Chapter 10: Overcoming Hurdles to Attack (Part 1)

The leader of this group was a senior Grand Sage named Meng Ran, a professional expert from the Wind Sect on the Xinxī Continent. The Wind Sect was not a large sect on this continent but rather a small one with decent strength. He, along with three accomplices, set up this trap. The person who originally obtained this Ancient Seal Gate talisman was a disciple of the sect, and he used some forceful methods to get it.

However, neither he nor his three accomplices dared to enter the Tanya Secret Realm rashly. After much thought, they devised this scheme. Whoever got the Ancient Seal Gate talisman would want to enter the secret realm to explore, and they could just follow them. If the other party died inside and couldn’t get out, they wouldn’t have to take risks entering. If they could emerge safely, it meant the secret realm wasn’t dangerous, and then they could kill the other party and reclaim the precious Ancient Seal Gate talisman. This talisman could rival cross-dimensional seals, and no one or sect would be willing to auction it off.

When they saw Kumu coming out of the secret realm, they became greedily eager. Before entering, Kumu was a junior Grand Sage, but upon exiting, he had become an intermediate Grand Sage—indicating that there was an Ancient Soul Altar inside the Tanya Secret Realm.

Kumu was fierce and arrogant, always the first to attack. So he rushed straight at Meng Ran. His combat strength was extremely high; even as a senior sage, he had fought against junior grand sages. Though he couldn’t kill them, he could force them to retreat in disarray.

Meng Ran was shocked—unexpecting Kumu to attack first. Shouting, “You’re seeking death!” he met him head-on without showing weakness.

Meng Ran’s three accomplices included an old man in gray clothes with a shabby appearance, who was a junior Grand Sage. Another junior master was a middle-aged man dressed in bright red robes. The last one was an intermediate Grand Sage who appeared very young and carefree, wearing golden-colored clothes. He charged straight at Monier, saying, “Wow, beauty! I like her!”

Monier flew into a rage and shouted, “You bastard! How dare you harass my wife!”

Since the battle took place in the air, Guo Shier released the Ancient Flame Sparrow. Through the inheritance from this Soul Altar, although these insect and beast talismans didn’t benefit directly, their owners gained indirect advantages as Guo Shier’s soul grew stronger. They all woke up from their slumber and advanced successfully.

The Ancient Flame Sparrow had already advanced to an eighth-level Soul Beast. It wasn’t strong enough to fight a junior Great Sage, but it was perfect for harassment. As for the Giant Nesting Dragon, Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion, and Blade Shadow Mantis, although they had also advanced successfully, they weren’t flying-type Soul Beasts or Soul Insects. The Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion and Blade Shadow Mantis could only glide briefly and couldn’t fight in the air, so Guo Shier only deployed the Ancient Flame Sparrow.

Guo Shier shouted, “Uncle Eagle Demon, Uncle Luo, keep that man in red robe busy!”
Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan rushed over immediately.
Guo Shier faced the gray-robed old man. He rushed forward along with the Ancient Flame Sparrow and yelled, “Old man, let’s have some fun!”
The old man grinned, revealing a set of yellow rotten teeth, and said, “I prefer young, delicate guys… Let me entertain you!”
Hearing this, Guo Shier’s hair stood on end. He spat out a Moon Blade and screamed, “I’ll kill you, old bastard…”
The gray-robed old man smirked lewdly, and a black talisman shield appeared in front of him. He waved his hands, casting a series of phantom talismans onto the shield, then roared, “I’ll block it!”
Boom!
The Moon Blade transformed into a giant blade over three meters long, slashing fiercely at the shield.
Since his life talisman sword had turned into a Moon Blade, Guo Shier had never tested its power. Due to its short time in his soul, he couldn’t control it at will, and no various transformations had yet formed, so he could only attack with his physical form. Even so, he had high hopes. After all, the true form of the Moon Blade was the unicorn horn of a high-level Abnormal Talisman Beast. With his own abilities, it would be absolutely impossible for him to hunt such a terrifying Abnormal Talisman Beast.
Crack! Bang!
With one slash from the Moon Blade, the talisman shield shattered into pieces. The gray-robed old man screamed in terror and frantically dodged to the side, quickly summoning three triangular talisman shields. He never expected Guo Shier’s attack to be so fierce—just one strike had destroyed one of his shields, which he had crafted from the bones of a level-12 mutated Talisman Beast, and yet it was so easily broken.
In panic, he quickly summoned three talisman shields, which merged into one in an instant. Only then did the gray-robed old man plan to draw out his own life talisman weapon. But Guo Shier controlled the Moon Blade at incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, the Moon Blade transformed back into a giant crescent blade, slashing down wildly.
The gray-robed old man was convinced that this shield would definitely hold. He even said sarcastically, “Young man, don’t be so impulsive. Let me entertain you slowly…”
Boom!
This time it was even more decisive. The Moon Blade directly pierced through the shield, and the giant blade swept toward the gray-robed old man.

The gray-robed old man was stunned; he never expected that the talisman shield enhanced with three layers of virtual talismans could not withstand a single strike. He screamed, “How is that possible… Waaah…” He didn’t even have time to dodge. He had been overconfident earlier; he only managed to pull out his life talisman weapon—a massive axe resembling a door panel. In panic, he used it to shield his body, but by then, the Moon Blade was already near his head.

