Chapter 10: The Thousand Rocks Continent (Part 1)

Yi Qiaolong was in a large room, surrounded by maids and servants as he assigned tasks. When he saw Guo Shier and the others enter, he stepped forward with a smile and said, “I’ll take you to get identity badges. On the Gu Xi Long Continent, it’s impossible to move an inch without one.”
To Guo Shier’s surprise, the professionals who handled identity badges were right inside the fortress. In other words, the family led by Ban Xi Long could issue their own identity badges, which was quite unusual.
After leaving behind a symbolic mark to record their professional ranks, the three of them quickly received their identity badges. Guo Shier checked it and found a note stating that he was a subordinate professional of the Ban Xi Long family. On the Gu Xi Long Continent, he could only go to designated places; many areas were off-limits to him.
The professional who made the identity badges also gave him a map indicating where he could go and where it was forbidden.
Guo Shier inwardly sighed. The Gu Xi Long family was indeed an ancient family of spellcasters, clearly very experienced in this area, making it difficult for outsiders to infiltrate. But he didn’t care—he never intended to join the Gu Xi Long family anyway. Once the time was right, he would leave immediately.
Yi Qiaolong led the three of them, now with their identity badges, to a large hall.
As soon as they entered, they were stunned. It was a huge dining hall, with long tables filled with various steaming meats, buckets of rice, and baskets of flatbreads. The tables were low, so people had to sit cross-legged to eat.
Yi Qiaolong said, “This is where we eat. There’s food available anytime.”
There were men and women in the hall, all high-level professionals. Yi Qiaolong greeted them casually; he knew most of them well. He said, “I’ve been busy all day and haven’t eaten yet. Let’s eat together.” He waved for a servant to clear a table and said, “Sit down.”
Soon, the servant brought steaming pieces of boiled meat, large bowls of hot soup, as well as rice and flatbreads.
Guo Shier noticed that whether on lower or higher continents, even the Gu Xi Long family ate similar foods. Unless it was special food studied by spellcasters, ordinary meals mainly consisted of boiled or roasted meat, served with rice or pasta, along with meat soup or similar dishes. This was almost the case across all the continents he had visited.
Eagle Demon sat down and said with a smile, “I still prefer this kind of food.”
Guo Shier smiled slightly and asked, “Grandpa Yi Qiao, where are we going after eating?”

Yi Qiaolong said, “Go to the second young master. He has something to tell you.”
Guo Shier thought, “Is it time already? What will he ask me to do?” He nodded and said, “Okay, let’s go after we finish eating.”
Yi Qiaolong said, “You go. Tell the other two to head back first.”
Guo Shier asked, “Can I take them with me? It’s not necessary for us to enter together; they can wait for me outside.”
Yi Qiaolong smiled and said, “Of course. If you want them to wait, then go together.” He seemed very relaxed.
Guo Shier asked again, “Are all the professionals here from the Gu Xiulong family?”
Yi Qiaolong replied, “To be precise, they’re from the Ban Xiulong family. The Gu Xiulong family is a general term for various families of different sizes combined together.” He explained while eating.
Professionals all ate greedily, including Zhou Xiaoling, who finished eating in no time.
Yi Qiaolong led the three of them out of the hall and toward the back of the fortress. It was another maze of dizzying corridors and stairs. Guo Shier was very confused and asked, “Why can’t we fly? It’s so troublesome to walk like this.”
“That’s an old family rule. Flying isn’t allowed inside… Walking is what shows a professional’s dignity.”
Guo Shier was surprised. “There’s such a custom?”
Yi Qiaolong shook his head and said, “There are many old rules here. If you don’t know them, you’ll be laughed at.”
Guo Shier smiled indifferently. He didn’t care about any old rules and didn’t want to learn them either. He had been captured, and although Ban Xiulong treated him well, it didn’t change the fact that he hadn’t come here voluntarily.
Under someone else’s roof, one had to bow one’s head. Guo Shier considered himself wise and wouldn’t do anything foolish. Resisting here was the same as seeking death. He also understood clearly that the Gu Xiulong family mostly used these captured professionals as cannon fodder, so there was no need to feel good about them. Even if Ban Xiulong valued him, it was only because of his potential, which he understood very well.
Ban Xiulong’s room was extremely luxurious, with deep red furs covering the floor. Large talisman paintings hung on the walls. On a square platform stood a specimen of a mutated talisman beast over three meters long. Its original form must have been much larger. Clearly, special talisman techniques had been used to shrink it, making it look extremely exquisite at first glance.

