Chapter 4: The Battle of Wagers (Part 2)
Luo Zhan roared, “Slash!”
Clang! Clang!
Xie Rongcheng’s two scorpion claws were severed with two blows. A shadow flashed, and the scorpion tail suddenly swept over his head, aiming straight at Luo Zhan’s chest at extreme speed.
Guo Shier’s heart skipped a beat, and his eagle demon pupils constricted.
Luo Zhan shouted, “Block!” The strange great sword in his hand instantly transformed into a triangular shield, shielding him. With a crisp crack, Xie Rongcheng’s scream followed— the tail spine that had pierced the shield broke into two, inflicting excruciating pain on him.
He never expected the opponent’s talismanic weapon to be so resilient. It not only blocked the scorpion tail’s strike but also emitted a terrifying shockwave, reflecting all the force back, causing the tail to break under the impact.
Luo Zhan reached out and grabbed it, turning the triangular shield back into a great sword, then swung down in a decisive cut.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
In three quick sounds, the three talismanic shields in front of Xie Rongcheng shattered. He was filled with terror. Luo Zhan’s combat skills weren’t particularly high, but this talismanic weapon was simply too powerful—nothing could stop it. For the first time, he felt unsure and didn’t know how to deal with this sword.
Luo Zhan also wasn’t expecting the sword to be so deadly. Filled with confidence, he swung it wildly. Xie Rongcheng suffered greatly, losing many defensive talismanic weapons and forced to dodge frantically.
The onlookers erupted in cheers again. It was rare to see a high-level mad master chasing after a low-level saint master.
Luo Zhan knew he couldn’t slack off now. He pursued Xie Rongcheng, slashing repeatedly. There was no need for strategy—just strike whenever he could. This fighting style was like street brawls, using whatever weapons were at hand.
Xie Rongcheng failed to dodge in time and was struck by Luo Zhan’s sword. His talismanic insect spirit dispersed instantly, revealing his true body. When the strange sword gently pressed against his neck, Xie Rongcheng realized he had lost—severely. With just a little more force, his head would fall off.
The crowd cheered loudly. Luo Zhan sheathed his sword, bowed to the surroundings in thanks, ignored Xie Rongcheng, and turned to leave. He had no intention of pursuing further—this was a combat arena, not a hidden wilderness, and killing was absolutely forbidden here.
Xie Rongcheng’s face turned ashen. Gritting his teeth, he stared at Luo Zhan’s back, ready to charge in and deliver a desperate strike. Suddenly, someone shouted, “Come back!” The voice rang in his ears. He turned to see it was the lead grand sage, and immediately felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head. Shivering, he obediently got up and stepped out of the combat area.
Xie Rongcheng went before the lead grand sage and said, “Elder, I lost!”
The elder gave him a cold glance and said, “Worthless! You can’t even beat a high-levelmad master!” Staring at Luo Zhan, who had disappeared into the crowd, he ordered, “Send two people to follow him! I want to see if he’s one of those bastards… Use the two who escaped last time.”
The two sages nodded and quickly mixed into the crowd.
…
Guo Shier found Luo Zhan.
Ying Mo smiled and said, “Lao Luo, not bad! You even won by challenging someone above your level.”
Luo Zhan replied modestly, “It’s the sword… The sword is good. Hehe, without such a great sword, it would be hard to win.”
Guo Shier asked, “Are those the people we met last time? Does Uncle Luo still remember them?”
Luo Zhan frowned. “Met last time? Who…?” Suddenly he realized and said, “After encountering the insect mist… were those the people? So that guy was deliberately looking for trouble.”
Guo Shier said, “Let’s go. Don’t stay here.” The three of them left quickly. But they didn’t notice that two sage-level professionals had already spotted them. One of them said, “It’s those three. Yes, I saw them clearly. One person might make a mistake, but three together? There’s no doubt! Let’s go back and report to the elder.”
That elder’s name was Jia Tai. His core spirit insect was a level-10 mutated Great Golden Armor, which, after a hundred years of cultivation, now had the strength of a level-11 creature. He was an intermediate grand sage, considered among the elite in the Nest Sect and held great authority. The insect mist that Guo Shier and the others had brought about last time had caused heavy casualties among his subordinates—dozens of them hadn’t escaped. Thus, he hated Guo Shier and the others deeply.
The two sages returned to the crowd in the Nest Sect and quietly reported what they had seen.
Jia Tai asked with a dark expression, “Did you see any identity tokens of the Fire Sect on them?”
One sage replied, “Absolutely not. They had temporary tokens; they were indeed wandering professionals.”
Jia Tai nodded and asked, “Were any marks left on them?”
The other sage said, “Yes, but not too obvious. We only left the spirit of scent-guiding insects, so we can detect their location within a hundred miles.”
The scent-guiding insects always come in pairs, only the size of fingernails, and their spirit insects are even smaller than ants. These creatures can emit a strange fragrance to attract another scent-guiding insect. Once turned into insect talismans, releasing a male insect allows the female insect to find it by scent, making it very convenient for tracking.
Jia Tai nodded and said, “Very good. Let’s go. You’re in charge of scouting their movements. Report immediately once they leave the Fire Sect!” A sage agreed and left the group.
