Chapter 4: The Abnormal Bat Dragon (Part 1)
A triangular head just poked out of the cave entrance when rocks and snow poured down from above. With a fierce roar, the head retracted abruptly, followed by a cascade of ores and a massive cloud of blood mist.
Li Ran teleported to the side of the three of them and said, “There’s actually an abnormal beast hidden on this mountain. Heh, it must be a rare high-level abnormal beast. My luck is good. It’s a shame Guo Shier struck it first; otherwise, we would have missed it.” He had little interest in ordinary mutated or abnormal beasts, but high-level ones were different—he needed a large amount of their spiritual essence.
Colorful lights flashed, creating dazzling rainbows in the air. Guo Shier said cheerfully, “This collapse has produced quite a bit of ore. Heh, it should be enough.”
Fan Zhen added, “It even brought down an abnormal beast. I couldn’t see clearly what kind. Did you make it out?”
Guo Shier replied, “No, I just sensed it was quite large.” He wasn’t very interested in abnormal beasts, knowing that creature belonged to Li Ran. He was most excited about how many raw ores would fall this time.
Shuai Lao Tou was also nervous. He said, “I hope there’s more, even more…”
Guo Shier asked, “Shuai Lao Tou, we’ve already collected quite a lot. Why isn’t it enough?”
Shuai Lao Tou replied, “Idiot, if we’re going to collect, of course we need to gather enough for the ninth-level altar… everything required…”
Guo Shier felt dizzy. So that’s how Shuai Lao Tou meant “not enough.” No wonder he always thought they had enough, even in excess. Thinking about it, he understood. At his current rate of progression, reaching the ninth-level altar wasn’t difficult. With the help of two soul scriptures and constant soul consumption to increase his own soul volume, some things indeed needed to be thoroughly prepared.
Shuai Lao Tou said, “I never even thought of this before. But now that I consider it, using it in your altar would bring many benefits.”
Guo Shier asked curiously, “Is it necessary or not?”
Shuai Lao Tou nodded. “It’s not absolutely necessary. The main reason is that this material is extremely rare. I never even thought of using it. Other altars… hardly need it. By the way, your real sister could use some Red Fire Jade. But at her current level, even if she got it, it wouldn’t help much. Her level is too high.”
Guo Shier nodded and said, “So, this jade would be very helpful to me?”
Shuai Lao Tou smiled. “Not extremely helpful, but it will assist a bit. It might boost your strength by about 10%…”
Guo Shier was speechless for a moment. Ten percent was simply ten percent—if that wasn’t considered significant, what could be? After a long pause, he said, “I’ll go look for it in a bit; you handle the purification.” As for the abominable beast on the halfway up the mountain, he didn’t even mention it.
The old man nodded. “There should be quite a lot of ore that collapsed this time. Hehe, I think… it should be enough.”
With thunderous vibrations, boulders rained down like stones. The foot of the mountain had been piled high with them, and the once-thick cedar forest was completely destroyed, leaving behind a scene of utter devastation. It wasn’t until a gust of wind blew through that the grim reality became visible.
Roar!
Li Ran leaped to his feet. “Wait here—I’ll draw its attention!”
Guo Shier replied, “Okay…” Yang Miluo and Fan Zhen neither offered to help, guessing they wouldn’t be of much use. That abominable beast clearly wasn’t easy to deal with—it must be at a high level. Only Li Ran could handle it.
The old man kept staring at the halfway up the mountain. When the creature appeared, he exclaimed in horror, “An Abominable Bat Dragon… It’s in its transformed state! It can fly!”
When the entire body of the Abominable Bat Dragon emerged, Guo Shier was shocked. Its body was enormous—resembling that of a lizard but with bat-like wings. Its roar was deep, like a lion’s, and he said, “Frightening… This thing gives off a terrifying vibe. I wonder what level it is?”
Li Ran flew up and slapped it. The illusory giant hand instantly turned solid, slamming into the Abominable Bat Dragon and driving it into a frenzy. It burst out of the cave and lunged at Li Ran. Comparing their sizes was like comparing a giant lizard to a beetle—completely disproportionate.
As Li Ran flew away, the Bat Dragon flapped its wings slightly and chased after him. Within just a dozen seconds, both disappeared into the mountains.
Yang Miluo said, “Wow, impressive!”
Fan Zhen shook his head. “I thought… with my strength, I could move around in the Great Abyss Pool. It seems… I was being too optimistic.”
