Chapter 5: The Abnormal Treasure Ritual (Part 1)

Guo Shier flew thousands of miles away to a small plain. By the bank of a modest river, he landed and looked around. Halechi followed him down, and soon Wang Keer also arrived. She threw the bone in her hand, landed by the river, crouched down to wash her hands, and said, “Shier, shall we wait here?”
Halechi glanced back and said, “I wonder if those two will fight again.”
Guo Shier sighed. “It was obvious they stopped fighting because they were hungry. I guess… those two will fight again. Well, this time it might take longer. Ignore them. We should do what we have to do. Anyway, we can’t control them, and we don’t have the strength to stop them.”
Halechi murmured, “Yeah, we can’t do anything… Hey, Shier, give me a bottle of strong liquor.”
Guo Shier was so angry he almost slapped him. “Go away!”
Wang Keer giggled and stepped forward. Guo Shier asked warily, “What do you want?” With a shy expression, she reached out and said, “Brother Shier… give me some snacks.”
Guo Shier couldn’t help but smile bitterly. What kind of people were these two? He tossed her a pack of snacks and said, “Eat slowly, or you might choke.” It wasn’t that he was unwilling to give them anything, but their entitled attitude annoyed him.
Wang Keer cheered and ran off with the snacks. Once she had them, she ignored Guo Shier completely.
Halechi kept pestering him. Guo Shier had never met such persistent people before. He casually threw him a few bottles of strong liquor. Too lazy to pay them any attention, he found a flat spot, activated the Hidden Symbol House, went up to the second floor, and fell asleep on a thick fur rug.
After sleeping for a day and night, Guo Shier finally woke up. During this time, he had discovered that sleeping was very beneficial for his soul, so he would often take naps. After waking up, he stepped out of the Hidden Symbol House and stored it away. He had obtained this house a long time ago; it was very convenient for use in the wild. He cherished it greatly and had cast many spells on it to make it stronger and more durable.
Wang Keer sat on a rock by the river, her snow-white feet stirring the water casually. With her head lowered, she unconsciously twisted a strand of her hair, lost in thought.
Guo Shier walked to the riverbank, said nothing, crouched down, and used the water to wash his face.
Wang Keer woke up at the sound of the water. As soon as she saw Guo Shier, she exclaimed happily, “Shier… Hehe, Brother Shier…”

Guo Shier couldn’t help but shiver. Without a word, he raised his hand and threw over a pack of snacks. He knew this girl would say anything for snacks—once she got them, she’d act as if she didn’t know him at all. To avoid trouble, he didn’t wait for her to ask; he just threw the pack over and continued washing up.

Sure enough, as soon as Wang Keer got the snacks, she ignored Guo Shier completely and started eating happily.

Soon, Guo Shier finished washing up and asked, “Hey, girl, how’s the fight going? Any news?”

As the saying goes, those who take others’ things end up indebted; those who eat others’ food become soft-mouthed. Wang Keer lazily replied, “Who knows? Anyway, we haven’t heard anything since we left. We don’t know who won or lost. But… they must still be fighting.”

Guo Shier asked, “Oh, how do you know they’re still fighting?” As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a faint vibration and immediately understood why. He said, “Sigh, they’re not tired at all. They’ve been fighting for a whole day and night. How can they still go on? Are they just idle? Where did Halechi go?”

Wang Keer said, “How do I know why they haven’t stopped? Halechi disappeared yesterday… Um, this is tasty. What is this?” She held up a pickled dried fruit and asked.

Guo Shier replied, “Dried apricots.”

Wang Keer muttered, “Heart candy? Calling it a treasure… Why such a name? Hey, are you trying to tease me?”

Guo Shier was stunned. After a long while, he said, “Being uneducated is really scary.”

Wang Keer snapped, “You’re the one who’s uneducated! Don’t think just because I ate a little of your snacks…” She kept shouting nonsense.

Guo Shier soared into the sky and said, “I’m too lazy to talk to you… I’m going to check how the fight is going.” With a flash of talismanic light, he disappeared without a trace.

Wang Keer put away the snacks and called, “Wait for me… I want to go see too…” and chased after him.

…

Li Ran was drenched in sweat. Sitting on the altar, he cast another spell. The ornate decorations above his head emitted endless illusory talismans, flying in all directions like raging waves. By now, he finally understood that although he could slightly suppress Qi Wuzhen, defeating her was absolutely impossible. Her strength was unmatched in his entire life.

What troubled Li Ran the most was Qi Wuzhen’s Multilayered Flaming Heat—seems like the entire world was on fire. He never expected this woman to be so extreme in playing with fire. Not only could she unleash multilayered flames, but she could also stir up underground magma. The whole land and sky were burning. Only by relying on the suppression of the ornate decorations could Li Ran barely control an area within a hundred miles around him.

