Chapter 6: Harvest (Part 2)
The handsome old man poked his head out and said, “The edge of perfection? Forget it. When I was still alive, I might have come close to it, but you… you’re still far away. Don’t even think about it.”
Guo Shier didn’t give up easily. “Hey, handsome old man, I’m at least a master at the second-tier altar!”
The handsome old man smiled. “As far as I know, if you can shatter a secret realm with a single strike, you might have reached perfection. If you can shatter an entire continent with one strike, hehe, then there’s no doubt you’re a professional peak master.”
Guo Shier was left speechless. After a long while, he finally blurted out, “Pervert!”
The handsome old man replied, “Not a pervert. What is a professional peak master? I’ve seen it with my own eyes—someone who didn’t use any altar, just a plain long sword, shattered a professional master’s seventh-tier altar in one swing. The opponent had no chance to resist. That’s what a true master is… No one knew he was that strong until he struck.”
Guo Shier sighed. “No inheritance…”
The handsome old man said, “Reaching the sixth tier of the altar… basically means there’s no inheritance left. To advance further, one must rely on their own efforts, insights, experiences, and attempts. Well, reaching the sixth-tier altar can be considered reaching the edge of perfection.”
Guo Shier waved his hand. “Forget it. It’s too disheartening.”
The handsome old man smiled and pulled his head back. This guy would suddenly pop up whenever he encountered a topic he was interested in, often startling others.
Eagle Demon shook his head. “Sixth-tier altar… hehe, hehehe…” He had the inheritance of the Gu Mi Luo family, so he understood how difficult it was to advance. Just improving one’s soul took up most of a professional’s time. Unless they were Black Sigil people who could quickly enhance their soul power, it was hard for others. This challenge wasn’t a problem for the three of them, as they had Soul Beads and Guo Shier’s soul fluctuations to help solve it.
The hardest part was gathering materials. Each level-up required an astonishing amount of materials. Some were in huge quantities, while others were extremely hard to find. Professionals had to travel to many places, especially extreme secret realms, which produced special materials. And over 60% of those extreme secret realms were extremely dangerous.
Guo Shier said, “I know it’s difficult, but no matter how hard it is, we must still strive for it. Back then… we were just master-level professionals. Hehe, Uncle Eagle Demon, look… today’s master-level professionals can only serve as pawns, while we’ve already built our own altar—six layers… I’m confident I can reach the ninth layer altar…”
The handsome old man suddenly popped his head out and said, “Dreaming!” Then he disappeared.
Guo Shier cursed angrily, “Damn old man! If you can’t scare people, will you die?”
Eagle Demon laughed heartily and said, “Good, let’s march toward the ninth layer altar!”
The handsome old man popped his head out again, “You’re dreaming too!”
Guo Shier sighed, “Having dreams… is better than having none. If we even lose our dreams, how can we move forward?”
The handsome old man was stunned for a moment before muttering, “Hmm, there’s some truth to that. An old man… with no dreams left.” Then his head retracted.
Guo Shier understood what the handsome old man meant. He was now just a sacrificial spirit, a pure soul entity, and could no longer be like a professional. Those words, “no dreams left,” revealed the old man’s sorrow.
At that moment, Nan You came in. Eagle Demon asked with a smile, “Are you done with your tasks?”
Nan You sighed sadly, “Alas, what a miserable fate… I’m exhausted from all the chaos. Thankfully, I told our ancestor to come and keep you company; otherwise… I wouldn’t be able to get away.”
Guo Shier laughed and said, “You must be very busy and happy, right? Your family should gain a lot from this.” By family, he meant Nan You’s branch family, which held a high status and thus could reap many benefits.
Nan You said, “Of course. I’ve brought in a guest ancestor and a guest grand elder for our family. They can’t ignore me.” He said this with a hint of pride.
Eagle Demon said, “Hmm, since you went out and fought for it, Ancestor Nan Qiang will show you some respect.”
Nan You replied, “This time I’m here to bring benefits to our ancestor.” He took out ten talisman bags and two talismans.
