Chapter 10: Sharing the Territory (Part 1)

Once the Day Sun Sect allied with Guo Shier and the others, it meant they now had two super experts, plus an invisible expert at group fighting. Such a situation was absolutely beyond what the Yuan Ke Alliance and the Red Flag Merchant Alliance could tolerate, so both sides vehemently opposed it.

Guo Shier also refused. He knew that the three of them were already strong enough to overwhelm their opponents, and forming an alliance with Hua Wulang would disrupt the balance. He didn’t want to divide Bone Mountain at all; he just wanted to take advantage of the chaos.

Hua Wulang stared at Guo Shier with a pitiful expression. Guo Shier held back his laughter and said, “Let’s first discuss how to divide Bone Mountain. How about this: divide it equally among the four families, one share each. That would be the fairest!”

Yi Jumaru narrowed his eyes. Since it involved profit distribution, he even dared to glare at Li Ran and shout, “There are only three of you—way too few! How can you get a quarter each? This… this is outrageous!”

Guo Shier also glared and said, “What? Do you think we’re easy to bully just because we’re few in number?”

Yi Jumaru became furious. A mere seventh-tier altar specialist dared to speak to him like that—how arrogant! He wanted to explode with anger, but seeing Li Ran standing behind Guo Shier, he forced himself to suppress it.

Bai Wan shook her head and said, “Brother Yi, maybe equal division is the best solution.”

Yi Jumaru was furious. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Sister, you agree with equal division too? We’re being too disadvantaged!”

Bai Wan didn’t try to persuade him further, knowing Yi Jumaru was stubborn. She understood well that if there was only one family, everything would be easy to resolve—whether through battle or negotiation. But with four families now, it would be extremely difficult to reach an agreement, and fighting might still break out in the end. She didn’t want any battles at all. She came to this continent to make money, not to start wars. With a sigh, she stepped back behind Yi Jumaru and stayed silent.

Guo Shier smiled and said, “I have plenty of time anyway. If two more powerful factions show up… hehe, then who knows how many shares there will be.”

These words immediately reminded everyone. Although the space was sealed, countless specialists had escaped earlier, and news would spread quickly. If more powerful factions arrived, it would be hard to say how many shares there would be. If they reached an agreement now, the four families could unite and prevent anyone weaker than them from entering.

Thus, everyone quickly reached an agreement through swift negotiations, and the four families divided the territory equally.

According to the agreement, a cross was drawn on the peak of Bone Mountain, and then lines were extended down from it; each family occupied one grid, ensuring that no one was at a disadvantage—a fairly equitable method of distribution. Although the Yuanke Alliance and the Red Flag Merchant Alliance were reluctant, they had no choice but to agree at this point.

Guo Shier smiled and said, “We’ve taken our share, hehe… But… I plan to sell it to you. Whoever offers the highest price and the best materials will get this share…” Only then did he reveal his true intentions. Li Ran and Zhen Wuji secretly praised him—this was much smarter than robbery; they hadn’t expected him to plan this way.

This statement immediately sparked competition among the other three parties. They sent people to dig at Bone Mountain, and soon messages arrived through various signals, informing the leaders of the three parties about the mountain’s immense value. Even though Bone Mountain had already been plundered by Guo Shier’s group of professionals and many ancient clans, it had accumulated over countless years and still contained many precious remains of mutated magical beasts—all treasures.

Soon, the three leaders gathered again and surrounded Guo Shier and his companions. Of course, they didn’t resort to violence but competed for the remaining 25%, which represented huge profits.

Guo Shier sat calmly, smiling, and said, “I want various rare and precious materials. The more valuable they are, the larger the share I’ll give you. You know the value of this Bone Mountain, hehe… No matter how you trade, it’s still you who benefit.” This was true—almost everyone agreed that Bone Mountain, having accumulated over countless years, held countless treasures.

Ruo Wangtian and Yao Zebu were extremely frustrated. They had already lost many rare materials to Guo Shier earlier, and asking them to come up with good materials now was practically impossible. It wasn’t that they weren’t willing to trade, but they no longer had much to offer.

Li Ran and Zhen Wuji stood aside, smiling, as they watched Guo Shier speak confidently. They admired him in their hearts—truly a master at creating opportunities out of nothing, managing to extract even more benefits this time around. This trip had indeed been a huge success.

Guo Shier, Li Ran, and Zhen Wuji each selected useful materials, many of which were completely unexpected—not ordinary essential materials but rather very rare and uncommon ones, including several that could significantly improve the quality of sacrificial treasures.

Twenty-five percent of the shares were divided by Guo Shier into 2,500 portions, each of which could be exchanged for some materials. Whoever provided materials that caught the interest of the three parties could then discuss how much share they could get in return. Within a few hours, all those shares were exchanged, and both sides felt they had gotten a great deal.

Li Ran and Zhen Wuji were overjoyed. These three families were among the top professionals in the small world. Whether it was the Yuanke Alliance or the Red Flag Merchant Alliance, even the Dayang Sect was a massive force capable of cultivating professionals at the ninth-level altar. Any alliance or merchant group of that caliber was extremely powerful, and the materials they possessed were undoubtedly the best.

