Chapter 4: Messages (Part 1)

It’s very difficult to distinguish between a Great Talisman Master and a Grand Sorcerer, especially during attacks. When they saw Luo Jie floating two zhang high in the air, opening his personal talisman book, the opponents immediately collapsed in despair. A single Great Talisman Warrior was enough to kill them all, and now there was also a Grand Sorcerer reputed to have the strongest attacking power in the world—there was no hope left even for escape.

Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan had no intention of letting anyone else take action, whether it was the enemies or their own people. Luo Jie tapped on his personal talisman book, which opened, then tapped on a page. Dozens of silver lights rose from the pages and swiftly flew into the air. Narrowing his eyes, he focused on the fastest runner and said, “Stay!” With a slight tremor of his finger, a silver beam descended from the sky.

The silver beam fell with a heart-stirring howl. The one who had run the farthest suddenly felt extreme cold. He looked up abruptly and screamed in despair, but before his voice could be heard, a giant ice spear pierced his face—entering through his mouth and going straight through. The ice spear was two meters long, pinning the man to the ground alive.

By the time the second ice spear fell, Qi Nanshan had already charged into the crowd. Cries, roars, and desperate screams—within just a few minutes, only the sound of wind and rain remained. With just one move from the two masters, the opponents were wiped out completely. Qi Nanshan grabbed a captive in each hand and quickly returned to the cavalry, saying, “Most of them are Beast Warriors; there are also Beast Sorcerers hiding inside, but I’ve taken care of them all. Hey, Guo Shier, take the kids and clean up the battlefield!”

Luo Jie said, “Luo Zhan, go with him—be careful of anyone pretending to be dead.”

Cleaning up the battlefield was a lucrative task, and Guo Shier certainly knew Qi Nanshan was showing favor to him. After thanking him, he led Huo Bao and the others into the pile of dead bodies to search for valuables. Guo Shier first focused on the Beast Sorcerer killed by Qi Nanshan—that was where the real treasures lay.

Upon finding the Beast Sorcerer, Guo Shier realized he had been killed with a single palm strike by Qi Nanshan—his entire head had been crushed into his chest, leaving only his forehead on his shoulder, looking extremely grotesque. There wasn’t a single drop of blood on his body.

First, he took off the man’s talisman belt and examined it briefly. Most of the compartments in the belt were empty, with only four containing talismans. When he took them out, he found they were precious talismans—rare beast talismans—which delighted Guo Shier immediately. Then, Luo Jie’s voice came from not far away: “Shier, that man is a beast sorcerer. He has his life talisman. If you chop off his head, you’ll find it.”

Guo Shier didn’t want to kill someone with a knife. He stripped the beast sorcerer of everything and casually cast a fire talisman, burning him to ashes. Among the ashes, he found the life talisman.

Luo Jie asked, “I told you to use a knife—why burn him?”

Guo Shier replied with a grin, “It burns everything clean. Using a knife is too barbaric. Hehe, master, I didn’t expect fire talismans to be so powerful. Even with such heavy rain, they don’t go out.”

Huo Bao returned carrying a pile of stuff—he had stolen many clothes, coats, and other items. Guo Shier covered his forehead, speechless. Luo Jie scolded, “You brat! If you want to collect useful things, why steal their clothes?”

Huo Bao, coming from a hunter family, never missed any useful items. He said in confusion, “Elder, these are all useful things…” Everyone laughed at this.

The others were much better off, as their family backgrounds and influences differed. Chen Hong specifically looked for various talismans and artifacts, while Chen Bing searched for talisman storage bags. As for Hong Shi, he found over a hundred warhorses, each with plenty of supplies.

Huo Bao muttered about throwing away the clothes, but Guo Shier said, “Don’t throw them away yet. Keep a few sets and put them in the talisman storage bag. They might come in handy.”

Chen Bing also came to help, putting a few sets of clothes into the talisman storage bag.

The two captives were awakened by Luo Zhan’s slaps. He asked, “Are you from the Herd Talisman Sect?”

Both were beast warriors with wild animal tattoos on their bodies. Their eyes were defiant as they stared at Luo Zhan without saying a word. Angered, Luo Zhan punched one of them, knocking him out. He then said to the other, “Answer me—are you from the Herd Talisman Sect?”

That man also showed disdain, leaving Luo Zhan at a loss. Qi Nanshan sighed, “These young kids these days are so weak, with no skills at all. They can’t even deal with two captives. Sigh, let me take over. Kids, step aside.” In one step, he arrived in front of the two men.

He didn’t ask any questions either. He grabbed the man, a faint smile on his face, and pinched his fingers, gently rubbing them until a crackling sound was heard. Then he pinched another finger and rubbed it gently again, another crackling sound following. The man’s face turned pale instantly as he gasped for breath heavily.