Guo Shier’s pupils narrowed as he asked, “Are these natural runes?”
The handsome old man suddenly popped his head out and said, “Where? Where are these natural runes?”
Nan You was startled and couldn’t help muttering, “Scaring me again…” Then he continued, “These are two natural runes that Ancestor Nan Qiang promised to give. I heard they were obtained by exchanging with experts from other families—it took a lot of effort.”
The handsome old man urged, “Show them to me! Show them to me!”
Nanyou handed over the two natural runes and said, “Here you go.” He knew how formidable this old man was. As a spirit priest, he dared to curse his master—this old man was the real ancestor.
The handsome old man suddenly stretched out his hand and grabbed the two natural runes. They were palm-sized, and after a quick glance, he showed signs of dissatisfaction, sighing, “Damn it, which idiot drew these runes? There are so many missing details. Ugh, that idiot only left the basics… Hmm, sigh… What a shame!”
Nanyou looked at Guo Shier with embarrassment.
Guo Shier asked, “Handsome Old Man, can they be used?”
The handsome old man sighed deeply. “Sigh… They can be used, but they’re not complete enough. I don’t know which idiot drew them—almost ruined these natural runes.”
Guo Shier said, “As long as they can be used, that’s good. By the way, what kind of runes are they?”
The handsome old man replied, “Their power has been reduced by at least half. It’s a pity. One of them is a rare Miao character rune, and the other is an auxiliary rune. This Miao character rune can be used as a foundational natural rune to construct the third-tier altar. Sigh, if they had been perfectly drawn natural runes… that would have been great.”
Guo Shier reached out, took the two natural runes, and glanced at them. He said, “Handsome Old Man, this is a water-type foundational rune… Hmm, not too bad. Of course, it’s far inferior to your work, but it should work fine if used.”
The handsome old man said, “It’s not just a little worse—it’s much worse. Ugh, amateurs causing trouble are the most annoying. If it were a natural water character rune, that would be better. Unfortunately, it’s just a Miao character rune, so its effect is weaker. Never mind, I’ll just use the wood character rune I got last time.”
Nanyou listened to the handsome old man’s evaluations and complaints awkwardly, unable to say anything or dare to say anything, with only a bitter smile on his face.
To change the subject, Nanyou asked, “By the way, where did Lao Luo go?”
The Eagle Demon replied, “Lao Luo has officially started constructing his own virtual altar, preparing to advance.”
Nanyou’s mouth dropped open, and he was speechless for a while. After swallowing hard, he said with difficulty, “This… this can’t be true… I even checked carefully last time. Lao Luo wanted to build an altar to advance again. His soul… seems to be lacking something. Even if he practices fast, it will still take years to advance.”
The handsome old man said disdainfully, “How could you possibly guess their levels of cultivation?”
Shocked, Nanyou was once again speechless. Guo Shier comforted him, “The Handsome Old Man has this temper. Don’t take it personally.”
The handsome old man muttered, “What kind of temper do I have? Do I even have a temper anymore? I’m just a dead old man! Strange, why should I be angry?”
Nan You said, “Ancestor, I know.” Not to mention when the handsome old man scolded him, he would also curse violently whenever Guo Shier made a mistake, regardless of who the other person was.
The handsome old man, holding two natural runes and other precious materials in a talisman bag, muttered under his breath, “You know nothing!” Then he retracted his head and disappeared.
Eagle Demon laughed heartily. Nan You said to Guo Shier, “Ancestor Nan Qiang wants to see you.”
Guo Shier replied, “Ancestor Nan Qiang must be too busy to breathe, yet he still has time to look for me?” Then he realized that he was also an ancestor and not his subordinate, so it was normal for him to be summoned. Smiling, he said, “Alright, I’ll go right away. Uncle Eagle Demon, keep watch here and make sure no one disturbs Uncle Luo.”
Eagle Demon nodded, “Don’t worry. There’s no danger here. Leave it to me.”
Nan You took Guo Shier and flew north toward Ancestor Nan Qiang’s residence.
