Chapter 7: Ignorance and Fearlessness (Part 1)

The atmosphere in the room was somewhat dull. Luo Jie and the others sat in silence, pondering how to deal with the Gu Mi family. After all, they were too few in number and lacked the overwhelming strength of experts like Qi Wu Zhen, so they needed to come up with a strategy for battle.
After a while, Guo Shier said, “Forcing an attack definitely won’t work. We don’t have the ability to take down Gu Mi City for now. In that case, why not attack the cities surrounding Gu Mi City?”
Luo Jie nodded. “That’s another option. But I wonder what the defenses of those eight surrounding cities are like?” He glanced at Chen Tianyao, hoping to hear his opinion.
Chen Tianyao replied, “The defenses of those eight cities aren’t as strong as those of Gu Mi City, and there aren’t many altar-level experts either…”
Guo Shier guessed, “Could they get support from the main city at any time? With the main city’s powerful teleportation capabilities, it should be easy to send altar-level experts to the surrounding cities.”
Chen Tianyao nodded in agreement. “Exactly. Attacking any of the surrounding cities would allow them to receive support from the other eight cities in a short time. It’s a chain reaction.”
Qi Nanshan said, “That’s normal. These are core cities on the Core Continent. It would be strange if the Gu Mi family didn’t have a solid defense.”
Luo Jie asked, “Shier, what are your thoughts?”
Guo Shier smiled. “I don’t have any ideas for now. The only thing on my mind is… Chen Tianyao, tell your woman to hurry up. I’m starving… Haha.”
Luo Jie scolded him jokingly, “You little brat, you only think about eating!”
Chen Tianyao also laughed. He shouted, “Woman, hurry up!”
Mi Ruohua replied crisply, “Come help me! I can’t lift it… It’s too heavy!”
Nan You stood up. “I’ll go,” he said, then went downstairs. Soon, he returned with a large wooden barrel about half a person’s height. It contained a big pot of meat soup and large pieces of cooked meat, emitting a delicious aroma that made everyone salivate.
Mi Ruohua carried a large wicker basket filled with stacks of baked cakes. She set it down and said, “It’s ready. We can eat now.”
On the low table, each person had a wooden tray and a wooden bowl the size of a small washbasin. Mi Ruohua held a long-handled iron spoon, stirred the soup in the large barrel, poured a generous bowl of soup for each person, placed the cooked meat on the tray, added specially prepared seasonings, and said with a smile, “There’s no time to cook anything else. Everyone, eat first.”

Chen Tianyao gave an approving look and smiled, saying, “My wife is quite skilled in cooking. Everyone, give it a try—it has a hint of the taste of talisman food!” He praised her proudly. Luo Jie and the others nodded and began to eat. In fact, their palates had already been spoiled by Guo Shier, so they didn’t quite believe that an ordinary woman could create something especially delicious. Guo Shier took a sip of the meat broth and tore off a piece of baked bread. As soon as the broth touched his mouth, he was stunned—its flavor was extremely delicious, without any greasiness, with a fragrant aroma spreading throughout his mouth. He couldn’t help but exclaim, “Great! Such good broth… No, the ingredients in this broth… I’ve never tasted anything like it!” Mi Ruohua said, “Hehe, that’s because we used Scent-Preserving Fruits… a special spice unique to our area. When added to the broth, it gives it a different flavor.” Guo Shier had always been very interested in special seasonings. Whenever he visited a new continent, collecting spices was one of his priorities. He immediately asked, “Scent-Preserving Fruits? Do you have any more? Give me some.” Mi Ruohua had a very good impression of Guo Shier because the gifts he gave her pleased her greatly. She said, “I have plenty of Scent-Preserving Fruits. There are over a dozen trees in the backyard, producing both fresh and dried fruits. Other than seasoning, they don’t have much use.” Guo Shier was delighted. “There are Scent-Preserving Fruit trees? Hehe, that’s great! I can plant them in my talisman cultivation plots.” Everyone praised the food, as its flavor was indeed extraordinary. In fact, Mi Ruohua’s cooking skills were only average, but with the Scent-Preserving Fruits as seasoning, it was completely different. Even Luo Jie and the others, whose tastes had been spoiled by Guo Shier, couldn’t help but marvel. Everyone enjoyed the meal greatly. After dinner, Mi Ruohua brought over a basket of dried Scent-Preserving Fruits and a plate of fresh ones, saying, “These are the dried fruits saved from previous years. The fresh ones were harvested a few days ago. I’m giving them all to Uncle.” Guo Shier picked up a fresh fruit to examine closely. The Scent-Preserving Fruits grew in clusters, somewhat resembling grapes from his past life. The fresh fruits were about the size of quail eggs, with an orange-yellow color. The dried fruits were only the size of a fingernail, dark brown in color, and seemed unremarkable. He asked, “How are they used?” Mi Ruohua smiled and said, “Uncle, both dried and fresh fruits can be used. Fresh fruits aren’t as effective as dried ones, but they have a special fragrance. In the meat broth we just ate, I added two fresh fruits and one dried fruit. Just crush them and put them in.”

