Chapter 1: The Life Talisman Ball (Part 1)

Li Ran said, “This is an ancient talisman that allows instant teleportation. Even in our place, it’s extremely precious because it’s a rare auxiliary talisman—far more valuable than offensive talismans.”
“Instant teleportation!”
Luo Jie, who had seen much of the world, had never encountered such an ancient talisman before. If one were surrounded in battle, it could be used to escape instantly—utterly priceless for a sorcerer. He laughed heartily and said, “Guo Shier really has good luck!”
Guo Shier frowned and said, “Luck isn’t as good as hard work… Sigh, Master, you’ve gotten the talisman you wanted, while I’m still trying.”
Li Ran smiled as he put away the ancient talisman on the jade table. “Luck isn’t as good as hard work? Haha, why didn’t you use your feet to pick it? Haha…”
Guo Shier muttered, “I was picking my nails just now…”
Li Ran choked momentarily. He coughed and said, “You brat! Cough… How dare you say that!”
Guo Shier asked, “By the way, what does a Talisman Gate look like?”
Li Ran replied, “Oh, I almost forgot… These are two Talisman Gate spirit talismans. Each one can take four people into a secret realm. Well, this is the book on using Talisman Gates—it’s very easy to learn.”
“Oh, and another thing! Each Talisman Gate can record four secret realms—only four. If you record one more, the oldest one will be erased. So be careful when recording.”
Guo Shier quickly grabbed the Talisman Gate spirit talismans and the book. It was a thin book with only about twenty pages and large fonts. Guo Shier finished reading it in ten minutes. It was indeed simple—anyone with sorcerous power could use it.
Luo Jie learned even faster. After just a quick glance, he understood how to control the Talisman Gates. He immediately put the spirit talismans into his Life Talisman Book. The gains from this trip to the secret realm far exceeded his expectations, and he was very satisfied.
Chen Hong followed Xiao Feng. She brought not only a talisman bag for tools but also one for food, containing talismanized bear meat, earth dragon meat, and some internal organs.
Guo Shier said, “Brother Li, Master, Grandpa Nanshan, wait a moment. I’ll go cook outside.” He dashed out. In his past life, he had run a small shop and learned cooking. Though not a master chef, he knew quite a few cooking tips.
Li Ran called out, “Hey, kid! Wash your hands first! Don’t go picking your nails again!”

Guo Shier fell to the ground immediately. He rolled and crawled out, muttering, “If I really were a pedicure enthusiast, maybe I could find better ancient talismans!”
To get a good life talisman from Li Ran, he was determined to use his ultimate trick. No wonder Guo Shier was anxious—he didn’t know who Li Ran was or what kind of expert he was. Seeing him casually produce so many ancient talismans, he knew this guy wasn’t ordinary. If he didn’t strive now, it would be too late to regret it later.
Luo Jie asked carefully, “Li Ran… what’s your profession?”
Li Ran replied casually, “My profession? I’m a retired… reclusive merchant. I’m not a professional at anything.” He smiled. Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan exchanged glances, not knowing what to say. His words sounded too fake, but they couldn’t refute him either.
Both could sense Li Ran’s arrogance. Although he spoke casually and plainly, without any harsh words that might offend others, his tone still gave off an air of superiority. But as seasoned veterans, they could easily detect that arrogance.
Li Ran was too mysterious, which made Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan wary. They spoke carefully when talking to him. Sensing their unease, Li Ran didn’t offer any explanations and just chatted as he pleased. This further shaped their impressions of him—there were many things they had never heard of.
After about half an hour, the scent of food drifted in. Li Ran sniffed eagerly and said, “Hey, this smell… isn’t this the scent of sweet and sour pork ribs? What’s this other smell?” He couldn’t help standing up and going to the door to look.
Luo Jie also sniffed the air and wondered, “When did Shier learn how to cook talisman food?”
Qi Nanshan shook his head. “I don’t know either. It smells so good… it’s making me hungry!” As a great talisman martial artist, he needed little food, but the aroma still made him feel hungry.
“Brother Li, wait in the room. It’ll be ready soon.”
Li Ran returned with a smile and sat down, saying, “Your disciple… is likely to get a good life talisman. Hehe.”
Chen Hong brought in a large copper basin and said, “Shier said this is sweet and sour pork ribs!”
Li Ran casually summoned a large table and said, “Put it here!”
It was a whole basin full of pork ribs, though each one was quite large, almost as thick as a club. Li Ran grabbed one with his hand, took a big bite, and exclaimed happily, “Not bad! This is the right flavor! Great!”

