Chapter 4: The Luli Secret Realm (Part 1)

The Patriarch of the Fire Sect said, “I remember you. I remember you. Hehe, truly remarkable—you’ve grown into a altar-level expert… Hmm, I just can’t see through you…” Of course, he couldn’t see through Guo Shier, because he had only just constructed a four-layer altar, which wasn’t stable enough to allow him to perceive a six-layer altar user.
Guo Shier was very polite to the Patriarch of the Fire Sect, his expression unconsciously showing a hint of warmth. When the Patriarch first met him, he had been friendly and had taken the initiative to help them fend off enemies and overcome difficulties, so Guo Shier had always remembered that.
Eagle Demon couldn’t help but laugh. Now he knew that both he and Guo Shier were advancing at an incredible speed in the eyes of professionals—though still far behind Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan. However, after Guo Shier left, Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan didn’t dare to continue advancing either; they would have to wait for decades, perhaps even a hundred years, before considering trying again. Without the refinement from Guo Shier’s soul fluctuations, if they continued to advance recklessly, they would soon die from soul chaos and madness.
Guo Shier didn’t respond either; he simply smiled as he activated the altar.
The Patriarch of the Fire Sect watched in astonishment as the altar slowly rotated above Guo Shier’s head. The palm-sized altar emitted a terrifying soul pressure. This wasn’t even the full force of the soul pressure Guo Shier deliberately released—it was merely the natural emission after the altar appeared, yet it still shocked the Patriarch greatly. He murmured to himself, “Six layers… Unbelievable!”
Back when Guo Shier first met him, he was only a high-level Spellmaster, not even a Grand Spellmaster yet, while the Patriarch himself was a top-tier professional with a three-layer altar. Who would have thought that upon meeting again, the young man from back then had grown to such a level?
Han Yan’s legs turned weak—he was deeply shaken. As professionals, how could the gap be so huge?
Guo Shier invited the Patriarch of the Fire Sect to sit down.
After sitting down, the Patriarch asked, “Who are these people?” He couldn’t discern Li Ran’s true strength, only knowing that Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan were roughly on his own level, also being altar-level professionals of the Patriarch class.
Li Ran nodded slightly and said, “Li Ran.” Unable to reveal his own professional rank, he followed his usual habit and simply introduced himself.
Eagle Demon said, “Eagle Demon, three-layer altar.”
Luo Zhan said, “Luo Zhan, three-layer altar… We also met the Patriarch back then.”

The Fire Sect’s Patriarch felt a bit awkward. He couldn’t recall such two people at all. Vaguely, he remembered that when he first met Guo Shier, there seemed to be several attendants following him. His mind was a bit foggy: the attendants from back then were now on the third-tier altar? He certainly couldn’t neglect these two. Maybe he could before, but definitely not now!

Everyone sat down again. All the unrelated professionals in the restaurant were asked to leave. The Patriarch needed to entertain his guests, so they couldn’t stay inside. No one dared to linger and quickly got up to leave.

Guo Shier asked, “Patriarch, do you have the coordinates of the Lili Secret Realm?”

The Fire Sect’s Patriarch nodded. “Yes. Few people go to the Lili Secret Realm. It’s too complex, and it’s easy to get lost. Usually, only professionals above the rank of High Sage go there, as it’s quite dangerous.” With that, he took out a jade talisman and handed it over.

Guo Shier held the jade talisman in his palm, and it entered the altar. The old man input the talisman’s coordinates into the Grand Cross-Realm Talisman. In an instant, dozens of routes, like a network, appeared on the talisman. The old man praised, “As expected of the Lili Secret Realm. Using this as a node, one can reach many places.”

The Fire Sect’s Patriarch was puzzled. He asked, “Why do you want to go to the Lili Secret Realm? Is there anything I can help with?”

Guo Shier shook his head. “We’re looking for someone. They were originally from the Fire Sect, but they left…”

The Patriarch’s gaze shifted to Han Yan, with a curious expression.

Han Yan hurriedly said, “I’ve already ordered people to investigate. It seems the person we’re looking for… went to the Lili Secret Realm.”

Only then did the Patriarch understand. He said, “Do you want me to send people to help search?”

Guo Shier shook his head. “No need. We don’t have a clear target yet…”

Li Ran interjected, “Shier, don’t refuse right away. It would be good if the Fire Sect sent some people to help search. If we find them, we can let your master return to the sect. We’ll search outside for a while. If we still can’t find them, we’ll come back. Maybe they’ve already returned while you keep searching everywhere outside.”

Guo Shier suddenly realized that with just the few of them, searching for someone was like looking for a needle in a haystack. It would be great to have help. He said, “Okay, thank you, Patriarch, for your help.”

The Fire Sect’s Patriarch replied, “No problem…” He turned to Han Yan and said, “Go see the sect master. Tell him it’s my order—to search… uh, search for…” He was at a loss for words because he had no idea who to search for.