Guo Shieru brought the fragrant fruit to his nose and inhaled—it emitted a strong aroma, one he had never smelled before; it was truly unique. He said, “Good, I’ll take it. Thank you.”
Mi Ruohua picked up a small pot beside her and said, “These are seedlings of the fragrant fruit.”
Guo Shieru transplanted the seedlings into the planting talisman. There were eight seedlings in total, and before long, he would be able to harvest the fragrant fruits he had planted. Besides collecting materials, he loved gathering various exotic plants and spices. Each continent had its own distinctive spices and foods, all of which were targets for his collection. The pain caused by hunger in his past life was deeply etched in his soul, which is why he had the habit of collecting food.
Chen Tianyao asked, “How long will we stay here?”
Before Guo Shieru and the others could respond, Mi Ruohua became nervous. She glanced around, looking at everyone back and forth. Guo Shieru smiled and said, “We’ll need to stay for a while. Grandpa Nanshan needs to stabilize his soul, and I need to do the same… At least a dozen days.”
Mi Ruohua’s disappointed expression was hard to hide, but she didn’t dare speak.
Guo Shieru asked, “Master, is he here?”
Luo Jie thought for a moment before saying, “He is here. Chen Tianyao, stay too; there’s a spot for you.”
Chen Tianyao still didn’t understand what this meant. He nodded and said, “Okay.” Then he turned to her and said, “Woman, go ahead and do your things. Come back to me tonight.”
Mi Ruohua’s face turned slightly red as she stood up and said, “Yes.” Then she turned and left. She knew these people had things to do; she was just an ordinary person who knew nothing and didn’t want to know anything. All she hoped for was that Chen Tianyao would stay a few more days. Once he left, who knew when he would return.
Guo Shieru sat cross-legged on the ground, with Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan sitting on either side of him, while Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan sat on his left and right. Nan You was the fastest—he sat across from Guo Shieru. Chen Tianyao wondered, “What are you all doing?” The way they sat in a circular formation was completely confusing to him.
Luo Jie said calmly, “Find a spot and sit down yourself.”
Chen Tianyao hesitated for a moment before sitting behind Luo Jie. Qi Nanshan said, “Once you’re seated, don’t move around.” Chen Tianyao nodded in confusion and said, “Okay, I won’t move…”

Guo Shier first brought out a altar, only the size of an ordinary round table, on which he sat. Then, Luo Jie and the others also brought out altars—smaller ones, just big enough for one person, still surrounding Guo Shier. Chen Tianyao felt even more confused, but he wasn’t stupid either; he brought out his own altar and made it hover behind Luo Jie.

A wave of spiritual energy spread from Guo Shier as he skillfully began reciting spiritual scriptures silently.

It was Chen Tianyao’s first time undergoing spiritual purification, and he immediately realized its tremendous benefits. His soul, which had been stuck at the fifth-level altar, began to purify little by little—a thing he could never achieve on his own. Moments later, he understood that with such spiritual waves, he wouldn’t have to worry about advancing in the future. He was stunned.

The others were already accustomed to Guo Shier’s spiritual waves. Without them, they couldn’t advance so quickly. Guo Shier had recently reached the fourth-level altar, his soul having made great progress, and he could also use a large number of soul beads to rapidly increase his spiritual energy.

A sound of surprise came from Luo Jie’s altar. Xue Nu poked her head out and asked, “What… what is this? Oh my god, such a pleasant spiritual wave…”

Fearing that she might disturb Guo Shier, Luo Jie placed his finger on his lips, gave a soft hiss, and pressed down on Xue Nu’s head to signal her to retreat.

Xue Nu shook her head desperately. In a low voice, she said, “I want to stay outside…” She flew off the altar and landed on Guo Shier’s altar, immediately drawing the attention of Shuai Lao Tou. He poked his head out and said, “Girl, this is my territory!”

Luo Jie was in agony. He said, “Xue Nu, come back!”

Guo Shier’s spiritual waves paused for a moment. He opened his eyes, glanced at Xue Nu, and said, “Shuai Lao Tou, let her stay on the altar.”

Shuai Lao Tou grumbled, “Where do altar spirits run around freely?” In truth, he was extremely envious—Xue Nu could leave the altar while he couldn’t; there was a huge difference between them.

Xue Nu rolled her eyes in a very human-like manner and said, “Old man, you’re too stingy. You’re far worse than your master!”

Shuai Lao Tou kept trying to process the spiritual energy from his altar, just as Xue Nu did. Under the suppression of their respective masters, they managed not to clash, but from then on, they became enemies, never speaking kindly to each other, like foes. Shuai Lao Tou wasn’t afraid of her, and Xue Nu didn’t care about him either.

Guo Shier ignored the two altar spirits and continued to close his eyes, reciting spiritual scriptures silently.

Three hours of continuous silent recitation not only stabilized Qi Nanshan’s soul but also his own soul after ascending in rank. The ones who benefited the most were Blood Girl and Chen Tianyao. Chen Tianyao was almost overjoyed; since ascending to the fifth-tier altar, he had found it difficult to make further progress, as impurities in his soul were the biggest obstacle to his spiritual growth. With Guo Shier’s soul fluctuations, his soul impurities gradually dissipated. Although three hours of purification was far from enough, he now had hope of ascending again.

When Guo Shier finished reciting, Chen Tianyao remained sitting motionless on the altar, filled with deep thoughts. There were indeed such astonishing soul fluctuations in this world. No wonder Guo Shier’s rank might not be the highest, but his status was by no means inferior to Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan. Suddenly, an idea came to him: he wasn’t unlucky at all this time; instead, misfortune had brought him good fortune.

After Guo Shier finished reciting, Blood Girl flew back to Luo Jie’s altar and exclaimed, “It’s amazing! Hehe, I can get stronger too!”

The handsome old man poked his head out and said, “Girl, as a sacrificial spirit, you should have the awareness of one—don’t run around carelessly!”

Blood Girl retorted, “Mind your own business! Old man, just take care of yourself! You weird old man!”

The handsome old man was furious but couldn’t leave the altar, so he could only jump around on its top, cursing, “You little brat, how dare you talk back!”