Chapter 7: The Start of the Heat Wave (Part 2)
Hanbing Baiyan and Tian Baiyan realized something was wrong as soon as they entered the magic array. They stopped at the edge of the array and did not go further in. Tian Baiyan’s expression was grim as he said, “I don’t know who set this trap here. It seems we’ve entered a large magic array… Damn it!”
Hanbing Baiyan shouted, “Some friend out there… please let us out!”
His voice carried nowhere. Mist swirled around them and spread rapidly. In moments, they could see nothing anymore. Tian Baiyan cried out, “Everyone, be careful! Get ready to fight!” He was trembling—not only from anger but also from extreme fear. The worst thing in the wilderness was encountering such inexplicable situations with no way to resist.
Hanbing Baiyan said, “Let’s turn around… get out of here first!”
Tian Baiyan, with more experience than Hanbing Baiyan, said decisively, “Don’t move! Absolutely not!”
Hanbing Baiyan asked, “If we don’t move… what do we do? We’ll be trapped here!”
Tian Baiyan replied, “No, this trap wasn’t set for us. Someone with such power would disdain using such a huge trap against us… There’s no need.”
Hanbing Baiyan had been panicked in the heat of the moment but understood after hearing this. If someone with such strength wanted to deal with them, they wouldn’t need to set a trap—they could just act directly. He said, “Okay, let’s wait.” The expressions of the other great masters were also grim.
Tian Baiyan said, “Stay alert! I believe the master of this place will appear soon.”
…
The handsome old man smiled and said, “Hmm, it’s time to put some pressure on them! They’re all too strong now.”
Guo Shier felt a chill. The soul fluctuations of the handsome old man carried an evil aura. He could clearly see that the three Spirit Beasts had been separated and were cautiously probing their way forward, unsure of what the handsome old man intended to do to them.
With a loud roar,
As the handsome old man cast a spell, his soul fluctuated: “I stab… stab!”
A sharp stone spike suddenly appeared from the ground and pierced through the unicorn black rhinoceros, going straight through its belly. Then, the handsome old man cast another spell, causing the ground to shake again. One after another, stone spikes emerged from the ground and kept stabbing at the unicorn black rhinoceros.
Moo! Moo…
In an instant, the unicorn black rhinoceros was torn to pieces. The speed was too fast; it had no time to defend itself. All the stone spikes came suddenly from the ground, leaving it unable to defend even if it tried.
As the one-horned black rhinoceros shattered, countless thin threads immediately flew out from the Ancient Ink Lotus and swiftly wrapped around it. In less than a minute, the giant one-horned black rhinoceros disappeared. Guo Shier said in amazement, “Damn! It’s so powerful!”
The threads quickly retracted, and then Guo Shier saw a miniature one-horned black rhinoceros appear on the Ancient Ink Lotus—only as big as a Pekingese dog from his past life, looking delicate and small. He couldn’t help but reach out and touch it.
Just as the one-horned black rhinoceros took shape, a giant hand descended, scaring it into letting out a fierce roar as it struck with its horn.
Guo Shier laughed, “Heh, it actually used its horn to hit my hand.” He grabbed the rhinoceros’s head with his hand, shook it gently, and said, “Fun. How did it get so small… Heh, it seems very angry.”
The handsome old man said, “On your territory, it still has to obey you. Put it away for now.”
Guo Shier nodded, “Okay!” He cast a spell, and the one-horned black rhinoceros was swallowed by the Ancient Ink Lotus.
The handsome old man smiled and said, “Do it again!”
Continuous stone spikes shattered the spirit of the Iron-Armored Bull, which was then dragged into the Ancient Ink Lotus. Guo Shier exclaimed, “With this talisman array, nothing is a problem. It’s amazing.”
The handsome old man said, “A level-15 spirit beast isn’t a problem, but a level-17 Ancient Xibei is. This guy’s strength is completely different. Believe it or not, watch this.”
More stone spikes appeared and pierced beneath the Ancient Xibei’s belly.
Guo Shier widened his eyes. As the controller of the entire talisman array, he naturally knew that these stone spikes not only failed to hurt the Ancient Xibei but were also destroyed by its enraged tentacles. He said, “Damn, what powerful tentacles! They can even crush stone spikes.”
The stone spikes were made of virtual talismans, harder than real stones, yet they still couldn’t withstand the Ancient Xibei’s tentacles.
The handsome old man said, “The Ancient Xibei is very tricky. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have set a trap. Not to mention capturing it, even if you attacked with your current strength… you’d basically be dead.”
Guo Shier said, “Handsome Old Man, even with a trap, it seems hard to deal with the Ancient Xibei.”
The handsome old man said proudly, “I’ve added something to the talisman array… something the Ancient Xibei can’t tolerate. Hehe, otherwise, what would I use to deal with it?”
Although Guo Shier had crafted many talismans together with the old man, the operation of the entire talisman array relied entirely on the old man’s knowledge; there were many tricks he still didn’t understand. He vaguely sensed that this talisman array was extremely complex and said with a smile, “Alright, you go ahead and try. Let me see what amazing tricks you have.”
