Chapter 5: Worm Fog (Part 1)

The two waves of worm fog surrounded and blocked their path, closing in on each other, leaving only a narrow gap in the middle through which the Giant Nesting Dragon could pass. Guo Shier felt that they were already trapped, with this escape route about to disappear. Once the two swarms of mosquitoes merged, the Giant Nesting Dragon would have no way to flee. He shouted, “Giant Nesting Dragon… hurry! Hurry!” He didn’t realize that these sigil worms were pursuing not him, but the Giant Nesting Dragon he was riding on.

Any mutated sigil beast was prey coveted by sigil worms, let alone a Soul Beast, filled with alluring souls—no, rather, souls that attracted insects. As long as they could break apart the Soul Beast, these mutated sigil worms could all benefit. Guo Shier was unaware of this, so he was puzzled, not understanding why these sigil worms were swarming over.

As they delved deeper into the swamp, the sigil worms behind the Giant Nesting Dragon had formed an overwhelming force—endless and vast, enough to fill one’s eyes with fear. Guo Shier was terrified, but he had no choice but to drive the Giant Nesting Dragon to flee frantically. Fortunately, after long periods of cultivation and being fed numerous Soul Bead orbs, the Giant Nesting Dragon had reached the peak of a Level 9 mutated sigil beast and was on the verge of advancing to a Level 10 Soul Beast. By then, its strength would rise even further.

Eagle Demon watched the merging swarms of mutated sigil mosquitoes, muttering under his breath, “Hurry! Faster!”

Guo Shier shouted, “Get ready for battle! Uncle Eagle Demon, go to the back of the Giant Nesting Dragon. Uncle Luo, go to the middle. I’ll clear the way ahead!”

Originally, Guo Shier wanted to release the Ancient Flame Sparrow, but it remained motionless within its beast sigil. In another ten days, it would successfully advance, greatly enhancing its strength, but it couldn’t be used yet. The Blade Shadow Mantis, like the Dark Winged Demon Scorpion, was also dormant within its insect sigil.

With no other choice, Guo Shier could only unleash his own Life Sigil Sword and summon some sigil fire. Aside from a few exceptions that were fire-type, most sigil worms feared fire. As for the Giant Axe Sigil, he didn’t plan to use it—it was effective against large creatures but hardly useful against the countless tiny sigil worms.

After long periods of spiritual cultivation by Guo Shier, his Life Sigil Sword had become far more powerful and easier to control. However, he lacked the appropriate incantations for it and still needed to experiment slowly. So far, he had only mastered a few incantations for controlling it, whose power wasn’t extremely great, but it was sufficient for use.

With a slash of his sword, a golden light flashed, accompanied by a sharp sound of tearing through the air.

Guo Shier shouted, “Split!”

That golden sword beam suddenly split into two. Guo Shieru chanted a series of spells, and his life sigil sword instantly transformed into countless sword beams, slashing at the insect mist charging forward. The Giant Perch Dragon rushed in right after. Guo Shieru shouted, “Shock!” His life sigil sword moved swiftly while vibrating violently, creating two barriers of swords. Any sigil insects that struck these barriers were torn to pieces. The Giant Perch Dragon accelerated and darted forward. The two masses of insect mist merged behind the Giant Perch Dragon and followed closely once again. Guo Shieru breathed a sigh of relief—he had been afraid of being trapped by the mist, but now that they had broken through, he wasn’t worried anymore. He knew that as long as they left the Yu Mo Marsh, those insect mists could no longer track them. Neither Eagle Demon nor Luo Zhan had time to act before the Giant Perch Dragon had already rushed out. Both were drenched in cold sweat and turned back simultaneously, feeling fortunate. After experiencing the onslaught of the golden-armored insect swarm, they understood how terrifying it would be to get trapped in an ocean of sigil insects. Guo Shieru adjusted the direction the Giant Perch Dragon was running in and crossed the marsh again. Luo Zhan said, “There are quite a few big ones coming out!” Guo Shieru turned to look and was shocked. Those were clearly higher-level mutated sigil insects, at least at level seven or eight, and they were quite large, standing out sharply in the insect mist. Eagle Demon frowned and said, “Trouble! I’ve already seen dozens of mutated sigil insects above level five. There must be even more hidden in the mist. We must not get trapped inside, or we won’t be able to escape.” He and Luo Zhan both came to Guo Shieru’s side. Guo Shieru shook his head and said, “Even if we’re truly trapped, there’s no need to fear. As long as we can buy some time to open the sigil gate, we can escape. It’s just… I’m not willing to leave like this.” Eagle Demon nodded—he too wasn’t willing to leave just like that. The mutated sigil insects flew fast, but they couldn’t keep up with the Giant Perch Dragon’s speed. Once the Giant Perch Dragon ran at full speed, it was incredibly fast, gradually leaving the insect mist behind. Since running also stirred up many mutated sigil insects, new mist formations kept appearing behind them. Guo Shieru said, “This place is truly dangerous.” They ran continuously for three days. During that time, Guo Shieru would occasionally stop the Giant Perch Dragon, and the three of them flew forward desperately. When they got tired, they would release the Giant Perch Dragon again, alternating between running and resting. In this way, they quickly reached the edge of the Yu Mo Marsh. At that moment, the insect mist behind them was still vast and endless. Both Guo Shieru and Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan felt extremely uneasy.

At the edge of the swamp lay vast areas of low shrubbery. These trees grew in the water of the shallow swamp areas, only a few meters tall, with purplish-red leaves that resembled flames stretching as far as the eye could see.

