Chapter 8: Blood Soul Stone (Part 1)

Zhang Yaojin appeared confident, and Zhou Xiaoling asked curiously, “What’s your plan?”
Guo Shier said, “There are only two options. One is to kill that level-9 mutated ferocious dog, but that’s out of the question. The second is to lure it away. Well, that means the Blood Soul Stone is on that dog’s territory.”
Zhang Yaojin smiled bitterly. “You kid… I don’t know who taught you, but you seem to know everything! Yes, I have a way to lure that dog away. While it’s distracted, you can go in and dig.”
Guo Shier said, “That works. You need to provide us with a few safe places to train. Also, if anyone has any objections… if not in agreement, we can discuss it first.”
Zhou Xiaoling spoke up first, “I have no objections. So far, I haven’t found a single Blood Soul Stone.”
Ying Mo had no objections to anything Guo Shier decided, so naturally, the others didn’t either—they couldn’t possibly have any. Disagreeing would mean leaving the team, which they couldn’t accept. Besides, finding one or two Blood Soul Stones could earn them a lot of things when they returned, which also tempted them.
Guo Shier said decisively, “Deal!”
Zhang Yaojin stared at Guo Shier for a while before saying, “Deal!” After thinking for a moment, he added, “I didn’t want to say this, but I must remind you—once we agree, we must keep it! If anyone tries to play tricks behind our backs, I’ll kill them no matter where they go!”
Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh and said, “Good!”
Zhou Xiaoling retorted indignantly, “What if it’s you playing tricks?”
Zhang Yaojin replied firmly, “I won’t!”
Guo Shier asked, “Did you kill those seven apprentices for the same reason?”
Zhang Yaojin showed a hateful expression and said, “Yes! Gah… a bunch of brats betraying me? Gah… still, I wiped them out completely!”
Guo Shier said, “They deserved to die!”
Ying Mo also said, “They deserve death!” He had been betrayed before, so he hated such things deeply.
Those two words warmed Zhang Yaojin’s heart. He said, “Alright, follow me. This isn’t a place to stay long.” He quietly disappeared into the thick mist. Zhou Xiaoling called out, “Keep up! Don’t get separated!”

The group hurriedly followed. Before long, they began to understand the situation. Led by Zhang Yaojin, the path was utterly unpredictable—no clear route, shifting left and right, even moving backward at times. Zhou Xiaoling, Guo Shier, and the others followed, greatly surprised by his ability to avoid danger; no wonder the inspection chief couldn’t catch him even on a shuttle.

After about two hours, Zhang Yaojin stopped and said, “We can rest for ten minutes here.”

As they moved forward and stopped intermittently, they didn’t encounter a single mutated beast or a single person along the way. Zhang Yaojin truly was someone who had lived in the Black Mist Area for years; it was clear he was very familiar with the terrain.

The team gradually ventured deeper into the heart of the Black Mist Area, the most dangerous place, where even the slightest carelessness could lead to total destruction. They moved extremely slowly—the fog here was so thick that one couldn’t see more than a few meters ahead.

After seventeen days of arduous travel, Zhang Yaojin finally said in a very soft voice, “There’s still one day left to reach the target. This place is relatively safer. Let’s rest here.”

Guo Shier realized he could no longer see anything around them—only the ground a few meters ahead, with everything else covered in thick, dark fog. He understood that practicing here would be effective, but it was too dangerous.

The group spread thick animal skins on the ground, gathered together, and quietly ate their dried meat rations. The prolonged state of high tension left them extremely exhausted.

No one dared speak; everyone remained silent. After eating, they huddled together to take turns sleeping. Zhou Xiaoling lay close to Guo Shier, and Lan Hu was close to Zhou Xiaoling—the three of them squeezed together. Since they were all children, no one found it strange.

Eagle Demon silently watched over them; he was the one who worked the hardest in the group.

Zhang Yaojin sat alone outside the circle, lost in thought.

Only Eagle Demon and Zhang Yaojin were awake. Both were alert, but while Eagle Demon was on guard, Zhang Yaojin was lost in daydreams. Hearing Zhang Yaojin let out a low sigh, Eagle Demon was slightly perturbed. He went over to him, sat down slowly, and asked in a very low voice, “What’s wrong?”

Zhang Yaojin looked at Eagle Demon in surprise, shook his head slightly, and said, “Nothing…”

Eagle Demon replied, “I heard your sigh… Is there something bothering you?” In truth, Eagle Demon wasn’t really concerned about his fate; he was just curious—would professionals from the advanced continents also be troubled like this?

Zhang Yaojin smiled bitterly. After a long while, he said, “I don’t know if we can escape this time…”

