Chapter 3: The Jade and Stone Mining Area (Part 2)

Guo Shier said in surprise, “Strange, are robbers still this polite?”
Yang Miluo replied helplessly, “Brother, that’s not robbery… Listen to what he has to say first.”
Guo Shier chuckled awkwardly. He had been waiting for others to attack so he could steal back what was taken. With Yang Miluo’s words, he realized the other party indeed didn’t intend to rob them. He rubbed his nose and fell silent.
Li Ran stepped forward and asked, “What’s the matter?”
The middle-aged man replied politely, “I’m a rogue professional, a Level 7 Altar professional. My name is Yang Wuya. Hehe, it seems you guys are also rogue professionals, right?” Judging by their appearance, Li Ran and his group did indeed look like rogue professionals. Professionals from ancient clans usually traveled in groups; it was unlikely they were just four.
Li Ran didn’t bother to clarify and said with a smile, “Yeah, we’re all rogue professionals. I’m Li Ran. How can I assist you?” He ignored their professional ranks again. According to Guo Shier, his Altar skill, aside from being used for intimidation, didn’t affect his combat strength if not used. Plus, since this guy deliberately kept a low profile, it was hard for outsiders to tell his actual rank.
Yang Wuya said, “Brother Li Ran, as you know, the deeper into the Great Abyssal Pool, the more dangerous it gets. Hehe, we rogue professionals… are alone and vulnerable. So… we plan to gather together and enter together so we can take care of each other. Do you guys want to join us?”
Li Ran hesitated for a moment before asking, “Are you all rogue professionals?”
Yang Wuya replied, “Yes. Many people here dare not go any further. The mutated beasts are getting stronger. It’s very difficult to move forward with just a few professionals.” He spoke sincerely, but he hadn’t expected it to be Li Ran who would deal with them. His attention was on Fan Zhen, a genuine Level 7 Altar professional. Professionals of this rank were valuable anywhere in the world.
Li Ran turned back and asked, “Shier, should we join them?”
Guo Shier replied firmly, “No!” He still wanted others to attack them. With such a large group acting together, who would dare rob them? After all, robbery was far better than collecting on their own.
Li Ran almost immediately understood his meaning. He spread his hands and said, “My brother doesn’t want to. Please continue looking for other rogue professionals.”
Disappointment showed in Yang Wuya’s eyes, but he didn’t stop them. He said, “Alright, I won’t force you. Hehe, take care.”

Li Ran and the three others immediately felt much better about Yang Wuya. This guy wasn’t bad. Li Ran nodded and said, “Let’s go.” The four of them flew away into the distance.

One professional said, “These guys really think they can break into the Great Abyss on their own. Hmph, they won’t even know how they die!”

Another professional added, “Maybe they think that with two sixth-level altars and one seventh-level altar, they can defeat those abominable beasts and those professionals from the malicious ancient clans.”

Yang Wuya said, “Stop talking. Even if we didn’t manage to win them over, at least we’ll leave a good impression if we meet them again. They’re all rogue professionals; perhaps they’re used to traveling alone.”

Another professional with a seventh-level altar said, “It’s a shame. There’s also a professional with a seventh-level altar among them. If they joined us, we’d have three experts with seventh-level altars, enough to protect ourselves.”

Yang Wuya shook his head with a bitter smile. He really wanted to keep Fan Zhen Tong with them, but he didn’t realize that in this small group, the truly powerful one wasn’t Fan Zhen Tong but Li Ran, who was talking to him.

After flying for a while, Yang Miluo couldn’t hold back anymore and asked, “Shier, why don’t we join them? With so many professionals, it would be great for both hunting and defending against professionals from other ancient clans.”

Guo Shier laughed and said, “More people do mean more strength, but do we lack power?” Yang Miluo was stunned. He said, “Oh right, we’re not lacking in power. Hehe, I got it wrong.”

Li Ran smiled and said, “You didn’t get it wrong. I understand what Shier means. It’s just about wanting to steal more. Haha, fewer people make them targets; with more people… who would dare to mess with us?”

Guo Shier raised his thumb and said, “As expected of the eldest brother. You really understand me.”

Li Ran couldn’t help but scold laughingly, “You’re getting more and more despicable…”

Guo Shier immediately replied, “I learn from the eldest brother.”

