Chapter 6: The Tianluo Ruins (Part 2)

Stan said, “I’ve only heard of this thing before, but I’ve never used it. How do I use it?”
Guo Shier smiled bitterly and said, “Stick it on your forehead and feel it with your heart.” He couldn’t explain further. Stick it on your forehead and use your soul to perceive it—other than the Spellcrafters, no other race cultivates their souls, so it’s unknown whether they can perceive the talisman jade.
Hearing this, Stan stuck the talisman jade on his forehead. After a while, he said, “This… that… it seems like there’s nothing…”
Li Ran smiled and patted him on the head, saying, “Look again.” He slightly shook Stan’s soul, allowing it to come into contact with the talisman jade and absorb its information. It was a simple method, but Stan felt unwell—the pat made him dizzy.
Yet eventually, Stan managed to see the inscriptions inside the talisman jade. In an instant, those inscriptions entered his soul. It was far more miraculous than normal memory, as if engraved in his mind, impossible to forget. He couldn’t help but exclaim, “It’s amazing! Simply incredible…”
After checking carefully, Stan exclaimed in awe, “So many things… uh, can you all fit them?” Suddenly, he slapped his own forehead and said, “Sorry, I was careless. The Spellcrafters are famous for their talisman bags. I forgot you’re professionals from that race.”
Among the experts in this world, the most mysterious were the Spellcrafters, known for their diverse and extraordinary abilities—a fact recognized by almost all races. Spellcrafters were extremely powerful, and ordinary races dared not provoke them. Stan’s face was full of smiles, but he was also a bit anxious, wondering if these supplies could exchange for something valuable from the Spellcrafters.
Guo Shier didn’t need anything else but talisman bags as exchange. He had once obtained countless talisman bags, which he had left in the corners of the altar space—some containing items, some empty. So using talisman bags for exchange was the most cost-effective. To him, talisman bags were no different from trash bags.
Three hundred talisman bags made Stan overjoyed, thinking he had made a huge profit. He immediately ordered his subordinates to gather more supplies, doubling the quantity. Even then, Stan felt he had gotten a great deal and thought of Guo Shier as a generous and kind person.

Guo Shier still didn’t realize he had been given a “good person card.” He was quite satisfied, having obtained a large amount of supplies—various materials and weapons from the Mechanical Clan. He threw them all into the altar space and left them to the old man to take care of, feeling at ease.

The old man had always lived in the altar’s secret realm. Since the altar became part of this secret realm, he devoted most of his energy to it, as it was his permanent home. Naturally, he wanted to make it comfortable and livable. Moreover, many rare plants were grown there, requiring his constant care.

Once Guo Shier stored the items in the altar, the old man got busy. Soon, he discovered many strange machines he had never seen before. Due to his busy schedule, he had hardly communicated with Guo Shier lately. Seeing these unique products of the Mechanical Clan, he couldn’t help but ask, “Kid, what are these things? Strange devices… There are no traces of spells on them. Uh, no—there are a few runes… the simplest ones at that.”

Guo Shier’s spirit resonated, “These weren’t made by us spellcasters. They’re special products of the Mechanical Clan, including weapons. Hehe, I collected some just because they seemed interesting. Store them carefully; you won’t need them for now.”

The old man nodded in agreement and stopped talking, continuing to sort through the items.

Qi Wu Zhen also curiously collected a few items from the Mechanical Clan. One was a small flying device, somewhat similar to Guo Shier’s motorcycle from his past life, but without wheels and with a different shape. Its operation method was similar—riding on it and controlling direction with both hands. This device was extremely dangerous for ordinary people, as it flew at high speeds, and any collision could result in immediate destruction. But for Qi Wu Zhen, it was no problem.

She also got a movable metal house—a metal block the size of a briefcase that could quickly form a small metal shelter of about ten square meters when activated. Although it was slightly inferior to the hidden spell houses made by spellcasters, it was still a great item for the outdoors. With the altar space available, it didn’t take up much space. Even Li Ran couldn’t resist getting one.

The atmosphere was peaceful.

Stan also didn’t expect things to turn out this way. He originally thought Borong was doomed and that he would offend the Blade Clan as a result. Who would have thought things would be so peaceful? Not only did he secure several big deals, but he also got 300 talisman bags, a specialty of the Talisman Clan. These weren’t easy to come by—in this world, talisman bags were even more valuable than hard currency. He was extremely satisfied.

Guo Shier, Li Ran, and Qi Wu Zhen all appeared calm. Absolute strength meant absolute status. At their level, only they could bully others; if others wanted to bully them, it depended on whether they had enough strength. Moreover, all three were top experts. If they joined forces in an attack, probably no one in the entire Sacrificial Star could withstand them.

Stan had also heard some rumors about Tian Luo. Guo Shier asked in detail. Even if they were just rumors, some useful information could be obtained—he was experienced in this regard.

Li Ran asked, “So, the path to Tian Luo isn’t easy?”