Qi Nanshan still didn’t ask questions. He just continued to crush one finger after another, then the wrist, and then the arm. The man finally couldn’t bear the intense pain and started screaming. Qi Nanshan laughed, “Huh? Weren’t you always so heroic and brave? How come you’re crying now?” He pulled on the man’s jaw, and the man’s chin fell off. Saliva mixed with rainwater streamed down, and he made groaning sounds.

Qi Nanshan said, “Simple torture hardly works on martial sorcerers. But there are many ways to torture them. Eventually, they’ll collapse completely, and then asking questions… yields much better results.” As he spoke, he continued to crush the man’s bones. Horrifically, he didn’t let the man lose consciousness but made him feel the pain clearly.

Seeing this, Guo Shier’s face turned white, not to mention Huo Bao and the others. Chen Hong simply hid aside, too terrified to look—she simply couldn’t bear such agonizing screams.

Qi Nanshan tapped the man’s jaw, and the man’s detached chin snapped back into place. He screamed, “Ah… ah…” Tears and snot streamed down his face.

“I’ll ask one question, and you just answer honestly—Are you from the Mu Fu Sect?”

The man grunted, followed by a scream as Qi Nanshan crushed his leg bone. Then Qi Nanshan kept asking questions; if he didn’t answer, another bone would break. Finally, the man couldn’t take it anymore and started answering.

“Stop! Stop… I’ll answer, I’ll answer…”

“Yes, we’re from the Mu Fu Sect!”

Qi Nanshan asked, “Were you the ones who killed the people in the town earlier?”

The man hesitated slightly, and another bone broke. He screamed, “Yes! It was us!”

Qi Nanshan snorted coldly and said, “With just a few dozen of you, you can’t even destroy an entire town. Who else is involved?” He stared at the man, his face filled with murderous intent.

The man said, “It was people from our sect—over a thousand of them!”

Everyone was shocked. Over a thousand? That wasn’t just a small group—over a thousand professionals was equivalent to a medium or small sect. It seemed the Mu Fu Sect had sent out all its forces.

Qi Nanshan asked, “Over a thousand people—are there any masters among them?”

“Yes, the great beast sorcerer Luning… He… he will come… to avenge me… Ah…”
Qi Nanshan crushed another bone of his, saying, “Save you? Stop dreaming! Are there any other masters?”
The man said, “Kill me! Kill me! Ah… none left… none…”
Guo Shieru interjected, “What’s your purpose for coming here?”
“For the secret…” He suddenly stopped talking. Guo Shieru asked, “Secret? What secret? A secret realm?”
Qi Nanshan mercilessly crushed another bone and growled, “Speak!”
The man was barely alive. His eyes were wide open, his back arching continuously as he trembled in pain. Eventually, he gave in and said, “If I tell you… you’ll kill me!”
Qi Nanshan said, “If you’re a real man, I promise! Speak!”
The man said, “It’s… a secret realm… A secret realm will appear here… a rare ancient one that hasn’t appeared in thousands of years… It’s… it’s the greatest legend of our Mu Fu Sect. This time… it must be true… Kill me! Kill me!”
Just as Qi Nanshan was about to act, Guo Shieru stopped him, saying, “Grandpa Nanshan, wait. Hey, where are the others? Where’s the entrance to the secret realm? If you tell me, I’ll let Grandpa Nanshan kill you…” He himself found it unbelievable—killing him somehow became a temptation. How could that be?
The man was on the verge of going mad from pain. He gasped for breath and quickly said, “They’re scattered throughout this area. The entrance to the secret realm is unpredictable. Once discovered, a signal will be sent… Kill me!”
Qi Nanshan grabbed his neck and squeezed slightly. With a crack, the man died instantly.
Luo Zhan grabbed another man, the one he had knocked out at first, and asked, “Should we kill him too?”
Qi Nanshan said, “Wake him up. Use my method to verify the confession of the previous man and see if anything is off. Don’t make me, an old man, get my hands dirty again.” Luo Zhan’s face turned slightly red as he said, “Yes, let me handle it.”
Guo Shieru couldn’t bear to watch any longer. He went over to Luo Jie and asked, “Master, what exactly is this kind of secret realm?”

Luo Jie kept his eyes closed, seemingly deep in thought. After a long while, he finally spoke, “This secret realm is no simple place. No wonder they had to slaughter everyone in the town and anyone who appeared on the road. If… this secret realm opens soon, even with more members from our Beifu Sect, we won’t be able to find them.”
Guo Shier said, “Killing the people in the town wasn’t just to silence them; there’s probably also a supply issue. I took a look at their horses—most of them were carrying supplies, likely stolen from the town. Plus, they can raise beasts to strengthen their strength. It’s a win-win-win situation, so of course they would do it.”
Qi Nanshan asked, “Elder, how long has it been since you last went to the secret realm? The last time… it seems to have been thirty years ago.”
Luo Jie smiled and said, “Twenty-seven years. You’ve already become a Grand Symbol Martial Artist—how can you not even remember the date?”