Chapter 4: Chasing Vehicles (Part 1)

Luo Jie said calmly, “The trap has been triggered! Guo Shier’s idea is really good. Let’s get ready and keep moving!”
Guo Shier replied, “Master, let’s try to avoid them. According to Fu Yiejie, their strength far exceeds ours. We hope to hold on until we reach the secret realm and get rid of them. Otherwise… it will be very troublesome.”
Qi Nanshan suddenly straightened up, looked into the distance, then shouted, “Everyone, hide! Quick! Quick!”
Without hesitation, Guo Shier hid behind a huge rock, where there was thick grass and large trees for cover. Just as everyone took cover, sound waves filled the sky—the sound of something moving at high speed. The howling grew louder, and soon they witnessed a spectacular sight.
At least a hundred chasing vehicles flew overhead, each spaced about ten meters apart, creating an astonishingly dense formation. The people hiding in the bushes paled. Even with just a dozen or so vehicles, they wouldn’t be able to deal with them. This had nothing to do with individual strength—it was the power of a large team, the power of equipment.
One of the chasing vehicles suddenly dove down, and a hundred-meter-long beam of golden light swept across the forest, knocking down trees one after another. Fortunately, the beam was several hundred meters away from them; otherwise, it would have forced those hiding below to come out. Luo Jie’s eyes widened in shock—this was a super-large talisman sword, even more powerful than ordinary ancient talismans. It was likely the true ancient talisman Li Ran had mentioned.
The vehicle circled once, finding nothing unusual, before joining the rest of the fleet. Cold sweat appeared on Luo Jie’s forehead as he realized they were indeed in grave trouble. After waiting for a full minute, he whispered, “Dashan, organize everyone to retreat south!”
Guo Shier said softly, “Master, we should head east!”
Luo Jie frowned. “Why?”
Guo Shier replied quietly, “We can’t outrun those flying vehicles, and there are so many of them. Once they spot us… we’ll have nowhere to escape. So, let’s head toward where they gather. The defense there might be looser than in the distance. As long as they don’t search deliberately, we have a chance to hide!”
Qi Nanshan agreed enthusiastically. “Elder, that makes sense!”
Luo Jie understood immediately—it was their only way out. He gently patted Guo Shier’s head and smiled. “This kid is so smart… Heh, fine. Let’s follow Shier’s advice and head east!”

About twenty people in the dense and dark forest could easily hide from outsiders if they wanted to.
Luo Zhan asked in confusion, “Can’t we find a place to hide temporarily until the secret realm closes, then we can leave?”
Luo Jie sighed and said, “If we hadn’t clashed with those people like He Fu Ye Jie, this plan would work. But now it’s difficult. We must keep moving to avoid their searches. They have hunting vehicles, which give them an advantage over us.”
Luo Zhan nodded and said, “Guo Shier, I’ll carry you.”
The group set off again. This time they were even more cautious, having seen the golden rune sword light emitted by the hunting vehicles. They knew well that if discovered, they might perish here and never return to their continent.
Under Qi Nanshan’s leadership, the group moved at a moderate pace, being extremely careful to leave no traces. Though it was hard, everyone tried their best. Two rune warriors stayed behind to erase any obvious traces.
Guo Shier, perched on Luo Zhan’s back, felt uneasy. He thought to himself, “Higher Rune Continent? Lower Rune Continent? What do those terms mean? And which continent is Li Ran from? He seems even stronger than those from the Higher Rune Continent. Sigh, this world is really complicated!”
With the knowledge from his past life, it was hard to understand this world, not to mention the even more baffling phenomenon of soul reincarnation. He sighed inwardly and stopped thinking further—just staying alive was enough. But given the current situation, even survival seemed difficult.
As Guo Shier wandered in thought, the group moved forward silently.
Half a day later, they encountered hunting vehicles twice. Fortunately, Qi Nanshan detected them in advance, and the group acted quickly, managing to evade them unscathed.
Guo Shier kept observing his surroundings. Then, the forest began to thin out. He thought to himself, “This isn’t good. Are we about to leave the forest? With the forest as cover, we could avoid the hunting vehicles. But once exposed on the plain, we’d have no chance of survival at all.”
The group stopped. Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan also noticed this issue and immediately ordered a halt. Qi Nanshan said, “Spread out and rest for a while. Shier, come here.”
Both Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan treated Guo Shier as an adult. In their eyes, this boy was thoughtful, decisive, and often came up with unexpected ideas. Having one more person offer suggestions was beneficial for everyone.