Guo Shier took out an image talisman, leaving behind the images of the withered tree and Monier, and said, “They are my master and master wife.” Then he threw the talisman to Han Yan.
The Patriarch of the Fire Sect said, “Make more image talismans so that every disciple searching for them has one. Go and explain that no matter who finds them… in addition to the reward from the sect for completing the task, I will also give a reward. Go now.”
Han Yan took the talisman, bowed, and turned to leave. In fact, he had long wanted to go—being here brought immense pressure.
Guo Shier thanked him repeatedly.
Li Ran found it amusing. With Guo Shier’s current skill level, he would be someone everyone wanted to please in any family or sect, so there was no need for excessive formality. He still hadn’t felt like a true expert.
The Patriarch of the Fire Sect hesitated for a moment before saying, “I once gave you a token of status as a guest grand elder. Well… can I represent the Fire Sect in inviting you… to become its new Patriarch?”
Guo Shier hesitated. He wasn’t planning to stay at the Fire Sect for long and said, “Patriarch, I can accept the invitation, but I basically won’t stay here. Even if I become the Patriarch, I doubt I can take on any responsibilities.”
The Patriarch of the Fire Sect sighed in relief and said with a smile, “That doesn’t matter. As long as you agree, it’s fine. As for responsibilities, heh, the Fire Sect won’t have any troubles for now, heh.”
Guo Shier nodded and said, “Then there’s no problem.”
Hearing this, Li Ran couldn’t help but smile. He had countless such guest patriarch statuses. In reality, he didn’t need to do much. The key was that with this status, he would feel reluctant to harbor hostility toward the family or sect, after all, it was their Patriarch. If he could offer help when the family was in danger, it would be a huge boost to them.
Soon, someone brought over the token of status for a guest patriarch. Guo Shier didn’t care much and simply put it away, knowing the Patriarch of the Fire Sect had planned this all along.
……
TheLuli Secret Realm Secret Realm.
It was called theLuli Secret Realm Secret Realm because it was formed fromLuli Secret Realm sand. At first glance, the entire desert resembled colorfulLuli Secret Realm. There were no creatures, no plants, no water, and the climate was extremely dry.
Guo Shier and the other three hovered quietly in the air. The dry hot wind blew, bringing a suffocating heat. Guo Shier said, “No wonder the Patriarch of the Fire Sect said that only high-level great sage masters can come here. This hot wind is quite strange.”

Li Ran said, “This isn’t strange at all. There’s a kind of toxic heat in the wind. Look at those sand-sized pieces of glass-like material—under sunlight, they emit invisible waves of toxic heat. Ordinary professionals who enter this place will become completely dehydrated within a few days. Even drinking water won’t help, and they’ll eventually die of thirst, buried in the glass sand.”

Eagle Demon said, “I don’t see anything special about this wind.”

Li Ran replied, “That’s because you have the protection of an altar and a strong soul. The only way for lower-level disciples to survive here is to sit on the altar of some altar-level professional. Otherwise, they’re doomed!”

Guo Shier asked, “Are there any materials worth collecting here?”

Li Ran said, “I’m not sure. There’s probably only glass sand here, maybe something else, but do you have time to search?”

Guo Shier smiled bitterly. “Forget it. Let’s look for someone instead.” He scratched his head, not knowing where to start.

Eagle Demon also tapped his own head. Guo Shier wondered, “Uncle Eagle Demon, what are you doing?”

Luo Zhan laughed. “I guess the eagle has a headache, hehe.”

Eagle Demon said, “Quiet, quiet… I seem to remember something… Ah, I’m getting old. Damn it. Wait… looking for people… it’s related to finding people. What was I trying to say?” He muttered to himself a few times, staring intently at Guo Shier.

Guo Shier laughed. “Uncle Eagle Demon, don’t look at me. I don’t know where to find our master either…”

Suddenly, Eagle Demon shouted, “I remember! Haha, is there a place you guys might have thought of? That’s the place where your master and masteress are most likely to be!”

Guo Shier quickly asked, “What do you mean?”

Eagle Demon replied, “The Tan Ya Secret Realm… Do you still remember? It was there that the five of us received our first inheritance from the Ancient Gu family!”

Guo Shier’s eyes lit up. “Right! If we want to find them and strengthen our own power at the same time, then going to the Ancient Gu family is a great choice. As long as we find them, they will surely acknowledge us…”

Back in the Tan Ya Secret Realm, Kuumu, Monier, Guo Shier, Eagle Demon, and Luo Zhan had received the altar inheritance from the Ancient Gu family. Although Guo Shier and the others had completely abandoned that inheritance, it was still an important clue.

Guo Shier said, “Then let’s go to the Ancient Gu family!”

Li Ran said, “That place is very remote. It seems to be one of the four great Ancient families. Hmm… it seems to have declined already. I haven’t been there in ages.”

Guo Shier asked, “Brother Li Ran, have you been there?”
Li Ran replied, “I was there a very long time ago. There were a few old friends there, but I guess not many are still alive. If I hadn’t achieved mastery beyond the ninth-level altar, I would have been reborn as well, and it would be extremely difficult to return then.”
In this world, it’s truly hard to find someone who has surpassed the ninth-level altar. Li Ran established an employment association and a trading firm to gather more people to search for such experts. Over the course of two hundred years, he met a dozen or so experts at the ninth-level altar, but couldn’t find a single one who had gone beyond it, despite having traveled to every place possible.