Chapter 4: The Secret Realm of the Altar (Part 2)

Half a year later, Huo Bao was the first to advance, followed by Wu Chongren, then Chen Bing and Hong Shi. Another half month passed, and Ying Mo and Luo Zhan also reached the sixth level of the altar.
During this time, none of them stepped outside the courtyard, and the professionals from the Star Sect dared not enter either. After Ying Mo and Luo Zhan advanced, they gathered together again. Guo Shier also reached the threshold of advancement, waiting to advance once everyone else had done so.
After congratulating each other, Ying Mo and the others sat beside Guo Shier, their faces filled with excitement. Although Ying Mo and Luo Zhan were happy, they remained calm, unlike Huo Bao and the rest. This successful advancement meant they had officially entered the ranks of advanced professionals. Even after half a month, the four of them were still extremely excited.
Guo Shier didn’t say much. He asked them to sit closer together and then began reciting scriptures silently to strengthen their altars and souls.
Ying Mo and Luo Zhan deliberately sat in the outer circle, allowing Huo Bao and the others to sit close to Guo Shier. They knew Huo Bao and the rest could only enjoy such soul purifications a few times, while they had many more opportunities, so they willingly gave way.
Several hours of chanting stabilized their souls. Through the fluctuations of the soul scriptures, their souls seemed to be reborn, laying a solid foundation for future advancements.
Only then did Guo Shier say, “Let’s rest for a few days. We’ll go to the city to relax, and then it’s my turn to advance.”
Huo Bao stared at him as if he were a monster. After a long pause, he sighed and said, “I called you a freak when we were kids. Now it seems… I was completely right. The ninth level of the altar… Sigh, I’ve never seen anyone reach that level…”
Hong Shi and Chen Bing nodded vigorously, agreeing with the label of “freak.” As for Wu Chongren, he had nothing to say. Over this time, his ears had grown calloused from hearing all about Guo Shier’s childhood. The fact that this person, younger than Huo Bao and the rest, was about to advance to the ninth level of the altar seemed unbelievable—what else could it be but a freak?
After being busy in the courtyard for over half a year, everyone wanted to go out and relax. Chen Bing went outside first to give a notice, causing chaos in the Star Sect. Ao Ao and Zhang Lang rushed over immediately. They hadn’t dared to go anywhere during these six months, staying at the Star Sect’s headquarters, waiting for Guo Shier and the others to emerge.
Soon, Ao Ao and Zhang Lang arrived, followed by several altar-level professionals, a dozen or so Great Sage Masters, and over thirty Sage Masters—a huge crowd in total. They didn’t dare enter the courtyard and stood waiting outside its entrance.

As soon as Guo Shier and the others stepped outside, they were shocked—what kind of atmosphere was this? A thought flashed through Guo Shier’s mind: it seemed they were being treated like plague gods, with everyone fearing misfortune at the slightest mistake.
Ao Ao stepped forward and bowed, asking, “Where are you heading, senior?”
Guo Shier replied, “Nothing much. I’ve lived in the courtyard for over half a year and want to go out for a change of scenery, take a walk in the streets. We don’t need so many people. You and Zhang Lang stay with us; the rest can disperse.”
Ao Ao turned around and gave a few orders, and the crowd immediately dispersed. Instead of going back, they rushed to the city and quickly spread out across various shops and restaurants. Patrols were also increased in the streets, for fear that someone might offend Guo Shier and his group.
Since the continent where the Star Sect was located was a transportation hub, the shops here offered a wide variety of goods. Families and sects from nearby continents had their own shops selling the unique products of their lands. Thus, this city was famous across many continents as a hub for specialty goods.
Ying Mo and Luo Zhan both knew Guo Shier’s habits—he liked to make bulk purchases whenever he arrived in a city. It wasn’t that he disliked shopping; it was simply that he had no space to store everything. This time, having obtained a sealed secret realm with plenty of storage space, he reverted to his old habits and planned to buy extensively.
Guo Shier asked, “Let’s first go to the specialty shops here. Old Ao, you lead the way.” He called him “Old Ao” casually, realizing it was inappropriate right after saying it, but he was too lazy to correct himself. In his past life, Ao referred to a type of dragon, which was related to turtles—so “Old Ao” actually meant old turtle.
Ao Ao asked in confusion, “What do you mean by specialty shops?” He wondered, “What does he want to do?”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “What’s called a specialty shop, more precisely, is a shop selling rare and uncommon goods.”
This time, Ao Ao understood. He said, “There are many such shops. Alright, I’ll take the senior there.” No sooner had he agreed than Zhang Lang sent a signal to inform the professionals outside. Immediately, many professionals entered these shops and began telling the shop owners that with such distinguished guests arriving, they must not show any neglect.
The entire Star Sect was on high alert, but Guo Shier and the others remained relaxed. Accompanied by Ao Ao and Zhang Lang, they headed toward the main streets.