Li Ran and Zhen Wuji were shocked by their new acquisitions. Many of the items were legendary materials—never mind collecting them, they had even never seen them before.

Three huge talisman gates opened, located not far from the Bone Mountain. On each family’s territory, a massive talisman gate was open, from which countless professionals poured out.

Guo Shier glanced at them and sighed, “Their methods are quite strong… They have plenty of manpower. Alas, the Gu Miluo family can’t compare—there’s a huge gap.”

The number of professionals emerging from each talisman gate numbered in the hundreds of thousands, mostly high-level Great Sage Masters, with a few being lower-level altar professionals. Clearly, they were the main forces sent by each family to explore the Bone Mountain. Apart from keeping watch, those high-level professionals would only get involved directly when they found something valuable.

Guo Shier mused, “Even if we took control of the Bone Mountain, it would be impossible to excavate it completely unless we conquered the entire continent… which is impossible. It’s a shame that Senior Zhen Wuji has already revealed all the secrets. Heh, have you ever regretted it?”

Zhen Wuji shook his head. “There’s nothing to regret. Without you guys, I wouldn’t have been able to get in at all, let alone find so many valuable materials. Even if I searched hard for a hundred years, I probably wouldn’t have achieved as much as I have now. It’s worth it.”

All three families sent a large number of high-level professionals to patrol the perimeters to block outsiders. They had made it clear that any outsiders must stop and were not allowed to enter the Bone Mountain area. With their strength, they could hold off most families and sects.

Guo Shier turned to look at the Bone Mountain and smiled. “Given how greedy those three families are, this Bone Mountain will collapse soon. By then, they’ll discover some Soul Beasts as well. Well, despite paying a high price, their gains will be quite substantial.”

Li Ran laughed. “If they go down through the mountain pass… they’ll not only get Soul Beasts but also… Soul Nourishing Stones…”

Zhen Wuji shook his head and sighed, “We don’t have enough people. Even senior great sage masters can only come here with difficulty; only altar-level professionals can move around freely here.”
Guo Shier said, “The veins of Soul-Nurturing Stones are huge. If they discover them, just that alone would be worth it… Damn, the mountain is collapsing!”
A loud rumbling sound was heard. It was unknown what those professionals had touched, but the entire Bone Mountain began to collapse inward. Li Ran and the others had been inside the mountain and knew there was a vast space there. The Bone Mountain was like a conical hollow mountain, and once it collapsed, everything inside would be buried.
Guo Shier sighed, “This luck is really terrible.”
Li Ran said, “This isn’t luck. All three families started digging at the same time and went too far. Hehe, now not only can’t we get the Soul-Nurturing Stones, but the Spirit Beasts are also buried inside. Without enough time, they won’t be able to get out. I remember there are quite a few Spirit Beasts in there—at least millions, right?”
Guo Shier smiled slightly. He knew there weren’t many Spirit Beasts left inside, as most had been seized by those black entities. Not many remained, and he had already collected enough. With the collapse of the Bone Mountain, only the most powerful Spirit Beasts would likely survive.
Countless rune lights flashed as the professionals on the Bone Mountain flew away in panic. Cracking sounds came from various places as the mountain rapidly shrank, becoming lower and releasing thick clouds of dust. As the mountain collapsed, countless pieces of ice and dust were thrown into the air, covering the entire sky.
Guo Shier and the others quickly flew outward, soon distancing themselves from the Bone Mountain. From afar, the mountain appeared much shorter. Li Ran said, “They’ve suffered heavy losses this time. Hehe, if they had explored first, they wouldn’t have made such a mistake.”
Zhen Wuji said, “The three families didn’t coordinate at all. But collapsing the Bone Mountain in just a short while is quite impressive.”
Guo Shier said, “Let’s go. It’s time to leave this continent. Should we head to the Eight Paths Vast Heaven?”
Li Ran said, “The Eight Paths Vast Heaven is too complicated. Once inside, some areas have spatial barriers that make it hard to escape. As far as I know, it’s not unusual for many professionals to get trapped and die there.”
Zhen Wuji said, “I need to go back too. This time, I’ll see if I can advance beyond the ninth-tier altar. It’s difficult, but I still want to give it a try.” He had obtained many rare materials this time, enough to strengthen his original altar and build a tenth-tier altar. Additionally, it would depend on whether his soul strength was strong enough for an upgrade.

Guo Shier smiled and said, “I’m almost at the next level too.”
Zhen Wuji was stunned for a moment before saying, “You seemed to have just reached the next level… How can you advance again?”
Li Ran replied calmly, “With his soul power… it’s not surprising if he reaches the ninth-tier altar. The main issue is that building an altar quickly requires a large amount of materials, and he already has enough.”
Zhen Wuji’s gaze toward Guo Shier changed completely. He said, “This is way too exaggerated!” He couldn’t help but feel jealous. He had gone through countless hardships to reach the ninth-tier altar, so how could he stay calm seeing someone advancing as easily as eating or drinking?
Li Ran said, “There’s nothing strange about it. He’s different from you guys.”
Zhen Wuji retorted, “Aren’t we all humans? Aren’t we all professionals? What’s the difference? Does he have two souls?”