Chapter 2: The Appointment (Part 2)

Luo Jie said, “That’s all. It was destroyed by the mutants. We crossed the Broken Bones Gorge to reach the continent where the mutants lived.”
Qi Nanshan continued, “We killed countless mutants and abominations, then emerged from another secret realm. We stayed there for two years, almost wiping out the entire continent.”
Eagle Demon let out a sigh. “Sigh… Blame me… for not holding on a little longer.”
Guo Shier knew he was upset, so he patted his shoulder and said, “Professionals all have this kind of awareness.”
Qi Nanshan said, “I don’t know how many continents we’ve crossed. Finally, we learned about the Gu Xilong Continent. We found a branch of the Gu Xilong family there, obtained a teleportation array, and then directly entered the Gu Xilong Continent.”
Guo Shier was incredulous. “Master, Grandpa Nanshan, did you do this for me?”
Qi Nanshan smiled. “When your master heard that you were captured by the Gu Xilong family, he prepared to invade their continent. Hehe, it’s really hard to get into the Gu Xilong Continent. We never expected there to be so many altar-level experts there. We killed countless people, including many altar-level experts. The two of us acquired so many souls that we had to advance through battle, and our souls became completely chaotic…”
Wang Keer was shocked. She said, “To invade the core continent of an ancient family… You’re amazing!”
Guo Shier wasn’t sure how he felt. If it weren’t for his plan to return home, he would never have gone to the Gu Xilong Continent. He never expected that he would save Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan in the process, nor did he realize that these two had put themselves in danger to save him.
Halechi said, “With their strength, if their souls weren’t chaotic… there would be no danger.”
Nanyou had remained silent. He could hardly believe that Guo Shier’s master would invade the core continent of an ancient family for his disciple—such ferocity was unbelievable.
Luo Jie said, “I never expected… that we didn’t save Shier, but instead, he saved us. Hehe, what a coincidence.”
Qi Nanshan said, “Shier, I didn’t expect you to have advanced to the third layer of the altar. Where have you been all these years?”
Guo Shier replied, “Ever since we were captured by the Gu Xilong family’s experts in the Sealing Jade Realm, we’ve been wandering outside…” He began to recount his journey—just as thrilling, just as full of hardships.

He briefly introduced Qi Wu Zhen’s background again. Halechi was shocked to the core. This man was incredibly powerful—having shown great prowess in the Eight Paths Heaven and directly capturing a major Hidden Fortress. He knew well that Hidden Fortresses had extremely strong defenses.

When it came to Qi Wu Zhen, Guo Shier felt sincere admiration. That kind of unrestrained strength was the only thing he had ever seen in three lifetimes.

Guo Shier said, “Master, you destroyed the teleportation array on the Guxilong Continent. How are we going to get back?”

Luo Jie asked, “Can the Guxilong family’s teleportation array lead us somewhere?”

Guo Shier smiled bitterly. “We came here through the Guxilong family’s teleportation array. Along the way… we had no coordinates. We searched countless places in this region but just couldn’t find our way back. We originally planned to use the Guxilong family’s teleportation array, but now… it’s a problem.”

Wang Keer said, “If that doesn’t work, let Sister Zhen take you back again.”

Guo Shier didn’t want Qi Wu Zhen to send him back. He felt embarrassed to trouble her again. If not for her, his master and Grandpa Nanshan would have been doomed.

He sighed and said, “If there’s really no other choice, I guess I’ll have to trouble Sister Zhen.”

In the Cross-Realm Talisman, most of the coordinates had already been connected, but the coordinates for their homeland continent and the secret realm remained separate, with no coordinates leading back home.

Eagle Demon asked, “Old man, do you have any coordinates to go back?”

Luo Jie smiled bitterly. “I only have ordinary talisman gates. I don’t even have a cross-realm talisman. How could I possibly go back?”

Qi Nanshan spread his hands. “Don’t look at me. My talisman gates are even worse.”

Guo Shier said, “Alright, I admit it. I really do want to go back. Well, I’ll go ask Sister Zhen for help.” At this point, he had no choice but to ask for help. Otherwise, he didn’t know how much further he would have to walk to find home, and he might get lost again. He hated getting lost deeply.

The group chatted idly for a while longer. Guo Shier had always had a question in mind and finally couldn’t hold back from asking, “Master, when you advance in rank… don’t you need a huge amount of materials to support it?”

Eagle Demon said, “Yes. When we advanced, we spent countless efforts searching everywhere for any materials we could use.”

Luo Jie laughed. “We’re completely different from ordinary professionals. We can turn their altars into our own, absorb and transform their altars, extract useful materials, and discard useless waste. Hehe, so… we don’t need to search for too many materials.”

Guo Shier stared at the two in silence for a long time before saying, “There really is such a thing?”

