Chapter 1: Coercion (Part 1)

Seeing everyone staring at him, Guo Shier said calmly, “There’s no need to panic. I already said it—Juxi Dragon is hunting, and those mutated rune beasts were driven here by it!”
Sun Min’er lost all her earlier excitement from trying to escape. Her legs gave out, and she sat down on the animal skin, forcing a wry smile. “Oh my god, I was terrified… I thought the drop point had changed. Ugh, my heart almost jumped out of my mouth—so scary!”
Peng Yuanwang placed a hand on Sun Min’er’s shoulder, his face pale with fear. Swallowing hard, he said, “I’d rather stay in the sect for the rest of my life… This place is really terrifying!”
Eagle Demon cursed, “Useless!” Neither of them dared speak again, turning their gaze toward the barren forest.
The massive figure of Juxi Dragon appeared. It swiftly pounced on one of the mutated rune beasts, pressing its thick forelimbs down on its prey before biting its head. With a crack, the beast’s head shattered. Then a burst of green flame erupted, turning its soul and flesh to ashes in an instant. Juxi Dragon swallowed its essence.
Guo Shier quickly cast a spell. As if on stimulants, Juxi Dragon roared and rushed forward, blocking the path to the barren forest. Its tail swept wildly, flinging two approaching mutated rune beasts far away. They tumbled through the air before crashing hard to the ground.
The other mutated rune beasts scattered immediately, none daring to approach the forest again. Juxi Dragon held down a one-horned blood rhinoceros, roaring triumphantly toward the sky.
Suddenly, the Dark-Winged Scorpion lunged out. It targeted one of the flung beasts, stabbing fiercely with the stinger at the end of its raised tail. It was a level-four mutated pig, four meters long and covered in black fur. Hit by the stinger, it let out a long scream before collapsing to the ground. The Dark-Winged Scorpion’s venom was deadly; the mutated pig couldn’t resist at all.
The tiny scorpions on the Dark-Winged Scorpion’s back also rushed out, quickly covering the mutated pig’s body. The scorpion used its two pincers to grip the pig’s front and back limbs, tearing its body apart with ease. The tiny scorpions swarmed over, emitting chirping sounds followed by loud gnawing noises that made one’s scalp tingle.
Juxi Dragon held the one-horned blood rhinoceros but didn’t eat it. Instead, it roared at Guo Shier. Guo Shier smiled. “Good, is this prey left for me?”
Juxi Dragon roared triumphantly.
Guo Shier said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, could you please kill that one-horned blood rhinoceros?”

The Eagle Demon smiled maliciously as he stared at Sun Min’er and Peng Yuanwang, saying, “You two, go kill that One-Horned Blood Rhinoceros!”
At these words, Sun Min’er’s body went weak, and she muttered softly, “The pockmarked one isn’t pockmarked… This is just a trick!” She said with a bitter smile, “I… I don’t have any powerful talismanic weapons. How am I supposed to kill it…?”
Peng Yuanwang had a mournful expression, his face filled with fear. He wasn’t only afraid of the One-Horned Blood Rhinoceros but also of the roaring Giant Nest Dragon. He agreed, “Yeah, yeah, we can’t kill it!”
The Eagle Demon flew into a rage, “You two fools! Can’t you see that the One-Horned Blood Rhinoceros is being held down by the Giant Nest Dragon? Even if you weren’t great Talismanic Warriors, just one Talismanic Warrior could kill it! Are you going or not? If not, get lost!” He finally lost his temper. He had spent almost his entire life in battles and couldn’t stand such cowardly people.
Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh, “Xiao Lanzi, how did you get robbed by them back then? If you had fought back bravely, I think… it would have been them who fled.”
Lan Hu’s face turned slightly red as she said softly, “I just got in when those three surrounded me. They said they didn’t want to kill me, just my talisman bag. I felt I had no chance of winning. If I lost, I was afraid… so I handed over my talisman bag, and then they left. Who would have thought they were so weak…”
Guo Shier laughed, “Regretful now, huh? Haha, you should have been tougher back then…”
Sun Min’er, though looking fierce, spoke in a gentle voice. When silent, he still carried a sense of intimidation.
Sun Min’er and Peng Yuanwang didn’t dare resist. They obediently stood up and shakily walked toward the One-Horned Blood Rhinoceros, holding their talisman knives, looking as if facing a formidable enemy.
The Eagle Demon laughed at their actions, saying, “What are you two guys afraid of?”
With no other choice, the two forced themselves to go forward, looking as if they were heading to the execution ground. Their demeanor was far from the agility they showed when trying to escape. Yet, no matter how slowly they moved, they were still getting closer to the Giant Nest Dragon. Looking up at its huge head, their legs trembled like sieves.
Facing a Level 4 One-Horned Blood Rhinoceros, they could still muster courage, but standing in front of a mutated Giant Nest Dragon nearly at Level 8, with its aura and pressure, they were on the verge of collapsing. Their only thought was: This is fucking terrifying.
Guo Shier shouted, “Hurry up! Otherwise, I won’t be able to control the Giant Nest Dragon!”

Sun Min’er and Peng Yuanwang were both terrified into tears—this was serious. Gathering her courage, Sun Min’er shouted loudly, “I… we… we’ll… we’ll do it quickly! Please… please control yourself… okay?” Not only were his legs trembling, but his whole body was weak, and the talisman sword in his hand shook uncontrollably as well.