The Giant Perch Dragon was over a hundred meters long. With each step it took, a huge crater formed in the ground. The low shrubs couldn’t stop its advance at all—when its foot landed on them, branches and leaves flew everywhere, and water splashed up. This stretch of shrubbery was about dozens of kilometers long, but the Giant Perch Dragon crossed it in just a moment.

Beyond the purplish-red shrubbery lay vast fields of wild grass, standing over two meters tall, similar to the reed marshes from its past life. Guo Shier and the others, riding on the Giant Perch Dragon’s back, could see the entire expanse of the grassland clearly. As soon as the dragon rushed into the grassland, countless birds and magical insects took off in a flurry.

Guo Shier shuddered and said, “Damn… this place is really eerie…” He took out the map and examined it briefly before saying, “Sheng Caodian!”

Eagle Demon asked, “What? What’s Sheng Caodian?”

Guo Shier replied, “It’s the name of this place… uh…” He spotted some small words on the map and said, “Damn it! It says here… extreme danger!”

Eagle Demon was surprised, “There’s such a marking too?”

Guo Shier studied the map carefully for a while before saying, “Thankfully! It’s not in the center—we’re on the edge…” He immediately directed the Giant Perch Dragon to change direction, saying, “I hope we haven’t gone too deep. Let’s leave here. There should be a volcano not far away—there we can avoid these insect mists!”

The three men and the wolf fled in disarray. Luo Zhan couldn’t help but say, “It’s not easy even on the Advanced Continent. Back where I’m from, there aren’t such terrifying insects.”

Gradually, the wild grass became sparser, and vast areas of black land appeared ahead.

Eagle Demon looked back and said, “The insect mists have thinned out a lot…”

Guo Shier smiled bitterly. “The weaker mutated magical insects have been left behind. Those that can still follow us are more powerful. Although their numbers have decreased, they’re… even more dangerous.” He had no intention of turning back to fight—it would be pure self-destruction.

Luo Zhan said, “It’s fine. As long as we keep moving, those insects won’t be able to catch up. Hehe, the Giant Perch Dragon runs fast and has great endurance…”

Suddenly, Eagle Demon turned his head to the left and said, “There are people!”

It wasn’t just one person, but a group of them. Guo Shier saw them too. He thought to himself that things were bad and said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, shout at them… tell them to run quickly!”

Before the Eagle Demon could shout, the group had already seen the vast swarm of insect mist and were filled with terror, rushing away at full speed. The professionals who hunted in this area were all quite skilled, at least at the level of Mad Masters or above. There were about a dozen of them; upon seeing the insect mist, they realized they couldn’t fight back and immediately retreated. They flew toward the volcanic region, knowing that only by getting close to the volcanoes could they escape theseFumuchong Fumuchong—this was common knowledge among the professionals here. As the Giant Nest Dragon’s thunderous footsteps echoed, Guo Shier saw more and more professionals fleeing for their lives. With a wry smile, he said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, it seems we’ve gotten into trouble!” The Eagle Demon nodded and said, “In Yuemoze and Shengcaoyuan… we didn’t see a single professional. It’s clear those two places are dangerous no-go zones. This area is relatively safer, which is why there are so many professionals here. But… the insect mist is chasing after them, dragging them down as well.” Luo Zhan said, “There’s nothing we can do. Who knew the insect mist would pursue us so relentlessly?” Guo Shier replied, “It’s useless to talk now. Only by reaching the volcanic area can we truly escape danger.” Luo Zhan sighed, “It’s so frustrating!” The Eagle Demon laughed and said, “Frustrating? I don’t find it frustrating. Fighting a death sentence… it’s better to avoid it unless absolutely necessary. If we get killed by these bugs, I guarantee… not even a bone fragment will remain. These bugs are even more monstrous thanFumu beast.” Luo Zhan shuddered. He knew the Eagle Demon was right—although theseFumuchong Fumuchong were small and not extremely powerful, their sheer numbers and overwhelming presence made it impossible for the three of them to deal with them. All the professionals in this area were terrified by the insect mist and fled in panic. Someone shouted angrily, “Which bastard… brought so manyFumuchong Fumuchong here…?” Guo Shier and the others remained silent, urging the Giant Nest Dragon to run faster. Hearing the curses, the three could only pretend not to hear them. Guo Shier knew he was at fault. Though it wasn’t his fault, it was still he who had attracted so manyFumuchong Fumuchong, causing trouble for everyone. Most of the insect mist behind them had disappeared, and those chasing them were at least level four or higher mutatedFumuchong Fumuchong, coming in all sorts of strange forms that made people’s skin crawl. Even the brave Guo Shier didn’t dare to stop for a moment. Guo Shier noticed more and more professionals flying in the air, which filled him with fear. Thousands of professionals had been driven out by the insect mist, including some at the level of Great Sage Masters. At this point, the Giant Nest Dragon stood out even more, and many professionals stared at Guo Shier and the others with hostile eyes.

Eagle Demon said, “Bad news, Guo Shier, these professionals have ill intentions toward us!”
Guo Shier smiled bitterly and said, “I could tell…”
The temperature gradually rose, with fewer plants on the ground. Large rocks appeared—stones formed from solidified magma. When the Giant Dragon stepped on them, the rocks shattered, sending dust into the air, and its thunderous footsteps shook the ground.
Many professionals began to approach Guo Shier and the others, their curses growing louder.