Chapter 3: Golden Flame Plain Well (Part 1)

There are countless diverse combat formations, each with its own characteristics. This time, the competition was purely about the control and offensive capabilities of the talisman arrays—participants not only had to defend but also find ways to attack their opponents’ arrays. The side whose array collapsed first lost.
Three people forming a formation is the most basic requirement for a mobile talisman array.
The three professionals from the Gu family quickly deployed their respective talisman discs and cast numerous spells. Their opponents did the same, and two talisman arrays were swiftly formed.
Guo Shier asked curiously, “Oh, so this is the talisman disc for a mobile array?”
Elder Shuai replied, “Yes. We had something like this back then, but it wasn’t as refined. It has improved a lot over time.”
Gradually, beneath a glow of talismanic light, the two arrays began to take on a fearsome appearance.
Li Ran smiled and said, “I didn’t expect mobile arrays to have developed to this extent in your place. Impressive, hehe.”
Ruo Wangtian asked in curiosity, “This is quite common where I’m from. Such techniques are essential for families or sects, as they can greatly enhance strength.”
Li Ran shook his head. “No one uses such arrays in my place. Let’s see how powerful it is.” He was also very curious—these people came from a continent he was unfamiliar with, and there were things he, despite his wide experience, rarely got to see with his own eyes.
Guo Shier stared intently. The three eighth-level altar professionals from the Gu family’s group gradually had their figures and altars blur, as countless runes swirled around them and coalesced into a hundred-meter-long golden axe hanging in midair. Soon, the axe radiated intense golden light, with ripples spreading from its blade.
Li Ran’s pupils narrowed slightly. He was slightly surprised and said, “So powerful!”
Guo Shier whispered to Elder Shuai, “Three eighth-level altar professionals, using an array to create a sacrificial treasure of this kind—this attack is almost on par with those created by ninth-level altar masters.”
Elder Shuai replied, “There should still be some difference, though I’m not sure where it lies. But it’s indeed powerful. An eighth-level altar professional couldn’t withstand such an attack.”
The opponents’ three professionals also created a sacrificial treasure—a huge iron hammer, dark and unremarkable in appearance, but enormous, standing a hundred meters tall. It had no handle, only a head that resembled a solid cylinder, giving off an overwhelming sense of pressure.
Guo Shier said, “Axe against hammer—hehe, not much difference. It depends on which one is tougher.”
Boom!

A circle of golden ripples spread out. Li Ran shouted, “Back off!” Everyone retreated together. As the ripples reached Guo Shier and the others, another deafening explosion occurred. Guo Shier couldn’t help but dig at his ears and curse, “Damn it, so loud! It’s annoying!” With a boom, the shockwaves hit, but Li Ran blocked them with a wave of his hand.

Although Guo Shier kept cursing, he kept his eyes fixed on the scene. After a while, he said, “This thing is great for charging into battles!”

Bai Guang sneered, “You lack insight. It’s meant for charging battles anyway! On the battlefield, with such an arrow attack, it’s hard to maintain any formation.”

Guo Shier ignored him and simply said to the old man, “There aren’t many variations. It’s just brute force, charging and fighting head-on. Other than for charging battles and duels, it’s not very interesting.” He quickly lost interest. He usually liked this kind of fight that relied on raw strength, but watching it from the sidelines seemed boring to him.

In fact, battles among professionals were never fancy. Most were straightforward contests of strength, whether it was the lowest-level spellcasters or advanced archmages. From virtual altars to physical ones, attacks were always direct. Only at the ninth-tier or higher altars did attack methods start to vary.

In the end, the giant axe severed the hammer head, sending the three ninth-tier professionals flying. All three spat out blood and looked quite exhausted.

Li Ran said calmly, “The Gu family wins!”

Bai Guang and Ti Luoya showed delighted expressions. After all, they were experts at the ninth-tier altar, so they had to maintain composure.

