Chapter 9: The Power of Self-Destruction (Part 2)

“We’re not done yet! If you can’t kill me… those two bastard turtles, I’ll go after the Gu Bing family and the Gu Lei family—none of you will escape!”
The two felt their scalps tingle upon hearing this. Though they didn’t know what “bastard turtles” meant, they understood it was an insult. They thought to themselves, “Who on earth have we offended this time? This is trouble.”
This wasn’t Guo Shier’s usual strength. He had only managed to get rid of those two threats by using a large number of Soul Beasts to self-destruct. But Guo Shier was now extremely enraged and had blown up thousands of Soul Beasts in one go—claiming he wasn’t heartbroken would be a lie.
Halechi and Wang Keer stared in shock at the sea of Soul Beasts. They never imagined Guo Shier had so many of them; it was terrifying.
Si Debing’s blue long sword circled the altar, but with countless Soul Beasts exploding one after another, even this ninth-grade sacrificial treasure couldn’t withstand it. As the explosions continued, the blue sword began to crack. Unable to watch his sacrificial treasure destroyed, he immediately summoned another one. By now, he was in a desperate state, with countless thin cracks appearing on the altar as well.
Guo Shier kept staring at the two unrelentingly. He couldn’t let them recover, so no matter how reluctant he was, he continued to order the Soul Beasts to self-destruct one after another. Fortunately, he didn’t need to blow up hundreds of them at once like at the beginning. Back then, a single explosion had already consumed two or three thousand Soul Beasts.
As he continued to blow them up, Guo Shier also began to feel panicked. Although the self-destructs of the Soul Beasts could stop those two, blowing them up one after another meant hundreds would be lost in just a few minutes. At this rate, even Guo Shier felt he couldn’t sustain it.
Halechi was stunned for a long time before muttering, “This… this is too extravagant. So many Soul Beasts… what a waste…”
No professional could remain indifferent to such a scene. Sacrificial beasts were rare, so who would be willing to use them to self-destruct and harm enemies?
Guo Shier cast a spell and recalled most of the Soul Beasts he had sent out. Against professionals on a ninth-tier altar, surrounding them with Soul Beasts hardly yielded results; only self-destructs could deal serious damage. To kill them, one would need to blow up tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands, of Soul Beasts—something Guo Shier absolutely couldn’t bear to do. After all, self-destructing was satisfying, but where could he get so many Soul Beasts to replace those lost?

Halechi roared, “Blow them to pieces!”
Guo Shier suddenly recalled all his Spirit Beasts and shouted, “Let’s go!” If the explosions continued, he would vomit blood. In just a short while, he had used up over 6,800 Spirit Beasts—too great a loss.
The three of them fled once again.
Si Debing and Lei Zhenhuo did not pursue them. Both were disheveled and injured, and their altar had also suffered severe damage. Staying where they were, Si Debing asked in confusion, “Where… where did he get so many Spirit Beasts?”
Lei Zhenhuo smiled bitterly. “And… most of them are high-level Spirit Beasts—at least 100,000 or more. I’m going crazy. He even used self-destruction. If 100,000 Spirit Beasts explode at once…” He shuddered, sensing that he had provoked someone he shouldn’t have.
Si Debing asked, “What should we do? Give up?” He already thought about retreating. It would be difficult to chase after Guo Shier and the others; without exhausting those Spirit Beasts, they couldn’t defeat them.
Lei Zhenhuo shook his head with a bitter smile. “They know which family we belong to. If we let them go, our family will face their wrath…” He was filled with frustration. He thought they were an easy target, only to find they were as hard as stone or steel, even breaking a few of his teeth.
Si Debing said, “We can’t let them go. We must kill them, or it will bring disaster to our family.”
Lei Zhenhuo agreed, “Yes, we must kill them. It’s a shame we can’t recruit them.”
The two quickly repaired their altar and resumed their frantic pursuit of the three.
Actually, Guo Shier and his companions could have left using the talisman gate, but they had to wait for Li Ran and Qi Wuzhen to return so they wouldn’t get separated. Fortunately, by using the self-destruction of the Spirit Beasts, they managed to give their enemies pause, allowing the three of them to maneuver more freely.
Wang Keer’s eyes sparkled as she stared at Guo Shier and said, “Brother Shier…”
Halechi couldn’t help but chuckle.
Guo Shier asked, “Why are you laughing?”
Halechi shook his head. His face was still pale. “I guess… someone’s going to worship you.”
Guo Shier turned to look at Wang Keer and smiled. “I know, I know…”
Wang Keer giggled, “Brother Shier, how do you have so many Spirit Beasts… Hehe, Brother Shier…” Her sweet voice gave Guo Shier a creepy feeling.
Guo Shier chuckled. “You can worship me, but the Spirit Beasts… I won’t give them away.” He wasn’t actually stingy; it was just that after a battle, joking around could help relieve stress.

