Chapter 10: Delicious Insect Feast (Part 1)

Wang Keer realized that everyone else had already finished, even collecting the more advanced insect carcasses on the ground. Only then did she realize there might be something wrong with her own strength. Watching those heartless guys stand by idly, she couldn’t help but shout, “I want to help… There are too many! I can’t collect them all!”
Qi Wuzhen said, “I need to control the Black Armor Bee Queen, so I can’t help you. Hehe, you can ask Guo Shier for help… But whether he’ll agree… that’s beyond my control. Oh, and you need to hurry—otherwise, I’ll have to give up.”
How could Wang Keer give up? This kind of spirit of the same type was perfect for strengthening the altar. With no choice, she flew over to Guo Shier and said, “Guo… Guo…” For a moment, she didn’t know how to address him. Guo Shier didn’t respond either; he just watched her quietly.
A faint smile appeared on the faces of Eagle Demon and the others.
Wang Keer stamped her foot. She was smart too, so she said, “Captain… please help me…” Her voice carried a hint of coquetry.
Qi Wuzhen couldn’t help but mutter, “This little demon.” She couldn’t help but smile slightly.
Guo Shier didn’t deliberately make things difficult for her. He said, “Go over there. It won’t take long.” He flew over with the altar and finished collecting everything in about twenty minutes. He tossed a pouch of talismans to Wang Keer and said, “There are some decently advanced insect carcasses on the ground that you can collect.”
Wang Keer was surprised by Guo Shier’s efficiency. She had thought he would make things hard for her, so she felt a slight goodwill toward them, no longer as resentful as at first.
After gathering some of the carcasses, they found many advanced mutated and aberrant talisman insects, including some at around level 10, which were quite precious. Then, everyone’s attention turned to the queen insect controlled by Qi Wuzhen—a level 14 aberrant talisman insect, a truly valuable creature.
Qi Wuzhen said with a smile, “I won’t give this queen insect to you. Hehe, I also need sacrifices. This one barely meets my standards.”
Wang Keer was stunned. “Barely meets your standards? Good heavens… How high up in the altar hierarchy are you? Could it be level 8?”
Guo Shier said, “Stop guessing. Sister Zhen has the strength of someone beyond level 9 in the altar hierarchy.”
Wang Keer’s face turned pale. Only then did she realize how lucky she was. From the start, Qi Wuzhen hadn’t intended to kill her; otherwise, she would have been finished long ago. Not to mention getting a few slaps, she wouldn’t even have been able to resist a slap from her, let alone seek revenge.

She kept muttering something in a vague voice, “What bad luck… How could I meet such a pervert? Ugh… I shouldn’t have stolen it… Good heavens, it’s so scary…”
Guo Shier smiled gently and said, “Don’t worry, Sister Zhen… As long as you don’t provoke her, nothing will happen.”
Wang Keer rolled her eyes and whispered, “I’d have to be crazy to provoke her… She’s already scared to death.”
Qi Wu Zhen swiftly extracted the soul of the Black Armored Bee Mother Worm, then forcibly took away the runes naturally formed on its shell, creating a complete sacrifice that she placed in the altar, leaving only the corpse of the mother worm on the ground. Guo Shier asked, “Sister Zhen, do you still want this worm’s corpse?”
Wang Keer was also eager, but she knew she couldn’t compete with Guo Shier. Qi Wu Zhen said, “No need. If you want it, keep it.” She certainly understood the value of a level-14 Abnormal Rune Worm, but it wasn’t very useful to her.
Guo Shier thanked her and immediately placed the mother worm’s corpse in the altar. This was just like the level-15 Abnormal Mammoth he had collected before—rare treasures that were hard to come by. Although the runes on its shell had been removed, its shell and flesh were extremely precious materials, many of which he couldn’t use yet due to their advanced nature.
Wang Keer quietly approached Guo Shier and whispered, “Captain, captain…”
Guo Shier asked, “What?”
Wang Keer whispered, “That worm has three pairs of wings. Can you give me one pair?” Her eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh and nodded. “Okay, I’ll give it to you when I’m free.” Since it wasn’t something he had hunted himself, he was quite generous. Most importantly, he didn’t dislike Wang Keer—maybe because Qi Wu Zhen had beaten her earlier, he felt she was rather pitiable.
Wang Keer immediately beamed and said, “Thank you, Captain.”
Eagle Demon said, “Time to go, Shier.” He winked deliberately.
Qi Wu Zhen said, “Wang Keer, lead the way.”
Happy with Guo Shier’s promise, Wang Keer released the altar and said, “Follow me.” Then she flew off.
Everyone rushed after her.
Guo Shier sat on the altar, secretly communicating with the handsome old man. He asked, “Handsome old man, are these souls enough?”

The handsome old man was very satisfied and said, “Very good. I had been worried lately that there weren’t enough sacrifices. Many of the souls you collected before were of high quality, and I hesitated to use them all. Ah, truly worthy of being a master beyond the ninth-tier altar—otherwise, it would be impossible to obtain so many souls. This solves a big problem now.”

Guo Shier asked, “Has the third-tier altar been stabilized?”

The handsome old man replied, “Hmm, with so many sacrifices, we can stabilize it. In future battles, these sacrifices can be very useful—such as repairing the altar or temporarily enhancing sacred treasures.”

In his previous battles, Guo Shier rarely used sacrifices. It wasn’t that he didn’t know how, but he was reluctant to use them. Souls weren’t easy to come by, and using one meant consuming one soul. For an altar, sacrifices were crucial; to make it strong, they were indispensable.

