Chapter 10: Robbery (Part 2)

Guo Shier said in a low voice, “Uncle Eagle Demon, you need to explain again—this altar is too important.”
Eagle Demon nodded. “These people are all trustworthy; they’re my friends. Let me handle it.” He had taken his role seriously and officially started working for Guo Shier.
Guo Shier politely said to Luo Zhan, “Uncle Luo, I’ll have to trouble you from now on.”
Luo Zhan laughed. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking! Hehe, Shier, just give orders whenever you need anything—no need to be polite. I’m your follower after all.”
Guo Shier finally couldn’t hold back and burst into happy laughter.
Everyone found it amusing. The kid was like he’d gotten a precious toy, unable to hide his excitement and joy.
Luo Jie said, “Alright, let’s continue imprinting the talismans!”
Guo Shier called Eagle Demon, Luo Zhan, and four other friends over to a corner of the altar. He said, “Alright, let’s get to know each other. Hehe, mainly so Uncle Eagle Demon can get to know them. This is my first follower, Huo Bao. We call him Leopard, Little Leopard… The strongest one here is Hong Shi, Stone… These are Chen Bing and Chen Hong, cousins… All four of them have also advanced at the altar and are now Talisman Warriors.”
Eagle Demon smiled and said, “Impressive! They’ve all reached the level of Talisman Warriors. Hehe, when I reached that level, I was already in my twenties.”
Huo Bao and the others stepped forward to bow. Everyone was excited—Shier had two powerful Talisman Warriors as followers, meaning their team had extremely strong capabilities. Even better, these two could train them, so they wouldn’t have to seek training elsewhere.
Guo Shier said, “I’ll assign tasks.”
Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan replied at the same time, “Okay!”
Guo Shier said, “Uncle Luo will handle internal affairs, while Uncle Eagle Demon will take care of external matters. And… hehe, I need the two uncles to put in extra effort to train those four.”
Luo Zhan was familiar with Guo Shier’s family, making him the perfect person to manage internal affairs. Besides, he wasn’t someone who liked socializing. Eagle Demon was different—he had wandered the great plains for over a hundred years, encountering countless strange people. Socializing was his strength, though he had a notorious reputation in the plains as a moody individual.
Both readily agreed. Guo Shier said, “Alright, our team finally has strong combat power. We might have to operate independently from now on… This is the first time we’ve all gathered together. Hehe, to welcome Uncle Eagle Demon and Uncle Luo, I’ll cook a big meal tonight!”

Huo Bao exclaimed, “Great! Haha, more delicious food!”
Chen Hong whispered, “You glutton!”
Luo Zhan explained, “Eagle, Twelve is very skilled at grilling. You’re in for a treat!”
“Eagle? Hmm, that’s a fresh name. Alright, let’s call him Eagle then. Lao Zhan…”
“Lao Zhan? Just call me Lao Luo. Lao Zhan… that’s such a strange name.”
The Eagle Demon ignored them completely and said, “Lao Zhan, I tried Twelve’s grilling skills last time, and they were indeed excellent. Hehe, could Twelve cook anything else? Like ritual food?”
Huo Bao said, “Uncle Eagle, Twelve can cook ritual food.”
The Eagle Demon asked, “Baozi, how old are you?”
Huo Bao raised his head and puffed out his chest. “I’m thirteen years old. I’ll be fourteen soon!”
The Eagle Demon smiled bitterly. “Thirteen years old… a Ritual Warrior? Sigh, this is what comes with following someone. How long have you been following Twelve?”
Huo Bao laughed. “For over a year.”
The Eagle Demon rubbed his face vigorously and said, “A bunch of little monsters, advancing in just a year!”
Chen Bing interjected, “A year ago, Twelve was just like us—he was an apprentice in ritual magic.”
“A year? How old is Twelve?”
Due to having drunk a drop of the Earth Dragon’s essence blood, Guo Shier’s body had started to develop recently, making him taller than before. He looked like a teenager around twelve or thirteen. He said, “I’ll be ten soon! Hehe.”
The Eagle Demon couldn’t help but curse, “Damn it… no wonder they call you a monster!”
Guo Shier protested, “Hey! Uncle, don’t be so mean!”
The Eagle Demon murmured, “I’m not being mean… I’m praising you! You… you’re even more monstrous than a monster—you’re a true abomination!”
Guo Shier surrendered, “Alright, whether I’m a monster or an abomination, that’s just who I am…”
The Eagle Demon suddenly laughed and said, “I like it!”
Guo Shier’s hair stood on end as he said, “Ugh, stop! I don’t like it at all!”
Everyone burst into laughter. Luo Zhan shook his head and said, “Alright, the old man wants us to get to work.”
Copying the runes was a huge task that would take several days even with everyone working together. The altar was too large, and there were too many runes, but they were all treasures. Even Ritual Warriors knew how precious these runes were, though they didn’t understand what they depicted.
Guo Shier’s team was assigned to copy the runes on three stone pillars. Luo Jie also came to them to teach Guo Shier about ancient runes. So, in addition to copying the runes, Guo Shier had to learn about them under Luo Jie’s guidance.

Guo Shier was very happy to be able to learn ancient runes here—it was a stroke of luck. Luo Jie was usually very busy and had little time to give guidance, but at the altar, he could teach with full concentration, and Guo Shier studied very diligently. He noticed a strange phenomenon: with Luo Jie’s guidance, he felt as if he was already familiar with the ancient runes, able to understand much just by sensing them. Soon, he was able to recognize those extremely complex symbols.