Eagle Demon said, “You’re already a Holy Master. You can join any sect. As long as you can get out, what’s there to worry about?”
Zhang Yaojin rubbed his face vigorously and sighed, “I have to wait until Guo Shier leaves before I can go. This time is really tough.”
Eagle Demon replied, “Just make sure you stay hidden and don’t get discovered. I don’t think anyone here will betray us.” Only he, Guo Shier, and Zhou Xiaoling had the inspection chief’s signal tokens. As long as those three didn’t send any signals, the inspection chief wouldn’t know where Zhang Yaojin was.
Zhang Yaojin nodded silently and continued to stare into space. Eagle Demon whispered, “Don’t overthink it.” He got up and went over to Guo Shier. Looking at the sleeping child, his strong heart suddenly softened greatly. This little guy had not only changed his fate but also brought him so many surprises and gains.
Everyone slept for four or five hours. Guo Shier suddenly woke up, looking around at the thick fog in confusion. He shook his head vigorously before fully regaining consciousness. He said to Eagle Demon, “Uncle Eagle Demon, you should take a nap.” He knew that Eagle Demon wouldn’t rest unless he woke up.
Eagle Demon didn’t say anything and fell asleep right away. Moments later, soft snoring sounds came from him—he was also very tired.
Zhang Yaojin glanced at everyone, crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and fell asleep as well. His sleeping posture was quite strange—one leg bent, the other kneeling on the ground, with his arms wrapped around himself and his body slightly leaning forward. Upon closer thought, it was a preparatory stance for starting to move. He managed to fall asleep in that position.
Guo Shier continued to practice, and the others weren’t idle either. In the heart of the foggy area, these people made great progress. Each of them was on the verge of advancing again. As long as they stayed here, it would be easy to reach the rank of Mad Master.
Guo Shier had already reached the intermediate level of Mad Master and was now striving to reach the advanced level. He worked hard to absorb soul threads. In fact, what was absorbed here should be called soul fog—there was hardly any need to absorb it; as long as he practiced the spells, the soul fog would quickly flow into his body.
This rest period was relatively long, nearly seven hours. Zhang Yaojin slept for about two hours before waking up. He ate a little. Despite appearing arrogant when he first met Guo Shier and the others, it became clear after getting to know him that he was actually a very quiet person.
Those who had seen Zhang Yaojin sleep and understood the meaning of his posture would know that he had endured countless hardships.

Sun Min’er spoke softly to Yang Qi, “Fat Yang, if we find a Blood Soul Stone this time, even just one, you’ll be rich. What do you plan to do? Sell it… or give it to the sect in exchange for points?”
Yang Qi’s face turned red. He wanted to speak, but a talisman was sealed over his mouth. It was Zhang Yaojin who had placed it there—it didn’t prevent him from eating or drinking, but it stopped him from speaking. He was naturally loud and couldn’t control his volume, so he could only gesticulate wildly.
Sun Min’er, not understanding, guessed randomly, “What? Give it to the sect? Oh, no… sell it? No… do you mean keep it? Hmm, okay, keeping it is good… Hehe, I also plan to keep it…” He kept talking to himself in a low voice. Guo Shier almost laughed out loud. He knew Sun Min’er was just trying to relieve her own nervousness and didn’t really care what Yang Qi meant.
It took a while before Yang Qi realized what was going on. Frustrated, he turned over and lay on the animal skin mat, closing his eyes and dozing off. He was a big fat guy who loved sleeping, and it was clear he hadn’t gotten enough sleep earlier.
Zhang Yaojin walked up to Guo Shier and waved for Zhou Xiaoling to come over. He knew that everything in the team was decided by these two, even though they were still children. He said, “Let’s discuss this. We’ll be there soon. I won’t go into detail about how powerful the Level 9 Mutated Fierce Dog is. What I want to talk about is… how we can obtain Blood Soul Stones in its territory.”
Guo Shier and Zhou Xiaoling just stared at him without saying anything. Zhang Yaojin smiled bitterly. “I’ll draw the Fierce Dog’s attention away. It will take about twenty minutes to half an hour. You guys have at most fifteen minutes to enter… then you must retreat. Otherwise, if anything goes wrong… it won’t be my fault.”
Guo Shier remained silent for a moment before asking, “How will you escape?”
Zhang Yaojin was surprised. He didn’t expect Guo Shier to care about his life, and he felt a bit touched. He said softly, “I have my own way to get away… You only have fifteen minutes. How many Blood Soul Stones you can get depends on your luck. Remember, don’t exceed fifteen minutes. If anything goes wrong, don’t blame me.”
Guo Shier said, “You don’t need to worry about that. We’ll make sure everything is taken care of.”
Zhang Yaojin nodded. “That’s good. This is my chance, as well as yours. I hope everyone can seize it.”
Zhou Xiaoling smiled bitterly. “Fifteen minutes… I wonder if we can even find one Blood Soul Stone?”

Zhang Yaojin said, “I don’t know about underground… but on the territory of the Fierce Dogs, there are Blood Soul Stones on the surface! It’s just that no one dares to go and pick them up!”
Guo Shier said in surprise, “They’re on the surface? Won’t the patrol officers go and pick them up? Their strength is enough not only to drive away level-9 mutated spirit beasts but also to kill them. Aren’t the Blood Soul Stones on the surface theirs then?”
Zhang Yaojin replied, “They also have restrictions—they’re not allowed to take anything from there, especially Blood Soul Stones.”
Guo Shier said, “I really can’t understand these rules.”
Zhou Xiaoling said, “I’ve heard of this rule. If the patrol officers start searching for Blood Soul Stones, we disciples who came here for training won’t get anything at all. This must be controlled.”
Guo Shier said, “Let’s get ready to act. Gather around.” He waved for everyone to come over and carefully explained Zhang Yaojin’s requirements. Finally, he said, “Fifteen minutes—even if not a single Blood Soul Stone is found, we must retreat immediately! There’s no room for delay! If anyone… refuses to leave, we won’t rescue them. That will kill everyone in the team!”
Everyone nodded in agreement.