Chapter 2: Inheritance (Part 2)

Guo Shier smiled bitterly. “Even if there were one or two talisman beasts or talisman worms, I’d feel a bit more at ease. I keep feeling something’s off—this place… it’s eerie. I can’t figure out what it is. With so much Storage Wood here, any sect that discovers it will immediately trigger a massive battle.”
Eagle Demon said, “If Storage Wood is truly precious, then the chances of war… are high! Shier, once we leave, you need to find a way to get away as soon as possible. This place is too dangerous.”
Guo Shier nodded. “Mm, I’ll collect as much as I can. After we leave, if we can’t quickly rise to the rank of Saint Master, we won’t stay here anymore. We’ll just flee first.”
Eagle Demon said, “Yeah, you’re already a high-level Mad Master. The next step is to become a junior Saint Master… You’re only in your teens; you don’t really need to work so hard.”
Guo Shier sighed. “Without strength, it’s hard to survive in this world…”
Eagle Demon looked around and asked, “Have we run far?”
Guo Shier casually cast a spell, closed his eyes, and said, “About a few hundred miles. Not too far.” Suddenly, he laughed. “Look! Another barren forest. Heh, good luck—we’ve already found a second one along the way.”
Ancient Flame Sparrow chirped softly and flew off.
With Ancient Flame Sparrow, burning down a barren forest was extremely fast. With the little scorpion helping to search for the crystals produced by the burning, Guo Shier could obtain hundreds of crystals without having to do it himself.
A short while later, Guo Shier set off again. That barren forest had turned to ashes. This time, he obtained over six hundred Storage Wood crystals, most of which were high-quality. There were also some lightning-hit Storage Wood crystals, among which two caught Guo Shier’s attention.
Sitting on the scorpion’s back, Guo Shier played with the two crystals in his hands. They were deep red Storage Wood crystals. He had collected so many Storage Wood crystals, but only this time had he gotten two deep red ones, which felt very unusual. He said, “I wonder what kind of crystal these are? They should be similar to the lightning-hit crystals, belonging to a mutated variety.”
Eagle Demon laughed. “Anyway, they’re all Storage Wood crystals. Whatever color they are, as long as they’re useful.”
Guo Shier smiled slightly, put away the Storage Wood crystals, and said contentedly, “Good harvest. Let’s keep going deeper, hoping to find better barren forests.”
Four days later.
Guo Shier stared blankly into the distance and asked, “What’s that?”

Eagle Demon stood up on the scorpion’s back. His gaze was sharper than Guo Shier’s. After examining it carefully, he said, “The shape… is very similar to…”
Guo Shier pressed on, “Similar to what?”
Eagle Demon replied, “It’s very similar to a Soul Altar!”
A Soul Altar!
Guo Shier exclaimed in shock, “There’s actually a Soul Altar here!”
Eagle Demon shook his head slightly and said, “Not necessarily… We need to go and take a look to be sure. I think it’s quite similar.” Guo Shier didn’t hesitate. “Let’s go!” He immediately urged the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion to speed forward. He knew full well what a Soul Altar meant—any ancient Soul Altar was a priceless treasure. The minor Soul Altar they encountered in the Altar Secret Realm last time had already prompted the Chenxiao Sect to send numerous advanced professionals, even activating a large ritual gate exclusive to the sect. What kind of altar would this one be?
Guo Shier urged the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion hard, pushing it to run forward desperately. The scorpion’s eight clawed feet made a faint rustling sound as they stepped on the ground, its body so light it seemed to fly just above the surface. Gradually, the vague outline of the altar became clearer.
Eagle Demon said excitedly, “It must be an altar! It must be a Soul Altar!”
Guo Shier also saw clearly—it indeed had the shape of an altar, though with slight variations. He said cheerfully, “I hope this altar is still usable!”
A moment later, the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion reached beneath the altar.
The altar was about thirty feet tall, and a soully pressure filled Guo Shier and Eagle Demon with fear. The Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion let out a faint hissing sound, and Guo Shier could clearly sense its fear.
The ancient Soul Altar was hexagonal in shape, stepped, with a flat top. The black altar was covered in dense green ancient runes that flickered slowly, as if alive. A solemn and majestic ancient aura washed over them.
Guo Shier stared in awe, murmuring to himself, “This is an intact ancient Soul Altar!”
Eagle Demon said, “Shier, I’ll go up first to check. If there’s no danger, then you can follow!”
Guo Shier grabbed Eagle Demon tightly and insisted, “No! I’ll go first! Uncle Eagle Demon, let me try. After all, I’m a spellcaster, and it’s easier for us to adapt to the power of an ancient Soul Altar than those who specialize in martial spells.”
Eagle Demon rushed to say, “Shier, this is too dangerous. No… I’ll go first. I’m your follower!”

