Chapter 7: Discovering the Ancient FlameZhuo (Part 1)

Guo Shier said, “This isn’t the roar of a mutated beast symbol; it sounds more like the call of a mutated bird. Hmm, that’s right—this sound is very similar to that of the Ancient FlameZhuo… Could there be one hiding here?”
The handsome old man replied, “The Ancient FlameZhuo has long been missing. How could there be one here? Go take a look…”
They didn’t fly far before Guo Shier and the others stopped. The three of them hovered in the air, watching the Ancient FlameZhuo flying in the distance. After a while, Guo Shier exclaimed, “It’s beautiful! This… this is an Aberrant Ancient FlameZhuo, at least level 14 or higher. It would be great if we could tame it.”
The handsome old man snorted and said, “Idiot, who can tame a high-level Aberrant bird? That’s impossible. At best, we can capture its soul.”
That Aberrant Ancient FlameZhuo was 800 meters long, with wings spanning up to a kilometer. Its feathers were fire-red, with golden edges that shone brightly. It had a phoenix-like head, adorned with a colorful crown that emitted beautiful hues of light. Waves of colored light protected its body, highlighting its stunning feathers. Its posture was extremely elegant. As it circled in the sky, it resembled a golden eagle, seemingly the ruler of the heavens.
Guo Shier sighed and said, “I hesitate to attack…”
The handsome old man asked, “What do you mean?”
Guo Shier replied, “I can’t bring myself to harm it. It’s too beautiful. Destroying such a thing… it would be a sin.”
The handsome old man snapped, “Nonsense! Beautiful? I don’t see what’s so beautiful about it. This is an Ancient FlameZhuo—every part of it is valuable! If you don’t kill it, I guarantee countless professionals will want to!”
Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan knew that Guo Shier sometimes had strange ideas, but they also knew he would ultimately take action. In this world, professionals had to keep killing to advance.
Guo Shier gave a bitter smile. He knew he was still influenced by his past life. “I know, I know… Sigh, what a beautiful bird. It’s a shame.”
The handsome old man said bluntly, “Stop acting fake! Get ready to attack!”
Guo Shier replied, “Yes.”
Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan couldn’t help but laugh. It was fun to see Guo Shier flustered, especially when the handsome old man scolded him. The old man was utterly ruthless in his criticism, acting like Guo Shier’s father, with an air of dominance that overshadowed everything else.

Guo Shier said, “Everyone, get ready. It’s a shame… such a beautiful Ancient Flame Finch.” Even now, he still couldn’t bear it; despite the old man’s constant cursing, he truly felt regret. But at this point, he had no reason to give up. This Ancient Flame Finch was too precious—once he gave up, he knew he would never encounter such a rare opportunity again.

The three of them were still about ten kilometers away from the Ancient Flame Finch. With their strength, it would only take a blink for them to reach its attack range. Guo Shier said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, Uncle Luo, you two hold them off while I take the lead attack. The Ancient Flame Finch must be very strong.” He had obtained the spirit of an Ancient Flame Finch when he was very young, so he knew well about them and understood that they weren’t aggressive.

The Ancient Flame Finch was feeding on a group of golden beetles. It drove thousands of them into chaos as it flew gracefully in circles, devouring them one after another. In just a short while, it had eaten hundreds of them. A single golden beetle was as big as a washbasin, but to the Ancient Flame Finch, they were just snacks.

This Ancient Flame Finch was very different from the spirit of one he had obtained before—it was an Aberrant Ancient Flame Finch, far more advanced than the spirit he had. Not only was it stronger, but it also had a physical body, making it beyond the reach of ordinary professionals. Yet Guo Shier was nearly at the eighth level of his Altar, and his Altar was the famous Heavenly Altar. Once reaching the seventh level, it could unleash tremendous power.

Staring at the Ancient Flame Finch, Guo Shier whispered, “It’s a shame, but meeting me… means bad luck for you.” With a loud cry, he launched an attack.

The Ancient Flame Finch paid no attention to those three professionals, who were like ants. It continued chasing its food until the Moon Blade transformed into a giant sword and slashed down, breaking through its defenses with a thunderous noise and striking its massive body. Countless crimson feathers flew into the air before it realized it had been injured.

Soon after, Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan’s attacks also arrived. Filled with rage, the Ancient Flame Finch let out a cry and thrust its huge bird head forward. Its long, sharp beak, like a sword, aimed at Guo Shier and his Altar. With a whooshing sound, its beak slightly opened, forming a scissor-like tip that rushed toward Guo Shier.

The Umbrella Tower’s protective barriers emitted layers of defense, but with popping sounds, they were continuously pierced by the Ancient Flame Finch’s sharp beak. Swish! The beak suddenly turned into a shadow. Guo Shier quickly teleported away, shocked—the Ancient Flame Finch’s attack speed was simply too fast.

