Chapter 4: Purple Golden Vine (Part 2)

Jin Qingren sneered as he stared at the altar that appeared ahead. He realized that the opponent had sent only a skilled fighter with a two-story altar to hold him back, which made him grow furious and determined to make Guo Shier suffer. Yet before he could respond, the opponent launched an attack, leaving him enraged.

In Jin Qingren’s view, even if professionals with three-story altars couldn’t kill those with two-story altars, they could at least dominate them in battle. If the opponent was weaker, it would be possible to inflict serious damage. But he never expected the opponent to dare attack first—it was like a mouse licking a cat’s whiskers, a classic act of seeking death.

Jin Qingren possessed three sacrificial treasures. His primary treasure was a living purple vine, a rare type of sacrificial treasure belonging to the wood attribute. Another was forty-nine purple vine thorns, and the third was a defensive Wood-Drawn Shield, also crafted from woven purple vines.

The purple vine, also known as the Purple Golden Vine, was an extremely precious plant that grew in red gold veins. Its unique trait was its ability to merge souls. After collecting it, Jin Qingren refined it over decades, using it to create his primary sacrificial treasure when constructing an illusory altar. Through the Purple Golden Vine, he obtained forty-nine thorns and wove its branches into a shield, refining it into a defensive sacrificial treasure. In essence, this Purple Golden Vine was his foundation.

In the blink of an eye, the golden spear reached the altar. Jin Qingren only had time to summon his Wood-Drawn Shield. His set consisted of three purple shields that could adjust in size at will—otherwise, he wouldn’t have had time to block. With a thought, one shield transformed into a door-sized barrier in front of the spear. Then, he summoned another shield.

*Thud!*

The shield shattered into flying wood shavings, leaving Jin Qingren’s heart nearly stopping in fear. What kind of sacrificial treasure was this, so devastating? He had no idea that the golden spear was Lord Shuai’s treasure, rated at level six. His Wood-Drawn Shield, thanks to the properties of the Purple Golden Vine, was refined to level four—a quite good defensive treasure—but it still fell far short compared to a level-six treasure.

Fortunately, having summoned two shields gave Jin Qingren a slight chance. By the time the second shield turned to wood shavings, he had already teleported away and reappeared a hundred meters away.

Jin Qingren’s heart pounded like a drum. That single strike, which shattered two of his fourth-grade Qianmu Shields in succession, was like a bucket of ice water poured over him, chilling him from head to toe. He stared at Guo Shier with disbelief, filled with astonishment: How could this man, who was just a professional at the second-tier altar, be so powerful?

His life altar treasure began to grow. In the blink of an eye, the Purple Gold Vine covered the entire altar, with countless branches fluttering around, creating a bizarre sight—a mass of vines swirling in the air. Jin Qingren let out a shrill cry, “Damn it! My Qianmu Shields!” It was only then that he realized how much he cared about his Qianmu Shields.

Guo Shier said, “Huh? Does that guy also have the tentacles of the Ancient Xi Bi? But why do they look like vines?”

The handsome old man said, “Idiot, those are indeed vines—vines from the Purple Gold Vine.”

Luo Zhan asked curiously, “What is the Purple Gold Vine?”

The handsome old man replied, “It’s an excellent thing. If it’s a ten-thousand-year-old Purple Gold Vine that grows in nature, it will definitely have natural runes on it. The Purple Gold Vine can be refined into an altar treasure. Well, that guy actually refined it into his own life altar treasure. No wonder all his other altar treasures are made from branches of the Purple Gold Vine.”

Guo Shier said, “We have Spirit-Grasping Whisks. We’re not afraid of his vines!”

The handsome old man laughed, “That’s true. Spirit-Grasping Whisks can devour souls. Hehe, the Purple Gold Vine… what a great thing! Kid, use the altar to crash into him!”

Guo Shier replied, “Okay!” He also liked to charge headlong now. With the handsome old man’s guarantee, even if the altar got damaged, the old man could repair it, so he didn’t need to worry. Besides, crashing into someone with the altar felt great.

Although Jin Qingren had unleashed his life altar treasure, the previous attack still left him shaken, so he didn’t launch an attack instead. Instead, he observed the outside situation through the branches of the Purple Gold Vine, thinking to himself, “My Qianmu Shields are fourth-grade altar treasures… How could they be so fragile? And they got shattered twice in a row!” As he was still thinking about that silver spear, he suddenly noticed Guo Shier’s altar flying toward him.

Jin Qingren immediately broke into a cold sweat. This wasn’t just flying—it was a direct collision. His first thought was to teleport away, but he realized his soul had already been locked by the handsome old man. The altar could only fly, not teleport. Just a few seconds of delay later, Guo Shier’s altar crashed heavily into him.

This collision was somewhat unexpected for Guo Shier. It was like two highly elastic balls hitting each other, sending the two altars flying apart silently. Only then did Guo Shier realize that when an altar wrapped in purple-gold vines collided with one wrapped in spirit-trapping tendrils, elasticity met elasticity, making it impossible for either altar to be damaged.

The only thing that annoyed Jin Qingren and Guo Shier was the inability to control the altars. The two altars rolled through the air like balls, flying dozens of miles in an instant. It took the old man great effort to stabilize them. Guo Shier’s eyes saw stars flashing everywhere, leaving him dizzy.

