Chapter 7: Racing to Capture Horses (Part 2)

As the saying goes, “Trying to climb a mountain will exhaust even a horse.” Guo Shieru now understood this all too well. One by one, their warhorses fell, and by the time they reached the foot of the mountain, they had only half of their original horses left.

Qi Nanshan glanced at the endless cliff face and said, “Split into two groups. Follow the cliff face and enter the mountain as soon as you find a gap!”

Guo Shieru stared at the cliff face, which was over a thousand meters high, and couldn’t help but exclaim, “It’s terrifying! I wonder if it was formed by a sand veil!”

The entire cliff face curved inward, with not a single blade of grass growing on it. Looking up at the top, a faint green hue could be seen—meaning the summit was unaffected by the sand veil.

The two groups rushed in different directions, searching for an entrance into the mountains. About twenty minutes later, a signal flare was launched into the sky. Luo Jie said, “Good, we’ve finally found it. Let’s go.” Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, as they discovered countless bones at the foot of the cliff—likely those of animals and people who had tried to escape to the base but failed to find an entrance.

Luo Jie glanced at the bones with some regret. There must have been valuable things among them, but they didn’t dare stay long.

Racing along the cliff face, they soon saw a huge gap—formed by the collapse of part of the cliff. After a quick inspection, Qi Nanshan realized they would have to abandon their warhorses, as they couldn’t climb over that massive rocky gap. He shouted, “Grab your belongings! Everyone, abandon the horses! Don’t waste time! We don’t have time to lose!”

Guo Shieru looked at the seven- or eight-meter-high rocks ahead and said with a wry smile, “I definitely can’t climb up there!”

Luo Jie laughed, “Even the master can’t climb up!”

Guo Shieru was surprised. “Master, don’t you know how to fly?”

Luo Jie shook his head. “That’s not flying. It’s just floating in the air—no higher than five meters. Beyond that… the master can’t do it. And once floating, movement is very slow. Heh, do you think humans can fly like birds?”

In his past life, Guo Shieru had seen individual flying devices, so he knew humans could fly. Though not as agile as birds, they definitely could fly. He said seriously, “Yes, master. I think humans can fly like birds.”

Luo Jie smiled gently and said indulgently, “Maybe it’s up to you to develop that. Heh, the master doesn’t have the ability to fly like birds… Dashan, take Shieru and go up first.”

Qi Nanshan nodded in agreement, clamped Guo Shier under his arm, used his feet to push hard, and suddenly soared into the air. He slapped the large rock with his hand, twisted his body slightly, and rushed toward the giant rock on the left. With another slap, he twisted again mid-air, soaring like a giant eagle, circling and ascending rapidly through the pile of rocks.

It took a full ten minutes before they reached the gap in the cliff face. He took out bundles of ropes from his talisman bag, secured one end, and threw it down. He shouted, “Climb up using the ropes! Luo Zhan, find a few people to bring Baozi and the others up.” Then he continued climbing upward with Shier under his arm.

With the help of two talisman warriors, Luo Jie also managed to climb up. Luo Zhan, along with several agile talisman warriors, carried Huo Bao and the other four children on their backs, climbing hard upward. They didn’t dare slack off even for a moment. Soon, they reached the gap in the cliff face. Fortunately, Qi Nanshan had left another rope behind.

It took them over two hours to finally reach the top of the cliff. As soon as they sat down to rest, they heard a rumbling sound. They looked at each other in shock, secretly admiring Qi Nanshan and Luo Jie for their skill. If they had been delayed by another hour, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

When they reached the edge of the cliff and looked into the distance, they saw a sand curtain rolling in. Unlike what it looked like from the ground, where it seemed to connect with the sky and earth, from the top of the cliff it appeared like giant waves in the sea, rushing across the surface.

There were hardly any wild beasts left running in front of the sand curtain—only about a hundred or so. Among them were even a few people riding on wild beasts. The first time they saw the sand curtain, there had been at least ten thousand wild beasts running in front, gradually falling into it. Those still able to run ahead were the strongest beasts, likely talisman beasts.

Guo Shier suddenly widened his eyes, pointed downward, and shouted, “Whoa, such a huge lizard!”

Luo Jie followed his gaze and exclaimed in surprise, “There’s actually a earth dragon here? This… this is a very rare great earth dragon!”

Guo Shier asked, “What great earth dragon?” He thought to himself that it resembled the lizards from his past life, only much larger—over a hundred meters long. Looking down from the top of the cliff, its size was terrifying; the other wild beasts beside it appeared like mere dots.

Luo Jie’s eyes shone with excitement as he said, “This is a rare great earth dragon—a natural talisman master… a pet of the secret realm… Damn, what exactly is this sand curtain that even a great earth dragon is fleeing from…” He exchanged a glance with Qi Nanshan, both showing expressions of relief.

About two kilometers away from the cliff face, the earth dragon suddenly let out a fierce roar, and a series of crescent-shaped blades of light flew out of its mouth. Each blade was sixty to seventy meters wide. After leaving the dragon’s massive mouth, they spun rapidly as they rushed forward, hitting the cliff face and causing successive explosions.

