Chapter 7: Intervention (Part 2)

Approaching the old man, Guo Shier tried to stay calm. He realized this old man was extremely powerful—just a glance from him seemed to allow him to see through him, making it impossible to keep any secrets.
The old man asked, “Is the Ancient Soul Altar here?”
Guo Shier replied, “Yes!” Gradually, he calmed down.
The old man was quite surprised. He noticed that the young boy in front of him seemed very calm, and a hint of admiration flashed in his eyes. He said, “Not bad… Young man, you’ve made great contributions this time.”
Guo Shier was confused. He thought, “Who are you… What contributions? I don’t even know you!” But he didn’t dare speak out loud and could only grumble inwardly.
The old man smiled and said, “Don’t be puzzled…” Then he pointed in the air as if tapping on water, causing ripples to spread through the air. Suddenly, a person stepped forward and said with a smile, “Brother Choumo, are you talking bad about me again?”
Guo Shier exclaimed in delight, “Brother Li Ran!”
Li Ran stepped forward smiling and said, “Shier, it’s been a long time… Huh? A Junior Saint Master?” He was slightly surprised.
Guo Shier asked, “How did you know I’d find the Ancient Soul Altar?” He really couldn’t figure it out.
Li Ran laughed and said, “Surprised? You might not believe it, but I calculated it! Haha!”
Guo Shier didn’t believe it at all. He said, “Are you trying to fool kids? How could you calculate that?” Having met Li Ran as a child, he spoke without much restraint. From the first time he saw Li Ran, he felt a sense of familiarity; otherwise, he wouldn’t have dared enter such a dangerous place.
Li Ran laughed loudly, “Isn’t it proven now?”
Guo Shier smiled bitterly and said, “I don’t understand. Never mind, I don’t even want to understand… Just being able to get out alive is already a huge fortune!” In truth, he was very happy. After all, he had entered as a high-level grand talisman master but left as a Junior Saint Master, además of receiving the inheritance of the Ancient Soul Altar—no matter how you counted it, it was a huge gain.
Choumo stood aside, feeling frustrated, before finally saying, “I mean, Brother Li, is this kid the ‘stake’ you placed here?”
Li Ran replied, “Don’t put it so negatively. No such thing as a ‘stake’ or anything like that. I sent Shier here so he could cultivate and gain experience. Look… how good the results are.”
Choumo smiled bitterly and said, “No matter what you say… it sounds grand when coming from you… It sounds awkward!”
Li Ran said, “I’m too lazy to argue with you. Shier, come here and meet your uncle Choumo!”

Chou Mo’s face darkened instantly as he said, “Hey, Old Li! I can already be his great-grandfather—how can I still be called an uncle… Even my disciples can…” Before he could finish, Li Ran interrupted him, saying, “Nonsense! If he calls me his elder brother and you his great-grandfather, then what should I call you? Trying to take advantage of me?”
Guo Shier and Eagle Demon stared in confusion at these two disrespectful men; neither dared speak, not even Chou Mo’s two disciples, who also didn’t dare utter a word.
Li Ran continued, “I’ve already had Shier call you an uncle—aren’t you satisfied? Fine, Shier, call him ‘old pervert grandpa,’ and he’ll be happy…”
Chou Mo was so stunned by Li Ran’s words that he couldn’t speak. His two disciples covered their mouths and snickered. After a while, he said, “Forget it. I won’t argue with you. Shier, just call me an uncle from now on.”
Guo Shier stepped forward and bowed, saying, “Hello, Uncle Chou Mo.”
Li Ran said, “Rankings still matter… Shier, just call me grandpa from now on!”
Chou Mo shouted in anger, “Huh? Are you deliberately trying to anger me?”
Li Ran laughed and said, “Why talk so much nonsense? Go collect that Ancient Soul Altar already.”
Chou Mo waved his hand, and his two disciples, along with their subordinates, immediately flew toward the cliff where the argument had taken place. Guo Shier asked in surprise, “Aren’t you going in?”
Li Ran replied, “We don’t need to go in to collect it. This is the seventh Ancient Soul Altar we’ve found, and it’s the only one that’s intact—its value is considerable.”
Guo Shier sighed, “You’re stealing from others…”
Li Ran laughed loudly, “It’s not me who’s stealing… It’s him! Haha, I’m just selling him information and getting a little profit. I’m a businessman, after all.”
Guo Shier looked at this unscrupulous guy speechlessly. After a while, he said, “But… there’s no benefit for me!”
Li Ran smiled and said, “Of course there is a benefit for you!”
Guo Shier immediately became happy—as long as there was a benefit, that was enough. He hadn’t even thought about obtaining the Ancient Soul Altar himself; it was impossible.
Eagle Demon followed closely behind Guo Shier. He didn’t know Li Ran, but he knew these people were even more powerful than Zhu Jiamao, so he didn’t dare make any moves and just watched silently.
Chou Mo’s two disciples, along with a group of experts, quickly set up a massive talisman array. Everyone hovered in midair, surrounded by countless virtual talismans that connected with each other, emitting a dazzling light. Chou Mo said, “Brother Li, wait a moment… Let me break through the defensive talisman array above the Ancient Soul Altar first.”

