Chapter 5: Worm Fog (Part 2)

Guo Shier two shook his head helplessly. There was no way to explain things at this moment, and he wasn’t the kind of person who would cower. He said in a deep voice, “Get ready to fight!” No matter who wanted to kill him, he wouldn’t sit idly by. Since the other side had evil intentions, then let’s fight.
What worried Guo Shier two was that the leader of the group was a junior Grand Sage, accompanied by six or seven Sages, including some high-ranking ones. Judging by their attire, they weren’t from the Fire Sect; perhaps they were professionals from other sects on the Earth Fire Continent.
“Hey! Kid! Don’t run! Deal with the talisman worms you’ve attracted yourself!”
Guo Shier two ignored him completely, continuing to urge the Giant Perch Dragon to run faster.
Eagle Demon said, “Shier two, they seem to be professionals from the same sect…” Thousands of professionals, though with different colored uniforms, all wore similar styles. This must be disciples of some major sect with unified clothing.
“Hey! Stop!”
Guo Shier two still paid no attention.
The middle-aged-looking Grand Sage, seemingly the leader of the group, spoke several times, but Guo Shier two ignored him. Frustrated, the man shouted, “Hey! You brat! If you don’t stop, don’t blame us for taking action!”
Guo Shier two glanced at him and said indifferently, “Idiot!” He was also angry inside. When operating in the wild and accidentally attracting powerful talisman beasts or worms, it was normal for professionals to be unable to defeat them. The right thing to do was to flee. It wasn’t shameful for professionals to run away, but this guy actually asked Guo Shier two to turn around and fight—nothing but an idiot.
The man demanded, “Which sect do you belong to?”
Guo Shier two knew that if he were a rogue professional with no sect, that man would surely attack without hesitation. But he didn’t dare act rashly either, so he needed to figure out first whether he could fight.
Seeing that Guo Shier two still ignored him, the man grew even angrier and shouted, “Since you won’t speak, then stay!”
Guo Shier two gave a strange smile. The Giant Perch Dragon suddenly disappeared, and soon a talisman gate appeared before them. The three of them rushed in and vanished in an instant.
The Grand Sage was preparing to attack when he unexpectedly saw them open a talisman gate. With his expertise, he immediately recognized it as a cross-boundary talisman—otherwise, it wouldn’t have been used so quickly. Cross-boundary talismans were rare, and ordinary people couldn’t possess them. As he was momentarily stunned, the talisman gate disappeared, leaving him sweating with fear.

Those who possess cross-dimensional talismans can never be ordinary professionals; behind them are often extremely skilled masters. He secretly rejoiced that he had been cautious enough not to act rashly. Yet when he looked back, he felt annoyed again—there were still so many mutated talisman insects chasing after them, and he had no idea when they would be able to get rid of them.

Guo Shier had to use the cross-dimensional talisman to escape. If his opponent had only been a junior Grand Sage, he would have had the confidence to fight him, but with so many of them, he didn’t dare to engage. Fortunately, he had the cross-dimensional talisman; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to escape at all.

The insect mist had originally targeted the Giant Nesting Dragon, but after it disappeared, their target became that group of professionals. There were over a thousand of them, and as they ventured deeper, more and more professionals got drawn into it, increasing the number to more than three thousand after a few hours.

To the pursuing mutated talisman insects, these three thousand people were like ripples in a pond. And there were at least millions of these mutated talisman insects—so dense as rain, with their wingbeats making a terrifying buzzing sound.

However, as the temperature rose sharply, some of the insect talismans stopped chasing.

……

Guo Shier appeared in the courtyard of Haicheng on the Core Continent, along with Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan.

The three stood silently in the courtyard for a while before Eagle Demon finally said, “Shier, let’s wait for a while before going back.”

A woman stepped out of the room. The moment she saw the three in the courtyard, she covered her mouth, her face showing surprise. Eagle Demon smiled and said, “The little girl has grown into a young woman. Hehe, Shier…”

Guo Shier was also stunned. He hadn’t expected Chen Hong to have grown from a girl into a young woman. Her delicate and beautiful appearance didn’t resemble that of a talisman martial artist at all. Then Chen Hong exclaimed, “Wow! Shier’s back!” Her face turned red immediately, seemingly realizing she had spoken too loudly.

Hong Shi rushed out in response, shouting, “Leopard, Chen Bing! Shier’s back!”

Huo Bao and Chen Bing came running from the backyard. All four of them seemed very excited.

Guo Shier greeted them with a smile. Huo Bao had grown into a strong man, while Hong Shi was even more massive, nearly two meters tall with broad shoulders and a thick chest. Like Huo Bao, his head was shiny. Chen Bing was slim yet strong, with bright eyes. Chen Hong had completely transformed into a beautiful woman.

Eagle Demon was amazed. All four of them had advanced to the master level, with Huo Bao and Chen Hong already reaching the intermediate level of Grand Talisman Martial Artists. Huo Bao asked, “Shier, why have you come back?”

