Chapter 73: Could This Be a Real Talisman?

"Good stuff! Absolutely top-tier stuff!"

Baji stared intently at the box, unblinking.

It had a feeling—if it ate whatever was inside this box, its strength would skyrocket. At that point, even those human-made iron boxes wouldn’t stand a chance against its jaws. It could swallow them whole and refine them in an instant!

After being fed "sh*t" for so many days, was this big shot finally willing to give it something delicious?

Chen Huai’an opened the box with a pair of scissors.

As expected, inside was a plant. The other box contained a soil clump in a small pot—colorful, almost unnaturally so. He planted the plant into the soil, placed the pot on the windowsill, and stared at it for a while. Unable to shake his doubt, he pulled out his Thousand-Degree Identifier to scan it.

The result came back instantly:

[Grass—A type of plant.]

Just an ordinary patch of grass?

Chen Huai’an was speechless.

This game company was really cutting corners. A pot of orchids barely cost anything nowadays, and they had the nerve to send him a dirty little patch of grass? That was just lazy!

And that soil—it looked like some kind of industrial pollution with all those colors. Completely unaesthetic.

Then, he noticed something else in the box.

Pulling it out, he found a talisman, sealed in a plastic pouch, along with an instruction sheet.

[Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Talisman: Please affix this talisman to the flowerpot to protect the Nine-Turn Spirit Orchid from being devoured by gluttonous demonic beasts.]

Chen Huai’an: "…"

A gluttonous demonic beast?

There were only mosquitoes and one dumb cat in his room.

Whatever. He’d treat it as decoration.

The flowerpot, engraved with celestial palaces and auspicious clouds, was quite pretty, even if all it housed was a limp little patch of grass.

He peeled off the talisman and stuck it onto the flowerpot.

A talisman-covered flowerpot with a droopy plant—definitely something a normal person wouldn’t do. From a distance, the whole setup looked unhinged.

Meanwhile, in the game, Li Qingran was pacing around the bed, hugging a set of clothes. Since there wasn’t anything urgent to do, Chen Huai’an logged off.

He hadn’t even had breakfast yet after all that.

Once he finished eating, he planned to head to the square to practice swordsmanship. Hopefully, that old man would be there today.

…

While Chen Huai’an prepared breakfast, Baji sneakily approached the Nine-Turn Spirit Orchid.

The closer it got, the denser the spiritual energy became.

[How could such a spiritual plant exist in this era of depleted Spiritual Qi? Where on earth did this big shot get it from…?]

Baji stared at the orchid, completely baffled.

But none of that really mattered—it was still edible.

It edged closer, swallowing greedily at the thick scent of Spiritual Qi.

Suddenly—ZAP!

A violent arc of lightning crackled through the air.

A terrifying pressure loomed over its head, sending it scrambling backward, rolling onto the sofa in sheer panic.

Only then did Baji notice a piece of yellow paper stuck to the side of the flowerpot.

A talisman.

And one far more terrifying than the ones on the doors and windows.

If it dared to so much as touch that flowerpot, it would die instantly!

As it retreated to a safe distance, the overflowing lightning from the talisman gradually withdrew.

[Hah… I was too naïve.]

Baji lifted its head at a dramatic 45-degree angle, gazing toward the ceiling.

[Like this big shot would ever let me eat something so valuable.]

Shaking its head in self-mockery, it continued gnawing on its unfinished Cao Hei Duck.

Still, as long as the Nine-Turn Spirit Orchid was around, this place would soon become a cultivation sanctuary.

The entire room would be infused with Spiritual Qi.

Ordinary rice would transform into Spirit Rice, Cao Hei Duck would become Spirit Black Duck, and even a pet fish could eventually gain sentience!

Sure, the food might still taste like crap, but at least it’d be crap-flavored chocolate now.

With that comforting thought, Baji ate even more enthusiastically.

…

[Breaking News: A Wild Wolf Spotted on Tianmen Mountain! Authorities Have Intervened to Ensure Tourist Safety.]

While scrolling through Douyin, a short news video caught Chen Huai’an’s attention.

[What do the experts say about this unusually large wolf?]

"Hello, everyone. I’m Professor Wang, Honorary Canine Specialist from C Province Agricultural University. Some have speculated that this Tianmen Mountain wolf is a monster—haha, let’s not entertain such nonsense. This wolf is merely a mutated creature due to consuming polluted seawater. While it appears large, its physical coordination is actually quite poor, making it far less aggressive than normal wolves…"

Chen Huai’an’s lips twitched as he watched the old white-haired professor confidently spout nonsense.

Less aggressive?

If that thing was less aggressive, then why the hell did it tear apart a van like a chew toy?

That said, the past decade had indeed seen the rise of many mutated creatures.

It all started ten years ago with a catastrophe so outrageous it angered both heaven and man. At the time, people didn’t take it seriously—until the effects of seawater pollution became impossible to ignore.

Mutated creatures were just one of many consequences.

There had been rumors that the chickens used in fast food were genetically modified to have extra legs and wings, but those had always seemed like urban legends.

Now? Chickens with three to five heads were a reality.

Previously, such creatures only existed in labs. Now, even regular poultry farms occasionally produced multi-headed chickens.

And not only did these mutated chickens survive, they actually had longer lifespans. Worse yet, each head had its own independent thoughts—meaning they often fought each other.

Rarity breeds value.

Though their safety for consumption remained uncertain, some places had already started treating multi-headed chickens as a luxury delicacy. Certain farms had even begun intentionally breeding them.

Like most ordinary people, Chen Huai’an firmly believed that mutated creatures were a disaster waiting to happen.

For now, at least, they were still manageable. As long as bullets could kill them, there was no immediate threat.

But once these creatures evolved beyond the reach of gunfire, the truth would no longer be something the authorities could suppress.

Then again, Chen Huai’an figured he wouldn’t live to see that day.

After all, he wasn’t going to make it past this year.

And once he was gone—who cared if the world drowned?

…

"Good thing that girl arrived just in time! She pulled out a pistol and shot the wolf dead!"

"By the way, I have to complain about San Guang’s van—absolute garbage quality! I barely shut the door and the whole thing fell off!"

"What? You mean that young-looking girl was actually a police officer? No wonder she had a gun! I thought she was a middle schooler, haha!"

“Oh? Isn’t that Director Zhang?”

The screen cut to an interview with a middle-aged man, and Chen Huai’an grinned dumbly.

"The other wolf was struck by lightning—thank the heavens! If not for that, three of our crew members would’ve been dead."

Several photos of a charred crater appeared on screen, showing the lightning-blasted remains of a mutant wolf, reduced to charcoal.

As Chen Huai’an shoveled rice into his mouth, he suddenly froze.

That crater… Something felt off.

The thunder he heard that night.

That familiar lightning-scorched ground.

And the missing Thunderfire Talisman…

He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a few crumpled Thunderfire Talismans, staring blankly at the red cinnabar inscriptions.

Carefully, he laid out seven of them on the coffee table.

Then, cautiously, he poked one with his finger.

After a long silence, he muttered:

“…No way. These… are real talismans?”

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