Bang! The Moon Blade struck his life talisman weapon. With a sharp crack, the gray-robed old man spat out a mouthful of blood, his soul in chaos. At that moment, the Ancient Flame Sparrow suddenly fired a burst of flames, launching a surprise attack.

Guo Shieru cast over a hundred spells in quick succession. The Moon Blade slashed down like a storm, producing a series of loud clangs. After a hundred strikes, the gray-robed old man’s life talisman weapon shattered into countless fragments, scattering everywhere. Meanwhile, the flames from the Ancient Flame Sparrow landed on the old man as well.

In an instant, the gray-robed old man turned into a ball of fire. Then, the Moon Blade descended upon him.

In less than half a minute, Guo Shieru had killed the gray-robed old man. He himself hadn’t expected the Moon Blade to be so powerful—it prevented the old man from fully displaying his skills and killed him mid-air. This was killing someone beyond his rank, and he had done it effortlessly, defeating a junior Great Sage Master. Yet Guo Shieru was only a senior sage master, one rank below a junior Great Sage Master. It was the power of the Moon Blade that allowed him to achieve such remarkable results.

Without delay, Guo Shieru turned and rushed at the man in red. Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan were in dire straits; even together, they couldn’t defeat their opponent. That guy kept attacking Luo Zhan relentlessly, but thanks to Eagle Demon’s desperate defenses, they managed to hold their ground. Guo Shieru arrived extremely fast—before he even reached them, the Moon Blade had already slashed down.

The man in red had already seen Guo Shieru kill the gray-robed old man and was terrified. A sage master could kill a Great Sage Master—just imagine how powerful that red Moon Blade must be. He flew backward quickly and threw a pale golden ball, shouting, “Boom!” The pale golden ball collided head-on with the Moon Blade and exploded with a loud noise.

Guo Shieru snorted coldly and cast a spell: “Shock!”

Vroom…

The Moon Blade vibrated violently, and strands of golden runes shot out, quickly neutralizing the impact of the explosion.

Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan landed beside Guo Shieru. Eagle Demon sighed, “This guy is strong!”

Luo Zhan, who had been too busy fighting, finally regained his composure and asked, “Shieru, where is the man who fought you?”

Guo Shieru replied indifferently, “I killed him!”

Eagle Demon was speechless. Luo Zhan couldn’t help but say, “You… you can kill enemies beyond your rank! Amazing!”
Guo Shier stared intently at the man in red. The guy retreated far away, clearly very wary of Guo Shier. Eagle Demon said, “The three of us will surround him! Shier, you go kill him!” He charged forward with full confidence. In his view, since Guo Shier could kill a lower-level Great Sage Master, killing a second one shouldn’t be difficult, especially with his and Luo Zhan’s help.
Although everyone had advanced in rank, the time elapsed was too short. Even if they had received the inheritance, it wasn’t of much use yet—they needed plenty of time to digest and absorb the inherited memories, learn to use spells, and craft their own talismans. The only significant change was Guo Shier’s life talisman, which not only changed its form but also had many virtual talismans inscribed on it at the altar, allowing the altar to assist in its refinement.
Luo Zhan flanked him from the other side. Guo Shier commanded his Moon Blade, slashing forward. He didn’t have many other options and could only rely on the power of the Moon Blade; if it failed, he would be helpless.
If the original life talisman sword was compared to a wooden sword, then the current Moon Blade was like a sharp curved knife forged from precision steel—uncomparable to the former.
Relying on the power of the Moon Blade, Guo Shier, along with Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan, began to encircle their opponent.
Like the old man in gray, the man in red’s defenses couldn’t withstand the slashes of the Moon Blade. After several of his defensive talismans were destroyed, he finally panicked and desperately summoned his own life talisman sword, engaging Guo Shier in a fierce back-and-forth battle. His life talisman sword was a huge silver sword.
It was unclear what material this silver sword was made of, but countless silver beads flowed across its blade, rolling back and forth like mercury. The man in red’s life talisman sword was covered in layers of runes, emitting a silver glow with every strike.
Boom! Boom! Boom…
The two clashed repeatedly, the Moon Blade and the silver sword meeting head-on in over a dozen direct battles.
After all, Guo Shier was still a high-level Sage Master, not yet a Great Sage Master. The forceful collisions from his life talisman sword made his soul tremble, his vision blur, with stars flashing before his eyes.
The man in red’s soul was much stronger and could withstand such collisions. He sneered, “You little brat! I thought you were so amazing. Turns out… you’re just this! I’ll kill you! Kill him!”
Seeing the situation worsening, Eagle Demon slashed at the man in red from the side, trying to distract him. Luo Zhan also struck from the other side, aiming at the man in red’s life talisman sword.

Guo Shieru roared loudly and cast over a dozen spells in succession, sending a series of phantom talismans into the Moon Blade. With another fierce shout of “Slice!”, the Moon Blade suddenly grew to over ten meters long and descended from the sky, its piercing sound deafening. The man in red was startled; he darted slightly to avoid the Eagle Demon’s ambush and simultaneously sent out a series of phantom talismans, which merged into his life talisman sword, causing the silver-colored sword to expand. But his talisman sword was an illusion, while Guo Shieru’s Moon Blade was solid—the two collided again.