Even now, the handsome old man still didn’t dare to show himself. He feared Qi Wu Zhen deeply, but he got bored in the altar. Most of the time, he helped Guo Shier organize the altar, sort materials, and handle various chores, saving Guo Shier a lot of time—especially with the purification of materials. This time, they had obtained a large amount of materials from the Guji family, all of which needed to be processed and purified.

Guo Shier said, “Handsome Old Man, after advancing to the third tier, it will take a huge number of souls to advance further…”

The handsome old man replied, “No problem. You have enough soul beads to advance to the fifth or sixth tier. It just takes time to absorb them. Especially those few soul beads given to you by that woman—they contain a vast amount of soul energy. As long as you can absorb them smoothly, you can advance quickly.”

Guo Shier knew those soul beads were formed from the souls of altar-level masters. Each bead was equivalent to the soul of an altar-level master. At first, absorbing them nearly shattered his own soul. If it weren’t for the Soul Scripture, he would have been ruined long ago. Even now, thinking about it, he still felt terrified.

The handsome old man laughed and said, “Kid, you’re quite wealthy now, hehe. These materials are enough for you to advance to the sixth-tier altar. You won’t have to worry too much about materials in the future. Of course, you should still collect good materials. A Gu family is truly remarkable. It’s a shame—if only we could extort another Gu family in the future. That would be great.” He spoke in a greedy tone.

Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh. His soul trembled slightly as he said, “Stop thinking about it. With our current strength, we’re not even good enough to fill a Gu family’s teeth. Unless it’s Sister Zhen who goes to extort them… But… I think she’ll leave us soon.”

The handsome old man said, “Yes, once she wakes up, she won’t follow us anymore. Her strength isn’t suitable for staying here.”
Guo Shier said, “By the way, handsome old man, have you heard of Sacrificing to the Stars?”
The handsome old man remained silent for a moment before saying, “I’ve heard of it vaguely. It’s an ancient legend. Even if one knows about it, it’s useless unless they’re top-tier professionals.”
Guo Shier asked, “Do you mean top-tier professionals refer to experts at the ninth-tier altar? Or perhaps those who surpass the ninth-tier altar?”
The handsome old man replied, “It’s not that exaggerated. At the eighth-tier altar, as long as one reaches that level… they should gain some understanding. You know, in this world, regarding the inherited altars… there are hardly any at the eighth tier. True top-tier altar experts must have left this world.”
Guo Shier asked, “Did they go to Sacrificing to the Stars?”
The handsome old man said, “I don’t know. I really don’t. Don’t worry too much for now. Focus on advancing. Maybe one day you’ll understand. Thinking too much now is pointless.”
How could Guo Shier not think deeply? He had always found it hard to understand the structure of this world. And what Qi Wuzhen mentioned about Sacrificing to the Stars resembled the universe of his past life even more. Its appeal to him was immense, and he longed to go there.
“Yes, thinking too much is pointless. Let’s first figure out a way to go back. I wonder how my master and master wife are doing.”
Guo Shier felt somewhat depressed. Someone who rarely got lost in his past life was now completely lost in this world. He didn’t understand how this world was structured—countless continents and secret realms, along with strange creatures like the Eight-Headed Giant Sky Serpent. According to the handsome old man, there was also a Six-Headed Small Sky Serpent. It was truly incomprehensible.
If he were reborn as an ordinary person in this world, that would be a real tragedy. He probably wouldn’t even be able to leave the continents, and he didn’t know when he would be reborn again.
A group of mutated thunder eagles approached. Qi Wuzhen emitted a trace of soul pressure, causing the eagles to fall into chaos. Mutated birds were far more sensitive than humans. That slight soul pressure made them flee desperately. In the blink of an eye, dozens of mutated thunder eagles disappeared into the horizon.
Guo Shier sighed, “With Sister Wuzhen around, we’ve avoided a lot of trouble.”
Along the way, they often encountered large groups of mutated birds. There were even more mutated talisman beasts and aberrant talisman beasts on the ground, as well as terrifying insects like giant mutated talisman worms.

Guo Shier said, “This place is truly terrifying. It’s the first time I’ve seen so many mutated creatures. If our team didn’t have Zhen Jie with us, we would probably be constantly fighting and fleeing.”
After flying about a hundred miles, one would encounter powerful mutated creatures, mostly of level nine and ten, with even some beyond level ten.
Eagle Demon said, “This is a treasure trove.”
Luo Zhan said, “Only ancient clans can control this place. If such a secret realm were found in the North Talisman Sect, it wouldn’t be a treasure trove but a disaster. As long as one mutated creature of level eight or nine escapes—whether it’s a bird, beast, or insect—it could sweep across the entire Lower Continent.”
Eagle Demon shook his head and said, “The Lower Continent is really pitiful. Thankfully, the continent where our North Talisman Sect is located is in a relatively remote place…”
Guo Shier asked, “How do you know it’s a remote place?”
Eagle Demon replied, “If there were ancient clans nearby, our continent would have been occupied long ago. Even a minor branch clan could take complete control of it. Not to mention if a altar-level expert or a few great sage masters came, the North Talisman Sect would be completely defeated. All these years, the continent where our sect is located has remained peaceful, with only minor disputes among the four major sects. But with such a vast area, each of the four sects occupies its own territory and generally stays out of each other’s business.”