Chapter 9: Infiltrating the Battle Zone (Part 2)

Eagle Demon examined the purple talisman carefully and asked, “What is this talisman?”
The grizzled old man replied, “Black Talisman people are not easy to deal with. This talisman can protect against… their Soul Fire. Of course, you must keep a certain distance. With this talisman, at least you have one more layer of defense.”
Eagle Demon slapped the talisman onto the top of the altar and then looked at another one. A few seconds later, he understood. He threw the talisman to Luo Zhan and quickly cast over a dozen spells. In an instant, a layer of purple light enveloped his altar. He said, “Thanks, old man!”
Luo Zhan and Nan You didn’t dare delay and also placed their purple talismans on the altar. Amidst his busy tasks, Luo Zhan even said, “The old man is awesome!”
The grizzled old man cursed, “Awesome? Be careful! The Black Talisman people’s altar is a Soul Altar—its destructive power is immense. Unless it’s absolutely necessary, never get too close. If their Soul Fire touches your soul, things will get really bad.” Though he liked to curse, he was actually very kind to Guo Shier and the others.
Guo Shier asked, “Why don’t I have one?”
The grizzled old man snapped, “Idiot, what are you here for? With the old man helping you, what are you afraid of the Soul Fire?”
Guo Shier reached out and patted the old man’s head, saying, “I knew it. The old man is the best… Huh, it feels good…”
The grizzled old man cursed loudly, “Idiot! Don’t touch the old man’s head!”
Guo Shier laughed heartily. He said, “Who asked you to suddenly appear in front of me, all bald like that? Hehe…” Seeing the old man’s annoyed expression, he quickly soothed him, “Old man, don’t be angry. It was just a joke, hehe.”
The grizzled old man said angrily, “The old man’s head is sacred… Understand? You can’t touch it—it brings bad luck!”
Guo Shier replied, “Okay, okay. Sacred head… uh, sacred old man. I get it. I won’t touch it anymore.”
The grizzled old man touched his own head and said, “Be careful. I’m inside the altar and can defend against the Soul Fire, but still try not to get too close to them. It’s too dangerous. Their level is very high, and they’re not easy to deal with.”
Guo Shier nodded and said, “I’m not going to fight. I’m just going to check. If it’s not the person we’re looking for, if not… we’ll leave right away.”
The grizzled old man nodded, retracted his body, and returned inside the altar.
With the old man’s help, Guo Shier felt a bit more at ease. He said, “Let’s go over there.”

At the Eagle Demon Altar, a purple light shield immediately rose, enveloping the entire altar. The same happened to Luo Zhan and Nan You. This defensive shield was designed to counter the Soul Fire and could block its attacks. Of course, if those two Black Symbolists targeted them directly, this shield wouldn’t be enough to hold back their attacks.
But with this purple talisman, everyone at least had a layer of defense, which was extremely important. Guo Shier said, “Alright, let’s go…” As soon as he finished speaking, his heart started pounding wildly.
The four altars rushed straight into the battlefield.
Someone shouted, “Hey, who are you?”
Guo Shier yelled, “We’re here to find someone…” He had intended to say they were just passing by, but he blurted out the truth—he really wanted to find Luo Jie and Qi Nan Shan.
The man demanded, “Find who?”
Guo Shier wasn’t that foolish. He wouldn’t say he was looking for the Black Symbolists. An idea struck him, and he shouted, “I’m looking for Juehu Miluo!”
A flash of talismanic light appeared, and a person suddenly showed up—sitting on the altar, it was Juehu Miluo. He looked at Guo Shier in surprise and said, “Hey, Guo Shier… Good heavens, a third-tier altar!” When he first met Guo Shier, he was just a high-level Great Sage, but now he had advanced to a third-tier solid-form altar—it was unbelievable.
Juehu Miluo was now also at a third-tier altar; originally, he was at a second-tier one. He shouted, “Shier, back up!”
They all teleported outward at the same time. A stream of black flames swept by, causing Guo Shier’s soul to tremble. Terrified, he screamed, “Damn! That’s powerful…” In his panic, he hurriedly moved away.
Juehu Miluo teleported out first. He had been here for some time and knew well the abilities of those two Black Symbolists. At first, countless people died, but now they could mostly avoid death. With so many altar-level experts surrounding them, they might not be able to defeat them, but they could at least hold them off.
Guo Shier cast a spell and rubbed it over his eyes—it was the Great Vision Spell. Instantly, he could see clearly the two Black Symbolists hovering in the air.
Those were Black Flame Altars, with people standing on them. Layers of flames surged upward. On the altar was a young man with his upper body naked, from whom flames seemed to emanate as well. The man gave Guo Shier a cold impression, but he couldn’t see the man’s face because it was also covered in black flames. His hair resembled burning flames, floating around in the air.

Another Black Symbolist was facing away from Guo Shier, so his face couldn’t be seen. Judging by his build, he was also a young man, giving off a cold aura with an even stronger killing intent. The two of them roared as they rushed back and forth; no one dared to stand in their way, and they simply surrounded them from all sides.

Then Guo Shier spotted several acquaintances, including Yan Ruodai, Bao Chengyong, Shi Yanxilong, Yan Miluo, as well as Shi Qini and Mo Nuochini. Hundreds of altar-level experts formed a huge encirclement. No matter how hard the two Black Symbolists tried to break through, they were always stopped.

Eagle Demon said, “They don’t have the strength of Zhen Jie. Even with a larger number, they still possess great power.”