…
Two days later, Guo Shier and the other two left the Fire Sect. This time they took a different direction, not toward the Yumo Marsh, as that route was too dangerous. Instead, they headed north.
As soon as the three left the Fire Sect, news reached the group of professionals from the Nest Sect. Jia Tai ordered, “Let’s follow them. We won’t spare them this time!”
Guo Shier was unaware that they were already being followed. The three flew at a leisurely pace.
Guo Shier said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, my inheritance contains many coordinates of secret realms. Once I reach the rank of Great Sage, I might be able to explore them.”
Eagle Demon replied, “I also have quite a few coordinates, but I can’t use them yet. At least until I build a Virtual Form Altar, I won’t be able to set up coordinates and open talisman gates like you can.”
Luo Zhan remained silent. He knew that although he had received an inheritance, it was still far from enough. There were some inheritance memories he couldn’t learn or realize at the moment. For example, he also had coordinates of many secret realms and continents. Even if someone accompanied him, he wouldn’t dare go there, as he didn’t know what dangers might exist in the areas where the ancient talisman people operated.
He asked, “Shier, where does this direction lead?”
Guo Shier replied, “There’s a body of water ahead—a large freshwater lake. Beyond the lake lies a sect, a vassal sect of the Fire Sect. Let’s go there and see if we can find any traces of our master.”
Luo Zhan said, “I know that lake. The disciples of the Fire Sect’s inner circle often mention it—it’s called Jingming Lake. It’s huge, with countless small islands. Even a sage would need to fly for over ten days to cross it. It’s a good place, but there are only low-level talisman insects and beasts.”
Eagle Demon hadn’t gone out much while in the Fire Sect. He spent most of his time guarding Guo Shier’s safety downstairs, so he had little information from his rare outings.
Guo Shier said, “That’s right, it’s indeed Jingming Lake. This time, Master Kumu gave us a much more detailed talisman map. The one we got last time was too simple and rough; many dangerous areas weren’t marked. Take Yumo Ze for example—who would have known it was so perilous? Luckily, we used the Giant Nest Dragon to travel, otherwise we might have gotten trapped there.”
Eagle Demon asked, “Is there any danger at Jingming Lake?”
Guo Shier replied, “Not much serious danger. This lake is shared by the Fire Sect and the Jingming Gate, and the Jingming Gate is a vassal sect of the Fire Sect. So, it has been cleaned up many times by professional experts. There aren’t any powerful mutated talisman insects or beasts here.”
He took out the talisman map and examined it again before saying, “The Jingming Gate is a small sect with a population of just over two million. There are no more than 30,000 professionals, most of them low-level. Many people live by Jingming Lake. Thanks to the protection of the Fire Sect, they can live in peace and prosperity.”
Eagle Demon sighed, “Vassal…”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “There’s nothing shameful about being a vassal. It’s their luck to be under the protection of a powerful sect.”
Eagle Demon replied, “I didn’t mean to mock. I was just reflecting. Our North Talisman Gate is a vassal of the Chenxiao Sect, and now our development speed is a hundred times faster than before.”
Soon, the three of them arrived by the lake.
Jingming Lake resembled a huge piece of blue glass covering the land. The scattered islands were like green gems scattered on it. When the breeze blew, countless silver dots appeared on the lake’s surface, and in the distance, silhouettes of sails could be seen.
Guo Shier exclaimed, “What a beautiful place!” Then he flew down first.
Hanging at a few meters above the ground, Guo Shier said with a smile, “It’s a great place. Let’s fly slowly. Hehe, and enjoy the scenery along the way.”
Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan weren’t interested. They never had the habit of enjoying the scenery, but since Guo Shier liked it, they didn’t object.
Guo Shier hadn’t realized he still retained many habits from his past life. For example, when he saw beautiful scenery, he would take a closer look; when he saw delicious food, he would eat more; when he encountered something new, he would explore it. Seeing the beautiful scenery of Jingming Lake, he couldn’t help but slow down to take it in.
There were large areas of marshland by the lake, with reeds reaching over three meters tall. There were also various ordinary birds—several of which he recognized, such as wild ducks, pheasants, geese, and herons.
The birds chirped and squawked as they flew over the water. Guo Shier said, “Let’s go!” and flew forward close to the lake’s surface.
The three of them weren’t fast, but in just a short while, they had traveled dozens of miles. The Eagle Demon pointed to the right and said, “There’s a small boat over there. Want to go take a seat?” He was just joking, thinking that Guo Shier would definitely refuse.
To his surprise, Guo Shier was very enthusiastic and said, “Sure, let’s go.”
The three of them gently landed at the bow of the boat. Guo Shier called out, “Boatman! Is anyone there? We have guests!”
The boat was similar to the sailboats from his past life and was quite large. Someone came out of the cabin and asked, “Who is it?”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “Sorry to bother you. We’re professionals passing by and would like to rest on the boat. I wonder if the boat owner agrees?”
The man frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and said, “You can sit at the bow.”
Guo Shier was secretly surprised—it was a bit strange for an ordinary person to respond like that.