Chapter 9: Counterattack (Part 2)

Guo Shier used a vision-enhancing spell to observe the enemies. He was usually very cautious, but this time he was a bit careless and fell into a trap. In fact, all of them were mentally prepared for a decisive battle, so they weren’t panicked when trapped. Only Chen Tianyao was slightly alarmed, but it was just that—after all, he was a skilled expert at the fifth-tier altar and had enough strength to protect himself.

Guo Shier counted how many altar-level professionals there were. After making a rough estimate, he said, “Most are Void Form Altar users, along with those at the first or second tier of the Physical Form Altar. There are only a few at the third or fourth tier—uh, they probably aren’t the main force attacking us!”

Luo Jie said, “Even if it’s a trap, it’s just half-finished. These people are here to hold us back!”

Qi Nanshan looked at the Gu Mi family’s professionals who hesitated and didn’t dare advance, and couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s right, hehe. The real experts must still be in Gu Mi City. It will take them some time to get here, but not much.”

Guo Shier said, “Then let’s act quickly!” Before they could move, the Blood Woman already unleashed a storm of violence. Countless mid- to low-tier professionals died with blood bursting from their bodies, and soon, screams and wails filled the air. A blood mist gradually rose, making the city, already illuminated by the reversed defense shield, appear even more bloody.

Chen Tianyao also identified those altar-level professionals—and there wasn’t a single expert at the fifth tier or above. He couldn’t help but say, “Isn’t this seeking death?” He understood that these people were there to distract them so they couldn’t focus on attacking the defense shield. It was a delaying tactic built on sacrificing lives. Guo Shier had to admit their toughness—the Gu Mi family was truly ruthless. It seemed they had decided to fight to the death against them.

Guo Shier said, “They’re here to die… Kill them!”

Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan led the charge, Guo Shier brought Eagle Demon, Luo Zhan, and Nan You in the middle, while Chen Tianyao was at the back, tasked with preventing attacks from behind. These ferocious fighters rushed at the group of altar-level professionals.

The Gu Mi family’s altar-level professionals were grouped in teams. Facing countless attacks from sacrificial treasures, Luo Jie didn’t back down. With a low growl, he sent several circles of black flames flying from the altar, blocking the attacks at the periphery. The sacrificial treasures hit the flames, emitting strange popping sounds. Before they could retreat, the Soul Flames erased a sliver of the souls inside them.

After being scorched by the Soul Fire, the sacrificial treasures immediately lost control and were snatched away by Luo Jie. In just that instant, he obtained six sacrificial treasures, with a few more completely destroyed by the Soul Fire. Before he could launch an attack, the altar-level professionals surrounding him were severely weakened, many of them losing their sacred sacrificial treasures.

Qi Nanshan used a similar soul skill to sweep away all the attacking sacrificial treasures. Professionals of the Soul Altar class were extremely cunning; whether in attack or defense, it was difficult for ordinary altar-level professionals to match them. The two of them effortlessly deflected each other’s attacks and even acquired some sacrificial treasures.

The professionals of the Gu Mi family were terrified and retreated frantically.

Guo Shier said, “Elder Hero, use the Stabilizing Pearl!” He was facing four phantom altar-level professionals.

Elder Hero shouted, “Stabilize!” The Stabilizing Pearl was incredibly powerful—even altar-level professionals above Guo Shier’s rank couldn’t withstand it, let alone these phantom altar professionals.

Moon Blade transformed into a torrent of tiny blades, crashing down on the four people’s altars. Their altars were stabilized, leaving them unable to do anything but defend passively. Yet they had no chance against Moon Blade, a sacrificial treasure of the sixth rank. Four explosive sounds followed, and then countless tentacles swirled as Gu Xi Bi began to show its power. Without their altars, the professionals couldn’t resist Gu Xi Bi’s tentacles—their souls were plundered, and their bodies thrown aside. In an instant, the battle turned into a fierce struggle.

With hundreds of altar-level professionals, even though Luo Jie and his companions were highly skilled, they found it challenging, as they had to kill them one by one. Hundreds of altar masters were not easy to defeat. Although they had killed about twenty of the opponents during the earlier clash, they too found themselves surrounded.

