Chapter 6: The Handsome Old Man (Part 1)

The mutated lightning owl transformed into a mass of essence, on the verge of re-forming once again. Guo Shier knew conventional methods wouldn’t work. He shouted, “Uncle Luo, Dingding, tie it down first! Uncle Eagle Demon, stop it from escaping!” With that, he released the Ancient Flame Sparrow. Trapped in a beast talisman for so long, the Ancient Flame Sparrow was already impatient. As soon as it was set free, it let out a deafening screech.

Seeing the Ancient Flame Sparrow grow rapidly, reaching ten meters in length in an instant, with raging flames burning on its feathers and a scorching heat wave spreading outward, Zhou Xiaoling and Luo Zhan both stepped back involuntarily. Eagle Demon also retreated. The Ancient Flame Sparrow screeched again, and the mutated lightning owl tried to flee in fear. After a long period of development and nourishment by numerous soul pearls, the Ancient Flame Sparrow had reached the strength of an eighth-level mutated version. Against a seventh-level mutated lightning owl, it already had an advantage in terms of momentum.

Showing its fierce nature, the Ancient Flame Sparrow pounced fiercely, its two giant claws gripping the lightning owl tightly, and flames immediately ignited on its body. The lightning owl sent out an electric current that struck the Ancient Flame Sparrow, causing sparks to flash across its body. Yet, the Ancient Flame Sparrow was still a newer and stronger creature, while the lightning owl, having been shattered twice, was severely weakened.

With a loud explosion, the lightning owl turned back into essence. This time, with the Ancient Flame Sparrow around, it couldn’t re-form and was swallowed whole by the Ancient Flame Sparrow.

The Ancient Flame Sparrow’s cries revealed extreme excitement. Having just had a huge meal, how could it not be thrilled? It circled in the air once, then its body began to shrink rapidly. Turning into a small firebird, it landed on Guo Shier’s shoulder, gently pecking at his ear with its sharp beak before gripping his collar and staying still—it needed time to digest the essence it had just acquired.

Zhou Xiaoling said, “Look… there are lightning bolts on the small firebird!”

Thin arcs of electricity flickered across the Ancient Flame Sparrow’s body, constantly jumping and flashing on its fist-sized form, combined with tiny flames, creating a very eerie appearance. One of its small claws held onto Guo Shier’s shoulder shirt, while the other was tucked under its belly. With its tiny head tilted and crimson eyes narrowed, it gave off an innocent and harmless vibe.

Guo Shier smiled and said, “It’s normal for the Ancient Flame Sparrow to absorb the lightning owl’s essence and gain some lightning attributes.”

A dozen dark dots appeared on the horizon. Eagle Demon, with his sharp eyes, quickly said, “Let’s go down—there’s a group of mutated lightning owls coming!”

Guo Shier looked up and was shocked—there were so many Lightning Owls; the four of them had no way of dealing with them. He said, “Let’s go down!” and they descended rapidly. Moments later, the four of them stood on the ground. Eagle Demon shouted, “Go!” The four of them raced across the ground at high speed. Seriously, if a dozen mutated Lightning Owls attacked together, even four master-level experts would be in trouble. There were few plants on the ground, mostly dead, thick tree trunks—some rotten, some still standing, but lifeless. The ground was full of ravines, clearly left by battles, with only faint traces remaining after such a long time. Guo Shier and the others could clearly distinguish between naturally formed ravines and those caused by battles, and the more they looked, the more amazed they became. The four of them moved at incredible speed, covering over a hundred kilometers in just a few minutes, far leaving behind the swarm of Lightning Owls. Guo Shier said, “Stop! We’ve shaken off the Lightning Owls. Let’s first examine the terrain.” The surroundings were still in disarray; even after tens of millions of years, the traces of battle hadn’t disappeared, with many new ones as well, but much fainter compared to those from tens of millions of years ago, clearly indicating less power. Guo Shier sighed, “The battle traces here remind me of those three giant beasts killed in the Tan Ya Secret Realm. The professionals in ancient battles had qualities and strength incomparable to today’s professionals—truly unimaginably powerful.” There were also many pieces of glass on the ground. Guo Shier immediately understood that these were formed by extreme heat in an instant. The fact that so many fragments remained after tens of millions of years showed just how terrifying battles must have taken place here. Zhou Xiaoling pointed to a distance and said, “That deep ravine probably wasn’t formed naturally.” Guo Shier had already noticed it and said, “Yes, it seems to have been carved by a life sigil blade, creating a ravine a kilometer long and seven or eight meters wide with just one strike. I think… even Master Ling couldn’t do that.” Eagle Demon laughed, “Stop sighing. When I flew over earlier, I saw a large puddle. Do you remember its shape? It seems to have been created by force—how big that puddle was!” Guo Shier said, “Let’s follow this path; there seems to be a mountain ahead.” The four of them flew low, no longer daring to soar high. In the air, they would be like targets, vulnerable to attacks from anyone.

