Chapter 10: Entering the Battlefield (Part 2)

Guo Shier was overjoyed upon hearing this. He hadn’t realized that by screening, grinding, and purifying these bone fragments, high-quality bone powder could be obtained—excellent material for making the base of bone talismans, with a wide range of uses. Watching Guo Shier and the others eagerly dig for the bone fragments, Bao Chengyong let out mocking laughter. Yan Ruodai scolded him, “You bad guy, coming up with another terrible idea!”
Bao Chengyong replied, “It’s not a terrible idea. I just find it fun. Ah, how I miss my youth—everything seemed new then, and I wanted to collect everything. Seeing them makes me feel old!”
The bone fragments here were different from those in Bone Fragment Gorge. Most of the fragments in Bone Fragment Gorge were left by mutants and professionals, with only a few being from mutated talisman beasts. Here, however, the vast majority came from ancient mutated talisman beasts or even alienated talisman beasts, making their quality completely different. Bao Chengyong might have been mocking, but he was right—the bone fragments here were highly valuable.
Guo Shier didn’t have time for purification or selection, so he simply put everything—good or bad—into his talisman storage bag, planning to deal with it later when he had time.
A few dozen minutes later, Guo Shier had collected enough bone fragments to fill two talisman storage bags. Unfortunately, time was running out. Juehu Miluo called out, “Shier, come back! We’re leaving.”
The four of them immediately flew onto Juehu Miluo’s altar. Guo Shier sighed, “It’s a shame we don’t have more time…”
Juehu Miluo said, “There’s no need to regret it. There should be even more advanced ones inside…”
Guo Shier was momentarily stunned before realizing that this was only the outer area—those with weaker strength would die here first, while those with greater power would venture deeper. That made sense. He smiled and said, “Let’s collect as much as we can. If we get there and you guys don’t want to rest, where else can we collect?”
Juehu Miluo seemed slightly surprised but smiled and said, “Not bad. Good mindset. Sit tight; we’re going in.”
Zhou Xiaoling naturally sat next to Guo Shier, hugging his arm tightly. Guo Shier laughed, “Dingding, stop pinching me!” Embarrassed, Zhou Xiaoling punched him hard and whispered, “I will pinch! I really will!” She was already scared by the altar and felt only calm sitting next to Shier.
The altar quickly rose into the air, with the six altars connecting again as they plunged into the turbulent currents. The altar jolted violently once more, but this time both Guo Shier and Zhou Xiaoling had some resistance.
Guo Shier calmed down and observed carefully.

Black air currents surged and intertwined. Now he understood that without the protection of the altars, these currents could have torn him to pieces. Everything around was shrouded in darkness; apart from the black air currents, nothing else could be seen, only the light emitted by the six altars. It was clear that the altars were moving at high speed and not in a straight line. Guo Shier often saw huge pillars—naturally formed massive stone columns with uneven surfaces, covered in constantly flashing runes—which the altars carefully avoided. Guo Shier tried to ask questions several times, but seeing Juehu Miluo’s serious expression, he knew it was not the time to interrupt. Then Ling Zhen shouted, “Enter the trap formation and strengthen defenses!” Guo Shier’s eyes lit up for a moment before he gasped in shock. Countless blade-like forms created from virtual runes flashed, forming streams of blades that illuminated the surroundings brightly. The moment the six altars entered, those streams of blades slashed at them. Ling Zhen roared, and a large earth-yellow hand appeared, quickly turning golden as it grabbed at the streams of blades. Clang! Ding! Ding! Ding… Sparks flew as the blade-like forms, just like real metal blades, produced crisp metallic sounds upon hitting the palm. Ling Zhen shouted, “Feng Xilong, it’s your turn!” The six altars spun rapidly, with Feng Xilong’s altar moving to the front. A small whirlwind appeared in Feng Xilong’s palm. With a flick of his finger, the thin tornado flew out and expanded violently as soon as it left the altar’s range, emitting a sharp howling sound as it crashed into the streams of blades. Feng Xilong’s whirlwind was of unknown origin, but its power left Guo Shier stunned. It was incredibly powerful—causing the streams of blades to become chaotic, with a cacophony of clanging sounds as the blades flew wildly, hitting the altars’ defenses and sparking endlessly. Guo Shier suddenly realized that if those streams of blades kept attacking the altars continuously, no altar could withstand it. Only by disrupting their trajectory could their threat be reduced. Feng Xilong suddenly roared, “Yan Ruodai! It’s your turn!” The six altars spun quickly again, with Yan Ruodai’s altar moving to the front. Yan Ruodai stood up, pointed her lightning staff forward, and fired bolts of lightning as thick as bowls. Crack! Boom… This time it was even more direct—the blade-like forms vanished instantly under the impact of the lightning. Ling Zhen couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration, “Good!”