The old man said proudly, “Watch closely!” He cast hundreds of spells in succession.
Gu Xi Bi suddenly found that the ground had turned into a muddy swamp, with a powerful suction force dragging it underground. It desperately waved its tentacles to climb upward. It couldn’t fly at all inside the talisman array, and the longer it stayed, the heavier its body became. It didn’t know why, but a sense of impending crisis filled its soul with fear.
Gu Xi Bi struggled to climb out. The old man smiled and cast another series of spells. The mud on the ground spun rapidly, like whirlpools on water, and in an instant, it sucked in some of Gu Xi Bi’s tentacles.
Furious and anxious, Gu Xi Bi thrust countless more tentacles into the muddy ground. It used its tentacles to spin in the opposite direction of the whirlpool, gradually pulling itself free.
Guo Shier said, “What a clever creature.”
The old man smiled and said, “It’s clever, but useless!” He cast another few hundred spells, then tapped the Ancient Ink Lotus lightly. The lotus trembled slightly, triggering changes throughout the entire array.
Gu Xi Bi waved its tentacles frantically to dispel the mud whirlpool beneath it. But the ground trembled slightly, making it feel as if it were stepping on empty space. Suddenly, it dropped, with at least half of its body buried in the mud. In panic, it let out continuous cries. Dozens of thick tentacles stretched out quickly, desperately trying to grasp the relatively solid ground in the distance. Thanks to its extraordinary talent and extremely long tentacles, otherwise its entire body would have been buried underground.
The old man said, “What tenacity! Hehe, solidify it for me!”
Suddenly, the ground stopped trembling. Gu Xi Bi horrorously realized that the ground had hardened, fixing half of its body and most of its tentacles underground. Even worse, the ground was incredibly solid, like steel or iron, leaving it no chance to struggle. Unless it shattered its soul once more and reformed it, it couldn’t escape this trapped situation.
Guo Shier clapped and said, “That’s a good move, but this still won’t catch it!”
The old man said, “You fool, this is just the first step. Why rush? This is Gu Xi Bi, a soul beast of level seventeen. Do you think it’s that easy to catch?”
Guo Shier asked, “I know it’s not easy to catch. What’s the next step?”
The handsome old man said, “Shatter its shell! This guy is the hardest to break, so we need to secure it first; otherwise, it can’t be attacked. Even with magic arrays, it’s difficult to crush it. Level seventeen… Hehe, back in the day, level seventeen wasn’t anything special. Even if I encountered a level seventeen mutated Gu Xi Bi, I could subdue it, let alone a Spirit Beast.”
Guo Shier was shocked. A level seventeen mutated Gu Xi Bi wasn’t a Spirit Beast but a mutated Magic Beast, and the higher its level, the stronger it became. He couldn’t imagine what would happen if he faced a level seventeen mutated Magic Beast. The only thing certain was that if he couldn’t avoid it, he would die instantly.
The more advanced a Spirit Beast became, the more limited its strength growth. A level five or six Spirit Beast could fight against a level four or five mutated Magic Beast, while a level seventeen Spirit Beast could hardly defeat even a level thirteen or fourteen mutated Magic Beast. Since Spirit Beasts lacked the muscles, flesh, and fur of Magic Beasts, their soul power, though strong, was much weaker without physical support.
Even so, Guo Shier couldn’t defeat a level seventeen Spirit Beast. If it weren’t for the magic array provided by the handsome old man, he would have had no choice but to retreat. Even if he coveted those Soul Altars, he wouldn’t dare risk his life.
Suddenly, the handsome old man stopped and said, “By the way, you can try attacking it. Maybe that way you’ll realize just how formidable the Gu Xi Bi is.”
Guo Shier knew that he didn’t have to worry about his safety inside the magic array. With its protection, he could attack boldly.
He said eagerly, “Let me attack? Sure, sure… I’ll do it. You just need to keep the Gu Xi Bi still.”
The handsome old man shook his head and said, “Okay, I’ll keep it still, but some of its tentacles are outside, and I can’t control them. Be careful.”
Guo Shier unleashed his Moon Blade. The handsome old man couldn’t help but sneer, “Kid, it seems you have no other tactics besides swinging this half-circular junk sword around.”
Guo Shier blushed and said, “Old man! This is a Moon Blade, not some half-circular junk sword! It’s my innate magic sword!”
The handsome old man dismissed him with disdain, “You’re a powerful magic caster, not some brute-force magic warrior. I don’t know what kind of inheritance you’ve got. Anyway, you’ll soon have a Virtual Form Altar. Then I’ll see you using this crappy sword again… Ugh, pathetic.”
Guo Shier was too stunned to know what to say, but he was tough enough to respond, “Alright, then teach me other tactics in the future.”
The moon blade circled around him once before stopping in front of him. He pointed at it, and with a buzzing sound, the blade suddenly grew larger, reaching over thirty meters in length. Casting a spell, he shouted, “Slice!”
The handsome old man couldn’t help but let out a chuckle from his soul, which eventually turned into loud laughter.
So angry that Guo Shieru almost sent the moon blade flying.