Chapter 7: Reconciliation (Part 2)

The old man was very happy. This altar had almost been created entirely by him, and it held many mysteries that Guo Shier didn’t understand as well as he did. He knew full well how powerful this altar was, and it would take Guo Shier a long time to truly master it. He had no other intentions—only to strive to create a powerful altar, as it was his only home. If the altar was destroyed, Guo Shier might still survive, but he would be doomed. Thus, the stronger the altar, the happier he was.
It took ten days before Guo Shier finally completed this refinement. When he retracted the altar and allowed it to merge with his soul, he felt its immense power. According to Guo Shier’s estimate, the altar had become at least three times stronger. He was extremely satisfied with this, and he also noticed that the ninth layer of the altar had already taken shape.
So many days had passed, yet Li Ran still hadn’t returned, as if he had disappeared forever. Qi Wu Zhen drank in silence, appearing somewhat anxious. Not only was she anxious, but Wang Keer and Halechi were also uneasy—everyone was waiting for Li Ran to return.
Guo Shier retracted the altar and turned to look. He saw Qi Wu Zhen sitting cross-legged on the ground, with a pile of wine bottles beside her. Guo Shier stood up, but before he could approach, a flash of light appeared, and Li Ran suddenly appeared in the magic array. Smiling, he said, “Everyone’s here. Hehe, Zhen… how are you? Have you missed me?”
Qi Wu Zhen had no energy to complain. She gave Li Ran a disdainful look, her expression alluring yet her words harsh: “Get lost!”
Li Ran seemed to have given up. He stopped arguing with Qi Wu Zhen and said, “I found quite a few small secret realms. Zhen, want to come with me?”
Qi Wu Zhen grabbed a wine bottle and threw it at him, saying, “Never call me Zhen again!”
Li Ran caught the bottle, took a sip, and said, “Delicious wine!” He added, “I’m not being serious…” Truly infuriating.
Guo Shier said, “Brother Li Ran, I’ll go with you.” He was very curious about how to seal a secret realm and wanted to see it for himself.
Just as Li Ran was about to speak, Qi Wu Zhen said, “Call me by my full name from now on!” Li Ran stared at her for a while before nodding and saying, “No problem. But I hope you won’t go crazy every now and then, or else… I’ll be even crazier than you.”
Qi Wu Zhen cursed, “You have no class! A stingy wretch! Not a man at all!”

Li Ran thought to himself, “You’ll know if I’m a man or not when you try me.” But he didn’t dare say it out loud—not out of fear, but because saying it would inevitably lead to a fight. He didn’t want to fight every now and then, nor could he use his ultimate move, let alone kill the other party. He said, “I need cooperation, not an opponent.”

Qi Wu Zhen replied impatiently, “I know.” She was also a bit scared—not of Li Ran’s strength, but of his reckless behavior. As a woman, arguing with an unrestrained man meant certain disadvantages.

Huh!

Not only did Guo Shier feel relieved, but Wang Keer and Ha Lechi also breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly relaxing so much that their breathing sounds were loud. These two rivals had finally stopped fighting. Being caught between two super experts, no one could feel at ease.

Li Ran asked in surprise, “What are you doing?”

Qi Wu Zhen said, “We were scared by you… What else could we do?”

Guo Shier drew a cross and whispered, “Amitabha, it’s finally calm down.”

Li Ran couldn’t help but smile and said, “Qi Wu Zhen, let’s go together. The rest of you stay here and wait; we’ll be back soon.” Guo Shier said, “I want to go too! Big brother Li Ran, take me with you.” How could he miss such an opportunity?

Qi Wu Zhen said, “You can’t go. Without the strength of the ninth-tier altar, you’ll be doomed once you enter. We need to protect you, but we have to seal up a secret realm first, so it’s better if you stay here.”

Guo Shier sighed deeply and said with a bitter smile, “Alright. How long will you be gone? If it’s too long, we might as well go to another continent. It’s all flames here—very boring.”