Guo Shier nodded. “If they can’t kill us all, they can only trap us.”

Suddenly, a wave of black flame swept by, and a master with a two-layer solid altar let out a pained scream as black flames surged from his altar. More than a dozen altar-level experts stepped in simultaneously and pulled him out of the battle circle. A tall man controlling a five-layer altar sent out a white ice crystal, which landed on that person’s altar with a hissing sound.

The black flames on that person vanished instantly, but he became listless. Guo Shier said, “His soul has been severely damaged!”

Eagle Demon said, “He’ll never be able to advance anymore. That kind of soul fire is too evil.”

Guo Shier asked, “Can you recognize them?”

Eagle Demon shook his head. “The appearance differences are too great. I can’t see their faces—they’re all covered in black flames.”

Guo Shier smiled bitterly. “What should we do?”

Juehu Miluo had already charged forward. He had a mission to carry out, unlike Guo Shier and the others who joined midway and hadn’t been assigned any tasks. Someone shouted, “Those guys, step back first. Don’t disrupt the formation.”

Guo Shier said helplessly, “Let’s step back first.” The group immediately retreated, moving all the way out of the battle circle.

Suddenly, the handsome old man appeared. After observing for a while, he said, “The souls of those two are completely chaotic. They’re killing maniacs. Are you sure… they’re the ones you’re looking for?” He was communicating with Guo Shier through soul vibrations.

Guo Shier smiled bitterly. “I don’t know. I can’t recognize them. Their appearances have changed too much.”

A flash of symbolic light appeared before them. Yan Ruodai stood on the altar, holding a silver thunder staff. She looked at Guo Shier in surprise and said, “Hey, kid… you… you’ve actually advanced to a three-layer altar…”

Guo Shier smiled. “Didn’t the senior also advance to a four-layer altar?”

Yan Ruodai said, “Stop calling me senior. We’re about the same level. Where are you guys from?”

Guo Shier replied, “We just arrived. We’re here to find friends.”

Yan Ruodai asked, “Looking for Juehu?”
Guo Shierou shook his head. “Looking for Qian Ruidai and Zhou Xiaoling.” This time he wasn’t lying. Besides looking for Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan, he indeed wanted to find Zhou Xiaoling.
Yan Ruodai was surprised. “Huh? You know Qian Ruidai?”
Guo Shierou nodded. “Yes, we met a long time ago.”
Yan Ruodai said, “I’m afraid you’ve come for nothing. Qian Ruidai is a professional from the Virtual Form Altar. All professionals from foreign families left a month ago—they’re not suitable to participate in this battle.”
Bao Chengyong shouted from afar, “Yan Ruodai… don’t be lazy! Come here quickly… You’re the leader of our team; you can’t just run around!”
Yan Ruodai cursed, “Damn this jerk, always staring at me! Shierou, wait here first. I’ll finish one fight first.” With that, she teleported away.
Eagle Demon said, “See? They’re taking turns going forward.”
Guo Shierou nodded. “It’s a rotating battle strategy.”
Nanyou said, “It’s the only way. What else can we do? Those two… Sigh, we’d better leave here soon. I have a bad feeling…”
Guo Shierou hadn’t confirmed their identities yet, so of course he refused to leave. He said, “Let’s wait a bit longer.” He was extremely conflicted. If they really were Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan, how should he rescue them?
Eagle Demon said, “There’s no rush. We’ll find an opportunity eventually.” In fact, he was also very uneasy.
The four of them had retreated a kilometer away. Even with the Clarity Spell, they could only see silhouettes, unable to make out any details. Guo Shierou scratched his head. “Damn it… Are they really them or not…”
Old Shuai appeared again. He said, “It’s simple to confirm.”
Guo Shierou hurriedly said, “Old Shuai, sir, ancestor… Please tell me, what’s the way?” He was truly desperate. If it were Master Luo Jie and Grandpa Nanshan, they would surely suffer heavy losses under such tactics, and might even lose their lives.
Old Shuai said, “As long as you take action yourself, you can determine their identities.”
Guo Shierou pointed at his own nose. “You want me to go? Uh, they’re altar experts at the sixth or seventh level, with terrifying Soul Altars. Wouldn’t that be suicide for me?”
Old Shuai said calmly, “What’s there to fear about Soul Altars? Your altar has the quality of a Heavenly Altar. Although it’s not a real one, its quality is better than any other altar. There’s no need to worry about Soul Fire at all…” He suddenly made such a bold claim, leaving Guo Shierou skeptical.
Eagle Demon said, “Old Shuai, this isn’t the time for jokes.”

The handsome old man snapped, “Idiot, this is the only way. Otherwise… even if you wait until the two of them die, you might not be able to figure out their identities! Can such a thing be taken lightly?” He had been staying in Guo Shier’s altar the whole time. As long as Guo Shier was in a bad mood, his soul would fluctuate, so he knew very well that these two were extremely important to Guo Shier.
Guo Shier hesitated for a moment before quickly making up his mind. He said, “I’ll give it a try!”
The handsome old man said, “If you’re going to act, you need to hurry. Their talisman array will be set up soon, right behind us. I guess once it’s complete, they’ll lure the two of them into the array… and that will be dangerous.”
Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan felt uneasy. Eagle Demon said, “Well, I’ll go with you!”
Luo Zhan said, “I’ll go too, hehe.”
Nan You said without any shame, “Good, I’ll hold down the fort!”