One after another, thunderclaps struck, preventing the sword flow from forming effective attacks. It wasn’t long before it was Bao Chengyong’s turn. The artifact he used was a giant black sword; with a single swing, it created a gap. The six altars rushed forward at lightning speed, and so far, the group had handled it effortlessly. Ling Zhen shouted loudly, “We’re almost out! Bao Chengyong, be careful!” Countless sword flows suddenly converged, creating a tremendous force that resonated loudly, forming a giant, gleaming sword. In an instant, everything around became empty—no blade formed from any virtual talismans could be seen. That sword appeared to be a kilometer long, hanging high in the air, scaring Bao Chengyong into screaming, “Help me!” He slapped his chest violently, spitting out blood, which merged into the black giant sword. The sword rapidly expanded, reaching over 800 meters in length—this was its limit. The six altars were suppressed by the golden sword and came to a halt. Bao Chengyong pointed at the black giant sword, his expression becoming extremely solemn. Guo Shier knew that this challenge was essentially about defeating that golden sword, and he was also terrified. The golden sword above them seemed utterly real; in his past life, such a thing was unimaginable—creating a kilometer-long sword was impossible, let alone seeing one. Zhou Xiaoling clung tightly to Guo Shier’s arm, also terrified. That sword exuded a murderous aura that made it hard to breathe, its intimidating power so great that even though they were on the altars and protected by Juehu Miluo, they still felt extremely distressed. Due to the constraints of the small talisman arrays, no one else could replace Bao Chengyong. Since the six altars couldn’t move at that moment, Bao Chengyong had to face that terrifying giant sword alone. The only ones who could assist him from the side were Ling Zhen and Yan Ruodai. They prepared simultaneously, trying to help Bao Chengyong resist. The pressure grew greater as the giant golden sword slowly descended. Guo Shier sat on the altar. Remember, Juehu Miluo was in the exact center; if Bao Chengyong couldn’t hold back, they would be the next altars to suffer. Although the golden sword seemed to fall slowly, its overwhelming pressure made everyone feel suffocated. Guo Shier and the others’ hearts pounded wildly, their faces turning pale. Bao Chengyong pointed at the giant sword, gritting his teeth as he slowly moved to meet it. It seemed both sides were gathering strength, so the sword and the blade moved slowly, yet their edges made crackling sounds, as if shattering the air itself.

Suddenly, a thousand-meter-long great sword swept down at incredible speed, its howling sound terrifying. Bao Chengyong shouted, “Feng Xilong… You’ve ruined me! Open it for me…” The black giant sword met it head-on without hesitation, emitting a similar shrill sound as it cut through the air.
Boom!
A brute-force collision, a wild strike!
Bao Chengyong spat out a mouthful of blood and slowly collapsed. His altar trembled violently. Fortunately, Juehu Miluo was behind him, desperately using virtual talismans to help him control the altar.
Guo Shier felt as if a thunderbolt had exploded above his head, knocking him backward. All four of them started bleeding from their ears, noses, and mouths—the shockwave had injured them all.
At the moment of collision, Ling Zhenren and Yan Ruodai acted simultaneously. Yan Ruodai swung her thunder staff, creating a thunderball that immediately transformed into a massive electric net, covering one side of the giant sword, while Ling Zhenren slammed his giant palm on the other side. Both used all their strength to try to shatter the sword.
Guo Shier fell onto the altar. Zhou Xiaoling, being a talisman-wielding martial artist with better physical strength than Guo Shier, turned around to protect him.
Eagle Demon, with blood flowing from his mouth, exclaimed in horror, “Damn it…”
Luo Zhan, on the other hand, fell into a semi-comatose state.
Two more loud explosions followed as the thousand-meter-long golden sword burst apart, turning into countless virtual talismans that scattered. Ling Zhenren shouted, “Charge forward! Feng Xilong is ahead!” The six altars rotated slightly, placing Feng Xilong at the front. He roared, “I’ll clear the way!”
Bao Chengyong sat atop the altar, spitting out more blood. He struggled to pull back his black giant sword and cursed, “Damn it… I lost big this time…”
Ling Zhenren replied amidst the chaos, “You didn’t lose!”
Bao Chengyong snapped, “I did!”
Feng Xilong shouted, “We’re out!”
Guo Shier sat up gloomily and forced a smile. “I think I fainted for a moment…”
Eagle Demon, finally recovering, couldn’t help but laugh, blood streaming from his mouth. Guo Shier said, “Uncle, why are you laughing? What’s so funny? Hurry up and take the talisman pill!”
Luo Zhan pounded his head and asked, “Where is this?”
Volume 20: Ancient Ink Lotus