Chapter 4: Defying Limits (Part 1)

Experts at the three-tier altar must not be underestimated. Guo Shier deliberately used sarcasm to provoke them. Once they lost their composure, they would reveal weaknesses.
Jin Daya’s altar was simple and straightforward, the most common design—square in shape with three tiers. Many sacrificial offerings were active on the lowest tier, all being spirit beasts the size of cats or dogs. Guo Shier knew this was only possible within the altar’s control; once the offerings were set free, they wouldn’t be so small.
A silver long sword hung above Jin Daya’s head. Guo Shier guessed that given Jin Daya’s personality, using an axe or hammer as a sacrificial artifact would be far less impressive than a long sword, so his choice was inevitable.
Before Jin Daya could charge over, more talismanic lights flashed in the distance. Moments later, a dozen disciples from the Gujin Family arrived. Among them was an expert with an illusory altar, while the rest were ordinary disciples. The highest-ranked was an intermediate Grand Sage, along with two master-level disciples.
The professional with the illusory altar stepped forward and bowed, saying, “Elder Ancestor.”
Although Jin Daya was furious earlier, he hadn’t actually attacked. He was also observing Guo Shier carefully. Few professionals who had reached the three-tier altar were foolish. With a dark expression, he said, “Jin Yishou, take your disciples and leave. You can’t help here!”
Jin Yishou looked like Jin Daya’s father, but his status was far lower. He bowed and replied, “Yes!”
In Guo Shier’s eyes, these Gujin Family disciples were just materials. How could he let them go? Smiling, he said, “Since you’re here, don’t rush to leave, hehe.” Before he finished speaking, he charged forward at lightning speed, appearing among the disciples in the blink of an eye before teleporting away.
Jin Daya was enraged. In just a blink, except for Jin Yishou, all the disciples were entangled by Guxi Bi’s tentacles and dragged onto the altar.
Guo Shier wasn’t afraid of Jin Daya. He had already communicated with the handsome old man earlier. Defying limits wasn’t a problem at all. With the sacrificial spirit of the handsome old man by his side, his strength was no less than Jin Daya’s—perhaps even greater. Of course, this could only be determined after a fight.

It’s so satisfying to grab people with Gu Xi Bi’s tentacles; the mid- and low-level disciples have no chance to resist. If it were a skilled fighter using a two-layer altar to capture them, although they still couldn’t escape, capturing each one would take at least a few minutes, with no interruptions allowed. But with Guo Shier’s method, he just charges in and grabs them all in less than a second—no wonder Jin Daya couldn’t react in time.

Jin Daya’s face turned red. He had never suffered such humiliation in his life. Someone of a lower rank dared to attack him outright, capturing all his clan’s disciples without even sparing him a glance, utterly humiliating him. This time, he could no longer bear it and roared, “Damn it… I’ll kill you!”

Guo Shier calmly said to Nan Ming and Nan Zhi Chun, “You two go catch that Jin Yishou. I’ll deal with Jin Daya.”

Jin Daya stepped back slightly—this was the optimal distance for an attack. Guo Shier also stepped back a bit, wanting to test whether his Moon Blade could compete with the opponent’s sacrificial treasure.

Nan Ming and Nan Zhi Chun exchanged a glance and rushed at Jin Yishou together. Fighting two against one meant a huge advantage for them. As he lunged forward, Nan Ming sent out three message talismans. He knew that sending them in front of Jin Daya would likely be intercepted, so now was the perfect chance.

Nan Ming didn’t know exactly how skilled Guo Shier was, but he knew Jin Daya was quite strong. By normal professional standards, a three-layer altar user should be able to defeat a two-layer altar user—though it might take some time. A three-layer altar user’s soul power would surely be stronger than that of a two-layer altar user, so he had to send out rescue message talismans.

Boom!

Before Nan Ming, Nan Zhi Chun, and Jin Yishou could even come into contact, they were blown away by a massive shockwave.

Guo Shier and Jin Daya collided head-on; their Moon Blade and sword-shaped sacrificial treasure both recoiled, creating a dazzling burst of golden light before exploding.

