Chapter 6: The Precious Land (Part 1)

Guo Shieru frowned, deep in thought. The Eagle Demon noticed his unusual expression and asked, “Shieru, what’s wrong?” Everyone’s attention immediately turned to him.
Guo Shieru sighed inwardly. He couldn’t figure out how Li Ran managed to place two coordinates inside the talisman gate. But right now, he had no desire to go to that new place—at least not until he reached the level of an Advanced Mad Master or a Beginner Saint Master.
“Nothing. I’m hungry!”
Turning worry into hunger, Guo Shieru, having just been promoted, needed to vent his emotions, so he began eating meat and drinking soup. Lan Hu had to cook meat in two large copper pots just to feed everyone, yet Guo Shieru alone finished the meat and soup from one large pot, along with a small basket of flatbreads.
The Eagle Demon was even dizzy watching him and asked, “Shieru, how can you eat so much?”
Guo Shieru’s face turned pale from overeating. After taking the last sip of soup, he said, “I feel much better!” Everyone was confused. He forced a smile and said, “I’m going to take a nap.” He stood up and staggered back to the tent. Unusually, he didn’t practice cultivation. He collapsed onto the fur mat, holding his head and muttering, “I’ll go back! I’ll go back!”
He was somewhat panicked. The coordinates to the Secret Realm had changed to a new location, and the coordinates of other places no longer worked. This meant he couldn’t return home. Not only could Master Luo Jie and Grandpa Nanshan not be found, but now even Master Kuumu and Masteress Monier were out of reach, along with the family he had just established in the Chenxiao Sect. All of this made him extremely distressed, as he couldn’t let go of them.
After all, Guo Shieru wasn’t a child. He gradually calmed down and thought carefully for a long time before finally sighing in relief. He realized he had been overly anxious—the situation wasn’t as serious as he had imagined. Not being able to return home from here didn’t mean he couldn’t go back once he left. Moreover, he would have opportunities to enter other secret realms in the future; maybe then he could return.
Guo Shieru sat up. He had to start practicing spells to digest the food in his stomach quickly. He had eaten too much earlier, and he himself was surprised—how could such a small body hold so much food?
When practicing spells again, Guo Shieru felt a clear difference—the speed became extremely fast. Movements that used to be difficult to perform smoothly now came naturally.

It took a whole day of cultivation to stabilize his status as a Mad Master, but he still lacked inheritance and the techniques necessary for such a title. To his delight, the talismans attached to his life talisman sphere had seen an improvement in quality, especially the Ancient Flame Sparrow Talisman, the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion Talisman, and the Ancient Sword Talisman, all of which had improved significantly.

As for the Giant Nesting Dragon Talisman obtained fromKumoku (Kumoku), its quality remained unchanged. The talisman flames collected earlier gradually connected to form a dozen extremely thin rings of fire that rotated around the life talisman sphere, burning away impurities from the soul and thus improving the quality of the sphere as well.

The speed of cultivation here was indeed astonishing. Guo Shier had cultivated just twice—once to successfully advance in rank and once to further strengthen his soul.

The feeling was wonderful, so Guo Shier decided to make the most of his time to cultivate. Once his strength reached a certain level, he would be able to protect himself wherever he went.

For ten consecutive days, everyone focused on cultivating. Although the place was safe, it was located on the edge of the Black Mist Zone, so the effectiveness of cultivation was not as good as inside the zone. Once the black mist around them thinned, they planned to move on. It was then that Guo Shier understood why there were so few people here. The number of black threads emerging from the ground was limited, and with so many people cultivating together, it was impossible to stay here for long.

Finally, it was time to enter the Black Mist Zone, and everyone was somewhat excited. Their experiences here had shown them that the Black Mist Zone was the true paradise for cultivation—where one could quickly build up and strengthen their soul while advancing rapidly.

Zhou Xiaoling became the temporary leader because only she knew the Black Mist Zone; the others were unaware of it.

Guo Shier didn’t dare to unleash the Giant Nesting Dragon or the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion. Such powerful creatures would draw attention in the Black Mist Zone and attract fierce humans and beasts. Therefore, they had to enter on foot, not even daring to fly. Even though a few of them were Mad Master-level experts, they still had to be extremely cautious.

Zhou Xiaoling said, “I want to remind everyone a few things… Don’t cause trouble. Unless you need to escape, never fly… If you hear any movement from talisman beasts, hide immediately, because in the misty sea, you never know what kind of mutated talisman beasts might appear… Avoid areas where black threads gather—there’s almost certainly a fierce human or beast there… Does everyone understand?”

Everyone nodded solemnly in agreement. This was not a place for jokes; a single mistake could lead to total destruction.

Zhou Xiaoling nodded and said, “I and Sister Lan will go first, Uncle Eagle Demon will cover the rear, Big Beard and Wangwang will watch the flanks, Shier, Xuan Ai, and Fat Guy will stay in the middle. Let’s go!” With that, she dashed forward. This time their speed wasn’t very fast, but Guo Shier and the others could keep up.

