Chapter 6: The Precious Land (Part 2)

Threads of souls intertwined and rising upward resembled dense aquatic plants floating and swaying, creating a rather eerie sight. The number of such soul threads here was several times greater than in the foggy area. The thick mist formed a sea of fog, making it impossible to see anything more than ten meters away.

Guo Shieru announced, “We’ll stay here for six to eight hours. Everyone, make use of this time to rest, eat, and practice. Once the time is up, we’ll move on.”
The group responded in agreement. Zhou Xiaoling reminded them again, “Don’t scatter. Rest in formation.”

After sitting down, everyone began eating dried rations. In the foggy area, no one dared to cook food, as the aroma could attract danger, so they could only rely on various dried foods and cured meats.

Guo Shieru ate something hastily before immediately focusing on practicing. With such a precious place at hand, how could he afford to relax? Among them, he was the most diligent in practicing, thanks to the Soul Scriptures he could use. Even Zhou Xiaoling couldn’t match his speed.

Sitting on aanimal skin mat, Guo Shieru began practicing spells, which allowed him to control the soul threads around him. Every time he cast a spell, a spectacular scene unfolded—as the soul threads rushed in swiftly under its influence. At first, everyone was surprised, but now it had become commonplace.

Zhou Xiaoling felt frustrated. When she practiced, no waves of soul threads would gather around her. She could only attract those within a few meters, while Guo Shieru could draw in threads from up to a hundred meters away. The difference was enormous.

A large number of soul threads gathered around Guo Shieru, completely enveloping him. Zhou Xiaoling quietly approached him, sat down without hesitation, and competed with him for the soul threads. Unfortunately, she didn’t have Guo Shieru’s extraordinary absorption ability, but the advantage was clear—practicing beside him was like practicing in the heart of the foggy area.

The others had also discovered this secret long ago. So whenever Guo Shieru started practicing spells, they would all sit within five meters of him to capture the incoming soul threads.

With Guo Shieru as a human absorption device, everyone in the team reaped great benefits. Moreover, they noticed that since Guo Shieru attracted so many soul threads, a large amount of the fog in the air dissipated, covering the entire team. Without getting close, outsiders would never be able to detect them.

Guo Shier’s soul was like a hungry giant, frantically devouring soul threads. He also had a powerful weapon: various talismanic flames floating within his soul. These flames surrounded his life talisman sphere, burning away impurities in his soul before being refined through soul scriptures—a process that no one else could accomplish.

Soon, everyone had absorbed enough soul threads and left Guo Shier’s side to practice and digest them on their own. Without soul scriptures for refinement or advanced talismanic flames to burn away impurities, they could only passively absorb them, making their efficiency incomparable to Guo Shier’s.

Zhou Xiaoling stood up to inspect the surroundings. She only had one hour to practice in the black mist area; any longer would be pointless, so her daily task was to practice for an hour. The others had varying durations—some practicing for up to thirty minutes, others just a dozen minutes. In fact, even without practicing, one could grow stronger in the black mist area.

Masters who entered the black mist area, as long as they could stay alive, could advance toCrazy Master level after just over a decade. Yet this place was extremely dangerous. One might maintain a high level of alertness for half a year or a year, but a single moment of carelessness could mean utter ruin. It was the most eerie and terrifying training ground.

Guo Shier practiced for a longer time—spending at least three hours sitting and then an hour reciting scriptures. In total, he needed four hours of practice to advance from a beginnerCrazy Master to an intermediateCrazy Master in such a short time.

It wasn’t just Guo Shier’s soul absorbing soul threads; the beast talismans and insect talismans in his life talisman sphere were also absorbing them. Guo Shier himself wasn’t aware of this. He only felt that these talismans were changing, their quality slowly improving as they underwent gradual transformation.

After four hours, Guo Shier let out a sigh of relief and stood up satisfied. Eagle Demon said, “Shier, you’d better take a nap. We’ll set off in a few hours.”

Sun Min’er, Peng Yuanwang, Lan Hu, Yang Qi, and Xuan Ai were all fast asleep, while Zhou Xiaoling and Eagle Demon kept watch. Sleeping here was also a good way to restore one’s soul, but it was very dangerous and required someone to guard.

Guo Shier nodded. “Okay, I’ll take a nap.” He knew the benefits of sleep, especially after absorbing so many soul threads. Although he could refine them through soul scriptures, only sleep could calm his soul.

Guo Shier collapsed onto the animal skin mat, curled up, and immediately fell into deep sleep. Four hours of practice had left him utterly exhausted.

Zhou Xiaoling couldn’t help but smile wryly.

Eagle Demon asked, “Dingding, what’s wrong?”

Zhou Xiaoling said, “I can’t understand why Guo Shier can cultivate so fast. No matter how hard I try, I can’t keep up.” She too had remarkable potential and worked extremely hard in cultivation, being a disciple heavily nurtured by the sect. Yet compared to Guo Shier, she felt deeply discouraged.

