Chapter 9: Family Feuds (Part 1)

After being remade, the Moon Blade had become a sacrificial weapon, its attacking power increased countless times over compared to before. It also possessed two attributes, making its slashes even more devastating than those of ordinary sacrificial weapons.

This slash hit the silver-threaded crocodile’s shoulder blade—only one-third of the Moon Blade made contact. With a soft “thud,” blood sprayed forth. The Moon Blade continued its strike without any resistance, shattering the entire shoulder blade and nearly severing the crocodile’s front limb. Guo Shier was stunned but overjoyed. With the original Moon Blade, it might have barely managed to break through its defenses; its current power far exceeded his expectations.

Ahow!
The silver-threaded crocodile roared in agony as its thick tail leaped out of the water and swung wildly.

Guo Shier smiled faintly and vanished from his spot in an instant, reappearing hundreds of meters away at the altar. The crocodile’s thick tail swept through the air in a half-circle before crashing against the rock wall with a loud noise, forcing the members of the two squads to hide in cracks to avoid falling rocks.

As long as he could break through its defenses, Guo Shier had countless ways to kill this silver-threaded crocodile. He was confident that with his current strength, killing a level-12 mutated talisman beast wasn’t difficult at all.

Nanyou stared in awe—this slash was simply too fierce. He knew well what kind of mutated talisman beast the silver-threaded crocodile was. It had thick skin and formidable defenses, making it hard for ordinary sacrificial weapons to penetrate. Yet Guo Shier’s Moon Blade cut through like a sharp knife through meat in just one strike—it was truly unbelievable.

Amid the crocodile’s furious roars, a group of silver-threaded crocodiles swam over from the lake, including some at levels 8 or 9. But these crocodiles posed no threat to Guo Shier.

Guo Shier commanded the Moon Blade to strike again. As it approached the crocodile, it suddenly transformed into a blood dragon and pierced through it. The crocodile had no chance to defend itself and was killed instantly by the Moon Blade. It pierced through its open mouth and emerged from the side of its belly. Guo Shier shouted, “Nanyou, drive away the other silver-threaded crocodiles.” He hovered above the crocodile and slammed his hand on the top of the altar. Countless ancient Xibin tentacles extended downward, quickly plunging into the crocodile’s body.

A living soul of the silver-threaded crocodile was forcibly pulled out. Guo Shier was satisfied with the ancient Xibin’s abilities—this creature was naturally born to devour souls, and capturing souls was a trivial task for it. The only thing that displeased the ancient Xibin was that the soul it obtained was quickly gathered by its master, leaving it no chance to savor it. Such was the tragedy of being a sacrifice.

The soul pearl condensed from the silver-threaded crocodile was taken by the handsome old man. Guo Shier controlled the altar to fly into the air. By then, Nan You had already driven away the other silver-threaded crocodiles that had arrived. Without their leader, the group of silver-threaded crocodiles did not dare challenge a master like Nan You. After roaring for a while, they quickly fled, and Nan You had no intention of killing them all.

A moment later, a group of defeated soldiers emerged from the cracks in the rocks. The members of the rescue team quickly descended from the altar and flew over to them to treat the wounded.

Nan You pointed at the body of the silver-threaded crocodile and asked, “Aren’t you going to keep it?”

Guo Shier shook his head and said, “Give it to them. As an elder of our clan, I should bring some gifts. You know, I’m very poor. This silver-threaded crocodile… is considered a gift.”

Nan You couldn’t help but laugh and said, “Heh, you’re poor? Back at the auction… never mind. With this silver-threaded crocodile, these guys have made a small fortune.”

A Grand Sage flew up and bowed respectfully, saying, “Elder, Grand Elder, I am the leader of the exploration team, Grand Sage Nan Feng.”

Guo Shier nodded and asked, “How did you end up dealing with the silver-threaded crocodiles?”

Nan Feng said angrily, “We were framed… tricked into this place. By the time we tried to escape, it was already too late. The roars of the silver-threaded crocodiles prevented us from flying.”

Nan You asked, “Which clan are they from?”

Nan Feng said with a bitter smile, “They’re professionals from the Gu Jin clan. Even now, my disciples still don’t understand why they would harm us.”

Guo Shier and Nan You exchanged a glance. The revenge came quickly, but it was rather despicable.

Nan You nodded and said, “You don’t need to ask further. Just report those who framed you from the Gu Jin clan when you return. The clan will handle it.”

Nan Feng replied respectfully, “Yes, Grand Elder. I’ll take my leave.”

Nan You said, “Wait. That silver-threaded crocodile below is left for you by the elder. Distribute it among yourselves. Don’t cause any disputes.”

Nan Feng was overjoyed. A level-12 mutated talisman beast was no ordinary prey. They could never hunt such prey on their own. High-level mutated talisman beasts had treasures all over their bodies. He quickly stepped forward to thank them, saying, “On behalf of the team, I thank the elder.”

Guo Shier waved his hand and said, “Hmm, hurry up and pack up. Also, save some fresh meat from the silver-threaded crocodile for me. I’ve never eaten this before, so I don’t know what it tastes like.” He had always been a food lover, willing to try anything, especially in this world where his physical strength far exceeded that of his past life, so he ate without restraint.

