Chapter 6: Alienation (Part 2)

Guo Shier’s expression grew increasingly serious as his soul felt intense unease. Like the man in red, he was also guessing what lay beneath the volcanic crater. As for that heavily damaged Great Golden Armor, he no longer paid it any attention. With ten Great Saints attacking it at once, that half-dead Great Golden Armor could no longer pose any threat.

Boom! Boom!
The entire volcanic crater was collapsing. The man in red stepped back, clearly excited.
Although he had lost the spirit of one Great Golden Armor, he wasn’t discouraged. Since obtaining a spirit required stripping it once, attempting to strip it again would cause severe damage, rendering it unable to retain its original strength—its level would drop by at least two. To him, it was no longer valuable, so he lost interest. As for the materials from the Level 13 mutated symbol worm, he certainly wouldn’t let them go—those were extremely precious materials.

Chirp!
A sharp, piercing cry came through the air. The man in red’s face changed drastically as he roared, “Everyone… back up!” He reached out and grabbed the severely injured Great Saint in one hand. With a slight flicker, he was already a hundred meters away. The other ten Great Saints instantly teleported away without hesitation.

The Great Golden Armor, barely clinging to life, took the opportunity to fly outward.

Boom!
The deafening explosion split the sky as the entire volcano cracked open. A huge triangular head slowly rose from below, with massive amounts of magma flowing around it. As the crater exploded, shattered rocks, soil, and magma were ejected outward. The man in red roared again, “Back! Retreat quickly!”

Guo Shier and the other two also retreated hastily in fear. The upper body of a giant Great Golden Armor emerged from the crater. It was enormous—by Guo Shier’s estimation, its upper body alone was over a hundred meters long.

Guo Shier cast a spell to determine the level of this Great Golden Armor. The information he received filled him with terror, as he couldn’t sense its level through his soul. The only thing he could confirm was that this Great Golden Armor wasn’t a mutated symbol worm but a rare alienated symbol worm—a being even more monstrous than a mutated one.

The man in red’s expression changed completely. He knew full well that his strength paled in comparison to this alienated symbol worm, meaning he was likely to lose the fight. He hesitated, as such a powerful alienated symbol worm was hard to come by. If he gave up now, he might never encounter one again.

Eagle Demon asked nervously, “Shier… should we keep watching?”

Luo Zhan’s whole body went limp. He wasn’t afraid of death, but the soul power of these aberrant sigil worms was truly terrifying; he couldn’t withstand such immense pressure.
Guo Shier sighed. Without hesitation, he said, “Let’s go! The battle here is beyond our capacity to watch.” At this level of combat, even as a junior holy master, he couldn’t stay by as a spectator—any slight involvement would mean certain doom. He certainly wouldn’t risk his life just for a show.
The three of them flew away without hesitation.
The red-robed man kept his attention on the giant golden armor. That aberrant giant golden armor had no idea how long it had lived in the magma underground; its size was unimaginable. Yet precisely because of that, it was stuck in the hard rocks and couldn’t get out, only able to emit sharp cries.
This was an opportunity, and of course, the red-robed man wouldn’t miss it. Once that aberrant giant golden armor crawled out, it might be able to escape, but those twelve senior great holy masters surely wouldn’t. He shouted, “Reform the formation—faster!” Then he sent another message token to request reinforcements.
Guo Shier didn’t know whether the red-robed man had chosen to stay and fight in the end. An advanced aberrant sigil worm represented an enormous temptation for a professional with an altar.
Flying nonstop for half a day, the three of them kept flying at high speed without looking back. As they moved further away from the battlefield, the oppressive pressure that made their souls tremble gradually diminished. Only when all three had fully recovered did Guo Shier find a cliff to land on and say, “Let’s rest for a while.”
Luo Zhan sat down in a messy manner before jumping up again, shouting, “It’s so hot!”
Eagle Demon laughed, “Of course it is! You didn’t activate protection!”
A faint glow appeared on Luo Zhan’s body as he sat down again. “I’m exhausted! Shier, where are we going?”
Guo Shier examined the map for a while before saying, “We’re going to the Fire Sect, the largest sect on the Earthfire Continent.”
Eagle Demon asked, “How far is it?”
Guo Shier replied, “Not very far. It will take… well, about seven or eight days of flying. After flying for another two days, we can leave this volcanic area and enter a desert. Beyond that desert lies the territory of the Fire Sect. Going there might help us get some news about the old man.”
Eagle Demon nodded and said, “Since it’s the largest sect, they should have more information. Alright, let’s go there.”

