Chapter 8: Setting Traps (Part 1)

The Purple-Clad Warriors grew furious, their wild roars sounding like tsunamis. Countless of them rushed forward in waves, desperate to stop these nine detestable foreigners.
Li Ran was at the forefront. Despite his extreme strength, the overwhelming number of Purple-Clad Warriors still made him cautious. At this point, he had to resort to certain tactics—or else he might truly be trapped in this strange city.
He couldn’t use the monstrous technique of Sky Burial, but Li Ran had other methods.
It was the simple Virtual Symbol Giant Hands. Li Ran wasn’t aiming to crush the Purple-Clad Warriors on the street but to use the two Virtual Symbol Giant Hands to clear a path. This technique was known to every practitioner at the Altar level; it was slightly more advanced than Virtual Symbol Chains and didn’t consume much soul energy. Coupled with his immense strength, his use of this technique became even more powerful.
He closed his hands and plunged them downward sharply, causing the two Virtual Symbol Giant Hands to descend together. Li Ran shouted, “Open!” The palms separated violently, as if digging them into sand before pulling them apart abruptly. With a loud crash, countless Purple-Clad Warriors were flung into the air by the force, like two tsunamis splitting to the left and right, instantly clearing a wide path.
Li Ran yelled, “Stop fighting! Move on!”
The nine of them charged forward like a whirlwind. The Virtual Symbol Giant Hands acted like giant brooms, sweeping through the dense crowd of Purple-Clad Warriors.
Groups of them were thrown to the sides; such immense force was beyond their resistance. With so many Purple-Clad Warriors crashing into each other, many suffered broken bones and torn muscles, though they didn’t die. Only a few managed to avoid the sweep of the Virtual Symbol Giant Hands, but their luck ran even worse as the nine of them charged after them.
The few still in the middle of the street were quickly killed. Guo Shier smiled in approval and said, “Great idea!” He also used the Virtual Symbol Giant Hands to fling away the approaching Purple-Clad Warriors. The others realized that although this technique wasn’t highly lethal, it was effective. Since they weren’t aiming for maximum damage, avoiding entanglement was victory enough.
In moments, Li Ran and his group reached the edge of the city. Li Ran shouted, “Someone else, clear the path!”
Qi Wu Zhen silently rushed to the front. She waved her hands, and her two flaming hands slammed down, sweeping back and forth. Countless Purple-Clad Warriors were flung into the air, and even worse, their bodies caught fire.
Everyone’s pupils shrank in shock as they marveled at how fierce this woman was. With just one sweep, she had killed or injured most of them.

Purple-armored warriors also flew towards them from the sky. The nine of them divided tasks seamlessly: Qi Wu Zhen led the way at the front, while the others waved their Virtual Talisman Hands as if swatting flies, using their palms to strike wildly. Aizek and Meili hunted down those Purple-armored warriors who rushed into their circle. The nine of them charged forward rapidly.

Guo Shier turned his head by chance and saw countless Purple-armored warriors emerging in the distance. The thin layer of purple mist made them even more terrifying, and it was impossible to tell how many were chasing after them. He wondered if their small group of nine had enough time to form a battle formation. Given the Purple-armored warriors’ tenacious nature, they might not have a chance to break free.

The nine of them were like a small boat in a stormy sea, navigating through the ocean of Purple-armored warriors. Though the waves were huge, the boat remained resilient, moving forward unswervingly, shattering any wave that struck it.

Qi Wu Zhen was incredibly powerful; no one expected their Virtual Talisman Hands to have such devastating strength. After about ten minutes, they finally broke through the encirclement. Feeling the pressure ease, Halechi exclaimed, “Damn it… we made it!”

Li Ran shouted, “Fly low! Quick!”

The nine of them flew low over the ground. Although the Purple-armored warriors were fast, the gap quickly became apparent compared to these nine top-tier professionals. Gradually, the distance between them grew wider.

Li Ran said, “Don’t stop. Get farther away. We need time to rest and recover!”

At the front of the Purple-armored warriors were Black-armored ones, in large numbers—over a hundred. Behind them were Deep Purple-armored warriors, and at the very back were countless Purple-armored warriors, whose numbers were impossible to estimate. The Purple-armored warriors watched helplessly as the figures of the nine in front faded into the thin purple mist until they finally disappeared.

No longer seeing the Purple-armored warriors behind them, Li Ran shouted, “Follow me!” He immediately turned and flew sideways. The nine of them flew low, as this area wasn’t suitable for running. The ground was covered in ice and snow, and even if they could run, it would leave obvious traces. Flying allowed them to conceal their direction of movement.

After flying for an hour, they finally landed on a patch of purple ice. Without stopping to rest, Li Ran immediately activated the Boundary Breaker again, cast several spells, and sent them in the direction indicated by the Boundary Breaker—towards that strange city. With a sigh, he said, “Alright, let’s rest first. We’ll find a suitable place to form a battle formation in a bit!”

