Chapter 1: Suppression (Part 2)

Guo Shier sighed and said, “This thing is really troublesome.”
The handsome old man replied, “Maybe… I mean maybe. I can’t be sure. Perhaps you’ll only be able to control it after leaving this world.” He said it carelessly.
Guo Shier couldn’t help but smile bitterly. Leave this world? According to his past life, that meant death. How could one control anything after dying? Yet he understood what the handsome old man meant—leaving this world truly and going to another world, perhaps the one where the black object existed.
Their conversation took place through soul vibrations, so Yu Zhong and the others didn’t hear it. Guo Shier said, “It’s unclear when I’ll be able to leave this world. Right now, there are only two professionals who have surpassed the ninth-tier altar. According to Brother Li Ran, it’s best to find another such professional to increase our chances. Right now, our chances aren’t high.”
The handsome old man said, “You don’t need to worry about that. Just follow along when the time comes. You just need to work hard to raise your altar level. After this Golden Flame purification, your altar can advance again. I’ve already prepared everything.”
Guo Shier nodded. “I know. It can advance at any time.”
The handsome old man said, “A few more purifications will give us even greater certainty.”
Guo Shier said, “This Golden Flame Well is amazing. I wonder why so many people don’t know about it.”
The handsome old man replied, “This world is too vast. It’s normal not to know. Hehe, I don’t know either. If I hadn’t followed you here, who would have known about such a thing?”
A few days later, Yu Zhong and the others returned to the edge of the Golden Flame to undergo another purification by its vibrations. During this time, seven or eight altar professionals entered the passage, most of them at the fifth or sixth tier. Yu Zhong neither blocked nor drove them away. Anyone could enter this place, and it was large enough for everyone to practice without interference.
After the final Golden Flame purification, everyone returned to the natural talisman array. Yu Zhong brought Yao Yao over to say goodbye. Guo Shier said, “I still need to stay here for a while.” Yu Zhong nodded. “See you again if there’s a chance.” Wu Jing left with him, and the other professionals also departed one by one.
Eagle Demon asked, “Shier, why are you still here?”

Guo Shier smiled and said, “Leaving like this makes me a bit reluctant. Golden Flame isn’t available everywhere—I need to collect more.” His collecting obsession flared up again, as he knew that once he left this world, many unique things would likely be impossible to encounter again. So whenever he saw something good, he had to collect more of it; he would never let it slip away easily.

Returning to the edge of the Golden Flame, Guo Shier released the Soul-Calming Cauldron and began collecting the Golden Flame. Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan remained in the natural talisman array. At this time, the Golden Flame would emit irregular fluctuations, which were harmful rather than beneficial to them, so they didn’t need to follow Guo Shier inside.

Due to the purification of the altar, Guo Shier’s strength had increased significantly, and so had the power of the Soul-Calming Cauldron. This time, as the Cauldron fell into the Golden Flame, Guo Shier could control it effortlessly. He chanted spells in succession, and large amounts of Golden Flame were drawn into the Cauldron, turning into a wisp of golden flame above the black object.

At first, the wisp of flame was like that of a candle wick, only the size of a finger and seemingly unremarkable. But the old man Shuai knew how powerful this flame was—it was formed from Golden Flame.

Guo Shier waited silently. When the flame grew to the size of a palm, he chanted a spell and shouted, “Collect!”

The mouth of the Soul-Calming Cauldron resembled a giant vortex, through which countless amounts of Golden Flame flowed into the Cauldron. The flame began to grow rapidly, expanding to the size of a football in moments, emitting a loud roaring sound and a dazzling golden light.

Guo Shier chanted a few more spells and calmly ordered, “Separate!”

The Soul-Calming Cauldron trembled suddenly, and the golden flame burst apart into 108 flames, which instantly flew to the tops of the 108 giant pillars. Guo Shier cried out, “Old man Shuai, help me!”

Old man Shuai replied cheerfully, “No problem!” He already understood Guo Shier’s plan. Countless virtual talismans were cast, landing directly in the Soul-Calming Cauldron and forming barriers on the tops of the 108 giant pillars.

Guo Shier also sent out countless virtual talismans, and soon the 108 flames stabilized.

Old man Shuai then stopped and said, “That’s it! You can continue…”

Guo Shier smiled and said, “Okay, haha, collect!” This time, with a single spell, he created tens of thousands of virtual talismans. Immediately, he felt his soul growing weak. Without hesitation, he swallowed two soul beads and stared intently at the Soul-Calming Cauldron.