Guo Shier called out, “Everyone, be careful! This guy is incredibly fast!”
Although Gu Yanque was huge in size, it moved with extraordinary agility. Hearing Guo Shier’s shout, it simply turned around, and its massive wings swept forward like blades.
This time, Guo Shier didn’t dodge. He used his Moon Blade to strike forcefully.
Boom!
A loud explosion followed by Gu Yanque’s pained screech. His Moon Blade was now extremely powerful—its strength was countless times greater than before. It was already a Grade 7 Sacrificial Treasure. Even with Gu Yanque’s formidable physique, it still couldn’t match the Moon Blade’s power. That strike left a bloody wound on Gu Yanque’s wing.
But Guo Shier also suffered greatly. The force from Gu Yanque’s massive wings hitting him was overwhelming, forcing him to retreat hundreds of meters before he could regain control of the altar. He couldn’t help but exclaim, “Damn! I almost couldn’t hold it off!”
The old man snapped, “Idiot! Who told you to compete with it in strength?”
Guo Shier replied, “I can’t keep relying on tricks… When it’s time to fight, I have to fight! If I don’t try, I won’t know what the limits of my Moon Blade are.”
The old man admitted Guo Shier was right, so he stopped scolding him. In fact, he was doing it for Guo Shier’s sake. Both Guo Shier and Eagle Demon as well as Luo Zhan were well aware of this, so no one was dissatisfied with the old man. Guo Shier certainly wouldn’t have any complaints either—he already regarded the old man as a family member.
Watching Gu Yanque’s dripping blood, the old man felt heartache. “Kill it quickly! That blood contains extremely precious heat… It would be a shame if it fell into the magma.”
Guo Shier immediately commanded the Soul Suppressing Cauldron, sending out several streaks of colored light that slowed down Gu Yanque’s movements. The colored light struck Gu Yanque’s body, causing its spirit to tremble as if it might leave its body. Terrified, Gu Yanque let out a cry and spat out dozens of streams of fire at Guo Shier.
The old man shouted, “Dodge quickly! That’s damn Symbol Fire!”
Without hesitation, Guo Shier teleported away. Dozens of streams of Symbol Fire converged to block his path, but since he had already teleported, they all missed. Then, Gu Yanque opened its mouth to suck in the Symbol Fire and flapped its massive wings forcefully, flying away into the distance. It wasn’t stupid—after a few encounters, it knew Guo Shier was a very strong enemy. With the two others holding it back, continuing the fight would be pointless.
The old man slapped the altar and shouted, “It ran! Chase after it!”

Guo Shier, Eagle Demon, and Luo Zhan chased after it on their altar. The Ancient Flame Bird flew at incredible speed, but its wings were severely damaged, which slowed it down. Even so, it was still difficult for Guo Shier and the others to keep up.

Suddenly, countless tiny sparks shot out from the bird’s wings, boosting its speed even further. With just a slight movement, it could cover a long distance. Sparks flew everywhere, forming a stream of light that rushed forward like a comet.

Eagle Demon exclaimed, “So fast!”

The three of them tried their best to chase, occasionally using teleportation to cover distance. But the Ancient Flame Bird didn’t fly in a straight line; it moved in zigzags, making it hard for Guo Shier and his companions to block its path. It was then that Guo Shier realized how difficult it was to chase down such an elusive bird once it started fleeing.

From time to time, the Ancient Flame Bird turned around and spat out several strands of purple talismanic fire to block Guo Shier and the others, but the old man silently captured a few of them. To save its life, the bird had to give up trying to retrieve the talismanic fire. In fact, Guo Shier hoped it would spew more, as these talismanic fires were hard to come by.

As more and more talismanic fires were emitted, the bird appeared visibly weakened, its speed dropping significantly. By then, Guo Shier and his companions could attack from behind, continuing to drain the bird’s strength and energy. After chasing for a while, they arrived at a strange place.

Sharp cries echoed one after another. Suddenly, a cry came from afar. Guo Shier’s expression changed instantly. He said, “Two Ancient Flame Birds? Trouble…”

The old man said, “It’s a male and a female! I wonder if they’re the same level… Attack together and take down this one first!”

Guo Shier knew it wouldn’t be long before the bird in the distance arrived. By then, killing it would be extremely difficult. He shouted, “Uncle Eagle Demon, Uncle Luo, find a way to stop it!”

Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan immediately took action, attacking the path ahead of the bird. They didn’t attack the bird directly, but if it tried to fly forward, the attacks would hit it.

Guo Shier slammed his Soul Calming Cauldron. With a loud noise, like a bell ringing, the entire cauldron trembled violently, and countless streams of colored light erupted. His altar also emitted a rainbow glow, merging directly into the light streams. Like a torrent of color, it instantly swept up the Ancient Flame Bird.

The Ancient Flame Bird sensed a tremendous threat; its soul was gradually leaving its body. The powerful force drawing it apart made it emit shrill cries in terror. Streams of magical flames were spat out desperately, but it couldn’t be sure if they could pose a threat to its opponent. At that moment, it deeply realized the opponent’s strength.

With a loud explosion, countless flames burst forth from its feathers, turning the Ancient Flame Bird into a burning firebird that instantly dispersed some of the colorful light. Guo Shier didn’t hesitate and cast a spell. A golden-red shadow shot out from the mouth of the Soul-Calming Cauldron as he released the Soul Devouring Beast.

In the blink of an eye, the Soul Devouring Beast pounced on the Ancient Flame Bird’s massive body. It let out a triumphant cry, opened its soul-mouth wide, and frantically devoured the bird’s soul.

Then, Guo Shier released dozens more fire-type Soul Beasts.

The handsome old man exclaimed, “It worked!”

Under Guo Shier’s command, the dozens of Soul Beasts forced the severely weakened Ancient Flame Bird’s soul out of its body. As the colorful light flickered, all the Soul Beasts and the Soul Devouring Beast were drawn into the cauldron. Another burst of colorful light appeared, and the Ancient Flame Bird’s huge body shrank as it was quickly taken inside the Soul-Calming Cauldron.