Chapter 1: Trapped (Part 2)

This terrifying journey left the top professionals from these talisman worlds deeply shaken; none of them wanted to go through such an ordeal again. It took several minutes before they calmed down enough to observe their surroundings, realizing they had arrived in another world.

The sky and land were overcast, with not a trace of life in sight. Guo Shier didn’t hold back his frustration: “What kind of hellish place is this?”

The area was pitch dark—no animals, no plants. The ground was covered with jagged rocks stretching as far as the eye could see, with no mountains or rivers. It was utterly desolate, and the air carried a strange smell. There was even no wind or water, and the temperature was extremely low. Guo Shier estimated it to be around minus ten degrees Celsius.

The breath they exhaled instantly turned into fine ice crystals that fell to the ground. If they hadn’t been top professionals, such harsh conditions alone would have made survival impossible, not to mention any other dangers lurking here.

This time, they didn’t set out on any exploration. Their only goal was to leave as soon as possible—none of them wanted to stay. But Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen were completely exhausted, having used at least one-third of their spiritual energy. So they had to stop and rest, using soul beads to replenish their energy.

Guo Shier summoned a talisman house and said, “Let’s not go anywhere else. We’ll rest here. Once Big Brother and Sister Zhen recover, we’ll leave.”

Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen went upstairs, while the others rested and ate downstairs. The talisman house’s built-in runes protected them from the outside environment, keeping the room warm and free from the extreme cold.

As they sat and chatted while eating downstairs, Guo Shier took out a reclining chair and held a few pieces of dried meat. These were specially marinated and air-dried, offering a delicious flavor. The Old Handsome Man had helped prepare many such snacks. As he ate, he chatted casually with the others.

Goha frowned and said, “This time was really dangerous. Sigh… I don’t know what will happen next… I hope we can return to the talisman world. Sigh…” He sighed repeatedly.

Yao Zebusong said, “Return? Goha, don’t get your hopes up. Basically… I think surviving is already the greatest victory.”

Goha gave a bitter smile and said, “This is the worst I’ve ever felt in my life. Sigh… If I had known, I wouldn’t have come out. With my abilities, I could have lived comfortably anywhere. Now… sigh…”

Guo Shier laughed and said, “Your skills are indeed high, but would you be content just staying in one place, waiting to die?”

Goha thought for a moment and said, “That’s impossible.”
Guo Shier threw the dried meat in his hand into his mouth and mumbled, “Exactly… How could you be willing to stay at home?”
Zhen Wuji said, “Stop talking nonsense. What do everyone think—the next step… can we leave here?”
Ezek and Meili lay on the animal skins, half-asleep and lazy. Ezek suddenly said, “Just keep moving forward. What’s the point of worrying?”
No one paid attention to them. Halechi said, “Leaving here shouldn’t be a problem. The question is, after leaving here… how many more times will we have to go through it to get out?”
No one knew the answer, not even Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen. Guo Shier said, “Old Ha, don’t worry too much. Just take it one step at a time. Sigh… it’s extremely quiet here…”
This place was utterly strange—there was no sign of life or sound, not even wind. It was a deathly silence. Even staying in the talisman house, one could feel that extreme tranquility, enough to scare anyone with a weaker heart to death.
Meili comfortably hugged one of Ezek’s thighs, resting her head on it, and said, “There probably isn’t anything good to eat here. It’s normal to be quiet…” In her opinion, there definitely couldn’t be any mutated talisman beasts here, which meant it didn’t produce the food she needed.
Zhen Wuji sighed and said, “Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen… it seems they’re having a hard time this time…” He glanced upward, and though he saw nothing, everyone understood what he meant.
Guo Shier said, “Maybe the situation is special. Hopefully, it will be easier next time.” He felt that way, and so did the others. Although they didn’t know much about that smaller world, they understood it was very peculiar—there was even a place that could connect with the talisman world. Perhaps that’s why that world was exceptionally strong.
Just like when a tree is invaded by something foreign, its bark swells into large bumps—what was originally thin bark becomes extremely thick wood tumors. The relationship between smaller worlds is similar; if they connect, many changes will occur.
No one wanted the next world to be just as difficult to enter and exit. Everyone understood that once Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen ran out of strength, no one else could break through the barrier, and the result would be total destruction. In a spatial rift, without the support of breaking through the barrier, no one could withstand the pressure of space—basically, not even ash would remain.

