Chapter 8: Capture (Part 2)

The handsome old man spoke in his usual calm tone, “Handle it however you want.”
Guo Shier said, “Hmm, I’ll scare them off so they leave.”
……
Hanbing Baiyan and Tian Baiyan were trapped inside the magic array. They were quite smart and didn’t dare move around after entering; instead, they sat on the ground and waited. After all, they were high-ranking Great Saints with great experience. They knew that once trapped in the array, any sudden movement could lead to their death at the hands of the array.
The mist grew thicker, eventually becoming so dense that nothing could be seen—like being in a dark room with no light at all. Tian Baiyan kept reminding them, “Don’t move around. Wait… We’ll wait for the owner of the array to speak. Remember, don’t say anything nonsense!”
Hanbing Baiyan grumbled, “How unreasonable! I…”
Tian Baiyan snapped, “Shut up!”
Hanbing Baiyan didn’t dare say more and lowered his head in frustration. Tian Baiyan said, “Let me handle this. No one else is allowed to speak.” He knew well how unruly Hanbing Baiyan was, so he simply forbade them from talking.
The Great Saints remained silent as mice. They could hear faint sounds from outside—Guxi Bi’s roaring, which was terrifying. Tian Baiyan said with a wry smile, “I don’t know what they’re catching… That roar makes my soul uneasy.”
Hanbing Baiyan was also terrified. The roaring shook his soul. Even under the suppression of the array, he found it hard to withstand. If they faced it head-on, he wouldn’t stand a chance. He murmured, “What kind of spirit beast is this?”
Tian Baiyan replied, “I don’t know. Hopefully, it won’t affect us.”
In fact, these people were quite lucky. Thanks to Tian Baiyan’s caution, they stopped as soon as they entered the array and sat on the edge instead of going deeper. That’s why the handsome old man didn’t deal with them. If they had gone deeper, they might have been easily eliminated by him.
The ground trembled from time to time. Gradually, the mist began to clear slightly, revealing light. Hanbing Baiyan noticed that everyone’s face was pale. He knew his own face must look the same. He whispered, “Is it over?”
Tian Baiyan listened carefully for a while and said, “It seems… it seems to have calmed down.”
Just then, there was a loud explosion. The mist in the area where they were sitting vanished suddenly, revealing a space of dozens of meters. The surrounding mist swirled, but there was no mist around them—as if someone had cut out a piece of it, exposing their figures.
Tian Baiyan glared at Hanbing Baiyan and said in a low voice, “None of you are allowed to speak. Let me handle the negotiation!” He stood up and waited quietly.

Hanbing Baiyan and the other great masters all stood up, staring at the scene with tense expressions. The mist swirled around them, making it seem as though they were standing inside an empty barrel with thick fog forming its walls. Tian Baiyan could no longer hold back and said, “Which senior is here? We accidentally entered this talisman array. Please let us go.” The swirling mist formed a vague face, terrifying Tian Baiyan and the others. The face seemed to be examining them carefully. After a long while, a deep voice spoke, “Who are you?” The voice resonated deep within their souls, shaking them to their core. Tian Baiyan spoke even more respectfully, “We are professionals from the Baiyan family. We got lost here. I hope you won’t blame us and let us leave.” His heart pounded wildly, as he had a strong intuition that it would be easy for the other party to kill them. The face remained silent for a long time. Sweat began to appear on Tian Baiyan’s face. “Back away, don’t look back. I don’t want to see you again!” Tian Baiyan felt as if he had been pardoned and quickly replied, “Yes, yes… We’ll leave right away. Thank you, senior.” He grabbed Hanbing Baiyan and shouted, “Let’s go!” They left the talisman array and rushed back the way they came. Tian Baiyan was terrified; he didn’t even dare ask to slow down. They ran over a hundred kilometers before stopping beside a hill. Still shaken, Tian Baiyan said, “Damn, that was terrifying! Who on earth is that?” Hanbing Baiyan replied, “It must be a master of the altar. We’re no match for them.” Tian Baiyan said, “I’ve seen masters of the altar before, but I’ve never felt such pressure before. Damn, how could there be a master of the altar here…” Hanbing Baiyan added, “Yeah, I’m wondering too. Any master of the altar would be unable to fully utilize their powers here. Who is this person… and why is he so terrifying?” The two stared blankly into the distance, knowing they would never dare to look back if forced to. After a long pause, Tian Baiyan said with a bitter smile, “Let’s change direction. We must find an ancestral altar.” Hanbing Baiyan replied, “Let’s go that way. I remember there’s another battlefield there; maybe we can find one there.” One of the great masters said, “I know that battlefield, but do we really have to go there? It’s said to be extremely dangerous.” Hanbing Baiyan said, “What else can we do? That’s the only place we can use. Even if we could go further, the family’s disciples wouldn’t be able to make it there.”