Guo Shier ran at a brisk pace. With the strength of a beginner Symbol Warrior and even better physical fitness after advancing to a Symbol Sorcerer, he estimated he had the physical condition of an intermediate Symbol Warrior, so running was manageable for him. It was tough for Xuan Ai and Yang Qi, especially Yang Qi, who was a heavyset man who would gasp for breath as soon as he started running.

Yang Qi finally couldn’t hold on any longer. He activated his flight talisman and relied on its power to catch up with the group. Guo Shier followed suit, also using his flight talisman, but without leaving the ground—instead, he used its buoyancy to increase his running speed.

It was a monotonous journey. No one spoke; everyone was on high alert, fearing that a powerful mutated Symbol Beast might suddenly appear.

Suddenly, Zhou Xiaoling raised her arm, slowing down her pace. Then she ran to the left and waved for everyone to follow. Faint howls came from the right.

Guo Shier secretly admired Zhou Xiaoling’s skills—she was indeed good at minimizing risks.

Zhou Xiaoling moved nimbly through the foggy area, turning frequently to avoid unknown threats. Along the way, they didn’t encounter a single threatening person or beast. More black threads appeared on the ground, and the fog grew thicker. What had once allowed them to see up to a hundred meters away was now limited to just a few dozen meters.

The team members gathered together. It was easy to get separated here, and once lost, it would be difficult to find the group again, as no one dared to shout loudly.

If a mutated Symbol Beast of level seven or higher appeared now, it would be disastrous. Their small group was confined to a very small area with no room for maneuver. Zhou Xiaoling listened carefully for a moment, then signaled everyone to stop. She whispered, “Rest here… If anything seems off, follow me immediately. Just maintain formation.” She slowly sat down and started eating their rations.

Everyone sat down as well. After relaxing, they all appeared exhausted. Guo Shier said in a low voice, “No wonder the beginner masters didn’t dare come here. It’s really scary.”

Eagle Demon, sitting behind him, nodded and said, “Yes, I feel uneasy too. This place is very strange.”

After eating some dry food and drinking a little water, Zhou Xiaoling quietly approached Guo Shier and said, “Be careful when cultivating here. Stay alert at all times… Fortunately, we have many people, so we can take turns keeping watch while the others can focus on cultivating. That’s much better than cultivating alone.”
Guo Shier asked, “So… we’ll be cultivating while traveling, without a fixed camp?”
Zhou Xiaoling nodded. “Yes. That’s why those who cultivate here have to leave after a while to rest and adjust. They can’t keep cultivating like this indefinitely. It’s better with more people, as we can take turns keeping watch. With fewer people… although we’re more free to move around, the pressure is huge.”
Guo Shier and the others also knew how dangerous this place was, so they didn’t complain. They all made use of the time to cultivate, absorbing the black threads around them. In Guo Shier’s understanding, these threads should be called soul threads, as they could directly replenish and strengthen the soul. Even without cultivating, the power of the soul could grow slowly here.
The problem was that once the soul started expanding after inhaling soul threads, one had to wait for a while for it to digest slowly. Through various cultivation methods, the soul could become more solid, but this process took some time.
Guo Shier’s greatest advantage was that he had a scripture. By reciting it, he could quickly refine his soul and then continue absorbing soul threads. Thus, his cultivation speed was at least two to three times faster than others. This place was like heaven for Guo Shier. As long as there were no interruptions from mutated talisman beasts, his progress would be extremely fast.
This rest period was short, only about two hours. Zhou Xiaoling began urging everyone to leave and search for a safer place to cultivate.
As they traveled back and forth, several dozen days passed quickly. Everyone’s strength grew rapidly, and they were ready to advance again. Guo Shier had already advanced once more, reaching the level of Intermediate Talisman Master.
Zhou Xiaoling was close to advancing as well. Ying Mo couldn’t help but marvel at the unimaginable potential of these two children and their astonishingly fast cultivation speed.
One day, led by Zhou Xiaoling, the group arrived at a low-lying area filled with thick mist and extremely damp ground. Guo Shier exclaimed in surprise, “The soul threads here are strange. Look… several strands of soul threads are rising together.”
Zhou Xiaoling said, “This place is good, but we can’t enter inside.”
Ying Mo asked, “Why can’t we enter?”
Zhou Xiaoling smiled and replied, “It’s a swamp… too dangerous. But it’s fine at the edge, and the soul threads here are more concentrated.” She also used the term “soul threads.”

Guo Shier looked ahead thoughtfully and asked, “Should we swim along the edge of the swamp?”
Zhou Xiaoling nodded. “Yes, it’s relatively safer here.”
Guo Shier said, “Okay, let’s find a slightly drier place to stop. It’s too humid here.” The group slowly moved forward through the swamp. This time, no one rushed; they soon found a slightly raised mound whose dark surface seemed drier. Zhou Xiaoling smiled and said, “This is perfect. Shier, look down…”