Chapter 4: The Alienated Bat Dragon (Part 2)

Yue Shanhan said, “Brothers, start collecting the ores on the ground.” With his experience, he naturally understood what Guo Shier was purifying. It might have been possible if it were raw ore, but seeing the nearly purified bright yellow jade, if he still didn’t recognize it, he wouldn’t be a professional from the Seventh-Level Altar. Fan Zhen Tong flew into a rage and shouted, “These are the ores we knocked down!”
Yue Shanhan sneered, “The ores here aren’t in your pockets. If everything on the ground belonged to you, why would we come here? Brothers, go ahead—don’t worry, they won’t dare attack.” He didn’t attack first but ordered his subordinates to snatch the remaining ores from the ground.
Fan Zhen Tong sneered, “Just don’t regret it later.” He retracted the sacrificial treasures he had already used and simply watched them coldly.
Yue Shanhan felt a chill in his heart. The opponent’s actions were somewhat unexpected. With a slight wave of his hand, the five professionals behind him also retracted their sacrificial treasures. He said, “What’s there to regret? We’re just collecting ores. They’re not yours anyway.” He was reasoning unjustly—strictly speaking, he wasn’t wrong—but such behavior was the most likely to provoke conflict.
Guo Shier divided the purified bright yellow jade and placed it in the altar, saying, “Done!”
Fan Zhen Tong stepped back a distance and went to Guo Shier’s side, whispering, “How’s it going?”
Guo Shier glanced at the group of professionals searching for jade ores on the ground and smiled, “Just some leftover raw ores. It’s hard to extract much from them. I originally planned to stop after purifying this piece. Since they want it, give it to them. I’m too lazy to argue with them.”
The three of them retreated together but couldn’t leave yet—they had to wait for Li Ran to return.
Guo Shier didn’t really want to cause trouble. Although the people from the Gu Han family had provoked them, they still knew their limits and hadn’t directly tried to rob them. If there had been more raw ores on the ground, he wouldn’t have minded fighting them, but since only scraps remained, he felt little anger.
Fan Zhen Tong was annoyed. He said, “When the senior returns, should we rob them again?”
Guo Shier laughed, “There’s not much profit in them… We probably won’t get anything good. Forget it. Once Brother Li Ran returns, we’ll leave.”
The group of professionals searched around jokingly, occasionally finding a piece of Red Fire Jade or Blue Crystal Jade, looking very happy each time.
Yang Miluo spat and said, “Damn it! Does having more people make them great? That group before them had more people, yet they still fled in shame.”

About half an hour later, Li Ran suddenly appeared in mid-air. He seemed stunned for a moment before flying over to Guo Shier and the others, asking, “What’s with these professionals?”
Guo Shier replied nonchalantly, “People who came here to take advantage. Heh, it seems like they’re not from any respectable ancient family.”
Li Ran didn’t care either. He generally ignored such professionals—as long as they didn’t bother him. He asked, “Have you collected enough jade ore?”
Guo Shier nodded. “Yeah, enough. More… doesn’t make much sense.” In fact, he had already gathered far more jade than needed for the altar, and he had lost interest in the local ores. Only what was truly useful mattered.
The four of them flew away, while those professionals laughed mockingly. Guo Shier said, “Sometimes, words really bring trouble.”
Li Ran added, “I have no energy to argue with a bunch of youngsters. I hope their luck… stays as good next time, heh.”
Guo Shier said, “As long as they keep moving forward, heh, they’ll realize they’re nothing at all.” The four of them flew away, laughing.
Yue Shan shouted, “Stop laughing, damn it!” After the four left, he suddenly felt relieved. He realized that the person who had followed them had exerted an invisible pressure on him, making him extremely uncomfortable. It only stopped once they left. He wasn’t stupid—he immediately understood that person’s rank must be higher than his own.
The professionals of the Gu Han family stared at their leader in confusion, not understanding why he was acting crazy again. But everyone became much more subdued, stopping laughing and nervously searching the ground.
…
Guo Shier asked, “Did we kill that bat dragon just now? What rank was it—a mutated beast?”
Li Ran replied, “It was quite tricky. That thing kept crashing into mountains, making it hard for me to strike. Heh, but we still managed to kill it. It was a level-17 mutated beast—really powerful. If I had the chance, I’d like to encounter level-18 or 19 ones. As for level-20… forget it. Once you reach level 20… there should be a qualitative change.”
Guo Shier said with a wry smile, “Level 17, 18, 19… mutated beasts. Even if I faced a level-17 one, I might be able to fight it. But for those above level 18, I’d better stay away. They’re beyond my capabilities.”

