Chapter 1: The Extortion List (Part 1)

The appearance of two professionals who surpassed the Ninth-Level Altar explained why Guo Shier and the others were so aggressive, as well as why Zhen Wuji was willing to help their opponents at all costs. If professionals at the Ninth-Level Altar stood at the peak of this world, then those who surpassed it stood above that peak.

Si Debing, Lei Zhenhuo, and Lei Yuan stood atop their respective altars, stunned and not knowing what to say. After shouting and fighting for so long, they suddenly found that their original prey had turned into hunters, completely reversing the situation. Even more terrifying was that the opponents had sealed off space, putting the three of them in a desperate situation just by doing that.

Wang Keer leaped off her altar and flew to Qi Wuzhen’s altar, chattering away about what had happened. Li Ran listened, his face darkening quickly. His sharp gaze made Si Debing and the others lower their heads in fear—they all felt that disaster was imminent.

Li Ran smiled and said, “Very good, very good… Zhen Wuji, not bad. Haha, I never thought the ancient clans would be such bastards. Thinking that just because they’re professionals at the Ninth-Level Altar, they can do whatever they want, right?”

Si Debing and the others broke into sweat, their bodies trembling uncontrollably. They weren’t afraid of death, but they had their clans behind them. This disaster would inevitably affect their clans, and it was too late to regret anything now. Si Debing didn’t hate Guo Shier and the others; he hated Zhen Wuji—this guy knew they had backing yet didn’t warn them even once.

The spiritual pressure from the two experts who surpassed the Ninth-Level Altar kept the three professionals at that level from moving. They stood rigidly on their altars, barely able to activate the altars’ defenses without being able to do much more.

If there had only been Li Ran, one expert above the Ninth-Level Altar, they might have sacrificed one person and still had a chance to escape. But now there were two such experts, plus one professional at the Ninth-Level Altar and two strong professionals at the Eighth-Level Altar, completely eliminating any chance of escape for them.

Halechi and Guo Shier both looked disheveled. In this battle, Guo Shier hadn’t gained nothing either. He had at least strengthened some aspects he had previously lacked, such as using sacrificial treasures and spiritual power. But what annoyed him was being beaten into a mess and losing nearly ten thousand Spirit Beasts, which caused him great pain.

Wang Ke’er held Qi Wu Zhen’s arm and said, “Sister Zhen, they’re so mean! They’re bullying us! If it weren’t for Guo Shier protecting us, I would have been beaten to death.”
Li Ran said calmly, “Retire the altar and sacred treasures! Now!”
Retiring the altar and sacred treasures meant giving up resistance. Despite Si Debing and the others appearing tough in front of Guo Shier, they performed even worse against stronger opponents.
Lei Yuan was the smartest. Though she didn’t know Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen’s intentions or whether they would kill her, neither of them had attacked her so far. She said, “Yes,” and first retired the altar and sacred treasures.
Si Debing and Lei Zhenhuo exchanged a glance, both filled with shock and helplessness. They had no choice but to retreat—this was beyond their ability to resist. The two also retired their altar and sacred treasures. Fortunately, all three were experts in the ninth-level altar and weren’t bothered by the flames around them.
Li Ran said calmly, “I haven’t planned to kill anyone yet, so be good and don’t make me change my mind.”
Si Debing and the others immediately breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they stayed alive, they still had a chance to negotiate. Though they hadn’t completely given up resisting, their minds had relaxed. At that moment, Li Ran swiftly cast three talismans, which pierced the foreheads of the three in an instant. They were soul talismans.
Qi Wu Zhen sneered, “Clever guys, always resorting to deception!”
Si Debing and the others were horrified. They never expected Li Ran to attack suddenly. By the time the soul talismans entered their souls, they hadn’t even reacted. After being stunned for a while, Lei Zhenhuo roared, “You! You…”
Li Ran said nonchalantly, “What ‘you’? If you don’t want to die, come with us!”
When they reached the mountain peak, Qi Wu Zhen snapped, “Who destroyed my talisman array?”
Guo Shier pointed at the three and said, “They did it.” His tone wasn’t accusatory but merely stating a fact.
Qi Wu Zhen also had no intention of attacking. Making her fight three opponents who could no longer resist would be boring. She simply glared at the three and snorted. Halechi’s peach-colored eyes flickered as he couldn’t help but mutter softly, “So cute…” Guo Shier, standing right next to him, heard it clearly and couldn’t help but admire, “You’re really bold… Aren’t you afraid she’ll beat you?”
Halechi stepped back slightly and whispered, “She didn’t hear… Um, I was praising them. Even praise gets beaten—this really hurts my heart…”
Guo Shier whispered back, “Does Sister Zhen need a reason to beat you?”

