Chapter 6: The Mysterious Fluctuation (Part 2)

With a long howl, a figure suddenly appeared in front of the two of them. Guo Shier was startled and said, “Uh, who is that? That was scary…”
The figure gradually solidified, and a person fully came into view. Guo Shier couldn’t help but exclaim, “It’s you!” It was the supreme expert from the nine-layer altar they had met before.
With long white hair reaching his waist and a wide dark green robe, a small, exquisite altar hung above his head—it was indeed a nine-layer altar. The man stared at Li Ran and said, “Was that your soul pressure just now?” Then he added, “I’m Zhen Wuji from the Ancient Town clan, a professional of the nine-layer altar.”
Li Ran smiled slightly and said, “I’m a wandering professional, Li Ran.” To show respect, he also revealed his own altar, which flashed above his head.
Zhen Wuji was shocked and said, “Beyond the nine-layer level… Uh, greetings, senior.”
Some of the professionals who had fled in the distance were still paying attention to the situation here. Seeing a professional of the nine-layer altar appear, they showed a hint of expectation. Then they witnessed something astonishing—the professional of the nine-layer altar was actually showing the respect due to a senior.
A few professionals who happened to look back were so frightened that they ran away quickly. “What a joke! Making a professional of the nine-layer altar show respect to a junior—how powerful must he be?” They cursed inwardly. With such a master, as long as you reveal your own altar, who would dare to chase you? It’s not fair to play around like this.
Li Ran smiled and said, “How many masters are here… Well, I mean professionals of the nine-layer altar.”
Zhen Wuji replied, “Apart from you, senior, I haven’t seen any others. Maybe they’re all like you, not showing themselves in the group?”
Li Ran was polite and said, “There’s no need to call me senior. We’re roughly on the same level. Just call me Li Ran. Zhen Wuji, isn’t your clan’s group here?”
Zhen Wuji said, “I didn’t bring them to the Great Abyss Pool. It’s too dangerous here.”
Li Ran, Zhen Wuji, and Guo Shier hovered in the air. Within a radius of a thousand meters, no one or abnormal beast came near. The two naturally exerted a slight soul pressure. Both humans and beasts were highly sensitive and realized that this area was truly dangerous. That’s why the outside was in chaos, while here, everything remained eerily calm.
Guo Shier looked around and couldn’t help but marvel. This was the true might of high-level professionals.
Fan Zhen and Yang Miluo arrived quickly. The two flew in, and upon seeing Zhen Wuji, they immediately stepped forward to greet him and introduced themselves.
Li Ran said, “These are my companions.”

Just this sentence was enough to get Zhen Wuji to pay attention. He nodded and said, “Um… Li Ran, you didn’t come here for the mutated beasts, did you?”
Li Ran replied, “It’s both yes and no. The mutated beasts are just something we hunt along the way. Well, you should know what’s inside, right?”
Zhen Wuji gave a faint wry smile. After a long while, he said, “I was the first to discover this place… But with my strength alone, I wasn’t able to enter. So I spread the word. I just didn’t expect there to be more and more mutated beasts here, making it still impossible for me to get in.”
Guo Shierqi asked, “If we can’t enter here, is it impossible from other places too?”
Zhen Wuji hadn’t paid attention to Guo Shierqi before. It wasn’t surprising—someone who was a sixth-tier altar practitioner was quite ordinary here; they were everywhere. It wasn’t until Guo Shierqi spoke that he noticed. Only then did he realize something was wrong. His old eyes, hidden beneath wrinkles, suddenly widened. He said, “Huh? This is… this is the Heavenly Altar? It’s actually the Heavenly Altar!”
Even he only knew about the Heavenly Altar from inherited memories. As a ninth-tier altar practitioner, he had a unique sensitivity to it, so he paid slight attention to Guo Shierqi and immediately sensed something was off. Only then did he discover that Guo Shierqi’s altar was none other than the famous Heavenly Altar.
Guo Shierqi nodded and said, “Yes, the senior is right. It is the Heavenly Altar. It’s not fully developed yet.”
Zhen Wuji immediately became much more polite toward Guo Shierqi. He understood that if a practitioner of the Heavenly Altar reached the ninth tier, he would definitely not be able to defeat him with his own strength. The Heavenly Altar ranked first among all altars, and its fame wasn’t unfounded. He just didn’t know that Guo Shierqi hadn’t yet unlocked its true capabilities and was currently using it as an ordinary altar.
Zhen Wuji explained, “It’s also very difficult to enter from other places. The deeper you go, the more mutated beasts there are. If you disturb just one, it will trigger a frenzied attack from the entire herd. It’s the same no matter where you enter. Here, the terrain is open, allowing for battles. But in some places, right at the foot of mountains, even the slightest disturbance can cause massive landslides and avalanches, making combat impossible.”
Guo Shierqi pondered, “This place would make a good battlefield, but are the things inside really worth everyone fighting so hard for?” It was only now that he realized this continent had been revealed by Zhen Wuji.
Zhen Wuji said, “I don’t know if it’s worth it either, but for me, it is.”
Li Ran nodded and said, “I understand your approach. Have you been stuck at the ninth-tier altar for a long time, searching for an opportunity to advance to a higher level?”

