Chapter 1: The Evil Legacy (Part 2)

Guo Shier smiled bitterly. He understood Qi Nanshan’s meaning and said, “It’s gone. Someone took it away by force.”
Qi Nanshan was puzzled and asked, “Taken away? How?”
Guo Shier briefly recounted what had happened. Qi Nanshan exclaimed in shock, “There are actually such skilled people!”
Eagle Demon interjected, “Such experts are rare. They usually don’t show up unless there’s a major event. If it weren’t for the Ancient Soul Altar, we wouldn’t have seen them either.”
Qi Nanshan had met Li Ran before and already knew he was powerful, but he hadn’t expected it to be to this extent. Shaking his head, he sighed, “No wonder he said he was a merchant. He never intended for us to know his professional rank. Even if he had told us, we wouldn’t have believed it at that time.”
Eagle Demon’s eyes shone with admiration as he said, “I don’t know what rank his profession is at, but even a Grand Sage-level expert poses no threat to him.”
Monier couldn’t help but exclaim, “He’s that powerful?”
Guo Shier nodded. “I only have my Life Talisman Ball and Life Talisman Blade, while Brother Li has his own Life Altar! I took a close look—it has six layers… The other expert who took the Ancient Soul Altar only has one layer for his own altar… Although I don’t understand why, I know Brother Li is far stronger than that person.”
Monier shook her head. “Honey, let’s not think about those altars anymore… They’re too far away. Those things require a large amount of rare materials. I only know there are main materials and auxiliary materials, but I don’t know exactly which ones. We’ll consider it again once you reach the rank of Grand Sage.”
Guo Shier said, “I know. During this trip to the secret realm, I found out what the materials needed to build an altar are.”
Monier asked eagerly, “What are they?”
Guo Shier replied, “There are three main materials: Anluo Stone, Blood Soul Stone, and Zuling Wood. There are seven auxiliary materials: Hidden Talisman Water, Yin Cocoon Silk, Taihao Pure Gold, Purple Talisman Fire, Shining Spirit Wood, Yellow Yan Earth, and Sealing Spirit Jade.”
Monier tried to remember carefully and said, “That’s great. Does your master know?”
Guo Shier nodded. “He does.”

Qi Nanshan remained silent. He had been present when Kuumu forced Guo Shier to become his disciple. If not for Guo Shier’s intervention, he would have fought Kuumu to the death, knowing he would surely die. Now he had the strength to confront Kuumu, but seeing Guo Shier’s attitude toward Monier—since the boy had already accepted new masters—he didn’t want to interfere anymore, as they had been of great help to Guo Shier.

Monier nodded and said, “If we start preparing these materials now, we won’t be in a rush later.”

Qin Han came in and said, “The supplies are ready. I’ll go too this time.”

Qi Nanshan shook his head and said, “You’d better stay at home. Everything here depends on you. The rest of us are enough.”

Qin Han looked disappointed and said, “Sigh, I can’t help at all. I’m not even as useful as my junior brother.”

Guo Shier stood up and said, “Senior brother, Huo Bao and the others have returned. Please look after them for me. Assign them some tasks—after all, they lack experience right now.”

Qin Han said, “Don’t worry. I’ve already organized a few teams to go to a secret realm so they can gain experience.”

Guo Shier and the others didn’t stay long at Beifu Gate. After replenishing their supplies, led by Qi Nanshan, Guo Shier, Monier, and Yingmo left Luo Jie’s estate and entered the secret realm.

They didn’t stay in the realm but headed straight for the exit. The Star Continent was a very strange place, like a transportation hub, with countless entrances to secret realms scattered across it—most of which were always open. Anyone could enter using a magic gate.

All four of them were master-level experts, flying at incredible speeds. In just a moment, they saw the exit to the secret realm. Monier said, “Wait a moment.” They immediately landed.

Guo Shier asked, “Master, what’s wrong?”

Monier replied, “He can’t go out directly. If he encounters other professionals, they’ll fight immediately.”

Qi Nanshan was also helpless. The black ancient runes on his chest and back were very noticeable, resembling burning black flames. He said with a wry smile, “We’ve tried every method, but we can’t hide them.”

Monier said, “Let me give it a try.” She took out a piece of purple fabric, tore off a strip, and threw it at Qi Nanshan. The fabric hung on his shoulder, curled up quickly, and then vanished into ashes silently.

Qi Nanshan shook his head and said, “It’s useless.”

