Chapter 10: News from Luo Jie (Part 2)

Guo Shier smiled and said, “I won’t leave the Chenxiao Sect for now. Unless something unexpected happens, I’ll stay for at least a few years.” Ever since he met Li Ran, the Ciu Mo master and disciple, Zhu Jiamao, the demoness, and others, he realized his strength was still far behind theirs. He had no trace of pride or complacency—in this world, even a Holy Master wasn’t that remarkable.
The two immediately stopped arguing. Guo Shier added, “Everyone, hurry up and train. Baozi, if you can reach the master level by the time I leave, I’ll take you with me.”
Huo Bao’s eyes lit up as he said, “Great!” He turned to the other three and said, “Let’s train! Shier, before you leave, give us one more chance to enter the Void Mist Path!”
Guo Shier nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll try my best.”
Monier said, “If you four want to keep up with Shier, you need to take on more sect missions and train in the secret realms. That’s faster than training on your own. The sect has many fixed secret realms, and you can be teleported there after accepting missions.”
Huo Bao and the others nodded firmly before taking their leave.
Guo Shier sighed slightly. He could tell that although the four of them were eager to work hard, their huge strength gap made them feel overwhelmed.
Eagle Demon said, “Actually, the people from the Advanced Continent benefit mainly from inheritance. If they got a chance to inherit something, I believe… their progress would be rapid!”
Guo Shier shook his head. “The Advanced Continent… let’s not think about it for now. Look at them—Holy Master-level experts come in groups. When a Great Holy Master appears, there are dozens of them… Their conditions are too favorable.”
Eagle Demon said, “Yes, in the Bloodied Secret Realm, thousands of Holy Masters can gather at once. It’s terrifying just to think about it… If they attacked, we wouldn’t be able to resist at all.” Monier said, “There’s no need to worry so much. It’s difficult for people from the Advanced Continent to enter our place. The rules of the secret realms prevent them from entering in large numbers. We have large sect talisman arrays, so they can’t gain an advantage. That’s why… most professionals from the Advanced Continent who come here are here to gain experience.”
Luo Zhan said, “Below the pavilion, we built a large talisman-making hall. Shier can go take a look if he has time.”
Guo Shier stood up. “Okay, I’ll go now.”

Monier said, “Twelve, I’ll go help confirm your status as an elder. I’ll be back in a moment.” She turned and left. She was very excited about making Guo Twelve an elder; once this was done, her beloved would become the youngest elder in the Chenxiao Sect.
Luo Zhan took Guo Twelve and Eagle Demon to the underground talisman-making hall. It was designed with Monier’s help, roughly the same size as the one in Kumu, and was also a luxurious talisman-making hall.
Guo Twelve was very satisfied and immediately started arranging things. There were already many items there, all brought by Monier; he just needed to make a few adjustments before it could be used.
Three days later, Guo Twelve and Eagle Demon officially put on the purplish-red robes representing their status as elders and received their identity tokens. Guo Twelve then announced that he would begin his first period of seclusion for cultivation.
…
Time flew by like an arrow, like water flowing through the years.
Two years later, Guo Twelve finally mastered the inheritance of the Ancient Soul Altar. It was then that he realized the inheritance was only the foundation—just like studying in school in his past life, where he only learned theoretical knowledge. However, many aspects of the Ancient Soul Altar’s inheritance were lost.
After mastering the basics, he had to create and discover skills suitable for himself. The Ancient Soul Altar’s inheritance included a special skill: the control and command of Spirit Beasts, which was a very useful skill. As for other skills, Guo Twelve still needed to explore and create them on his own.
Guo Twelve now had two Spirit Beasts, one Ancient Spirit Worm, his own life sword, and a Green Lotus Ancient Talisman. He didn’t yet know how to use any other skills. At the Saint level, he could already control basic virtual talismans and had mastered many rare ancient runes, all of which he could practice using gradually.
One day, while practicing virtual talisman attacks, Luo Zhan rushed into the talisman-making hall, calling out repeatedly, “Twelve! Twelve!”
Guo Twelve stood up and asked, “Uncle Luo Zhan, what happened?”
Luo Zhan replied, “News came from the Northern Talisman Gate! Grandmaster Nanshan has returned!”
Guo Twelve was stunned, then exclaimed in joy, “Grandpa Nanshan? Has my master returned too?”
Luo Zhan said, “No, it’s just him alone who returned!”
Guo Twelve immediately said, “Let’s head back to the Northern Talisman Gate!”
Since Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan disappeared in the altar’s secret realm, it had been a constant worry for Guo Twelve. Since there was no way to find them, he could only wait passively. To think that Qi Nanshan had returned alone—how could he not be anxious?

