Chapter 4: Yimoze (Part 2)

Today’s professionals have given up on creating dictionaries of physical runes and instead use those from their inherited memories. Aside from a few key runes, they rely on converting physical runes into virtual ones, which saves a great deal of material and effort. However, after obtaining the inheritance from the Ancient Soul Altar, Guo Shieru realized that this step was indispensable, as it would affect the construction of his own soul altar in the future.

In Guo Shieru’s soul, there were already over a hundred physical runes, all of which were the most basic rune symbols, with each symbol representing a single rune. For now, he couldn’t form rune commands and could only use the physical runes individually by converting them into virtual ones. Although no immediate results were visible, he continued to refine the materials step by step to craft more rune symbols.

These rune symbols required high-quality materials to create. Had it not been for obtaining a high-level mutated golden armor this time, he wouldn’t have been able to gather the necessary materials. Luckily, he got the mutated golden armor, providing him with plenty of high-quality materials for crafting rune symbols. Once refined, these materials could be used to produce a large number of rune symbols.

The shell of the mutated golden armor was one of the best materials for rune symbols. Of course, using the shell of an alienated golden armor would be even better, but that was impossible—Guo Shieru didn’t yet have the capability to obtain such advanced materials.

In addition to refining materials, Guo Shieru also created two rune symbols to integrate into his soul. This was a painstaking process that couldn’t be accomplished overnight and required a great deal of time and effort. Yet he wasn’t in a hurry. Although converting physical runes into virtual ones was highly effective, he could also use virtual runes to meet his needs when he didn’t have rune symbols available.

Seven days later, Luo Zhan and Xu Yan finally returned together.

Guo Shieru asked with a smile, “Uncle Luo, how did it go?”

Luo Zhan’s face was glowing with pride. Xu Yan rushed to say, “Shieru, I never expected Old Luo to be so amazing. He immediately obtained the inheritance of a high-level Mad Master. With some time to digest and absorb it, and a bit of effort in learning, advancing to a high-level Mad Master shouldn’t be a problem. Heh, I really didn’t see it coming.”

Neither Guo Shieru nor Eagle Demon found it strange. They had long known that professionals from the lower continents, as long as they had the chance to receive an inheritance, would make astonishing progress. Since professionals from the lower continents faced extremely poor external conditions, achieving the local professional peak there meant they had great potential and were extremely hardworking—something professionalists from the higher continents couldn’t match.

Xu Yan added, “With Old Luo’s potential, advancing to a Great Sage Master… should be no problem.”

Guo Shier now understood that the Great Sage was actually a dividing line—only by surpassing the Great Sage could one be considered a true top-tier professional. As for how professional ranks would be divided after surpassing the Great Sage, he wasn’t entirely clear yet. But the Great Sage was the pinnacle that most professionals pursued, and surpassing it was extremely difficult.

Luo Zhan said cheerfully, “Well, I hope for your good wishes. If I can advance to the level of Great Sage, I’ll be completely satisfied for life.”

Guo Shier’s goal wasn’t the Great Sage; his goal was Li Ran’s level. Ever since he saw that Li Ran possessed a sixth-layer Soul Altar, he resolved to reach that goal, with the Great Sage being just a level he had to surpass. Of course, he wouldn’t mention it casually until he succeeded—even then, no one would believe him.

After Luo Zhan returned, Guo Shier decided to stay a few more days, ensuring Luo Zhan had time to absorb and learn. With Eagle Demon by his side, Luo Zhan benefited greatly, able to ask questions whenever he encountered difficulties. Eagle Demon was already a junior sage and had basically mastered the teachings of the Ancient Soul Altar. Though there were still some shortcomings, it was sufficient to teach Luo Zhan.

Unnoticed, they stayed in the Fire Sect for another ten-odd days. One day, the three of them bid farewell to Han Yan and Xu Yan. Han Yan felt a bit regretful; he really wanted to bring Guo Shier into the Fire Sect, but since Guo Shier didn’t want to stay, he couldn’t force him. After giving Han Yan and Xu Yan some small gifts, Guo Shier finally left with Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan.

Xu Yan saw the three off from the Fire Sect, and Guo Shier exchanged message tokens with him. Over this time, the two had become good friends. Guo Shier promised that whenever he came to the Earth Fire Continent, he would definitely visit the Fire Sect.

Making friends in this world wasn’t easy—perhaps they might never meet again after parting, so everyone was open-minded and carefree. Those who had the fortune to become friends cherished it deeply; even if they never saw each other again, the memory would remain. After waving goodbye, Guo Shier led Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan into the distance.

The Earth Fire Continent was vast, with the Fire Sect occupying only a small portion. Although it was the largest sect on the Earth Fire Continent, it was still much larger than the continent where Guo Shier had been before at the North Talisman Sect. During this time, Guo Shier had been trying to find out Luo Jie’s whereabouts but hadn’t gotten any news from the Fire Sect, indicating that Luo Jie had never been there.

After crossing vast forests, they soon arrived at a swampy area.

Guo Shier received a map of the Earth Fire Continent from the Fire Sect. It was a rough map showing the distribution of some sects and volcanoes, as well as some important regions, but it was very simple. This swamp was recorded on the map, named Yumozhe, always shrouded in light rain.

