cheng said, “I don’t know him. He must be from the Northern Talisman Sect.”
Hu Feng pondered for a moment before saying, “That person’s strength isn’t just strong—it’s super strong. It’s terrifying… Guangheng, are you sure you can crush a life talisman book?”
Xu Guangheng said, “I’ve never tried. Who the hell would go out of their way to crush that thing…”
Hu Feng, enraged, kicked him and said, “You crush this…” He spat out his own life talisman book and said, “Go ahead and try crushing it!”
Xu Guangheng hesitated for a moment before asking, “Boss, what if I crush it… what then?”
Hu Feng cursed, “If I’d risk showing it to you, I wouldn’t fear you crushing it. Hurry up!”
Xu Guangheng grabbed his life talisman book and squeezed it hard. He was surprised and said, “Huh? It’s so hard!” Suddenly, a green light emitted from the talisman book, easily pushing his hand away. Hu Feng said, “Do you understand now?”
Xu Guangheng said, “I understand? What do I understand?”
Hu Feng shook his head helplessly. This guy was truly an idiot! He said, “Alright, arrange things so your brother can rest. We still have tasks to complete. I’m determined to win the first prize this time—100 talisman horses. Everyone, work hard!”

Xu Cheng howled, “Big brother, you have to avenge me!”
Xu Guangheng pleaded, “Boss, please help my brother just this once?”
Hu Feng snapped, “Help him? Who will help me? Damn it… He’s stupid, do you want to be stupid too? He didn’t think before and stole someone else’s territory, got beaten half to death—do you also want me to have my life talisman crushed like him? Use some common sense! The Three Brothers of Wild Wind are far better than you; they’re the smart ones!” He kicked Xu Guangheng twice angrily.
Xu Guangheng said, “Then my brother… my brother will just…”
Hu Feng said, “Just what? That’s the consequence of being reckless! Do you want me to be reckless too?” He struck Xu Guangheng’s head hard. After all, he was a Great Beast Martial Artist, with a head harder than stone—a few blows wouldn’t hurt.
Xu Cheng gritted his teeth and said, “I have some precious materials here, along with one million Great Talisman Coins. Big brother… I’ll give them all to you—avenge me!”
Xu Guangheng looked at Hu Feng and cried out, “Boss…”
Hu Feng sneered and said, “I only take what fate allows me to keep… With this little money, you expect me to risk my life?”
Anxious and angry, Xu Guangheng trembled as he said, “I still have a manor in West Talisman City. If you can avenge me, that manor will be yours!”
Hu Feng became somewhat tempted. The manor in West Talisman City was extremely valuable, beyond the reach of ordinary people. He said, “Go rest first. I’ll think about it.”
After all, wealth was tempting. Hu Feng was cunning—he never undertook anything beyond his capabilities, not even for a large sum of money. But giving up an already secured benefit pained him, so he began to consider how to avenge Xu Cheng. He called out, “Someone, go find out where the Three Brothers of Wild Wind are. Bring them here.”
Hu Feng never fought a battle without confidence. He first needed to find the Three Brothers of Wild Wind to understand the situation. From Xu Cheng’s account, it was clear these three must know each other and who the opponents were.
As long as they hadn’t entered the mountains, it wasn’t hard to find master-level figures. Soon, the Three Brothers of Wild Wind were located.
Being well-known figures in the grasslands, Hu Feng quickly struck up a friendly conversation with them. Xu Guangheng stood by, seething with rage. If those three hadn’t fled at the last moment, his brother wouldn’t have ended up like this.
“Old Poison, I don’t understand—why did you leave without fighting? Who exactly are they?”
Hu Feng was wise enough not to use the word “fled.”

Old Poisonous Wind smirked bitterly and said, “They’re Luo Jie’s team from the Inner Sect of the Northern Talisman Gate—great talisman casters… Why leave? You might as well ask why they’re fleeing. Heh, with just us here, fighting means certain death. These days… there aren’t many who want to die, right?”
Hu Feng frowned and asked, “Luo Jie’s team from the Northern Talisman Gate?”
Old Evil Wind replied, “A bunch of freaks! The team leader, Luo Jie, is a great talisman caster. His disciple, who’s only ten years old, is also a great talisman caster—his name is Guo Shier. He has two great martial talisman masters following him. As for Luo Jie, he has three master-level followers, the most formidable of whom is named Qi Nanshan. Heh, I reckon even those two masters would die against him—that guy is terrifyingly strong… That makes seven master-level fighters in total. Also, that detestable guy from the Western Talisman Gate, the great beast talisman caster Tan Laoxi, is in their team. There’s also a skilled fighter from the Southern Talisman Gate, whose surname is Lan, a great beast curse caster.”
Old Evil Wind sneered, “Old Hu, if it were you… would you go fight them?”
Hu Feng broke into a cold sweat. After a long while, he said, “That’s absurd…” After thinking for a moment, he asked, “If you have so many master-level fighters, would you go hunt mutated talisman beasts?”
Old Poisonous Wind replied without hesitation, “Of course we would!”
Hu Feng smiled darkly and said, “Maybe this is our chance.” He turned to Xu Guangheng and said, “The chance is small, but I need to ask your brother—what if we go and there’s no chance to avenge him? How would that be?”
Xu Cheng was filled with hatred. He said, “I’ll give you everything except the manor. If we can avenge him successfully, I’ll give you everything I have. Besides, I… will follow you!”
Hu Feng showed a slight smile and said, “Good. It depends on whether we can seize this opportunity.”
Xu Guangheng was confused. “What opportunity? You’re speaking so ambiguously it’s hard to figure out!”
Hu Feng said, “Old Poisonous Wind, do you guys want to join? We’ll split the loot evenly! Heh, master-level fighters must have a lot of valuable stuff on them.”
Old Poisonous Wind hesitated for a moment and said, “We need to discuss it.” He knew Luo Jie’s team must be extremely wealthy. If they could kill them, they would surely get a lot. He was also tempted.
Hu Feng dropped the bait and went to rest calmly.
…

Luo Jie was unaware that someone had already set their sights on his team. After two days of rapid marching, they had approached the area where the mutated talisman beasts were active. In a secluded spot, they set up tents and sent six or seven people out to scout, while the rest rested inside the tents.

According to Guo Shier’s plan, several powerful talisman martial artists took turns leading teams out to scout for the mutated talisman beasts. He specifically instructed them to look for weaker ones; if they encountered a strong one, they should immediately retreat without attacking, and he gave them communication talismans for use.

After three days of scouting, they found only one mutated talisman beast within a hundred miles— a mutated lynx. They spotted its tracks several times, but its speed was too great to allow them to hunt it. After careful consideration, Guo Shier decided to abandon the hunt and move the camp immediately.

Following the edge of the mutated talisman beasts’ activity area, Luo Jie’s team arrived at another location, about a hundred miles away from their previous camp. As soon as they found a spot to set up camp, they heard warning roars.