Chapter 5: Strange Soul Fluctuations (Part 1)

Numerous professionals flew toward the Great Abyss Pool. However, the area surrounding the pool was vast. As they approached the edge of the mountainous region, Guo Shier and his group didn’t spot any professionals in the vicinity. From time to time, roars could be heard, and the wind howled fiercely, creating a grim atmosphere.

Guo Shier said, “Hmm, this fluctuation varies in strength. It feels…”
Li Ran turned to look at Guo Shier. His soul emitted a ripple, transforming into a thin thread that transmitted the fluctuation into Guo Shier’s soul. “That fluctuation… is very similar to the one caused by your soul scriptures. It’s useless to us, but it’s highly effective for mutated talisman beasts and aberrant talisman beasts—it can improve their soul quality!”

Guo Shier replied through his own soul fluctuations, “Could this be a treasure?”
Li Ran said, “If it is a treasure, it’s extraordinary. No wonder so many mutated talisman beasts gather here. I bet there are powerful mutated and aberrant talisman beasts deep within the Great Abyss Pool.”

Elder Shuai whispered, “Shier, this fluctuation is indeed strange. Even the sacrifices in the altar… those spirit beasts are restless, as if trying to break free from the altar and follow the fluctuation.”

Both Li Ran and Guo Shier showed ecstatic expressions. Elder Shuai jumped around inside the altar, realizing what was at stake. He kept saying, “We must obtain this at all costs! Once we get it, your strength will soar… Good heavens, there really are such treasures in this world!”

Guo Shier smiled bitterly inwardly. Even if such a treasure existed, it was likely beyond his reach. With so many mutated talisman beasts here, disturbing it would probably provoke an uprising among them. Moreover, in terms of strength, Li Ran was the most likely candidate to obtain it—only someone with his capabilities could qualify.

The elders felt uneasy. Even standing on the outskirts of the Great Abyss Pool, they sensed something ominous. Based on their professional experience, there were far too many mutated talisman beasts in the mountains. The invisible pressure they emitted was overwhelming, and their fierce aura spread everywhere. No one could feel at peace in such a place.

Guo Shier looked up into the distance. The endless snow-capped mountains seemed to have no visible peaks, with thick clouds surrounding their middles. He couldn’t help but exclaim, “These mountains are truly majestic. I wonder how high they are?”
Li Ran laughed. “Regardless of how high they are, when flying, we’d better not fly too high. The air currents there are chaotic and could easily disrupt our formation.”

Fang Miluo said, “Look at that mountain peak… Well, cast the Vision-Enhancing Spell first and then look again.”
Everyone cast the Vision-Enhancing Spell and stared at the mountain peak, letting out gasps one after another. They clearly saw a long, mutated rune beast coiled around the upper part of the mountain. From a distance, it resembled a snake, but everyone knew how huge this mutated rune beast was—at least two kilometers long, or even more.
Li Ran’s eyes shone as he said, “This place is indeed a treasure trove. Just by searching around, we can find high-level mutated rune beasts. Hehe, I want this one! Let’s go!” Before his words faded, the mutated rune beast coiled on the mountain side suddenly disappeared. Immediately afterward, the snow on the mountain peak poured down, creating a mist of snow.
Guo Shier was surprised and said, “It ran away? This guy is really clever.”
Li Ran examined it carefully and said regretfully, “It ran away so fast. What a shame.”
Guo Shier joked, “It’s mainly because Brother Li Ran is too domineering. As soon as he spoke, it got scared away.”
Li Ran retorted with a laugh, “Nonsense!” He certainly knew that the mutated rune beast hadn’t run away because of his words. It must have detected some prey or something else and left. They were hundreds of kilometers away from that beast, so it couldn’t possibly sense their presence.
Hai Miluo hesitated. Faced with this mysterious mountainous area, he felt uncertain, fearing that several members of his family might die there—a loss he couldn’t afford. He said, “I’ll take some people to hunt in the outskirts. Elder, you take a few experts in and scout the area first.”
Li Ran nodded. “That’s good. With fewer people, I can take better care of them. Well, who wants to go with me?”
Although going with Li Ran carried risks, the rewards would also be significant. Guo Shier rushed to say, “I’ll go! I’ll go!” If he didn’t go, he would definitely regret it later.
Fan Zhen also said, “I’ll go too. Milo, you two stay with the main group.”
Milo nodded. Although she also had a fifth-tier altar, she still felt a bit weak entering the mountainous area. She said, “Okay. We’ll operate in the outskirts. If you need help… send a signal token.”
Eagle Demon said, “I’ll follow Shier.”
This time, Guo Shier didn’t agree. He said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, you’d better stay in the outskirts. It’s too dangerous in there.”

