Chapter 3: The Ancestor Takes Action (Part 2)

It was unclear what method the Ancestor used, but the ice crystals formed from the ice flame quickly merged into the flags. In an instant, the entire flag ceased to be scorching hot; the flames vanished, and the seven flags fluttered in the windless air. Guo Shier’s soul trembled—it was a feeling of extreme danger, a hundred times worse than when the flags were burning fiercely.

The sense of the Abnormal Golden Armor grew even stronger as it flew upward once more. With a casual wave of his hand, the seven flags suddenly enveloped the altar. The giant talisman bead shrank slightly, becoming a bead about four to five meters in diameter, hanging above the Ancestor’s head. The seven flags rotated slowly around the altar.

The Abnormal Golden Armor flew into the air, paused briefly, then charged again frantically. It simply didn’t have many other tactics. This was the flaw of talisman beasts and worms—they possessed great strength but relied solely on instinct when using spells, unlike professionals who could learn and master various spell skills. Thus, when talisman beasts and worms were on par with professionals in terms of strength, they ended up at a disadvantage.

The Abnormal Golden Armor no longer had a spiritual essence but possessed a certain level of intelligence. It understood this truth as well, so it preferred to use its clumsy attacks rather than its instinctive spell skills. Last time, a single breath had cost it a large amount of high-grade spell fire, which it had taken a long time to gather underground. Losing so much all at once caused it great pain.

A mocking smirk appeared on the Ancestor’s face. He cast a spell and said calmly, “This time… try hitting again!”

Boom!

The Abnormal Golden Armor was sent flying backward once more. This collision dealt it a severe blow—a cold aura rushed into its body along with the force of the impact.

As the Abnormal Golden Armor tumbled in the air, raging flames erupted across its body, but strangely, faint blue ice crystals formed on it and continued to spread. It tried desperately to intensify the flames, yet it couldn’t stop the ice crystals from expanding. Its massive body became mixed and uneven, with patches of red and blue, flames and ice crystals coexisting.

Guo Shier exclaimed in horror, “Fire and ice coexisting—two extremes! The Abnormal Golden Armor… it’s in trouble now.”

The Ancestor also suffered greatly from being hit by the Abnormal Golden Armor. The shockwave was absorbed by the altar, and even he, sitting atop it, was slightly affected. But taking advantage of the collision, he injected ice flame into the Abnormal Golden Armor’s body. Just that one strike damaged its very essence.

The Abnormal Golden Armor fell into the magma. It stomped violently on the ground with its huge six legs, causing massive bursts of magma to gush out. The Ancestor sneered, “Ice flame cannot be eliminated by magma… Reptile, die!”
Seven banners converged to form a virtual talismanic beam, which struck the talisman bead directly. The bead emitted a blinding light, like that of the sun. Professionals on the ground covered their eyes with their hands—the light was so intense that even with their hands in front, everything remained a white blur.
Eagle Demon exclaimed, “Twelve, look over there!”
Above the Abnormal Golden Armor, a giant ice spear was gradually forming. Strangely, raging flames burned on that ice spear. The hundred-meter-long ice spear had an extremely strong visual impact. Luo Zhan asked, “Where did that thing come from?”
Guo Twelve had already seen clearly. He said, “It’s projected by the banner array. How is this possible…”
The Ancestor stared solemnly at the Abnormal Golden Armor and suddenly recited a series of spells, saying, “Rise!” The ice spear shot upward abruptly, heading straight into the sky. In the blink of an eye, it turned into a silver dot. Then the Ancestor shouted, “Fall!”
The ice spear descended from the sky with a howling sound, its roar deafening. A stream of flames trailed behind it, creating an incredible contrast between ice and fire.
The Abnormal Golden Armor roared. Countless golden beetles swarmed over and piled up on its back, forming a mountain. Those advanced mutated golden armors desperately attacked the falling ice spear.
Hu Da shouted, “It’s Thousand-Mile Ice and Fire… Retreat quickly!”
Tian Xia and the Demon Maiden said nothing. The three of them teleported hundreds of meters away in an instant, then teleported further.
The Abnormal Golden Armor was trapped in place by the power of the banner array. Realizing it couldn’t escape, it roared frantically, summoning numerous mutated golden armors and an endless stream of golden beetles to try and stop the ice spear from falling. A large amount of flame emerged from its body. Due to the attack of the ice flame, it couldn’t use its runes to form effective protection.
Guo Twelve was secretly shocked. The Ancestor’s attacks seemed simple, but each step built upon the last, quickly trapping the Abnormal Golden Armor in a desperate situation. Such tactics were truly befitting a top-tier professional.
As the Abnormal Golden Armor roared, swarms of golden beetles took off, forming a stream that headed straight toward the ice spear. The power of the banner array only restricted the movement of the Abnormal Golden Armor; it had no effect on these tiny golden beetles.
Frequent explosions rang out.

