Chapter 5: The Lower Continent (Part 2)

Zhou Guang was terrified. He couldn’t imagine how such a massive mutated rune beast could have been brought here. There weren’t even altar-level experts, let alone archmages or supreme archmages. Stammering, he said, “This… this is… what kind of mutated rune beast is this?” The lower-level disciples and ordinary people around him were equally terrified, their faces pale.
Luo Zhan said, “An eighth-level mutated one-horned rhinoceros. It hasn’t been dissected or harvested yet. I’m too lazy to deal with it—I’ll sell it to you as is.”
Zhou Guang’s eyes widened like copper bells, almost popping out of their sockets. Eighth level? It was actually an eighth-level mutated rune beast! In his entire life, he had never even seen an eighth-level mutated beast, let alone one. The materials from a fourth-level mutated beast were already considered top-quality here.
Qi Wu Zhen stood quietly on one side, while Halechi stood on the other. Both exuded the aura of experts—one gazing at the sky, the other at the ground, seemingly unconcerned with anything around them.
Wang Keer stared at Zhou Guang disdainfully and muttered, “Country bumpkin…”
Eagle Demon and Guo Shieru didn’t show any discrimination. Their knowledge was even worse than Zhou Guang’s back then. They understood the plight of professionals in the Lower Continent—having seen little, they had to learn everything on their own with no inheritance.
After a long while, Zhou Guang finally calmed down. He bowed and said, “Senior, I’m sorry… I… I can’t afford it…”
Luo Zhan was momentarily stunned, but he quickly realized that the other party wasn’t unwilling to accept payment but truly couldn’t afford it. An eighth-level mutated rune beast was already a high-value item even in the Advanced Rune Continent. In this place, they probably had no idea what an eighth-level mutated beast even was.
Guo Shieru stepped forward and said, “Shopkeeper Zhou, we’ll be staying here for a while—maybe ten days, maybe dozens. But we don’t have rune currency here. How about we exchange this eighth-level mutated rune beast for something else instead?”
Zhou Guang replied, “Please give your instructions, senior.”
Guo Shieru continued, “We’ll stay in your shop. Whatever we buy will be paid for by your shop. How about we use this eighth-level mutated rune beast as payment?”
Zhou Guang said in disbelief, “This…” He only uttered one word before suddenly realizing that miracles really did happen. He quickly said, “No problem! I’ll have them clear the backyard.” His entire body trembled with excitement. This was an eighth-level mutated beast! Even if he had to give up his shop, he couldn’t exchange it for such a thing—the value difference was simply unimaginable.
Guo Shieru nodded and said, “Lead the way. We need to rest.”

Soon, everyone followed Zhou Guang to the backyard. There were large residential areas in the backyard, and Zhou Guang ordered people to clear out a neat courtyard for everyone to rest in. Qi Wu Zhen chose a quiet little house, said, “Don’t disturb me if nothing urgent,” and went in. Halechi also found an empty room to stay in. Wang Keer selected one as well. Guo Shier, Eagle Demon, Luo Zhan, and Nan You did not enter the houses; they all sat in the courtyard. Zhou Guang held a bag of talismans and handed it to Luo Zhan, saying, “Senior, these are some talisman coins. Keep them for now. If it’s not enough, just give orders.” Guo Shier took out a talisman coin and was surprised—it was a gold talisman coin, an ancient one at that. Gold talisman coins were used by many ancient families; they varied in shape but were all made of gold with runes inscribed on them. This bag contained as many as 100,000 gold talisman coins. Guo Shier said, “Go ahead with your tasks. Leave a few people here to follow orders at any time.” Zhou Guang bowed and said, “Yes, senior. If you need anything, just give orders.” He called over a few maids and servants, all ordinary people, then hurriedly headed to the front yard, giving instructions to his subordinates to go and summon others. He didn’t have the ability to disassemble and collect this eighth-level mutated talisman beast. The news quickly spread among the professionals in Dingguang City, and they flocked to the shops to see what was going on. Among them were many talisman masters who were extremely envious. Zhou Guang also brought in a dozen experts from his own sect, including a junior talisman master. Before long, Zhou Guang returned to the courtyard and said awkwardly, “Senior Luo, I need your help.” Guo Shier and the others were sitting in the courtyard chatting. Luo Zhan asked, “What’s the matter?” Zhou Guang said, “Senior, we… we can’t break through the skin of the mutated talisman beast…” The skin of the eighth-level mutated one-horned rhinoceros was thick and tough. Unless there was a wound on its body, it was difficult for lower-level professionals to cut through it. The one-horned rhinoceros had extremely strong defenses, and Zhou Guang couldn’t figure out how it had been hunted without a single wound on its body. Luo Zhan said, “No problem.” He followed Zhou Guang outside. Eagle Demon shook his head and said, “This is the tragedy of lower-level professionals. Even if they get an eighth-level mutated talisman beast, they can’t make use of it because they can’t even break through its body.” Guo Shier laughed and said, “It’s possible to force it open, but the loss will be huge.” Nan You said, “I wonder how long Sister Zhen will need to rest.”