Guo Shier no longer paid attention. With Li Ran and Zhen Wuji around, and with a pattern already established, they knew what to do without his interference. So he and the old man moved the altar a short distance and began constructing an eighth-tier altar. This time, they had an abundance of materials—anything they wanted, and the best ones at that.

“Was it too fast to reach the seventh-tier altar?”

Guo Shier felt a bit uneasy. The old man laughed and scolded, “You brat, are you complaining about advancing quickly? Don’t worry. With your soul power, if you can build altars fast, reaching the ninth tier won’t be surprising. You don’t even realize… how powerful your soul is. Just look at that freakish Soul Calming Cauldron you control—it’s not something just anyone can handle.”

The framework of the eight-layer altar has been established—though it’s just a framework for now. A great deal of material still needs to be added, countless spells must be cast to reinforce it, and many sacrifices are required as well. None of these pose a challenge to Guo Shier, whose only shortage is time; constructing an eight-layer altar takes considerable time.

Guo Shier isn’t afraid of the professionals present seeing him. These people are all professionals at the nine-layer altar level and won’t pay attention to someone building an eight-layer one. So he and the old man started working vigorously, him casting virtual spells one after another while the old man refined the materials, continuously adding more to them.

Li Ran glanced back by chance and couldn’t help but feel both annoyed and amused. He said, “This guy is actually building an altar in public.”

Zhen Wuji was surprised. “He just reached the seventh-layer altar, yet he’s already starting to build the eighth? That’s too fast.”

Li Ran knew Guo Shier mastered two types of soul scriptures. With his current level of soul power and purity, it wouldn’t be strange if he reached the ninth-layer altar as well. He said, “It’s average. The main reason is he lacks time. If he had time, he could keep advancing to the ninth layer.”

The others were shocked in silence, thinking, What kind of abnormal progression speed is this?

Zhen Wuji shook his head with a wry smile. Being with Guo Shier always gave him the feeling of being constantly struck. He sighed, “Fortunately, I’m already a professional at the ninth-layer altar. Otherwise… I really couldn’t handle it.” The others nodded in agreement. It had taken them an unknown amount of time, resources, and effort to reach the ninth layer altar, and they only succeeded due to luck. Countless professionals were stuck at the eighth layer.

Advancing from the sixth to the seventh layer altar was extremely difficult, and moving from the eighth to the ninth layer was even harder. As for surpassing the ninth layer, only a handful of people in the world could do it—seeing one was already a great fortune.

Since it was the most basic framework, only a large number of virtual spells were needed for reinforcement, so no major effort was required. That’s why Guo Shier and the old man dared to do this; the work could be stopped at any time.

While things were bustling here, Guo Shier and the old man were also busy elsewhere. The basic framework of the eight-layer altar was gradually taking shape, with an additional layer of virtual image appearing on the seventh-layer altar. Guo Shier kept casting virtual spells, reinforcing it bit by bit.

Now, Guo Shier wasn’t bored anymore. From the start of the refinement process, he had been fully focused, concentrating his mind on the altar.

After more than ten days of fighting, a winner was finally determined. The Yuanke Alliance, the Red Flag Merchant Alliance, and the Dayang Sect achieved 67 victories and obtained 67 pieces of material, while the Gu Family secured 33 shares of Bone Mountain, accounting for 33% of the rights to extract Bone Mountain resources. Guo Shier sold the shares of Bone Mountain he had obtained through bidding and acquired another batch of materials.

Thus, the battles in the Great Abyss Pool came to an end completely. Both the Gu Family and the Yuanke Alliance could accept this outcome. With their respective strengths, no other force could threaten their spoils, and it would take at least several hundred years to develop Bone Mountain.

Li Ran, along with Zhen Wuji and Guo Shier, left immediately, as this place held no further appeal for them.

Guo Shier’s eighth-tier altar was not yet complete; only some incantations had been applied to it. According to the old master, it would take at least dozens more days to finish it, and further advancement would also require time.

