Chapter 9: Rewards (Part 2)

The Eagle Demon stared in surprise, puzzled. “Why split it into two shields?”
Li Ran replied, “It can be separated and combined. In times of danger, the life talisman shield will automatically appear to protect its owner… You need to quickly absorb and understand the inheritance you’ve received.”
The Eagle Demon’s face turned slightly red as he answered, “Yes!”
Li Ran said, “It seems you prefer using knives and long spears. Otherwise, these two weapons wouldn’t appear in your life talisman. Here’s some advice for you…”
The Eagle Demon straightened up and said respectfully, “Please speak!”
Li Ran continued, “Don’t compare your life talisman to ordinary talismans. Their usage is completely different. You need to explore carefully. There should be applications in this area within the inheritance!”
The Eagle Demon expressed his gratitude, “Yes!”
Li Ran then said to Guo Shier, “I just realized that your sword talisman has also turned into a life talisman. The principle is the same.”
Guo Shier understood and nodded. “I’ll be careful.” With a super pro like Li Ran guiding them, they could avoid many detours.
Li Ran said, “I’ll give you some more coordinates to secret realms. You can use them to search for materials to build your own life altar… Don’t take too many people, and don’t tell your sect either… It could cause trouble.”
Guo Shier smiled. “Okay! Thank you, Brother Li.”
Li Ran replied, “Don’t thank me. This is what you deserve. It’s a reward for you. Well, if you reach the rank of High Great Sage, you can come to see me… Here are the coordinates. If nothing goes wrong, you should be able to find me… If not, don’t come.” After saying that, he left the items for Guo Shier, stood up, and disappeared into the air.
Guo Shier was stunned. He didn’t expect Li Ran to leave so suddenly.
The Eagle Demon said, “He’s gone! Sigh, the pressure in his presence was too great. I even broke into sweat.”
Guo Shier was stunned for a long time before suddenly bursting into laughter. “Damn! He’s gone… We’re finally back. Nothing else matters anymore, haha!”
The Eagle Demon was frightened and kept asking, “Shier, Shier, what’s wrong with you?”
Guo Shier replied, “I’m just happy! That secret realm was really terrifying! We almost couldn’t get back.” He couldn’t help but vent his emotions. Over the past six months, he had been on the edge of life and death, his nerves constantly tense. It wasn’t until Li Ran left that he finally relaxed.
The Eagle Demon, on the other hand, wasn’t bothered. Having gone through hundreds of years of trials on the great plains, he had become quite indifferent to life and death. He sighed to himself, “After all, Shier is still just a child. It’s already very good that he can react like this.”

Guo Shier released some of his frustration but quickly calmed down. Even with the experiences from his previous two lives, he had never encountered such perilous and strange changes. Though mature-minded, that didn’t mean he wasn’t afraid.
Eagle Demon asked, “Is this the Secret Realm?”
Guo Shier nodded. “Yes. Thankfully, we didn’t stay out for long; otherwise, my master and masteress would have worried. I was really afraid of getting trapped in the Bloodied Secret Realm. If that Zhu Jiamao had taken me, I might not have died, but returning home would have been extremely difficult.”
Eagle Demon said, “That Zhu Jiamao is really formidable. When I heard him ask which sect you belonged to, my scalp tingled… They have too many professional experts.”
Guo Shier replied, “I think returning to the Chenxiao Sect would be less stressful.”
Eagle Demon smiled bitterly. “Chenxiao Sect… I used to think it was a remarkable sect, but now… it’s still far behind the Advanced Continents.”
Guo Shier said, “Let’s go home!” With that, he opened the talisman gate and stepped inside. Eagle Demon followed closely behind.
…
These past few days, Kuumu had been quite upset, staying almost entirely in the underground talisman-making hall, refusing to come out, because Monier kept coming to him demanding he find Guo Shier. Ever since Guo Shier left, Monier would explode with anger whenever she saw Kuumu, ordering him to bring Guo Shier back.
Kuumu sat on the floor of the talisman-making hall, also troubled. He was worried about his young disciple as well—more than half a year had passed with no news at all. Worse, when Guo Shier left, he hadn’t left any coordinates indicating his whereabouts, which was why Monier was so furious.
Zhu Juan arrived at Kuumu’s estate and met Monier, asking, “Is Kuumu here?”
Monier snapped, “That idiot is hiding in the talisman hall, refusing to come out! It drives me crazy! Stupid idiot! Useless fool!”
Zhu Juan held back his laughter and asked, “How many days have you been blocking him in?”
Monier grumbled angrily, “I just don’t believe he won’t come out!”
Zhu Juan said, “It’s not Kuumu’s fault. I guess he doesn’t know where Shier has gone either.”
Monier gritted her teeth. “That’s exactly what annoys me! He doesn’t even ask where his own disciple has gone, and now he still hasn’t returned! It’s driving me mad!” She had long treated Guo Shier like her own son, and after half a year with no news, she was extremely worried, naturally becoming furious.
Zhu Juan said, “That kid is smart. He won’t get into trouble.”

