Chapter 6: Xiao Li and Xiao Zhen (Part 2)

Wang Keer fell to the ground, pounding it fiercely as she laughed loudly, “Wahaha… Xiao Li… Haha, hahaha…”
Qi Wu Zhen couldn’t help but smile too. She was glad to be able to tease this arrogant guy. Since she couldn’t beat him, annoying him was good enough.
Li Ran’s face turned dark. He looked up and said, “Xiao Zhen…”
Now, Qi Wu Zhen’s face also darkened.
Wang Keer burst into laughter, rolling on the ground and pounding it as she said, “Xiao Zhen… Haha, hahaha… Xiao Li… Haha…”
Qi Wu Zhen snapped, “Don’t call me Xiao Zhen! If you must, call me Sister Zhen!”
Li Ran curled his lips and said, “I already called you Xiao Li. Why can’t you call me Xiao Zhen?” If she hadn’t started the fight first, he wouldn’t have reacted like this. Xiao Li? Since he became a altar-level professional, no one had dared to call him that. He especially hated it when people called him Xiao Li—adding “zi” made it “Xiao Lizi,” which meant eunuch.
The two became tense again. Wang Keer didn’t dare laugh anymore and quickly hid aside, muttering, “Damn it, they’re fighting again. We can’t fight here… Otherwise, I’ll be in trouble… Ugh, I shouldn’t have laughed. I shouldn’t have… Bad luck is coming… Sigh, those two are smart—they ran away early… I’m going to get into trouble…”
Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen glared at each other, acting like kids fighting over something. Wang Keer watched secretly, thinking of what Guo Shier had said—that these two were destined enemies. Now, she fully agreed.
After a while, Qi Wu Zhen said, “Don’t call me Xiao Zhen!”
Li Ran replied, “Same here—don’t call me Xiao Li! Call me Brother Li or Big Brother Li Ran!”
Qi Wu Zhen cursed, “Tch! How are you older than me…?”
Li Ran said, “I’m older than you in every way!”
Qi Wu Zhen slapped her chest and shouted, “Nonsense! I’m older than you!” Her slap was forceful. Li Ran was stunned and speechless. Of course, he would lose in a chest-size competition. After a moment, he realized she wanted to compete in that. He said, “I can’t beat you in that…”
Qi Wu Zhen followed his gaze and blushed, cursing, “Idiot! Where are you looking? I’ll dig out your eyes!”
Li Ran said, “Go ahead and try!”
The two grew more and more outrageous. Wang Keer whispered, “Time is running out. How do you still have time to argue…?” She didn’t dare speak loudly—neither of these two could be provoked.

Although the voice was low, Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen heard it clearly, and they became a bit more alert. This place indeed wasn’t suitable for fighting; if the talisman array was destroyed, it would be extremely difficult to rebuild it.
Qi Wu Zhen said, “Anyway, we can’t talk about being older or younger!”
Li Ran said, “Okay, no one should speak recklessly.”
Qi Wu Zhen said, “Fine, but I won’t call you ‘brother’…”
Li Ran said, “Of course, I won’t call you ‘sister’ either!”
Qi Wu Zhen said, “I can’t just call you… Hey, what should I call you?”
Li Ran said, “It’s simple. Call me… Li, and I’ll call you… Zhen.”
Qi Wu Zhen replied without hesitation, “Okay.” But soon she felt something was wrong, though she couldn’t pinpoint what—it just seemed awkward.
Li Ran said, “Zhen, let’s discuss the steps needed to refine the sacrificial treasure.” He couldn’t help but smirk inwardly, thinking, “Fight me? You’re still a long way off.”
Qi Wu Zhen said, “Li…” Suddenly she realized that such a way of addressing each other was too familiar and too ambiguous. She gritted her teeth, wishing she could bite this guy—he was too mischievous, trying to take advantage of her again.
Wang Ke Er had a strange expression, looking like she wanted to laugh but didn’t dare.
……
Guo Shier returned to the flames. Sitting on the altar, he asked, “Elder Shuai, how should we refine it?”
Elder Shuai poked his head out and said, “Refine the Soul-Calming Cauldron first.”
Guo Shier said, “The Soul-Calming Cauldron has already been refined in the Golden Flames. Do we need to do it again?” The Golden Flames were of a very high level, so he thought there was no need to refine it in the flames once more.
Elder Shuai said, “That’s different. You can absorb the flames here during refinement. These flames already possess the function of absorbing various treasures and are even more powerful. Don’t worry, I’m not lying to you. Refining the Soul-Calming Cauldron here has many advantages. Moreover, you can release fire-type Spirit Beasts to let them absorb some of the flames, which will strengthen their spirits.”
Guo Shier released the Soul-Calming Cauldron, which had become his primary sacrificial treasure. With a spell cast, the cauldron rapidly expanded, reaching over 300 meters tall in an instant and standing upright amidst the raging flames.
Elder Shuai said, “Disarm the Soul-Calming Cauldron’s defenses.”
Guo Shier cast another spell to disable the cauldron’s defenses. If it had defenses, the flames wouldn’t be able to touch it at all, so the defenses had to be disabled during refinement.
Layer after layer of flames rolled up, quickly engulfing the Soul-Calming Cauldron.