Wang Keer immediately made a pained face and said, “Cheap!”
Guo Shier and Hachechi burst into laughter, using it to relieve the fear they had just felt. If it weren’t for Guo Shier’s decisive choice to detonate his Spirit Beast, they would really have been doomed. Without breaking through the talisman array set up by their opponents, their strength simply wasn’t enough to withstand the attacks of those two, as there was a significant difference in strength.
The handsome old man said, “Shier, you need to reach the ninth-level altar as soon as possible; otherwise, you’ll be at a huge disadvantage.”
Hachechi was speechless. He felt deeply frustrated—how long had he been stuck at the eighth-level altar? At least ten years, and his soul power still wasn’t strong enough to advance. Although he had also laid the framework for the ninth-level altar, it would take him several more years to advance.
It was thanks to Qi Wu Zhen’s guidance that he was able to move forward. He stubbornly followed Qi Wu Zhen, not only out of admiration but also to gain some advice from her. Though Qi Wu Zhen spoke very little, whenever she did, it was as if she cleared the clouds for him, providing tremendous help.
The three of them darted around in the world of flames, their movements unpredictable, yet they still couldn’t shake off Si De Bing and Lei Zhen Huo’s pursuit. Guo Shier was certain that they must have been cursed with some tracking talismans, making it difficult to get rid of those two. So, he didn’t expect to escape them; he just had to be careful and avoid falling into their traps.
But no matter how careful Guo Shier was, staying within a small area made it hard to avoid them, and the two sides clashed several more times.
Hachechi said, “They’re being more cautious now, not as reckless as at first.”
Guo Shier said, “I know. They’re afraid of my Spirit Beast detonating and want to exhaust our strength by chasing us.”
Wang Keer said, “Sister Zhen, please come quickly… Sigh, it would be better if even one of you came back first…”
Guo Shier said, “We’ll try to buy time. I believe Sister Zhen and the others will be back soon.” The three of them could only rely on Qi Wu Zhen and Li Ran. If it weren’t for waiting for them to return, they wouldn’t be in such a disadvantageous position.
After several exchanges of attacks and defenses, without unleashing their Spirit Beasts, Guo Shier and the others suffered a lot. Though they weren’t seriously injured, they still expended a great deal of energy. As time passed, the three of them felt increasingly strained.

Si Debing and Lei Zhenhuo were very puzzled, as Guo Shier and the others were only running around near the mountain peak, not fleeing far away or using magic gates to leave. If things continued as they were, the two of them were confident they could wear down the three of them to death. But they couldn’t figure out why they were acting this way. Did they not realize the huge difference in strength between them?

Lei Zhenhuo spoke first, “There’s something strange.”

Si Debing nodded. “I don’t know why they’re running around here, but they must have a purpose… Could they have a backup plan?”

Lei Zhenhuo hesitated for a moment before saying, “More experts? Are they waiting?”

Si Debing replied, “Maybe there’s another expert… Could it be a professional from the Ninth-Level Altar? If there’s someone like that, things will get tricky. Hmm… This won’t work. Should we get some help too?”

The two stopped. With their combined strength, unless Guo Shier had the Soul-Stabilizing Cauldron, he would be doomed. And now they felt it would be difficult to kill their opponents with just their own strength, so getting help might be a good idea. Thus, both of them considered it.