Both of them were thrown backward, along with the altar. Guo Shier exclaimed in surprise, “Whoa, that’s impressive…”

The handsome old man said, “Impressive? He’s a three-layer altar user, right? You’re only a two-layer… It’s a tie in strength. You still call it impressive? Then Jin Daya must be crying his eyes out…”

A cold glint flashed in Jin Daya’s eyes. His expression remained calm on the surface, but he was terrified inside. His sacrificial artifact had just been upgraded to the third rank. If it were still the second-rank artifact, it would either be destroyed outright or at least cracked. Could it be that the other party also had a third-rank sacrificial artifact?

Before Jin Daya could figure this out, the Moon Blade swept down again with a howl. There was no choice—Guo Shier preferred to slash, which made the old man frown and urge him to curse again.

Jin Daya shouted, “Scatter! Fire!”

The sword-shaped sacrificial artifact instantly transformed into countless foot-long blades, which shot forward in a swarm. Jin Daya certainly didn’t want to engage in a head-on clash. No matter what kind of sacrificial artifact it was, this attack method was the most foolish—completely relying on the quality and hardness of the artifact. Few people would choose such a tactic. It consumed too much of the artifact’s energy; even the strongest ones would develop cracks after dozens of collisions. No one would use such a clumsy method unless absolutely desperate.

Guo Shier ignored him entirely and ordered the Moon Blade to strike downward. With a cold laugh, he said, “Slice!”

Jin Daya was overjoyed because the Moon Blade was still some distance away from him, while the foot-long blades from his sacrificial artifact were already nearing Guo Shier’s altar. He roared, “Die!” He didn’t believe Guo Shier’s altar’s defenses could withstand the penetration of a third-rank sacrificial artifact.

Both sides were fast, but the blades were even faster.

In an instant, countless tentacles swayed out from Guo Shier’s altar, layer upon layer, seemingly endless—tens of thousands of them.

Pfft… pfft…

A series of sounds. The tentacles of the Guxi Bi had another name: Soul-Trap Whisks. They were deadly tools designed to absorb and devour souls, an innate ability of the Guxi Bi. As soon as the blades made contact with the tentacles, the soul imprints attached to them began to fade little by little.

The tentacles kept swinging. The blades might be able to quickly pierce or cut one tentacle, but under the assault of dozens of them in succession, their strength gradually weakened. Since controlling the sacrificial artifact required Jin Daya’s soul energy, once that energy was eroded, he lost control over it.

In just a few breaths, Jin Daya was horrified to realize that his connection with his sacrificial artifact was weakening rapidly. In panic, he quickly retracted it. In his haste, he overlooked the Moon Blade falling from above. Then he heard Jin Yishou shout, “An attack from above, Grandmaster!”

Jin Daya suddenly realized what was happening and panicked, instantly teleporting away as the Moon Blade nearly struck his altar. Thanks to Jin Yishou’s warning, the Moon Blade missed its target. Enraged, Guo Shieru cursed, “Bastard!” He quickly moved in front of Jin Yishou, and the tentacles of Gu Xi Bi transformed into four thick whips, which lashed out viciously, forcing him to give up even the chance to seize the sword-shaped sacrificial treasure.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Whoosh…

The four whips struck in succession, with the final blow sending Jin Yishou flying.

Guo Shieru shouted, “You two, beat him!”

Nan Ming and Nan Zhichun replied and rushed over at full speed. With this delay, Jin Daya finally caught his breath and successfully retrieved his sacrificial treasure. But he realized that the soul imprint he had left in the treasure was almost gone, causing him great pain as he pounded the top of the altar.

Just as Jin Daya gritted his teeth in frustration, Guo Shieru turned and charged again. He planned to use the whips formed by Gu Xi Bi to strike Jin Daya, thinking they were even more effective than the Moon Blade.

The handsome old man said cheerfully, “Right, beat him to death with the whips! Go! Haha!”

In an instant, dozens of whips appeared, lashing out wildly, their sharp whistling sounds shaking the heavens. Guo Shieru drove the altar forward recklessly, as if trying to crash it into the other party’s altar.