Guo Shieru threw a largeanimal skin mat, and everyone sat down. Each of them felt exhausted—not physically, but mentally. They sat in silence on theanimal skin mats. After a while, Li Ran sat to one side and began reciting scriptures silently, while Qi Wu Zhen sat at the other end and also started reciting scriptures. Guo Shieru sat in another corner, and the three of them formed a triangle, each reciting their own scriptures, while the others surrounded them, sensing the fluctuations in their souls.

Two hours later, Li Ran stood up and said, “Let’s find a suitable location to set up a talisman array.”

Guo Shieru asked, “What kind of talisman array?” There were many types of talisman arrays, varying in power and range. He wasn’t very proficient in them, but he had set up a few before. Initially, he had relied on Old Shuai to create an array specifically for capturing Gu Xi Bi. That time, he and Old Shuai successfully captured a Gu Xi Bi spirit beast.

Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen discussed it briefly, and Li Ran said, “Since we can’t communicate or reconcile with the Purple Armored People, and we need a quiet and suitable place to leave here, we have no choice but to go all out! This is a massive killing array, with a trapping array on the outside. Once they dare to enter, they won’t be able to get out.”

Zhen Wu Ji said, “We need a very large area. There are simply too many Purple Armored People. Without a huge array, it will be difficult to trap most of them.”

Guo Shieru asked, “Have we found a suitable array?”

Li Ran nodded. “No problem. I have a large trapping array, and she has a killing array. Well, we’ll pass them on to each other. I guess none of us has studied such large arrays before.” He gently touched Guo Shieru’s forehead and transmitted a portion of the knowledge.

Qi Wu Zhen also stepped forward and passed on some knowledge, and then they exchanged knowledge among themselves. This method was extremely powerful. This was how professionals truly communicated—passing knowledge to each other and studying it a bit to master a skill. However, in the world of talismans, professionals wouldn’t do this unless they were truly close friends.

After processing the two portions of knowledge, Guo Shieru couldn’t help but exclaim, “Impressive… How much material will this require?”

Li Ran said, “Let me allocate it. Each of us will refine a batch of talisman stones and jade for setting up the array. Xiao Zhenzhen and I will be responsible for refining the core parts. But, Shieru, you need to provide some spirit beads. Well, you’ve collected the most of them. It’s a shame…” He felt a bit regretful. He had also had the chance to obtain a large number of spirit beads back then, but he hadn’t paid much attention to it.

Guo Shier nodded and said, “No problem.” This wasn’t the time to be stingy; gathering materials was for use when needed. He had frantically collected materials in the Spell World, even resorting to robbery, all to use them at critical moments. In this team, his collection of materials was second to none, as no one else had such a strong sense of urgency.

Apart from Aizek and Meili, everyone else had their own tasks. Halechi smiled bitterly and said, “I still lack some materials.”

Zhen Wuji, Goha, and Yao Zebusong didn’t say a word. These three were top figures in the Spell World, carrying vast amounts of materials with them. In fact, they also regretted it deeply, as some of their materials were left at home. Although they had quite a few with them, those at home could no longer be used.

Li Ran said, “If you lack any materials, just ask Shier for them.” He knew Guo Shier had gathered a lot of materials—this guy was a collector who didn’t miss any opportunity to gather materials. During his short time with Guo Shier, he had observed him collect various materials. At first, he hadn’t taken it seriously, but once they left the Spell World, Guo Shier’s usefulness became evident.

Guo Shier asked, “What materials are missing?”

Halechi took out a jade talisman, quickly copied a segment of memory, and listed the required materials. He said, “It’s not many. Hehe, I have most of them; only a few are missing, along with about a dozen more… the quantity is a bit low.”

Guo Shier examined the jade talisman, then asked the old man to organize it. A few minutes later, he handed Halechi a talisman storage bag and said, “This should be enough.”

Halechi took the bag, checked it briefly, and nodded, “It’s fine.”

Guo Shier took out a few more talisman storage bags and distributed 7,000 Soul Beads among everyone. Li Ran said, “Alright, first let’s refine the talismans and jade stones for the formation. Xiao Zhenzhen and I will refine the talismans. Once everything is refined, I’ll arrange the main formation to deal with them once and for all.”

It wasn’t until everyone started refining that they realized this place was completely different from the Spell World—simply put, it didn’t fit in. It felt like the whole world was an enemy during the refinement process. In the end, Li Ran had to set up a concealment talisman formation first to resolve the issue.

The only one unaffected was Guo Shier. He simply ordered the old man to refine the materials in the secret realm, where the environment was the same as that of the Spell World and wasn’t influenced by this world.

Guo Shier sat on theanimal skin mat, seemingly asleep, but in reality his soul had taken shape and entered the altar’s secret realm, where he found the old man. The small secret realm had undergone significant changes; thanks to the old man’s meticulous renovations, it now resembled a fairyland cave dwelling. In front of a soul spring, the old man built a small building entirely made of talisman stones. Vast areas were covered with various rare plants, lush and green. When Guo Shier’s soul arrived there, the unique scent of the talisman world filled the air, soothing his entire soul.