Chapter 6: City of Blue Waves (Part 1)

The Ancestor said, “Fight seriously.”
Jia Tai gritted his teeth and said, “If I win… what then?” He hadn’t completely lost his sanity, and in his urgency, he actually asked such a question.
The Ancestor retorted, “What do you say?”
Jia Tai forced himself to speak, “If I win, let’s drop this matter! We won’t pursue what happened last time.”
Guo Shier was unhappy. He said, “What if you lose?”
Jia Tai replied, “If I lose… do whatever you want to me!”
Luo Zhan said, “Come on, it was me who won last time… What can we do to you? Kill you? Sell you? Be realistic!”
Jia Tai suddenly realized he had fallen into a trap. This wasn’t revenge at all—it was simply seeking punishment! After hesitating for a moment, he said, “If I lose, I’ll… give you this!” He threw a talisman. The Ancestor grabbed it mid-air, and the talisman landed in his palm. After examining it briefly, he smiled and said, “This isn’t bad. Alright, I’ll agree on behalf of the young guy.”
Jia Tai finally breathed a sigh of relief. He felt extremely unlucky—his attempt at revenge had turned into this situation, which he never expected. At this point, he knew he had to win, even if it was just to avenge his injured disciples. He had to severely injure the other guy, though killing him seemed unlikely.
Guo Shier cast a spell immediately, activating the Green Lotus Talisman and the Golden Armor Amulet. As a spellcaster, he was skilled in insect and beast talismans as well as his own Life Moon Blade, but his proficiency in general spellcraft was somewhat weaker.
Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan couldn’t approach due to the Ancestor’s interference, and the two grew frantic, howling in distress.
Jia Tai’s strength lay in his Life Golden Armor. Being a spell-and-martial arts professional, he wanted to get close to Guo Shier. But the Ancestor forced them apart, keeping them suspended on opposite sides of the island.
Guo Shier was confident in his Moon Blade. During tests in Luo Jie’s estate of the Northern Talisman Sect, he had felt that, after being reforged and enhanced at the Ancient Soul Altar, its power should be extremely strong. Still, he remained cautious and said, “Hey, do you dare fight on the ground?”
Jia Tai was secretly pleased. His combat skills on the ground far surpassed those in flight, and his Life Golden Armor had a powerful skill that could only be used on land. Without hesitation, he said, “Sure!” Then he added, “Whoever flies up and stays in the air for too long loses!” To further strengthen his advantage, he emphasized this point.

The Ancestor smiled happily and said, “Good, I’ll confirm this!”
Guo Shieru was the first to act, releasing the Giant Perch Dragon without pause. With a loud roar, the dragon appeared. The Ancestor was stunned and said, “How is that possible? A Level 10 mutated Spirit Beast?”
Immediately afterward, Guo Shieru released the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion. Already at Level 8 as a mutated Spirit Insect, the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion let out a series of chirping sounds as soon as it appeared, clearly excited after having been trapped in the insect talisman for too long. Not stopping there, Guo Shieru released the Blade Shadow Mantis as well.
The Ancestor stroked his chin, filled with astonishment, and said, “Mutated Blade Shadow Mantis! Hm, its level is a bit low—only Level 4… An interesting little guy.”
Finally, Guo Shieru released the Ancient Flame Sparrow.
With a cry, the Ancient Flame Sparrow suddenly grew larger, reaching three meters in length in no time. It flapped its wings, sending bursts of sparks from its feathers, with a thin layer of flame covering its body, emitting a reddish glow.
The Ancestor wondered, “I haven’t heard that the Gu Miluo family is good at controlling beasts and insects. Where did this little guy get so many Spirit Beasts and Spirit Insects? His soul must be incredibly strong.”
Jiagao was completely stunned. How could he fight like this? This was too much! He wasn’t surprised by the appearance of the Giant Perch Dragon, but another giant scorpion, a Blade Shadow Mantis, and a flying Ancient Flame Sparrow? How could this person control so many Spirit Beasts and Spirit Insects? It was simply unreasonable.
Guo Shieru chuckled and said, “Come on!”
Jiagao felt like crying but had no tears. If he encountered these physical mutated talisman beasts and insects in the wild, he could still fight them one by one, as they fought independently and could be defeated one after another if he found the right opportunity. But once commanded by someone, these beasts and insects would unite, support each other, and coordinate their attacks, greatly enhancing their strength, making it impossible for him to deal with them.
Even if he forced himself to fight, he wouldn’t gain any advantage, and Guo Shieru was standing behind, eyeing him warily—sure to join the fight. Jiagao couldn’t help but shout, “This isn’t fair!”
The Ancestor’s expression darkened as he said, “What does fairness mean? You’re an intermediate Grand Sage, fighting against a senior sage—is that fair? Damn it… If you want to die, just say so, and I’ll end your life!” After waiting anxiously for so long for the battle to begin, this guy suddenly complained about unfairness, and he immediately became furious.
Jiagao’s face changed drastically. Not daring to say anything else, he gritted his teeth and said, “I’ll fight you to the death!” In a moment of panic, he rushed straight at Guo Shieru.

The Giant Perch Dragon turned slightly, its thick tail lashing out with a whooshing sound as it sliced through the air. Hyperthyroid roared loudly, spewing a column of crimson light—the innate skill of the Great Golden Armor—which struck the dragon’s tail. With a deafening explosion, half of the tail was severed, causing the dragon to roar in pain.

