Chapter 9: The Gu Xilong Family (Part 2)

Eagle Demon glanced at him. Gu Shier whispered, “Let’s join them and get through this hurdle first.” Almost all professionals thought the same way, so no one stepped forward; instead, they lined up to register.
Gu Shier quietly took out three talismans, sticking one on his own forehead and giving the other two to Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan. A rune appeared on each of their foreheads. Eagle Demon asked in confusion, “Shier, what’s this for?”
Gu Shier raised a finger to his lips, gave it a slight shake, and remained silent. Eagle Demon suddenly understood—they all had the mark of the ancient Miluo family on their foreheads, which could be recognized by those who knew about it. By covering it with an ordinary talisman, it turned into a small decorative rune.
Luo Zhan also realized this and silently praised Gu Shier for his quick thinking. After all, a single detail could often determine a person’s fate.
The registrar was a senior Grand Sage. He kept saying, “I don’t care which continent or sect you’re from. Just state your name and rank! No need for extra talk.”
It was Gu Shier’s turn. He stepped forward and said, “Gu Shier, Senior Talisman Sage.”
The Grand Sage casually recorded his talisman image, handed him an identity badge, and said, “Next! Hurry up! Don’t dawdle.”
Eagle Demon said, “Eagle Demon, Intermediate Talisman-Martial Sage.”
Luo Zhan said, “Luo Zhan, Senior Talisman-MartialCrazy Sage.”
The Grand Sage frowned and said, “Crazy Sage? The lowest rank here is Junior Sage. Go register over there.”
Gu Shier grew anxious and turned to say, “Elder, these are my attendants.”
The Grand Sage narrowed his eyes and said, “There are no attendants here… Someone, take him to the lower-ranked professionals.” Gu Shier wanted to argue further, but Luo Zhan quickly said, “Shier, no need to say more. I’ll go…” Arguing with the Gu Xilong family members was tantamount to seeking death, and he didn’t want to drag Gu Shier down with him.
Gu Shier quickly handed him several hidden talisman bags and said, “There’s some food here, along with messages from me and Uncle Eagle Demon. Once you’re settled, send me a talisman message right away!”
Luo Zhan said, “Shier, take care of yourself.”
Gu Shier suppressed his unease and anger, nodded, and said, “You take care too. We’ll be together someday! Keep this—these are some coordinates. Once you advance to Sage rank…”

Luo Zhan nodded. He knew that Guo Shier had given him the coordinates of his hometown. Although he couldn’t use them for now, it was a glimmer of hope. He said, “Eagle Demon, take good care of Shier and bring him home.”
Eagle Demon nodded solemnly. “I promise!”
Only then did Luo Zhan turn and follow a high-ranking sage to the area where mid- and low-level professionals were. Fortunately, as a high-level Symbolic Martial Master, he was the strongest among them, so he didn’t have to worry about being bullied.
Guo Shier and Eagle Demon watched Luo Zhan leave.
Someone shouted, “Stop standing around! Join the group!”
Guo Shier and Eagle Demon were speechless. Eagle Demon said, “Let’s go!” Guo Shier nodded and said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, we need to level up to the Void Spirit Mirror as soon as possible! Otherwise, we’ll die of frustration!”
Eagle Demon nodded, his face showing determination. “Let’s work hard together!”
The two followed the larger group forward. Guo Shier tied his identity token to his belt, and soon, he and Eagle Demon were assigned to the same team.
This team consisted of over a hundred people, all sage-level professionals. Led by four high-ranking sages from the Gu Xi Long family, they headed toward a large symbolic gate. No one knew where they were going. In front of the gate stood many mid- and low-level professionals. Guo Shier looked carefully but didn’t see Luo Zhan among them. He sighed inwardly, realizing they had truly been separated.
The large symbolic gate had extremely strong teleportation capabilities. Teams of professionals lined up to enter it. From time to time, someone would ask, “Where are we going?”
An angry voice replied, “Just follow! You’ll know when we get there. No talking!”
Guo Shier narrowed his eyes slightly and said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, let’s exchange message tokens.”
Eagle Demon nodded and quickly exchanged the tokens. Neither of them was sure if they would be separated after entering the gate. If forced apart, they wouldn’t be able to resist, so exchanging tokens was crucial. This world was so strange and complex; once lost in it, it would be difficult to meet again without message tokens for communication.
Both were prepared to be separated, but they both understood that as long as they remained part of the Gu Xi Long family, there would be a chance to meet again, so the message tokens were vital.
Guo Shier whispered, “Gather as much information as possible, learn as much as you can about the Gu Xi Long family, and get the coordinates if you can!” He repeated “as much as possible” three times.
Eagle Demon nodded slowly. “I will.”
Soon it was their team’s turn. Over a hundred people lined up to enter the gate. Eagle Demon still held Guo Shier’s arm as they stepped into the gate together.