Guo Shier smiled and punched him lightly, saying, “What? Not welcome?”
Huo Bao rubbed his bald head and said, “I’m happy… How could I not welcome you?”
Guo Shier said, “We were beaten back!”
The four of them were stunned. Huo Bao asked, “Beaten… back? How is that possible?” He had always thought Guo Shier was very strong, with Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan by his side—who could defeat them?
Guo Shier smiled and said, “We’re still weak now. It’s normal to run away if we can’t win.”
Aunt Lan rushed over eagerly and exclaimed happily, “Shier’s back!” She stepped forward, took Guo Shier’s hand, and examined him carefully from head to toe, saying with emotion, “Shier has grown up into a man!” She had watched Guo Shier grow up since he was young, and her joy was impossible to hide.
Guo Shier was very close to Aunt Lan and Aunt Xin. He smiled and asked, “Aunt Lan, are you used to living here?”
Aunt Lan replied with a smile, “I’m used to it. What’s there to be unaccustomed to? Everyone is very kind to me, and those kids are also well-behaved.” She was very satisfied. As an ordinary person, she could live like a family with professionals—she was extremely happy and content. After all these years, she had grown somewhat aged. Since she wasn’t a professional, she only had an ordinary lifespan, and in another dozen years or so, it would be time for her to retire.
Guo Shier said with a smile, “Aunt Lan, thank you for your hard work.”
Aunt Lan replied, “This child is still being polite to me… Go inside and talk. I’ll go cook.” Only after everyone entered the house did she leave smiling, taking a few family servants with her to get busy cooking and preparing food.
Guo Shier was the head of the family. Although he was mostly a hands-off leader, he was still the supreme ruler of the family. In the courtyard of Haicheng on the Xinxiji Continent, everything was decided by him. Of course, Guo Shier never had any haughty thoughts. Influenced by his past life, he remained very calm in mind.
After sitting down, Huo Bao said, “Shier, I’m already an intermediate Grand Talisman Martial Artist. In at most a year, I’ll be able to fully absorb the knowledge passed down. By then, can I… go on an adventure with you to the secret realm?”
Guo Shier smiled bitterly inwardly. He really wanted to take his four companions on an adventure to the secret realm, but their strength was still too weak. He said, “Baozi, don’t rush it.”
Huo Bao immediately knew it still wasn’t possible, and his gaze darkened.

Eagle Demon said, “Leopard, don’t lose heart. As long as you reach the level of Mad Master and gain some self-protection ability, Guo Shier will take you out. Taking you away now would harm you. The secret realm is too dangerous; with your current strength, not only can you not protect yourselves, you won’t be able to help Guo Shier and might even hold him back.”
Luo Zhan said, “Yes, I know you’ve received inheritance at Haimen, but your strength is still not enough. It’s only now, after I went out, that I truly realized this.”
Although Huo Bao and the others were disappointed, they understood that Guo Shier was doing it for their own good. Huo Bao said, “Alright, we’ll advance to Mad Master as soon as possible…” He made up his mind secretly.
Guo Shier asked, “Has there been any news from Grandpa Nanshan?”
Chen Bing, who was in charge of gathering information, replied, “No. There has been no news since Grandpa Nanshan left, nor from Old Master Luo Jie.”
Guo Shier asked, “Is Uncle Yan Long still here?”
Chen Bing said, “He left a long time ago. Senior Kuumu and Senior Monier are also gone. Oh, and Senior Zhu Juan came by once.”
Guo Shier asked, “Oh, what did he want?”
Chen Bing said, “He said… if you return, go to Chenxiao Sect. It seems there’s something going on. He didn’t say what, and I didn’t dare ask.”
Guo Shier was surprised. “Didn’t he leave any message token?”
Huo Bao interjected, “No. He came in a hurry and left in a hurry… He was mainly looking for Senior Yan Long, but since he had already left, he left too.”
Guo Shier glanced at Eagle Demon. Doubt flashed in their eyes both. He knew that even if Zhu Juan had something to say, he wouldn’t tell Huo Bao and the others. He had originally planned to rest for about ten days before returning to the Earth Fire Continent, but this news made him change his mind. He had to return to Chenxiao Sect first, as his family already had a foothold there.
Huo Bao hesitated for a moment before saying, “Shier, if you’re going back to Chenxiao Sect, take us with you.”
Guo Shier nodded. “Okay.”
Huo Bao and the others immediately showed joy. They felt a bit lonely here, as they differed greatly from the locals and didn’t get along well. Without Xuan Ai’s care, it would have been difficult for them to survive here.
Guo Shier said, “This time, all the family members will go back. Aunt Lan will go back too, so a new group of people can come.” He was a bit uneasy. It would have been better if Zhu Juan had left at least a message, even just telling him to return. He didn’t know what exactly was going on.
…
A day later, Guo Shier brought everyone back to Chenxiao Sect. He settled them in the family’s residence while he and Eagle Demon flew to Zhu Juan’s manor.

Guo Shier and Zhu Juan were very familiar with each other, so they went straight to the manor. Back at the Chenxiao Sect, Guo Shier put on the purple-robed attire of an elder and wore his identity badge, so the guards and servants in the manor did not dare to neglect him. They immediately reported his arrival and led the two of them to the meeting room. When Zhu Juan saw Guo Shier enter, she said happily, “Shier, you’re finally back.” Guo Shier replied irritably, “How could I not come back? You didn’t even leave a message and just ordered me to return. Uncle Fat, that’s quite scary!”