Eagle Demon and Nan You stared in shock as the two altars flew away. Nan You asked, “What are they doing?”
Eagle Demon replied, “I don’t know. Maybe they’re testing the elasticity of the altars?”
Nan You said, “Nonsense!”
The two exchanged a glance and rushed in the direction Guo Shier’s altar had flown. Soon, they saw Guo Shier’s altar spinning in the air. Nan You said, “Ancestor… are you dizzy?”
Eagle Demon said, “Impossible… um, maybe so.”
Guo Shier held his head and cried, “Old man, it didn’t work this time. Ugh, I’m dizzy…”
The old man said, “Nonsense! I’m dizzy too! Damn it, keep hitting that guy!”
Guo Shier used his altar to teleport away and soon spotted Jin Qingren’s altar, which looked like a ball of fluff. That guy was also spinning in the air. Without a spirit guide like the old man, he hadn’t recovered yet.

The old man chuckled and said, “He’s dizzy too. Hehe, this time, hit gently. It’s best to stick his altar to ours. Hmm, use the spirit-trapping tendrils to wrap around his purple-gold vines. I have a way to make him suffer.”
Knowing the old man’s cunning tactics, Guo Shier rushed forward without hesitation.

Jin Qingren, though an experienced expert, was confused by Guo Shier’s illogical fighting style. He felt a shock in his altar and, in a daze, realized his altar had stuck to the other’s. Shocked, he immediately ordered the purple-gold vines to attack.

The old man smiled slightly. A bead appeared in front of him, a flame rose, and he chanted a few spells. With a sharp command, “Refine!”, countless thin threads of flame shot out, quickly wrapping around the approaching purple-gold vines.

Guo Shier was stunned. That was the Jiebaina Pearl Sacrificial Treasure. The old man was using it to attack—something completely unexpected.

Jin Qingren let out a agonized scream. Come on, the Purple Gold Vine was his life-blessing sacrificial treasure, while the Xiebaina Bead was a fifth-grade sacrificial treasure specifically designed to break down various materials—nothing but a nemesis for the Purple Gold Vine.

The old man kept muttering, “Ah, the Purple Gold Vine… I’ve searched for it for so long without success, and yet I found it here… Such a precious thing… I can’t let it slip away…”

Jin Qingren could barely move. He wanted to use the Purple Gold Wood Thorns, but his soul energy was entirely focused on the Purple Gold Vine, leaving him no strength to control other sacrificial treasures. Moreover, the Purple Gold Wood Thorns were a set, not a single item, so he had no time to deal with them either. All he could do was desperately try to control the Purple Gold Vine to resist.

Guo Shier intended to use his Moon Blade to strike, but the old man stopped him. Not knowing why, he halted and kept the Moon Blade circling around him, ready to strike at any moment.

The old man explained, “The Purple Gold Vine is a treasure. We can’t destroy it; it would be a shame. It’s not easy to find…”

Guo Shier was sweating profusely as he said, “Old man, this is Jin Qingren’s life-blessing sacrificial treasure!”

Jin Qingren was in extreme distress. He tried his best to summon more Purple Gold Vines, but no matter how many he created, as long as they entered the opponent’s altar area, they disappeared without a trace. Filled with fear and anger, with terror swirling in his mind and his body drenched in sweat, his face twisted in pain as waves of agony pierced his soul, preventing him from taking any reckless actions.

The old man cut off sections of the Purple Gold Vine one by one. With each section taken, Jin Qingren trembled violently from the pain. The old man also trembled, but it was from joy.

Guo Shier was stunned, having never seen such a tactic—directly stealing someone’s life-blessing sacrificial treasure. Although he couldn’t take it all, being able to seize part of it was a terrifying method. Jin Qingren’s reaction was also strange; it seemed as if he was nailed to the altar, powerless to do anything as his life-blessing sacrificial treasure was stolen from him.

Eagle Demon and Nan You also looked dumbfounded.

After watching for a while, Nan You asked, “What are they doing?”

Eagle Demon said, “Maybe… maybe they’re being affectionate?”

Nan You replied, “Tch! Nonsense!”

Eagle Demon nodded. “Yeah, I’m talking nonsense. But look at them… aren’t they very affectionate?”

Nan You said, “What the hell? The two altars are floating motionless in the air. Aren’t they fighting? Sigh, our ancestor is truly unfathomable…” Before he could finish speaking, Jin Qingren let out another agonized scream.

“No… no… ah… stop… ah…”

Nanyou and Eagle Demon exchanged glances, hesitating for a moment before Nanyou said, “Well… maybe it’s affection? I’m not sure. Why is he screaming so painfully?”
Not only Nanyou and Eagle Demon were terrified, but Guo Shier also felt his hair stand on end. He said, “Damn… that guy’s screams are really ugly!”
The handsome old man chuckled and said, “He’s in pain. His life essence sacrificial treasure has been reduced by at least 30%. Huh, this guy is quite decisive!”
Suddenly, a large section of the purple-gold vine fell into the handsome old man’s hands. It wasn’t stolen using the Jiebaina beads, but rather the Golden Green Man cut the vine himself to break free from the entanglement of the spirit-catching tendrils. After escaping, he was so scared that he dared not stay any longer. Seeing Guo Shier was like seeing a ghost for him, so he flew away desperately into the distance.
“Uh, he ran away… Handsome Old Man, should we chase after him?”
The handsome old man smiled and said, “No need, no need. I’m in a good mood. Let him go. Hehe, at least we got 50% of his purple-gold vine. Without years of cultivation, he won’t be able to recover.”
Guo Shier said, “Handsome Old Man, you’re really amazing… You can beat someone like this and make a sacrificial altar expert scream in terror. You’re truly… extremely amazing. I admire you greatly.”
Nanyou and Eagle Demon stepped closer. Nanyou asked, “Ancestor, what were you doing just now? Why was the Golden Green Man screaming like that?”
Guo Shier innocently spread his hands and said, “Don’t ask me. Ask him… It was the Handsome Old Man.”
Nanyou and Eagle Demon’s gazes fell on the handsome old man, and the meaning in their eyes nearly made him lose control.