Halechi was so choked that he rolled his eyes. Qi Wuzhen really didn’t need a reason to hit him—she just hit him, and it was pointless anyway. Facing such a domineering and terrifying woman like Qi Wuzhen, Halechi had no chance to resist and was completely at her mercy. Halechi sighed deeply and said, “No reason needed… Sigh, I just have one word…”
Guo Shier smiled and replied, “Disgusting!”
Wang Keer flew over and asked, “What sword?”
Guo Shier said, “Truly disgusting!”
Wang Keer didn’t understand and asked, “What ‘true sword’?” The two were talking past each other, both thinking they understood what the other said.
Halechi, on the other hand, really understood. Fearing that Guo Shier would keep talking nonsense, he quickly said, “It’s a sacrificial treasure, a true sword… Hey, Wang Keer, ignore him. This guy only knows how to talk nonsense. By the way, what about those three? Should we kill them?” He shifted the topic. In fact, he agreed with what Guo Shier said—he was indeed disgusting for rushing forward to get beaten.
Qi Wuzhen said calmly, “You three, fix the talisman array first. Since you destroyed it, you’ll have to fix it yourselves.”
The talisman array wasn’t complicated, but the materials used were very precious. Si Debing and the others studied it briefly before grimacing. They had the materials, but they were reluctant to use them. However, at this point, their lives were more valuable than any material. The three had no choice but to take out the materials and repair the talisman array together.
Li Ran asked, “Shier, how do you plan to deal with these three? Destroy their families?”
Guo Shier said, “Am I that violent?”
Li Ran nodded, and Qi Wuzhen also nodded and said, “A bit…”
Guo Shier straightened up and said, “I’m a good person. I don’t like killing people randomly. Hehe… If you don’t believe me, ask Halechi.”
Halechi wasn’t paying attention to what Guo Shier was saying. His focus was entirely on Qi Wuzhen. Only when he heard his name did he turn around and ask, “What good person? Uh, good person? I’m the good person…”
Li Ran laughed heartily and said, “Alright, then tell us what you plan to do.” Even though the other party was a professional from the ninth-level altar, he didn’t take it seriously. If Guo Shier wanted to kill them, he would act without hesitation.
Guo Shier sighed and said, “We’ve suffered heavy losses this time… Ah, by the way, have you gathered all the materials for the ritual?”
Qi Wuzhen said, “Most of them are here. We explored a few small secret realms this time and sealed nine of them… We need seven. Well, your elder brother sealed a small secret realm just for you. You can ask him for it.”

Guo Shier was overjoyed and said, “Great! I’ve long wanted a sealed secret realm. Show me what it looks like quickly. Hehe, it’s unimaginable—secrets can also be sealed away.” He was extremely curious.

Li Ran tossed him a translucent sphere. Guo Shier caught it in his palm. He exclaimed, “Uh, is this a sealed secret realm? Why do I feel like it’s just a ball?”

Qi Wu Zhen laughed and said, “What do you think it is? It’s just a ball, isn’t it?”

It was a light sphere the size of a fist, looking like a translucent glass ball with a smooth surface. A membrane formed by runes covered it, with countless tiny runes swirling across its surface. Through this membrane, one could see a highly detailed landscape—though so small that even a mountain was only the size of a needle tip.

Guo Shier marveled, “What an exquisite method of confinement…” Upon seeing this rune-based restriction, he knew ordinary people couldn’t do it. Its immense power filled him with envy and admiration.

The old man hopped around inside the altar, urging repeatedly, “Hurry, put it in the altar quickly… Stop looking and arrange it for me!”

After thanking them, Guo Shier casually tossed the sphere into the altar. He said, “I think… the materials for this ritual have already been provided by someone and our family.” He didn’t want to kill the three captives, but he also didn’t intend to let them go.

Li Ran laughed, “As expected. I knew you’d do this. But… haha, I like it!” He didn’t take those three seriously at all, but letting them go easily was impossible—any loss had to be repaid.

Si De Bing and the others quickly repaired the rune array. Now, like prisoners awaiting death, they would do anything at any cost to escape death. To reach the ninth-level altar, they had endured countless hardships and threats of death. Having become advanced professionals, they knew very well how to survive.

The group landed inside the rune array. Guo Shier folded up the altar and sat down in the array carelessly, sighing, “Finally, I can rest. Ugh, I’m exhausted. Those three bastards chased me everywhere. I’m lucky to have escaped…”

Halechi also said, “Yeah, they almost killed me. Those three beasts kept chasing me relentlessly…” His gaze darted around Si De Bing and the others, looking like he wanted to attack them. But killing someone who couldn’t resist was beyond his capacity.

Si Debing felt a chill in his heart. He understood that their three-person pursuit had filled the other party with extreme hatred. Now he didn’t know what to do either. If the other party wanted to kill him, he could only brace himself for the blow and had no way to resist. With the soul talisman fused into his soul, he no longer had any strength to resist.