Stan replied somewhat embarrassedly, “These are just rumors I’ve heard. I haven’t been there myself. Hehe, it’s said to be very difficult. There’s a section… especially tough, requiring many experts working together to get through. It’s very dangerous. With few people, it might even be impossible to pass. I’m not sure if it’s true.”

Borong smiled and said, “It’s not that difficult. Although I haven’t been there either, I know that with a sufficient number of experts, it’s not hard to get through. Of course, some will suffer misfortune. Well, I’m talking about the outer areas. As for the inner circle of Tian Luo, few people have been there, and there’s very little information available. This time, we’re going to the inner circle. I can’t say what we’ll encounter—only when we get there will we know.”

A few days later, led by Borong, they headed to another major city of the Machine Clan, located near Tian Luo. City Lord Stan also organized a huge expedition, consisting of 16 large spaceships and hundreds of large flying vehicles, forming an extremely large caravan.

Li Ran and the other two were on the largest spaceship, the Gale Wind. It was the best and most advanced large spaceship in Stan’s city, equipped with powerful energy weapons that ordinary experts couldn’t match. Its strength was enough to level a small hill, and it had three such energy cannons. The spaceship was over 500 meters long and more than 100 meters wide. Once in the air, it was truly majestic.

This time, they didn’t sit in the cabin but in the command deck at the bow, from where they could clearly see the outside scenery. In Li Ran’s view, this spaceship wasn’t anything special and was quite outdated. He had seen countless advanced spaceships in the Greater World, so he paid it no attention. Comparing this spaceship to those in the Greater World was like comparing a small boat to an aircraft carrier—there was no comparison at all.

But Guo Shier and Qi Wu Zhen had different feelings. It was their first time seeing such a huge spaceship. On Earth in Guo Shier’s past life, which was a standard technological and mechanical world, he had never seen such advanced spacecraft either. Qi Wu Zhen had never seen one before, and she was even more unfamiliar with the products of the Mechanical Clan.

The command deck at the bow was quite large, shaped like a semicircle, with large transparent curved windows. Guo Shier and Qi Wu Zhen stood by the windows and could see the spaceship all around, as well as the mountains and rivers below clearly. Guo Shier estimated the spaceship’s height to be around ten thousand meters, which wasn’t very high. Given his flying habits, which usually involved flying at six to seven thousand meters, it felt quite familiar to him.

Guo Shier sighed, “In this strange world, there’s still such advanced technology. It’s amazing.”

Qi Wu Zhen turned around and asked, “Technology? What’s that?”

Guo Shier replied, “It’s these things made by the Mechanical Clan. Well, they’re quite good.”

Qi Wu Zhen dismissed it, saying, “What’s so special about this? It’s neither powerful nor convenient to use… just a pile of trash. The only thing worth praising is that it saves effort when flying, but otherwise, it’s worthless. Especially in terms of combat power, it’s completely useless.” Hearing her dismissive tone, Stan nearby felt extremely frustrated.

Guo Shier shook his head and said, “It’s not measured that way. The weapons and equipment of the Mechanical Clan aren’t for experts but for ordinary people—weapons that ordinary people can also operate. Although their individual abilities are weak, with the help of the Mechanical Clan’s weapons, they can resist people who are far stronger than them.”

Qi Wu Zhen said, “It’s useless to us. I can destroy the entire fleet by myself!”

This time, not only was Guo Shier speechless, but Stan also turned pale. Bo Long couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh inwardly. The Mechanical Clan could establish themselves in this world and fare better than most races, so their strength couldn’t be underestimated. But in Qi Wu Zhen’s eyes, they were just a pile of trash. Truly, comparing people only leads to frustration.

Others might not believe it, but Guo Shieru knew in his heart that not to mention Qi Wu Zhen, even he alone could destroy this fleet without any difficulty. The firepower of such spacecraft posed no threat to him; as long as he shot down the ship, none of the people on board could escape.

Guo Shieru gave a bitter smile and said, “Sister Zhen, they can’t be compared to you. It’s not about that kind of comparison. What I mean is…”

Qi Wu Zhen waved her hand and said, “I know what you mean. No need to explain.”

Guo Shieru was speechless, his mouth opening and closing uselessly. Li Ran couldn’t help but laugh. He said, “Don’t look down on the Mechanical Clan. These are just low-level members. If we encountered high-level ones, hehe, even I would have to dodge.”

Qi Wu Zhen curled her lips and said indifferently, “If I encounter any high-level Mechanical Clan members in the future, I can give their strength a try.”

Li Ran replied, “There’s no chance here. If you come with us outside, hehe, if we’re still alive, then you can give it a try.” Thinking of the overwhelming fleets of starships, he couldn’t help shivering. Even if his strength was extremely high, he still couldn’t fight against such powerful fleets in the vast universe.

Stan came up to Li Ran excitedly and asked, “Have you seen high-level Mechanical Clan members? How… how do you know they exist?”