Chapter 3: Chaotic Battle (Part 1)

Guo Shier said indifferently, “Oh, what will you do if we don’t join?” The other three hovered beside him, looking wary.
Han Xiao said coldly, “If you want to gain experience on the Star Continent, without the support of the Star Sect… how long can you last? Those who offend our Star Sect—hehe, crushing you is a piece of cake!”
At Han Xiao’s threat, Guo Shier stopped moving; he could no longer contain his anger. Qi Nanshan also didn’t want to leave. The four exchanged glances, all with the same expression. Monier’s face turned red as she gritted her teeth and forced out, “I want to kill people!”
Qi Nanshan showed a sinister smile and said, “Then kill them!”
Guo Shier, filled with rage, said coldly, “Attack him!”
The Eagle Demon didn’t say a word, but a golden long sword appeared in his hand—his life artifact formed when he inherited the Ancient Soul Altar’s legacy.
Xie Tou shouted, “Don’t listen to that guy… uh… haha! Good!” He thought these people would attack him after hearing Han Xiao’s words, but instead, these Saints turned on Han Xiao.
Han Xiao flew into a fury, “If you want to die… I’ll fulfill your wish!”
Xie Tou had retreated last time because Han Xiao had gathered a group of Mad Saints. Fortunately, there was no Great Saint, so he suffered some losses and fled. But Han Xiao kept pursuing him relentlessly, while those Mad Saints couldn’t keep up. That’s why, upon seeing Guo Shier and the others, Han Xiao planned to call them for help.
“Haha! There’s me too… attack!”
Han Xiao quickly cast spells with both hands. In an instant, his hands turned into illusions, and thousands of spell hands were completed in the blink of an eye—far more complex than Guo Shier and the others could imagine. Seventy-two diamond-shaped small shields appeared around Han Xiao; these were his life artifacts, capable of both offense and defense.
Xie Tou cursed, “Using your turtle shell again!” He reached out and grabbed a strange trident.
Han Xiao’s icy gaze swept over Qi Nanshan and the others as he said indifferently, “Seeking death!” With a finger gesture, the four diamond shields transformed into four streams of light, charging toward them.
Each of the four had to deal with one diamond shield. A Great Saint’s life artifact was no trivial thing.
After two years of cultivation, Guo Shier had roughly mastered the Ancient Soul Altar’s legacy, improving his strength rapidly. He not only solidified the knowledge required for a junior Saint but also learned the basic applications essential for a Saint. He redesigned his life sword artifact, greatly enhancing its power.

A sixteen-year-old junior sage was extremely rare even in the major sects of the Advanced Continent. Guo Shier activated his Golden Armor Amulet at the first moment, followed by the Azure Lotus Ancient Talisman. It was a reward from Li Ran; once activated, twelve petals would surround his body.

Monier also activated her defense. A layer of mist enveloped her, along with two purple ribbons that fluttered around her shoulders.

Eagle Demon’s method was the simplest. A purple-gold shield and a golden long sword appeared in his hands—both his innate talismans.

Qi Nanshan roared loudly, and a spear engulfed in black flames appeared in his hand. His upper clothes instantly turned to ashes.

Han Xiao created four shields before stopping to look at the four of them. With a gesture of his hand, eight diamond-shaped shields spun toward the Evil Head. The Evil Head laughed loudly, “Your turtle shell… what can it do to me? I’ll pierce it!” He pointed at his trident, and countless phantom tridents flew out, colliding head-on with the incoming shields.

Guo Shier was the first to come into contact with one of the diamond shields.

It was only then that he could clearly see this innate talisman. It was a method of transforming a real talisman into a virtual one. Since it was connected to the soul, its power was extremely great, even stronger than virtual talismans. This was a skill unique to great sages, while sages usually could only use virtual talismans. However, Guo Shier was different. He had inherited the legacy of the Ancient Soul Altar and used his sword talisman to create an innate talisman—also a method of transforming a real talisman into a virtual one.

The shield was beautiful, diamond-shaped with a bulge in the center. It was black-brown in color, with light red talismanic patterns on it. Its four edge lines were sharp blades, truly resembling two turtle shells fused together.

Without hesitation, Guo Shier immediately unleashed his innate sword talisman. This also set him apart from Han Xiao and the others. They needed to use spells, while those who used ancient talismans didn’t require complex spells and could use their innate talismans directly, even faster than junior great sages like Han Xiao.

A beam of golden light struck the shield, generating an unimaginable force that sent Guo Shier flying back dozens of meters. But to his surprise, his innate sword talisman had blocked Han Xiao’s attack.

Eagle Demon didn’t dare to slash with his sword. Instead, he gathered all his strength, hid behind the shield, and charged forward with force. With a loud crash, the large and small shields collided. He was also surprised to find that he had blocked the great sage’s attack.

Qi Nanshan fiercely stabbed the diamond shield with his spear engulfed in black flames. Crack! The black flames spread from the tip of the spear to the shield, instantly turning it to ashes. But the tremendous force forced him to retreat repeatedly.