Monier shook her head and said, “Sigh, forget it. I know Dead Wood does care about the baby… I’ll go check on the baby’s family. You go find Dead Wood. I’ll stay here… He won’t come out.”
Dead Wood wasn’t afraid of Monier; he just didn’t want to argue with her.
After Monier left, Zhu Juan called the butler and asked him to inform Dead Wood. In fact, Dead Wood was also feeling frustrated in the underground talisman-making hall. Hearing this, he immediately ran out and told the butler to hurry and get some bread and meat soup—he hadn’t eaten in over ten days and had been trapped down there by Monier with no way out.
As he ate the bread, Dead Wood asked vaguely, “What’s the matter?”
Zhu Juan laughed bitterly, “Sigh, you two… I thought you’d already reconciled. Who would have thought that as soon as Guo Shier left, you’d show your true colors again.”
Dead Wood didn’t reply, just kept eating and drinking. After a while, he finally said, “Talk!”
Zhu Juan said, “It’s still about Mount Saint Slaughter, the Yanhu Secret Realm… After discussing it, the shares have been allocated, and the two families want to hold a joint event. The sect wants you to go to Mount Saint Slaughter… There will be hundreds of people going this time.”
Dead Wood didn’t even lift his head and said, “I’m not going!”
Zhu Juan was speechless for a moment before saying, “You’re just causing trouble with Monier at home. It’s better to go out and clear your mind.”
Dead Wood replied indifferently, “I hate Mount Saint Slaughter!” After finishing the last sip of his soup, he patted his stomach and said, “I’m full. If there’s nothing else, I’m going back.”
Zhu Juan was so angry he wanted to hit him. He said, “No wonder Monier calls you Dead Wood!”
Dead Wood kept a straight face and said, “Let her call me that. It doesn’t make me any thinner.”
Zhu Juan pointed at him, unable to say a word. After struggling for a while, he finally said, “You! You’re a professional expert, a high-ranking Saint Master! How can you act like a scoundrel?”
Just then, someone rushed in and shouted, “The young master is back!”
Dead Wood, who had been listless moments ago, instantly teleported in front of that person, grabbed his shoulders, and asked, “Which young master? Who is the young master?”
It was a talisman martial artist who kept saying, “It’s Young Master Guo Shier who’s back!” He added, “I’m from the young master’s family. I came to give you a heads-up first. The young master said he’ll be there soon.”
Dead Wood released his grip and let out a long sigh, cursing, “You little brat, you still remember to come back! Let me see how I’ll… how I’ll…”
Zhu Juan said irritably from the side, “Forget it. You’ll regret it once you see him.”

Kumu finally relaxed. At least Monier wouldn’t bother him anymore, and he was glad his disciple had returned. He said, “I wonder if his cultivation suffered during this trip.”
“You idiot, my darling’s back!”
As those words were spoken, three figures appeared. Monier was holding Guo Shier, beaming with joy, with not a trace of annoyance left on her face.
Guo Shier said, “Master, I’m back!”
Kumu didn’t respond. He examined Guo Shier from head to toe, his expression gradually turning astonished. Zhu Juan was stunned. It was rare for Kumu to show such surprise. He turned to take a look and froze the moment he saw him.
Monier was overjoyed to see Guo Shier and didn’t notice his change at all. Seeing the strange expressions on Kumu and the others, she asked, “Hey, Fatso, Woodhead, what’s with your faces? Are you unhappy that Shier’s back?”
Kumu hurriedly said, “Shier, have… have you advanced?”
Monier replied unhappily, “What’s so strange about Shier advancing…” She turned to look at Guo Shier beside her. Upon closer inspection, she was also shocked. “Huh? Impossible!” She thought Guo Shier had at most reached the level of Mad Master, not expecting him to have reached the level of Saint Master. In the Chenxiao Sect, Saint Masters were high-ranking professionals.
Guo Shier smiled and said, “Masteress, what’s wrong?” He started acting silly again.
Monier exclaimed in shock, “You… a Saint Master?”
Zhu Juan reminded them, “Not only is Shier a junior Saint Master… but Xiao Ying is too!”
Kumu asked, “Shier, how… how could you reach the level of a junior Saint Master?”
After returning to the Chenxiao Sect, Guo Shier was very relaxed. He smiled and said, “It was just luck… hehe, I was quite fortunate, so I advanced to Saint Master…”
Everyone was speechless. Such a fast advancement rate was extremely rare even in the Advanced Continent. Kumu asked, “You must be fourteen this year, right?”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “Mm, fifteen by virtual age.”
Zhu Juan wondered, “Virtual age? What does that mean?” There was no concept of virtual age here. Guo Shier quickly clarified, “I mean… I’m almost fifteen, hehe.”
Monier smiled bitterly, “Fortunately, I advanced to intermediate Saint Master some time ago. Otherwise… I wouldn’t even dare be your masteress.”
Guo Shier was very close to Monier. He smiled and said, “Your masteress advanced? Congratulations, masteress.”
Monier smiled and patted Guo Shier’s head. Kumu asked, “Tell us about the place you went to this time.”

Zhu Juan said, “Sit down and talk. I’m also curious—how was it possible to advance so quickly?” Guo Shier was only a senior grand spellcaster when he left, but now he’s a junior saintly master. The gap is quite astonishing. Even for those with great potential, it usually takes decades, yet he achieved this in just over half a year. There must be some reason behind it.