Chapter 9: The Gu Mi Family (Part 1)

The ground was covered in fragments—countless talisman bags of various shapes and styles. Guo Shieru was stunned for a moment before realizing what was happening and cursed, “Damn it, all of these were stolen…”
Nan You picked up a few talisman bags, checked them briefly, and said, “They’ve all been emptied; there’s nothing inside.”
Guo Shieru recognized those talisman bags from his childhood days at the North Talisman Sect. They were the same kind he had used there, meaning they had been taken from low-level professionals of the North Talisman Sect. He felt furious.
Luo Jie and the others entered as well and were shocked by the sheer number of talisman bags on the ground. Luo Jie cursed, “Damn these bastards!”
Qi Nanshan saw the talisman bags in Guo Shieru’s hands and asked, “Are they from the North Talisman Sect?”
Guo Shieru nodded and said, “The lowest-grade ones.”
Qi Nanshan looked annoyed. This meant the Gu Mi Family hadn’t spared even the disciples of the North Talisman Sect—everyone, even mere talisman apprentices, had been stripped of everything. He said angrily, “I shouldn’t have stayed idle… Damn those bastards!”
Nan You shook his head. “It’s strange. The Gu family rarely does such things. This is something new for me. If a family like this existed where we are, they would definitely be wiped out together… No, judging by their behavior, they should have been destroyed long before they could become part of the Gu family.”
The Gu family usually had strict rules about what was allowed or forbidden. But from this incident, it was clear that this family was not only domineering but also extremely greedy.
Luo Jie said, “They’re bringing destruction upon themselves. Even if we didn’t intervene, someone else would take revenge. Hmph, the Gu family! Is it really that great?” He had every right to say this—back then, he and Qi Nanshan had dared to invade the core land of the Gu Xilong family and wreak havoc. Now, with Guo Shieru and the others joining them, they had even more strength to challenge the Gu family.
Next, Guo Shieru and the others saw countless talisman weapons—various types of talisman blades, clearly also captured as loot.
It was a large storage warehouse. Aside from a few materials, most of its contents were equipment taken from professionals. For experts like Guo Shieru, it was practically useless. After sorting through it, Guo Shieru said, “Let’s search elsewhere. This warehouse… isn’t what we’re looking for.”
After exiting, Luo Jie summoned a talisman fire to burn down the entire warehouse.

Looking at the still chaotic city, Guo Shier said, “Even if there are reinforcements, it will take at least a few days for them to arrive.”
Eagle Demon said, “No matter when the reinforcements arrive, we should first look for other warehouses.”
Guo Shier nodded. “That’s right. Master and Grandpa Nanshan don’t care about materials, but we need a large amount of them to continue advancing. Let’s search separately and send rescue signal talismans if in danger.” He flew alone into the city, while the others scattered to search.
Elder Shuai said, “Let me help you!” He controlled the tentacles of Guxi Bi to fly through the air, then pointed, “Southward… a little further… left, that’s it!”
Guo Shier was surprised. “How did you know?”
Elder Shuai said proudly, “A large amount of purified materials has a slight scent. Hehe, Guxi Bi’s tentacles are very sensitive, and they become even more powerful after being blessed with talismans. Finding a material warehouse isn’t difficult. It’s just that an old man like me gets impatient. If we had ready information, it would be much easier than searching on our own.”
As a professional, one must collect materials at all times, whether from the wild or from spoils of battle—this is something every professional must do. But the Gu Mi family’s habit of stealing items from lower-level professionals angered Guo Shier greatly. Thus, he felt no remorse about robbing them, wishing to take everything they had just to satisfy his anger.
The place Elder Shuai pointed to was a small hut hidden among many buildings. If it were up to Guo Shier to search, he would never have found it. He landed, and a group of ordinary people screamed and scattered in panic.
Guo Shier had no interest in killing ordinary people. Even if they were lower-level professionals, as long as they didn’t attack him first, he didn’t intend to kill them indiscriminately. He reduced the altar in size and placed it on top of his head, then looked at the hut ahead and asked, “Is this it?”
Elder Shuai said, “I’m not sure either. Go in and see.”
The door was sealed with talismans, invisible to ordinary people. Guo Shier smiled. “It’s a hidden pattern talisman. Hehe, maybe there’s something good inside.” He raised his fist, and a fist shadow flew out, striking the door directly. With a loud crash, several surrounding houses collapsed, but the house protected by the hidden pattern talisman only shook slightly.
Guo Shier praised, “Not bad, not bad. It’s quite sturdy.”

