Chapter 7: Desperate Situation! Mutated Symbol Beasts (Part 2)

Guo Shier felt a sense of warmth. If he was allowed to call him “uncle,” it meant he wasn’t seen as an outsider. Hong Mu glanced at Guo Shier and smiled, saying, “Shier is still very young. Impressive—reaching the sixth-tier altar at such a young age. Just call me auntie.”
Guo Shier didn’t mind and said, “Uncle, auntie.”
Li Ran said, “Shier is indeed young. Based on the progression rates of ancient clans, he could at most reach the rank of Junior Great Sage. Hehe, but this young guy is quite impressive—he’s already a professional at the sixth-tier altar, and his altar is the rare Sky Altar.”
Here, professionals at the fifth-tier altar were the lowest rank, those at the sixth tier were the main force, those at the seventh tier could be found everywhere, while those at the eighth tier were true masters. As for those at the ninth tier, only Zhen Wuji and Li Ran were known so far.
Zhen Wuji said, “Let’s rest here for a while. Hehe, tomorrow… by tomorrow, the Beast Sea will surge again. The fluctuations will then reach their lowest point, and control over the Beast Sea will weaken significantly. It’s a shame—these fluctuations are highly effective at preventing the mutated beasts from killing each other. Otherwise, it would be much easier to deal with them.”
Guo Shier said, “There are many professionals here, but they’re scattered. They all operate in their own clans, with no organization, no coordination, no support. Hehe, I’m not optimistic about this battle.”
Zhen Wuji nodded. “Unless Li Ran steps in, it might be possible to force them to work together.”
Li Ran waved his hand. “I’m not interested.”
Zhen Wuji nodded again. “Yeah, each clan has its own agenda. Hehe, without strong coercion, it’s useless. It’s hard work with no reward, and everyone just does their own thing—no one will complain.” He also felt resentful. He had approached many professionals at the eighth-tier altar, but they all politely declined his invitation. If it weren’t for meeting two old friends, he would have really lost face.
Guo Shier said, “Let’s look again tomorrow. Maybe we can find a few more experts, and then we can venture into the Beast Sea.”
Li Ran said, “It doesn’t matter if we can’t find anyone. I’ll clear the way ahead, Zhen Wuji will cover the rear, Hong Yuguang and Hong Mu will defend the flanks, and Shier, follow me. Let’s try to break through anyway, hehe.”
Zhen Wuji nodded. “I’ve tried to charge in… There are just too many mutated beasts, along with many mutated birds. It’s extremely difficult to get through. Maybe Li Ran has a way.”

There is still a huge gap between the strength of the Ninth-Level Altar and that of those who surpass it, as those who surpass the Ninth-Level Altar often possess their own ultimate weapons—extremely abnormal abilities. Guo Shier had witnessed Qi Wu Zhen’s Fire Sacrifice and Li Ran’s Sky Burial, both of which were terrifyingly powerful techniques. He longed for such abilities too; once he reached the level of surpassing the Ninth-Level Altar, he wondered what kind of amazing ultimate skills he would have.

The five of them sat together in an area of a thousand square meters, with no professionals daring to enter.

At that moment, the entire battlefield was filled with professionals. Each team occupied an area of a hundred or so square meters, and many teams lit large bonfires. Guo Shier said, “It’s so lively… It’s almost like a market.”

Hong Yuguang said, “I don’t know who spread this news. As far as I know, all the ancient clans in our area have sent people there. I estimate that at least hundreds of thousands of professionals will come to this continent, maybe even more.”

Guo Shier smiled and pointed at Zhen Wuji.

Zhen Wuji said, “That’s right. I’m the one who spread the news. Just by selling it, I made a fortune in gold talismans. Hehe.”

Guo Shier said in admiration, “Impressive! You can even make money from this!”

Zhen Wuji grinned and said, “If it weren’t for my desire to reach the depths of the Great Abyss, I wouldn’t have spread the news.”

Hong Yuguang said with a wry smile, “So it was your brother who spread the news. I spent a lot of gold talismans… It seems they’re not worth much now. Everyone knows about this place. Damn it, I wasted so much money for nothing.”

Zhen Wuji laughed heartily.

Teams of professionals continued to move forward along the valley. Most of them were newer teams that were unaware of the horrors of the Beast Sea. They were eager to hunt.

Zhen Wuji said, “Hehe, by tomorrow morning at the latest, they’ll regret it.”

Hong Yuguang still didn’t understand the reason. He asked, “These professionals who came before are quite strong. Why will they regret it?”

Zhen Wuji simply replied, “The Beast Sea will flood this place again tomorrow.”

Hong Yuguang was stunned. He said, “The Beast Sea will come again?” He had fought all day and knew how dangerous it was. When the Beast Sea flooded the land, an individual’s strength became insignificant. One needed the strength of an Eighth-Level Altar and also be clever to survive it. Those with strength below the Seventh Level had a high chance of dying in the Beast Sea. With a little carelessness, another altar would appear on the ground.