Guo Shier didn’t waste words either. He said directly, “Master, if we go any further… we’ll likely be leaving the forest. That’s very disadvantageous for us. We can’t do without the forest’s cover.”
Luo Jie replied, “Of course. We can’t leave the forest. If we’re about to exit it, we can’t move forward. Which direction should we take then?”
Qi Nanshan scratched his head and said, “That’s troublesome!”
Guo Shier said, “Let’s not make a decision yet. Send someone to scout ahead and see what’s there.”
Qi Nanshan smiled bitterly. “Heh, the pressure is overwhelming… It’s Shier who remains calm. Alright, I’ll send someone to scout right away.” He called over two martial artists and instructed them to scout ahead, saying, “No matter what you see, I hope you can return within half an hour.”
Watching the two vanish into the distance at lightning speed, Qi Nanshan said, “We should come up with an action plan. In case of danger, we need a plan to respond so we won’t be caught off guard.”
Luo Jie nodded. “Yes, let’s discuss it.”
Soon, a contingency plan was drafted—though it was quite rough. Guo Shier felt a bit helpless because he didn’t know the strength of the other martial artists and couldn’t come up with many ideas. The main goal of Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan in formulating this plan was to ensure the safety of Guo Shier and the other five children first, with the rest coming second.
At the Northern Talisman Gate, for any expert or professional, the most fundamental task was to ensure the growth of the next generation. They were the hope and foundation of the sect, so it wasn’t strange that Guo Shier and the other five were given top priority. This was also what moved Guo Shier deeply.
Everyone busied themselves drinking water and eating dry rations. It was a pity they couldn’t start a fire; a bowl of hot soup would have been better than anything.
The two martial artists who went scouting returned quickly. One of them said, “There are hills ahead. We climbed up and saw hundreds of hunting carts. It seems they’re trapping something. We could see the flashes from spears exploding after being thrown.”
Guo Shier asked, “Weren’t there forests ahead?”
The other martial artist replied, “It’s low shrubbery that can hide our figures, but it’s easy to expose us. It’s not as safe as the forest.”
Qi Nanshan asked, “You said there are hundreds of hunting carts? What are they trapping?”
“I don’t know. It’s too far. We could only see it vaguely… I don’t think they’re trapping people. It’s probably talisman beasts.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a faint roar was heard. It was unclear what kind of talisman beast it was, but its sound could reach such a distance. Guo Shier said, “It’s already very unsafe here. We need to leave as soon as possible.”
Luo Jie said, “Yes, we should find a place to hide and rest for a couple of days to see how things develop.”
Guo Shier objected, “Master, we can’t stop. Even if we have to wander around in the forest, we must keep moving… Once we’re surrounded, we won’t even have a chance to resist. The Hunting Carriages are too powerful. Only by staying in motion can we keep them confused. Over time, they’ll naturally slack off… Now isn’t the time to rest.”
Luo Jie hesitated for a moment and asked, “Dashan, what do you think?”
Qi Nanshan was also hesitant. He shared Luo Jie’s stance—he had to be responsible for the entire group. He said, “Everyone is already very tired…”
Guo Shier couldn’t help but say, “Master, Grandpa Nanshan, exhaustion won’t kill us… But if the Hunting Carriages find us, we’ll be killed!” Then, in a lackluster tone, he added, “Master, I’d rather be exhausted to death than get killed by those Hunting Carriages!”
Luo Jie laughed at him and said, “How lackluster! No confidence at all… Your master is a great talisman sorcerer. If they want to kill me, well, it depends on how much they’re willing to pay!”
Guo Shier said with a wry smile, “Master, no matter what the cost, it’s not worth risking your life. I really don’t want you to put yourself in danger.” This was his sincere wish—he didn’t want his master to fall into peril.
Qi Nanshan sighed, “Shier is right. As long as we can get out this time and record our continent’s location in the Talisman Gate’s spirit talismans, we’ll be able to come and go freely in the future. We won’t have to fear those people anymore. Sigh! Keep running… It’s so frustrating!”
Luo Jie also made up his mind and said, “Then let’s keep running!”
There was nothing they could do despite the frustration—it was the sorrow of being weaker. What was most infuriating was that the enemy relied on their numbers. If it were a one-on-one fight, Luo Jie wouldn’t mind, but now he could only retreat cautiously, having to consider his disciples’ lives. Once a fight started, Guo Shier and the others wouldn’t be able to escape at all.
The group gathered and changed direction to move forward. Luo Jie didn’t dare lead them out of the forest, so they had to move along the forest’s edge, allowing them to venture deeper into the forest at any time.

Guo Shier was the one who decided their route, making their journey like navigating a maze—swinging east and west, north and south, constantly changing direction, with little stay in one place for more than eight hours. By moving constantly in this way, they managed to evade several pursuers. On a few occasions, the hunting vehicles circled right above them, and Luo Jie almost lost control and acted, but he held back out of concern for his young disciple, Guo Shier.