Li Ran said, “Maybe ten days, maybe a month. It won’t be too long.”

Guo Shier nodded. “Okay, I’ll wait here. By the way, big brother Li Ran, if you happen to have time, help me seal up a small secret realm. Hehe, I’ve always wanted one to put in the altar.”

Li Ran nodded. “Mm, if I find one suitable, I’ll help you seal it.”

Wang Keer and Ha Lechi had no objections either and nodded, saying they would wait here.

Only then did Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen tear open space and leave.

Wang Keer said, “I’m about to advance. Don’t disturb me.”

Ha Lechi said, “I’ll guard you.”

Guo Shier said, “It’s fine. With me and Ha Lechi here, there should be no problem. No one will come here either. Go ahead and advance boldly—these flames are very helpful for advancement.”

Wang Keer said, “Hmm, I’m just constructing the seventh-layer altar. There’s still some time before I can advance. If I’m lucky, maybe I can advance in half a year, but it’s uncertain right now.”
Guo Shier sat inside the talisman array, placing the altar on top of his head, then summoned the Soul-Calming Cauldron and said, “I’ll use the Soul-Calming Cauldron to protect the entire talisman array. Halechi, you take care of the inner layer, and I’ll handle the outer layer.”
Halechi replied, “No problem. I’ll protect the inner layer.”
Wang Keer said, “There’s no need to be so nervous. I’m not really advancing; I’m just setting up the framework for the seventh-layer altar. I can step back at any time, and it won’t take long.” Still, she was happy—having two skilled friends to help protect her allowed her to focus entirely on the cultivation.
Everyone took their positions, and Wang Keer began the cultivation.
Elder Shuai said, “Shier, the sacrificial treasure your elder sister and elder brother are trying to create… has given me a lot of inspiration. Once successfully crafted, its power will be terrifying. Well, we could learn from it.”
Guo Shier asked, “How?”
Elder Shuai replied, “Mainly by using it in the Soul-Calming Cauldron. If your elder brother can get you a sealed secret realm, I’m confident I can double the power of the Soul-Calming Cauldron!”
Guo Shier said, “Hmm, I know. Using the power of the secret realm to sustain the operation of the entire Soul-Calming Cauldron… Elder Shuai, wouldn’t it be better to seal the secret realm inside the altar?”
Elder Shuai said, “The power that drives the altar comes from your soul. Unlike the Soul-Calming Cauldron, if it has a sealed secret realm, it won’t need much soul energy. With the momentum provided by the secret realm, the Cauldron will be extraordinary. I don’t know how you designed it—this Cauldron… is self-contained, as if it were born that way. Once formed, it already possesses certain power. It’s amazing.”
Guo Shier smiled slightly. In fact, he didn’t understand either. The Cauldron was something he had seen in his past life; he had just imitated it without understanding its true meaning. But once it was formed, the results were unexpectedly good—far better than the Moon Blade he had tried to cultivate at first.
Elder Shuai said, “The Soul-Calming Cauldron has one hidden problem…”
Guo Shier said, “I know. That sealed black object… I still can’t figure out what it is.”
Elder Shuai replied, “Yes, I don’t know what it is either. But the existence of this hidden problem makes me uneasy. If we had a sealed secret realm, there wouldn’t be any issue. We could simply move that black object inside. Heh, I doubt that thing could cause any trouble even once it’s in the sealed realm.”

