Chapter 1: Failure to Catch a Chicken (Part 1)

Mingwudeng was pleased. These mere pawns were quite strong and should be able to deal some damage to the Silver-Striped Spotted Dragon. With a bit of luck, they might even lure it into a trap. Though the chances were slim, there was still a possibility. If they failed, he wouldn’t suffer any loss.
“Once we cross that small ridge, we’ll be able to see the Silver-Striped Spotted Dragon. You hold them off first, then we’ll attack together.”
Haimiluo said, “We won’t take action until we understand the situation clearly. A Level 16 Abnormal Silver-Striped Spotted Dragon is extremely powerful—we must not underestimate it. Are all of your men here? Are there any reinforcements elsewhere?”
Mingwudeng remained calm, inwardly cursing Haimiluo for being cunning. Smiling, he said, “Of course not. It’s just us. If we had more people, we would have started attacking long ago. Hehe.”
Guo Shier was a bit puzzled. He noticed that the ridge ahead wasn’t very high—only a few dozen meters. The Level 15 Abnormal Talisman Beasts he had seen before were over a hundred meters tall and at least a thousand meters long; even the slightest movement of theirs could shake the ground. Yet, it was completely quiet on the ridge, not like there was a terrifying Level 16 Abnormal Talisman Beast lurking there.
Haimiluo said indifferently, “Let’s wait and see.” He wouldn’t foolishly lead his men into battle. Even if there was a super-strong expert hidden among them, attacking head-on wouldn’t be risky.
Guo Shier said, “I’ll go take a look.”
Li Ran said, “Let’s go together.” He wasn’t willing to let Guo Shier go alone. In a flash, he appeared on Guo Shier’s altar, sat cross-legged beside him, and squinted, saying, “Let’s go together, hehe, together.”
Haimiluo felt a little relieved. If Guo Shier went alone, he would indeed be worried. With the strength of a Level 16 Abnormal Talisman Beast, it was also very dangerous for professionals from the sixth-tier altar to go there. With Li Ran accompanying him, there was no need to worry.
The altar instantly moved to the ridge. Guo Shier was very careful, striving to control his soul’s fluctuations. There were trees on the ridge, and he hid behind a few large trees, peering through the gaps in the foliage at the distance.
Behind the ridge was a swamp-like grassland with abundant lush water plants and countless ponds—a truly beautiful landscape. Guo Shier immediately spotted the Silver-Striped Spotted Dragon a thousand meters away.
“Damn, so beautiful… and so small?”

The Silver-Threaded Spotted Dragon was only about sixty meters long. It was only now that Guo Shier understood why it was called so—its body was covered in brilliant silver lines that resembled vines, with patches of color in between, like petals growing on those vines, displaying its beauty in all its splendor.

Guo Shier was stunned. “It… can fly?” He saw the Silver-Threaded Spotted Dragon floating a meter above the ground. It wasn’t crawling; it was drifting, leisurely floating on the grass, as if it were in water rather than the air. With a slight swish of its long tail, it would move a distance forward.

Arcs of electricity flickered intermittently on the dragon’s body, barely visible if one wasn’t paying close attention. Guo Shier muttered to himself, “Damn, lightning type? After the Blood Dragon mutated… it actually acquired lightning-type instincts? That’s impossible!”

Li Ran’s expression turned serious. He said, “This is bad… This thing is hard to deal with.”

After observing for a while, Li Ran said, “Let’s go back first.”

Guo Shier nodded and teleported back with Li Ran.

Hai Miluo and Feng Miluo asked in unison, “How did it go?”

Guo Shier gave a bitter smile. “It’s tricky. After mutating, that Blood Dragon turned out to be of the lightning type… and it can even fly.” Everyone’s expression grew grave. Dragon-type talismans that dominated the land could double or even triple in strength once they could fly—just thinking about it made one’s hair stand on end.

Hai Miluo asked, “Mingwudeng, have you guys fought it before?”

Mingwudeng shook his head. “No…” He thought to himself, “We’ve lost three ancestors and seven experts. This thing’s strength is beyond expectation. Hehe, I let you guys go first so that after losing a few people, you’ll go crazy.”

Hai Miluo shook his head slightly. Mingwudeng’s words sounded fake. If they hadn’t fought it before, why would they go out to seek help?

Feng Miluo said, “You guys have almost no plan… We can’t cooperate.”

Guo Shier found it amusing. He understood what Feng Miluo meant—he wanted to get rid of these opportunists. Feng Miluo also disliked these guys; it was obvious they had ulterior motives and wanted to use them as pawns without any hesitation.

Mingwudeng’s expression changed. He said coldly, “Think you can get rid of us once you find prey? Don’t get your hopes up.”

Li Ran turned around abruptly and shouted, “Come out!”

Dozens of ancient progenitor-level professionals emerged from not far away. There were seven or eight fourth-tier altars, with most of the rest being fifth-tier altars. At the forefront was a master with an eighth-tier altar.

