Chapter 6: Encountering the Enemy (Part 1)

Guo Shieru hid beneath a huge brown rock, gloomily watching the hunting vehicles circling in the sky. He now regretted not bringing the Eagle Demon with him; having a powerful talisman martial artist by his side would make escaping or attacking much easier.
Guo Shieru swore to himself that once he reached the rank of Saint, he would definitely take revenge on the Fuye family.
It wasn’t until the hunting vehicles disappeared that Guo Shieru stepped out. Without looking back, he continued to run. If there was open ground ahead, he would fly low and fast. As long as he could endure three days until he could reopen the talisman gate, he could return. Then, he would go back and ask his master and wife for help.
After running for an unknown distance, Guo Shieru felt extremely tired. He found a small stream, sat down to rest, and quickly ate some dried food. It was a sparse grove—if the hunting vehicles flew overhead, Guo Shieru wouldn’t be able to hide, so he had to hurry.
He glanced at the sky, thinking carefully. Anxious, he had run for about five or six hours, and it was still a long time before nightfall. He must not be discovered under any circumstances, or else a fierce battle would be inevitable.
After eating, Guo Shieru didn’t dare stay long and set off immediately. This time, he neither ran nor flew but walked fast, searching for places to hide. Finding a secluded cave would be ideal—just three days of hiding would suffice.
The terrain of the Altar Secret Realm was extremely peculiar, like a chessboard, with a mountain in each square, yet none of them were connected to neighboring peaks. Each mountain stood alone, with forests, rocks, or grasslands at its base.
Guo Shieru was furious. Entering the Altar Secret Realm this time, he never expected to encounter people from the Fuye family. He also wondered how his master Luo Jie and the others were doing. They must not be captured. Now he knew that professionals from the Intermediate Continent wouldn’t show mercy to those from the Lower Continent. If captured, the consequences would be dire, especially if his four friends also entered the Altar Secret Realm—things would get very bad.
Children with potential to become professionals were the most valuable trophies. Once captured, it would be hard to escape.
As he walked fast, Guo Shieru pondered, searching for the inheritance marks in his soul—those inherited from the Void Mist Path. He grew anxious: “Mom’s… talisman arrays, where are they? Ah, one regrets not learning enough when it’s needed. If only I could find a few useful small talisman arrays, I could strike back at them too.”

After much deliberation, Guo Shier finally recalled the memories of the talisman arrays. The vast amount of information left him dizzy. He sat down on the ground and sighed softly, “Ah, I’m going to die… How terrifying…”

Gradually calming down, Guo Shier began to ponder the talisman arrays in his memory. Just touching on them made him feel discouraged—the information was too overwhelming. To master them, he would need years of exploration and practice starting from the basics.

After sitting there for half an hour, Guo Shier realized he couldn’t waste too much time. He got up and continued on his way. Suddenly, an idea struck him. He slapped his thigh in excitement and thought, “Right! Why start from scratch? I just need to find some usable small talisman arrays. If I have enough materials and talismans with me, I can set up arrays right away and teach those Fuyue Clan bastards a lesson.”

With a goal in mind, Guo Shier stopped feeling depressed and became excited. His mind raced as he searched for suitable talisman arrays.

Soon, he became sad again. There were indeed many ready-made talisman arrays, of various sizes. He focused on the smaller ones. But those arrays required specific talismans to function, and he didn’t have any such complementary talismans. Thus, one after another, the seemingly useful arrays were ruled out.

After dismissing hundreds of arrays, Guo Shier was also tired. He looked up at the sky—unnoticed, it had already darkened. He was pleased that the day was almost over.

Everything around was silent. With flying talismans at his disposal, even if he didn’t fly, he could move swiftly upon landing, walking fast and silently, like a ghost.

…

The people of the Fuyue Clan were furious. Two talisman warriors guarding the altar had been killed by a child in a single strike, and the child could even fly—meaning he was at least a high-level talisman master. They had only recently discovered this secret altar, and the higher-ups hadn’t arrived yet; only mid- to low-level clan disciples had entered.

The entire Fuyue Clan had mobilized thousands of people and hundreds of hunting vehicles to search the area extensively. When they found the altar, they encountered Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan. A fierce battle ensued. At that time, both Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan possessed the strength of junior Mad Masters. Even though they hadn’t mastered the professional skills of Mad Masters, their strength still surpassed that of master-level professionals.

After just a brief clash, the Fuyue Clan suffered heavy losses—dozens of their men were killed—while the two easily escaped.