The Moon Blade suddenly appeared in his hand. With a single swing, there was a crisp crack as the dark-patterned talismans instantly shattered into countless pieces. Guo Shieru kicked out, and with a loud bang, the door adorned with those talismans broke apart. Whoosh! Whoosh! Two arrows were shot out—one aimed at his chest and abdomen, the other straight for his throat.

Guo Shieru snorted coldly. The Moon Blade in his hand suddenly turned into a torrent, swirling inward toward the door. In an instant, it crushed the two arrows. The golden-red blade stream rushed into the door, followed by several sharp screams. With a gesture of his hand, Guo Shieru brought the Moon Blade back into his grasp. He flipped his palm, and the blade disappeared. Only then did he slowly walk into the room.

There was a layer of flesh, blood, and bones on the ground. Guo Shieru casually emitted some talismanic fire to burn away the debris; otherwise, the stench of blood would be unbearable.

It was an underground warehouse. Guo Shieru broke through a downward passage and descended the stairs, praising along the way, “Old Man Shuai, I never expected you to have such skills. If you’d shown them earlier, we wouldn’t have had to capture prisoners specifically…”

Old Man Shuai replied, “I just found out myself…”

Guo Shieru was surprised, “You just found out?”

Old Man Shuai said, “Yes. I was just casting talismans on Gu Xi Bi when I didn’t expect this ability to appear. It must be an instinct that Gu Xi Bi had when it still had a physical body, used to search for food or other things. After becoming a spirit beast, this instinct disappeared. But after I cast the talismans on it, it reappeared. Hehe, it’s a very useful skill. In the future, we can use it to find good things in the wild.”

Guo Shieru repeated, “Not bad. This method is very practical. Old Man Shuai, it’s best to stabilize this skill. We’ll need a lot of materials in the future. We only managed to gather enough for advancement after extorting a Gu family. Now, it seems we won’t have enough again.”

Old Man Shuai sighed and said, “The more advanced we get, the more materials are required. Without the support of a family, it’s hard to collect everything. Well, if nothing else works… we still have to rely on robbery. If we try to collect everything on our own, who knows how long it will take.”

Guo Shieru laughed, “Robbery is indeed fast, but… we can’t just attack a Gu family for no reason.”

Old Man Shuai said, “But there’s the Gu Mi family right here to rob. If we take everything from them, you can gather a large amount of materials. If we’re lucky, it might even give you the materials needed to advance six or seven levels on the altar. That would be a fortune.” He looked like a money-grubber.

Not only does Guo Shier need materials, but the old man Shuai also requires various materials. His body, having incorporated a large number of soul beads, has become increasingly solid. Thus, he has become ambitious and wants to use various materials to create a body—of course, different from a human body, it would be something like a puppet body, allowing him to temporarily leave the altar and move around outside. He hasn’t even told Guo Shier about this idea. Once successful, he will be able to truly control his sacrificial treasure. Of course, he will never be able to leave Gu Mo Lian in his lifetime, but being able to go out and move around is his greatest wish at the moment. Under the old man Shuai’s care, Guo Shier’s altar is many times stronger than ordinary altars. It possesses some characteristics of a celestial altar; although it still falls far short of a real celestial altar, it is easier to advance in level compared to ordinary altars—as long as there are sufficient materials and sacrifices, advancement can be achieved effortlessly. So what they lack most now are two things: various materials and various sacrifices. Descending the stairs, they soon arrived at a huge hall. On rows of shelves were neatly arranged talisman storage bags, all of uniform size—medium-sized bags capable of holding over ten cubic meters. It was obvious these were the standard talisman storage bags of the Gu Mi family. There were various rune markings on the shelves. After taking a quick look, Guo Shier exclaimed happily, “Old man Shuai, this warehouse is great—there are plenty of good materials here.” The old man Shuai poked his head out from the altar and said, “Hehe, Gu Xi Bi is truly a treasure; otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to find this place.”