Eagle Demon asked, “Is there any explanation on the map?”

Guo Shier fiddled with the map and said, “Yumozhe—this is called Yumozhe. There’s no specific description. If we want to go there, it will take about six days by flying, or three days if we fly at full speed. But the map doesn’t mention any dangerous mutated rune insects or beasts here.”

Luo Zhan frowned and said, “A swamp… it’s hard to navigate.”

Guo Shier smiled and said, “That’s not a problem. I have a Giant Nesting Dragon, so it shouldn’t be too hard. It can move on land and water, so traversing a swamp isn’t a challenge.”

Eagle Demon said, “Stop joking. Swamps are full of traps. What if your Giant Nesting Dragon gets trapped… uh, I meant, since it’s a Soul Beast, it’s not afraid of getting stuck in a swamp.”

The Giant Nesting Dragon wasn’t a real mutated rune beast but a Soul Beast. Once trapped, as long as Guo Shier put it back into the beast rune, there would be no problem.

Guo Shier was a bit worried about the swamp. He knew well that such uninhabited places, always gloomy and damp, were most likely to give birth to strange creatures. Especially in this world, extreme environments gave rise to extreme creatures. For example, in volcanic magma, there were strange rune insects like the Great Golden Armor, which was completely unimaginable in his past life.

But they had to cross this swamp. No matter how difficult it was, they had to make it through.

With a loud roar, the Giant Nesting Dragon appeared before them.

Luo Zhan shook his head and said, “This big guy is really a bit scary.”

Guo Shier flew onto the dragon’s back and said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, Uncle Luo, come on up.”

The Giant Nesting Dragon seemed very excited. It raised its head and roared. It had been trapped in the beast rune and felt frustrated. Now that its master had set it free, it couldn’t help but shout excitedly. Guo Shier stamped his foot forcefully and scolded, “Stop making such a racket! Let’s go!”

The Giant Nesting Dragon ignored Guo Shier’s scolding. Proudly, it swished its thick tail and charged forward with a loud noise.

Guo Shier stood on the dragon’s broad forehead, with Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan standing on either side. The Giant Nesting Dragon was incredibly fast. It had been held back for too long and couldn’t resist running wildly. Its massive body moved forward like a warship, its thick feet splashing large amounts of mud and water as it stepped through the swamp.

The Giant Perch Dragon was tall and long-limbed; with each step it took, it covered a hundred meters, its speed not at all slower than that of those who flew.
Guo Shier smiled and said, “At this speed, we can get out of the swamp in just two days.”
Eagle Demon said, “Not necessarily… Shier, look behind you.”
Guo Shier turned to look and saw the Giant Perch Dragon leaving huge footprints in the swamp, which were immediately filled by flowing water, creating large waves of white foam. The muddy water in the swamp churned, and countless insects rose from the water, forming a swarm of insects that followed the Dragon. Due to its incredible speed, the swarm of insects stayed behind.
The swarm was a gray haze, and Guo Shier couldn’t see how many insects there were. Fortunately, the insects weren’t large—the biggest ones were only about a foot long. With so many of them gathered together, it was terrifying to look at.
Guo Shier exclaimed, “Damn, there are so many tiny insects!”
Luo Zhan said, “Let’s run… Although the insects are small, who knows what strange things they might do?” He knew thatsymbols insects were troublesome and vicious, so he preferred to avoid them if possible—he had no desire to fight such tiny creatures.
Guo Shier knew the characteristics ofsymbols insects better than Luo Zhan, so he immediately urged the Giant Perch Dragon to speed up.
As the Dragon moved forward, the swarm of insects behind it grew larger. Eagle Demon warned, “Shier, be careful ahead—there seems to be another swarm over there!”
Guo Shier wiped his eyes and a rune appeared, allowing him to see the distant swarm immediately. Without hesitation, he made the Dragon turn and said, “Wow, giant mosquitoes that are a foot long!”
Eagle Demon hurriedly said, “Add another rune for me.”
Guo Shier quickly added a rune to Eagle Demon’s eyes, allowing him to see the distant swarm clearly. Horrifyingly, the swarm was flying rapidly toward them.
Those foot-long black mosquitoes were clearly mutatedsymbols insects, covered in white runes. The buzzing sound of their wings could be heard from afar, creating a terrifying noise.
Luo Zhan said with a bitter smile, “This place feels eerie.”
Eagle Demon replied, “Regardless of whether it’s eerie or not… we’re already in here, so we need to find a way to get out as soon as possible.”
Guo Shier also smiled bitterly. He knew the swamp was difficult to navigate, but he hadn’t expected it to be this tough. Having experienced a swarm of golden beetles before, he knew that oncesymbols insects reached a certain scale, they became extremely difficult to deal with—unable to be fought or killed, even the lower-level mutated ones were tough to handle.

When the Giant Perch Dragon turned, Guo Shier knew it wouldn’t be easy to escape this swamp, because from the map he had seen, the swamp was narrow and ribbon-like; it would take six days to cross it, and perhaps only two days for the Giant Perch Dragon. But now that it had to turn, crossing it would take far more than two days.
Luo Zhan also saw the swarm of insects clearly and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Damn it… another bunch of mosquitoes!”
The Eagle Demon shouted, “Cross through here!”