Soon, the four of them arrived in the mountainous area. The mountains here were all shaved clean, with no peaks visible. Guo Shieru stood on the top of a mountain—a huge, slightly sloped platform with a smooth surface. He couldn’t help but exclaim, “Damn! Could this have been split with a single blow?”
There were also several piles of rocks as big as mountains nearby, which left the four in awe. To be able to crush a mountain in one strike must be incredibly powerful.
Eagle Demon said, “Let’s search for the altar.”
Guo Shieru nodded. “Okay, spread out and search. Remember not to go beyond the range for reinforcements. Bring your rescue signal talismans. If you encounter a Soul Beast, don’t fight—withdraw immediately. If you can’t retreat in time, send a rescue signal right away, no matter whether you think you can win or not. Understood?”
The four split up and searched in four different directions.
Guo Shieru flew along the mountain ridges, growing more and more astonished the further he went. The entire mountain range was twisted and disordered—not naturally, but shattered in battles. Many ridges were cut in half, with widespread collapses everywhere. Even after so many years, not a single plant grew there.
After a while, he found an altar, but it was already half-collapsed, with the remaining half leaning against the slope. He landed on it and examined it carefully. It was a completely damaged altar. After checking around, he found nothing of value. He realized that this place wasn’t far from the Inner City of the Vanguard, and countless professionals had already searched it.
After flying a short distance further, he suddenly saw a red signal rise into the air. Guo Shieru immediately turned around and rushed over at lightning speed.
It took only about ten seconds for him to arrive. It was a signal sent by Luo Zhan. It wasn’t a distress call—he had found an altar, one that was intact.
Luo Zhan was standing on top of the altar. Guo Shieru landed and asked, “What kind of altar is this?”
Eagle Demon and Zhou Xiaoling arrived shortly after.
Luo Zhan said, “I don’t know what kind of altar it is. It seems quite intact, but standing on it, I feel nothing, and the altar isn’t activated either…”
Guo Shieru crouched down and placed his hand on the altar. The Ancient Ink Lotus in his soul slowly rotated. When his hand touched the surface of the altar, the Ancient Ink Lotus trembled instantly and began spinning rapidly, drawing out strands of pure soul energy.
Zhou Xiaoling asked, “What’s wrong?”
Eagle Demon quickly waved his hand and whispered, “Don’t disturb Shieru.”

Guo Shier was completely stunned. He never expected Gu Mo Lian to have such a skill—ability to draw on the remaining souls in the altars to strengthen herself. Since altars were refined using souls, there must be remnants of the previous owners’ souls in them. After countless years, most of these souls had dissipated, leaving only a very small number of exceptionally pure souls intact.

In just a short while, Guo Shier felt his soul grow stronger—an incredibly exhilarating sensation. The souls remaining in the altar were extremely pure. Compared to them, his own soul was like muddy water compared to clear water; the difference was enormous.

Finally, Gu Mo Lian resumed its slow rotation. Guo Shier sighed in relief, sat down, and said, “Everyone, sit next to me.” He began chanting silently, and the 167 runes in his soul started influencing its fluctuations, spreading out in waves.

He sat there for half a day until all the absorbed souls fully merged with his own. Only then did he stop chanting. Ying Mo was surprised and said, “Huh, my soul seems to have grown a bit.”

Luo Zhan said, “Me too.”

Zhou Xiaoling nodded and said, “Strange, Shier, what did you do? I can feel my soul growing too…”

The Gu Yan Que on Guo Shier’s shoulder also emitted a few clear chirps, seemingly saying the same thing.

“Nothing much. Hehe, we just tried to find more soul altars. I discovered a new method of cultivation that can rapidly strengthen the soul. Don’t ask me why—I don’t know either.”

Guo Shier stood up, recalling the half-destroyed altar he had seen earlier, and said, “Follow me!”

It was not far to the half-destroyed altar, so the four of them quickly arrived there. Guo Shier landed on the altar and sat down immediately. Though the altar was tilted, he didn’t care at all. After sitting down, he placed one hand on its surface. Sure enough, Gu Mo Lian in his soul began spinning rapidly, with strands of pure soul being drawn out.

This time it took very little time—less than two minutes—before Gu Mo Lian stopped spinning quickly.

Guo Shier called out, “Everyone, sit down.” He started chanting again. By the time all the drawn souls had merged with his own, it had already grown dark.

After resting overnight, Guo Shier had no intention of leaving right away. This place was truly a treasure trove. Where else could one find so many altars? It would be a shame not to make use of them.

The group searched diligently for more altars, gradually moving further away from the Vanguard Inner City and delving deeper into the Wild Battle Secret Realm.

They encountered no professionals along the way, only a few low-level spirit beasts, which were swallowed whole by the Ancient Flame Sparrow. The journey was quite peaceful, and the wilderness seemed extremely calm as well. One day, the four of them arrived by a small lake. While stopping to rest, the Eagle Demon discovered an altar on the lake bottom while going to wash his face. Although the journey had been peaceful, no altars had been found until then, so upon discovering one on the lake bottom, everyone became excited immediately.