Chapter 2: The Heart of the Talisman (Part 1)

Four attacks converged simultaneously. Eagle Demon resisted forcefully but was immediately injured, letting out a cry, “Guo Shier, be careful! It’s extremely strong!”
Two more attacks came. Guo Shier had already unleashed the Ancient Ink Lotus. With a cold gaze, he shouted, “Uncle Eagle Demon, Uncle Luo, retreat!” He rode the Ancient Ink Lotus forward, and in an instant, the tentacles of Gu Xi Bi stretched out toward it.
Luo Zhan tried to block one of the attacks but was sent flying backward and dragged back onto the Ancient Ink Lotus by one of Gu Xi Bi’s tentacles. Eagle Demon was clever—he instantly teleported onto the Ancient Ink Lotus, joining Luo Zhan at its peak. Luo Zhan immediately sat cross-legged and took out a talisman pill to swallow. Having taken just one strike, he was already injured. He still couldn’t withstand the attacks of high-ranking Great Saints.
The attacks of fifty-two Great Saints rained down violently on Guo Shier.
Without the Ancient Ink Lotus, Guo Shier would have been utterly unable to withstand the combined attacks of fifty-two Great Saints. But knowing its power, he didn’t flee but charged forward with a roar.
Old Shuai poked his head out and said, “Kid, why are you so annoying? There’s always someone who wants to attack you for no reason!”
Gu Xi Bi’s tentacles swiftly blocked all fifty-two attacks. Though the attacks of those fifty-two Great Saints were extremely powerful, blocking one attack with just a few tentacles was no trouble at all. Even so, the fierce force still pushed the Ancient Ink Lotus back hundreds of meters, and the fifty-two Great Saints blocked the path to the light screen.
Although they had repelled Guo Shier and the others, the fifty-two Great Saints were still uncertain. A few high-ranking Great Saints discussed the situation and ordered all of them to stop attacking. Since Guo Shier was on the Ancient Ink Lotus, he was no different from a master at the altar level. Everyone knew that suppressing a master at the altar level was possible here, but angering one was clearly unwise.
In this secret realm, once a master at the altar level activated his altar, he would soon be thrown out of the realm. So those Great Saints tried to buy time.
Guo Shier sneered, understanding what those people were thinking. Without saying more, he used his spiritual waves to say, “Old Shuai, leave it to you. We need to break through that light screen!”
Eagle Demon, who had been watching the light screen, urged, “Shier, we need to speed up! That light screen is shrinking!”
Guo Shier was shocked and said, “Old Shuai, stop delaying. Let’s break through the light screen!”

The handsome old man reluctantly said, “Damn it, those bastards got away too cheaply.” Given his temperament, he would kill anyone who dared attack him.
The Moon Blade spiraled upward into the air. The handsome old man pointed at it lightly and shouted, “Go!”
Guo Shieru sat atop the Ancient Ink Lotus. Sensing a slight fluctuation in the handsome old man’s soul, he immediately sent countless hand seals into the Moon Blade. This time, he intended to act together with the handsome old man.
Those great sage masters blocked the path, each treating the situation as a life-or-death threat and staring intently at Guo Shieru and the others. One of the great sage masters quickly sent a message token.
Although there were many of these great sage masters, none dared to attack first.
As soon as the message token was sent, another one arrived. A high-ranking great sage master reached out and grabbed it. After taking a quick look, he was terrified and shouted, “Run!” Before his words faded, he had already teleported away.
Chaos ensued among the crowd. The great sage masters were incredibly fast—within the blink of an eye, over forty out of fifty-two of them had teleported away, with the rest also flying far away quickly; none dared stay put.
At the same time, the Moon Blade swung down.
When the Moon Blade began to cut, Guo Shieru realized something was wrong—the power seemed too great. It had grown to a length of a hundred meters. As it descended, the air crackled, starting softly and growing louder, followed by a howling sound as arcs of electricity appeared on the Moon Blade.
Guo Shieru exclaimed in surprise, “Thunder attribute?”
In a flash, the Moon Blade slashed down. The great sage masters had just scattered in all directions, timing their escape perfectly. The Eagle Demon was stunned and shouted, “Damn it… these guys are too clever!”
Even though the great sage masters scattered, a few were slower to react.
The howling of the Moon Blade became extremely sharp, disturbing people’s souls. Those mid- and low-ranking great sage masters were too terrified to move, their faces turning pale. Although they had flown a distance away from the Moon Blade’s path, they were still quite close.
The arcs of electricity on the Moon Blade formed a narrow network, instantly knocking down the great sage masters who hadn’t managed to flee far enough.
The Moon Blade slashed down, creating a deep trench in the ground.
Guo Shieru didn’t care whether the Moon Blade had hit anyone; there was nothing in its path anymore. He steered the Ancient Ink Lotus toward the light screen. By now, the light screen had shrunk to less than ten meters—if they didn’t enter now, they would never be able to.
Whoosh!