Eagle Demon wore a wry smile; he knew that with his current strength, entering would hold Guo Shier down. The strength of a third-tier altar user was among the lowest among all the ancestors. Luo Zhan said softly, “Let’s stay outside. Otherwise, we’ll cause trouble for Shier.”
Eagle Demon replied, “Alright, we’ll stay outside.” Since both he and Luo Zhan agreed to stay outside, Juehu Miluo didn’t dare ask to go in either and could only remain silent, though he really wanted to enter.
Yang Miluo was a quiet person who didn’t stand out among the ancestors, but he was a sixth-tier altar user. He said, “I’ll go.”
Li Ran said, “That’s enough. Four of us will go in, while the rest hunt in the surrounding areas. There are plenty of prey here. As long as we don’t challenge advanced mutated rune beasts, there shouldn’t be much danger. The only thing to watch out for are other ancient clans. If in danger, send a message token right away.”
Hai Miluo nodded. “If you need our support, senior, please don’t hesitate to send a message token to call us.”
Li Ran smiled and nodded. He was confident that with his own strength, along with Guo Shier, Fan Zhen, and Yang Miluo—one surpassing ninth-tier, one at seventh-tier, and two at sixth-tier altar levels—they wouldn’t have to fear any mutated rune beasts. Even if surrounded by a group of advanced mutated rune beasts, they would have the strength to escape.
“Let’s go!”
Four rune lights streaked across the sky and descended directly into the mountainous region.
No one dared to fly above the Great Abyss Pool. In fact, with Li Ran’s strength, he could fly freely without restraint, but with Guo Shier and the others accompanying him, he didn’t want to draw too much attention. So, sticking to his usual tactic of pretending to be weak while being strong, he honestly led the three of them along a wide valley.
The valley here was enormous, spanning hundreds or even thousands of kilometers between two mountains. Rivers rushed through it, primitive giant trees stood tall, and all sorts of strange mutated rune beasts abounded. Not only could ordinary people not survive here, but even professionals who hadn’t reached the altar level wouldn’t last long. Only those with great power could move around freely.
Not long after entering the valley, they encountered a group of crawling mutated giant crocodiles. The rivers here were covered almost entirely by plants similar to duckweed, with no messy tree branches blocking the surface. As a result, Guo Shier and the others flew close to the water’s surface, moving quickly and not noticing what was below.