Luo Jie shouted, “Be careful! You might be blown off!”

Fortunately, the earth dragon was attacking the cliff face in the distance. If it had targeted the cliff where they were, it would have been dangerous.

The earth dragon launched a series of attacks, but they had little effect. They only created many large holes in the cliff face but failed to shake the massive rock formation.

The earth dragon was smart. Instead of continuing to attack the cliff face, it ran diagonally, trying to find a gap. With its great size and strength, it could cover long distances with just a slight effort. Soon, it found the gap and rushed over quickly.

Luo Jie was shocked for a moment before realizing that the adult earth dragon intended to escape through that gap. He shouted, “Dashan, take the martial artists… That earth dragon is coming! We need to slow it down!” Of course, once the earth dragon reached the gap, they would have nowhere to hide. Its strength was immense, and they must prevent it from reaching the gap at all costs.

Qi Nanshan, along with five martial artists, quickly went to the other side of the gap. Luo Jie gave him a simple task: push boulders at the earth dragon to slow it down and trap it in the sandstorm.

Luo Jie stayed behind with the others, including Guo Shier and four more, waiting in place. They couldn’t participate in this battle, not even watch from nearby.

But Guo Shier had an idea. He took four of his companions to a huge rock by the gap. The five of them lay on top, showing only half of their heads, allowing them to clearly see what was happening below.

When the earth dragon changed direction, other beasts and people also rushed over. They saw the gap as well. Although they might not make it up in time, it was their only hope.

Guo Shier saw a beast that resembled a lion, possibly a magical beast, get swept by the earth dragon’s tail and fly into the air like a ball, rolling hundreds of meters away. Even so, the other beasts continued to chase frantically behind the earth dragon.

A thousand meters away, the sand curtain had already hit the cliff face, emitting a thunderous explosion that made the entire mountain range tremble. The earth dragon, as if whipped, shot forward abruptly; its massive body reached the gap. Immediately afterward, it almost stood upright before crashing down onto a pile of rocks and quickly climbing upward with agility that left Guo Shieru in awe.

Chen Hong couldn’t help but lean closer to Guo Shieru—this earth dragon was too terrifying. Huo Bao kept muttering, “How much meat must be on this earth dragon… Sigh, if I could kill such an earth dragon, it would be enough for everyone in my hometown to eat for half a year… Tsk tsk…”

Chen Bing gripped the rocks, staring at the earth dragon, her lips tightly pressed together—both excited and nervous, her body trembling slightly.

Hong Shi asked softly, “Shieru, is Old Master Luo planning to kill the earth dragon?”

Guo Shieru replied, “It’s impossible to kill it… This guy is too big. It’s a rare aggressive talisman beast, well, probably a mutated talisman beast. Master and Grandpa Nanshan… it’s very hard to kill it, unless there are more powerful sorcerers.”

Hong Shi was confused. “Then why do they still go?”
Guo Shieru said, “They’re not there to kill it, but to prevent it from escaping. The real thing that can kill it is the sand curtain behind it!”

Hong Shi still didn’t understand. “If it can’t be killed, why go ahead…” He realized his own words were wrong right after saying them. Guo Shieru patiently explained, “Once the earth dragon escapes and reaches the cliff face, we’ll be in danger. That’s why Master and the others must act.”

Chen Hong whispered, “Shieru, can Old Master stop it?”

Guo Shieru sighed. “I don’t know either. I hope he can. Otherwise… we’ll all be wiped out. Heh, no one will be able to leave this secret realm alive.”

Chen Hong covered her mouth in fear, and even Huo Bao paled.

Luo Jie stood on the rocks by the gap, with several talisman warriors holding huge talisman shields in front of him. His life talisman book floated above his chest as he stared at the earth dragon with a grim expression. He had visited many secret realms before, but this huge mutated earth dragon was something he had never seen before.

Qi Nanshan, along with several talisman warriors, pushed giant rocks with all their might, creating piles of stones at the edge of the gap. By then, the earth dragon’s huge head had already poked through the gap. Suddenly, Luo Jie shouted, “Dashan!”

Qi Nanshan pushed the giant rocks out forcefully.

Luo Jie didn’t attack the earth dragon, as an attack would likely have little effect. As a great sorcerer with extensive combat experience, his target was the rocky slope above the earth dragon.

One must know that the Earth Dragon weighed thousands of tons, and as it charged toward the rocky slope with the gap, it exerted immense pressure on it. As the huge rocks pushed down by Qinan Mountain rolled down the slope, Luo Jie cast an offensive explosive talisman, causing the rocky slope above the Earth Dragon to explode suddenly. Countless huge rocks tumbled downward, and the Earth Dragon roared desperately, its four thick legs stomping wildly on the debris. Even rocks with a diameter of seven or eight meters could not stay stable and rolled down one after another. The sandstorm behind also rushed forward, only a few dozen meters away. The Earth Dragon abruptly turned its head; seeing the sandstorm approaching, it let out a desperate, loud roar.