Luo Jie was also puzzled—Guo Shier’s learning speed was far too fast. After just one explanation, he fully understood, without the need for a second explanation. The next time he saw them, he could immediately recognize them. The more he guided him, the more excited he became; teaching such a disciple was simply effortless.

After five days, they finally completed all the symbols, and everyone could finally rest—this task had indeed been exhausting.

Luo Jie said, “It’s almost time. We’ll soon be thrown out of this secret realm. Let’s go down the mountain! Be careful—I don’t want to encounter another mutated rune worm when we leave…”

Everyone quickly descended the mountain to prepare their war horses and luggage.

Glancing at the mountains behind them, Luo Jie thought to himself, “We’ll come back.” He then shouted, “Get on the horses! Let’s set off!”

The sound of horse hooves came.

Luo Jie’s expression changed. “Not good—there’s a horse team coming!” He didn’t want the location of the altar exposed. He shouted, “I’ll go meet them and block them!”

Guo Shier was full of enthusiasm. Anyone who could have two great rune martial artists follow them would feel this kind of excitement and sense of security.

In less than ten minutes, the two horse teams met on a plain.

Qi Nanshan led the way, blocking the path and saying with a smile, “Stop! We’re robbing you!”

Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh. He didn’t expect Qi Nanshan to be joking too.

Luo Jie said solemnly, “It’s the Wild Wind Horse Team! Shier, take command. Hold them off until it’s time for us all to be thrown out together.”

Guo Shier nodded and said, “Don’t worry, master. I’ll handle it! Hehe, let Grandpa Nanshan hold them off for a while to assess the situation. We’ll act later.”

“Qi Nanshan, why are you blocking our path?”

Wild Wind Lao Xie rode forward. He looked pitiful, as if he had suffered serious injuries.

Qi Nanshan still smiled and said, “Oh, didn’t hear me? Fine, I’ll say it again! We’re robbing you!”

Wild Wind Lao Xie flew into a rage and said, “Qi Nanshan! You… you’re robbing people! You’re from a prestigious sect—how dare you rob? What do you want?”

Qi Nanshan smiled and said, “Actually, it’s nothing. I just wanted to chat with you guys!”
Feng Wind the Old was so angry that he swayed violently in his saddle. Feng Wind the Monster stepped forward to support him and said, “Qi Nanshan, go ahead. What do you want?”
Qi Nanshan chuckled and said, “Didn’t I say? Just chat, talk nonsense. Heh, what else do you think I want?”
Feng Wind the Poisonous finally arrived and happened to hear Qi Nanshan’s words. Gnashing his teeth, he said, “In this secret realm, every minute is precious. If we want to chat… fine! We can talk after we leave!” He was furious. Although he didn’t understand why Qi Nanshan was blocking their path, he knew there must be a very important reason.
Qi Nanshan’s expression turned cold. He said, “Oh, you don’t want to give me face? Want to go outside to chat? Damn it… if you won’t talk to me, then no one goes!” When a great Symbol Warrior acts stubbornly, he’s even more troublesome and difficult to deal with than an ordinary person.
Feng Wind the Poisonous’s face turned red with anger. Their entry into the secret realm had been extremely unlucky. Originally, half of their troops should have been able to enter, but due to the chaos, only over a hundred people made it in—fortunately, they were all quite strong, mostly skilled Symbol Warriors.
After entering the secret realm, they lost their way. Unfortunately, they encountered a mutated Symbol Worm, a rare Golden Armor Symbol Worm with a body as hard as steel that couldn’t be cut at all. Even Feng Wind the Poisonous’s fire and ice attacks didn’t harm it in the slightest. The thing had terrifying strength. Thankfully, the Golden Armor Symbol Worm’s attack method was simple: it just kept crashing into them repeatedly. As a result, many of their Symbol Warriors were killed or injured, and Feng Wind the Old also suffered broken ribs and returned bleeding.
After barely escaping the Golden Armor Symbol Worm, they ran into a Symbol Snake that tormented them for seven or eight days until it swallowed several warhorses before stopping. The entire cavalry was like headless flies—without any gains and suffering heavy losses. As time grew tighter, how could Feng Wind the Poisonous not be anxious? Unluckily, they were blocked by a group from the Northern Symbol Sect here as well.
Feng Wind the Poisonous was a gloomy person, and this time, Qi Nanshan had driven him to the brink of losing his sanity.
Horse hooves could be heard in the distance as another group of troops was approaching.
Luo Jie showed a bitter smile and whispered, “Damn it! Do they know about the altar?”
Guo Shier said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, could you… block their path?”
Eagle Demon smiled and said, “That’s my specialty.” He spurred his horse forward.

Guo Shier said in a low voice, “Well, it’s getting more and more lively. It’s the Black Eagle Horse Team! Hehe, master, it’s a pity they arrived too late. Even if they find the altar, they won’t gain anything—there’s no time for them to stay there.”
The Eagle Demon roared triumphantly, “Yah! Robbery!”
Qi Nanshan almost fell off his horse. Kuangfeng Laoxie swayed wildly on his horse’s back. Can’t they come up with something more original?
Guo Shier burst into laughter and said, “This is fun!”
Book 6: The Beast Talisman Sect