Monier didn’t say anything. She chanted a series of spells, and three virtual talismans appeared before quickly disappearing into the fabric. This time, she didn’t tear off a piece to test it but threw the fabric over Qinan Shan’s shoulders. Surprisingly, the fabric remained intact.
Guo Shier was astonished, “This also works?”
Qinan Shan couldn’t help but smile happily. “Great!”
Monier said, “I understand now.” She asked the Eagle Demon to bring out a black robe and secured it with the three virtual talismans. “It should be wearable, but… you can’t engage in fights. Once fighting starts, the robe will still be burned—black talisman fire is too powerful.”
Qinan Shan said, “That’s already good enough. I could only sleep on rocks before, with nothing touching my upper body, as anything that did would turn to ashes… indeed powerful.”
Monier said, “Old Qi, do you have any other clothes? I can attach virtual talismans to them, which should allow you to use them for a while.”
Qinan Shan helplessly took out a pile of clothes. “Old Qi?” That title was quite interesting. Not only did Guo Shier find it strange, but even the Eagle Demon couldn’t help but laugh.
Qinan Shan said, “Sister… thank you…”
Guo Shier burst out laughing. Monier paused, almost casting the spell incorrectly. She said, “Don’t call me ‘sister’… it sounds awful.”
Qinan Shan asked, “Well… how should I address you?”
Monier replied, “Just call me Monier.” Quickly, she attached virtual talismans to the pile of clothes. “Be careful when using them. If you have to fight… take off your clothes first.”
The others were stunned. That sounded a bit awkward.
Qinan Shan, however, was very happy. Ever since he inherited the soul of the Ancient Black Talisman Man, he had been bare-chested. Now that he could wear clothes again, it felt wonderful.
After some fumbling, Qinan Shan finally got dressed. With clothes covering him, it was hard for others to tell at a glance that he was a professional who had inherited the Black Talisman Man’s legacy, thus avoiding possible fights upon encountering professionals. Unexplained fights and killings were the most annoying.
Guo Shier said satisfactorily, “It’s really something for the master’s wife.”
Monier felt a bit proud. She smiled and said, “It’s just a small trick. Nothing special.”
Qinan Shan said, “Let’s leave this secret realm.”
This secret realm was quite ordinary, just like any ordinary continent—with mountains, waters, forests, grasslands, flowers, birds, fish, insects, and animals of all kinds. Guo Shier gradually realized that the more a secret realm resembled a continent, the more ordinary it was. Some ordinary secret realms could even evolve into full-blown continents.

True experts disdain ordinary secret realms; they prefer special ones, preferably those that have just been created. Such realms not only contain rare supplies and materials but also powerful mutated or abnormal insects and beasts. Of course, only advanced experts can enter such realms—those with weaker skills would be seeking death by doing so. Among ten ordinary secret realms, there might not be even one special one, and among hundreds of special realms, there might not be a single one that has just appeared. Hence, there is a widely spread saying in the Advanced Continent: “The realm with the most deaths is the most precious.”

When the four left the secret realm, Guo Shier immediately checked his talisman gate. He found that his own was no longer usable, but the True Ancient Talisman-level gate talisman given by Li Ran was still functional. He couldn’t help but marvel—truly a cross-dimensional talisman. Unfortunately, that talisman could only record two sets of addresses and carry only a limited number of people.

The scenery of the Star Continent was not much different from that of the secret realm they had just left. It was spring, with blue skies, white clouds, lush vegetation, and a gentle breeze that felt very comfortable on the face. Guo Shier loved this kind of climate the most. He used to be extremely afraid of cold, but after ascending to Saint level, he became less concerned about weather changes.

Guo Shier asked, “Grandpa Qinan, where did you and Master Luo Jie get separated? Let’s go take a look.”

Qi Nanshan nodded and said, “Follow me… Let’s go take a look first, but I doubt we’ll find any useful clues.” Suddenly remembering something, he smiled bitterly and said, “Eagle Demon, fly me there—otherwise my clothes will burn again.”

Eagle Demon grabbed his arm and said, “You point the way; I’ll fly.”

After flying intermittently for about ten days, they finally reached their destination. Along the way, Guo Shier kept scanning the land. In his opinion, this Star Continent wasn’t much different from the continent where the Northern Talisman Gate was located. He did spot many mutated talisman beasts, but their levels were not very high, and he had no interest in stopping to hunt them.

They also encountered many experts along the way, mostly Masters and Mad Masters. They immediately avoided them upon seeing them. After all, the four of them were Saints traveling together, so they were quite powerful. Those who dared to venture to the Star Continent were generally at the Master level or above; those below that level were almost all from the Star Sect.

On the Star Continent, only experts dared to travel and fly in the wild. Along the way, Guo Shier didn’t see any villages or cities inhabited by ordinary people. Qi Nanshan explained that ordinary people on the Star Continent lived near the Star Sect, and they didn’t dare to go to other places.

Finally, Qi Nanshan said, “We’ve arrived. It’s right in that thicket ahead.”
Guo Shier flew over first, circling quickly above the treetops of the thicket to look for signs of a fight. Since quite some time had passed and it was spring, the bushes had grown rapidly, almost covering all traces of the battle. Yet, thanks to his experience, he still managed to spot several clues.
Qi Nanshan briefly described the situation of the battle. He and Luo Jie had been surrounded by five saints and one grand saint. Under the attack of one saint and one grand saint, Qi Nanshan was forced to flee, thereby reducing the pressure on Luo Jie. The two ran in different directions.
Guo Shier said confidently, “Master Luo Jie must have gone this way!”
Qi Nanshan nodded. “That’s right. How did you tell?”
Ying Mo was already used to such things. Monier was also curious and asked, “Baby, how did you know?”