Jin Daya understood that if the two altars collided, they would surely be damaged. No high-level professional would dare to use their altar to strike another directly—only a madman would do such a thing. Gritting his teeth, he threw out another sacrificial treasure. This one hadn’t been fully refined yet and was his third sacrificial treasure.

The first was the sword-shaped sacrificial treasure, his core sacrificial treasure. Another was the white robe he wore, which served as a defensive sacrificial treasure. The third was the one he had just taken out, barely complete. He had no choice but to use it—his core sacrificial treasure had had most of its soul imprint erased by Gu Xi Bi’s tentacles, and he didn’t dare use it again. If the imprint were completely erased, his soul would also suffer severe damage.

The third sacrificial treasure was the one he truly intended to use after advancing to the third-tier altar: a double-dragon halberd, with the spirits of two Level 13 mutated rune dragons embedded in each of its prongs—both were Level 13 ice-type mutated flying dragons, extremely rare. It was unclear where he had obtained it.

As soon as he threw out the double-dragon halberd, Guo Shieru charged at him, forcing Jin Daya to dodge desperately. He certainly didn’t want to collide with Guo Shieru.

The handsome old man laughed heartily at Jin Daya’s flustered escape, saying, “It’s fine, just keep charging. Don’t worry about our altar being small—it will surely defeat him… Ha ha, chase after him! Hurry up!”
Guo Shier knew that the core of his altar was the Ancient Ink Lotus. Even if the altar was destroyed, with the Ancient Ink Lotus present, restoration would only require some materials. Moreover, the altar was reinforced with natural Lei characters, making it just as durable as a three-layer altar.
In fact, Guo Shier didn’t intend to crash into Jin Daya’s altar; he wanted to get close to him and strike with the tentacle whip of Gu Xi Bi.
The three experts in ethereal altars fighting far away were stunned by this scene. Jin Yishou felt a chill in his heart. He sent several distress signals, but they were all intercepted by Nan Ming. He never expected Guo Shier to be so powerful, capable of chasing after the ancestor of a three-layer altar.
Guo Shier pursued relentlessly. After another teleportation, he appeared in an ideal position—right behind Jin Daya, less than a hundred meters away. He swung his tentacle whip fiercely.
Jin Daya was caught off guard and struck on the side of his altar.
Swish…
The whip cut through the light rain, creating a wide cloud of white mist. The strike hit the altar, causing Jin Daya immense pain. With just one blow, a corner of the altar shattered. For any expert who owned an altar, their home and everything they had were within it. When the altar cracked, it was as if their home had been destroyed—pain was inevitable.
Jin Daya went mad with rage. He screamed, “I’ll fight you to the death!”
The handsome old man muttered, “That sounds awkward… After fighting for so long, he still acts like a woman… ‘I’ll fight you to the death?’ Hey, doesn’t this guy know… Shouldn’t that be something a brat say?”
Guo Shier retorted in the midst of his actions, “Hey, handsome old man, don’t say that… What do you mean by ‘my words’…”
As he spoke, he used his altar to pursue Jin Daya. Gu Xi Bi’s tentacles were extremely powerful—adjustable in length and hardness, and their attacks were devastating. Jin Daya was left helpless, unable to retaliate, only able to roar in frustration.
Guo Shier shouted, “If you’ve got guts, stop running!”
Jin Daya retorted, “Idiot!”
The handsome old man laughed uproariously, “Exactly! Right! Isn’t he an idiot… Brat, you’re keeping him on the run. If he didn’t run… wouldn’t you have already killed him with your whip? If you let him stop and fight you, then you’re the idiot, haha.”

Guo Shier was so angry that he wanted to strike the old strategist too. He said, “Old strategist, I’m fighting someone, yet you’re here making sarcastic comments. We’re supposed to be on the same side… If you’re not going to help, at least don’t act like this!”
The old strategist retorted irritably, “I’m standing on a fair ground… Be careful!”
Jin Daya finally freed his hands and cast dozens of spells in a row. His Dual Dragon Halberd suddenly swelled to over ten meters in length and charged toward Guo Shier’s altar with a howling sound.