Wang Ke’er stepped out of the room and said, “It’ll take about ten days, I guess.” She tossed a cushion over and sat cross-legged, smiling. “This continent is pretty good; it should fetch a good price.”
Guo Shier felt uneasy hearing this and asked, “Who do you plan to sell it to?”
Wang Ke’er noticed Guo Shier wasn’t happy but didn’t care much. She said, “It depends. Hehe, if a Gu family holds an auction, it should fetch a good price.”
Guo Shier replied, “We also have coordinates and can sell those too… By then, you’ll be in trouble. Anyway, we’ll leave here and go to a very far place. If both Gu families get the coordinates at the same time, hehe, what will you do?”
Wang Ke’er, like a cat with its tail stepped on, suddenly jumped up and shouted, “Hey! You… you want to compete with me?”
Guo Shier smiled faintly and said, “Why not? This isn’t your place anyway.”
Wang Ke’er had always disliked Guo Shier but hadn’t had the chance before due to concerns about Qi Wu Zhen. She said, “Dare you!”
Guo Shier laughed and said, “Of course. Why not?”
Wang Ke’er showed a fierce expression and said, “You’re only at the third-tier altar. How dare you fight me?”
Guo Shier replied lazily, “If you’re sure you won’t get beaten, I don’t care. Hehe.”
Eagle Demon and Nan You watched the two amusedly, knowing that if Guo Shier wanted to bully someone, it could be infuriating. Sure enough, at the mention of being beaten, Wang Ke’er exploded. She straightened up and flew into the air, saying coldly, “Then let’s do it!”
Guo Shier asked, “Are you really going to fight?”
Wang Ke’er shouted, “I’m going to teach you a lesson…”
Guo Shier sighed, “This girl is so unruly. Alright, I’ll do it reluctantly to show you that as a team member, you shouldn’t challenge the captain’s authority.”
Those indifferent words made Wang Ke’er furious. Eagle Demon laughed and said, “Wang Ke’er is going to suffer now, hehe.”
Nan You nodded and asked, “Is Shier always like this?” He knew that Guo Shier could challenge those at higher tiers when at the Virtual Altar level and could defeat professionals at the second-tier altar level. Now he was at the third-tier altar—only heaven knew how powerful this guy was.
Wang Ke’er was enraged. She activated her altar and flew upward. At that moment, Zhou Guang happened to return with Luo Zhan. Seeing Wang Ke’er sitting on the altar, he trembled in fear and exclaimed, “An altar… Good heavens…” Among them, altar-level professionals were nothing but a distant legend.

Guo Shier smiled slightly. A three-story altar suddenly appeared beneath him, and then he flew into the air. Zhou Guang sat down hard on the ground. Luo Zhanqi asked, “What’s wrong?” Zhou Guang pointed at the sky, muttering incomprehensibly. As for those ordinary people, they fainted the moment Wang Keer summoned the altar. Even a trace of that soul pressure was too much for them to bear. Guo Shier said, “Don’t fight above the city; the people below can’t take it.” Eagle Demon said with a smile, “Let’s go watch the show.” He didn’t summon an altar and flew into the air with Nan You, chasing after Guo Shier. Luo Zhan said, “Alright, you go back. I’ll go take a look too.” He flew up as well, paused in the air for a moment, then turned into a beam of light and disappeared. Zhou Guang held his chest, staring blankly at the sky. He knew he had encountered a legendary master. The group flew outside the city at lightning speed. Wang Keer laughed triumphantly, “Since True Sister isn’t here, haha, kid, taste my strength…” Guo Shier almost lost his balance on the altar. He had long known that in this world, a professional’s appearance had little to do with their age, and Wang Keer’s age was impossible to tell from her looks. He said, “Come on!” Wang Keer only wanted to teach Guo Shier a lesson, not kill him. Her sacrificial artifact was quite special—a fish-shaped one, actually a silver knife covered in tiny scales, resembling a silver fish. This wasn’t her true sacrificial artifact; with her fourth-level altar, it wasn’t unusual for her to possess three or four such artifacts. The silver fish circled Wang Keer’s head once before suddenly growing larger, from the size of a palm to over a meter long. She sneered and said, “Are you ready? Get ready to take hits!” She was fairly honest and didn’t launch a surprise attack, but she was determined to destroy Guo Shier’s sacrificial artifact. Guo Shier’s Moon Blade, refined by Old Shuai, had reached the level of a fifth-grade sacrificial artifact, surpassing his altar by two levels. Fortunately, Guo Shier’s soul power had greatly increased, allowing his soul to rival that of a professional with a fifth-level altar. “Come on! Hehe, little girl, let me show you my strength too.” Wang Keer snapped, “Little girl? Let’s see!”