Nan Feng agreed repeatedly and hurriedly flew down. Soon after, cheers came from the three squads below.
Nan You said with a smile, “You’re really generous. A silver-threaded crocodile of that size is quite rare in our clan.” You know, experts at the altar rarely use their powers, and even if they do, they don’t give the items to the clan— they keep them for themselves. For clan disciples, hunting high-level mutated talisman beasts is extremely difficult; unless a large team is sent, and even then, the cost and casualties are huge.
Guo Shier was happy, which was why he was so generous. He understood that with his own strength, hunting such mutated talisman beasts would be a piece of cake in the future.
A silver-threaded crocodile over 150 meters long wasn’t easy to dissect. The three squads totaled 21 people, including those injured or dead, so only about a dozen could still move. There simply wasn’t enough time to dissect it in just a few days.
After a while, Nan Feng flew back up and said, “Elder, we can’t cut the crocodile’s skin—it’s too thick and tough.”
Guo Shier nodded and said, “Scatter apart. Let me handle it.” He unleashed his Moon Blade and slashed along the crocodile’s head, splitting its back open. Smiling, he said, “That’s it. You can go now.”
Nan Feng bowed gratefully in thanks before flying down.
Nan You said, “You’re easy to talk to.”
Guo Shier replied, “It’s convenient for both others and oneself. If I can help, why not?”
Nan You nodded. “True enough. Hehe, after spending so much time outside, sometimes I’m too lazy to bother, not that I don’t want to help. Once one reaches the Virtual Form Altar, they spend less time in the clan. If they reach the Real Form Altar, they’re even more often away, leaving no time to care about these younger disciples. Over time, their attention wanes.”
Guo Shier understood well. Even when he was a Saint Master, he couldn’t care for his own clan. Although his clan was small and affiliated with the Chenxiao Sect as a subordinate clan, he still couldn’t pay attention to it, spending most of his time on the road. Eventually, he even lost track of his home and has been wandering ever since.
Nan You said, “We can’t leave right away. Let’s go down first.” The two packed up their altars and flew down.
Blood flowed abundantly on the ground from the crocodile’s wounds. Guo Shier said, “You should refine this blood first before dissecting it.”
Nan Feng said with a bitter smile, “Elder, we don’t have time to refine it. We can only… collect the blood from its body.”

Guo Shier stretched out his hand and grasped at the flowing blood from the ground, drawing countless threads of flame from his palm. In moments, over a dozen drops of precious blood were formed. He said, “Take them.”

Nan Feng was astonished; this technique was something he had never seen before. He took those drops of precious blood and immediately distributed them among everyone.

Guo Shier watched with interest as they disassembled the creature. Pieces of skin and scales were peeled off and cut into small squares about two square meters each, which were then put into storage pouches. Two silver crocodile tendons were pulled out, and large pieces of fresh meat were cut off and stored as well. Even the injured professionals helped by carrying storage pouches.

It was clear they were excited—just this one silver-threaded crocodile made their trip worthwhile.

Nan You wandered around boredly.

Guo Shier asked, “You have nothing to do. Why don’t you go up and help?”

Nan You replied, “Forget it. If I go up… they’ll feel uncomfortable, as if I want something from them. Hehe.”

Guo Shier teased, “You must be used to being the boss, hehe.” He walked over to the group of professionals and asked, “Do you want to help?” Sure enough, the professionals were too scared to agree. Guo Shier said, “Alright. If you really want to help, let Nan Feng come to me.”

Nan You laughed and said, “What do you think? Unless it’s absolutely necessary, they won’t dare ask you for help again. Elder, your status is even higher than mine, and they’re already terrified.”

Guo Shier shook his head, aware of the strict hierarchy in these ancient clans. He said, “This time, the Gujin Clan deceived your team. What do you plan to do?”

Nan You replied bluntly, “Get revenge next time! We can’t confront them directly. If two clans engage in a large-scale conflict, everyone will suffer losses. We can only use tricks, and even clan professionals at the altar level can’t intervene. We have to let each team handle it on their own.”

Guo Shier said, “I see. If altar-level professionals get involved, both sides will be devastated.” jokingly, if both clans sent altar-level experts to form hunting teams, then the disciples of both clans would suffer.

Nan You nodded and said, “Yes. No ancient clan would easily start a war.”

Guo Shier thought for a moment before asking, “What would happen if one side sent altar-level experts to hunt?” He was still curious. In his past life, he had seen many large-scale conflicts triggered by small issues, and wars were not uncommon as a result.

Nan You smiled bitterly and said, “Then there’s no other way. We have to fight; otherwise, no family can survive… I hope this won’t happen. Once fighting starts, it won’t be easy to stop it.” After a pause, he added, “Things shouldn’t be that serious, right?”
Two days later, the professionals from the Gu Nan family finally finished dismembering the Silver-Line Crocodile. Nan Feng handed a pouch of talismans to Guo Shier and said, “Elder, here’s the best part of the fresh meat.”
Guo Shier took a quick look. There were over a hundred large pieces of fresh meat, each weighing about a hundred pounds, wrapped in processed yin paper. He nodded in satisfaction and said, “Very good. Let’s go back now.”
The two set up an altar and had the team’s professionals sit on it, then flew toward the family’s stronghold.