Chapter 4: The Land of Earthfire (Part 2)

Before them lay an endless expanse of volcanoes, with molten rock flowing across the ground. Strangely enough, countless plants still grew there. Guo Shier even saw plants thriving in the flowing magma, which far exceeded his understanding from his past life.
Flames erupted everywhere, yet those peculiar plants seemed full of vitality. Guo Shier was stunned for a while before saying, “They can grow in magma… What are these? Could they be unique to the Land of Earthfire… Firewood Plants?”
“Firewood Plants?”
Eagle Demon asked, “Do such things really exist?”
Guo Shier replied, “The talisman diagram mentions them. Hehe, but seeing them in person is still hard to believe. It’s amazing. I wonder if they can withstand the burn of talisman fire.” He said to Ancient Flame Sparrow, “Little Fire Bird, burn them to test.”
Ancient Flame Sparrow seemed displeased with that name. It chirped and flew away, spewing a ball of purple talisman fire. In an instant, it burned down a small tree growing in the molten rock flow. Proudly, it sucked back the purple talisman fire and returned to Guo Shier’s shoulder, gently pecking at his earlobe to show its dissatisfaction.
Guo Shier chuckled and said, “Don’t be naughty.”
Taking out the talisman diagram, he cast a spell and quickly located their position on it. He said, “Not bad… Our location is excellent. This isn’t an area of violent volcanic eruptions. Hmm, having this talisman diagram is really convenient. Indeed, this place is rich in Firewood Plants. But ordinary ones aren’t valuable. Only those that have grown for over a thousand years are truly precious materials.”
Eagle Demon asked, “Should we look for them?”
Guo Shier shook his head with a smile and said, “We don’t even know what a thousand-year-old Firewood Plant looks like. Let’s get familiar with the environment first. It’s really hot here.”
The mountains here weren’t high; almost all were volcanoes, with massive amounts of molten rock gushing out. From time to time, explosions could be heard—those were the sounds of magma erupting from the volcanoes. Fortunately, all three of them were professionals with talisman protections. Even the weakest among them, Luo Zhan, had his own talisman patterns for protection.
Ancient Flame Sparrow transformed into a large bird over ten feet long and circled around the three of them, its task being to provide protection by scattering the flying molten rock.
Guo Shier said, “What a truly fiery world!”

The sky here was red, illuminated by the magma underground, turning it a fiery hue, with the air twisting as it rose. Less than ten kilometers into their flight, the three of them saw a lake of magma. Bubbles burst within the churning magma, releasing intense sulfur smells into the air. Even with protective spells, the three couldn’t help but sweat profusely, especially Luo Zhan, who felt extremely uncomfortable.

Gu Yanque became more and more energetic, occasionally diving into the magma to bathe, leaving the three in awe.

Luo Zhan, not familiar with Gu Yanque, couldn’t help but say, “Guo Shier, your bird is amazing—it can even dive into the magma…”

Guo Shier rolled his eyes and replied, “Uncle Luo! What do you mean my bird is amazing? This is Gu Yanque! What kind of talk is that…”

Eagle Demon laughed heartily and said, “Isn’t it your bird? That’s true!”

Guo Shier looked helplessly at the two unscrupulous uncles and said, “Let’s bypass this lake of magma and fly along here.” Before he could finish speaking, they heard Gu Yanque’s sharp cry. Guo Shier exclaimed in surprise, “Huh? Did it find something?” Gu Yanque flew straight toward the lake of magma.

Eagle Demon said, “Lao Luo, stay here and wait!” He quickly followed Guo Shier.

Luo Zhan stopped with a bitter smile. He knew his strength wasn’t enough, and following them would only hold them back.

The Ancient Flame Bird was extremely excited, and its body gradually grew larger, soon reaching seven or eight meters in length, with raging flames all over it. Guo Shier followed closely behind and could clearly see that every feather on the Ancient Flame Bird had talismans glowing on them, with flames burning along those talismans. The flames resembled dancing spirits, with dazzling sparks flying everywhere.

Chirp!

There seemed to be an air of a king hidden within that chirp—domineering and arrogant.

Guo Shier felt something stir in his heart. He slowed down slightly and flew side by side with the Eagle Demon, saying, “It seems like it’s challenging something. Can you feel it?”

The Eagle Demon replied, “It’s indeed a provocative cry. Heh, I didn’t expect a bird to be able to sound so domineering.”

Guo Shier was helpless. It was just a bird after all; these guys always spoke without restraint. He simply gave up and said with a smile, “My bird… of course is domineering!”

The Eagle Demon was stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter and saying, “Good! Let’s see… who it challenges!” The two slowed down again. Guo Shier used the Green Lotus Talisman, as it could block the intense heat waves and the invisible fire poison.

