Chapter 1: Jin Shiyen (Part 1)

Guo Shier and Nanfeng’s team quietly slipped into the crowd and saw a young man confronting an old man. On the ground lay a professional warrior, his chest collapsed—clearly crushed by a punch. He was breathing heavily but hardly taking in air, on the verge of death. Both the young man and the old man were experts in the Virtual Altar technique, staring at each other fiercely.

Those nearby wanted to step in to help but dared not enter the circle where the two were locked in conflict. The injured professional was already dying.

Guo Shier sighed inwardly and strode in calmly, ignoring the two fighting. He knelt down, removed the warrior’s armor, and took a look. Shaking his head, he saw that the entire sternum was broken. He took out a talisman pill, stuffed it into the man’s mouth, placed his hand on the man’s chest, and gently lifted it slightly.

The man’s breathing quickened immediately. Guo Shier realized that even if he saved the man, he would be disabled. It seemed this was a low-level TalismanTalismanTalisman Maniac translates to Talisman Maniac.. He turned around and said, “Bring a few people over—carry him away.”

The young man wore no identity badge, dressed in a dark green robe, with a wide belt around his waist holding several talisman pouches and jade talismans. His face was full of arrogance. He ignored Guo Shier’s attempt to save him and continued to stare at the old man ahead.

The old man had a horse-like face—a hallmark of the Gunan family—his face twisted with bitterness and deep resentment, covered in wrinkles, appearing even older than the Ancestor of Nanqiang. He said, “Just killed someone and think you can leave? This is Gunan family territory. Stay first.”

The young man sneered, “Stay? Dream on! With you… how could you keep me?”

A few professionals came over, lifted the injured man from the ground, and ran away. Guo Shier stood up straight and said, “Is it that difficult to keep you?” Only then did he unleash his soul pressure. As a professional at the second-tier altar level, his soul pressure was terrifying, and the young man’s expression changed instantly.

The old man showed joy. Though he hadn’t seen Guo Shier’s identity badge, the latter had made it clear he was on Gunan family’s side. He hurriedly said, “Gunan family, Grand Elder Nan Ya, greeting the elder.”

The young man hesitated. He hadn’t seen Guo Shier’s identity badge either and hoped this guy was just another expert from another family passing by. He said, “Jingu family, Grand Elder Jin Shiyen.”

A great uproar ensued immediately. It should be noted that the Gunan Family and the Gujin Family had long been in conflict, with lower-ranked disciples often fighting each other, but no true masters had stepped in yet. This guy actually killed someone at the Gunan Family’s supply point—clearly looking to stir up trouble.

Guo Shier smiled faintly. “Gunan Family, guest clan elder, Guo Shier.”

Jin Shiyen’s heart sank. He knew things were bad. Who would have thought that in this humble supply point, there would not only be a master of the Virtual Altar but also a clan elder? Although he was a guest elder, such a position was even more terrifying—only those with great strength could attain it. From Guo Shier’s aura, he realized the other party was a master of the Real Altar. A bitter taste filled his mouth—he was seeking death by killing here.

Nan Ya was overjoyed. The visitor turned out to be the family’s guest clan elder—something he never expected. He hurriedly said, “Elder…”

Guo Shier said, “Jin Shiyen, do you stay on your own or do we have to force you to?”

Jin Shiyen replied fiercely but timidly, “If we fight here, not many of your Gunan Family’s disciples will survive!”

Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh. “You can give it a try!” Without saying more, he activated his altar and sat down on it. Another outburst of chaos followed.

“Wow, two layers of Real Altars…”

“It’s the family patriarch…”

Any altar with two layers or more could be referred to as a patriarch among lower-ranked disciples. Such masters were the ones they looked up to, rarely encountered in everyday life.

Nan Ya said coldly, “Jin Shiyen, be smart and surrender!”

Jin Shiyen suddenly shouted, “Damn you!” He pointed at the axe sacrificial artifact on the altar and swung it fiercely at the gathered Gunan Family disciples. He didn’t believe Guo Shier and Nan Ya wouldn’t come to his rescue. If they did, he could take the chance to escape.

Guo Shier was furious. If Jin Shiyen had attacked him, he wouldn’t have been so angry, but the fact that this guy had turned on a group of lower-ranked disciples was simply despicable. He spat out a moon blade and shouted, “Seeking death!” The moon blade transformed into a bolt of lightning, striking at lightning speed.

The moon blade possessed the attributes of fire and lightning—a bolt of flame-laden lightning struck forward.

Boom!

The axe sacrificial artifact flew high into the air as Jin Shiyen turned to run. Guo Shier shouted, “Nan Ya, protect the supply point! I’ll take care of this guy! Go!”

The moon blade turned into a red rainbow and struck again.