Li Ran was instantly speechless. Yang Miluo and Fan Zhen Tong burst into laughter. These two were exactly the same kind of people.

Fan Zhen Tong looked around and said, “The terrain here is even more rugged… all snow-capped mountains.”

This place was different from when they first entered the Great Abyss—the elevation was significantly higher. According to Guo Shier’s knowledge from his past life, this should be considered a plateau, with vast glaciers and towering mountains that reached into the clouds. The mountains here were much higher than the highest peaks he had seen in his past life. He remembered that the highest peaks back then wouldn’t exceed 10,000 meters, while here, 10,000-meter peaks were just small hills.

Mountains over a hundred thousand meters high are everywhere. The most terrifying thing is the unstable geology here—severe earthquakes occur frequently, with avalanches and mudslides happening often on the mountains, plus boulders falling from the peaks. Even professionals have to take cover.

Li Ran said, “This path… heh, there’s no path left. We can only fly, but not too high—the hurricanes up there are strong enough to knock professionals down.”

Guo Shier listened carefully. The howling wind high in the sky shook his soul. He knew Li Ran was right—probably only Li Ran could fly up there. His own strength wasn’t enough, and even if he managed to get there, he might not be able to stabilize the altar.

Only those with strength, humans or beasts, could enter this place. Mutated beasts below level 10 would almost surely die upon entering, and even those at levels 11 or 12 needed to be cautious. Professionals needed at least a fifth-level altar to survive here.

As they spoke, a howling sound came, followed by rumbling thunder. Guo Shier looked up and saw countless boulders mixed with snow and mist falling from the mountains. Along with the vibrations, it triggered a chain reaction in the surrounding mountains, affecting even the area where Guo Shier and the others were hovering.

They scrambled to avoid the falling boulders. Watching them whiz past, Guo Shier broke into cold sweat. If he were hit by one, his altar might crack too. He said, “This is deadly! Why is the terrain so terrifying?”

Li Ran laughed and said, “Be careful. If you get killed, it would be a shame.”

Guo Shier said, “I really don’t know what’s ahead. Although this continent is rich in resources, it’s too dangerous. I guess not many experts from the ancient clans will survive this time—only if they’re extremely lucky.”

Fan Zhen suddenly pointed at a distance and said urgently, “Look! Look… what’s that?”

A red glint flashed in Guo Shier’s eyes. He quickly turned his head. It was a huge red rock, standing out sharply against the white snow and mist. It traced a red line through the air as it fell toward the foot of the mountain. He exclaimed, “A red rock?”

Li Ran narrowed his eyes and said, “It’s not just red rocks; there are also yellow ones…”

Soon, the four of them saw yellow boulders, green boulders, dark brown boulders, and boulders as blue as the sky. It was as if a handful of colored stones had been thrown from the sky—truly a dazzling array that left Guo Shier dazzled. He exclaimed, “There are such rocks too… uh, I feel like they might be some kind of material?”