Li Ran nodded and said, “Be careful.”
Chou Mo chuckled carelessly and replied, “It’s just an intermediate Ancient Soul Altar. If it were a higher level… maybe we’d need to be more careful.”
The two disciples and the hundred Great Sage Masters formed a circular talisman array. Chou Mo moved directly to the center of the array and led the entire array toward the heart of the Qikoujiao area.
Li Ran explained, “There’s a huge suction force from the ancient talisman array below. If they don’t enter through the array, they’ll be torn to pieces by it, their souls trapped, and their flesh turned into rain to nourish the land below… So, an array must confront another array to be effective.”
Guo Shier suddenly remembered that when they first entered, there had been a downpour of blood rain in the sky. He then realized that it might have been some mutated talisman beast that strayed into the skies above Qikoujiao, torn apart by the ancient talisman array, its flesh turning into blood rain that irrigated the forest of stored lattice wood on the ground. At this thought, he felt a chill run down his spine.
Guo Shier asked in confusion, “Elder Li…”
Li Ran smirked and said, “Damn it… Stop calling me ‘elder.’ Just call me Brother Li!”
Guo Shier was stunned and couldn’t help but laugh. In his past life, “Damn it” was an insult.
“Brother Li, how do you know so much?”
Li Ran replied, “I’ve been in contact with many Ancient Soul Altars, especially intermediate ones. Their essence is pretty much the same—nothing mysterious about them.”
Guo Shier asked, “Brother Li… what level of profession have you reached? Above Great Sage Master… is there an even higher professional hierarchy?”
Li Ran replied indifferently, “I’m just a merchant. Any professional hierarchy… is meaningless to me. I don’t care about the professionals here either.”
Guo Shier had no choice. Since Li Ran refused to speak, he couldn’t force him, nor did he dare to. He guessed that Li Ran could crush him with just one finger.
Li Ran said, “Stop talking. Watch them break the array!”
At Chou Mo’s command, the hundred Great Sage Masters flew in all directions simultaneously, trailing countless runes behind them. His two disciples began circling around the center of the talisman array, expanding the circles like threads, connecting the hundred lines formed by the virtual talismans.
Guo Shier exclaimed, “It’s like a spider spinning a web!”
It took a full hour to complete the entire large talisman array. Chou Mo hovered in the center of the web like an old spider on the hunt.

Guo Shier asked, “What are they doing?” His knowledge of talisman arrays was virtually zero. He hadn’t yet processed the inheritance he had received from the Ancient Soul Altar, which contained numerous records of ancient talisman arrays, but right now he didn’t know anything about them.
Li Ran said, “Sometimes you’re smart, and other times you seem a bit silly. Do you really need to ask?”
Guo Shier retorted, “I know it’s about breaking an array, but I don’t know how!”
Li Ran smiled slightly and said irritably, “Nonsense. Even if I explained it to you now… you wouldn’t understand! Just watch. Why ask so many questions?”
Uh!
Guo Shier was so stunned he couldn’t speak. Eagle Demon couldn’t help but smile. He had a strange feeling—that these two seemed like old friends who had known each other for years. Though their words were sharp, there was an indescribable harmony between them.
Chou Mo suddenly became active. The talisman array he had set up was right where the original light column had been. Although he had never seen it before, he could accurately locate that key spot.
A translucent small altar suddenly appeared above his head. Guo Shier saw it clearly and was shocked. Pointing at Chou Mo, he exclaimed in confusion, “That… that’s also… an altar!”
Li Ran laughed and said, “What’s so strange about that? After a great sage ascends, they must build their own altar… It’s normal for him to have a Soul Altar.”
Huh?
Guo Shier was dumbfounded and asked, “Are you saying… the final form of a life talisman book is an altar?”
Li Ran shook his head. “A life talisman book can’t withstand such immense soul power. A Soul Altar is necessary. Heh, you should be able to build your own Soul Altar in the future. Your soul is strong enough and pure enough…” He glanced at Eagle Demon and said, “Your friend is a bit more difficult.”
Eagle Demon couldn’t help but laugh. He said, “Elder, my dream used to be to become a high-level Great Talisman Martial Artist. But now… I’ve already ascended to a junior sage. I’ve received the inheritance of the Ancient Soul Altar and three life talisman artifacts. I’m very satisfied. As one of Shier’s followers, I feel there’s nothing to regret.”
Li Ran replied understandingly, “I see. You’re lucky to have been able to enter this bloody land… This secret realm, with its Ancient Soul Altar, has accumulated a great deal of soul power, which has invisibly enhanced your soul. It’s normal for you to have ascended. It’s a pity… once this Ancient Soul Altar is taken away, this place will become a desert, and this secret realm will be completely ruined.”
Boom!

Guo Shier turned around abruptly. A blinding light flashed, forcing him to squint.
Ripping sound! It was like tearing a piece of cloth. A giant’s shadow appeared behind Choumo; bending over and reaching out with both hands, it forcibly tore apart the protective ancient talisman array.
Roar! Roar!
Guo Shier’s expression changed. Suddenly remembering something, he shouted urgently, “That’s right! There are two Abnormal Spirit Dragon souls down there!”
Li Ran was surprised. “What? Abnormal Spirit Dragon souls?”