Chapter 4: Recruitment (Part 1)

“Old Salt Monster!”
Guo Shier stepped back, while Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan stepped forward immediately. A master of altars certainly wouldn’t fear two high-ranking Great Saint Masters. Old Salt Monster was initially stunned, then saw Guo Shier. His expression changed slightly as he stepped aside and said, “You… it’s you…”
Up to this point, Old Salt Monster still didn’t know Guo Shier’s name. The only thing that made him resentful was that this guy had stolen his Bone Hand Sacrificial Treasure, greatly reducing his strength. Thus, he remembered Guo Shier clearly. Even after more than two years without seeing each other, he could still recognize him at a glance.
The talisman gate flickered again, and two more people emerged.
Guo Shier couldn’t help but smile. They were all acquaintances—one was He Da Niao, and the other was He Da Ming. Then, six more Great Saint Masters came out of the talisman gate; they were disciples of the Gu He Ming family.
Old Salt Monster stepped back a few more times. Gritting his teeth, he glared at the two of them and asked coldly, “How long do you plan to follow us?”
He Da Ming sneered, “Until you go into the wilderness. Hehe, Old Salt Monster, don’t think you can hide just because of some rules!”
Guo Shier said, “Old Salt Monster, I didn’t expect you to come to such a remote place. Are you planning to kill me again to silence me?”
Old Salt Monster examined Guo Shier carefully, filled with shock. In just two years, he could no longer see through Guo Shier. With a dark expression, he said, “This is a dead end. If you’re capable, then follow us!”
He Da Niao stepped forward. He also recognized Guo Shier and quickly bowed, saying, “Hello, it’s good to see you again.”
Guo Shier nodded and said, “You go on. We need to return to Da Qian Fort.”
He Da Ming had seen Guo Shier at the auction. The former Great Saint Master was now a master of altars in physical form, which shocked him greatly. In just over two years, a person could advance so rapidly, making Guo Shier even more mysterious. He said, “I still haven’t thanked Brother Guo for his help. On behalf of the Gu He Ming family, I express my gratitude to you.”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “There’s no need for formalities, Brother He.”
Nan You also stepped forward to greet them.
With a dark expression, Old Salt Monster turned to a Great Saint Master at a supply point and said, “Arrange a place for me to stay! Prepare supplies for half a year!” As long as he stayed at the supply point, He Da Ming and He Da Niao couldn’t attack him. Once he went into the wilderness, as long as the two found him, it would be the end of him.

So, Salt Old Monster kept wandering around various supply points, sometimes even going to submersible forts or large submersible forts, but never venturing outside. This time, He Da Ming and He Da Niao followed him, only to find that the guy actually came to this remote supply point, acting completely unbothered. Watching Salt Old Monster’s retreating figure, He Da Niao snapped, “I refuse to believe you’ll stay at this supply point forever!” Guo Shier didn’t want to get involved in their feud and said, “We need to return to the large submersible fort. We’ll take our leave first.” He Da Niao replied, “Hope to see you again someday.” After some thought, He Da Ming tossed Guo Shier a message token and said, “If anything happens, you can get help from the Guhe Ming family.” Guo Shier didn’t refuse—after all, more friends meant more options, a principle he understood. He took the token and bowed to say goodbye. The great sage at the supply point activated a teleportation gate to let Guo Shier and the others leave. … Several months passed. Guo Shier and his group visited three large submersible forts and countless supply points, searching everywhere for members of the four ancient families, but they didn’t find a single one. It was then that he realized the places the four ancient families had gone to might be different from where he was going. The four of them sat in a small restaurant inside a submersible fort. Actually, it wasn’t a restaurant but just a place to eat, but Guo Shier was used to calling it that. There was only meat soup and grilled meat, with no alcohol available. This submersible fort was different from large submersible forts—it was a relatively large land fragment floating in the void. Aside from large defensive rune arrays, all buildings here were built on the ground, unlike those in large submersible forts, which were all underground. The small restaurant faced the street and was a two-story building of modest height. Guo Shier and the others sat at a table by the window. Nan You advised, “Shier, go to our Gunan family. It’s hard to find the people you’re looking for here. The area of Yaqi Dami Tian is vast. Even after all these years and the construction of so many submersible forts, we still can’t explore the entire region. All we can go to are a few places within Yaqi Dami Tian.” Guo Shier gave a bitter smile. This was the third time Nan You had persuaded him to join the Gunan family. According to him, the Gunan family was a super-large family that had been established since ancient times, with deep roots, controlling large areas of land and secret realms, and being one of the local dominators. Ying Mo and Luo Zhan didn’t care about where to go as long as they could follow Guo Shier. Both were professional zealots—satisfied as long as they could advance, explore, and fight. The distance from their hometown wasn’t something they considered at all.

Guo Shier’s soul fluctuated as he said, “Elder Shuai, do you think we should go to the Gunan Family?” He had been searching for so long and was starting to feel desperate. If they could find someone from one of the four ancient families, it would prove they had been here. But since they hadn’t found a single one yet, it meant this place wasn’t within the reach of those four ancient families.

Elder Shuai pondered for a long time before saying, “Kid, I’m your spirit sacrifice, not your advisor. Whether to go or not… it’s up to you. Oh, one piece of advice for you.”

Guo Shier asked, “What is it?”

Elder Shuai replied, “Ask him what benefits there are to going. If there are no benefits, then don’t even consider it.”

Guo Shier blushed slightly. This guy was too straightforward, asking for benefits right away. He said, “Forget it. I can’t afford to lose face like that.”

