Chapter 10: Multi-Layered Continents (Part 1)

Two professionals who surpassed the ninth-tier altar—this was unbearable. Goha’s eyes almost popped out, while Lü Chongyue’s limbs went numb and his whole body trembled. The immense spiritual pressure caused those at the fourth, fifth, and sixth-tier altars to collapse to the ground, and even those at the seventh and eighth-tier altars wavered, activating their altar protections in an attempt to withstand the pressure.

Qi Wuzhen remained silent until she spoke, and her words left everyone speechless. She glanced around; aside from Li Ran and Guo Shier, who remained calm, everyone else was trembling. Some trembled violently, while others trembled slightly—especially the professionals from the Yuanke Alliance and Langyan Merchant Guild, who were shaking like sieve grains.

“What is there on the Hongyuan Continent? Who can tell me?”

Goha knew his merchant guild was in big trouble. Fighting against a few professionals at the ninth-tier altar wasn’t scary, but facing two peak experts who surpassed that level was utterly terrifying. After hesitating, he turned to Lü Chongyue and asked in a low voice, “What should we do?”

Lü Chongyue instead stepped forward to Yao Zebusong and said, “We’re cooperating between two groups. Now we need to decide whether to add a third group as well.”

Not only did Guo Shier perk up his ears, but Zhen Wujie and Zhen Wuyu also pricked up their attention. Everyone knew there were secrets on the Hongyuan Continent, but those secrets were in the hands of the Yuanke Alliance and Langyan Merchant Guild. The Guzhen family owned the Hongyuan Continent but didn’t know what secrets lay there.

After discussing for a while, Goha stepped forward and said, “Elder, I hope to discuss this with someone from the Guzhen family.”

Qi Wuzhen stared at him for a long time before saying, “Then hurry up.” She slowly sat down, picked up a fruit, and began eating it, ignoring Goha. The pressure in her gaze made Goha sweat profusely.

Goha turned to Zhen Wujie and said, “I need a promise. Before revealing the secrets, I agree to let your Guzhen family join, but you can’t refuse our Langyan Merchant Guild and Yuanke Alliance from joining as well.”

Zhen Wujie understood why they wanted to buy or exchange for the Hongyuan Continent. Once they knew the secrets, the Guzhen family could abandon them, as the continent belonged to them.

Zhen Wujie and Zhen Wuyu discussed briefly. In fact, he already had an answer in mind—cooperation was necessary to gain benefits. He had experienced such things many times before and said, “It’s fine, but our Guzhen family must take half!”

Goha rushed to say, “You want half without knowing anything at all— isn’t that too much?”

Guo Shier suddenly interjected from the side, “We should get a share too!” Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen were reluctant to speak, but he spoke as if it were only right. After all, without Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen, their family would gain nothing from the ancient town, and the Hongyuan Continent would be taken away.
Yao Zebusong knew Guo Shier was troublesome—he had taken countless advantages on Bone Mountain in the Great Abyss. He knew he couldn’t hesitate, or who knew what tricks this guy might pull. Back when he only had a sixth-level altar, he dared to steal from those old guys with ninth-level altars. Now that he also had a ninth-level altar, why not take as much as he could?
“Alright, let’s say everyone from all four sides gets a share—let’s divide it evenly.”
Yao Zebusong immediately agreed. Ruo Wangtian also knew how formidable Guo Shier was, so he had no objections. Ge Ha and Lu Chongyue hesitated for a moment but also agreed. They had no choice but to agree—his strength could overwhelm the other three sides. Fortunately, they only wanted a share, not everything for themselves. If they had demanded everything, the other three sides wouldn’t have been able to suppress him at all.
Then everyone started dividing the shares, which immediately led to fierce arguments. Zhen Wuji insisted on getting the largest share because the Hongyuan Continent belonged to their family. Ge Ha and Yao Zebusong, of course, refused. At that moment, Guo Shier stepped back and didn’t participate in the argument. Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen also stayed silent—they both knew that no matter how it was divided, their three families wouldn’t dare bully Guo Shier’s side.
Guo Shier watched Zhen Wuji, red-faced from arguing, and felt amused. They hadn’t even figured out what it was yet, and already they were arguing wildly. Thankfully, everyone was restrained; although the arguments were intense, no one dared to lay a hand on anyone.
After the three families finished dividing the shares, they realized Guo Shier’s side hadn’t gotten anything, so another round of furious arguments ensued. Eventually, each of the three families contributed a share, and the distribution plan was finalized. This still didn’t get Guo Shier’s side’s approval. If Guo Shier had wanted more, there would likely have been more arguments.
Thirty percent went to Guo Shier’s side. As for how the other three families divided theirs, Guo Shier didn’t care. Thirty percent was plenty anyway. What he was curious about was what secrets the Hongyuan Continent actually held.
A rune contract was written. Contracts here had great binding power. As the representative, Guo Shier received a contract and thus a share of the benefits.
Guo Shier said with a smile, “Alright, the division is over. Ge Ha, could you tell us… what exactly is this?” Hearing this, everyone’s faces darkened—they knew nothing yet, wanted a share of the benefits, and were talking about division? Was this even stolen property?

