Chapter 3: Departure (Part 2)

Whether it was the Earth Dragon or the Mammoth, both had plenty of fresh meat. Coupled with the Plant Symbol Space created by the Plant Symbol talismans, food was no longer a concern. As long as the fresh meat was placed in the altar space, it wouldn’t rot, so they wouldn’t face food shortages.

Eagle Demon sniffed the air and said, “Guo Shier, the smell of blood here is too strong. It’s better if we leave soon.”

Guo Shier suddenly realized they couldn’t stay long. If other professionals came by and took a quick look, they would realize they had hunted a high-level Abnormal Symbol Beast, which could easily lead to conflicts. He nodded and immediately directed the altar to fly away.

Along the way, they saw those giant ape-men running frantically. Luo Zhan laughed and said, “They’re completely terrified. Hehe, Shier, do you want to kill them?”

Guo Shier replied, “Considering they killed the Earth Dragon and helped us get such a valuable reward, let’s leave them be.”

Luo Zhan nodded and said, “True. Without those giant ape-men, it would have been difficult for us to get the Earth Dragon.”

The altar swiftly passed by several giant ape-men and flew toward the horizon.

Guo Shier asked, “Uncle Eagle Demon, do you remember the Bloody Secret Realm? This place feels a bit like it…”

Eagle Demon was puzzled. “A bit like the Bloody Secret Realm? That can’t be. The Bloody Secret Realm… Hmm, are you saying the Abnormal Symbol Beasts there were brought in by humans?”

Guo Shier nodded. “Otherwise, it’s unexplainable. This place is so barren, yet such high-level Abnormal Symbol Beasts appear here.”

Nan You said, “It can’t be human-made… Any expert altar user, if powerful enough, would never miss a Level 15 Abnormal Symbol Beast—it’s an excellent sacrifice.”

Guo Shier scratched his head and said, “It’s really strange.”

Nan You dismissed it, saying, “There are countless secret realms, each with its own uniqueness. There’s nothing strange about it.”

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared on the horizon, drawing everyone’s attention. Guo Shier really hoped to encounter a professional, as that might help them find a way out. He immediately directed the altar to fly over.

A moment later, Nan You exclaimed in joy, “Damn it… It’s a ring path! We can leave now!”

Ten ring paths were flashing continuously, spread over an area of one square kilometer. From one of the ring paths, several strange birds suddenly rushed out, each over 300 to 400 meters long. Terrified, Nan You flew onto Guo Shier’s altar and shouted, “Hurry, get inside the ring path!”

Guo Shier still couldn’t see clearly what kind of bird it was; it seemed a bit like a dragonfly, but it was definitely not an insect—rather, it was a bird, an alien one at that. Without hesitation, he rushed toward a circular path, only to hear a sharp screech behind him. The altar instantly disappeared into the circular path. In the blink of an eye, they found themselves in another world. Guo Shier glanced at the talisman gate and exclaimed in surprise, “We’re back!” Nan You was stunned and quickly checked around, then said cheerfully, “Haha, we’re really back—still in the Eight Paths Vast Heaven!” The old hero emerged from the top of the altar and said, “Kid, this is the first time you’ve found the right path. Well, it doesn’t seem like your merit.” Nan You thought for a moment and said, “Luck… it was pretty good. If we’d been transported to a strange continent, we’d still be lost.” Eagle Demon said lightly, “We’re still lost.” Guo Shier coughed and said, “At least this place is a bit familiar. Hehe, Uncle Eagle Demon, if all else fails, we can go look for the people of the ancient Miluo family. If we can find them, we can return to the territories controlled by the four ancient families… I’ve already advanced to a solid-form altar, so I should be able to use the resources of the ancient Miluo family, right?” Eagle Demon slapped his thigh and said, “That’s right! We don’t need to run anymore. Hehe, those skilled in altars hold the highest status in any family.” Luo Zhan also smiled and said, “Yeah, we’re used to running… running as soon as something seems off…” Guo Shier blushed. When he lacked strength, he didn’t mind acting humble; now that he had strength, he didn’t mind acting arrogant. With memories from his previous two lives, his most important goal in this life was to survive until the time came for him to reincarnate smoothly. Guo Shier said with a smile, “Running keeps you healthy.” Eagle Demon laughed, “I’ve heard that before… Haha!” Luo Zhan said, “Yeah, it seems we’re getting stronger the more we run. Hmm, I need to think about this carefully.” Nan You stared at the three of them in astonishment before finally saying, “This is the first time I’ve heard of this. It’s fascinating!” He found it hard to understand and couldn’t grasp the unspoken understanding between the three. Guo Shier said, “Use your detection talisman to check it out. Don’t tell me your talisman can only make guesses—I think it should have the ability to detect directions.” Nan You nodded and said, “Yes, it does have a positioning function. Let me see what place this is.”