In the distance, professionals were moving swiftly, with hunting vehicles circling in the sky, appearing to maintain a state of alert and protection. Guo Shier saw that whenever they turned onto a certain street, the people there were quickly driven away. Even if they weren’t plagues themselves, they became like plagues.

Huo Bao said with a bitter smile, “This is the deterrence that comes from strength…” He grew angry at the thought. Back then, the four of them, despite having the strength of high-level great sage masters, still had to be besieged, yet now they enjoyed such treatment—a huge difference that was truly thought-provoking.

Hong Shi, Chen Bing, and Wu Chongren didn’t say anything, merely watching the busy professionals. After a while, Chen Bing sighed and said, “This world… is truly fucking messed up.”

Hong Shi sneered and shook his head. He said nothing, just silently followed Guo Shier and the others forward.

Guo Shier noticed that the driven-away professionals looked angry. He said, “Lao Ao, stop driving them away. They’re not a problem.”

Lao Ao was reluctant but didn’t dare disobey Guo Shier, so he ordered to stop driving them away, and the street gradually regained its liveliness.

Guo Shier asked, “Is the street ahead full of shops?”

Zhang Lang replied, “Yes. It’s the busiest street in this city, with most of the shops here. Sects and families from various continents also have shops here.”

There was a large shop right at the street entrance. Lao Ao said, “This is a shop from Haimen. Its main specialty is various fish, including mutated sea fish.”

Guo Shier had lived in Haimen before and had collected some fish, so he wasn’t very interested. He said, “Let’s keep going. I’m not interested in their stuff.”

In fact, Guo Shier already had a large amount of supplies, including various foods and specialties. But he had a collecting habit—if he didn’t buy heavily when he arrived somewhere, he would feel uncomfortable. His obsession with food especially puzzled Ying Mo and Luo Zhan, as they couldn’t imagine it was a habit from his past life.

He casually entered a large shop and immediately saw a set of runes with the words “Juan Mi” written on them. Guo Shier wondered, “Juan Mi? What kind of rice is that?”

The shopkeeper, who was standing by the counter, had already received news that several powerful experts were coming. He had been warned to receive them carefully and respectfully, without any negligence, or else he wouldn’t be able to keep his shop here. So he had come from the backyard of the shop to the counter. Hearing this, he smiled and said, “Juan Mi is a specialty of our Tai Continent. It’s also called Golden Rice…” He waved for an employee to bring over a small bowl of Juan Mi.

Juanmi is extremely tiny, similar to millet from a past life, glowing with a golden light, like golden particles. Guo Shier reached out and grabbed a handful, finding it incredibly light—holding it in his hand felt like holding a puff of air. He asked, “Is this thing edible?”
The shopkeeper replied, “It’s fragrant… but it has one flaw.”
Guo Shier asked, “A flaw? What flaw?”
The shopkeeper said, “It doesn’t fill you up. Though it’s extremely fragrant and tastes good, it can’t be used as food because it simply doesn’t satisfy hunger…”
Guo Shier laughed, “If it doesn’t fill you up, why would anyone buy it?”
The shopkeeper smiled and said, “Many people will buy it. It can be added to other grains or flours…”
Guo Shier understood—it was like a seasoning for grains and flours. It was the first time he’d seen such an unusual grain. He said, “I’ll buy some.”
The shopkeeper eagerly asked, “How much do you want?”
Yingmo and Luozhan both showed strange smiles. Guo Shier calmly said, “I’ll buy as much as there is—take it all.” With that, he threw over a pouch of gold talismans, saying, “This is gold talisman money. Take as much as you need.” The pouch contained hundreds of thousands of gold talismans, all stolen from other ancient clans.
The shopkeeper picked up the pouch and was stunned. He had seen money before, but this was the first time he’d seen so many ancient coins. Gold talisman money was mostly used by ancient clans and large sects. Rare even on lower or higher continents, it was extremely valuable.
Guo Shier asked, “What? Can’t this money be used? Then I’ll exchange it for materials…”
The shopkeeper quickly said, “It can be used, it can be used… I’ll have someone carry it over.”
Guo Shier took out another large pouch of gold talismans and said, “Just put it here. Decide how much to charge yourself.”
Ao Ao shouted, “Wait a moment…”
Guo Shier turned his gaze to him and asked, “What’s the matter?”
Ao Ao forced a smile and said, “Let our Xingzong clan pay. Please do us the honor, senior.”