Chapter 8: No Looking Back (Part 1)

The two attackers came at him from left and right. Guo Shier suddenly leaped into the air and said, “Man on the left, woman on the right… which one should I catch?” Halechi followed suit and soared into the air as well. The two were strange—they couldn’t fly but could jump extremely high. They both jumped over ten meters into the air, yet that height was far too low to reach those already in the air. The woman, at her highest point, suddenly drew her bow, aimed at Halechi, and shot an arrow.
The other man swung his greatsword in a wide arc, sending a blue beam of light like a ribbon toward Guo Shier.
Halechi roared in anger, reached out, and caught the arrow in his palm. Instantly, a smell of roasted meat filled the air. It turned out the arrow was spinning at high speed, with an invisible spiral force on its shaft that instantly scorched the palm of Halechi’s hand.
Guo Shier didn’t try to block it. Instead, he teleported behind the man. His moonblade transformed into a golden beam that struck the man’s legs, sending him tumbling through the air before flinging him high into the sky. Li Ran exclaimed, “Great! Leave it to me!”
Qi Wuzhen struck immediately. A red flame appeared on the skeleton-like female archer in an instant. As if covered in gasoline, the flame ignited violently like a struck match, and in moments, the woman turned to ashes.
These two were clearly weaker than the previous one and couldn’t withstand Qi Wuzhen’s flame at all.
Li Ran had already captured the man, binding him tightly with a purple chain. When everyone landed, Guo Shier asked, “Why did they attack?”
Qi Wuzhen replied, “I don’t know. Last time we came here, many such strange people attacked us. We still don’t understand why. One thing is certain—they’re not normal humans; they seem to be controlled by some force.”
Li Ran dragged the man over using the purple chain and said, “I’m puzzled. This man emits a sense of death—he seems to have been dead for a long time. Yet he still retains his combat strength, even improving it. What’s the trick?” He placed his hand on the man’s head, but the moment he touched him, he recoiled as if shocked.
He exclaimed in surprise, “Damn it! Can’t touch him!”

Qi Wu Zhen asked, “What’s wrong?” Unconvinced, she reached out and touched it gently, only for flames to burst from her fingers immediately. She cursed, “Damn it, it’s contagious… Forget it, let’s head into the Barren Lands as soon as possible.” The flames intensified violently, turning the man into ashes in an instant.

Guo Shier asked curiously, “What is it that makes Big Brother and Sister Zhen so wary?”

Li Ran smiled bitterly and said, “I don’t know what it is, but the moment I touch it, I feel an extreme danger—it’s a warning from my soul…” He looked up at Qi Wu Zhen.

Qi Wu Zhen nodded. “Yes, that’s exactly it. It’s extremely dangerous. It seems that if you touch it, you’ll turn into them.”

Everyone was shocked upon hearing this. Zhen Wu Ji said, “In that case, we can’t let them get close.”

Li Ran said, “Hmm. We either drive them away or kill them from a distance. I don’t know if we’ll encounter such things once we truly enter the Barren Lands.”

Qi Wu Zhen said, “Last time, we killed a few strong guys here, but this time we haven’t encountered any similar experts.”

Guo Shier thought to himself, “I see. Big Brother and Sister Zhen have already dealt with the strongest experts. I guess the enemies we face now are quite ordinary. The road ahead will likely be tough.” He was very depressed. What worried him most was the possibility that he might not be able to return to the Spell World, leaving Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan behind. What disappointed him even more was that he had completely lost the chance to find枯木 and Monier. He sighed secretly. At this point, he didn’t know what to do.

Recalling his life in the Spell World, Guo Shier knew that was the turning point of his life. In his past life, he had never learned such miraculous combat skills, nor had he been able to strengthen his soul to such a degree. If his soul was a tiny flame in his past life, then in this life, it was an erupting volcano—completely incomparable.

In his next reincarnation, as long as he could take good care of his soul, he would become an expert as soon as his soul awakened. Even if he couldn’t continue cultivating his soul, he could use its power to learn other skills. He believed his strength could grow rapidly.

Li Ran said, “It’s here. Xiao Zhenzhen and I will work together to break through the space. You all stay back and protect us. If you spot anyone attacking, eliminate them immediately—without hesitation.”

Everyone nodded in agreement and unleashed their sacred treasures. Guo Shier had already noticed suspicious movements. He said, “Hurry up! There are quite a few… people. They’re coming!” With that, he drew out his Moon Blade and swept through the ruins ahead with a loud crash, preventing the enemies from using them as cover.

Zhen Wuji and the others also launched attacks, instantly leveling the ruins within a kilometer. Ezekiel and Meili guarded Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen on either side, responsible for defending against those who approached closely. But with Zhen Wuji around, it was difficult for those people to get close.

Li Ran activated Break Boundary and said, “Work together to break through the boundary!”