Luo Jie, Qi Nanshan, Guo Shier, and Chen Tianyao were in slightly better shape, while Eagle Demon, Luo Zhan, and Nan You were struggling greatly. Their strength was roughly on par with the opponents’, and their altars weren’t particularly special. They relied solely on their fierce determination in fighting, but being surrounded by numerous altar-level professionals, they naturally couldn’t hold back. Fortunately, with Guo Shier and Chen Tianyao covering for them, they could barely hold on for now.

Guo Shier shouted, “Come over… come over!”

Eagle Demon replied, “Damn!” and flew over to Guo Shier’s side.

Guo Shier almost laughed at Eagle Demon’s “Damn!”—could that word be used like that? Soon after, with two more “Damn!”s, Luo Zhan and Nan You also came over. Although Chen Tianyao was also fighting, he wasn’t giving his all. As long as the opponents didn’t attack first, he wouldn’t take the initiative. Hearing Guo Shier’s shouts, he also moved over.

Five people formed a group; whenever one of them couldn’t withstand an attack, they immediately retreated to the center for the others to hold off the attack. They never stopped moving for a moment, constantly shifting to prevent the enemy’s attacks from converging. Guo Shier’s altar was at the bottom, with Chen Tianyao slightly above it. Since Guo Shier’s altar contained ancient Xibin, their tentacles could be used to defend against attacks from below.

Symbols in the sky flashed back and forth, and occasionally attacks struck the ground, causing large buildings to collapse. The deafening explosions shook the earth, and complete chaos reigned in the city. The soul flames unleashed by Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan also reached the buildings below, instantly sparking massive fires that shot into the sky.

The altar-level professionals of the Gu Mi family panicked, with dozens of their companions killed in an instant. These were altar-level experts, not Grand Saints. Each altar-level expert, even if they only possessed a virtual altar, was a high-ranking figure in their family—usually a leader of a major city or even a ruler of a continent. Yet they were killed so quickly.

Guo Shier led the four of them to form a cluster, fighting like hedgehogs, moving back and forth in combat. Although they didn’t kill as many as Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan, their attacks were extremely fierce. Especially the thousands of ancient Xibin tentacles beneath the altar were deadly; if someone got caught, they and their altar would be destroyed entirely.

Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan had separated to fight independently. Both were invincible forces. Unless the Gu Mi family produced an expert with a seventh-tier altar, they couldn’t hold them back and could only watch as the two went on a rampage. One after another, altar-level experts were killed by the soul flames, their altars burned to ashes, and their souls absorbed by the two.

Some of the altar-level professionals were killed by Guo Shier and his group. After their deaths, a few of their altars fell. With loud crashes, shattered altars plummeted like small mountains. Any building struck by one of these altars was reduced to rubble, leaving those inside with no chance of escape.

Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan fought until their eyes turned red. The influx of souls made them somewhat insane. Fortunately, Guo Shier had already sorted out their souls earlier, allowing them to stay in control. Relying on their pure souls, they devoured large numbers of the enemy’s souls.

Their fighting styles were similar—using soul flames either directly or transformed into giant palms to smack at enemies as if swatting flies. Anyone hit by these attacks barely had a chance of survival.

The professionals of the Gu Mi family stopped besieging them and fled in all directions. They weren’t fools—fighting head-on only led to continuous losses, so it was better for them to scatter and try to survive until reinforcements arrived. The city’s defenses had been reversed, so they couldn’t escape either; they could only fight desperately to save their lives.

Luo Jie and Qi Nan Shan deliberately pursued the professionals at the third and fourth-tier altars, while leaving the professionals at the Void Form altar and the first and second-tier altars for Guo Shier and the others to chase.

Guo Shier and his group could barely fend for themselves. Most altar-level professionals preferred to fight against Guo Shier and his group rather than approach Luo Jie and Qi Nan Shan. As a result, an odd situation arose: Luo Jie and Qi Nan Shan chased and killed, while Guo Shier and his five companions fought while fleeing to avoid being surrounded by numerous enemies.

After just over ten minutes of fighting, Eagle Demon was the first to get injured, followed by Luo Zhan and Nan You, who were also severely wounded. Guo Shier quickly gathered the three of them on the altar. He knew that Eagle Demon and the others were still a bit weak; if they fought separately, they would be overwhelmed by the Gu Mi family’s professionals immediately. He shouted, “Chen Tianyao, let’s work together!”