Countless virtual talismans turned into blue ice crystals, pressing down on the surging flames from all sides. Qi Wu Zhen’s hands moved like a pianist, creating layers of flames that shot out in all directions like waves. Her expression was grim too; Li Ran’s strength also troubled her. She couldn’t suppress him completely, even with the newly refined Thousand-Layer Harmonic Flame. Li Ran was sensible enough not to use his most powerful move, Sky Burial, and instead relied on his sacred treasures to fight back. Qi Wu Zhen did the same—she didn’t use her strongest attacks either. She wasn’t in the same state as when she first escaped, when her soul was chaotic and she resorted to her most powerful tactics. She understood that Li Ran could help her leave this world, so she couldn’t treat him as a true enemy. The two fought using only their sacred treasures, but no matter how skilled they were, they couldn’t defeat each other. After fighting for a day and night, both were tired and hungry. Such battles consumed enormous amounts of energy. They used various tactics in attack and defense, destroying everything within a thousand miles. Fortunately, this was an uninhabited continent; otherwise, countless lives would have been lost. The only unfortunate ones were the wild animals in that area, all killed by the aftermath of their battle. Finally, Li Ran grew impatient and shouted, “Crazy woman! Is it enough yet?” Qi Wu Zhen replied, “Not enough! More!” Li Ran had no choice but to retreat, saying helplessly, “You crazy woman, madman… You’re absolutely outrageous!” It was the first time he had encountered someone so insane, yet her strength was so great that he couldn’t suppress her. Just then, Guo Shier appeared. As soon as he heard their conversation, he was shocked. He said, “Brother Li Ran, Sister Zhen, it’s almost over, right? Hehe, let’s take a break?” Actually, both of them no longer wanted to fight, but neither wanted to be at a disadvantage, so they continued fighting. Li Ran, eager to save face, said, “Shier, go and burn some talisman food for me.” Qi Wu Zhen didn’t back down, saying, “Shier, come to your sister! Ignore that idiot.” As the fight seemed about to intensify again, Guo Shier raised his hand and said, “Stop! Stop! Stop talking and come with me.” He glanced at the ground and couldn’t help but sigh—these two were true super-vandals. The ground was ablaze, mountains collapsed, magma gushed, and thick smoke filled the sky. He said, “This isn’t a place to rest. Let’s leave.”

Qi Wu Zhen and Li Ran wisely stayed silent, knowing that once they spoke, there would be no way to leave. So both of them kept quiet and followed Guo Shier into the distance. Along the way, they met Wang Ke’er, who said with a smile, “Hey, is it over already? Hehe, who won and who lost?”
Guo Shier replied, “Why ask so many questions? Let’s just go together!”
Wang Ke’er seemed a bit disappointed and said, “Oh.” She was also the kind of person who loved causing trouble.
The four flew to the riverbank where Guo Shier had rested earlier. After landing, Guo Shier didn’t say much and immediately started preparing talismanic food.
Li Ran glanced at Qi Wu Zhen and stepped aside to sit down; he didn’t want to cause more trouble either. This woman was too troublesome—like a barrel of explosives that could explode at the slightest spark. By now, he was also very tired and thought to himself that this woman was extremely strong and indeed a good assistant. With her by their side, their chances of leaving the small world could increase significantly.
Qi Wu Zhen was a proud person. Ever since she became a master who surpassed the ninth-tier altar, this was the first time she had encountered someone so powerful. She admired her greatly—someone who could match her strength and even slightly overpower her. She couldn’t help but take her seriously. Moreover, she was also tired and didn’t want to continue fighting, which was why she could listen to Guo Shier’s words.
It had been a long time since Guo Shier last prepared talismanic food, so he was eager to do it again. Most importantly, he was a bit hungry himself. In his past life, he had run a small restaurant and liked to create unique dishes. This world had all sorts of strange ingredients, and he had collected countless of them, especially various meats—more in abundance than he could have imagined in his past life.
Unlike his past life, people here ate enormous amounts, so they used large pots to cook food. Fortunately, the fire talismans here were very effective and convenient. In just two hours, he prepared five large dishes and a big pot of meat and bone soup. In his past life, such dishes would have been just ordinary home-cooked meals.
There was braised pork, sweet and sour spare ribs, spicy fish, over ten pounds of dried marinated meat, a dish of stir-fried vegetables, and a big pot of mushroom and meat bone soup.
The most quantity prepared was the braised pork, made from first-tier mutated talismanic pigs. There was over a hundred pounds of pork belly piled high in a basin, glistening with oil and emitting a strong meaty aroma.
Li Ran grabbed a large rib. The bone, as thick as his arm, was covered with crispy meat. He praised, “Here we go again. Hehe, Shier’s cooking skills are really good.”

Qi Wu Zhen had tasted Guo Shier’s talismanic food and knew that what the kid cooked was extremely delicious. She picked up a piece of flatbread, warmed it casually, then with a flick of her finger, a thin chain of virtual talismans wrapped around a palm-sized piece of fish. This fish was also collected by Guo Shier; it was seven or eight meters long, had extremely tender flesh, and no bones. When cooked in a sour and spicy sauce, even Guo Shier loved eating it.
Wang Keer ate silently, head down.