As soon as the Old Handsome heard the word “material,” he leaned out from the altar and said, “Where? Where? Huh…” He had already seen the falling rocks.
Li Ran said, “Wait a bit longer. Once things calm down, we’ll go.”
It took half an hour before the area settled down. Li Ran smiled and said, “Let’s go! I’m curious too.” He teleported there immediately, followed by Guo Shier and the others.
When they arrived at the spot where the colored stones had fallen, the ground was in chaos, covered with a thick layer of snow. Countless huge trees lay collapsed, their broken branches sticking out of the snow, along with rocks scattered across the ground. Li Ran stood beside a massive rock.
Guo Shier said, “What a huge rock. Is that the red rock? Uh, is it jade?”
Faint wisps of steam rose from the crimson rock.
It resembled red jade, as big as a small mountain—at least 100 meters high and 200 meters wide, no smaller than a skyscraper.
A hint of joy appeared on Li Ran’s face. He said, “Red Fire Jade. Heh, what great luck.”
Guo Shier sat on the altar. His knowledge was less than Li Ran’s, but he had plenty of knowledge about materials. After quickly reviewing his inherited memories, he understood what Red Fire Jade was. The Old Handsome also recognized it as Red Fire Jade and said, “Yes, it’s Red Fire Jade. Then those other colors we saw earlier must be Blue Crystal Jade, Bright Yellow Jade, and Leaf Green Jade.”
Li Ran said, “I only need a small portion. Let’s divide it up.”
The Old Handsome quietly told Guo Shier, “This kind of jade isn’t very useful to others, but you can make great use of it. Collect as much as you can—it’s beneficial for improving the Heavenly Altar. I know how to purify it, so don’t miss any fragments.”
Although the Red Fire Jade, as big as a skyscraper, could be forcibly taken, there were four people present. So, Li Ran was responsible for breaking it. With his strength, it was easy for him to shatter such a huge piece of jade. With just one strike, the Red Fire Jade was completely broken apart. The four of them picked up pieces, and Li Ran took only a small amount, as he didn’t need much.
Yang Miluo and Fan Zhen also didn’t collect much, as their storage spaces were limited and there was too much to fit in. As for Guo Shier, he acted like a scavenger. He said, “Don’t worry… I’ll take it all.”
Li Ran waved his hand and said, “Though this thing is rare, its uses… uh, I forgot. Since you’re building a Heavenly Altar, it can be quite useful.”
It was only then that Yang Miluo and Fan Zhen realized that Guo Shier actually dared to build a Heavenly Altar, even reaching the level of a six-layer altar. It was simply incredible.

Neither of them spoke. With Li Ran, that big pervert, around, Guo Shier seemed less monstrous. Guo Shier kept collecting, while the handsome old man began purifying them in the talisman space. Eventually, he simply let Guo Shier take the lead and start purifying them directly outside using Jie Bainà. Jie Bainà was an excellent sacrificial artifact that could break down anything; those countless threads would wrap around it and refine anything. Li Ran glanced at it and said with a smile, “This sacrificial artifact is really good.” Yang Miluo glanced at Jie Bainà with some confusion and said, “What kind of sacrificial artifact is this? I remember our family’s heritage mentioning a powerful one called Jie Bainà, which can break down anything. This one… really looks similar.” Guo Shier smirked inwardly. His sacrificial artifact was from the ancient Miluo family’s heritage. Although it had no offensive power, it was the one he used most often. After breaking down the red fire jade, it was condensed into pieces the size of city bricks—pure and transparent, with a red glow and a faint heat. This was still just the purified material jade, without any talismans added. Blue crystal jade, bright yellow jade, and emerald jade were also quickly found, along with Ink Creek jade and golden thread jade. Among them, red fire jade was the most abundant, followed by blue crystal jade, with bright yellow jade and the others being less common. After working hard for half a day, they finally finished collecting. Guo Shier, still unsatisfied, said, “It’s still not enough.” He looked up. Since the jade had slid down from the mountain peak, there must be jade ore up there. Li Ran laughed and said, “Don’t go up. This mountain peak is over a hundred thousand meters high. I guess by the time you reach halfway up… you won’t be able to stabilize the altar.” Guo Shier said with a playful grin, “Big brother Li Ran, help me out!” Li Ran scolded with a smile, “You brat, do you want me to go up?” Guo Shier replied, “No, just attack it a bit. Hehe, your attacks are quite powerful; they should be able to knock some stuff down.” Yang Miluo and Fan Zhen stepped back together. It was just a joke. Once Li Ran launched an attack, who knew how many boulders would fall from the sky? Staying here wasn’t a good idea. Guo Shier chuckled twice and followed Yang Miluo and the others back. Of course, he also knew the danger. Li Ran shook his head. Once the three of them had retreated far enough, he immediately teleported to high altitude. Sure enough, there was a strong wind up there. With his strength, he could keep rising. In just a moment, he saw the collapsed ore veins. After delivering a casual strike, he immediately teleported away. Boom!

With Li Ran’s strength, although it was just a casual strike, its power was far beyond what Guo Shier and the others could compare to. In an instant, the entire mineral vein exploded.
Roaring thunder sounds filled the air, and the snow on the mountains began to collapse in large areas due to the intense vibrations.
Roar!
From a huge cave halfway up the mountain, a massive head emerged, staring intently at the valley below.
Guo Shier asked, “What the hell is that?”