Although Hong Mu appeared robust and plump, she wasn’t someone who talked much. With the four of them sitting together, she rarely had the chance to speak. Now, she said, “We’ve only been here for a day and don’t know anything about the situation. It’s best to just follow Brother.”
Hong Yuguang gently took Hong Mu’s hand and said, “Mm, with Brother around, we don’t need to worry about anything.”
Zhen Wuji said with a hint of envy, “You two… your relationship is still so good. Even as old people, you still hold hands.”
Hong Mu’s face turned slightly red, while Hong Yuguang laughed and said, “After all these years, life would be unbearable without Hong Mu by my side. Hehe.”
Li Ran said, “Rest well today. Tomorrow, when the Beast Sea arrives, we’ll try to make a breakthrough.”
…
The next morning, all the professionals were ready. Some of their teams had already set off, unaware that the Beast Sea would come again.
Guo Shier closed up his Hidden Talisman House and followed Li Ran. The five of them stayed put for now, waiting quietly.
Li Ran said, “The fluctuations are starting to weaken.”
Guo Shier first set up an altar and sat on it. The handsome old man poked his head out and said, “I already organized the talisman storage space yesterday, freeing up two slots. Hehe, this time you can collect the carcasses of some special Abnormal Beasts. Ordinary ones won’t do—preferably ones we haven’t collected before.”
Suddenly, faint noises came from afar. With his experience, Guo Shier immediately recognized them as sounds of battle, mixed with beast roars. In less than ten minutes, the noises grew louder—explosive sounds, thunderous roars, and the sound of footsteps shaking the ground all mixed together.
Guo Shier said softly, “They’re coming!”
Someone shouted, “Get ready! A large number of Abnormal and Mutated Beasts are approaching!”
“It’s time to reap rewards! Set up your altars and prepare to attack!”
Commands rang out everywhere. People in each team shouted as altars were set up, and professionals sat on them, unleashing their treasures, ready for battle.
A rumbling noise came through—the sound of Mutated and Abnormal Beasts trampling. This noise even drowned out the sounds of combat. In the distance, countless professionals could be seen flying back, each riding on their altar, in disarray. Some even screamed, “Everyone, be careful! Countless Mutated Beasts are coming!”

After a night of rest, many professional teams set up rune arrays in place. Many ancient clans also joined forces to create defensive rune arrays, while some teams deployed numerous rune traps to kill enemies and capture mutated beasts. Most notably, several clans even erected attack rune towers to enhance their teams’ offensive capabilities.

Guo Shier observed carefully and couldn’t help but marvel. If not for their exceptional strength and lack of intention to fight on the spot, he would have loved to use such rune array tactics himself—since they could at least boost his team’s strength. In such a chaotic battle, even a slight improvement in strength might increase the chances of survival.

The five of them remained motionless for now, with Li Ran still waiting for an opportunity. At this moment, the Beast Sea was at its most ferocious. Even if Li Ran were extremely powerful, he wouldn’t dare attack it head-on—it would be a waste of energy.

One group after another of professionals activated altar defenses, then waited for the onslaught of aberrant and mutated beasts. Soon, a dark line appeared in the distance, standing out sharply against the icy landscape. The loud tremors triggered massive avalanches in the distant snow-capped mountains, creating a powerful synergy between the two forces.

Even those professionals who had fought yesterday couldn’t help but feel their hearts race upon seeing this spectacle. They widened their eyes, staring intently ahead, their breathing becoming heavier.

Not far ahead of the Beast Sea, thousands of altars were retreating rapidly. From time to time, they launched attacks behind them to slow down the rapid spread of the Beast Sea. The professionals drove their altars frantically as they fled. Within just a few minutes, some of those who could fly quickly returned. Seeing the well-organized group of professionals, they breathed a sigh of relief. Someone warned, “Be careful! There are many mutated beasts this time!”

Guo Shier noticed that many altars had professionals lying on them, clearly severely injured and rescued by their comrades.

Li Ran said, “We’re about to make contact!”

Guo Shier replied, “Fortunately, the mutated beasts aren’t organized either. Heh, unorganized mutated beasts and unorganized professionals—quite a match, really…”

Hong Yuguang said, “Professionals are still organized, it’s just that not all of them have united.”

Guo Shier said, “What a shame. If they all organized themselves, with so many professionals, their combat strength could increase several times over. Hmm, they really have great coordination…” He saw that the professionals in the front row formed small cone-shaped talisman arrays, and the teams behind them also adopted similar formations, creating cones on the ground. Guo Shier immediately understood and was deeply impressed. Such cone-shaped talisman arrays wouldn’t be overwhelmed by irresistible forces; the waves of mutated beasts would flow around the cones and gradually separate into groups of mutated beasts.

Boom! Boom! Boom…

In an instant, the mutated beasts in the front charged at them. Guo Shier could clearly see the beasts being separated by the cone-shaped talisman arrays. In a flash, the sea of beasts was split into pieces. He couldn’t help but exclaim, “So that’s how it works. Heh, in just one night, the professionals reached a consensus. Truly remarkable!”

Guo Shier continued, “With such coordinated cooperation, it’s really possible to kill many mutated beasts. Heh, Brother Li Ran, should we wait or set off now?”

Li Ran smiled and said, “The more mutated beasts we can divert, the easier it will be for us to break through.” He thought deeply—he didn’t like wasting anything. He would save as much energy as possible, as he had no idea what awaited them in the sea of beasts.

The five of them were hovering ten meters above the ground, on the edge of the battlefield. Many professionals were also stationed there. Most of them were in small groups and could only launch surprise attacks on mutated beasts that came from the sides.

Ten minutes later, the battle reached its most intense phase. The entire battlefield was as chaotic as a boiling pot—filled with roars, howls, and deaths. At that moment, Li Ran said, “It’s almost time. Zhen Wuji, Hong Yuguang, Hong Mu, Shier—get ready. Follow me and charge!”

Guo Shier’s soul trembled slightly. “Old man, we’re going all in this time!”

The handsome old man replied, “Then let’s fight to the death together. I’m going all in too.”