Monier suffered a setback as she continuously used virtual talismans to block, but the diamond shield managed to break through seven of her defenses in a row. She was forced to fly back to avoid it, and even a slight delay caused a line of blood to appear at the corner of her mouth.
Guo Shier saw this at once and shouted, “Grandpa Qinan!” He couldn’t reach her in time and cried out in desperation. Not far from Monier, Qi Nanshan roared and rushed at the shield chasing her. His long spear transformed into a rainbow-like streak as it was thrown, striking the shield head-on.
Whoosh!
The black flames turned the shield to ashes once again. Qi Nanshan reached out and grabbed it, and the spear engulfed in black flames reappeared in his hands.
At the same time, Han Xiao’s eight-sided shield had approached the Evil Head.
The Evil Head sneered, and his trident phantom also struck at it. Boom! Boom! Boom… Eight consecutive explosions later, the trident phantom disappeared, and the eight-sided shield shattered into pieces. The Evil Head snatched up the trident and shouted, “Watch me break through your turtle shell!” He then threw his life talisman.
Guo Shier cried out, “Grandpa Qinan! Uncle Eagle Demon! Attack together!” Seeing the Evil Head throw his life talisman, he realized it was a good opportunity.
With more combat experience than Guo Shier, Qi Nanshan didn’t wait for him to speak. He also threw his life talisman—the spear burning with black flames.
Hearing this, Eagle Demon immediately flew forward with his long knife. Guo Shier’s life sword talisman was also launched.
Monier fired a series of virtual talismans, which turned into a thin chain and wrapped around the shield.
All these changes happened in just a few seconds. Han Xiao suddenly realized he had underestimated these people. Having lost two diamond shields inexplicably, his soul trembled. He turned sharply and saw Qi Nanshan with his upper body bare, his black talisman patterns resembling burning flames. His heart trembled again as he exclaimed in horror, “Man of Black Talismans!”
During that moment of distraction, the Evil Head’s trident struck one of the shields. The characteristic of life talismans was that they would defend automatically when attacked. Thus, over twenty shields merged into one large shield, shielding Han Xiao.
Boom!
The newly formed shield shattered apart, the trident was knocked aside, and then Guo Shier’s sword talismans turned into thousands of golden rays.
As a great sage, Han Xiao’s diamond shields could still defend automatically even when he was distracted. Though the barrage of attacks couldn’t break through his defenses, it forced him to retreat repeatedly.

The Eagle Demon’s long sword also swung at him, but it still couldn’t break Han Xiao’s defensive shield. Everyone agreed with Evil Head’s remark about it being as tough as a turtle shell—indeed, even tougher, impossible to pierce.

Han Xiao suddenly snapped out of his daze and shouted, “Looking for death!”

At that moment, Qi Nanshan’s long spear struck a shield.

Han Xiao paid no attention. He had already blocked several people’s combined attacks—why would he care about a mere personal spear? He quickly cast spells, but his expression soon changed drastically.

The spear shattered through over a dozen of his life sigil shields with terrifying ease; each shield turned to ashes the moment it touched the spear. The relentless destruction severely damaged Han Xiao’s soul. Watching the spear approach, less than a meter away, his hair stood on end. The aura of soul-destroying power terrified him beyond measure.

Guo Shieru shouted, “Great!”

The spear thrust forward violently.

Qi Nanshan was stunned. He knew his personal sigil spear hadn’t hit Han Xiao, as Han Xiao had instantly teleported away, but dozens of sigil shields remained behind.

Guo Shieru urgently ordered, “Destroy those shields!”

Evil Head recalled his trident and stared at Qi Nanshan in confusion.

Qi Nanshan swung his spear, swiftly turning the remaining sigil shields to ash. As a result, Han Xiao’s strength was greatly reduced, and his soul was damaged. When he reappeared from about ten meters away, he spat out a mouthful of blood. Without saying a word, he turned and flew away.

Evil Head roared, “We can’t let him get away!”

Guo Shieru also cried, “We can’t let him escape…”

The five of them pursued desperately. Without killing Han Xiao, they couldn’t survive here. Getting involved with the Star Sect wasn’t a good thing at all.

Qi Nanshan flew the fastest. Whether it was a skill unique to the Black Sigil People, his flight resembled continuous teleportation, extremely fast. After flashing several times, he closed in on Han Xiao.

Next was Evil Head, who was also nearly upon Han Xiao. As for Guo Shieru, Monier, and the Eagle Demon, their speed was much slower; the three struggled to keep up from behind.

Han Xiao cursed inwardly. He never expected threatening a few saints would provoke such a counterattack. Filled with frustration and anger, he fled desperately while sending out a message token.

Guo Shieru was shocked and shouted, “Kill him now!”

If Han Xiao escaped, everyone present would have to leave the Star Continent immediately or face endless pursuit.