A giant crocodile suddenly surged up from the water and bit at Yang Miluo. At the same time, a dozen or so giant crocodiles opened their mouths wide and rushed out of the water at lightning speed. Li Ran shouted, “Get away!”
A circle of talismanic light flashed around Yang Miluo, repelling the attacking crocodiles with a loud boom, but he was also knocked into the woods by the fierce force of the crocodiles. Thanks to his protective barrier, that force was channeled into a large tree, causing the ancient tree with a diameter of seven or eight meters to collapse with a thunderous crash.
Li Ran slapped down, and with a loud noise, several crocodiles that had leaped up were smashed back into the water, creating huge waves. Their massive heads were shattered, and blood immediately spread throughout the river. Instantly, the entire river became like boiling water, with countless strange fish thrashing around and frantically biting at the bleeding crocodiles.
Guo Shier’s moon blade flashed, and a giant crocodile’s head was severed. Immediately afterward, he sat on the altar, extending numerous tentacles that quickly pierced into the crocodiles’ bodies. In no time, he extracted the souls of more than a dozen crocodiles.
The old man with the handsome appearance clicked his tongue and said, “Grade 9 mutated talisman beasts—only two are grade 10… Too low.”
Guo Shier was speechless. Back then, he had been terrified just by seeing a grade 7 mutated earth dragon and had barely managed to kill it. Now, facing grade 9 and grade 10 mutated talisman beasts, he still thought their levels were too low. The speed of his strength growth was simply too fast.
One giant crocodile was two or three hundred meters long. Fan Zhen also killed two crocodiles. He said, “It’s good these things can’t fly; otherwise, it would be troublesome.”
Yang Miluo roared angrily and rushed back from the riverbank, wielding his sacred weapon to slash and kill. In moments, the entire river turned blood-red. A large number of aquatic monsters rushed over—most of them were mutated fish of small size but in large numbers. They swarmed together, frantically devouring the dead crocodile carcasses.
Li Ran said, “Forget it. Let’s go.” He flew forward quickly along the river.
Guo Shier followed with a smile. He knew Li Ran thought the mutated talisman beasts here were too weak, and even extracting their souls wouldn’t be of much use. The group continued flying along the river.
It was just a valley, yet it stretched thousands of kilometers in length. Along the way, they kept encountering various mutated talisman beasts—mostly aquatic mutated fish, a few attacking from the shore, and a few mutated eagles circling in the sky—all of which they killed one by one.

However, he had yet to encounter any truly powerful mutated or aberrant talisman beasts; most were at level nine or ten, with a few at level eleven. The most numerous were low-level mutated talisman beasts at levels six, seven, and eight. Guo Ershier didn’t reject anyone—he killed whatever he saw, as he needed the souls of mid- and low-level mutated talisman beasts as well. Due to the transformation altar, he required a large number of soul beasts to strengthen it.

The Heaven Altar was extremely demanding, requiring vast amounts of materials and countless soul beasts—all of which Guo Ershier had to find ways to acquire. He had to work hard to accumulate them, believing, as he put it, that even the smallest mosquito is still flesh.

Guo Ershier couldn’t help but sigh, “There are so many mutated talisman beasts here. It’s truly a great place for hunting.”

Yang Miluo said, “If some ancient family were to take control of this place, they would surely grow strong rapidly. Not only mutated talisman beasts, but I’ve also seen many precious materials…”

Li Ran suddenly stopped. Guo Ershier and the others had already run far away. Seeing Li Ran stop, they turned back and asked, “Brother Li Ran, what’s wrong? Did you find something?”

Fan Zhen followed Li Ran’s gaze and couldn’t help but gasp, “String Shell Wood? Hey, it’s really String Shell Wood!”

Li Ran said, “It’s not just one String Shell Wood tree, but… damn it, an entire forest of them!”

The old man in charge started shouting inside the altar, “String Shell Wood? Where? Where? Kid, this is valuable stuff—definitely what you need!”

Guo Ershier certainly knew how precious String Shell Wood was. It was a type of wood-based carrier. In the world of talismans, there were many kinds of carriers. The bones of high-level mutated talisman beasts and aberrant talisman beasts were one type, which could be refined into bone talismans. Various jade and stone materials purified from minerals could be turned into jade or stone talismans. The essence of fire could be used to create fire talismans, while water-based elements could be used to make ice talismans.

Wood-based elements could be used to create wood talismans, with various types of wood serving as carriers. Among them, there were over a dozen particularly precious types, and String Shell Wood was one of them. Previously, Guo Ershier had obtained another type—Storage Spirit Wood found in the Bloody Secret Realm. The most precious of these was the Ten-Thousand-Year Storage Spirit Wood, along with Thunder Strike Storage Spirit Wood, both of which were extremely rare wood-based carriers.

Guo Ershier smiled and said, “Hunting mutated talisman beasts is our task, and collecting precious materials is the same. Hehe, let’s take this forest of String Shell Wood first.”