As soon as the golden beetles approached the ice spear, they were struck by the intense cold. Upon contact with the flames within them, they immediately exploded. It was as if countless flowers were blooming—each explosion created a blood-red flower in the air.
Xu Yan exclaimed, “Damn, it’s absolutely spectacular!”
Guo Shier noticed something strange: the ice spear wasn’t falling fast, even a bit slow. He was almost numb from watching it. Not to mention the bizarre phenomenon of ice and fire combined, the ice spear, which should have fallen rapidly, actually slowed down mid-air. The alternating speeds were so disconcerting it made one feel like vomiting blood.
Eagle Demon shook his head repeatedly and said, “If we face such a master, we won’t have any chance to fight back…”
Han Yan couldn’t help but say, “Are you joking? How could you possibly have such an enemy? Even if you’re bored with life, you wouldn’t dare provoke such a master. And even if you did want to… it would be extremely difficult.”
Eagle Demon smiled bitterly. He thought of Luo Jie and Qi Nan Shan—if they couldn’t reach the level of their ancestor soon, they might attract such masters. And if Guo Shier were there, he surely wouldn’t stand by idly.
The ice spear fell even slower, with waves of cold rushing downward. The ancestor’s face turned pale—this strike had to succeed; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to withstand it. With a flick of his finger, the ice crystals on the altar merged back into the flag formation. Hundreds more ice crystals were consumed this time, and even someone as wealthy as the ancestor felt a slight pain.
“Even if you die… it’s worth it. You made me spend so much Ice Flame!”
The ice spear suddenly accelerated, and with a loud crash, it plunged deep into the body of the Abnormal Giant Golden Armor. All the golden beetles clustered around the ice spear were blown apart. The ice spear sank deep into the Abnormal Giant Golden Armor’s body, pinning it to the ground. No matter what defensive tactics the Abnormal Giant Golden Armor used, they were useless.
Chaa…
The Abnormal Giant Golden Armor let out a miserable scream before being instantly killed by the ice spear. All the other mutated giant gold armors immediately scattered in all directions. The ancestor nodded in satisfaction and said, “Disciples of the Fire Sect, go and chase them!” With that, he reached out and grabbed something.
Through the flag formation, a giant hand made of runes appeared and landed directly on the Abnormal Giant Golden Armor. Its soul was forcibly pulled out.
The seven flags slowly rotated, enclosing the soul of the Abnormal Giant Golden Armor as it retracted back to the altar.

He threw the spirit of the alienated Great Golden Armor to the second layer before flying down from the altar. With a casual spell, the altar rapidly shrank and was swallowed by him. He hovered in the air, leisurely watching the Fire Sect disciples chase after the Golden Armor Beetles.

Hu Da, Tian Hua, and the Fiery Beauty approached the Ancestor. All the advanced mutated Great Golden Armors that had been fighting against them had fled. Aside from a few killed at the beginning, they hadn’t gone to extreme lengths to slaughter them.

All three were very happy. It was not easy to see the Ancestor fight; even as disciples, they rarely got to witness him taking action. Being able to see it firsthand was highly enlightening for them, as they were all on the verge of advancing.

Guo Shier also mixed among the professionals and charged at the Golden Armor Beetles. This time, he unleashed the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion and the Blade Shadow Mantis. The corpses of the Golden Armor Beetles scattered everywhere were still fresh, allowing the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion and the Blade Shadow Mantis to absorb their spirits.

No one paid attention to these lower-level Golden Armor Beetles; everyone was only interested in those mutated at level four or above. As for the Holy Masters and Supreme Holy Masters, they even disdained level-four mutated Golden Armor Beetles—they wanted those at level six or above. Mutated Golden Armor Beetles at levels eighty or ninety could be called Great Golden Armors, and such creatures were mostly reserved for Supreme Holy Master-level professionals.

The Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion was unaccustomed to the environment—surrounded by flames and rampant magma, it appeared listless, just like the Blade Shadow Mantis. However, with the spirits of the Golden Armor Beetles to absorb, the two spirit insects managed to hold on.

The Ancient Flame Bird, on the other hand, thrived greatly, reaping many benefits. Once it returned to its talisman, it would surely advance again.

Guo Shier didn’t dare unleash the Giant Nest Dragon. Although it would be impressive if used, it would draw too much attention. With the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion, the Blade Shadow Mantis, and the Ancient Flame Bird already present, they had attracted enough attention. Lu Yiding kept glancing at Guo Shier—being a disciple of a sect specialized in controlling spirit beasts, he had never seen such a peculiar professional before.

The tide of Golden Armor Beetles receded quickly. In less than half an hour, not a single living one could be found.

The disciples cast various ice and water talismans, gradually extinguishing the flames. There were countless cracks in the ground, with the magma inside slowly cooling and hardening. Yet the surrounding temperature remained high. The ice talismans produced white mist, accompanied by a constant hissing sound.

Someone said, “We’ve gathered quite a lot of materials this time. Heh, good luck. It’s fortunate the Ancestor stepped in; otherwise, we really wouldn’t have been able to hold them off.”

Another person added, “Yes, the harvest is substantial. I wonder what reward the Fire Sect will give us this time?”

Guo Shier’s eyes lit up as he thought of a question.