Qi Nanshan said, “There are also significant drawbacks to this. If we don’t kill a suitable altar professionist, we’ll get stuck at some barrier and unable to move forward. Moreover, altar-level experts aren’t easy to kill.”
Two simple words can describe the characteristics of soul altar professionists: plunder. Whether it’s souls or altars, they rely on plundering to advance rapidly, which is why the Black Sigil People have become the common enemy of all professionists.
Of course, once the Black Sigil People reach altar-level expertise, no family or sect would dare to provoke them unless absolutely necessary, as it could result in severe losses.
Guo Shier was filled with emotions. He had always felt that the Black Sigil People were not suitable for him. Although he had been a soldier and killed people in his past life, he still couldn’t like such a predatory profession. It was only because Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan were his relatives that he didn’t reject this profession.
…
Ten days later, Guo Shier climbed to the mountain peak, ascended to Qi Wu Zhen’s altar, and began to chant silently. During these ten days, he had been helping Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan refine their souls at the foot of the mountain. Only then did he realize that their souls were on the verge of collapse. He was shocked, not knowing how many experts his master and Grandpa Nanshan had killed and how many souls they had devoured to reach this state.
When the souls began to fluctuate, a look of relief appeared on Qi Wu Zhen’s face.
For the sake of Thousand Layers of Harmonious Flame, Qi Wu Zhen was willing to sacrifice anything—she had not only used up most of the materials but also consumed a small portion of her own soul. Her soul was slightly chaotic, but after being refined by Guo Shier’s soul fluctuations, it immediately felt much better.
About an hour later, Guo Shier stopped chanting. Qi Wu Zhen let out a sigh and said, “Shier, sometimes I really want to just take you with me.”
Guo Shier was baffled. He wasn’t merchandise—how could she take him with her? He smiled and said, “Sister Zhen, it’s a pity I still need to return to my hometown. Otherwise, I could go adventuring with you.” The greatest advantage of being with Qi Wu Zhen was safety. With her by his side, there were no restrictions. Additionally, Qi Wu Zhen knew many things, making it much easier to advance under her guidance.
Qi Wu Zhen shook her head slightly and said, “You won’t be able to stay in your hometown for long. Otherwise… it will be hard for you to make further progress. Any advanced professionist must venture out and gain experience to truly grow.”

Guo Shier nodded and said, “I didn’t really understand it before, but after coming out this time… indeed, professionals have to venture out into the world; staying at home will lead to nothing.” He agreed wholeheartedly with this. Before coming out, he had never imagined he could become a master at the third-tier altar, a remarkable figure even within the ancient clans.

Qi Wuzhen said, “If I could break free from the bonds of this world and go to the Star Altar, perhaps… I could improve further.”

The Star Altar.

Guo Shier longed greatly for the Star Altar. He felt that was the true universe, perhaps connected to Earth in his past life. He had countless questions about this world—whether it was the continents, the secret realms, or the Eight Paths Heaven—how they formed and developed, he simply didn’t understand.

He said, “Yeah, I want to go to the Star Altar too.”

Qi Wuzhen looked up at the sky, a gentle smile on her face, and said, “That’s just a legend… For people in our world, if they could break through, there would be a vast world ahead. I can’t imagine what kind of place it is.”

Guo Shier didn’t dare look at Qi Wuzhen’s face. He knew how deadly her appearance could be. Even though he felt nothing romantic toward her, he still didn’t dare look. This woman was born to be a killer of men, both mentally and physically.

Qi Wuzhen slowly closed her beautiful eyes and said, “Thankfully… thankfully I met you. If not for the fluctuations in your soul, I would have sunk forever into the abyss of the soul!” Then she softly added, “Thank you, Shier.”

Guo Shier laughed and said, “Sister Zhen, this is your luck as well as mine. If you had killed us right from the start, hehe, everyone would have fallen into the abyss of the soul.”

Qi Wuzhen nodded and said, “Yes, I was already on the verge of collapse back then, just like your master now. Hehe, if I had found you guys from the start, it would have been terrible…”

Guo Shier said, “Actually, we were the first to discover you, Sister Zhen. Maybe you won’t believe it, but we were right below the Chijin Mountain Range at the time. We fled in panic because of your awakened soul. Hehe, it’s funny to think about—eventually, we became friends.”

Qi Wuzhen opened her eyes in surprise and said, “Huh? You actually managed to escape? It’s incredible. That was when my soul was at its strongest, yet completely uncontrollable… Uh, could it be that you woke me up?”

Guo Shier shook his head and said, “I don’t know. When I sensed that soul pressure back then… it was absolutely terrifying. Well, luckily I’m very skilled at escaping. Haha, that’s how I managed to get away.”
Qi Wu Zhen said, “That’s because I didn’t notice…”
Guo Shier couldn’t help but smile bitterly, thinking, “To avoid catching your attention, I acted like a field mouse—so scared that I wouldn’t dare show my head…”
Qi Wu Zhen said, “Hmm, there’s one thing I’d like to discuss with you.”
Guo Shier asked, “What is it?”