Chapter 1: New Discoveries (Part 2)

Ugh!
With a sharp howl, the Moon Blade transformed into a crimson streak of light, slashing down with tremendous force.
Boom! The Moon Blade plunged into the ground, sending two walls of dust soaring into the air. A shockwave hit them, sending Han Bing Baiyan and the others rolling around like balls. Fortunately, Guo Shier didn’t target them directly; they were only hit by the shockwave from the Moon Blade’s explosion, causing them to spit blood repeatedly.
The Eagle Demon opened its mouth wide and muttered, “Damn it… that’s terrifying…”
Xian Ru Dai was equally stunned. Her sharp eyes recognized that such a strike could only be delivered by a master of the Void Form Altar. She wondered silently—could Guo Shier be such a master? That’s impossible.
Zhou Xiaoling also couldn’t believe what she saw; the power was simply overwhelming.
A deep trench, over ten meters deep and about four hundred meters long, appeared before everyone.
Han Bing Baiyan roared, “Go!” He dashed across the ground, fleeing outward, with the other dozen or so professionals scrambling to escape as well. Seriously, if a high-level Grand Sage possessed the attack power of a Void Spirit Mirror user, what was the point of fighting? They had to run—otherwise, they’d die.
Guo Shier had no intention of killing them all. Seeing them flee, he stopped paying attention. That slash earlier had nearly made him spit blood—all because of that old man. The Moon Blade spun in the air before landing right above his head.
As if all his strength had been drained, Guo Shier slumped down, his face turning deathly pale.
Zhou Xiaoling cried out, “Shier, what’s wrong?”
Guo Shier waved his hand to signal she shouldn’t disturb him. He immediately sat cross-legged, his soul trembling slightly. “Old man! You’re about to kill me!”
The old man shuddered inside the Ancient Ink Lotus. He knew his methods were a bit extreme. After all, Guo Shier was a high-level Grand Sage, while he himself had been a super master with a Solid Form Altar. Using such tactics on a professional who still didn’t possess a Void Form Altar was simply too much.
But the old man stubbornly persisted, his soul fluctuating nonstop. “Hey, I’m doing this to help you… I’m just putting in extra effort for nothing. Sigh, the world has changed—being a good person is hard now…”
Guo Shier snapped, “I have no problem with you being a good person, but when you act good, people die… Do you even realize that?”

The handsome old man explained awkwardly, “It’s mainly because… you’re too weak. You can’t even withstand seven spells. I only used one spell and 18,000 talismans, and your life talisman blade is already falling apart. Sigh, kid, you need to work harder on refining it. This won’t do.” He spoke in a tone as if teaching someone.

Guo Shier was almost driven mad by his words and said, “My Moon Blade almost exploded… No, you need to do more!”

The handsome old man protested, “I’m already designing a virtual altar for you. What more effort do you expect? I’m already doing all the hard work.”

Guo Shier said, “My Moon Blade… You need to help me refine it again. Otherwise, I might get killed by you next time.”

The handsome old man asked, “Huh? Is that all your request?”

Guo Shier was confused. “What do you mean? What other request could I have? It’s just that simple request!” He actually didn’t expect the handsome old man to agree. He just planned to have the old man give him some advice while he refined it. But since the old man’s spiritual fluctuations seemed indifferent, he took the opportunity.

The handsome old man said, “You should have said so earlier. Leave this trivial task to me! But you need to find the materials. Otherwise, I can’t refine it again.”

Guo Shier was overjoyed. He realized he had found a free laborer, one of extremely high skill. He said, “Okay. Tell me what materials are needed. As long as I have them, I’ll give them to you. If I don’t have them now, I’ll go get them!”

The handsome old man said, “I’ve already created a storage talisman space inside the Ancient Ink Lotus. You can put the materials there. I guess your Spirit Storage Talisman is almost full.”

Guo Shier’s mind stirred slightly, and he sent most of the materials into the Ancient Ink Lotus.

The handsome old man checked briefly and exclaimed in surprise, “Not bad. You’ve collected quite a lot. Hmm, I’ll go look for any missing materials.”

Guo Shier slowly opened his eyes, his face unable to hide the joy.

Zhou Xiaoling stared at him with a worried expression. Guo Shier smiled and said, “Ding ding, it’s okay. It was just a little unexpected.”

Xian Ru Dai Ruo pondered, “Brother Shier, why is your life talisman blade so powerful?”

Guo Shier gave a wry smile. He couldn’t explain. He couldn’t just say that the handsome old man went crazy for a moment, used talismans to enhance it, and almost destroyed his own life talisman blade. So he could only say, “It was accidental… I didn’t expect it either. I almost hurt myself.”

Eagle Demon said, “They’ve escaped. Should we chase after them?”