Lei Zhenhuo said, “Hmm, better to find more people…”

Si Debing replied, “You go find people. I’ll keep fighting them. Go quickly and come back fast. If they notice, things will get difficult. Let’s give them a surprise! Hehe.” The thought made him angry—being forced into this situation by a professional from the Eighth-Level Altar filled him with frustration.

Lei Zhenhuo said, “Okay, I’ll go find help. It will take at least a few hours, maybe half a day. Be careful on your own.”

Si Debing smiled. “No problem. Even if I can’t kill them, I still have the ability to protect myself. I’ll keep them busy.” This task wasn’t difficult at all. He had already realized that the opponents didn’t want to confront him directly but were just running around aimlessly, seemingly trying to buy time. As long as he didn’t press too hard, delaying them wouldn’t be a problem.

Guo Shier and the others didn’t realize that one of their pursuers was gone. They continued flying fast, taking even more chaotic routes. According to his plan, they must never follow a fixed escape route—the messier, the better, so the pursuers couldn’t set traps.

After Lei Zhenhuo left, Si Debing slowed down his pursuit. He still didn’t dare give up completely, as that would allow the opponents to notice a change. Even so, Guo Shier clearly felt the pressure of pursuit decrease. After running for a while, he began to wonder.

Guo Shier said, “Lao Ha, do you think… the pursuit behind us has weakened?”

Wang Keer asked, “Could it be they’re tired?”
Halechi sneered and said, “If we can hold on, how could those two experts from the Ninth-Level Altar get tired?”
Guo Shier said, “No matter what tricks the opponent uses, we just need to buy time until Sister Zhen and Brother Li Ran return. So… this is the best. We can also catch our breath a bit.”
Both sides wanted to buy time, as if by some unspoken agreement, keeping their distance from each other. This gave Guo Shier and the others a chance to rest, while the old man quickly repaired the altar and the Soul-Stabilizing Cauldron, especially the severely damaged Moon Blade, which was the most important artifact he focused on fixing.
Halechi also sat on the altar, refining his Thunder Axe. The previous battle had damaged his Thunder Axe as well, but thanks to the sacrifices provided by Guo Shier, repairs weren’t difficult.
A day later, Si Debing received a message token and immediately joined forces with Lei Zhenhuo.
Lei Zhenhuo brought two experts here, both professionals from the Ninth-Level Altar.
Seeing those two, Si Debing finally breathed a sigh of relief. Four professionals from the Ninth-Level Altar were enough to destroy a large ancient clan, and killing two professionals from the Eighth-Level Altar wouldn’t be a problem either. The only thing left to do was to prevent the opponents from escaping.
Lei Zhenhuo smiled and said, “Good luck—I invited two friends to help us.”
Si Debing introduced herself, “Gu Bing Clan, Si Debing.”
An emaciated old woman with gray hair scattered across her shoulders and deep wrinkles on her face stood there, leaning on a black cane almost as tall as herself. Her frail body seemed like it could be blown away by a gust of wind. She nodded and said, “Gu Lei Clan, Lei Yuan.”
The other person had long white hair and wore a loose black robe. He spoke calmly, “Gu Zhen Clan, Zhen Wuji.” Then he smiled and said, “Since Brother Lei invited me, I didn’t know what kind of help was needed. Hehe, but this place is nice—turns out it’s a Flame Continent.”
Si Debing explained the situation, and Zhen Wuji frowned and asked, “You mean you want to kill those people?”
Lei Zhenhuo replied, “Brother Wuji, I don’t even need you to take action. I just ask you… to make sure they don’t escape.”
Zhen Wuji thought for a moment. Two professionals from the Eighth-Level Altar and one from the Sixth-Level Altar—yet Lei Zhenhuo had invited two professionals from the Ninth-Level Altar to deal with them. That meant the opponents were very strong; otherwise, he wouldn’t have sought so many top experts from the Ninth Level.
“Who are they?”
Si Debing smiled and said, “Wandering professionals, with no roots or background. No need to worry.”
Zhen Wuji asked, “What do you plan to do?”