Chapter 1: The Power of Talisman Fire (Part 2)

Guo Shieru grew nervous. He was well aware that without the distraction posed by the Eagle Demon, his own strength wasn’t enough to match that man. But with his master and masteress guarding him, he wasn’t afraid of failure—even if he lost, he wouldn’t die, as his master would intervene at any moment. He began to attack boldly.
His strategy was simple: use the Flame Sparrow as the main attacker while he distracted the opponent. He found that the flames spat out by the Flame Sparrow could pose a threat to the enemy.
The mad master calmed down from his panic. He dodged the flames and glanced atdead wood -> dead wood and Monier, his heart turning icy. Out of the seven-person team, five had been killed, one captured, leaving only him—probably because the enemy intended to keep him around to fight alongside their disciple.
Guo Shieru thought carefully. Suddenly, he recalled the Flame Sparrow and mounted its back. The Flame Sparrow flew fast and nimbly, surrounded by abundant Talisman Fire that could defend against attacks. Thus, he planned to use the Flame Sparrow to outmaneuver his opponent.
The mad master’s eyes darted around.dead wood -> dead wood said coldly, “Fight well against my disciple! Otherwise, I’ll make your life worse than death!”
Guo Shieru knew that the Talisman Fire on his face could destroy the Dark-Winged Scorpion, so he only had two talismans left. He also had a teleportation talisman and a golden armor amulet, but these wouldn’t be very useful against the mad master.
After some thought, Guo Shieru realized his only reliance was the Flame Sparrow. Having lived in the area of Talisman Fire for so long, this ancient Flame Sparrow had become extremely powerful—though exactly how powerful, even Guo Shieru wasn’t sure.
The mad master had given up on escaping. He knew that if he didn’t fight hard, he might not only lose but also be tortured to death by that cold man. So he was determined to fight to the death. Moreover, he realized that this boy was crucial—if he could kill this boy, he could die in peace.
Guo Shieru rode the Flame Sparrow, flying in circles. The bird’s tail feathers left trails of sparks, drawing beautiful paths in the air.
The mad master kept releasing protective talisman runes, creating circles of glowing patterns that spun rapidly around him. He too flew in circles in the air. The two stared at each other. The mad master’s eyes were filled with despair and hatred. Guo Shieru remained calm, his expression serious. Besides activating the golden armor amulet, the golden threads of his sword talisman also surrounded him.

It drove the Flaming Sparrow to launch the first wave of attacks. Guo Shier knew his own strength was relatively weak, so he didn’t dare let the opponent attack first—preemptive action was key. After circling in the air twice, he took the initiative to attack.

The Flaming Sparrow let out a soft chirp, and the flames on the ground seemed to be doused with gasoline. With a loud roar, the flames shot skyward, reaching hundreds of meters high, and intense heat waves immediately formed. The mad master suddenly found himself struggling in the air as strong gusts disrupted his flight. Surprised, he tried his best to stabilize himself. Just then, the Flaming Sparrow’s attack arrived.

One wave of flames after another formed massive floating balls of fire, like burning clouds, quickly surrounding the mad master. All around—above, below, left, right, and in front—were fiercely burning flames. Strangely, these flames came in various colors: purple, orange-red, blue, and so on. They danced as if fire spirits were joyfully dancing.

Everyone’s expression changed, even Ku Mu showed surprise. Monier asked, “What is this?”

The mad master roared, and countless ice shards flew out. Upon touching the floating flames, they exploded with a series of cracking sounds, followed by explosions. Amidst the loud explosions, the flames not only didn’t go out but grew even more intense, advancing toward the mad master as if fueled by more fire.

The Flaming Sparrow flapped its wings violently, sending countless sparks from its feathers into the flames. Each spark turned into a flaming arrow as it left the flames, whistling toward the mad master.

The poor mad master desperately tried to defend against the barrage of arrows. With every flap of the Flaming Sparrow’s wings, another wave of arrows struck him, sounding like rain on banana leaves—a terrifying noise.

After all, he was a mad master. Though far inferior to Ku Mu, he was stronger than Guo Shier. Despite being in a dire situation, he managed to withstand the attacks of the flaming arrows and gradually regained his composure.

Guo Shier knew he couldn’t let the opponent gain an advantage. If the mad master got a chance to attack, he would surely lose. So he boldly drove the Flaming Sparrow forward, launching his own attacks while sending sword talismans. Two streams of golden light sneaked through the barrage of flaming arrows.

It was a brilliant move. The mad master never expected sword talismans to be mixed among the arrows, suffering a heavy loss. The golden light from the talismans pierced his defenses and struck his shoulder fiercely. The blow nearly severed his arm, and blood gushed out, turning to ashes in the scorching flames.

