Chapter 8: Miyong City (Part 1)

The mountain path was rugged, with a stream flowing along the side of the mountain. The crisp chirping of birds filled the air, and the sky was clear, with faint clouds drifting on the horizon. Along the way, one could often see towering ancient trees entwined with vines. The fresh air brushed against their faces, carrying the scent of the forest.

Guo Shier and Eagle Demon climbed onto a mountain ridge and looked down at the land through the trees. Guo Shier said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, I’m likely to leave here soon and go to that unknown starry realm with Sister Zhen. Will you follow me, or stay behind?”

Eagle Demon smiled and replied, “Wherever you go, I’ll follow. Anyway, I don’t have a home. The team is my home.”

Guo Shier fell silent, gazing at the clouds on the horizon before sighing deeply. “Killing can’t solve problems… unless everyone is killed, but… I can’t do that.”

Eagle Demon comforted him, “We don’t need to kill everyone in the Gu Mi family, nor is it possible to do so. Hehe, we just need to bring down the Gu Mi family. It’s difficult, but possible. In fact… the Gu Mi family is like a whetstone that helps us progress quickly and advance faster.”

Guo Shier said, “I’m wondering… what will the Gu Mi family do now that the inheritance altar in Qingdao City has been destroyed?”

Eagle Demon replied, “It’s hard to take revenge. Hehe, our strength isn’t enough to attack them, and it’s equally difficult for them to come back and retaliate. One wrong move, and we might get attacked!”

Eagle Demon could be considered Guo Shier’s loyal brother, even though Guo Shier called him “uncle.” Through years of battles, they had formed a deep bond, so Eagle Demon didn’t hesitate to say he would follow Guo Shier anywhere—even into the heart of danger—he would never back down.

Guo Shier said, “A stalemate has formed now, and it’s not easy to break through.” With that, he walked down the mountain ridge. It had been a long time since he had walked slowly like this. After circling around, he felt refreshed and thought about finding a quiet place to stay for a while. He longed deeply for such peace.

The two of them walked back to the courtyard, chatting along the way.

…

After more than ten days of rest, Guo Shier recited scriptures twice a day, each time for three hours. Meanwhile, the others strengthened their spiritual powers and prepared the altars. Aside from Guo Shier and Luo Jie, the rest also had an important task: training their sacrificial spirits. Since their sacrificial spirits had had their minds erased, they needed to be given some ancestral memories.

Spirits play a crucial role; an autonomous spirit is like an intelligent being that can organize everything in the altar, saving its master a great deal of time. Whether it’s managing offerings or refining sacrificial treasures, spirits can be extremely useful.

In the battle at Qingdao City, the biggest gains went to Luo Jie, followed by Chen Tianyao, who truly integrated into Guo Shier’s team. Just from Guo Shier’s soul fluctuations, he was determined to follow this team wholeheartedly.

Guo Shier also reaped significant benefits, obtaining not only a large amount of materials but also many soul beads. After over ten days of purification, he obtained many high-quality soul beads.

By consuming more soul beads, Guo Shier learned many secrets. Soul beads collected from ordinary battlefields were of the lowest quality and difficult to purify, requiring repeated refinement using soul scriptures, which was time-consuming and laborious. They had long been abandoned and used only for repairing altars or refining sacrificial treasures.

Slightly better were soul beads extracted directly, but they still couldn’t compare to those of altar-level experts. Souls of altar-level professionals could be easily refined into high-quality soul beads.

The best soul beads came from ancestral altars. These souls, having endured countless years, were of exceptional quality and suitable for use as spirits or high-grade offerings. If turned into soul beads, they were the best items for enhancing one’s soul. The old man never agreed to part with these, keeping them all for himself.

After over ten days of adjustment, along with the old man’s efforts, the fourth-tier altar became completely stable. He also took the time to refine his own sacrificial treasure, raising the Moon Blade to the level of a sixth-tier sacrificial treasure. This was his life treasure, and the old man had been helping to refine it, using a great deal of materials.

The old man said, “Shier, the soul beads you’ve consumed these past few days are enough to cause your soul to surge again. Don’t use any more soul beads for now; let your soul calm down a bit.”

Guo Shier laughed, “I just can’t resist. Hehe, the quality of these soul beads seems really good—no messy impurities, and they blend easily with my soul.”

The old man remained silent. He too had his own motives—keeping the best soul beads for Guo Shier to use, as the master’s strength growing would also enhance his own. He and the master were one. If his soul vanished, Guo Shier would suffer severe damage. If Guo Shier died, he too could not survive.

Apart from feeling the fluctuations of his soul twice a day, Chen Tianyao spent most of his time with the woman, indulging in affectionate moments without restraint. Mi Ruohua understood that once Chen Tianyao left, who knew when he would return, so she kept clinging to him. She really hoped to conceive a child, so that even if Chen Tianyao left, she wouldn’t be afraid.

The group felt very relaxed in the small village, using it to calm their souls after intense battles, which made them feel great.

That day, Luo Jie sat in the courtyard and said, “We’ll set off today. First, we’ll explore a city around Gu Mi City to see how they react. If we can’t handle them, we’ll go to another city.”