Zhen Wuji smiled bitterly and said, “Yes. If I can’t advance any further… leaving the Realm of Perdition isn’t far off. So I must explore every possibility. I feel that what’s here might help me advance.”
Guo Shier was a bit surprised, but after thinking about it, he understood. With Zhen Wuji’s strength at the ninth-tier altar, it was indeed possible for him to find such a place. Only he could spread such messages quickly to attract a large number of professionals to delve deep into the Abyssal Pool.
From the current situation, Zhen Wuji’s method was effective, but breaking through to the depths was extremely difficult, especially since most of these professionals came for soul essence and the carcasses of mutated beasts. Once they reaped abundant rewards, many would surely withdraw.
Yet, professionals kept arriving, as if it were a feast with countless guests flocking in.
Li Ran said, “Even with these professionals, it’s still hard to reach the depths. Unless we find a group of experts—professionals at least at the eighth-tier altar—it’s unlikely we can force our way in.”
Guo Shier couldn’t help but marvel. Forming a team of professionals at the eighth-tier altar required great courage. After all, ordinary ancient clans didn’t even have experts at that level; professionals at the seventh-tier altar were already quite remarkable.
Zhen Wuji shook his head. “They… won’t agree. Professionals at the eighth-tier altar usually have clans backing them. They dare not take risks, otherwise their clans’ strength would decline significantly. That’s why many professionals at that level… dare not join.”
Guo Shier said, “That’s because there aren’t enough incentives.”
Zhen Wuji froze for a moment before his eyes lit up. He said, “Right! If there’s enough appeal, some of them might agree! But… what kind of incentive could sway them?”
Guo Shier replied, “Your motivation is their motivation. It’s just… if there’s nothing to gain inside, well, that’s a big problem.”
Zhen Wuji slapped his thigh sharply and said, “Exactly! What professionals at the eighth-tier altar desire most… is to advance to the ninth tier. Good, this is a great idea.”
Guo Shier quickly distanced himself, saying, “I didn’t say anything, hehe.”
Zhen Wuji nodded. “I know.” Then he looked at Li Ran with anticipation, asking, “Li Ran, will you come too?”
Li Ran replied, “I don’t mind, but he definitely wants to go in.” He gestured casually at Guo Shier.

Guo Shier quickly nodded and said, “I really want to see it.” He had long known the advantages of following experts. He had obtained the Ancient Ink Lotus by following a group of altar experts inside, and in the end, he benefited from it. Even if there was no gain, it wouldn’t hurt to take a look. With Li Ran around, safety wasn’t a concern.

Zhen Wuji said, “It doesn’t matter how many people you bring as long as they have the ability to protect you.”

Fan Zhen added, “Hey, the mutated beasts are starting to retreat…”

Li Ran said, “The fluctuations are getting stronger…”

Zhen Wuji sensed it and said, “Mm, I can feel these fluctuations. So far, I still don’t know what’s causing them. They can attract so many mutated and aberrant beasts—it must be something significant… I think it will be very helpful for my advancement.”

As advanced altar professionals, everyone had such intuitions, though they varied. Zhen Wuji felt it would help his advancement, but Guo Shier didn’t share this feeling. It was related to one’s soul, but Guo Shier could still sense these fluctuations.

The aberrant beasts, retreating like a tide, seemed to be summoned by some force, desperately fleeing back, leaving corpses everywhere.

Thousands of professionals cheered loudly as they began to collect spoils. First, they took the souls. Although it took some time, the souls hadn’t completely dissipated—of course, not including those secretly taken by Guo Shier. There were countless corpses to sort through, leaving everyone extremely busy. Many fights broke out over them.

This battle was a feast for professionals, as they received the richest rewards. There were corpses everywhere, with at least level-10 mutated beasts. Even those who were professionals at level five or above had never seen so many materials. It was difficult to find high-level aberrant beasts in the outer continents and secret realms, but here, they were everywhere.

Professionals who arrived later also tried to take advantage, leading to many disputes among teams. Then some teams followed the beast herds, attempting to launch sneak attacks from behind.

Zhen Wuji said, “Can you wait for me a moment? I’ll go get some help.”

Li Ran nodded. “No problem. Let’s rest for a while.”

Guo Shier said, “The terrain over there is a bit flatter. Let’s go there and rest.” He flew to an open area, casually conjured a series of illusionary talismans to flatten the ground, and then created a hidden house. Yang Miluo followed by throwing down a large piece of beast skin and sat down heavily. “Although we’ve reaped good gains, we’re really tired. Even being on the periphery, the pressure is immense.”

Li Ran landed on thebeast skin and lay down in an ungraceful manner. After stretching, he sat up and said, “It’s a pity we still haven’t found a professional who surpasses the ninth-tier altar.”
Guo Shier said, “Having Sister Zhen is enough. Why find another?”
Li Ran replied, “Two is the minimum. If we can get one more, it will be even safer.”
Guo Shier sighed and said, “Maybe there are many experts who surpass the ninth-tier altar in this world, but… it’s too big, and it’s impossible to find them. Only here do we have some hope. It depends on one’s luck.”
Li Ran laughed and said, “It has nothing to do with luck.”
Guo Shier replied, “Of course it does. If you have good luck, you can find them. Take me for example—how lucky I was! Not only did I find Sister Zhen, but I also found you, two experts who surpass the ninth-tier altar.”
Li Ran burst into laughter. Shaking his head, he said, “Is this luck? It’s just good fortune… Hmm, I heard you were terrified the first time you met your Sister Zhen, right? Haha.”
Guo Shier smiled bitterly and said, “At that time, her soul was in chaos. If I hadn’t run… I would have truly been reborn, and it would have been impossible to get out again. I have to say, I was really lucky to escape…”
Li Ran scratched his head. Faced with someone so brazen and self-praising, he didn’t know what to say. After a while, he said, “Never mind. Even if you’re lucky, can you find another expert who surpasses the ninth-tier altar?”
Guo Shier said disdainfully, “Brother, do you think experts who surpass the ninth tier are like carrots or vegetables? Uh, no—there are no carrots or vegetables here… In any case, you can’t even find one, while I’ve already found two. That makes me better than you!”
Li Ran said, “I hope we can find another. Hehe, then I’ll be 80% confident.”
Guo Shier was shocked and asked, “How confident are you and Sister Zhen together?”