Guo Shierou shook his head and said, “Our strength isn’t much greater than theirs. If we fight head-on… we’ll also suffer losses. We can’t afford to hurt or lose even one of the people here. After this battle, I think they won’t dare to come back again.”
Eagle Demon shook his head and said, “Forget about them. I guess when we leave, there might still be complications. These people are a bit strange.”
Xian Rudei looked at the collapsed altar not far away, joined her hands, and muttered a few words. No one could hear clearly what she said, but they all sensed her sadness.
Guo Shierou stood up, and the handsome old man shouted again from among the ancient ink lotuses, “Shierou, keep collecting souls… Once I help you build a virtual altar, you’ll need a large supply of souls!”
Eagle Demon asked, “Shierou, where are we going?”
Guo Shierou replied, “Keep searching for soul altars.”
Zhang Yaojin gritted his teeth and said, “I hope we can find an older and more complete advanced altar. Maybe that way we can erase the previous inheritance and obtain a new one…”
Guo Shierou nodded and asked, “Does anyone else have any opinions?” In a small team, everyone’s opinion should be heard; pooling ideas helps make the right decisions.
Luo Zhan said, “I have no opinions.”
Zhou Xiaoling also had no opinions. Although she really wanted to find a place to learn the inheritance, she knew now wasn’t the right time.
Xian Rudei pondered for a moment before saying, “Well, since I don’t have a place to go for now, I’ll just go check if there are any more altars. Sigh, it’s a pity we haven’t found anything good yet. It would be great if we could find a sacred artifact, even if it’s damaged.” She seemed very disappointed.
Guo Shierou said, “If we go further in, I think it will be even more dangerous. Everyone, stay focused. I hope we won’t encounter any powerful spirit beasts.”
Xian Rudei said, “It’s hard… really hard not to encounter powerful spirit beasts. I just hope we won’t run into ones we can’t handle at all!”
Guo Shierou said, “If we do, run quickly. I believe we have the ability to escape.”
Xian Rudei nodded and said, “It depends on luck. I hope there are altars in the depths of the Wild Battle Secret Realm that no one has visited yet. Maybe we can find something good there.” Her eyes sparkled.
Zhou Xiaoling couldn’t help but laugh and say, “Sister Xian… no, junior sister Xian, you’re so greedy.”

Xian Ruidai said, “Senior sister, we professionals have to be a bit greedy. Otherwise, how can we progress or cultivate?” She said confidently, “Back home, humph, I snatch everything… Even our ancestors support me!”
Guo Shier felt cold sweat break out on his forehead. He understood that with Xian Ruidai’s potential, all the family’s resources would be directed toward her. Reaching the rank of Junior Great Sage at just sixteen was something that would make her a key disciple in any family. What she meant by “snatching” wasn’t likely an exaggeration—it might really be stealing.
Zhou Xiaoling, a professional from a major sect, also understood Xian Ruidai’s meaning. She said, “Sister, you can’t outsnatch me.”
Xian Ruidai smiled and said, “I don’t snatch from friends. I only take what I dislike.”
Guo Shier guessed that this girl was also a little troublemaker in the Gudai family. He said, “Alright, let’s go!” They flew low over the ground. Eagle Demon said, “Let’s go!” Zhang Yaojin followed silently. Luo Zhan said, “Ding ding, stop daydreaming and hurry up!”
Zhou Xiaoling and Xian Ruidai flew hand in hand, racing along with the others low over the ground.
Eagle Demon led the way. Guo Shier had already put away his Spirit Beast and Spirit Insect, leaving only the Ancient Flame Sparrow on his shoulder. It was too dangerous to keep the Giant Nesting Dragon outside, especially when entering areas with advanced Spirit Beasts. The Giant Nesting Dragon would be like an easy target and a source of trouble, so he didn’t dare leave it outside.
In just a short while, they had flown hundreds of miles. The number of Spirit Beasts was rapidly decreasing. Often, not a single one could be seen even after flying for dozens of miles. But whenever one was spotted, none were below level thirteen. They even saw Spirit Beasts at level fourteen or fifteen, and they carefully avoided them from afar.
It was completely silent around them. Some low-level plants, such as moss, could be seen here. The ground wasn’t too dry, and there were streams in some areas, with weeds and shrubs by the streams, but no tall trees.
From time to time, Spirit Insects about a foot long crawled across the ground. Although not many, they appeared frequently.
Eagle Demon said, “Look! There’s an altar over there!”
Guo Shier rejoiced, “Let’s go over there.”
Eagle Demon slightly changed direction, and everyone followed toward the altar.
Guo Shier prayed silently that it would be a complete altar, allowing them to obtain a large amount of pure souls. With just one complete altar, he thought he could restore the Old Handsome Man’s body fully. Of course, it was impossible to restore him to his peak condition—recovering even one-tenth of his former strength would be great.
Xian Ruidai exclaimed in amazement, “Wow, this altar is so big!”

Smiles appeared on everyone’s faces. Zhou Xiaoling said, “This altar seems to be quite intact!”
Zhang Yaojin had an eager expression on his face as he muttered to himself, “Intact! It must be an intact altar… a high-level altar!”
Suddenly, a giant Spirit Beast emerged from behind the altar and roared at Guo Shier and the others, making it clear: Stay back!
Eagle Demon gasped and said, “Damn… Level 15? Level 16?”
Guo Shier replied, “It’s hard to tell! I feel its level is very high!”