Guo Shier was deeply moved inwardly. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Let’s go together! If Uncle is in danger up there, I won’t run away—I’ll go up too. If it were me up there, Uncle wouldn’t escape alone either… Let’s go together! Through life or death, we’ll stay together!”
Eagle Demon sighed. He knew Guo Shier was a stubborn person and said, “Alright, let’s go up together.”
To be on the safe side, Guo Shier retracted his Dark Winged Scorpion and Ancient Flame Sparrow, then climbed upward toward the altar with Eagle Demon.
As soon as they stepped onto the first step of the altar, the surroundings vanished instantly, leaving only a slope leading upward. Guo Shier was overjoyed, as the experience was similar to when he had walked through the Spell Maze in the Chenxiao Sect—this was inheritance!
Eagle Demon also stepped forward. Having also gone through the Spell Maze inheritance, he understood what this meant and was equally delighted. He had reached the rank of Mad Master, specifically an intermediate Spell and Martial Mad Master, but his strength hadn’t improved due to a lack of inheritance. He never expected that this ancient soul altar could facilitate inheritance—it was truly a pleasant surprise.
The two settled down and began their arduous journey together.
Standing on the first step, Guo Shier summoned ancient runes that swirled around him, as if confirming something. He didn’t dare move, waiting quietly. It seemed like hours passed, but in reality, only a few seconds went by before a blue ancient rune suddenly entered his forehead.
In an instant, the ancient rune appeared in Guo Shier’s soul. It wandered around for a while before, as if having found its place, quickly merged into his life essence orb, which immediately began to fluctuate violently. Guo Shier struggled to calm his mind, waiting for changes in his soul. Gradually, the life essence orb stabilized, and a blue light dot appeared on it.
As if granted permission, the numerous ancient runes swirling around him surged toward him. Guo Shier clearly felt them rushing into his soul.
It took about ten minutes before Guo Shier calmed down. He was shocked—this was only the first step, the first level. He was certain this was by no means a low-level altar; it was at least an intermediate one. Moreover, he knew that the inheritance from this ancient soul altar was very different from those he had received before.
He stepped onto the second step, and with each footfall, waves of blue ancient runes emerged.

The ancient runes circled once before merging back into Guo Shier’s soul. A vast amount of ancient rune heritage entered his soul, filling him with both shock and joy. It could be considered fortunate for both Guo Shier and the Eagle Demon, as they had both undergone the initiation at the Primary Ancient Soul Altar, so the altar did not reject them. After a brief assessment, it recognized their qualifications. Anyone else from the team would not be recognized by the Ancient Soul Altar unless they completely controlled it.

With joy in his heart, the Eagle Demon climbed up step by step. He knew he couldn’t go fast—each time he stepped onto a step, he would pause until he had fully absorbed the incoming ancient runes.

The ancient runes flowing toward him were different from those of Guo Shier; they were all blood-red. The Eagle Demon could sense that these blood-red runes formed some kind of mysterious rune array in his body. Though he wasn’t sure what kind of array it was yet, through inheritance and continuous practice, he could gradually master it.

Full of confidence, the Eagle Demon thought he had really struck gold—not only had he reached the level of an Intermediate Rune Martial Master, but he had also received the inheritance from the Ancient Soul Altar. This meant that as long as he could get out, he would possess strength comparable to that of a Master, or even greater, because as long as he persisted with the inheritance, he could acquire knowledge beyond his current level and focus solely on cultivation thereafter.

Guo Shier had already reached the seventh step. The blue ancient runes that appeared on the first step were the size of a palm, while those on the seventh step were the size of an egg, showing a significant increase in power. About seven hundred dark blue ancient runes entered his soul, quickly forming seven tiny rune arrays within his life essence sphere.

When the rune arrays were formed, Guo Shier could barely move, as if sealed in ice. It took him an entire hour before he could breathe again, thinking, “What the hell is this? It’s keeping me immobile!”

Once he calmed down, Guo Shier was surprised to find that his life essence sphere had changed drastically—the seven rune arrays had formed seven transparent defensive layers. As for what these arrays could do, he wasn’t sure, nor did he have time to examine the available inheritance. He continued forward and stepped onto the eighth step.

……

The moment Guo Shier and the Eagle Demon stepped onto the Ancient Soul Altar, the situation at Qikoujiao underwent a dramatic change.

A beam of light shot out from the bottom of Qikoujiao, instantly causing the weather to change, with torrential rain following. This was a spectacle never seen before in the Bloodthirsty Secret Realm. The thick fog gradually dissipated, revealing the true nature of the realm—countless mutated rune beasts were screaming in terror, and the disciples undergoing training were in chaos.

The mutated birds, which had been soaring in the sky, suddenly realized they could see the people and animals moving on the ground. Hungry, they began to hunt their prey on the ground. On a cart, an old man with an expression of extreme excitement shouted, “Contact the United Sect immediately! We have made a major discovery! It seems the negotiations have begun!”