Chapter 2: Layout (Part 2)

The handsome old man said in Guo Shier’s altar, “Kid, once fighting starts, you must quickly retrieve them. These materials may not be many, but they’re very useful!”
The two continued running through several other streets, using the same method to locate Miyan Merchant Company’s warehouse. They were busy until nearly dark before returning to their courtyard.
Upon returning, Guo Shier smelled the aroma of meat. He smiled and said, “I’ve been working all day without eating. Hehe, someone finally cooked for me…”
There was a large copper pot in the courtyard, with fire talismans stuck to the bottom. The broth in the pot was bubbling, as Chen Hong and Luo Weijie were busy preparing food. A long table had been set up, with large plates of braised pork, a plate of fried fish, and several baskets of baked flatbreads. When they saw Guo Shier and Eagle Demon enter, Chen Hong rushed over and said, “Shier, Uncle Eagle Demon, you must be hungry! Come and eat. Grandpa Luo and Grandpa Nanshan have gone back inside to rest.”
Eagle Demon didn’t say a word. He rushed to the table, grabbed a piece of braised pork, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed a few times, and praised, “Hmm, it has a bit of Shier’s style. Not bad, really delicious…” Then he grabbed a thick flatbread, tore it open, and started eating. This kind of food suited his taste best.
Guo Shier smiled and said, “Chen Hong, you’ve worked hard.” He walked to the table, sat cross-legged, and began eating as well.
Luo Weijie called out, “Hey, Shier! I’ve been busy all day, and you haven’t even said thank you before rushing to thank your Chen Hong?”
Chen Hong’s face turned red immediately. She said, “Sis Jie!”
Guo Shier raised his head and smiled, “My little niece, you’ve worked hard…”
Luo Weijie was so angry that her eyebrows furrowed. She said, “Don’t call me your little niece! I’m older than you… Call me ‘sister’!”
Guo Shier grinned, revealing eight neat teeth, and said, “If my master agrees, I have no objections… Hehe, um, this meat is really well cooked.” He and Eagle Demon buried their faces in their food and ate heartily.
Luo Weijie stamped her foot in anger, but she couldn’t do anything about Guo Shier—the gap in strength was too great, and Guo Shier was no longer a child but a tall, strong young man. She said, “Chen Hong, your man is really stingy!”
Chen Hong was extremely embarrassed. She said, “Sis Jie! What are you saying?”
At that moment, Luo Zhan and Nanyou also returned to the courtyard. As soon as Nanyou entered, he kept saying, “It smells so good… Ugh, I’m starving.” Without saying anything else, the two rushed to the table and started eating.

The four burly men ate with terrifying speed. After years of exposure, Guo Shieru had long become accustomed to it; he was just as voracious, even eating more than a pig. In no time, the meat on the table, the soup in the pot, and the flatbreads in the basket were all gone.

Guo Shieru looked at the empty plates and sighed inwardly. Even after eating so much, he was only about 80% full.

Nan You sighed contentedly and said, “I haven’t had a proper meal these past days. It’s rare to get a full meal like this.”

Guo Shieru asked, “How did the reconnaissance go?”

Luo Zhan said with a bitter smile, “It wasn’t easy. We captured a few professionals, which only helped us determine the general location. The exact spot remains unclear.”

Guo Shieru nodded. He knew it wasn’t easy—professionalists’ storage areas must be inside the family, making it difficult for outsiders to find them. He said, “Do your best. We still have two days before we need to take action.”

Luo Zhan nodded. “The main issue is that high-level professionals are hard to catch. If we can capture a Grand Sage-level professional, we should be able to locate the important storage area.”

Eagle Demon said, “Grand Sages aren’t easy to catch.”

Those who reach the rank of Grand Sage basically have the ability to protect themselves. Unless one has overwhelming strength, it’s really hard to capture them.

Guo Shieru smiled and said, “There’s no need for a direct confrontation. You can launch a surprise attack.” Luo Zhan replied, “It’s not easy to launch a surprise attack. There are always many low-level disciples around a Grand Sage.”

Guo Shieru said, “Regardless of how difficult it is, we must find a way. Otherwise, if we act in a few days and miss the storage area, we won’t be able to inflict heavy losses on the Gu Mi family. I wonder if Master has determined how many Altar-level experts there are.”

Luo Jie stepped out of the room and happened to hear this. He smiled and said, “Not many. I can’t sense many Altar-level experts in this city. Unless family experts are sent temporarily, I don’t think it’s that likely.”

Qi Nan Shan stepped out of the room, stretched widely, and said, “It’s so annoying to search. It would be better to just kill them all. I don’t believe those Altar-level guys won’t show up.”

Guo Shieru said, “Grandpa Nan Shan, killing them that way… it might be quick, but we can’t let the Gu Mi family suffer. Besides… we need various materials to advance and grow stronger.”

Luo Jie said, “Nan Shan, we’re different from Shieru and the others. We can advance just by killing, but they need a large amount of material to build altars. Their task is even harder.”

Qi Nan Shan laughed and said, “I know. Hehe, they may have it hard, but we’re in even greater danger.”