Seven or eight people suddenly appeared on the periphery, letting out roars that were not human-like. Guo Shier said, “I don’t know what these things are, but even after one of them dies, they’re still so powerful. Kill them!” His Moon Blade transformed into a golden torrent, rushing toward the two attackers. The others also unleashed their own sacred weapons.

Among them, even Halechi, the weakest, was stronger than these living dead.

In an instant, several living dead were killed. At that moment, Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen simultaneously activated Break Boundary. With a loud roar, they forced open a spatial rift. Li Ran shouted, “Hurry in!”

Ezekiel and Meili, being the closest, flew in first. Guo Shier and the others followed quickly, with Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen entering last.

As they passed through the rift, Li Ran glanced back and saw countless dark shadows moving. In just a few moments, hundreds of living dead arrived from all directions—it was unclear where they had been hiding before.

……

The Barren Land was even more desolate, filled with a strange force and a strong sense of death. As soon as Guo Shier entered this place, his first thought was to leave as soon as possible; the uncomfortable feeling stemmed from deep within him.

The ground was crisscrossed with huge cracks, and countless bones lay scattered across it.

Guo Shier asked, “Brother, you guys haven’t been in here before, have you?”

Li Ran replied, “Of course not. If we had, we wouldn’t be able to get out.” He waved for Qi Wu Zhen to come over, and the two tried it out—even with Break Boundary, they couldn’t return. They didn’t know why, but the spatial power here was extremely strong. He said, “We need to find a suitable place to leave… This place is very strange. Everyone, be careful.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen didn’t deactivate Break Boundary; the spindle-shaped barrier remained in front of them. Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen each chanted spells, causing the barrier to spin rapidly and emit threads as thin as silk. Guo Shier observed carefully and found those threads terrifying—seemingly constantly tearing apart space, with ripples that were chilling.

At this moment, the group was incredibly united. Those who usually quarreled remained calm, and everyone—whether it was Ezekiel, Mei Li, or Halchi—was honest. All eyes were fixed on Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen as they conducted their tests. Gradually, the rotation of the Rift slowed down, and the threads gradually converged at one end. Li Ran looked up and said, “It’s in this direction. Let’s go!” He pointed at the Rift, which immediately flew forward. He followed closely behind, saying, “Everyone, keep up! I don’t have time to wait for others.” The group flew after him without delay or hesitation; causing trouble here would be suicide. Guo Shier watched the Rift closely. It emitted streams of colored light and moved at great speed, leaving him barely able to keep up. Professionals couldn’t match the speed of the Rift, but fortunately, Li Ran occasionally cast spells to slow it down. Greenery gradually appeared on the ground—sparse wild grasses at first, then large areas of grassland. Soon, scattered low trees appeared, and the terrain became uneven. Li Ran was surprised and said, “The life energy here is growing stronger.” This life energy made everyone feel much better. Among the many dead trees, there were also many lush trees, creating a strange contrast. Still, there were no animals here, not even birds; everything was silent. The group followed Li Ran for half a day. The forest below had turned lush green, with hardly any dead trees visible. By then, birds were already flying in the sky. Guo Shier scanned with his spiritual senses and found that the forest was full of vitality, with all kinds of animals—seemingly free from the destructive influence of death energy. The Rift continued to fly in the air, but its speed slowed further. Li Ran said cheerfully, “That’s almost enough. Flying a little more should make it more suitable for the Rift.” A mountain ridge appeared, and the group flew above it. Li Ran pointed, and the Rift hovered in midair. He said, “This is it. Let’s see if we can tear through space… and get out of this hellhole.” Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen used the Rift again, but after casting over a dozen spells, their expressions turned grim. The others watched in terror. Guo Shier held back from asking, but Halchi couldn’t resist. He asked, “Uh… is there a problem?” The Rift trembled violently, emitting a burst of light, but it failed to tear through space.

Li Ran said, “No, stop, stop for a moment…” He cast a spell to prevent Qi Wu Zhen from continuing to drive it. Qi Wu Zhen shook his head and said, “This is going to be troublesome…” Hearing this, everyone broke into a cold sweat. It wasn’t just troublesome—being trapped here was even worse than being trapped in the outside world, which at least was a small world.
Guo Shier finally couldn’t hold back and asked, “Can’t we get out?”
Li Ran shook his head. “It’s not that. This place isn’t suitable. We need to conduct experiments to find a proper location.”
Qi Wu Zhen explained, “It’s possible to force our way through space, but the cost is high. Some of the methods used to break through boundaries cannot be used unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
Guo Shier asked curiously, “What special methods?”
Li Ran smiled. “Don’t worry… Hehe, those special methods include breaking through the secret realms within the boundary. We’ve sealed several small secret realms inside. When we encounter a space that’s particularly difficult to break through, we use these secret realms to force our way in. But… there aren’t many such secret realms in the boundary. Using one means losing another, so we won’t do that unless it’s absolutely necessary.”