Guo Shier said, “I don’t know if that disciple of Senior Choumo can defeat that abnormally mutated golden-armored creature. It’s terrifying—let alone fighting it, we can’t even look at it from afar.”
Luo Zhan smiled bitterly. “If it weren’t for you guys carrying me out, I guess I wouldn’t even have the strength to leave… I’ve seen it now—no wonder you were always reluctant to take me out.”
Eagle Demon smiled bitterly. “It’s not that we don’t want to…”
Luo Zhan hurriedly said, “I understand… You don’t need to say more. Hehe, you’re afraid that after I come out, I’ll be in danger and unable to escape in time. I didn’t think much of it before, but now I’ve seen it… Actually, even you guys are extremely cautious…”
Guo Shier nodded. “Even the Great Sage must be careful in this world. Only those who reach the strength of the Red-Clothed Ones can fare a little better. But even then, when encountering abnormally mutated talisman insects like those just now, one still needs to be extremely cautious.”
In fact, Guo Shier thought that perhaps only those at the level of Choumo and Li Ran could traverse various continents and secret realms.
Luo Zhan rubbed his stomach and said, “Shier, let’s burn something to eat. Once I relax, I feel really hungry…”
Guo Shier replied, “Let’s eat some dried food first. I have plenty of marinated meat here. Eat a bit—this isn’t a place to stay for long.”
The three of them quickly ate some marinated meat and then continued flying toward the distance.
A day later, they arrived at the Gobi Desert. Guo Shier kept urging them to speed up. What should have taken two days was covered in just one. Fortunately, they didn’t encounter any powerful mutated talisman insects along the way and smoothly entered the Gobi. This Gobi was formed by cooled magma, and after countless years of weathering, it had become a vast black desert.
There were a few brown plants with sharp thorns growing in clusters among the rocks.
Eagle Demon said, “Tuo Ci! This is Tuo Ci, hehe.”
Guo Shier asked, “What is Tuo Ci?”
Eagle Demon replied with a smile, “You’ll know if you look it up in the heritage records. It’s a plant that’s extremely resistant to heat and drought. Its roots are a material used for making talismans. It’s not high-grade, but it’s quite rare.”
Guo Shier immediately transplanted a dozen or so Tuo Ci plants and stored them in his plant storage talisman. Any material for making talismans needed to be collected, whether high-grade or low-grade—as long as it was useful. For those in the talisman-making profession who went out to explore and gain experience, collecting all useful talisman-making materials was an essential task.
Luo Zhan sighed, “Sigh, we’re finally out! When I flew over the Fire Mountain region, I was always worried about falling. It’s better here—where I can stand firmly on solid ground.”

The black Gobi Desert was utterly silent, with only the hot wind blowing and making faint sounds. The land was desolate, with only a few thorny plants stubbornly growing. Upon closer inspection, tiny insects could be seen crawling across the ground. The sky was dim, with a sliver of light in the distance.

Guo Shier turned back and said, “I wonder what happened to the man in red. It’s a pity we can’t keep watching…”

Eagle Demon shook his head and said, “It’s too dangerous. It’s better not to look. If anything happens to us, there won’t even be a place to cry. Although the man in red recognized us, he might not come to rescue us if we’re in danger. Facing that mutated golden-armored beast… there’s no chance of survival.”

Guo Shier said, “I know. That’s why we left right away. I just feel a bit regretful.”

Eagle Demon said, “Yes, regret is better than dying.”

Guo Shier said, “Let’s have a good meal and rest for a day.”

Luo Zhan seemed tired. As a powerful martial artist, he shouldn’t feel tired, but the series of intense stimuli had left him exhausted. He nodded and said, “Okay, let’s rest for a while. I really want to sleep; maybe I’ll feel better.”

Guo Shier found a relatively flat area, set up a field magic house, and then used array talismans to cover it.

The magic house was an excellent place to rest. Entering the white house, a cool sensation greeted them. With the scorching heat outside, the inside was especially cool, as if air conditioning were running—making it a completely different world from the outside.

Entering the room, the three of them let out a sigh in unison. Guo Shier said, “I didn’t expect it to be so comfortable in here.”

He took out a large copper pot, attached a fire talisman to the bottom, and cooked a pot of meat soup. Then he took out some flatbreads and said, “Let’s eat first, then rest.”

Eagle Demon went outside, flew a few hundred meters away from the magic house, and looked back. To his surprise, the house had mysteriously disappeared. Only then did he fly back satisfied. It wasn’t until he was dozens of meters away that he could faintly see the white house. He understood that if there were trees or other obstacles nearby, the house wouldn’t be visible from this distance.

Returning inside, Eagle Demon said, “I’ve checked. No one could detect this magic house from over a hundred meters away… It’s very safe.”

Guo Shier laughed and said, “I knew Uncle Eagle Demon would be worried. Uncle Luo, wasn’t I right?”

Luo Zhan laughed and said, “Eagles rule the grasslands with dominance and ferocity. I didn’t expect them to be so careful.”

Eagle Demon said, “It’s necessary… On the grasslands, if I were careless, I would have died long ago. I’ve survived until now thanks to being cautious.”
The three of them chatted and laughed, enjoying the rich meat soup and flatbreads, gradually relaxing.
After eating and drinking their fill, Guo Shieru went upstairs to rest. Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan took turns—one on guard and the other resting. Since Eagle Demon was stronger than Luo Zhan, he took turns being on guard while letting Luo Zhan sleep downstairs.
Early the next morning, a sharp cry was heard. Guo Shieru jumped up abruptly from the ground. He slapped his cheeks, wondering if he was dreaming.
Eagle Demon had already rushed upstairs and said anxiously, “It’s the sound made by the Golden Armor!”