Chapter 10: Fluctuations of Golden Flame (Part 1)

Soon, they saw a cyan-red glow ahead, along with distant thunderous noises and slight tremors in the ground, indicating how intense the battle was. Guo Shier was very sensitive; he shouted, “Let’s speed up!” He wondered if his master was ahead.

Soon, they spotted two people fighting. Guo Shier glanced at them and said, “Two altar-level professionals.”
The two altar-level professionals, one male and one female, with the man clearly having the upper hand. When Guo Shier and the others appeared, both of them retreated at once. An eighth-level altar professional, a seventh-level altar professional, and two fifth-level altar professionals were more than enough to defeat them.

Yu Zhong stepped forward and said, “Sister Yao, it’s me, Yu Zhong!” He had encountered an acquaintance.
“Brother Yu Zhong…”
The woman flew over quickly, while the man turned to run. Yu Zhong shouted, “Go ahead and run if you can!” The man froze and stopped. The opponent was too strong, with a group of high-level professionals. He lamented inwardly but dared not run again.

Yu Zhong turned back and said, “This is our sect’s ancestor, an sixth-level altar professional, Yao Yao.”
Yao Yao was a beautiful young woman. Guo Shier realized at first glance that her appearance didn’t match her age; she must be quite old. Of course, profession had nothing to do with age—high-level altar professionals could live for thousands of years, so it was likely she was over a hundred years old.

Guo Shier stepped forward and said, “I’m a rogue professional, Guo Shier. These two are Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan.”
Yao Yao bowed and said, “Yao Yao greets the three ancestors.”
Yu Zhong glanced at the man and asked, “Who are you?”
Everyone naturally gathered around. The man wore a pained expression. He wanted to run, but with two top experts against him, he had no chance. They could quickly seal off the entire space, and with his abilities, he couldn’t break through. Besides, he and Yao Yao weren’t enemies. He kept saying, “Misunderstanding, misunderstanding… We were just sparring.”

Yu Zhong asked, “Sister Yao, what’s going on?”
Yao Yao smiled bitterly and said, “He’s from the Gu Zhenwu family, our ancestor Wu Jing.”
Yu Zhong was stunned and said, “Gu Zhenwu family?”
Guo Shier asked, “What’s the matter?” He had never heard of this family, but there were countless ancient families in this world, so it was normal not to know about them.
Yu Zhong said, “It’s a major family.” He asked, “Wu Jing, Sister Yao, why are you fighting?” He didn’t believe they were just sparring.

A faint blush appeared on Yao Yao’s face, which Guo Shier caught at a glance. He thought to himself, “Uh, is there an affair? No, they fought fiercely just now; it doesn’t seem like a friendly spar…”
Wu Jing had a decent appearance, looking like a steady middle-aged man. He stammered, unsure of what to say, clearly feeling awkward.
Yu Zhong said impatiently, “You’re both ancestors of the sixth-tier altar. Why speak so hesitantly? Just say what you have to say!”
Wu Jing gritted his teeth and said, “I like Yao Yao!”
Guo Shier thought, “Sure enough, as I thought!”
Yao Yao snapped, “Who asked you to like me…” Her tone was hard to decipher—neither hateful nor affectionate, giving off a strange feeling.
Suddenly, everyone fell silent. These two were clearly enemies with nothing left to say. In such situations, it was best to let them resolve things on their own. Yu Zhong lowered his eyes. After a while, he said, “Sister Yao, let’s go to the Golden Flame Well. Will you come?”
Yao Yao replied, “I was exactly planning to go to the Golden Flame Well, but he kept bothering me.” She glared at Wu Jing angrily and added, “It’s all your fault!” Her tone had more whining than anger.
Wu Jing muttered something under his breath without arguing, saying, “I’m also going to the Golden Flame Well.” He stubbornly insisted on following them. By now, even a blind person could tell that the relationship between these two was unusual. Although Yao Yao denied it outright, everyone understood.
Yu Zhong said with a half-smile, “Alright, let’s go together. After all, the Golden Flame Well isn’t some forbidden area.”
The two joined the group. Guo Shier didn’t miss this opportunity. He stepped forward immediately, handed over the jade talisman, and asked, “Have you seen the person in the image on the talisman?”
Wu Jing and Yao Yao had both taken a look and shook their heads. “No, we haven’t.”
Guo Shier wasn’t disappointed. It was always difficult to find someone. He nodded and said, “Ancestor Yu Zhong, let’s go.”
Yu Zhong nodded. “Okay, let’s go.”
Wu Jing and Yao Yao felt a strange sense—that it seemed Guo Shier was the leader of this group, rather than Yu Zhong, who had the greatest strength. Neither of them spoke and followed the others as they flew away.
After flying for half a day, they finally arrived at the Golden Flame Well.
Guo Shier took a quick look and exclaimed in surprise, “Is this a natural talisman array?”
Yu Zhong replied, “That’s right. It’s the outer natural talisman array. Its power isn’t great, but newcomers will suffer some losses. Hehe. But I’ve been here before and am familiar with this natural talisman array. Just follow me.”