After a short while, they arrived at Ancestor Nan Qiang’s place, where someone led them inside. Ancestor Nan Qiang was sitting leisurely. Seeing Guo Shier enter, he smiled and said, “If you hadn’t come, I would have left already.”
Guo Shier was surprised. “Left? Where to?”
Ancestor Nan Qiang replied, “Inside the Chijin ore vein. Are you interested in taking a look?”
Before Guo Shier could answer, the soul’s vibration of the handsome old man came through: “Go! Agree to it!” Guo Shier nodded and asked, “How many people will go?”
Ancestor Nan Qiang said, “Just the few of us. The others will enter with the main group. We’ll explore the deepest parts of the ore vein. We already have a guide.”
Guo Shier asked, “What have you discovered?”
Ancestor Nan Qiang smiled and said, “It’s not clear yet. We only have some guesses. People with weak strength can’t go down there. We’ll give it a try.”
Guo Shier’s curiosity was immediately piqued. He said, “Okay, let’s go.”
To enter the ore vein, one had to pass through a teleportation array; it was impossible to enter from the outside to prevent theft. Throughout the entire mining area, there were thousands of such simple teleportation arrays, each corresponding to a specific mining zone. Apart from managers, those who could enter the ore vein were mostly ordinary miners.
Professionals were not allowed in, especially those with talisman-related skills. Of course, now that the Gujin family had fallen, this rule was temporarily suspended. Once the Gunan family truly took control, it would be reinstated.
The teleportation array used by Ancestral Nanqiang was located at the headquarters in Jin City. It was a fairly sophisticated teleportation array that could transport only a small number of people at a time. This time, only Ancestral Nanqiang, Guo Shier, and Nan You entered the depths of the mine vein. Several Grand Sage Masters were assigned to guard the teleportation array.
A strong earthy smell filled the air. Guo Shier rarely went underground, but he did have some experience there. It was a small cave. As soon as Nan You entered, he lit a talisman lamp, illuminating the surroundings completely.
Ancestral Nanqiang said, “Let’s set up an altar. I’m not sure what dangers might be here.”
Hearing this, Guo Shier immediately set up an altar. However, it wasn’t in combat mode but floated above their heads, as it was otherwise impossible to fly inside the cave. Fortunately, the size of the altar could be adjusted according to needs—whenever a person could pass through, so could the altar.
Ancestral Nanqiang said, “This is a hidden place. Hehe, while the family headquarters hasn’t arrived to take over, let’s explore first. If we find anything valuable, don’t hesitate—take it if you can. Once the headquarters people arrive, it will be hard to get in again…”
Nan You was surprised and said, “The headquarters wouldn’t… uh, yes, Ancestral Lord. Thank you, Ancestral Lord.”
Ancestral Nanqiang nodded and said, “If it weren’t for you bringing in the guest Ancestral Lord, you wouldn’t have had this opportunity. Sometimes, it’s better to be a bit naive. Not everyone gets such chances, so cherish every opportunity you get, understand?”
Nan You had no further doubts. If he had, he wouldn’t have been able to cultivate to the level of a Virtual Form Altar. He said, “Thank you, Ancestral Lord, for giving me this chance.”
Ancestral Nanqiang nodded in satisfaction.
Guo Shier smiled slightly. By using the advantages of his family to gain his subordinates’ goodwill, Ancestral Nanqiang gained nothing in return. He also nodded and said, “Thank you, Ancestral Lord.”
This was exactly what Ancestral Nanqiang wanted to hear. Whether it was this trip to the mine vein or the previous visit to the warehouse, he was always trying to win Guo Shier over. After this battle, he clearly saw Guo Shier’s strength—even a master with a fourth-tier altar might not be able to defeat him. Such a powerful opponent must be brought under control.
“Let’s go down.”
Part of the cave was naturally formed, with the rest dug out, extending downward continuously. After flying for over ten minutes, the winding cave continued to go deeper. Guo Shier estimated that the distance they had flown was several hundred kilometers. There were also forks along the way, but Ancestral Nanqiang ignored them and kept flying downward.
Guo Shier was filled with anticipation: What could be down there?