Guo Shier said, “That black thing is indeed sinister. It’s good that it can seal off the secret realm.”
……
Ten days passed, with no news from Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen. A month later, still no sign of them, and Guo Shier and the others grew increasingly anxious. Another ten days went by, and Guo Shier sighed, “Damn it, where have they gone?”
Halechi said, “I don’t know how they sealed the secret realm. I can’t think of any way to seal a secret realm, not even a small one.”
Wang Keer, despite her busy schedule, said, “It’s okay. They’ll come back. I’m almost at the next level. Hehe, the seventh-tier altar…” During this time, she had completed the seventh-tier altar and was just one step away from advancing, but her soul was still lacking strength, requiring more time for cultivation.
Suddenly, Halechi said, “They’re here. Hehe, they’ve arrived…”
In the distance, flames flickered, and waves of soul pressure pushed the flames back. Guo Shier’s expression turned stern as he said, “That’s not right…”
Wang Keer asked, “What’s not right?”
Halechi shouted, “Be careful! It’s outsiders—professionals!”
The three immediately grew tense. Everyone knew that those who could enter this continent must be professionals with a ninth-tier altar. Without any passage to this continent, those who could enter must be able to tear open space, and only professionals with a ninth-tier altar could do that.
Guo Shier quickly cast a spell, causing the Soul-Stabilizing Cauldron to enlarge suddenly and hover above the magic array. The array on the mountain peak wasn’t an attack array; its only purpose was to push back the flames and create a fire-free area, which offered neither attack nor defense, so protection was necessary.
Two beams of magic light pushed back the flames as they flew over. Guo Shier’s heart sank as he said, “Two…” He silently prayed that they weren’t two professionals with a ninth-tier altar.
When he saw the two people stop not far from the magic array, Guo Shier couldn’t help but sigh bitterly. What bad luck—two professionals with a ninth-tier altar had arrived.
Neither side spoke, silently observing each other.
A red beard!
Guo Shier immediately noticed that one of them had a full beard, a very distinctive red beard. Upon closer inspection, the beard seemed to flicker like flames, and his hair was also red—very unusual. It was a fire-type professional, burly in build, standing on the altar with a hint of surprise in his eyes.
The other person sat on the altar—a handsome young man, but with a pale complexion that gave him a gloomy appearance. He was playing with a blue ball that emitted a faint mist.

With their keen eyes, the two could easily gauge the strength of the three people in the talisman array. Red Beard said, “Interesting. There are professionals here. How did they get in?”
The young man with a gloomy expression said, “Maybe there’s a passage we don’t know about. Hey, which family do you belong to?”
Guo Shier didn’t answer. Instead, he cast a spell to activate the defensive powers of the Soul-Stabilizing Cauldron. There was no other choice—this one person was stronger than all three of them combined. He could only hope to buy some time until Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen returned, then things would be easier.
Halechi forced himself to speak, “Elders, some of us are advancing in level. We hope we won’t be disturbed.”
Red Beard’s voice was loud as a gong. He laughed heartily, “Kid, advancing here? Haha, that’s quite outrageous… I’m from the Gulei Family, Lei Zhenhuo!”
The young man said coldly, “I’m from the Gubing Family, Si Debing, a professional at the ninth-tier altar.”
Halechi gasped, “Gulei Family… Gubing Family!” His face turned deathly pale.
Guo Shier asked softly, “What’s wrong? Is there something problematic with these two families?” He was unfamiliar with them; it was his first time hearing of them. There were countless families in this world, so it was normal not to know them.
Halechi whispered, “These two ancient families are extremely powerful. As far as I know, both have many professionals at the ninth-tier altar… They are very domineering families.”
Guo Shier asked, “Are there professionals beyond the ninth-tier altar?”
Halechi shook his head. “I haven’t heard of any…” The two of them murmured for a while. Red Beard, Lei Zhenhuo, and Si Debing’s expressions grew increasingly angry. Those two kids at the eighth-tier altar dared to act indifferent after they signed up, ignoring them completely—how outrageous!
Si Debing said coldly, “You’re being unreasonable…”
Halechi hurriedly said, “I’m a professional at the eighth-tier altar, Halechi. I greet the elders.”
Guo Shier realized trouble was brewing—these two had ill intentions. He wasn’t afraid; at this point, fear was useless. He said, “Eighth-tier altar, a wandering professional, Guo Shier. May I ask, how are we being unreasonable?” His expression remained indifferent. Since things were going badly, he might as well be tough.
Halechi broke into cold sweat. He never expected Guo Shier to respond like that.