Mingwudeng laughed heartily, “Impressive! You actually managed to spot us! Haha!” He laughed triumphantly. Together, their strength was at least twice that of the Gu Miluo family’s professionals, giving them complete confidence to defeat them. Their only miscalculation was failing to see through Li Ran, the guy who liked to pretend to be weak while being actually very strong.

The professionals of the Gu Ming family quickly surrounded them, forming a circle.

Hai Miluo said coldly, “What do you plan to do?” He wasn’t afraid at all. With Li Ran around, these people were nothing but weaklings.

Mingwudeng bowed and said, “I greet the ancient progenitor.”

The ancient progenitor with the eighth-tier altar smiled and said, “Not bad, Mingwudeng. You’ve done great this time.” He glanced disdainfully at the Gu Miluo family’s professionals and said indifferently, “There are two paths… One is to kill the Silver-Scaled Spotted Dragon, and the other is for us to kill…”

Hai Miluo said, “Do you really think… you can defeat us?”

The ancient progenitors of the Gu Ming family burst into laughter. No one believed the Gu Miluo family’s professionals could turn the situation around. The gap in strength between the two sides was obvious. Although a professional with an eighth-tier altar couldn’t completely suppress them all, they still had a master with a seventh-tier altar and a large group of high-level professionals, giving them overwhelming strength.

The ancient progenitor with the eighth-tier altar said proudly, “You’re right. We can defeat you. I am… the ancient progenitor of the Gu Ming family, Mingliang, a professional with an eighth-tier altar!” The eighth-tier altar hovering above his head suddenly descended, transforming into a huge altar. He slowly landed on its top, and a massive spiritual pressure spread out.

Mingwudeng laughed loudly and said, “Two paths… choose whichever you want! Hurry up, we don’t have much time to wait.”

Guo Shier sighed and said, “There are many bastards in this world, and even more unlucky ones.”

Mingliang, dressed in black, sat cross-legged on the altar. He looked like a thin middle-aged man, his face skin-covered bones, resembling a skull. Only his eyes sparkled with magical light, his pupils deep and bottomless, making him look terrifying when he smiled. He said, “Kids, hehe, you must be those unlucky ones, haha.”

Guo Shier said, “It’s uncertain whether we’re unlucky, but you’re definitely a bunch of bastards.”

Ming Liang’s gaze was as if he were looking at the dead. He said, “I’ll give you a few minutes. If you still can’t make up your mind, don’t blame me for being ruthless!”
Guo Shier deliberately provoked him, “How exactly will you be ruthless?”
Ming Liang sneered, “You fool! Say that again… and believe it or not, I’ll kill you!”
A sinister feeling suddenly arose in Guo Shier’s heart. He glanced at Li Ran not far away and laughed, “I don’t believe it!” Before his words faded, he drew out his Moon Blade and shouted, “Slash!”
Li Ran cursed inwardly and quickly cast several spells, silently sending them to Guo Shier’s altar.
An unparalleled force flowed through the altar, passed through Guo Shier, and reached the Moon Blade. This force nearly blew up the Moon Blade, scaring Guo Shier and the old man into quickly working together to control it.
Ming Liang wasn’t expecting Guo Shier to dare attack him and became furious. He was a master of an eighth-tier altar, and Guo Shier’s actions were filled with contempt—not only was it a challenge beyond his rank, but he also showed complete disregard for Ming Liang. As a supreme expert of an eighth-tier altar, no one had ever dared to ignore his dignity like this.
At that moment, Ming Liang wished to tear Guo Shier to pieces. He said darkly, “You want to die… then I’ll fulfill your wish!”
A black talismanic light suddenly rose and transformed into a ferocious dragon python. It was the Dragon Python Blade, combined with his soul, a unique transformation ability of an eighth-grade sacrificial treasure. Its power was immense, far beyond what Guo Shier’s sixth-grade sacrificial treasure could match. However, Li Ran had already secretly strengthened Guo Shier’s Moon Blade.
As soon as the Dragon Python Blade appeared, its immense pressure generated a violent wind that roared toward Guo Shier.
Guo Shier and the old man were on the verge of collapsing. The old man shouted, “Hurry!” The violent force continued to surge on the Moon Blade. No one knew exactly how much power Li Ran had sent over. If they didn’t release it soon, they would both fail to hold on.
The Moon Blade expanded to nearly 200 meters in length, and a golden-red light slashed forward with great force. Both sides acted with incredible speed, and in the blink of an eye, the two sacrificial treasures collided. It was a head-on battle, devoid of any fancy moves—only raw strength was at stake. No one gave Guo Shier a chance. Even Hai Miluo couldn’t help but narrow his eyes; he simply didn’t have time to intervene.
A ring of red light and a ring of black light spread out as blinding flashes passed by, along with violent gusts of wind.
The explosive roar made everyone dizzy. Those who were too close couldn’t withstand such fierce force and quickly stepped back.

Ming Liang and Guo Shier threw themselves backward at the same time, both struggling to control their altars. With the help of the handsome old man, Gu Xi Bi’s tentacles moved frantically, trying to counteract the incoming force, while the Umbrella Tower Sacred Treasure also rotated slowly above Guo Shier’s head.