Jin Shiyen’s hair stood on end as a strong sense of danger overwhelmed him, causing him to let out a scream as he rushed toward the exit. The entire supply camp was enclosed within a magic array; forcing one’s way through it would take some time, and that time would be enough for Guo Shier to kill him several times. So he desperately flew toward the exit.

Guo Shier sneered. He didn’t dare use his Moon Blade recklessly either—below were all disciples of the Gu Nan family. He knew well the power of the Moon Blade; if it were used, dozens of people would surely die. He was only using it to intimidate them.

Nan Ya shouted, “Activate the magic array! Seal off the exits!”

Jin Shiyen was extremely fast, but he didn’t dare use teleportation. Guo Shier also didn’t want to press too hard. He yelled, “Let him go!”

Nan Ya was stunned for a moment, but he quickly realized that with so many disciples here, a fierce battle would surely result in countless casualties. He hurriedly ordered, “Disactivate the magic array! Let him out!”

Jin Shiyen had originally planned to fight to the death, but hearing Guo Shier and Nan Ya’s voices, he once again thought of escaping. If they weren’t concerned about the lives of their disciples, he would definitely die in this camp. After working so hard to reach this level, he was absolutely unwilling to die here. With a chance to escape, he abandoned the idea of fighting recklessly.

Guo Shier asked, “Elder Shuai, are you sure you can trap him?”

Elder Shuai poked his head out and laughed, “It’s rare to see you fight. A master of the Virtual Form Altar shouldn’t be much of a challenge for you. Just fight casually—he can’t beat you.”

Guo Shier replied, “I know he can’t beat me, but he’s fast!”

Elder Shuai said, “Idiot, just teleport over directly. You can teleport farther and with greater precision than him. What’s the use of him running fast?” He sighed. “You lack combat experience. Fighting more and killing more will be good for you.”

Guo Shier also sighed. This old man was definitely not kind—he was even telling him to fight and kill more. He immediately teleported away.

Jin Shiyen finally broke free from the supply camp, feeling slightly relieved. He thought to himself that he was lucky—had they not cared about the disciples in the camp, he would have suffered greatly this time. He never expected that in such a small camp, there would be not only masters of the Virtual Form Altar but also those of the Real Form Altar. The Gu Nan family was truly bizarre.

A red glow descended from the sky, and soon Guo Shier appeared out of thin air. He sat on the altar, blocking Jin Shiyen’s path, and sneered, “Where do you think you can run?”
Guo Shier felt exhilarated—he could actually fight against a master of the Illusory Altar. This sense of achievement thrilled him. His strength had unknowingly reached the peak of a professional, giving him an unreal feeling.
Jin Shiyen understood that there was a huge gap between the Illusory Altar and the Solid Altar, especially since his opponent had two Solid Altars. It was difficult to bridge such a gap. If his opponent had only one Solid Altar, he might still have a chance to fight back, but with two, his only option was to flee. He summoned his Axe Sacrificial Treasure to block the incoming moon blade.
Crack!
The Axe Sacrificial Treasure managed to block it barely. Jin Shiyen felt intense pain—his life treasure had only withstood one strike before cracking all over. The quality difference between the two was too great; it simply couldn’t resist. The treasure was severely damaged, and refining it would require many precious materials.
Jin Shiyen was desperate but had no tears left. He turned and ran. This was too much bullying. Yet he hadn’t realized that at the Guunan Clan’s supply point, he had nearly killed a professional with just one punch, without feeling wronged at all back then.
Professionals of the Illusory Altar rarely possessed two sacrificial treasures; usually, they only had one, crafted from their life talisman. Jin Shiyen had only recently risen to this level—less than ten years ago—and he only had this one Axe Sacrificial Treasure, which had now been cracked by Guo Shier’s moon blade. If it happened again, it would likely be destroyed completely. He dared not use his treasure any further, as its destruction would cause him severe soul damage.
Jin Shiyen desperately used teleportation, losing all sense of strategy. He appeared here and there, moving chaotically, making it hard for Guo Shier to figure out where he was trying to escape.
It was very difficult to corner a master with an altar, even if Guo Shier was far stronger. But for a master of an altar to escape was a real headache.
Guo Shier couldn’t help but shout, “Hey, bastard! Stop!”
Jin Shiyen retorted, “You’re the bastard! If I stop… am I stupid?” After continuous teleportations, he was also starting to feel exhausted, but stopping was absolutely out of the question. If he stopped, his treasure would be damaged again, leading to certain death. So he kept fleeing desperately while sending out rescue signal talismans.

Watching as this guy shook his hand to cast one signal after another, Guo Shier felt extremely annoyed. He said, “Elder Hero, lend me your Stabilizing Pearl to keep him from running around… Stabilize him!”