This time it was fast—before they knew it, they had left the talisman gate. Yellow sand and gravel hit their faces, along with harsh howling winds. Everything ahead was grayish, so Guo Shier immediately activated the Qinglian Talisman to shield them from the sandstorm. A row of large flying vehicles was parked on the ground. As Guo Shier and the others stepped out of the talisman gate, someone shouted, “Follow the group and get on the vehicles immediately!” Guo Shier and Ying Mo joined the group and entered the flying vehicles. The interiors were spacious but very simple, with no seats or equipment, and they quickly filled up with people. A grand sage from the Gu Xi Long family said, “Sit down, keep quiet, and don’t move around.” A few minutes later, the flying vehicles began to vibrate slightly. Guo Shier noticed that the vehicles were very stable. They couldn’t see outside, but from the vibrations, they could tell the vehicles were flying. After about half a day, the vibrations stopped. The grand sage from the Gu Xi Long family said, “Line up to get off—we’ve arrived!” His tone carried a hint of relief. When they stepped off the vehicles, everyone felt a chill. It was an endless desert, covered in sand and gravel, with not a trace of greenery. A row of flying vehicles was parked on the ground, and not far away were large groups of houses, all extremely simple—mostly built from the bones and pelts of mutated talisman beasts, reinforced with some talismans, clearly constructed by professionals. Only a few decent-looking buildings stood in the center, standing out among the dilapidated houses. Someone couldn’t help but say, “What the hell is this place?” The grand sage from the Gu Xi Long family seemed pleased. He said, “This place… is indeed a hellish place! But you’ll be living here from now on! Alright, follow me!” Guo Shier smiled bitterly; life here would surely be tough. Though he didn’t know what this place was, he noticed large patches of dark brown residue on the ground along the paths—clearly bloodstains—and there was also a faint smell of blood in the air. Walking along the path, they saw many professionals pointing at them. Upon closer inspection, these professionals looked like beggars, wearing whatever they could find, most of them with bare chests and large leather robes tied around their waists. Guo Shier said, “It must be very cold at night here!” The scorching sunlight blinded their eyes, and the heat rising from the ground made it uncomfortable, but with the Qinglian Talisman active, Guo Shier didn’t feel too bad. Soon, the group arrived at the center of the residential area.

Several Arch-Sages stood on an open area, waiting for the group to arrive. About eight hundred professionals were assigned here this time, with only thirty or so being high-level professionals; the rest were mid- to low-level professionals, which left them dissatisfied. Moreover, among the high-level professionals assigned this time, there was no Arch-Sage— the best one was merely a High Sage.

One of the Arch-Sages complained, “At least give us a few Arch-Sages, damn it… Such a bunch of low-level trash. Only dozens are useful, yet you sent hundreds of useless ones over.”

Another Arch-Sage said, “Stop complaining. It’s good enough that anyone came. This isn’t the central battlefield. The passage under our responsibility won’t have too strong enemies… This time, it was even Lord De Yu who personally went to recruit more people. We haven’t had any reinforcements here in decades.”

The first man snapped, “If we don’t get more reinforcements soon, this passage is doomed! Hmph, annoying. Every time there’s a supply, it’s just a little bit. Look… this camp has turned into a beggars’ camp. How can we command battles like this?”

Guo Shieru followed the group to the open area.

One Arch-Sage said, “Sages, stand over here. Mad Masters, stay where you are. Those below Master rank, go over there!”

Guo Shieru, Eagle Demon, and over thirty others moved to one side. He found that there weren’t many Mad Masters either—only about a hundred—and the rest were Masters or those below that rank.

The Arch-Sage said, “Alright, first let me explain. This place is the Bo Yan Domain. It’s not the continent as you understand it, nor is it a secret realm. The Bo Yan Domain… can be considered a kind of passage. Its area is much larger than that of a secret realm, even wider than some continents.”

Guo Shieru couldn’t help asking, “Why did you bring us here?”

The Arch-Sage replied, “To hunt down the mutated humans who escaped! And the mutated talisman beasts they control!”

Guo Shieru remembered the imprisoned mutated humans he saw when he first arrived, and his scalp tingled with dread.

One Arch-Sage said, “Alright, all the Sages, follow me.” He turned and walked into a hall, with the Sages following closely behind. The hall was very spacious. With over thirty Sages standing in it, it still seemed sparsely populated. The Arch-Sage said, “Each of you take a talisman from the table. It contains information about the terrain of the Bo Yan Domain, things to be cautious about, and the rules here. Go to the camp and pick an open area to build your own houses or tents. Gather here in five days, and I’ll assign tasks.”

On a long table lay a pile of talismans.

Guo Shier and Eagle Demon stepped forward with the others to take a talisman. The great sage said again, “The talisman also lists the main people in charge of the camp; you can take a look for yourselves… Alright, you may leave now.”
One of the sages said, “Is that it? Already over?” His tone was full of reluctance.
Guo Shier couldn’t help but smile bitterly. He felt like they were just old rags, thrown away in some inconspicuous corner.
The great sage said coldly, “What more do you want? To be worshipped?” It seemed he was ready to kill anyone who complained further.