Guo Shier immediately teleported away. He returned to the foot of the mountain and began purifying the ore.
This time, there was still the most Red Fire Jade. Guo Shier and the old man worked hard to search for and purify it. Fortunately, thanks to the Jiebaina Sacrificial Treasure, the purification process was extremely fast. A giant Red Fire Jade several dozen meters tall could be processed in just a few minutes, yielding a hundred or so refined Red Fire Jade blocks, each as big as city bricks.
Yang Miluo and Fan Zhen Tong both had to admit that Guo Shier had a collecting obsession. Seeing him use the tentacles of the ancient Xi Bi to sift through even the fist-sized ores on the ground, they understood his determination. According to Guo Shier, once you passed this village, there would be no such shops elsewhere—once you left, who knew where such ores could be found again? Using the Xi Bi’s tentacles to forcefully lift aside the useless rocks and search for the jade buried beneath, Guo Shier was extremely busy and thoroughly enjoyed this treasure-hunting process. The handsome old man quickly said he had already collected enough purified jade, but like Guo Shier, he continued to work hard on further purification.
From afar, rumbling sounds could be heard from time to time, and avalanches kept occurring in the nearby snow-capped mountains. However, this peak was safe—after two collapses, there was hardly anything left to fall, making it the safest place here. Avalanches kept happening one after another in the surrounding mountains. By looking at the most recently collapsed mountain, one could tell where Li Ran and the Bat Dragon were. Guo Shier paid no attention; his focus was entirely on the ores. But Yang Miluo and Fan Zhen Tong were different—they kept watching intently, even wishing they could run over to see. Such battles were very beneficial for their growth.
In the distance, animal roars could be heard from time to time, along with faint thunderous sounds—those were the noises of avalanches. Another pair of professionals had arrived. Guo Shier didn’t avoid anyone at all and continued to process and purify the ores openly. Most of the ores on the ground had already been purified, with little left. However, Guo Shier was using Jie Bainà to purify a piece of bright yellow jade—a flat, oval-shaped raw jade stone about 17 or 18 meters in diameter and 7 or 8 meters high. Wrapped in tens of thousands of flames from Jie Bainà, its size gradually shrank; now it was only about 8 meters in diameter and 3 meters high, hanging in front of the altar and emitting a soft bright yellow light.
Any professional could tell that it was a process of material purification. That group of professionals had clearly flown over but then turned around and flew toward Guo Shier and the others from afar. Fan Zhen Tong warned, “Shier, we might be in trouble.” Yang Miluo immediately became alert and said, “Hurry up and purify it. If necessary, give up that bright yellow jade.” Fan Zhen Tong replied, “There’s no need to panic. They might not dare to attack!” Saying this, he activated the altar to block in front of Guo Shier’s altar, a sharp glint appearing in his eyes. The handsome old man said, “Don’t worry about them. I’ll take care of protection.” The Umbrella Tower Sacrificial Treasure emitted a softer light and grew slightly larger.
Guo Shier wasn’t nervous at all. He methodically continued to use the Jiebaina Sacrificial Treasure to refine the bright yellow jade, gradually removing impurities. Soon, the entire piece of bright yellow jade became purer, resembling a soft yellow grease that fluctuated with countless flames.
The group of professionals approached, and Fan Zhen Tong shouted, “Stop! This is our territory.”
Despite his busy tasks, Guo Shier glanced over. It was a not-too-large team of about twenty people, the most common composition for such teams, likely formed by some ancient family. Among them, there were professionals with at least a four-layer altar, the highest being a seven-layer altar user, along with one expert at a six-layer altar, while most had a five-layer altar level.
With just a quick glance, Guo Shier felt relieved. With Fan Zhen Tong and Yang Miluo to hold them off, he could collect this nearly perfectly refined bright yellow jade.
Suddenly, laughter rang out. One of the professionals in the group shouted, “Since when has Dayuan Tan become your territory? The treasures here aren’t something you three can claim!”
The leader of the group stepped forward and said, “I’m from the Gu Han family, a seven-layer altar professional—Yue Shan Han!”
Fan Zhen Tong didn’t mention his family or his own altar level. Anyone who did so usually carried a threatening intent. He simply replied, “Fan Zhen Tong.”
Yue Shan Han said, “In that case, we won’t disturb you…”
Fan Zhen Tong was puzzled; he didn’t understand what this guy meant.