Gu Shier nodded and said, “Yeah, let’s test them first and find a way to eliminate some of their altar-level experts. Master, we still need to use a gradual approach; we can’t fight too many altar-level professionals at once.”

Luo Jie said, “Exactly. There are too many altar-level professionals. It doesn’t matter to me and Nan Shan, but you guys will have a hard time.” What worried him were Ying Mo, Luo Zhan, and Nan You—after all, they only had one layer of altar power and would be overwhelmed in a chaotic fight. Any injury would be unbearable. Their numbers were already small, and losing one would be unacceptable.

Gu Shier said, “Uncle Ying Mo, Uncle Luo, Nan You, you three should conduct guerrilla operations on the periphery, forming a team. I think even altar-level professionals with three layers of power won’t be able to do much in a short time.”

Ying Mo sighed and said, “I’m about to level up, but unfortunately, I don’t have time. If I could reach the second layer of altar power, maybe I could help a bit. Our strength is still a bit lacking.” He was also frustrated. When he was a Great Talisman Martial Artist, he thought he was one of the few top experts in the world. But after following Gu Shier on adventures and gradually reaching the Real Form Altar level, he realized he still wasn’t good enough.

Luo Zhan comforted him, “Eagle, you’re already very strong. Hehe, it’s just that our enemies are different from before—they’re a gathering of experts from an ancient clan. We never even dared to think we could confront an expert from such a clan.”

Nan You said, “It’s not us, but Grandpa Luo and Grandpa Nan Shan who can truly challenge the ancient clan.” He really wanted to say, “We’re just here to add to the fun,” but saying that would be too discouraging.

Luo Jie said, “Once we’re ready, let’s go.” He glanced at Chen Tianyao.

Chen Tianyao said, “I’ll be back in a moment.” Of course, he understood Luo Jie’s hint—that he should go bid farewell to the woman.

Luo Jie said, “We’ll wait for you in the air.” As soon as they flew up, they heard cries of sorrow. Luo Jie said, “I knew it… That woman wouldn’t let him go easily. Heh, let’s wait a moment so they can say goodbye.” He seemed unwilling to see or hear them parting, and the altar flew higher into the sky once again. Guo Shier and the others followed behind him. Amidst the wind, Mirohua’s curses and cries could be faintly heard. Eagle Demon shook his head and said, “A professional should find another professional as a partner. With an ordinary person… Sigh, it’s not a good thing.” Guo Shier sat quietly on the altar, feeling somewhat confused. In this life, did he really need to find a partner? He shook his head firmly, thinking, “I’ll wait until fate brings someone along. Anyway, I won’t go looking deliberately.” Nan You, on the other hand, seemed unconcerned. He said, “It’s troublesome. Chen Tianyao brought trouble upon himself. He shouldn’t have chosen an ordinary person. If there’s any affection involved, it only harms both parties.” After a while, Chen Tianyao finally flew up, looking pale. Luo Jie didn’t ask anything and said, “Let’s go!” The group flew toward the distance. Guo Shier looked down and saw a tiny figure standing in the courtyard, head raised high, looking up at the sky. In an instant, the seven of them disappeared beyond the horizon. … Miyong City. Miyong City was one of the eight surrounding cities of Ancient Mi City, located to its west. It was a vast plain with millions of acres of fertile land, crisscrossed by paths and roads. Every so often, villages or towns with gathered crowds could be seen. Such an layout was rare on the continent, indicating that it had been developed for a long time. Guo Shier envied this continent. Here, land was the least valuable thing; large areas of fertile land were rare, with most areas being barren mountains and forests. Even the plains were mostly covered in dense forests, with few cultivated fields. Guo Shier said, “This place must be very wealthy, with so much fertile land.” Chen Tianyao replied, “This is the wealthiest area of the Ancient Mi family, because they use a large number of slaves to grow crops.” Guo Shier couldn’t stand the word “slaves” and couldn’t help cursing, “Damn the Ancient Mi family!” Luo Jie and the others also looked displeased. They all knew that on the continent where the Northern Talisman Gate was located, all the population had been captured and turned into slaves. The wealth of the Ancient Mi family came from plunder. Eagle Demon asked, “Is that Miyong City?” Chen Tianyao nodded. “Yes, that’s Miyong City… Uh, they’ve already activated their defenses?”

A layer of bluish mystical runes covered the entire city—it was a defensive rune barrier to prevent anyone from falling from the sky. No flying vehicles or people could be seen in the air; it seemed that flight was completely prohibited. When Guo Shier and the others arrived over the city, panic ensued everywhere.

The defensive rune barriers rose layer by layer. Guo Shier counted aloud, “One layer, two layers, three layers… Damn, there are four layers of defense—this is way too much!”

Teams of professionals were running around in chaos within the city. Mi Yong also had defensive rune towers, but not many—only about a dozen. In the direction Guo Shier and the others were coming from, there were only four defensive rune towers, which had already begun to emit rune light.

Luo Jie observed for a while and said, “We can’t attack forcefully. The defense is too strong—four layers… We can’t break through.”