Guo Shier said, “Elder Shuai, let’s do this together.” The two began to use virtual talismans to refine the Soul Calming Cauldron. After a while, Guo Shier started releasing fire-type spirit beasts. He first released hundreds of such beasts, observed that the flames here were indeed very beneficial to them, and then released all the fire-type spirit beasts from the Cauldron at once, including all the Evil Soul Beasts. There were nearly 200,000 fire-type spirit beasts in the Cauldron, and soon the flames were filled with their silhouettes floating around. Guo Shier cast a spell and shouted, “Go!” The spirit beasts immediately dispersed, each searching for a flame suitable for itself. The two continued to refine the Soul Calming Cauldron while absorbing large amounts of flame into it. Soon, Guo Shier discovered several types of flames he had never seen before and immediately absorbed them into the Cauldron. Elder Shuai slowly stepped back and said, “You go on. I’ll refine the Jie Bai Na Pearl again. Hehe, it’s rare to find several flames here that the Jie Bai Na Pearl doesn’t have; I need to include them.” The Jie Bai Na Pearl was one of Guo Shier’s powerful tools. Although its attack power was average, it was the most effective tool for breaking down materials. Elder Shuai valued this tool greatly and would refine it whenever he had the chance to add more flames to it. When the Jie Bai Na Pearl was activated, threads of flame flew out, with countless such threads extending and curling within the flames. Elder Shuai carefully cast numerous virtual talismans, gradually absorbing various flames. After a while, he said, “Shier, we can’t stay in one place. Move slowly.” Guo Shier agreed. Realizing that staying still wasn’t an option, he moved the altar and the Soul Calming Cauldron slowly through the flames. The flames in each area were different. After seven days, Guo Shier finally had the Soul Calming Cauldron nearly refined. Elder Shuai had completed the refinement of the Jie Bai Na Pearl a day earlier. Guo Shier cast a series of virtual talismans, causing the entire Cauldron to vibrate with a humming sound that even drowned out the roaring flames. Elder Shuai also cast some virtual talismans in coordination and said, “It’s almost time to collect it. Hehe, the harvest is good. The Soul Calming Cauldron even has the potential to become an altar. I wonder how you came up with the idea of creating such a tool. Impressive!”

With the last spell cast, Guo Shier smiled and said, “It’s done!” Another spell followed, and the Soul-Calming Cauldron emitted a brilliant glow. Countless streams of colored light spiraled out from its mouth, pulling in the wandering spirit beasts, which quickly fell into the cauldron. With a gesture of his hand, the cauldron suddenly contracted.

A flash of light appeared, and the Soul-Calming Cauldron turned into a beam of light that fell into Guo Shier’s hands, vanishing instantly. He said, “Let’s start refining the altar.”

The old man said, “We need to return to the top of the mountain.”

Guo Shier nodded. He needed a place to hide. The flames here would drain a great deal of his spiritual energy without the protection of the altar, so he had to return to the rune array on the mountain top and place the altar in the external flames for refinement.

The old man said, “During the refinement later, I’ll be inside the altar, and you’ll be on the mountain top. We’ll work together.”

Guo Shier flew up to the mountain top and soon returned to the rune array. As soon as he landed, he heard Li Ran say, “Zhen, you take this step. For the next step… I’ll set up the basic framework…”

Guo Shier almost collapsed in the rune array. He turned to look and saw Qi Wu Zhen’s expression as if she had just eaten a fly. She then said, “Ran, you take this step… I’ll handle the other parts…”

Guo Shier’s mouth hung open in shock. Zhen? Ran? What was going on? Just a few days apart, and they were already so close?

Looking at Halechi, his expression was equally interesting. If Qi Wu Zhen’s expression was like eating a fly, then Halechi’s looked like he had eaten a pile of dog poop.

Wang Keer’s expression was even funnier—unclear whether she was laughing or crying, with her face’s features completely distorted.

Guo Shier cautiously approached Wang Keer and whispered, “What… what’s wrong with them?”

Wang Keer said, “How would I know what crazy thing they’re up to… Shier, I advise you to stay out of it.” She shuddered and added, “They’ve been arguing for seven days. Ugh… you have no idea, I’m sick of listening to it… I can’t take it anymore!”

Li Ran said, “Zhen, don’t compete with me. I’m more confident… in terms of setting up the framework, Zhen…”

Guo Shier immediately felt chills run down his spine. He shivered, pulled Wang Keer aside, and whispered, “Quick, what happened?” His curiosity burned hotter than the flames outside.