Chapter 10: Pursuit (Part 2)

As he learned more, Guo Shier gradually realized that he was once again relying on Gu Mo Lian. He could use specific spells to draw Yin Mud Water directly into Gu Mo Lian, then use the sacrificial treasures obtained from the Gu Miluo family to refine it quickly. He asked, “Do I just need to do the first step?”
The handsome old man replied, “That’s right. You draw the Yin Mud Water into Gu Mo Lian, and I’ll purify it!”
Guo Shier nodded. He flew up to Gu Mo Lian, sat cross-legged on its top, and cast hundreds of spells in succession. Gu Mo Lian trembled slightly, and a powerful suction force spread from its base into the black water below. With a sharp command, “Draw!” he cast another dozen spells.
The surface of the small pond formed by the Yin Mud Water began to ripple. As Guo Shier cast more spells, a vortex formed on the surface—but instead of sinking downward, it rose upward like a tornado. The Yin Mud Water gradually flew upward and soon connected with the bottom of Gu Mo Lian, allowing a large amount of it to be drawn out.
Then Gu Mo Lian started spinning rapidly, expelling the essence-lacking Yin Mud Water. The refining speed was astonishing. Guo Shier moved Gu Mo Lian slowly, continuously drawing out the accumulated Yin Mud Water. To maintain the purification rate, they had to keep searching for new sources of Yin Mud Water.
In just a short while, Gu Mo Lian had moved ten miles away. There was not enough Yin Mud Water left, so Guo Shier began drawing mud from the niches on the ground.
The essence contained in this mud was much less than that of the Yin Mud Water. The handsome old man shouted from inside Gu Mo Lian, “Kid, hurry up and find Yin Mud Water! Don’t try to fool me with mud!”
Eagle Demon flew alongside, scanning the surroundings warily.
The Hun Tian Secret Realm was dead silent, with no signs of any living creatures. The sky was a gloomy leaden gray, and occasional flashes of light appeared through the thick clouds, along with faint thunder sounds.
Eagle Demon muttered, “Is this the Extreme Secret Realm? It doesn’t seem that special.”
Guo Shier asked, “Handsome Old Man, how much have we purified? This place is really strange…”
The handsome old man laughed, “Haha! With Gu Mo Lian, the purification speed is extraordinary. We already have hundreds of drops of the purified liquid. Keep going! Haha!” He seemed very excited.
Guo Shier drove Gu Mo Lian further into the distance, searching continuously. He found several small ponds where Yin Mud Water gathered. Each time he discovered one, he would pause for a few minutes before continuing on.
As they went further and further away, Guo Shier said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, send a signal token to ask Uncle Luo to come. We’re already quite far away.”

The Eagle Demon sent a signal and asked, “What about Vividness and Brightness?”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “Our task is to bring them in. Once they’re in, we don’t need to worry about them. They’re here to cultivate, so there’s no need for them to follow us around; that would only delay them.”
The Eagle Demon nodded. “Hmm, good. But this place gives off a strange feeling. Do you feel the same?”
Guo Shier was busy collecting the Yin Mud Water and didn’t have time to sense the atmosphere here. He said, “It’s fine. We just need to be careful. It seems there aren’t any powerful mutated symbol beasts or insects here.”
After a while, Luo Zhan flew over and said, “The cultivation speed here is extremely fast. It’s a great place!”
Guo Shier replied, “Uncle Luo, we can’t stay in one place. If you cultivate for an hour, you’ll catch up to us. Otherwise, you’ll fall behind.”
The Eagle Demon said, “Shier, I find it strange. So many people from the Four Ancient Families have entered, yet we haven’t encountered a single one. Where have they gone?”
Guo Shier was stunned and said, “Could there be some other good places?”
The Eagle Demon replied, “Isn’t that possible? If it were just about collecting Yin Mud Water, they wouldn’t need experts at the altar level to come here. There must be secrets we don’t know about.”
Guo Shier realized he had made a mistake. Since entering the secret realm, he had tried his best to avoid encountering people from the Four Ancient Families. Now he thought they should have followed those people from the start. He said, “Elder Shuai, Elder Shuai… stop first!”
Elder Shuai emerged from the top of the Ancient Ink Lotus and asked, “What is it?”
Guo Shier repeated his earlier guess. Elder Shuai pondered for a moment before saying, “I’m not surprised by anything that happens in this extreme secret realm. This realm is very rare; it might contain many things we need. It just depends on you to search for them. Hmm, once we collect a bit more essence of Yin Mud Water, we’ll start searching.”
Guo Shier nodded and said, “Uncle Luo, stop cultivating for now and stay with us.”
Luo Zhan nodded. “Okay. I and the Eagle will keep watch while you continue.”
Guo Shier said, “Elder Shuai, let’s speed things up.”
Elder Shuai smiled and said, “Don’t worry. With the help of the Sacrificial Treasure, plus your abnormal Ancient Ink Lotus, our speed is already very fast.” With that, he retracted into the Ancient Ink Lotus.
Guo Shier drove the Ancient Ink Lotus to continue searching for places where Yin Mud Water gathered.
After draining seven or eight ponds filled with Yin Mud Water, Elder Shuai said, “That’s enough. If you have time, refine it a bit more. It’s sufficient for you to create a solid altar now.”