A forest of rocks—more precisely, a metal forest of countless oddly shaped metal formations intermixed with rocks. Some of these rocks stood over a thousand meters tall, resembling giant tree trunks rising from the ground, creating an extremely complex terrain. Guo Shier asked, “Should we fly over it?”
Yu Zhong replied, “We can’t fly over it. This sky is sealed by a natural talisman array; we can only make our way through from below.”
Yao Yao said, “There are only a few paths to enter this natural talisman array. We can’t just wander in randomly. There are several dead ends inside.”
There was sparse moss on the ground, and a few weeds stubbornly grew in the cracks between the rocks. A few venomous scorpions wandered among the rocks. Guo Shier said, “This place is quite desolate… Should we enter now?”
Yu Zhong said, “It’s about to get dark. Let’s rest outside for one night and enter tomorrow.”
Wu Jing remained silent the whole time, sitting quietly aside while occasionally stealing glances at Yao Yao.
Guo Shier nodded and said, “That’s good. Let’s all rest for one night.” Too lazy to summon a hidden shelter, he simply took out a piece of animal skin as a seat and sat down. Ying Mo and Luo Zhan followed suit. Yu Zhong hesitated for a moment before sitting down as well. Wu Jing and Yao Yao sat on opposite sides, kept at a distance, looking like enemies.
In front was the entrance—a passage resembling an arch, naturally formed, dark, and deep. Guo Shier glanced at it briefly before looking away. They would enter tomorrow morning; now wasn’t the time to explore.
Several talisman lights streaked across the sky, and in the blink of an eye, three professionals landed. They glanced at everyone and found an open spot to sit down. Guo Shier thought, “One five-tier altar, two six-tier altars… Indeed, only high-level professionals can enter.”
The sky grew even darker. Two more talisman lights flashed, and a professional from a seven-tier altar appeared, followed by one from a six-tier altar. The two exchanged glances and also found open spots to sit down.
Late at night, several more high-level professionals arrived. They also found open spots and sat cross-legged, not greeting each other, simply waiting in silence.
Nothing happened throughout the night. No professional would be foolish enough to start trouble here.
At dawn, a few impatient professionals rushed into the entrance, while the others remained where they were. Guo Shier packed up his animal skin seat, slowly finished washing up, then took out cured meat and flatbreads. Since there was no time to make soup, he also brought out a few bottles of fruit wine. Everyone quickly finished breakfast before flying into the natural talisman array.

Entering the passage to the natural talisman array, Guo Shier immediately realized that this array had become its own world. What he saw around him were not naturally formed talisman pillars, but an endless expanse of land. The ground was dark brown, devoid of any plants, extremely desolate. In the distance, everything was a white blur with no visible boundaries, and the sky was covered in gray mist.

Guo Shier followed Yu Zhong closely. He hated this kind of terrain the most as it offered no sense of direction at all. The old man also appeared, looking grave as he said, “This place… is not easy to navigate. Without guidance, it’s easy to get lost. Stay close and don’t get separated. You’re directionally challenged—once lost, things will get very troublesome.”

Yu Zhong said, “Fly right behind me. Don’t fly away, or you’ll fall into the natural talisman array.”

Behind Guo Shier were Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan, with Yao Yao and Wu Jing following further back. The six of them flew in a straight line.

Gradually, the environment began to change. The dark brown land gradually gave way to rocky terrain, with streams visible in the cracks between the rocks. There were also some sparse plants, but no insects or animals. The six of them continued flying without stopping. The environment changed rapidly, and Guo Shier knew these were all changes brought about by the natural talisman array.

The terrain kept shifting—from ordinary land to a desert filled with sandstorms, then through grasslands, and past swamps. There were various types of terrain and climates. Aside from the lack of insects and wild animals, everything else was present, which seemed quite miraculous.

Fortunately, Yu Zhong was very familiar with this place and led them through. It took several days before Yu Zhong stopped and said, “Let’s rest for a while.”

The group landed on the ground. Yu Zhong unfolded a piece of animal skin as a mat, and they all sat down. Guo Shier asked, “How much longer until we arrive?”