The mad master couldn’t understand how his defense had been broken. In his panic, he was struck by another sword beam and sent flying. The others watched as he plunged headfirst into a mass of purple flames, followed by a deafening scream. The protective runes on his body ignited, and he flailed around like a headless fly. The surroundings were filled with flames formed from magical runes—flames refined by the Flame Sparrow, incredibly powerful. The Flame Sparrow crowed triumphantly before diving into the flames as well. Guo Shier was shocked, but soon realized the flames seemed to recognize certain people; though there were dancing flames everywhere, they posed no threat to him. Those flames were quickly sucked into the Flame Sparrow’s feathers. After circling once, all the surrounding flames disappeared, leaving only one purple flame tightly surrounding the mad master. Suddenly, that purple flame exploded, revealing the mad master’s figure. Guo Shier was stunned upon seeing him. The mad master was completely burned beyond recognition—his clothes and even the hair on his body had burned away, leaving him completely naked. He looked around in confusion before letting out a wild scream. Guo Shier clearly saw a burst of flames coming from his mouth and a wisp of black smoke from his nostrils. Monier was shocked and said, “Wow… these flames are so intense! Perfect for grilling…” The Eagle Demon said with a bitter smile, “Fully cooked!” Ku Mu said coldly, “Three-quarters cooked!” Guo Shier almost fell off the Flame Sparrow’s back. While a fierce battle was underway, they were discussing how well the meat was cooked. He shouted, “Master… I quit fighting!” The mad master finally regained some clarity. He lunged at Guo Shier frantically, roaring, “Bastard! I’ll kill you!” Guo Shier knew he would likely lose if they continued fighting, but if he tried to escape, the other man’s half-cooked body wouldn’t be able to stop him. With a roar, the Flame Sparrow turned toward Ku Mu under Guo Shier’s command. Ku Mu sneered, “Little scoundrel!” Monier suddenly acted, shooting out a thin silver thread that wrapped around the mad master’s neck. She shouted, “Dare you insult my precious one? Die!” The silver thread brushed against the mad master’s neck, and his head flew off instantly. His headless body flew for a distance before falling into the flames on the ground.

Guo Shier couldn’t help but smile bitterly. He kept using the Flaming Sparrow to spit fire and throwing sword talismans everywhere, yet he still couldn’t deal with those Mad Masters. His wife simply cast a virtual talisman and effortlessly eliminated one of them—this was the gap in strength.
Kumu still held a Mad Master in his hand. He said, “Let’s go!” and headed toward the resting tent.
Eagle Demon followed Guo Shier and said, “Shier, this bird is really powerful!”
The Flaming Sparrow crowed discontentedly. Eagle Demon was surprised, “Huh? Can it understand?”
Guo Shier laughed, “I guess so. I think it’s quite smart.” The Flaming Sparrow’s crowing turned proud. Eagle Demon smiled wryly, “Shier, you’re already weird enough. I didn’t expect your bird to be weird too!”
Guo Shier’s face darkened as he said, “What do you mean ‘my bird’… That’s so rude. It’s the Flaming Sparrow!”
Eagle Demon shrugged indifferently, “I know it’s the Flaming Sparrow. That’s the old name. By today’s terms, it’s just a firebird. So I’m right—it’s your bird…”
Guo Shier waved his hand, knowing it was pointless to argue with this guy. Monier was also by his side, laughing uncontrollably. Eagle Demon wondered inwardly: What’s there to laugh about?
When they reached the resting tent area, Kumu landed on the ground, casually tossed the captured Mad Master aside, and said nonchalantly, “Little Eagle, you go interrogate them… Ask where they came from.”
Eagle Demon nodded and stepped forward to the Mad Master. The guy was tightly bound by purple talisman chains and couldn’t move. He stared at Eagle Demon in despair, trying desperately to struggle, but the chains were incredibly strong and unbreakable.
Guo Shier took out a thick piece of animal skin, threw it on the ground, and sat down on it in a sloppy manner. Sighing, he said, “Once Fat Master returns, we can leave.”
Eagle Demon asked the man, “What’s your name? Where are you from?”
The Mad Master was arrogant, staring intently at Eagle Demon with his bull-like eyes. After a long while, he said, “Youngster, don’t think you’re something special just because you have a Saint Master… When our people arrive, I won’t spare you!”
Eagle Demon smiled and nodded. “I believe that if I fell into your hands, I’d indeed be in trouble… But now you’re in my hands. Hehe, so you’d better be honest. Answer whatever I ask… If you keep threatening me, you know what the consequences will be, right?”
The Mad Master closed his bull-like eyes and said calmly, “Kill me then!”

The Eagle Demon shook his head and said, “I know you look down on people. Hehe, since you’re so stubborn, let’s see what I can do.”
Ah…
One after another, the agonized screams annoyed Guo Shier very much. Holding his head, he lamented, “Uncle Eagle Demon, aside from fighting… can’t you use some other methods? Ugh, at least cover that guy’s mouth… his screaming is terrifying!”
Monier laughed and said, “Baby, how else can we get answers if we don’t fight?”
Guo Shier thought to himself, “Violent wife!” He said, “…But it’s so ugly to hear!”
Kumu went back to his tent on his own, too lazy to deal with these matters.
Sweat beads appeared on the Eagle Demon’s forehead. He hadn’t expected that guy to be so tough and couldn’t help asking Guo Shier, “Shier, do you have any way to make him talk?”
Guo Shier suddenly showed a slight smile and said, “I have a good idea!”