Chapter 2: Passive Advancement (Part 1)

The handsome old man struggled to control the altar, attempting to suppress the soul beads that had entered his soul.
Boom!
It was as if a bomb had been placed in his soul, causing violent fluctuations. In an instant, the runes formed by 167 scriptures within Guo Shier’s soul suddenly appeared. As Guo Shier recited silently, intense fluctuations radiated from him.
Huo Fen Tian’s expression changed as she exclaimed in surprise, “Huh? Ah!” She rushed to Guo Shier’s side, hugged him tightly, and then closed her eyes in ecstasy. The soul fluctuations emanating from Guo Shier made her feel extremely comfortable; her restless soul gradually calmed down.
Guo Shier couldn’t pay attention to anything outside at the moment. Even though he was being hugged by a gorilla, he felt nothing. The chaos caused by the soul beads forced him to concentrate fully on eliminating the damage they caused.
At first, Huo Fen Tian hugged Guo Shier from behind. As the soul fluctuations intensified, she searched for the right position until she finally slipped into his arms.
Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan exchanged glances. Nan You’s mouth hung open in shock, drool even dripping down.
Finally finding what she considered the right position, Huo Fen Tian let out a long sigh. She wrapped her arms tightly around Guo Shier’s neck, resting her head on his shoulder, and carefully felt the fluctuations. The comfort of his soul made her smile indulgently.
Eagle Demon stared for a long time before bursting into laughter. He quickly turned back, pulled Luo Zhan with him, and said, “We… we… should patrol the surroundings. Be… be careful… uh, let’s leave quickly…” His face turned red as he tried to laugh but dared not.
Luo Zhan, being honest and still curious, said, “Eagle, you…” Before he could finish speaking, Eagle Demon covered his mouth and dragged him outside.
Nan You also didn’t dare stay near the two of them and quickly flew away.
Guo Shier’s soul surged violently. It was only thanks to the altar controlled by the handsome old man and the soul scriptures that he managed to avoid falling into chaos. Huo Fen Tian, on the other hand, reaped tremendous benefits—those soul fluctuations helped her soul gradually emerge from confusion, and her vision became clearer.
The handsome old man was busy helping Guo Shier construct the third layer of the altar. Otherwise, with his surging soul having nowhere to go, it would surely pose a huge risk. Fortunately, he had already gathered a large amount of material. He had originally planned to build the altar when things were quieter, but now he had no choice but to help construct it quickly. This was no longer about advancement—it was about saving a life.

Two hours later, Huo Fen Tian fully regained consciousness. The fluctuations in Guo Shier’s soul gradually helped her understand what was happening, and she couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat. Without those fluctuations, she knew she might have gone completely insane.

Guo Shier didn’t dare relax even for a moment. She repeatedly recited sacred texts, ignoring everything around her. The advantage of these soul scriptures was that they refined, purified, and regulated the soul, offering tremendous benefits to professionals—even someone like Huo Fen Tian, a master beyond the ninth level of the altar, could reap great advantages from them.

Although Huo Fen Tian had regained consciousness, she still didn’t want to leave Guo Shier’s embrace. She crossed her legs around Guo Shier’s waist and wrapped her arms around his neck. She didn’t care how strange this posture was; as long as Guo Shier’s soul fluctuations continued, she would never let go. The feeling was simply too good.

Eagle Demon, Luo Zhan, and Nan You retreated to a distance. Eagle Demon finally couldn’t hold back his laughter. Luo Zhan asked, “Eagle, what’s so funny? What’s there to laugh about?” Nan You said, “Eagle is scared!” Eagle Demon replied, “It’s you who’s scared. Sigh, Shier is in trouble, hehe.” Luo Zhan shook his head and said, “No, as long as Huo Fen Tian doesn’t harbor murderous intent, Shier will be fine.”

Eagle Demon stopped laughing and said seriously, “With Shier’s soul fluctuations… it’s almost impossible to get rid of Huo Fen Tian now. Sigh, this is really troublesome.” Only then did he truly realize that earlier he had only laughed at Huo Fen Tian’s embrace, thinking it a bit strange, but upon further thought, it was chilling.

Luo Zhan also realized it was bad when he thought about it carefully. He said, “What if… Huo Fen Tian wakes up? Uh… could Shier be killed by her?” Nan You replied, “Impossible. I saw Huo Fen Tian looking utterly intoxicated!”

If Guo Shier had heard their conversation, she would surely have gone mad. But right now, she was still fighting against her own soul, striving to digest that soul pearl. By then, the handsome old man was almost done constructing the third-level altar. The large amount of Guo Shier’s soul flowing into the altar slightly reduced the burden.

Since it was a soul pearl formed by Huo Fen Tian, it contained almost the entire soul of an altar-level master without any dissipation. The amount of soul within the pearl was even greater than Guo Shier’s own.

Huo Fen Tian was extremely surprised. She had never seen or heard of anyone whose soul fluctuations could digest a soul pearl—it was simply mind-blowing. She immediately decided to follow Guo Shier from now on. Such a rare treasure must not be missed.

Huofentian continued to snuggle in Guo Shier’s arms like a lazy kitten. Since waking up, she felt peace in her soul for the first time—no need to forcefully suppress the foreign souls she had absorbed. This sense of tranquility delighted her greatly.

The handsome old man was busy refining the third layer of the altar for the new structure. Guo Shier gradually fed souls into it, slowly establishing a connection with the altar. What used to be easy was now difficult, but to take control of the altar, he had to learn to master it. Reciting mantras while controlling the process, he became completely detached from the outside world; at such a time, even a fierce opponent could easily kill him.