Next, stir-fried bear stomach strips were served. These strips were made from bear stomachs from Fu Xiong, stir-fried with chili peppers and green garlic—a very fragrant dish. Several consecutive dishes left everyone thoroughly satisfied. The last dish was braised bear paws. The dish itself was rather ordinary, but the ingredients were extremely rare. While cooking, Guo Shier snuck some for himself and Chen Hong. It was the first time in Chen Hong’s life that she had tasted such delicious food, and she admired Guo Shier greatly. After eating, Guo Shier stared at Li Ran eagerly. Li Ran couldn’t help but laugh and said, “Why are you looking at me? I’m not a beauty!” Guo Shier frowned, thinking, “Ugh, so annoying. Does this guy just forget about me after eating?” He asked, “Was it delicious?” To tease him, Li Ran nodded and said, “It was delicious. The rest were average, but the sweet and sour pork ribs were really good!” Guo Shier said, “My life talisman…” “What life talisman?” “Ugh, don’t play around like this…” Li Ran laughed heartily and said, “Okay, I was just joking with you. Here…” He slapped Guo Shier on the forehead and shouted, “Don’t move!” A green glow was sent into Guo Shier’s forehead. He said, “Consider it your luck. I happen to have a True Spirit Talisman on me—hehe, one of the best life talismans.” “True Spirit Talisman!” Luo Jie had already roughly understood Li Ran and the others’ classification of talismans. The worst were treasure talismans, spirit talismans were ordinary, ancient talismans were more advanced, and true treasure talismans were the truly elite. As for True Spirit Talismans, they were also very precious even among Li Ran’s group. Li Ran explained, “This True Spirit Talisman isn’t very useful to me. It’s neither an offensive talisman nor a regular auxiliary one. Instead, it’s specifically used to create life talisman books. This talisman is also called a True Life Talisman, and it can create life talisman balls—hehe, which is a bit different from the form of your life talisman books.” Luo Jie was surprised. “Life talisman balls?” He had never heard of this form of life talisman before. Li Ran nodded. “Life talisman balls are a higher form of life talismans. They’re more efficient than life talisman books or albums, and it’s faster to activate them. It’s a unique form of life talisman in our place. Here’s how it works…” He stretched out a finger and tapped in the air. A clear virtual image appeared before everyone.

First, a bright spot appeared and quickly expanded to the size of a basketball—a sphere composed of countless tiny symbols. The sphere spun rapidly, and one tiny symbol emerged, grew quickly, then disappeared back into the sphere. Another symbol emerged, and so on, creating a truly magnificent and astonishing sight.
Li Ran retracted his finger, and the sphere vanished immediately.
Luo Jie saw the brilliance in it and said, “An amazing form. Sigh, how could we never think of such a life symbol!”
Guo Shier was even more delighted. He understood the advantages of this form better than Luo Jie, because their life symbol books were flat, while the spherical life symbol was three-dimensional—a complete difference in concept. In other words, Li Ran’s group’s life symbols were far more advanced than those of the Northern Symbol Sect, with far more sophisticated ideas.
Li Ran said, “Kid, I’ve already placed the True Spirit Symbol inside you. You’ll have to find it yourself. Hehe, it might take ten years to find it… By then, you should be able to advance. Well, maybe more than ten years… Anyway, you’ll advance whenever you find it. With this True Spirit Symbol, as long as you accumulate enough symbol power, you can advance. Kid, satisfied?”
Guo Shier could hardly believe it. He said, “Just one meal… and I can get a True Spirit Symbol? Uh, Brother Li, hehehe, do you need a chef?”
Li Ran smiled and said, “Are you trying to act stupid?”
Guo Shier immediately replied honestly, “Brother Li, please give me any other orders. But there’s one prerequisite: it must be something I can do. Otherwise, even if I agree, it’s useless.”
Li Ran gave him a thumbs up and said, “What a smart kid!”
Luo Jie said, “Mr. Li, thank you for helping my disciple.” He was truly grateful, his tone sincere.
Li Ran nodded slightly and said, “You don’t need to thank me. This is a deal between me and your disciple. Well, Shier, bring me the Symbol Gate.”
Guo Shier took out the Symbol Gate and handed it to him. Li Ran casually touched the surface of the gate before returning it to Guo Shier and said, “Shier, I’ve left a space on the Symbol Gate for you… when you advance to a Grand Symbol Master… I assume that’s the level of your master. I hope you can visit that place once. I need your help.”
Guo Shier knew it was impossible to get such an advanced symbol for free. If just cooking a meal could earn such a precious symbol, the world would be in chaos. He said, “No problem, Brother Li. How can I find that life symbol?”

Li Ran smiled and said, “You’ll have to find it yourself; I can’t help you. You have great talent and should be able to advance in ten years. By then, your life talisman will naturally appear… Another advantage is that ten years is enough time for this True Spirit Talisman to fully integrate into your body.”
Guo Shier nodded silently, then immersed his mind in his soul. To his great surprise and joy, he discovered a glimmer floating within his soul. Could this be the True Spirit Talisman? But how could he retrieve it?
What happened next left everyone stunned.