Eight dolls were placed along the wall, each wearing a set of ancient talismanic armor. There were also many talismanic instruments hanging on the wall, emitting a faint bloody scent.
Ten Grand Saints stood beside Ban Xi Long, who was playing with a golden talisman in his hand. Yi Qiao Long told Eagle Demon and Zhou Xiaoling to wait outside, then led Guo Shier into the room.
The ten Grand Saints stood there like puppets, all with serious expressions. Ban Xi Long glanced up and said, “Yi Qiao, go ahead with your tasks. You don’t need to wait here. Shier, come here.”
Guo Shier stepped forward. Ban Xi Long threw the golden talisman at him and said, “Take a look.”
It was a message talisman, with very simple content—a summons, similar to the invitation Guo Shier had seen in his past life. After examining it briefly, he asked in confusion, “Lord Ban, what is this?”
Ban Xi Long replied, “A gathering.”
Guo Shier thought to himself, “What does a gathering have to do with me?” He asked, “Is there anything I need to do?”
Ban Xi Long smiled satisfactorily, thinking Guo Shier was clever. He said, “Come with me.” He didn’t mention what they were going to do.
Guo Shier replied, “Yes, Lord Ban.”
…
Seven days later, Ban Xi Long set off with Guo Shier and over fifty more Grand Saints. At Guo Shier’s request, Eagle Demon and Zhou Xiaoling also boarded the flying vehicle.
After passing through a large talismanic portal, Guo Shier was surprised to find that his own talismanic portal coordinates could now be used—though not at his original location, but at some coordinates belonging to the ancient Mi Luo family. Although there were very few, it still delighted him. He suddenly remembered that Luo Zhan was still in the area controlled by the ancient Xi Long family, and he felt a bit disappointed.
Guo Shier quietly recorded the current coordinates and followed Ban Xi Long through another talismanic portal. Upon emerging, he found that even more coordinates from his ancestral memories could be used. He realized they must have arrived in the territory controlled by the ancient Mi Luo family. Could this gathering be organized by them?
Guo Shier knew he couldn’t escape yet, as Luo Zhan hadn’t been found. He had to stay with Ban Xi Long and look for an opportunity to flee once Luo Zhan was located. Now he understood that it wasn’t his talismanic portal that was faulty, but rather the vast territory controlled by the ancient Xi Long family, so much so that even interdimensional talismans couldn’t cross it.
Large flying vehicles came to pick them up. This was the border area between the ancient Mi Luo family and the ancient Xi Long family. Guo Shier also knew the coordinates of this place—it was called the Thousand Rock Continent.

The Thousand Rocks Continent is a transportation hub, somewhat similar to the Secret Realm or the Star Continent. There are no special local products here; its only feature is the abundance of rocks—countless huge boulders—with few plants, all of which are exotic. Although desolate, the continent is home to many professionals. The land originally had indigenous inhabitants, but they gradually became extinct over time, so only professionals live here, with no ordinary people. This continent is controlled by the ancient Miluo and Xi Long families.

Guo Shier noticed that the flying vehicles here came in various shapes. Besides large ones, there were also many small single-person flying vehicles soaring in the air. The flying vehicle carried Ban Xi Long landed, and when Guo Shier stepped out, he saw a huge stone city with low stone buildings stretching endlessly. Curious, he asked, “The houses here are so low. Why aren’t there any taller ones?” An archmage replied, “Storms break out at night here, making it impossible to go outside. So the buildings must be low to withstand the storms.”

A large group of receptionists approached, and Guo Shier and the other two hid in the crowd. Ban Xi Long stepped forward to greet them, and after some time of busy conversation, they flew to their residence, which belonged to the Xi Long family.

After settling in, Guo Shier quietly summoned Eagle Demon and Zhou Xiaoling and whispered, “We have a chance to escape.” Eagle Demon was stunned and asked, “How?” Guo Shier replied, “The interdimensional talisman can be used now… We can use it directly from the territory controlled by the Xi Long family to enter the Thousand Rocks Continent… Hehe, I have plenty of ready-made coordinates here that can take us to the territory controlled by the Miluo family.” Zhou Xiaoling wondered, “How do you have coordinates of the Miluo family’s territory?” Guo Shier couldn’t explain properly and simply said, “Kids, don’t ask so many questions!” In truth, there were many issues involved—he needed to be near that area to use the interdimensional talisman; it wouldn’t work on the Thousand Rocks Continent. Zhou Xiaoling snapped, “Shier… you!” Eagle Demon quickly interjected, “Enough, you two little rivals, stop arguing!” This made Zhou Xiaoling blush as she grumbled, “You’re the one who’s their rival!” Eagle Demon pointed at his nose and said with a wry smile, “Me?” Guo Shier ignored him and continued, “There’s one more important issue—Uncle Luo hasn’t been found yet. So we can’t run now; we must go back! We can only leave after finding Uncle Luo. We can’t abandon him.”

Eagle Demon nodded and said, “Hmm, by following Ban Xi Long, we definitely still have a chance. As long as we visit more places, we might be able to connect with the Qianyan Continent and use interdimensional talismans to escape.” He sighed and added, “It’s a shame about this opportunity.”
Zhou Xiaoling was very frustrated; she sat aside with pouted lips.
Guo Shier smiled and said, “Ding ding!”
Zhou Xiaoling huffed and turned her head away. Knowing she still had a childish temper, Guo Shier said with a smile, “Uncle Eagle Demon, if we want more autonomy, we must find ways to improve our strength and gain some power—only then will we have a chance to escape.”