Luo Jie said, “With the soul fluctuations at level twelve, we can now get out of danger.”
Guo Shier smiled bitterly. “No one is more twisted than Master and Grandpa Nan Shan.” That was what he really thought. He and Luo Jie, along with Nan Shan, were as close as family, so he didn’t hesitate in speaking his mind.
Nan Shan laughed and said, “It’s not us who are twisted; it’s the Black Talisman people.”
Guo Shier stopped discussing the topic and said, “We still have two more days. If we clash with the professionals from the Gu Mi family during this time, we might have to act sooner. Uncle Luo and Nan You will find it difficult to complete the mission. Master, why don’t you help us look for them?”
Chen Hong and Luo Wei Jie sat aside, listening to their discussion, neither daring to interject.
Luo Zhan said, “It would be great if the old man could help us… I’ve spent the whole day with no idea where to start.”
Luo Jie laughed and said, “No problem. We don’t need to wait until tomorrow. We’ll start acting tonight. Hehe, it’s too obvious during the day; night is perfect.”
Guo Shier laughed and said, “Alright, let’s go together tonight…” He looked up at the sky and added, “Let’s wait a bit longer; going in the middle of the night would be better.”
It was already completely dark. Generally speaking, even in the wild, professionals wouldn’t wander around much due to the many uncertainties of the night. Since Guo Shier had been to few cities and mostly spent time in the wild, he was quite curious about the nights in Mitan City.
Luo Wei Jie couldn’t hold back any longer and asked, “Can we come with you?”
Luo Jie rejected it outright, saying, “You two girls stay at home and wait for us to return.”
Chen Hong whispered, “Sis Jie, let’s go back inside and not disturb them.” Reluctantly, Luo Wei Jie followed her back inside. She really wanted to go out and explore, but she also understood that her strength wasn’t enough to allow her to go outside—she would only be a burden and a hassle.
They sat in the courtyard until late at night. Luo Jie said, “Alright, let’s act together this time.” He summoned his altar and said, “I’ll take Shier and Xiao Ying. Nan Shan, you take Luo Zhan and Nan You.”
Guo Shier flew onto the altar at once and sat firmly beside Luo Jie. Eagle Demon sat on the other side, with the two of them sitting one on each side behind Luo Jie. Luo Jie’s altar was almost entirely made of flames. When the two reached out to touch its surface, the flames turned into substance, emitting a warm sensation.

Since the altar was completely black, it blended in perfectly with the darkness. Guo Shier smiled and said, “This ability to control flames is amazing. When will Master teach me a few techniques as well?”
Luo Jie sighed and said, “Shier, my master… is now only a nominal master. There’s nothing left for me to teach you.”
The Black Sigil Clan’s traditions couldn’t be passed on—those were knowledge from the Soul Altar system. Guo Shier couldn’t abandon his original traditions to learn those of the Black Sigil Clan. He said with a smile, “I just want to learn how to control flames. I’m not trying to learn their traditions.”
Luo Jie replied, “That’s possible. The Black Sigil Clan’s fire-control skills are excellent. Hmm, don’t move.” He pointed at Guo Shier’s forehead and passed on a small portion of that knowledge to him.
Passing on such skills involved combat techniques, and it would never be done lightly unless one was very close to the person. Since taking Guo Shier as his disciple, Luo Jie had doted on him greatly. Hearing that he wanted to learn fire-control skills, he passed them on without hesitation.
Guo Shier then passed that knowledge on to Old Shuai.
Old Shuai was shocked. “Damn… the Black Sigil Clan’s fire-control skills! Amazing!”
Guo Shier said, “Let’s learn them together when we have time. The Black Sigil Clan’s understanding of fire is on par with that of master fire-altar users, and it has unique aspects worth learning.”
Old Shuai replied, “Of course. It’s a method for controlling soul flames. It’s a pity I didn’t acquire it while alive… But alas, I’ve gotten it now that I’m dead.”
Guo Shier said, “Come on, am I talking to a dead person?”
Old Shuai laughed. “I’m a spirit priest. I died a long time ago… Hehe.”
Guo Shier couldn’t help but scold, “You old fool, stop saying that! I never thought you were dead.”
Old Shuai said, “Let’s not talk about that. I’m going to refine the sacrificial treasure…” and then stopped talking.
Guo Shier sighed. He and Old Shuai communicated through soul vibrations, so outsiders didn’t know. Luo Jie asked, “Why are you sighing?”
Guo Shier replied, “I don’t know if we can find anyone from our family… I hope they’re still alive.”
Luo Jie’s expression immediately darkened. His manor had been destroyed, his former family members and many of his followers were missing, and Luo Weijie couldn’t say for sure—she only told him that many people had died and many others had been captured. It was chaotic at the time, with many professionals coming to loot and destroy everything. She was lucky enough to be sent away since she was a female professional.

After a while, Luo Jie said, “Our continent is weak. Once access is gained, it becomes easy prey—anyone can take a bite. But they don’t know that there are people like us on this continent. So… they must pay a heavy price!”
Guo Shier took a deep breath and said, “Let’s go look. I’m sure we can find that most important warehouse.”
Luo Jie whispered, “Let’s go!” The altar quickly rose into the sky and disappeared into the darkness.