The vortex at the mouth of the Calming Soul Cauldron suddenly grew larger. In an instant, all the golden flames around it were swallowed up, and countless more golden flames rushed in to fill the void, as if a large area of vacuum had suddenly appeared in the air and air naturally filled it in. The golden flames surged in rapidly, emitting a thunderous roar. Guo Shier said in wonder, “What’s that thing?”
From time to time, dazzling golden lights flashed within the golden flames, even more blinding than the flames themselves, appearing and disappearing as they traced paths of brilliance through the flames.
The old man said, “That’s the essence of the golden flames. Capture it and put it into the Calming Soul Cauldron… quickly!”
Guo Shier immediately increased the suction power of the Calming Soul Cauldron. The cauldron began to shake violently, the golden vortex grew larger, and its sucking force became stronger. No longer content with simply absorbing flames in place, Guo Shier made the cauldron move through the flames.
Only after obtaining the first essence of a golden flame did Guo Shier realize it was a golden speck, about the size of a pigeon egg, falling into a flame, which instantly sent out a beam of light a hundred meters long. Overjoyed, Guo Shier exclaimed, “What a treasure! What a treasure! Haha, hahaha!”
By now, Guo Shier was no longer interested in ordinary golden flames. He focused on capturing those golden specks within the flames, knowing they were the real treasures.
However, after much effort, Guo Shier only managed to collect seventeen golden specks. He said, “Old man, that’s too few. Should we just go straight into the golden flames?”
The old man quickly stopped him, saying, “No, don’t go in. If you don’t want to die, I still want to live a few more years. Just collect them from the edges.”
Guo Shier smiled bitterly. “All the essence here has been collected. Sigh, at least we should enhance each flame with one.” By observing the flames inside the Calming Soul Cauldron, he knew there was a huge difference between flames with essence specks and those without—there was simply no comparison.
With golden specks, a flame’s power could increase by hundreds of times, and it could never go out, providing endless energy.
The old man said, “Increase the suction power.” He had no better solution.
The Calming Soul Cauldron couldn’t go too far away, as the power of the golden flames was enough to block Guo Shier’s spiritual energy. With no other choice, he had to increase the cauldron’s suction power. If the golden flames were the sea, then the specks were like small fish in the water. When the water flowed rapidly, those fish would swim along with the current.
As Guo Shier increased the suction power, the specks in the distance were gradually drawn in as well.
The old man shouted, “Hurry, hurry… Look over there, there are tons of them… Suck them in quickly!”

Guo Shier felt utterly bewildered and said, “I know, stop pressing me!” He cast another spell, and the Soul Calming Cauldron suddenly grew larger. At this point, the Cauldron was hundreds of meters tall, with massive waves of golden flames rushing into its mouth, while dozens of golden beams shot toward it from afar.

After a while, Guo Shier had gathered 127 essence stars. Aside from the 108 flames, each containing one star, there were still 19 essence stars left. Guo Shier moved them above the black object, forming a giant flame. Thus, the Soul Calming Cauldron now had 109 flames.

Elder Shuai said, “Use the golden flames to form a talisman array. This way, you can make the most of the golden flames, and they’ll keep flowing endlessly.” He passed on a legacy memory to Guo Shier. After thinking for a moment, Guo Shier smiled and said, “It’s a pretty good talisman array. Hehe, Elder Shuai, you could truly be considered an expert in talisman arrays.”

Elder Shuai was quite proud and said, “Back then, my strength wasn’t very great, but my skills in creating talisman arrays were outstanding.”

Guo Shier believed this. Ever since Elder Shuai became his sacrificial spirit, he had known that the old man’s use of talisman arrays was almost masterful, especially those used in the altar—many of which came from his legacy, including some extremely powerful and perfect arrays.

Elder Shuai said, “We can exit now. Let’s go to the natural talisman array. This isn’t a good place for refinement.”

Guo Shier waved his hand to recall the Soul Calming Cauldron, and the two returned to the natural talisman array.

Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan had been waiting. When they saw Guo Shier return, Eagle Demon asked, “Are you done?”

Guo Shier smiled and said, “I’ve finished gathering them. Hehe, we still need to set up a talisman array and refine the Soul Calming Cauldron. After that, we’ll leave.”

Eagle Demon nodded and said, “Okay. Luo and I will guard here.”

Although Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan’s strength was far inferior to Guo Shier’s, having them around made Guo Shier feel secure—a result of long-term默契 cooperation.

He released the Soul Calming Cauldron again and sent Elder Shuai inside. Guo Shier took control from the altar, while Elder Shuai controlled it from within the Cauldron. This was the advantage of having a sacrificial spirit—working together from inside and outside allowed for precise refinement.

Elder Shuai appeared inside the Soul Calming Cauldron. He floated beside the black object, casting spells one after another while occasionally creating actual talismans. These were talismans that had already been refined, including some natural talismans that had been replicated. Now, as a wealthy man, he could control a large amount of precious materials.

With the talisman array designed by the handsome old man, Guo Shier’s task became much easier. He first absorbed the inherited memories, then began casting spells one after another, and soon the two of them worked in coordination. The flames on the 108 giant pillars had grown as large as water tanks, and countless virtual talismans fell, gradually being incorporated into the array. This ritual didn’t take long—about four days later, it was almost complete. When the last spell was cast, a brilliant light erupted from the Soul-Calming Cauldron. From each flame on the 108 pillars, a golden beam shot out, converging above the black object at the center to form a massive web of light. More precisely, it was a web of golden flames. The handsome old man said satisfactorily, “We can add more elements later; this one is already usable.” Guo Shier retracted the Soul-Calming Cauldron and smiled, “The ritual is over. Hehe, the handsome old man is truly mighty—I now have another attack method…” Before he could finish speaking, a faint explosion was heard in the distance. Ying Mo turned around and said, “Someone is fighting!”