Soon after, the Fuyue Family sent in another thousand professionals, along with more hunting vehicles. This altar mystic realm also held great appeal for professionals from the Intermediate Continent, as the altar was likely a treasure from ancient times, containing countless mysteries to be explored. News of Guo Shier’s disappearance spread quickly to the Fuyue Family, which immediately dispatched advanced professionals, including two expert-level junior saints, along with thousands of hunting vehicles to search for him. To their surprise, Guo Shier seemed to have vanished without a trace. The Fuyue Family realized the severity of the situation. If this boy were a professional from the Lower Continent, it would still be manageable; but if he were from the same Intermediate Continent as them, it would be a huge problem. If he were from the Higher Continent, it would be even worse—should he attract advanced professionals, the Fuyue Family would not be able to withstand them. Therefore, it was essential to capture Guo Shier. Only by capturing him and understanding the situation could they decide what to do next.
…
Since he could fly above the ground, Guo Shier left few traces. As dusk fell, he knew he was safe for the day—so long as he was careful, he wouldn’t be discovered. But with only one day passing in what should have been three, and unable to use his magic talismans, he hadn’t truly escaped. Guo Shier was very cautious, trying not to leave any traces. With his abilities, he could easily escape even if surrounded by a dozen hunting vehicles, but he couldn’t handle the large numbers that would follow. The flying speed of hunting vehicles was slightly faster than that of magic talismans, so he absolutely couldn’t come into contact with them. Guo Shier quietly slipped into the dense forest, found a relatively thick tree, climbed up, and perched on a branch. He took out some dry food and water, ate and drank his fill, then slept hugging the branch. He needed to recover his strength quickly.
In the middle of the night, a rustling sound came. Guo Shier jolted awake. He listened carefully and inwardly groaned. The noise must have come from some kind of creature—whether it was a magic beast or a wild animal was unclear. Remembering that he had killed a mutated magic worm in the altar mystic realm before, he silently prayed that it wasn’t one of those things, as they were difficult to deal with. Although it was night, the forest wasn’t completely dark. Guo Shier activated a spirit eye talisman, instantly lighting up the surroundings—just like the micro-light mirror from his past life. Even in the dark, as long as there was a little light, he could see everything around him.

The rustling sound grew louder and louder, standing out sharply in the silent forest. Guo Shier felt a chill run down his spine. He lamented in his heart, “Damn it, it’s really a Sigil Worm… Ugh, I hope it’s not a mutated one… Ah, damn my bad luck…” He was at a loss for tears because he could clearly see the approaching Sigil Worm—it was a standard mutated one!

By this point, Guo Shier couldn’t escape even if he wanted to, as the mutated Sigil Worm had also set its sights on him. It was a giant centipede seven or eight meters long, and oddly enough, it had wings. Guo Shier’s hair stood on end as he clearly saw the centipede had two pairs of translucent wings tightly attached to its back.

The centipede waved its two thick antennae above its head, and its two arm-thick fangs opened and closed, emitting a faint creaking sound that made one’s teeth ache. The centipede didn’t move fast; its hundreds of legs stepped on the grass and plants, producing a series of soft rustling sounds, with sigil patterns appearing and disappearing on its moving body.

Suddenly, the centipede stopped, raising its huge head. Its eyes, covered by a hard shell, emitted a cold, menacing glow. Guo Shier’s hair stood on end as he realized the creature had targeted him.

Slowly, the mutated centipede raised its upper body, spreading out its two pairs of translucent wings. Guo Shier immediately understood that it was about to pounce. By then, he had completely calmed down and quickly cast several sigil spells. In just one second, a black dot shot out from his mouth and landed right in front of the mutated centipede.

With a series of snapping sounds, a scorpion appeared.

This was the Ancient Worm Sigil Guo Shier had obtained—the Darkwing Demon Scorpion. At this point, he had no choice but to fight; running was impossible because the mutated centipede also had wings, and flight wouldn’t help him escape.

As soon as the Darkwing Demon Scorpion appeared, it immediately caught the mutated centipede’s attention.

The two giant creatures immediately confronted each other, emitting intimidating sounds. Guo Shier breathed a sigh of relief and began preparing sword sigils, intending to kill the giant centipede.

The Darkwing Demon Scorpion was strong enough to take on the giant centipede, but Guo Shier didn’t dare to use too much force. If he alarmed the people of the Fuye family, it would be troublesome.

The Darkwing Demon Scorpion raised its tail high, with a shiny stinger hidden at its tip, ready to strike at any moment. It swung its two scorpion pincers as it began circling the giant centipede. With a thought from Guo Shier, small pouches on the back of the Darkwing Demon Scorpion suddenly split open, releasing hundreds of small scorpions the size of basins, which slid down from its back in large numbers.

The mutated centipede immediately grew nervous, its antennae on its head trembling rapidly. It seemed uneasy, not expecting to encounter such an ancient scorpion; its innate pressure filled it with fear. It probably realized it had faced a powerful enemy.
The two enormous insects were testing each other. Guo Shier silently summoned his sword talisman, but he did not attack right away instead letting the sword blade swirl in the air without descending. He would not strike lightly until the right moment arrived; he hoped to land a perfect hit.
With a loud explosion.