Guo Shier said, “Go find Uncle Eagle Demon! I’ll go to Master Kuumu.” He rushed out of the talisman-making hall and flew away as a faint shadow.
A short while later, he arrived at Kuumu’s manor and rushed straight into his talisman-making hall.
“Master! Master! Are you here… Master!”
Kuumu replied calmly, “Shier, why are you in such a hurry?”
Guo Shier said, “Master, I need to return to North Talisman Gate.”
Kuumu was surprised. “You want to go back… You don’t need to tell me. Just go. You’re already an elder of the Chenxiao Sect—don’t be so cautious in your actions.”
Guo Shier smiled bitterly. “Yes.” He still told Kuumu about Qi Nanshan’s return.
Kuumu said, “Hmm, go then. If you encounter any problems you can’t solve, come back to me!” After thinking for a moment, he added, “Tell your wife too, otherwise she’ll come bother me again.” He didn’t stop Guo Shier from going to his first master. He knew very well that Guo Shier’s progress had been extraordinary, so he decided to let the young man develop on his own.
Guo Shier nodded in gratitude. The fact that Kuumu allowed him to go to his first master without hesitation showed how much he doted on him. He said, “Okay, I’ll go see my wife.”
Kuumu nodded and said, “Don’t worry. Master will help you if there’s a problem.”
Guo Shier left the manor and soon found Monier.
Monier was also happy and agreed to go with Guo Shier.
In the end, Guo Shier returned to North Talisman Gate with Eagle Demon, Luo Zhan, Monier, and Huo Bao.
The Chenxiao Sect had established a large sect talisman gate specifically for communicating with the continent where North Talisman Gate was located. However, not many people used it, mainly those who had migrated from North Talisman Gate. Few professionals went there; they were all there to collect various supplies and materials.
This sect talisman gate could transport fifty people at a time, requiring a great deal of talisman energy.
Wearing a purple-red elder robe, Guo Shier, along with Monier, Eagle Demon, Luo Zhan, Huo Bao, and others, arrived at the gate. Monier waved to call over the disciple who guarded the gate and asked him to open it.
Normally, this gate opened at set times, but as an elder, Monier could easily request it to be opened once. After passing through the gate, they arrived at North Talisman Gate.
Anxiously, Guo Shier said as soon as they stepped out of the gate, “Uncle Luo Zhan, you, Baozi, and the others go slowly. I’ll head ahead first!” He took Monier and Eagle Demon into the air and flew rapidly toward Luo Jie’s manor.
When Guo Shier saw Qi Nanshan, he was stunned.

Qi Nanshan’s appearance had changed greatly. The only thing that remained unchanged was his shovel-shaped horse face, which now exuded an even stronger aura of ferocity. He seemed taller as well, with a younger-looking face. His upper body was bare, covered in strange black runes. It should be noted that when he reached the rank of Mad Master, those runes had completely disappeared, yet now they reappeared.

To Guo Shier’s surprise, these runes were not the modern ones but ancient runes. If it weren’t for his inheritance from the Ancient Soul Altar, he wouldn’t have recognized such ancient runes. What was most astonishing was that Qi Nanshan had already reached the rank of Intermediate Saint Master.

Monier had never seen Qi Nanshan before. When she saw the black ancient runes on his body, her face showed shock. She grabbed Guo Shier tightly and asked, “The inheritance of the Ancient Black Rune Clan?”

Guo Shier didn’t care about whether they were ancient black runes or not. In his shock, he broke free from Monier’s grip and rushed into Qi Nanshan’s arms, shouting, “Grandpa Nanshan, where is Master Luo Jie?”

Qi Nanshan’s cold gaze suddenly softened. He patted Guo Shier’s back gently and said, “Shier, don’t worry. I’ll tell you…” He placed his hands on Guo Shier’s shoulders, looked him up and down, and said with satisfaction, “Shier, you’ve grown up!”

Guo Shier was on the verge of tears. He asked, “Grandpa Nanshan, where have you been?”

Qi Nanshan looked shocked and said, “Shier, have you reached the rank of Saint Master?”

Guo Shier didn’t even bother to answer. He said, “Forget about masters and Saint Masters. Where is Master Luo Jie?”

Qi Nanshan sighed and said, “Let’s sit down together. Shier, don’t rush. Listen to me carefully.”

Guo Shier insisted, “I need to confirm one thing first—is Master Luo Jie still alive?”

Qi Nanshan replied, “He’s alive! Don’t worry. He’s doing well.”

Guo Shier felt relieved all at once, though his legs turned a bit weak. He said, “Master’s wife, Uncle Eagle Demon, sit down!”

Qin Han came in from outside. He said, “Shier, I have something to talk to you about in a moment.” Then he sat down as well. Qi Nanshan remained silent for a while before saying, “We encountered our enemies in the altar’s secret realm. There were too many of them, so the old man decided to open the Rune Gate and escape first.”

“Who knows… Once it was opened, the coordinates suddenly changed. By then, the two of us had already entered the talisman gate, and the old man didn’t notice the change in its coordinates either. It wasn’t until we came out that we realized the gate was damaged and needed to be repaired. As for the place we arrived at, it was a strange place we had never been to before… To this day, we still don’t know whether it’s a secret realm or a continent.”
Monier’s expression was extremely serious, and her gaze at Qinan Shan was peculiar.
Qinan Shan said, “There, we encountered the Soul Altar of the Black Talisman People… an ancient clan, an evil race.”
Book 13: Star Continent