The Dark-Winged Scorpion silently slipped into the trees and bushes, while the Blade Shadow Mantis darted about like lightning, trying to draw Hyperthyroid’s attention.

Hyperthyroid knew well that engaging with these Spirit Beasts and Spirit Insects was falling into Guo Shier’s trap. Ignoring everything, he charged straight at Guo Shier, aiming for close combat.

In an instant, Hyperthyroid crossed half of the island and was nearly upon Guo Shier.

Guo Shier sneered. His Moon Blade suddenly grew enormous, reaching over ten meters in length. With a gesture of his hand, the blade spun rapidly, forming a crimson disc that swept through everything in its path—whether large trees or boulders. Even the Ancestor was secretly astonished by its immense power.

Hyperthyroid stopped abruptly and shouted, “Perfect timing!” Two talismanic shields flew up from his back to protect him. They were made from the hard shells of the mutated Great Golden Armor and were extremely durable. Guo Shier had also crafted similar shields, ones intended for the Eagle Demon.

Boom!

The Moon Blade shattered the talismanic shields effortlessly. Hyperthyroid screamed in fear and shot into the air. By then, the Giant Perch Dragon had regrown its tail and lashed out again.

Not daring to stay in the air for long, Hyperthyroid landed on the ground. Before he could steady himself, a black shadow appeared behind him—it was the Dark-Winged Scorpion’s tail, its venomous stinger aimed at his back. Hyperthyroid waved his arms, and two translucent membrane wings appeared on either side of his body. With a buzz, he darted sideways to avoid the attack.

The Dark-Winged Scorpion missed its target and immediately hid in the trees and bushes, waiting for another chance.

Hyperthyroid was drenched in cold sweat. If he were stung by the scorpion, even if his defenses held, it would still be unbearable; if they failed, it would be worse than death. He knew well how deadly the scorpion’s tail stinger was.

The Moon Blade swept across again. Guo Shier cast a spell and shouted, “Scatter!”

A buzzing sound filled the air, and in an instant, the Moon Blade split into thirty-six smaller blades that swept in all directions.

Hyperthyroid vibrated his wings once more. Suddenly, a blur of light passed by—faster than lightning. His body tilted uncontrollably as he crashed to the ground, his wings torn in half. That was the work of the Blade Shadow Mantis.

The ancient flame sparrow’s task was simple—protect its master, so it didn’t participate directly in battles.
Guo Shierwen clenched his fist tightly and shouted, “Gather!”
Thirty-six moon blades quickly converged, gathering together as if they were living creatures. With a swift wave of his hand, the thirty-six moon blades moved forward in unison, heading straight for Jia Tai.
Jia Tai trembled. He was now in a half-human, half-insect form, huge in size, with both layers of wings on his back useless. The first layer of hard wings had been shattered by the moon blades from the start, and the second layer of transparent wings, which could have been used for rapid evasion, was torn apart by the sharp forelimbs of the knife-winged mantis, leaving a large crack—rendering it unusable as well. With these two abilities destroyed, Jia Tai’s strength had dropped by at least 30%.
A layer of flame rose from Jia Tai’s body, forming a defensive circle. Then, he quickly cast a series of spells, but before they could be completed, the moon blades fell like rain.
Jia Tai never expected the moon blades to be so powerful. The defensive flame circle he created lasted only five seconds before dissipating with a loud explosion, leaving him helpless as the moon blades struck him. With a thunderous blast, he was thrown aside, spitting out blood as his life-giving golden armor shattered completely, revealing his true form.
The Ancestor shook his head and said, “This life-giving spirit insect formed by merging with a spirit beast—once its body is broken, it becomes nothing… Boring!”
Guo Shierwen didn’t intend to kill him. The thirty-six moon blades continued to circle Jia Tai; any move he made would allow them to strangle him.
Eagle Demon said, “Lao Luo, Shierwen’s life-giving talisman is getting stronger.”
Luo Zhan said, “That guy is too weak. An intermediate Great Sage… utterly ordinary, nothing special at all.”
Guo Shierwen said calmly, “You lost.”
Jia Tai’s face turned deathly pale. He hadn’t expected to lose so easily. After a long while, he finally said, “I lost!” He had no choice but to admit defeat. The worst part was that the spirit of his mutated golden armor was severely damaged; his strength had dropped by at least one rank, and it was uncertain whether he could still maintain the level of an intermediate Great Sage. This was the downside of using a spirit beast as a life-giving talisman—when the spirit beast advanced, he advanced too; when the spirit beast was severely injured, he was severely injured as well.
The Ancestor waved his hand and said, “Alright, you can go now. What a disappointment—just an intermediate Great Sage with such limited skills.” He lifted the restriction. The Nest Sect practitioners who couldn’t move before now found they could move again and descended from the air, gathering around Jia Tai.
Jia Tai whispered, “Don’t cause trouble. Let’s leave!”
Guo Shierwen called out, “Wait!”

Jia Tai stood up with others’ help, staring intently at Guo Shier and saying, “What? Do you plan to back out?”
Guo Shier curled his lips and said, “I’m not that boring.” Then he added, “There’s one thing you need to clarify!”
Jia Tai forced himself to stay focused and asked, “What is it?”
Guo Shier replied, “How did you know we were here and find us so accurately? I hope you tell the truth. Don’t wait for me to figure it out on my own—it won’t be good for anyone!”
He then added firmly, “In the wild, all sorts of dangers are inevitable. I don’t think I deliberately brought disaster upon you… I won’t kill you this time, but if it happens again, I won’t spare you!”