Huofentian had realized just how harmful it was to force Guo Shier to swallow that soul pearl. Yet she was glad—had she not pushed him to do so, how would he have known the boy possessed such amazing abilities?

It wasn’t until the handsome old man completed the structure of the third altar that Guo Shier finally found an outlet for his souls. With the influx of a massive number of souls, he relaxed slightly but continued reciting mantras. The soul pearl he obtained this time was special, and he dared not stop, fearing he might lose himself if he did.

As the impurities in the souls were removed, Guo Shier felt someone in his arms, seemingly holding onto him tightly. He had kept his eyes closed, fully focused on the souls, his body lifeless and insensitive.

A soft body in his arms? Guo Shier was confused, but he didn’t dare get distracted and continued reciting mantras to purify his souls.

Hm? A faint fragrance… What was wrapped around his waist? Dazed, Guo Shier continued reciting mantras, gradually regaining clarity. He suddenly opened his eyes to see Huofentian’s beautiful face right in front of him. To his surprise, her face showed an intoxicated expression, which scared him so much that he jumped up instantly.

Huofentian clung to Guo Shier like an octopus, and even though he jumped up, she still held him tightly.

Guo Shier was completely bewildered.

Huofentian suddenly noticed that the soul fluctuations that brought her peace and comfort had disappeared. Unable to resist, she cooed, “Keep going, don’t stop.”

Guo Shier asked, “What’s going on?”

Clung to him, Huofentian said with a smile, “Keep going, hehe. Why are your soul fluctuations so strange?”

Guo Shier said, “Get down from me…”

Huofentian replied, “No!”

Given Guo Shier’s temper, he couldn’t help but start cursing, but he dared not now—this woman was crazy. He still didn’t know that Huo Fen Tian had regained consciousness. She said, “You’re such a beautiful woman, hugging a man—it’s inappropriate. Get down; it’s not good if someone sees us.” Even he blushed after saying that; his words were too weak.

Huo Fen Tian’s words almost made Guo Shier collapse in shock: “Who dares to look? I’ll kill them!”

Guo Shier felt as if the person in his arms was a ball of fire. This woman was a Grandmaster of Fire Sacrifice—her fire could instantly kill hundreds of thousands of professionals. Yet Huo Fen Tian was happy, especially pleased to see Guo Shier flustered.

With no other choice, Guo Shier said, “Well… I’ll sit down, and you sit next to me. We can continue.”

Huo Fen Tian thought for a moment. She really couldn’t bear to give up those wonderful soul fluctuations and said, “Okay, for a longer time.” Then she slid off Guo Shier’s body.

Guo Shier wiped the sweat from his forehead. It was so cold outside, yet he was drenched in sweat. The two sat down again. This time, Huo Fen Tian seemed more obedient, sitting quietly on Guo Shier’s left side.

The souls began to fluctuate once more, and Huo Fen Tian immediately immersed herself in them.

Guo Shier continued chanting. He noticed that Huo Fen Tian leaned closer again, their shoulders touching. It wasn’t surprising—the closer she was to Guo Shier, the more intensely she could feel the soul fluctuations. Unconsciously, Huo Fen Tian snuggled back into Guo Shier’s arms, in the same position as before—legs crossed, arms wrapped around his neck—to maximize the benefit from his soul fluctuations.

Huo Fen Tian completely ignored what Guo Shier said; this was the best feeling for her.

Guo Shier smiled bitterly. He never expected chanting to cause such trouble. This woman was utterly unrestrained, caring nothing about others’ opinions.

The old handsome man’s soul fluctuated quietly: “Don’t stop this time. Keep chanting to stabilize the third-tier altar.”

Guo Shier was extremely frustrated—now even the old handsome man was meddling. Fortunately, he had three lifetimes of experience; if he were just a young man, things would be unimaginable. So far, he could still control his mind and avoid panicking.

The Soul of Fire-consuming Heaven fluctuated with Guo Shier’s soul, gradually digesting the souls it had seized and strengthening its own. With so many souls acquired and its own soul being extremely powerful, it could only process a tiny fraction of them at a time. Even so, it reaped great benefits. It firmly believed that given enough time, its soul could be completely purified.

Guo Shier stopped driving it away; he knew that even if he let it leave his embrace, it would soon return.

For ten days, they chanted scriptures nonstop. Throughout this time, the two remained closely wrapped together—more precisely, the Soul of Fire-consuming Heaven held Guo Shier tightly. After ten days of chanting, Guo Shier had become completely numb, reciting mechanically until he received a message from Old Shuai, at which point he stopped.

The Soul of Fire-consuming Heaven still wanted more, but it knew Guo Shier was extremely exhausted.

Guo Shier immediately summoned theFu House house house and climbed to the second floor to fall asleep right away.

The Soul of Fire-consuming Heaven followed, watching Guo Shier snore with a gentle smile on its face. Then it turned and went downstairs, calling over Eagle Demon and the others, saying, “I’m hungry!”

Eagle Demon, Luo Zhan, and Nan You stared at the Soul of Fire-consuming Heaven like fools. It wasn’t that they didn’t understand her words, but they were surprised.

The Soul of Fire-consuming Heaven was in high spirits. It giggled and said, “Time to cook!”

……

After an unknown amount of time, Guo Shier was woken up by hunger. He opened his eyes and sat up. In that instant, he suddenly felt something different.