Soon, the three found professionals from the Gu Miluo Family. They did not continue hunting, as they had already reaped a great deal. As long as they protected their materials from being stolen, they would retain the results of this mission, eliminating the need to hunt for mutated rune beasts any further.

Feng Miluo said, “Elder, we still need your help… to take us back.”

Li Ran replied, “We’ve gained quite a lot this time. Hehe, I’ll take everyone back. Zhen Wuji, what do you plan to do? Will you come with us?”

Zhen Wuji said, “As you know, to break through to the ninth-tier altar, I need to learn from your experience. I don’t plan to go anywhere else for now, so I’ll follow you.”

Feng Miluo, Hai Miluo, and Yang Miluo all showed excitement. Zhen Wuji was a professional of the ninth-tier altar, and his arrival at the Gu Miluo Family would be of great significance to them.

Li Ran nodded, tore open a space, and led everyone back to the Gu Miluo Continent.

……

It had been half a year since Guo Shier returned to the Gu Miluo Continent. During this time, he had been busy constructing the altar, processing the obtained materials, and refining the Soul Suppressing Cauldron, leaving little time to leave home. The rewards from the Great Abyss Pool were truly abundant—not only had he obtained a large amount of material, but he also realized how complex this world was.

After being refined by the Soul Calming Cauldron and supplied with abundant materials, it also incorporated the Soul Devouring Beast. He had no idea how to use that Soul Devouring Beast obtained from the Red Golden Mountain Range; it would be a shame to use it as an offering, as its combat power was extremely high. Yet he couldn’t find a way to control it. Now that he had the Soul Calming Cauldron, he finally had a powerful tool for control.

Once inside the Soul Calming Cauldron, the Soul Devouring Beast immediately began fierce battles and devouring. In just a few days, by the time Guo Shieru had full control over it, the beast had already devoured tens of thousands of Spirit Beasts, growing stronger and reaching the level of a high-tier Soul Devouring Beast. It also occupied a significant territory within the Cauldron.

Guo Shieru was very satisfied. With the Soul Devouring Beast as its leader inside the Cauldron, it became much easier for him to control and direct it. This Soul Devouring Beast had already been subdued by Guo Shieru; it wouldn’t resist his commands, and there was also the strong control exerted by the Soul Calming Cauldron.

That day, a servant came to summon him, and Guo Shieru went to the council hall of the ancient Mi Luo family.

In the hall were Li Ran, Feng Mi Luo, Yang Mi Luo, and Zhen Wuji, with the rest being servants. Guo Shieru brought Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan in and asked, “Any news?” This was the task he had assigned upon returning—to search for Ku Mu and Monier. Now that he was the true patriarch of the ancient Mi Luo family, he held great authority, and even the clan head had to obey some of his orders.

Feng Mi Luo smiled and said, “There is indeed some news.” He handed him a jade talisman.

Guo Shieru took a quick look and exclaimed in surprise, “What place is this? Golden Flame Well? Um, Golden… Flame…” These two words were marked in ancient runes, representing their meanings, which left him puzzled.

Li Ran said, “I’ve heard of the Golden Flame Well. It seems quite dangerous. Let me take a look…” He took the jade talisman, examined it, and said, “I’ve never been there, but there’s a creature there called the Golden Flame Soul Beast. It’s said to be very powerful.”

Guo Shieru asked, “Very powerful? More powerful than Spirit Beasts?”

Li Ran replied, “I’m not sure. It’s said to be extremely powerful. Strange—why would your master go there?”

Guo Shieru smiled bitterly. “How would I know? The information on the jade talisman… doesn’t clearly state that my master went there. Well, at least we have some news. It says I must go and take a look.”

Zhen Wuji asked, “Is the structure of your eighth-tier altar completed?”

Guo Shieru nodded. “It’s mostly done. I still need some time to advance.”

Feng Miluo and Yang Miluo both showed excitement and envy in their eyes; for the first time, their family would have a professional with an eighth-tier altar, which was of great significance to the ancient Miluo family.