Elder Shuai said, “Idiot, if there are no benefits, why would you go?”

Guo Shier replied helplessly, “After all, we’re companions. My face isn’t that thick.”

Elder Shuai asked in confusion, “What is ‘face’?”

Frustrated, Guo Shier thought it was impossible to communicate with this heartless old man. His soul fluctuated again, “Forget about face for now. I’ll think more about whether to go or not.”

Nanyou watched Guo Shier eagerly. He really wanted to pull Guo Shier into the Gunan Family. A professional with a two-story altar was considered a top-tier professional in an ancient family.

Guo Shier said, “Let’s wait a bit longer. I haven’t made up my mind yet.”

Nanyou could only force a smile. He knew it was very difficult to recruit a top-tier professional for the family, but he still had confidence because he knew these three were lost and couldn’t find their way home. So, staying at the Gunan Family temporarily was a good chance—they probably wouldn’t stay in Bajiqu Dami Tian forever, as that place wasn’t suitable for living.

Eagle Demon said, “Actually, going to the Gunan Family isn’t bad. At least we can settle down for a while and then figure out a way to go back.”

Luo Zhan also said, “I don’t mind. It’s fine to go to the Gunan Family and have some fun, hehe.” These two often hung out with Nanyou, especially during the two years when Guo Shier was in seclusion advancing in level. The three of them became very close friends.

Guo Shier glanced at the two of them in surprise. He didn’t expect Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan to side with Nanyou. With their support, he hesitated a bit. After a while, he said, “Going to the Gunan Family isn’t completely out of the question. Nanyou, you know we need to find our way home, so we can’t stay there for long.”

Nan You immediately showed a pleased expression. He said, “Don’t worry. The family won’t restrict your freedom. We’ll just give you a formal status. If there’s something urgent for the family and you’re here, we’ll need your help. As for everything else… it’s up to you. No family would impose excessive demands on top-tier professionals. All ancient families follow such rules, so there’s no need to worry.”

Guo Shier muttered, “Ancient families… Why are they called ancient families?” He couldn’t help but ask.

Nan You smiled and said, “Where we are, only those families that were established tens of thousands of years ago can be called ancient families. It takes ten thousand years of inheritance to earn that title. I’m not sure about other places, but here, ancient families have extremely deep roots. Even places like Bajiqu Da Mitian were explored jointly by various ancient families. Ordinary families find it extremely difficult to enter, and even if they do, survival chances are slim.”

“There are countless families, but only a few dozen are ancient families. Though few in number, their strength far exceeds that of most ordinary families. I’m fortunate to be part of an ancient family, especially our Gu Nan family, which has existed for over 13,800 years—making it a long-established, large-scale ancient family.”

With pride and sincerity, Nan You said, “Shier, come to our family.”

Guo Shier’s hair stood on end. He said, “Hey, take it easy… Let’s go check out your family first when we have time. If it’s interesting, joining temporarily isn’t a problem.” His arrogance made Guo Shier feel he wasn’t reliable.

Nan You flashed a joyful smile and said cheerfully, “Shier, Eagle, Lao Luo—hello! Welcome to join us at Gu Nan Family.”

Guo Shier replied, “There’s no rush. I still want to find another natural rune in Bajiqu Da Mitian.”

Hearing this, Nan You’s face turned grim again. He said, “Natural runes… That’s going to be tough.”

Guo Shier said, “As long as you keep looking, you’ll eventually find one.” If he could find another natural rune, he could advance to the third-tier altar. Such items were extremely rare, and every altar expert wanted one.

The handsome old man couldn’t help but sneer. “Even if other altar professionals get a natural rune, they can’t build an altar just with it. Special materials, methods, and skills are also needed. You were able to advance because of Gu Mo Lian and me. Otherwise… given your skills, it’s still highly doubtful whether you could even build a virtual altar right now.”

The handsome old man was used to belittling Guo Shier. He felt uncomfortable if he didn’t say a few sarcastic words, and he felt extremely pleased after saying them—almost to the point of being a little twisted.

Guo Shier smiled slightly. He never took the old handsome man’s mocking words to heart. Knowing that this guy had been holding back for who knew how many years, if not allowed to vent often, he might turn into an old pervert.
Nan You asked carefully, “Shier, where are we going next?”
Guo Shier said, “Does anyone have any opinions? I’m not familiar with this place…” He even blushed a bit after saying that. Having been in Bajiqu Da Mitian for so long, he still hadn’t figured out the situation.
Eagle Demon pointed at the streets below and said, “Strange. Just now, three groups of people passed by in a hurry. What are they busy with?”
Luo Zhan was sitting by the window. Leaning against it, he called out to a great sage walking by, “Hey, buddy, is something going on?”
The great sage glanced up at him but ran past without paying any attention. Luo Zhan couldn’t help but say angrily, “What rude!”
Eagle Demon laughed and said, “If someone shouted at me like that… hey, I’d ignore them too, hehe.”
Luo Zhan said resentfully, “It’s not that I don’t know him. I still called him buddy… uh, never mind…” He also realized it was inappropriate. It seemed that person had a pretty good temper. In his hometown, “buddy” was a rather friendly term, but using it here might imply looking down on someone.
Nan You laughed and said, “Well, if it were me… I’d ignore them too, haha.”
Guo Shier said, “If we want to know why, we’ll just follow them.” He called out, “Buddy, settle the bill.”
The four of them went out onto the street and saw another group of people passing by. They followed closely behind, walking fast. Guo Shier said, “It seems like there’s a small square ahead. I remember it’s a place where tasks are assigned.”