Guo Shieru put away the Ancient Ink Lotus and said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, Uncle Luo, let’s go!”
Eagle Demon asked, “Are we turning back?”
Guo Shieru replied, “No turning back. We’ll keep flying. I believe the people of the Gu family won’t stay put…” Before he could finish, a distant roar could be heard. He froze momentarily and asked, “What’s that sound? It seems… like someone is fighting?”
The three of them hovered silently in the air, listening attentively.
Suddenly, Eagle Demon said, “Someone is flying over!”
Guo Shieru said, “Let’s go!” He had no desire to get involved. With so many great masters here, it wasn’t strange for fights to occur. It was wiser to stay away at this time.
“Help…”
“I’ll fight you to the end!”
The voices came faintly, but Guo Shieru could hear them clearly. His expression changed slightly as he said, “Let’s go!” He immediately took off and flew toward the distance, with Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan following. Eagle Demon glanced back and saw flickering lights in the far distance—traces of a battle.
Boom! Boom!
Even as Guo Shieru and the others flew at high speed, they could feel the explosions behind them, indicating a fierce battle.
Guo Shieru was puzzled. “Strange. Even inside this Extreme Secret Realm, there’s time for fighting? This is an Extreme Secret Realm that controls time. Once the time runs out, you’ll be thrown out. Who has the leisure to fight?”
Eagle Demon said, “We’d better fly farther away. Getting involved will only cause trouble.”
Things in the world rarely go as planned. Though Guo Shieru and the others were flying fast, they were flying close to the ground, so their speed wasn’t as high as when flying at altitude. Before they could fly far, four streaks of light crossed the sky and quickly reached them from behind. Only then did Guo Shieru realize what was happening. He cursed, “Damn it… they just won’t leave us in peace!”
Numerous figures were chasing after them from afar—about thirty or forty people.
Eagle Demon looked closely and said, “It’s Xian Ming and Xian Liang…”
“Lord, save me…”
“Lord!”
Guo Shieru’s face turned pale. He knew running away was useless; he had already been drawn into it. What he didn’t know yet was that even if they left, those people would still chase after them after killing those four.
Eagle Demon couldn’t help cursing, “Those two bastards!”
Guo Shieru watched as the thirty or forty people scattered and flew past from both sides, realizing he couldn’t escape anymore. He said gravely, “Get ready to fight, Old Handsome! Old Handsome!”
Old Handsome poked his head out from the Ancient Ink Lotus and said impatiently, “Can’t you see I’m busy? What’s the matter? Hurry up and tell me…”
Guo Shieru sighed and said, “We’re surrounded.”

The handsome old man asked in confusion, “What siege?”
Guo Shier said, “Look for yourself. These people seem… ill-intentioned.”
The handsome old man dismissed it, “So what? With your current strength, you don’t need to worry at all.”
Guo Shier said, “You don’t think… the three of us can fight thirty or forty Great Saint Masters, do you?”
The handsome old man replied, “Decide for yourself. I’m busy…” He retracted his head and disappeared. Guo Shier immediately looked troubled. Didn’t this guy realize that if he was killed, he too wouldn’t survive?
Xianming and Xianliang rushed in front of Guo Shier and the others, with the other two Great Saint Masters following.
Eagle Demon cursed, “Damn you! Xianming, Xianliang, what’s the meaning of this?” He unleashed his life-bound sword blade, ready to kill at the slightest mistake.
Xianliang screamed, “It’s not me… I… no…”
Xianming hurriedly said, “My lord, it’s not our fault… Those people are experts sent by various external factions, here to hunt down us Great Saint Masters who broke in!”
Guo Shier was stunned and asked, “What? Why?”
The other two fleeing Great Saint Masters also came over, one of them saying, “Because killing us will free up spots!”
Guo Shier flew into a rage and said, “They sent people to hunt us just for entry spots? Damn it… Who do they think they are?”
Eagle Demon’s expression also changed. He was someone who never feared battle, but he had rarely encountered such bullying. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Well then, let’s see who kills whom!”
Although Luo Zhan was weaker in strength, he was also not afraid of fighting. Smiling, he said, “Let’s do it then.”
Xianming said, “They have ten high-level Great Saint Masters and have already killed many people. We barely managed to escape because we were far away!”
Guo Shier said, “It’s too late to escape now. Let’s fight then.”
Suddenly, the handsome old man poked his head out and said, “You want to fight?”
Xianming and Xianliang, having seen the elusive handsome old man before, remained relatively calm. The other two Great Saint Masters stepped back in fear, sweating profusely: What kind of person is this, able to make a head appear out of nowhere?
Guo Shier said, “Someone is hunting us.”
The handsome old man let out a strange cry, “Looking for death! Fight them hard! The old man supports you!”
Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan just stared at the handsome old man in silence, thinking: Why are you causing a ruckus?
Book 23: Yaobi Dami Tian