Li Ran said, “I estimate that abominations at level 20 will shrink in size, and might even take on human form or some other shape. Well, if that’s the case, even if we see an abomination at level 20… we might not be able to recognize it.”
Guo Shier felt a chill and said, “It’s better not to encounter them. Otherwise, we won’t even know how we die.”
Li Ran replied, “If we really run into an abomination at level 20, I think even professionals at the ninth-tier altar would have to flee. I’m not even sure if I could defeat it.”
Fan Zhen Tong couldn’t help but interject, “Really? Even with your senior’s strength, you can’t beat it?”
Li Ran shook his head. “I don’t know. Not to mention abominations at level 20, I’ve never even seen those at levels 18 or 19. Hehe, I’ve been to many continents and secret realms. Abominations above level 15 are extremely rare. Abominations aren’t the same as mutated talisman beasts—there’s a huge difference in strength.”
Guo Shier said, “The soul of an abomination is far more precious than that of a mutated talisman beast.”
Li Ran added, “It’s not just precious. For altar-level professionals, possessing the soul of a high-tier abomination is invaluable. You should understand that for a professional’s soul to grow, if it follows normal paths, the quality of the sacrifice is extremely important. The higher the altar-level profession, the more they value this.”
Guo Shier didn’t fully grasp this, but Yang Miluo and Fan Zhen Tong agreed. They nodded repeatedly. After reaching altar level, Guo Shier’s soul growth mainly came from consuming soul pearls and refining them with soul scriptures, which allowed him to grow at an astonishing rate.
As for the role of soul sacrifices for Guo Shier, they were mainly used at the altar to strengthen it, operate it, repair sacred treasures, and enhance his own soul. They weren’t as important—sacrifices were more like consumables to him, not offerings.
Of course, any altar needed high-tier soul sacrifices. Guo Shier had no objection to having many such souls on his altar—those were the real treasures.
Guo Shier asked, “This soul of the bat dragon we captured should be your best sacrifice, right?”
Li Ran replied, “No. I once obtained a very ancient soul, bought through negotiation—it was the soul of an abomination at level 18. When I got it, it was already on its last legs. I used a lot of my own soul energy to nurture it. At that time, I didn’t even know it was an abomination soul at level 18…”
Fan Zhen Tong was intrigued and said, “Senior, is that why you were able to advance beyond several altar levels… because of this soul?”

Li Ran said, “This is one of the factors, and of course, it’s a very important one. Without it, I’ll need at least another hundred years… to advance.”
Immediately, Fan Zhen Tong and Yang Miluo’s eyes burned with excitement. This was a unique experience—no inheritance could provide such knowledge. This was the advantage of being with experts.
Guo Shier thought back to when he had used the souls of two level-15 Abnormal Beasts to transform the altar into a Chengtian Altar. He couldn’t help feeling sad—those were top-quality souls. It was a pity he didn’t have any extra Soul Beads back then. The old man had almost used the soul of the Giant Nest Dragon; if not for his intervention, that soul too would have been lost.
Sighing, Guo Shier realized that with his current strength, he still couldn’t hunt down the souls of high-level Abnormal Beasts. At most, he could fight against level-15 Abnormal Beasts, and whether he could win was uncertain.
The terrain became increasingly rugged, with taller and taller mountains. The low valleys were filled with ice and snow, and deep ice gullies could often be seen. Huge bones of magical beasts were scattered across the ice and snow. Apart from rocks that occasionally appeared in the snow, there were hardly any plants—everything was covered in pale whiteness.
The wind howled, mixed with falling snowflakes. The temperature was extremely cold. Guo Shier noticed ice forming on his altar. He slapped the top of the altar, and a burst of magical light flashed. The ice hanging on it immediately shattered and dispersed. He said, “This place… if it weren’t for high-level mutated beasts, anyone who enters would freeze to death. It’s too cold.”
Li Ran smiled and said, “As long as you’re above level eight… you won’t freeze to death. You underestimate how powerful these mutated beasts are.”
Guo Shier replied, “Level eight… that’s almost enough. There are so many ice cracks down there—fall in, and it’s over…”
Li Ran said, “Don’t worry. Sometimes, mutated magical beasts are smarter than humans. They won’t enter. It’s us professionals who rush in in groups. Hehe, look at those magical lights in the distance—how many professionals must there be to create such a scene?”
Guo Shier looked into the distance and couldn’t help exclaiming, “At least a thousand…”
Fan Zhen Tong said, “More than a thousand. The magical lights are connected in patches. It would take tens of thousands to create such a scale.”
It was as if illuminated by rosy light—the distant snow-capped mountains were all lit up by the magical glow. Who knew how many professionals were rushing around? In the fierce wind, faint roars could be heard from time to time, along with distant beast cries. It seemed as though the Great Abyss Tan had woken up, opening its bewildered eyes. Guo Shier said, “It’s really lively…”
The four of them flew at great speed. Occasionally glancing back, Guo Shier said, “There are also many professionals behind us…”

Streams of talismanic light followed the four of them, and it was unclear how many more groups were behind them.
Li Ran said, “I’m not exactly well-versed in such things either. This is the first time I’ve seen so many high-level professionals. Not including those who stayed outside, I estimate there are at least tens of thousands of professionals in the Great Abyss. Hehe, usually, even entering a continent, it’s not easy to encounter a professional at a altar, but here… they’re everywhere.”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “I wonder how many professionals exist who have surpassed the ninth-level altar?”
Li Ran perked up and said, “That’s right. If I could find one more… I’d be even more confident!”
Guo Shier replied, “Maybe we can find one, but they might not want to leave.”
Li Ran said, “You don’t understand… Once you reach my level, the desire to leave becomes extremely strong.”
Guo Shier was momentarily speechless. He only had a sixth-level altar, so of course he couldn’t understand the thoughts of professionals who had surpassed the ninth level. After a while, he said, “Well, I hope so. If there’s another one… our chances of leaving will be much higher.”
Yang Miluo and Fan Zhen were both puzzled. Yang Miluo couldn’t help asking, “Leave? Where to?”
Guo Shier smiled faintly; he couldn’t explain.
Li Ran said, “It’s nothing. You don’t need to know.” He spoke in the tone of an elder, leaving Yang Miluo with nothing but confusion and curiosity.
Suddenly, Guo Shier said, “The fluctuations are intensifying…”
Li Ran nodded. “We’re almost at our destination… Hmm, there’s still some distance left…”
Before he could finish speaking, roars of beasts suddenly came from afar, followed by flashes of talismanic light, along with distant rumbling sounds.
Guo Shier’s expression changed slightly. “A herd of beasts?”
Li Ran said, “Many… so many roars… mixed together. Yes, it’s definitely a herd of beasts!”
Guo Shier asked, “Should we go around them?”
Li Ran shook his head. “We can’t go around!”