Peng Yuanwang’s face was pale. He was even worse off than Sun Min’er, unable to speak, staring blankly at the giant dragon’s pale golden eyes.

Eagle Demon sighed and said, “Twelve, give up. The two of them are really not fit for battle!”

Yang Qi suddenly roared, “Min’er! Wangwang! If you can’t kill the One-Horned Blood Rhinoceros, you’re dead! No one here except Twelve will help you! Kill it!” His voice was already loud, but after that sudden shout, it became even more thunderous.

Sun Min’er stopped trembling immediately. As if she had realized something, she grabbed Peng Yuanwang and said, “If we want to survive… we have to kill it! Otherwise, we’ll never get out!”

Peng Yuanwang was still shaking, barely conscious from fear. “This… this dragon… it’s scary…”

Sun Min’er didn’t reply. Instead, she slapped him hard. Peng Yuanwang’s head swayed as he asked, “Why did you hit me?”

Sun Min’er said, “If you’re too afraid to die… we’ll really die! Go! Kill it!”

Peng Yuanwang nodded blankly. “Kill who?”

Sun Min’er sighed. “Alright, I’ll save myself. If you don’t go… I’ll go!” With a shout, she charged at the One-Horned Blood Rhinoceros with her talisman sword.

Everyone was amazed. Despite being pushed to the brink, this guy could still unleash his strength!

Sun Min’er rushed in front of the One-Horned Blood Rhinoceros and swung her sword wildly. The poor creature, held down by the giant dragon, couldn’t resist at all and could only let out cries of pain.

Eagle Demon shouted, “Idiot! Cutting like this is useless! Pierce it from below the neck!”

Sun Min’er immediately understood. With a roar, she stabbed the sword into the neck of the One-Horned Blood Rhinoceros.

It was only then that Peng Yuanwang realized this was his last chance to prove himself. He saw that he would fail alone. If he had to wander through the Bloody Secret Realm by himself, he would die either from mutated talisman beasts or starvation—there was almost no chance of survival.

Peng Yuanwang screamed, “I’ll help you!” He also charged forward.

Guo Shier said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, it’s done… Keep pressing them—those two guys… won’t become useful unless pushed!” The Eagle Demon shook his head helplessly, while Lan Hu, Xuan Ai, and Yang Qi laughed heartily. It was really funny to hear such words coming from a child.

With Sun Min’er and Peng Yuanwang’s abilities, killing a trapped One-Horned Blood Rhinoceros was no problem. In moments, the rhinoceros stopped moving. Only then did the Giant Perch Dragon step back two steps. Since this was prey captured for Guo Shier, it didn’t absorb its essence but instead roared at Guo Shier.

Guo Shier smiled and said, “Alright, go hunt by yourself. Don’t kill anyone…”

The Giant Perch Dragon turned and left to search for more prey.

Sun Min’er and Peng Yuanwang were covered in blood, looking like heroes returning from a victorious battle. Their legs no longer trembled, and they stood straight, returning with their talisman knives held high.

Guo Shier said, “Xuan Ai, Fat Yang, go collect materials—bones and meat both!”

Xuan Ai and Yang Qi were happy to take on this task. They nodded and rushed toward the corpse of the One-Horned Blood Rhinoceros. Ever since suffering from hunger, Xuan Ai had developed a great interest in the bones and meat of talisman beasts, which he had previously ignored.

Sun Min’er and Peng Yuanwang approached the Eagle Demon and said proudly, “Uncle Eagle Demon, the mission is complete!”

The Eagle Demon had never seen such people before. They had killed a trapped One-Horned Blood Rhinoceros as if it were some great achievement, and now they came to him to claim credit. He didn’t know what to say.

“Hmm… Consider it a passing grade. The task for tomorrow remains the same!”

Sun Min’er patted her chest and said, “No problem! Leave it to me!”

The Eagle Demon said expressionlessly, “Good! Peng Yuanwang, how about you?”

Peng Yuanwang replied, “I’ll do my best, give it my utmost effort!” He was slightly better than Sun Min’er, at least realizing his own strength was not enough.

The Eagle Demon nodded and said, “Go rest. Tomorrow’s task will be tough!”

At the thought of tomorrow’s task, their earlier enthusiasm vanished instantly. Lan Hu stepped forward and said, “Let’s continue… We need to discuss how to deal with the mutated talisman beasts tomorrow.”

…

Early the next morning, the group was awakened by the Eagle Demon for breakfast. He said, “Today, neither I nor Shier will fight. You guys need to take care of a Level 4 mutated talisman beast. Figure out how to coordinate… Discuss it among yourselves. I and Shier will just watch. Don’t expect us to intervene… Once you’ve developed a good understanding, we’ll head to the Blood Mist Area.”

Guo Shier said, “With the strength of you three great talisman martial artists and two great talisman casters, dealing with third- or fourth-grade mutated talisman beasts is a piece of cake… If you lack confidence, not to mention fourth-grade mutated talisman beasts, even ordinary ones would be beyond your ability to fight!”
Xuan Ai sighed, “Sigh, I feel like Shier is older than me… He talks just like my master.”
Eagle Demon said, “The Giant Nest Dragon has already gone after the mutated talisman beasts. Hehe, it won’t be long before they arrive!”