Chirp…

The long ringing sound waves spread out, and the Ancient Flame Bird grew even larger, reaching over ten meters in length. At this moment, it appeared extremely majestic, gently flapping its wings as massive flames rose into the air.
Eagle Demon said, “Damn… This isn’t just a small bird anymore—it’s definitely a giant bird! Terrifying!”
The Ancient Flame Bird soared high, like a king inspecting his territory.
Guo Shier and Eagle Demon had already moved far away from the Ancient Flame Bird, about a thousand meters apart. Their speeds were extremely slow, almost as if they were hovering in midair. It wasn’t surprising—neither of them knew anything about fire-type mutated beast symbols. Although they had inherited knowledge from the Ancient Soul Altar and knew there were many such beasts, none of them had ever seen one before, except for the Ancient Flame Bird.
Suddenly, the magma lake began to churn violently, like boiling water, with waves of fiery red rising. Magma splashed into the air and then fell back down with crackling sounds. The Ancient Flame Bird circled above, its eyes fixed on the churning magma, emitting more provocative cries.
A completely black head emerged from the magma, covered by a large shell. Two tentacles waved, followed by two limb-like forelimbs that resembled claws. Soon, the entire creature became visible.
Eagle Demon exclaimed in horror, “What an ugly thing… Huh, it doesn’t seem like a mutated beast symbol… It must be a mutated beast worm!”
Guo Shier recognized it immediately and said, “Flame Groundhog! From the Secret Worm category… ranked 27th, the Flame Groundhog!”
Eagle Demon asked, “What’s that thing? Is it strong?”
Guo Shier replied, “Whether it’s strong or not… I don’t know. But I do know that mutated beast worms from the Secret Worm category are extremely rare.”
The Flame Groundhog was about six meters long, with entirely black carapace covered in countless red spots the size of fists. It looked eerie and extremely ugly.
The Ancient Flame Bird became even more excited, as if it had been hungry for ages and suddenly had a delicious feast before it—how could it not be thrilled? Guo Shier immediately sensed the spiritual fluctuations of the Ancient Flame Bird. Pointing with his hand, he said, “What are you waiting for? Go eat!”
Caw…
Guo Shier cursed, “Damn… That thing’s scream is absolutely horrible!” He couldn’t help but dig at his ears. The Flame Groundhog’s scream felt like someone rubbing hard on one’s soul, causing itching all over the body.

With a cry, the Flame Mole Cricket slammed its two enormous forelimbs into the molten rock flow. The talismans attached to its forelimbs flashed suddenly, and with a roar, molten rock splashed upward, forming a stream of fire that crashed down on the descending Ancient Flame Bird.

The Ancient Flame Bird paid no attention at all. It charged straight forward with its massive body. If that stream of molten rock had targeted Guo Shier and the Eagle Demon, it might have thrown them into chaos, but the Ancient Flame Bird wasn’t bothered at all. It could move freely in the talisman-fire zone—so what was a little molten rock compared to that?

The Ancient Flame Bird scattered the flying molten rock with a swipe of its claw, then grabbed the Flame Mole Cricket by the head with both claws and pulled it back violently, dragging it into the molten rock. Instantly, the molten rock churned, and waves of fire rolled out. Guo Shier and the Eagle Demon dared not move forward and stepped back a distance. The Eagle Demon asked, “If we fall into the molten rock… how long can we hold on?”

Guo Shier smiled bitterly. “I don’t know, and I don’t dare to know… Anyway, it won’t be long.” Based on his experience from his past life, even with talismans protecting him, one wouldn’t last long in molten rock.

The Eagle Demon asked, “Can your bird win?”

Guo Shier said, “Uncle, you… just call it the Ancient Flame Bird, or Fire Bird. Why call it your bird? It sounds awful…”

The Eagle Demon wondered, “Is there something wrong? Isn’t it your bird?”

Guo Shier suddenly realized that the Eagle Demon was referring to this very bird—there was no other meaning. He had interpreted it again based on his past life’s perspective. He said, “I just don’t like hearing that… The Ancient Flame Bird is such a magnificent spirit beast. After you say it that way, it sounds like some kind of worthless thing.”

The Eagle Demon nodded. “Oh, I see.” Then he asked again, “Can your bird win?”

Guo Shier snapped, “It can! Of course it can! It’s my super awesome bird!”

Boom!

The Ancient Flame Bird and the Flame Mole Cricket rushed out of the molten rock together. It was clear the Flame Mole Cricket was in terrible condition—both of its hind legs were broken off. It frantically shook its head, spewing flames repeatedly. But the Ancient Flame Bird was also of fire nature and wasn’t afraid of flames at all. The more it burned, the more energetic it became.

Caw-caw…

Guo Shier and the Eagle Demon cursed simultaneously—the sound was simply too unpleasant.

Suddenly, the Ancient Flame Bird stretched out its head and snapped its beak sharply. Its sharp, long beak pierced through the Flame Mole Cricket’s body in an instant. The Flame Mole Cricket let out a shrill scream, and its two huge, hammer-like forelimbs slammed hard into the Ancient Flame Bird. Flames flew everywhere, and the Ancient Flame Bird was even sent flying backward for over ten meters.

Guo Shier was heartbroken and said, “No! I must fight!”
The Eagle Demon said worriedly, “Don’t go. This kind of battle relies entirely on fire…”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “I’m not going to fight those flame-infused creatures head-on. Hehe, I just got a pretty good talisman. I’ll test it out first to see how powerful it is.”
The advantage of the talisman user class was the ability to attack from a distance, so Guo Shier didn’t need to get close to use his talismans for attacks. This time, he planned to test the Giant Axe Talisman he had just obtained.
Realizing Guo Shier wouldn’t go up close, the Eagle Demon breathed a sigh of relief and asked, “What kind of talisman is it? Is it powerful?”
Guo Shier chuckled and said, “I don’t know. I’ll find out after trying it.”