Eagle Demon, Luo Zhan, and Nan You sat on Guo Shier’s altar. Eagle Demon sighed, “It still doesn’t work… Sigh!” He began repairing the altar using soul beads and took some pill talismans. The pill talismans they were using were all crafted by the old man Shuai, with extraordinary effects, and they quickly stabilized their injuries.

Nan You, with a grim expression, remained silent. This battle had taught him a lot. He also crushed a few soul beads to stabilize the altar and said, “There are too many of them; we can’t deal with them all. It’s too fast. If it weren’t for Guo Xi Bi’s tentacles, I guess… we would have already given up.”

Luo Zhan said, “Yeah, if it weren’t for Guo Xi Bi’s tentacles blocking a few attacks at critical moments, I might have died…”

Guo Shier turned around amidst his busy tasks and said, “What do you mean ‘my tentacles’? I don’t have any tentacles…”

The tense atmosphere was completely broken by Guo Shier’s remark. Eagle Demon couldn’t help but laugh and said, “If Guo Xi Bi had that many tentacles… that would be fun.”

Luo Zhan scratched his head and smiled sheepishly, “Hehe, it’s Guo Xi Bi’s tentacles, not Guo Shier’s.” He knew it was Guo Shier teasing them on purpose to help them relax. The battle earlier had been too intense; sitting on Guo Shier’s altar, his soul was trembling due to excessive consumption of spiritual energy.

The Eagle Demon sighed and said, “If we had enough time to level up, we should all have the strength of a second-tier altar. It’s a pity…”
Guo Shier and Chen Tianyao coordinated well, mainly because their strength far surpassed that of the Gu Mi family’s professionals present. Even though there were many professionals from the Gu Mi family, they couldn’t gain an advantage. Their fluctuating altars prevented the Gu Mi family’s professionals from seizing the chance to encircle them.
People kept being slashed down by the Moon Blade. In front of Guo Shier stood two professionals with first-tier altars, clearly showing their feigned bravery and inner weakness. Guo Shier smiled slightly and drove his altar forward to collide with them.
Chen Tianyao was shocked. He followed closely behind, his sacred treasure flashing as it shattered a professional who tried to attack from the side. With a loud explosion, Guo Shier actually smashed an altar to pieces. Countless tentacles surged out, grabbing the professional from the shattered altar and instantly extracting his soul.
The other professional was so terrified that he turned and ran. The opponent was too brutal, using altars to attack—a tactic rarely seen. No altar-level professional would act so violently. Once an altar was damaged, it required a large amount of essence or soul to repair. An altar wasn’t a sacred treasure, and repairing it after damage wasn’t easy.
Before that person could fly far, a red glow flashed, and the Moon Blade sliced him and his altar in half like cutting tofu. Guo Shier killed both of them in an instant, and his altar also flew far away.
The old man Shuai cursed, “You wastrel! You only know how to use altars to attack! I’ve barely gathered a few soul beads, and all of them are wasted on this… How hard it is for me!” Before he could finish speaking, Guo Shier attacked again.
The Eagle Demon and the other two sat on their altars, feeling dizzy. Controlling one’s own altar was completely different from riding someone else’s. The poor Nan You fainted completely, his mouth opening as if about to vomit. After gagging twice, Luo Zhan, sitting in front of him, quickly moved aside out of fear.
Guo Shier laughed loudly and collided with another altar. Amidst the old man Shuai’s curses, he said triumphantly, “Another one down!”
Chen Tianyao cursed under his breath, “This madman… How can you fight like this…”
Still not satisfied, Guo Shier shouted, “Old man Shuai, help me hold that guy down! Damn it, he’s escaping too fast—he’s already attacked me twice… Hurry up!”
Despite the old man Shuai’s furious curses, he still had to do his best to protect his altar. He didn’t want Guo Shier to act so recklessly and said, “No! Holding him down… You’re going to use an altar to attack again!”

Guo Shier said, “We won’t collide this time; I’ll kill him!”
The old hero didn’t believe it and said, “You’re lying! I won’t believe it!”
Guo Shier screamed in anger.
Chen Tianyao suddenly cried out, “What are they doing?”