After a moment, Nan You put away the talisman disk, his face showing a strange expression as he said, “If we keep going, we’ll see vast rings of pathways… We’ve returned to where we started; behind us is the supply point.”

Guo Shier said in surprise, “Uh, are you saying the place we were at earlier also belongs to the Eight Paths Vast Heaven?”

Nan You nodded. “That’s right. It must be a killing ground. No wonder all the coordinates stopped working. I just don’t know what type of killing ground it is. Thankfully we got out. If we’d been trapped, dying inside wouldn’t be unusual.”

Guo Shier broke into a cold sweat and asked, “Could it be that the ring of pathways we emerged through… appeared because two mutated talisman beasts died?”

Nan You nodded. “That’s when I realized it—this is a damn trap. What we entered was almost a dead end… When we came out, didn’t we encounter a few monsters that flew in? I checked them out—they were level twelve mutated birds… Anyone who enters, without at least level three altar mastery, probably can’t even escape. Those things are even harder to deal with than the mutated talisman beasts on land.”

Guo Shier said, “So… the ring of pathways will reopen only after the mutated talisman beasts inside die, allowing more of them or mutated birds to be sent in… Damn it, if we had been a little slower, we’d have gotten trapped again.”

Everyone who understood this situation broke into a cold sweat. If there was only one level fifteen mutated talisman beast in that killing ground, things would be very troublesome. Guo Shier thought it would be extremely difficult to kill a beast of that level. If he failed, they wouldn’t be able to escape and would die trapped inside.

Guo Shier said, “Let’s turn back… back to the supply point.” He didn’t want to run into another killing ground, even if he reached the level of an altar master, he still wouldn’t be able to control those things.

Nan You nodded, and the two flew back using their respective altars.

Only after the altars landed at the supply point did everyone relax. Although the supply point had average defenses, it had teleportation talisman arrays, making escape possible in case of danger.

Guo Shier and Nan You put away their altars after landing. It wasn’t appropriate to use altars directly at the supply point. The four of them stood on the land of the supply point, all feeling as if they’d survived a great ordeal.

Ying Mo and Luo Zhan sat down heavily. Nan You bent over, holding his knees. Guo Shier sighed, “It’s good to be back.”

Nan You asked, “Haven’t you two had enough sitting?”

The Eagle Demon laughed and said, “It’s different. Sitting here is much more stable, hehe.” Sitting on Guo Shier’s altar was no different from riding a roller coaster; if one wasn’t used to flying, it would be pure torture.
Guo Shier said, “Let’s go to the Portal of Talismans and leave this hellish place.” He didn’t want to continue exploring here. His goal was now clear: to find someone from the ancient Miluo family or even a professional from the ancient Dai family, so he could return to his original place.
The group chatted as they headed toward the residential area of the supply point.
Several Grand Saints came forward. One of them asked with a smile, “How was the harvest?”
Guo Shier replied with a laugh, “Average, just average—not too good.”
Nan You rolled his eyes. Having obtained two Level 15 Abnormal Talisman Beasts and still calling it average—what did “good” even mean?
Another Grand Saint said, “It’s good that you can return, hehe. Please, follow me.” He was telling the truth. Over the years at this supply point, he had seen many professionals never return, with only a few able to come back.
Guo Shier said, “Please.”
They soon reached the residential area. In front of a house, one of the Grand Saints asked, “Do you want to rest here for a while?”
Guo Shier shook his head and said, “Activate the Portal of Talismans. We’ll leave right now.”
The Grand Saint nodded and said, “Alright, please follow me.”
They arrived at the teleportation talisman array. Just as one of the Grand Saints was about to activate the portal, it suddenly flickered, and a person stepped out of it.