Zhen Wuji stood up and went to the door, looking outside. Leaning against the door, he said, “This place is strange. I’ve seen some completely silent secret realms in the world of talismans, but they’re nothing like this. There’s a sense of extreme unease here.” He turned around and asked, “Do you feel it too?”
The people present were all top-level professionals. No matter who they were, even the weakest of them, Halechi, was at the level of a Soul Master. At such a level, the soul becomes extremely sensitive. Everyone agreed with Zhen Wuji’s feeling; since arriving here, each of them had felt uneasy.
Yao Zebusong said, “We can’t stay here for long. Whether it’s peaceful or not, we should just leave when the time comes.”
Guo Shier said with a smile, “That’s true. There’s no need to worry too much.”
…
After resting for a day, Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen fully recovered. However, they had used a large number of Soul Beads. To repair the spatial barrier, they spent many more Soul Beads and some precious materials. There was no other choice—since their spiritual power needed to recover quickly, they had to use Soul Beads. Moreover, each use of the Sacrificial Treasure to break the barrier required reprocessing it. Fortunately, both of them were super powerhouses with ample supplies; otherwise, they really wouldn’t have been able to hold on.
After entering the Superimposed Continent this time, a series of unexpected events caught them off guard. But at this point, there was no turning back—they could only move forward. Success and failure lay just on the line, and neither of them dared to be careless.
There was no night here; the sky remained gloomy, like a closed, dangerous dead place. It was absolutely impossible to stay here for long—this was everyone’s consensus. The two of them went downstairs and immediately gathered everyone to get ready to leave.
Guo Shier put away the talisman house and asked, “Elder brother, where should we go next?”
Li Ran said, “Leave this place. But this spot isn’t suitable yet. We need to find a proper location to break through the spatial barrier.” With that, he activated the Sacrificial Treasure to break the barrier, soared into the air, and said, “Let’s go!”
The others followed closely behind, flying forward.
Halechi complained, “This place really feels awful. I’m so annoyed…”
Guo Shier said, “It’s like a coffin… lifeless. Hehe, this little world is quite special. It’s better to leave as soon as possible.”
Li Ran turned around and said, “We’re at the edge of this world. If we want to go deeper, we’ll have to break through the space again. But… we won’t go any further. Once we find a weak spot, we’ll leave immediately.”

Guo Shier said, “Is this the edge of a small world? No wonder it’s so quiet and lifeless.” His understanding of small worlds was becoming increasingly vague; he couldn’t truly grasp their mysteries, and there were many phenomena he couldn’t explain or comprehend.
The Space Tear cut through the sky, followed by a group of professionals. The characteristic of the Space Tear was its ability to automatically locate weak points in small worlds, allowing everyone to simply follow it. Once a weak spot was found, Li Ran would immediately know.
A gust of wind caused by flight swept through, and a streak of colored light crossed the sky. Each of these professionals had talismanic lights shining on them as they raced across the sky. After flying for four days, Li Ran said, “Stop!” Everyone hovered in the air. Guo Shier asked, “What’s wrong?”
Li Ran frowned and said, “Strange, I can’t find a suitable spot… I feel like we’re going in circles.” Everyone’s heart sank—this was the worst possible outcome.
Qi Wu Zhen nodded in agreement with Li Ran’s judgment. She said, “Mm, I feel the same way. This place is very strange.”
Halechi asked, “We’re not trapped here, are we…”
Guo Shier snapped, “Jinx.”
Halechi asked confusedly, “What do you mean?”
Guo Shier ignored him and said, “Brother, do we have to force our way through space again?” Looking for weak points was to avoid wasting the power of the Space Tear. If nothing else worked, they could still use it to force their way through space. But doing so would require reprocessing the Space Tear, consuming a lot of materials and soul beasts. If they used a secret realm within the Space Tear, the loss would be even greater. So finding a weak spot in space was extremely important.
Li Ran sighed and said, “This place is eerie. The sooner we leave, the better…” After discussing it with Qi Wu Zhen, he said, “Forget it. Let’s not waste any more time. We’ll just force our way through space right here…” Before he could finish speaking, the entire ground suddenly began to tremble. Everyone stared in shock at the ground below.
Guo Shier exclaimed, “What the hell is that?”
A rumbling sound gradually came from beneath the ground, and the stones on the surface started rolling. Li Ran frowned and stared downward, saying, “Strange… such a powerful aura…”
In just a few moments, Guo Shier also sensed an extremely powerful aura spreading from beneath the ground. Aizek and Meili began to tremble, their expressions changing drastically. Aizek said, “What an intense aura… What is this?”
Everyone was somewhat bewildered—this aura was so powerful it was terrifying.

Guo Shier was filled with horror as he realized that this aura was overwhelming, and he couldn’t identify its source. All he knew was that it came from underground; nothing else was clear to him. The stones on the ground bounced up, and the tremors grew stronger. The earth seemed like a giant drum suddenly struck, causing it to vibrate violently. A group of professionals stared in shock at the ground, while Halechi was at a loss, saying, “Damn it, what the hell is this?”