Tian Baiyan gritted his teeth and said, “Go! If it really doesn’t work, we’ll think of another way.”
The group quickly left, flying low toward the distant battlefield.
…
Guo Shier smiled and said, “They’re gone.”
The handsome old man dismissed it with a scoff, “What a hassle. It’s better to just slap them to death—clean and straightforward, no complications at all. How great!”
Guo Shier replied, “You violent old man! Let’s tidy up the talisman array. Hehe, with so many altars to use, you can recover a bit.”
The handsome old man laughed happily. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t bother. Alright, go ahead and get busy. I’ll take care of Gu Xi Bi first. You kid are really lucky—being able to catch a Level 17 Spirit Beast so easily.” He shrank slightly and sank into the Ancient Ink Lotus with Gu Xi Bi.
Guo Shier stored the Ancient Ink Lotus in his soul, and the mist surrounding the talisman array vanished immediately.
He landed on the ground and roared, “Everyone, come here!”
Eagle Demon and the others flew out of the ditch and gathered around Guo Shier. Zhang Yaojin asked, “Is it done?”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “We’ve got a good harvest. Everyone, help me collect the talisman array.” He cast over a dozen spells in a row, and the talismans and pillars buried in the ground floated up. Everyone scattered and bent down to pick them up.
In less than half an hour, all the talismans and pillars were collected, and Guo Shier carefully stored them in the Spirit Storage Talisman. This had become his unique weapon. Although setting it up was a bit complicated, once used properly, it was something that allowed him to challenge opponents beyond his level.
Zhang Yaojin stared at the distant altars and said, “Guys, I’ll head ahead!” With that, he dashed off. This guy was almost going crazy—his eyes lit up as soon as he saw the altars.
Guo Shier smiled and said, “This territory is ours now. Go and look for treasures of your own.”
Everyone scattered, and Eagle Demon also ran off to search. It was clear no one had been here before; even if they had, they would likely have been devoured by Gu Xi Bi.
Guo Shier released the Ancient Ink Lotus to let the handsome old man out. He knew the handsome old man was stronger than him and would be better at finding things. The handsome old man grumbled, “You brat, why did you make me come out again?”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “Handsome old man, help me look for any leftover sacrificial treasures or precious items.”

The handsome old man said, “Nonsense! Sacrificial treasures are not easy to find. Usually, experts who possess altars destroy them before dying, so it’s hard to find intact ones—at most, just some fragments… Well, even fragments are valuable. You kid are too poor; you don’t have anything. Alright, let me help you look.”
Guo Shier was overjoyed and said, “Then thank you very much.”
The handsome old man replied irritably, “What thanks are these…”
Guo Shier said, “Well, my face isn’t as handsome as yours. After all, you’re the handsome old man.” This left the handsome old man speechless. After a while, he said, “Find an altar and use the Ancient Ink Lotus to extract souls. I’m almost starving! Get some souls to replenish myself.”
Guo Shier shook his head, thinking, “Get some souls to replenish yourself? That sounds awkward.” But he still had to do it—not only did the handsome old man need souls, but he himself did too. This was a shortcut; with the special abilities of the Ancient Ink Lotus, he could also replenish his own souls.
There were many altars scattered in this area, but few were intact; most were damaged. Guo Shier quickly found an altar that was half-collapsed. He flew up to it and said, “Handsome old man, I’m ready. This time, I’ll give it all to you.”
The handsome old man laughed happily, repeating, “Great! Great! Great!” He knew well that only more souls could restore him. Although he already had a body, it was far from complete compared to his head. Only by obtaining a large number of souls could he restore his soul and memories.
Guo Shier placed his hand on the altar, and the Ancient Ink Lotus spun rapidly above his head. The handsome old man retracted into the lotus, absorbing souls with all his might.
After a moment, the pure souls in the altar were completely extracted, but the amount was too small—after all, it was a damaged altar.
The handsome old man poked his head out from the top of the Ancient Ink Lotus and said, “Too little. It’s not enough. Keep looking!”
Guo Shier rolled his eyes and said, “I know. There are quite a few altars here. By the way, handsome old man, you should also help me look for any sacrificial treasures or fragments.”
The handsome old man said, “Alright, wait a moment.”
Suddenly, a bead appeared from his head. He cast a few spells, and the bead emitted a faint glow, circled above his head, then fell down.
Guo Shier was surprised and said, “You actually still have a sacrificial treasure?”
The handsome old man dismissed it, saying, “There are only two left. The rest all exploded.”
Guo Shier’s eyes lit up, and he said, “That means there might be sacrificial treasures inside the altar?”

The handsome old man said, “Idiot, although the sacred treasure is stored in the altar, once its master loses his memory, the treasure is doomed—it will completely merge with the altar, and you won’t even get a fragment. Don’t get your hopes up.”
Guo Shier smiled bitterly and said, “Alright, forget that for now. Have you found any sacred treasures?”