Chapter 2: Leaving (Part 1)

Zhang Yaojin fiddled with a palm-sized fragment of a blue sacrificial treasure and said, “I’m thinking… whether I should visit the Gudai family once. I’ve already started practicing the skills passed down by the Gudai family—they’re quite powerful. I never expected a female-dominated family to have such formidable traditions.”
Guo Shier said, “You… uh, can learn those traditions?” He was puzzled because he knew that only females of the Gudai family could be recognized as inheritors. Yet this guy not only received the traditions but also managed to practice and master them effortlessly, which seemed incredible to him.
Zhang Yaojin replied, “There were no difficulties at all. I’m also surprised—there were no restrictions, and I learned them so easily.”
Guo Shier reassured him, “As long as you can learn them, that’s what matters. The real worry is getting the traditions but being unable to learn them. As for the Gudai family, whether you go or not isn’t a problem, and whether they recognize you or not isn’t that big of an issue either. It doesn’t matter if they don’t recognize you.”
Zhang Yaojin nodded. He agreed with Guo Shier, but he still felt a bit regretful. By now, his regret wasn’t about having received the Gudai family’s traditions, but rather about not being recognized by them—a change he himself hadn’t realized.
Guo Shier stood up and said, “I can help analyze the sacrificial treasure fragments you’ve obtained.”
Zhang Yaojin nodded and said, “I found not many—just over twenty. Please help analyze them.” He handed Guo Shier a pouch containing talismans, then stood up. “I’ll keep searching… According to the requirements of the traditions, I need to find materials to construct a virtual altar.”
Guo Shier nodded. “These materials are hard to find. To gather them all, one would have to visit countless secret realms.”
Zhang Yaojin smiled slightly and said, “Actually, I’ve already collected most of the materials. I just need a few more auxiliary materials. It depends on luck. I still have some time before I reach the peak of a High Grand Sage. That’s enough time for me to visit many secret realms.”
Guo Shier knew he was someone who had visited countless secret realms, so it wasn’t surprising he could obtain various materials. He said, “There’s another altar over there. I’ll go take a look.”
Zhang Yaojin nodded. “Go ahead.” He already knew that Guo Shier could extract the soul of an altar. He was envious of this amazing skill, but he had also reaped great benefits—rising to the rank of High Grand Sage in no time. With some time to consolidate his skills and learn the traditions, he could truly possess the strength of a High Grand Sage.

Guo Shier flew toward the altar not far away and landed on it. After taking a quick look, he said, “Elder Shuai, this altar is well-preserved. Get ready; another complete soul might appear.”
Elder Shuai replied, “Give it a try. I don’t think there will be a complete soul.”
Guo Shier knelt on top of the altar and placed his hand on it.
Gu Mu Lian spun rapidly above his head, with thin threads piercing into the altar. Moments later, pure souls were drawn out. In less than a minute, Guo Shier’s soul could no longer absorb any more. His soul had reached the peak of a high-level Great Sage, and he could not continue absorbing. He would have to wait until a virtual altar was constructed before his soul could transform completely, allowing him to absorb large amounts of souls again.
Guo Shier understood that although he had reached the peak of a Great Sage, his soul would become even purer through the refinement of the scriptures, and its quantity would gradually decrease. Thus, his soul would constantly fluctuate between peak condition and just short of it.
“Elder Shuai, no need to give me any more souls. You should absorb as many as you can.”
Elder Shuai said, “Okay.” He was now like an bottomless pit. If it weren’t for fear of getting lost in others’ souls, he could have absorbed all the soul fragments in the altar. Therefore, he didn’t dare to be too reckless. After absorbing some, he stopped and poured most of the souls into Gu Mu Lian—this treasure was indeed an endless source for absorbing soul energy, capable of taking in any number of souls.
Elder Shuai said, “Fortunately, Gu Mu Lian has demon liquid for refinement. It’s truly remarkable, making Gu Mu Lian even more resilient.”
Guo Shier said, “When I first obtained Gu Mu Lian, there was quite a bit of demon liquid beneath it, though not much. It’s said to be enough to refine five soul altars.”
Elder Shuai said, “I’ve checked. There’s plenty, enough for you to use for a long time.”
Guo Shier slowly withdrew his hand and stood up. The souls from this altar had been completely drawn out. He asked, “Elder Shuai, can I use Gu Mu Lian to construct my own soul altar?”
Elder Shuai pondered for a moment before saying, “Gu Mu Lian can be refined into the best sacrificial treasure. Once refined, it will possess immense power, allowing one to challenge opponents beyond their rank… But if used to construct an altar, it won’t be a sacrificial treasure. Are you willing to give it up?”
Guo Shier replied without hesitation, “A sacrificial treasure is just a weapon. The altar is what truly matters.”

The handsome old man said, “You see clearly indeed. Good. Let me help you design it… Actually, I’m also very eager to see what level you can reach with the altar formed from the Ancient Ink Lotus.” There was a hint of admiration in the fluctuations of his soul.