Eagle Demon laughed and said, “Don’t be discouraged. You’re amazing too. Hehe, don’t compare yourself to Shier. That kid… is called a little demon or little monster among us… Normal people can’t compare to him.”

Zhou Xiaoling burst into laughter, showing a hint of her childhood demeanor, and said, “Hehe, ‘little demon’—that’s a great description… Uncle Eagle Demon, isn’t Shier just a little monster! This speed of cultivation is the first time I’ve seen it… It’s a bit scary. Indeed, it’s not something a normal person should have.”

Eagle Demon said, “Ding ding, you should sleep a bit more. I’ll keep watch here. It’s really not easy for you kids to survive.”

Zhou Xiaoling sensed the care in Eagle Demon’s words and felt a bit moved. She said, “No need, uncle. I already slept for an hour—enough… You can’t guard alone.”

Eagle Demon said, “Alright! Then I’ll go check the surroundings. It’ll take about ten minutes. Be careful.”

Zhou Xiaoling agreed. She listened for a while and said, “Nothing seems to be wrong. Uncle, go ahead.”

Eagle Demon silently slipped into the dark mist.

Zhou Xiaoling sat down and gazed at Guo Shier, who was fast asleep, lost in thought.

…

Guo Shier was in deep slumber, while profound changes were taking place within his soul. His life talisman sphere, nourished by his soul, was gradually improving in quality. Colorful talisman flames formed chains around it, emitting thin flames from time to time to refine the sphere. Yet Guo Shier was unaware of any of these changes.

Roar!

A muffled roar sounded. The sound waves pierced through the thick mist and echoed in the air, instantly waking everyone who was asleep.

Guo Shier woke up almost the moment the roar occurred. He quickly opened his eyes, sat up, and asked, “What was that sound?”

Zhou Xiaoling whispered, “Shh!”

The others also sat up, rubbing their eyes and looking around dazedly. Just as Yang Qi was about to speak, Sun Min’er covered his mouth. He stared at Zhou Xiaoling. Everyone knew Yang the Fatso had a terrifying voice, and if he spoke now, it would surely cause trouble.

Roar!

The sound became a bit clearer. Zhou Xiaoling whispered, “Why hasn’t Uncle Eagle Demon returned yet?”

Guo Shier immediately grew anxious and asked, “Uncle Eagle Demon… what’s wrong?”
Zhou Xiaoling whispered, “He went on an inspection… he hasn’t returned yet… There he is! Uncle’s back!”
Eagle Demon silently emerged from the thick fog. He raised his hand to signal everyone to gather and said in a low voice, “Let’s retreat! There’s a mutated talisman beast—unknown type… it’s very close to us!”
Guo Shier whispered, “Let’s head in the opposite direction… that’s where the sound is coming from. Turn around!” Having encountered similar situations many times before entering the foggy area, everyone remained calm.
Zhou Xiaoling said in a low voice, “Retreat in battle formation!”
Roar! Roar…
Zhou Xiaoling exclaimed in panic, “Oh no, it’s coming this way! Hurry up! Fly low!” She took the lead, flying rapidly just above the ground. Flying here was extremely dangerous; one must never fly high—only low. But due to the high speed, it was easy to encounter mutated talisman beasts, and escaping would be impossible at that point.
One after another, they took to the air. Eagle Demon kept watch behind them, whispering, “Be quieter!”
After flying low for a while, Guo Shier shouted softly, “Stop! Stop now!”
Fortunately, the thick fog prevented sounds from traveling far. Zhou Xiaoling, having reached the level of a Talisman Martial Master, was highly perceptive. She slowed down and gradually stopped, asking, “Shier, what’s the matter?”
Guo Shier said, “We’re running in the wrong direction!”
The ground was trembling slightly, and faint rumbling footsteps could be heard, with the roars growing louder. Eagle Demon caught up and urged, “Don’t stop… keep going!”
Guo Shier said, “Fly this way—seems we’re on the path the mutated talisman beast is taking!”
Eagle Demon, knowing the kid was clever, immediately said, “Good! Follow Shier’s lead!”
Zhou Xiaoling said nothing and turned to fly in the direction Guo Shier indicated, with the others following closely behind. Guo Shier flew low and said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, ignore what’s behind us. Fly with me.”
After flying for a while, Guo Shier’s expression became strange. He couldn’t help but say, “Strange… that thing has been chasing us the whole time?”
Zhou Xiaoling waved her hand to signal another turn.
After several turns, the footsteps and roars behind them grew even louder.
Eagle Demon shouted, “That’s not right!”
Guo Shier also yelled, “This isn’t working… we need to find out why!”
Zhou Xiaoling cried, “Don’t stop!”
Roar!
This time, the roar was right at their doorstep.