Goha gave a bitter smile. He had been completely stripped of his temper by Guo Shier and said, “Everyone should know what a dual-land continent is, right?”
Guo Shier thought for a moment and replied, “I’ve heard of it—a double-layered continent… Hmm, it must be a stacked continent. Are you saying the Hongyuan Continent is a dual-land continent?” He found it strange. Although dual-land continents were extremely rare, they didn’t necessarily offer many advantages.
Goha said, “The Hongyuan Continent isn’t a dual-land continent; it’s a multi-layered continent.”
Even Li Ran was surprised now. He asked, “A multi-layered continent? How many layers?”
Goha replied, “At least five layers… possibly seven, or even more. We’ve used special sacrificial artifacts to probe it. It’s naturally sealed. One must first force their way in by tearing open space with a nine-layer altar’s expertise, then they can tear open space to enter the next layer. Preliminary probes suggest that the first layer is suitable for disciples of sects and families to train in, though we haven’t explored it thoroughly yet.”
Li Ran pondered for a while before saying, “Five layers… or even more. That means… the multi-layered continent has formed a cycle. Interesting. This place is worth visiting.”
Qi Wuzhen nodded and said, “The deeper you go in a multi-layered continent, the more dangerous it becomes, but it also produces extremely rare materials suitable for our use. After surpassing the nine-layer altar, there’s little hope of further progress, mainly because the materials and souls can’t keep up. Especially materials—in this world, those capable of supporting a ten-layer altar are extremely rare. Finding suitable ones relies on luck and chance, not strength.”
Guo Shier discussed it with the old man for a while and realized it was a great place, rich in special materials. The more layers there were, the more rare materials and mutated magical beasts there would be. He couldn’t help but exclaim, “This world is truly amazing. Such places even exist. Brother Li Ran, have you been to a similar continent before?”
Li Ran replied, “I’ve seen a dual-land continent once and found some fairly precious materials, but nothing truly remarkable. This time might be different.”
Goha continued, “Based on the information we have so far, layers one to three are great places for disciples to train. Below layer four, they’re ideal for advanced professionals to collect materials. We must establish large teleportation gates on the Hongyuan Continent.”
Guo Shier suddenly realized what he meant. He asked, “The shares you mentioned… are they the quotas for sending disciples to train in the multi-layered continent?”
Goha said, “Of course. What else do you think they are?”

Guo Shier immediately deflated like a punctured balloon. He had no family or sect, and even if he gave his share to Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan’s new sects, they were too far away to come here at all, making his share utterly useless. He couldn’t help but curse, “Damn it!”
Everyone burst into laughter, finding it delightful to see Guo Shier frustrated.
Guo Shier’s eyes sparkled as he said, “But it’s not completely useless… Hehe, we have 30% of the share. Although we can’t use it, you can!”
Goha asked, “So what?”
Guo Shier grinned and said, “I’ll sell it to your three families. Whoever offers the most will get it. Hehe, there shouldn’t be any problem, right?” He had done this before on Bone Mountain—extracting every last bit from others. He even resold the shares he sold, forcing others to pay a high price for them.
None of the three parties were foolish. Finding a continent suitable for disciples to train on was extremely difficult—requiring a sealed space and controlled danger levels. Such multi-layered continents were the best for training.
Guo Shier said skillfully, “30% of the share, divided into thirty parts. Hehe, each part has to be exchanged for something!”
Zhen Wuji spoke up immediately, “Thirty parts? Our Ancient Town family will take them. Just tell us what you want in exchange.”
Yao Zebusong said, “That’s impossible…”
Goha said, “Let’s follow the old rule—compete for each part one by one!”
Li Ran and Qi Wuzhen remained silent, smiling as they watched how Guo Shier would handle things. These shares were free and of no use to them, so getting some materials in exchange wasn’t bad. After all, once Guo Shier got them, everyone could have their share.
Just thirty shares, yet the competition among the three parties was fierce. This surprised Guo Shier. He didn’t realize that for a family or sect to thrive long-term, the growth of its disciples was a crucial aspect that the leadership had to consider.
Recovering a large amount of materials, Guo Shier was satisfied. After all, Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan would need a lot of materials for their next level-ups. His own materials were already sufficient, but gathering materials for their upgrades was also his responsibility. As their master, he had to provide them with what they needed.
Everyone took what they wanted. Halechi and Wang Keer were beaming with joy—this was the first time they had encountered such an easy opportunity. As for Si Debing and the other two, they got nothing because they weren’t part of his group.