Guo Shier said, “I hope to advance to a tangible altar as soon as possible.”

The handsome old man replied, “That’s not difficult. Without the Ancient Ink Lotus, it would be extremely hard to reach a tangible altar. But with it… everything becomes much easier. You’re truly lucky to have such a miraculous treasure.”

Guo Shier smiled and said, “We’ve almost searched every part of this area for altars. Let’s check around for any fragments of sacrificial treasures.”

The handsome old man said, “I guess not many fragments remain. Well, let’s search again. You’re too poor now—lacking many of the materials needed for sacrificial treasures. Finding a few more fragments would be good.” He treated Guo Shier as a complete pauper.

Guo Shier and the handsome old man continued to work together, searching for fragments of sacrificial treasures on the ground.

But fewer and fewer fragments were found. Realizing they had almost exhausted this area, Guo Shier said, “Enough, handsome old man. After searching all day, we’ve only found eight fragments. There’s probably nothing left here. Should we continue deeper into the secret realm or head back?”

The handsome old man replied, “I have a vague idea, but I haven’t figured it out yet.”

Guo Shier asked, “What is it?”

The handsome old man said, “I can’t remember, but I tend to think we should go deeper into the secret realm. I feel there must be answers there.”

Guo Shier pondered for a moment. He had actually considered retreating, as what he had already obtained was enough to keep him busy for a long time. But after hearing the handsome old man’s words, he knew there must be more in the depths of the secret realm, and curiosity got the better of him. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Alright, let’s go further in.”

Gathering everyone together, Guo Shier said, “I plan to go deeper into the secret realm. What are everyone’s thoughts?”

Eagle Demon said, “Shier, isn’t it too dangerous? The deeper we go, the higher the level of the spirit beasts…” He seemed hesitant.

Before Luo Zhan could speak, Zhang Yaojin rushed to say, “I’ll go! I’ll go!”

Xian Ruidai knew nothing of fear. She said excitedly, “I support it! Let’s go in, hehe.”

Zhou Xiaoling said, “I agree too.”

Guo Shier nodded and said, “Since everyone agrees, let’s go in.” He then asked, “Handsome old man, which direction should we go?”

The soul of the handsome old man fluctuated: “Fly forward.”
Guo Shier said, “Let’s go. Be careful, fly close to the ground so as not to disturb the spirit beasts in the air.” Without further delay, he flew toward the distance close to the ground, with everyone following closely behind.
Eagle Demon said, “I’ll scout the way. Keep a certain distance from me.” He quickly rushed to the front.
Five days later, a winding coastline appeared before their eyes.
Guo Shier landed on the beach and said, “There’s actually an ocean here… Handsome Old Man, have you been here before?” Gu Mo Lian emerged from above his head. The handsome old man poked his head out and looked ahead. After a while, he said, “Here… a great battle once took place here, right in this ocean…”
The handsome old man seemed to remember something; his soul fluctuated continuously, revealing a sense of excitement.
Xian Ru Dai asked, “Handsome Old Man, have you remembered something?”
The handsome old man replied, “No… no, I can’t remember clearly. I just feel that this sea area is very familiar. It seems like I fought here once. Many… so many people must have died here, countless… so many died. Sigh, I can’t recall why the battle took place…”
Guo Shier noticed the mention of many deaths and asked, “Handsome Old Man, were many people killed?”
The handsome old man said, “Yes. This sea area… was all red… The sky seemed to be on fire. But now… it’s so peaceful…”
Guo Shier couldn’t help but shiver. He knew the handsome old man was lost in memories. He didn’t dare disturb him and simply listened quietly, signaling everyone not to interrupt.
“…They… they detonated their sacrificial treasures. The entire ocean was filled with flames… Bodies exploded… Blood mist filled the air…”
Everyone watched the sea in silence, feeling the memories conveyed through the fluctuations of the handsome old man’s soul. One after another, vivid scenes unfolded in their minds—scenes of extreme brutality that were truly shocking.
These people had never witnessed such terrifying battle scenes in their lives. One after another, professionals with sacrificial altars died, and their sacrificial treasures exploded one after another. When such professionals died, their sacrificial altars appeared abruptly, falling from the sky and crashing onto the sea surface, creating huge waves.
As the images transmitted through the soul fluctuations gradually faded, the handsome old man suddenly came back to his senses. He said, “There are many sacrificial altars here… many fragments of sacrificial treasures. But they’re all in the sea.”
Everyone was stunned. The fluctuations of the handsome old man’s soul changed too quickly, making it hard to adapt at once.

Guo Shier shook his head and said, “We might not be able to go into the sea… Look carefully.” Countless Spirit Beasts were swimming in the sea, far more in number than those on land, and none of them were low-level Spirit Beasts. From time to time, giant Spirit Beasts would expose their broad backs, creating countless white bubbles. Due to the distance, there wasn’t much noise.