The great masters watched helplessly as Guo Shier and the others disappeared into the light screen. While most were still in shock, two groups of great masters reacted quickly and flew inside. The rest, having regained their senses, tried to follow in, only to see the light screen shrink rapidly into a single point before vanishing entirely. All that remained was the deep groove left by the moonblade strike on the ground.

Several great masters knocked down by the electric arcs groaned as they sat up, staring dazedly at the sky.

The senior great master who had received the message token was filled with fear. “Damn it… such an important message token, and it took so long to receive it. We almost died because of it!”

Another great master said, “That man must be a master of the altar. How dare he attack?”

Someone nearby replied, “Nonsense. If fifty-some great masters surrounded me, and if I were a master of the altar, I would definitely attack too… Thankfully he went in; otherwise, we would all be doomed…”

The great master who received the message token frowned and examined it again before suddenly saying, “That’s not right. They mentioned the appearance of a master of the altar, but the timing doesn’t add up. If he had attacked them, that master of the altar should have been thrown out of the secret realm by now. Why are they still there?”

The great masters looked at each other, none able to figure out why. They couldn’t realize that Guo Shier hadn’t advanced to the Virtual Spirit Mirror level, so he wouldn’t be thrown out by the secret realm. Relying on Old Handsome and Gu Mu Lian, his attacks were already on par with those of a master of the altar—a level of power even senior great masters couldn’t achieve.

One great master said with a wry smile, “Where does this light screen lead?”

It was only then that everyone realized. Someone said, “Hurry, report to the higher-ups! Two groups of people have also gone in.” Four people per group, meaning eight great masters, rushed into the light screen.

…

As soon as Guo Shier entered the light screen, he sensed something was wrong. He entered while sitting on Gu Mu Lian, with Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan sitting behind him. Inside the light screen wasn’t another continent or secret realm, but a strange passage filled with countless rotating light strips. A strange force pulled Gu Mu Lian forward at high speed.

Eagle Demon exclaimed in surprise, “What place is this?”

Guo Shier struggled hard to control Gu Mu Lian, shouting, “Old Handsome… what is this?”

The handsome old man stuck his head out and kept spinning it; his head could rotate 360 degrees, which looked quite strange. After spinning for a while, he finally sighed, “Kid, I’ve never seen this either… It seems to be some kind of legendary long-distance passage, but… I’ve never experienced it myself, so I don’t know if it’s real.”
Guo Shier sighed, “Ah, even you, an elder, have things you don’t know?”
The handsome old man replied, “Nonsense! Should I know everything? This world is incredibly vast; it’s impossible for me to have experienced everything. But… I don’t think there’s much danger, because…”
Guo Shier also realized this and said, “That’s right. Otherwise, the four ancient families wouldn’t have sent so many great sage masters and altar experts!”
The handsome old man smiled and said, “Exactly! So you don’t need to worry. Just see where the passage leads.”
They thought they would reach the other end soon, but after a day, they were still in the passage, being dragged along by some invisible force. Guo Shier felt a bit scared.
Guo Shier said, “What the hell is this place… Could it be we entered at the wrong time?”
Eagle Demon said, “Shier, be patient!”
Guo Shier smiled bitterly and asked, “Don’t you think something’s wrong?”
Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan both shook their heads and said in unison, “No!”
The handsome old man also stuck his head out, stretched out a hand, and said, “No!”
With a loud boom, countless needles as thick as fingers suddenly shot out from the walls of the passage. Guo Shier screamed, “Be careful!” Gu Mu Lian immediately activated its defense, and a greenish light shield appeared. With a crackling sound, like rain hitting banana leaves, thunderous booms echoed throughout the passage. Soon after, another batch of red-glowing needles were fired.
The handsome old man looked up and calmly said, “You’re right!”
Having just repelled the attack of the thin needles, before Guo Shier and the others could understand what was happening, a second wave of attacks arrived. Guo Shier was frustrated—fighting against an invisible enemy was the most annoying.
Flashing arcs of electricity gathered on the walls of the passage as Gu Mu Lian moved forward. More and more arcs accumulated. Guo Shier asked, “Handsome Old Man, can we hold them off?”
The handsome old man said proudly, “Don’t worry. Hehe, among the materials you gave me earlier, there was ten-thousand-year-old thunderwood.” He then chanted hundreds of spells in a row, and eight sharp metal cones emerged from Gu Mu Lian. He said, “Perfect. Let’s use lightning to refine them.”

With a thunderous crash, dozens of bolts of lightning struck in all directions. Gu Mo Lian spun rapidly, spraying countless virtual talismans from the eight metal spikes to intercept the lightning. In an instant, the lightning was drawn into Gu Mo Lian.
Guo Shier, Eagle Demon, and Luo Zhan trembled violently, their hair standing on end.
The handsome old man was stunned and couldn’t help but burst into laughter.