Chapter 10: Earth Mole Rats (Part 1)

Eagle Demon asked in confusion, “There are clearly many fewer mutated rune beasts here. Strange… This secret realm gives off a strange feeling. Xuan Ai, is this a buffer zone for mutated rune beasts?”
Xuan Ai replied, “Yes. First-, second-, and third-grade mutated rune beasts gather together, fourth- and fifth-grade ones gather together as well, sixth- and seventh-grade ones are separated, and those above eighth grade have their own territories. This place happens to be a buffer zone. If lower-grade mutated rune beasts enter, they will be eaten.”
Guo Shier thought for a moment before saying, “Hmm, it seems most hunters are in the buffer zone. We were quite bold on our first day. Hehe, no wonder we didn’t see a single professional hunter.”
They weren’t just bold—they relied on the Giant Perch Dragon to storm into the gathering areas of fourth- and fifth-grade mutated rune beasts. This was because the Giant Perch Dragon’s level was extremely high, its soul possessing a terrifying suppressive power that intimidated all the mutated rune beasts, allowing them to hunt so smoothly. If the mutated rune beasts went berserk and attacked, they could only flee—they could never kill that many of them.
“Someone’s coming.”
Eagle Demon stepped forward a few steps, staring intently at the distance. With a terrified roar, more than a dozen figures rushed toward them at high speed, skimming low over the ground.
Eagle Demon shouted, “Who are they?”
Xuan Ai recognized the approaching figures and exclaimed in surprise, “Qi Dayong!”
The young man at the forefront shouted, “Old Xuan! Run! Run… An eighth-grade mutated rune beast!”
Guo Shier glanced at them. The tallest among them was a high-level Mad Master; not even a Saint Master was there. How dare they rush into an area inhabited by high-grade mutated rune beasts?
Xuan Ai was shocked—eighth-grade mutated rune beasts! He also shouted, “Run!”
Guo Shier ordered, “Don’t run! They won’t attack… We will!” He cast a spell, causing the Mini Giant Perch Dragon to swell dramatically. With a roar directed skyward, it immediately attracted the eighth-grade mutated rune beast.
Xuan Ai had already run a few steps but stopped upon hearing this. He had fought high-grade mutated rune beasts with Guo Shier before, but he was too scared at the moment and instinctively wanted to flee.
Qi Dayong and his group saw the Giant Perch Dragon and turned to flee in terror. Less than ten meters away, they heard Xuan Ai shout, “Qi Dayong, come quickly! That’s our Soul Beast!”
The thunderous footsteps shook the ground. Soon, Guo Shier and the others saw the eighth-grade mutated rune beast running toward them.
Guo Shier was stunned: “Damn… Rats! There are rats this big!”

This Grade 8 mutated Earth Mole Rat was enormous, over seventy meters long, with a round body covered in golden fur. Yellow halos flickered on its long hairs. Guo Shier felt his scalp tingle with excitement as he recognized it as an ancient Earth Mole Rat—a legendary expert at burrowing, a truly rare species.

Guo Shier immediately came up with an idea: he planned to create a Spirit Beast talisman of an Earth Mole Rat, even though it was a Grade 8 mutated talisman beast.

Squeak! Squeak!

Just two sharp chirps made everyone tremble and their souls vibrate. Without hesitation, Guo Shier ordered the Giant Perch Dragon to charge forward.

Guo Shier shouted loudly, “This Earth Mole Rat belongs to us! Do any of you have any objections?”

Eagle Demon rushed forward with his life talisman sword. After just one strike, he cried out, “Shier, be careful! I can’t break through its defense!”

Qi Dayong and the others had stopped, standing not far away to watch. Xuan Ai knew he wouldn’t be of much use if he went in, so he ran over to Qi Dayong and asked, “Dayong, how dare you provoke a Grade 8 mutated talisman beast?”

All of them were inner disciples of the Hai Men sect, so they all knew Xuan Ai. After chatting for a while, Xuan Ai learned that they had discovered a rare material and ventured underground to collect it. Unexpectedly, after digging less than a hundred meters, they encountered a Grade 8 Earth Mole Rat and fled in terror.

Qi Dayong asked, “Who are those two? They’re not from our Hai Men… Are they your friends? Their strength is quite impressive—even at the Saint Master level… They seem quite young.”

Xuan Ai replied, “You’re an elite inner disciple, and he used to be one too… But now he’s a wandering professional.”

Qi Dayong said, “That man can control beasts and insects too… Amazing!”

The Giant Perch Dragon was a Spirit Beast that had reached the peak of Grade 8, barely short of advancing to Grade 9. However, there was still a difference between a Spirit Beast and a true Grade 8 mutated talisman beast. Despite the help of Guo Shier, Eagle Demon, the Dark-Winged Scorpion, and the Blade Shadow Mantis, it gradually fell behind.

The Earth Mole Rat’s defense was extremely strong; no one had been able to break through its defenses so far. Its fur was practically invincible—neither Eagle Demon’s life talisman sword nor Guo Shier’s life sword talisman could harm it, and even the Dark-Winged Scorpion’s stinger was ineffective. As for the Blade Shadow Mantis, its lower rank meant that the blades formed from its front limbs couldn’t cut through the Earth Mole Rat’s fur.

The Earth Mole Rat’s fur was like a reinforced concrete bunker, a hedgehog covered in spikes, leaving Guo Shier at a loss as to how to attack it.

The Giant Perch Dragon roared and swung its tail violently.
Bang!
The Earth Mole let out a pained scream as its massive body was flung ten meters away. Then, the Giant Perch Dragon turned sharply, sweeping its thick tail from the other side. Another dull thud echoed as the Earth Mole landed on its back, exposing its belly.
Guo Shier smiled in delight and shouted, “An opportunity!”
The Eagle Demon dashed out like lightning, flying over the Earth Mole’s belly. With a flash of the sword, it reached the other side of the Earth Mole.
Guo Shier saw clearly that, in that instant, the Eagle Demon used its signature sword to slash across the Earth Mole’s belly. A line of blood appeared—the Eagle Demon had finally broken through the Earth Mole’s defenses.
The Earth Mole’s weakness was its belly. The Giant Perch Dragon swung its tail twice more, then pushed hard with its massive feet, diving onto the Earth Mole and biting down with its huge mouth, aiming straight at that line of blood.
Squeak!
The wound burst open under the Giant Perch Dragon’s bite, and blood gushed out.
Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh. “We’re really lucky. The Earth Mole has strong defenses, but almost no means of attack… Uh, never mind what I said!”
Suddenly, the Earth Mole spat out a ball of yellow light. Since it was pinned upside down, the yellow light shot straight into the air, tracing a semicircular path before crashing down on Qi Dayong’s group, scaring the professionals to scatter in all directions.
One of the Hai Men disciples couldn’t escape in time. Covered by the yellow light, he instantly turned into a stone statue, gleaming with gold as if made of metal. In the blink of an eye, the golden light faded, leaving behind a grayish-white statue that appeared to be in mid-flight, yet utterly lifeless—death upon contact.
A moment later, as a breeze blew, the grayish-white human-shaped statue collapsed like a pile of flour.
Everyone shuddered in horror. Guo Shier was also stunned and immediately ordered the Giant Perch Dragon to attack frantically. He began preparing a talisman array, planning to drain the Earth Mole’s soul while it was weak.
The Eagle Demon jumped back onto the Earth Mole’s belly, rushed to its neck, gripped its signature sword tightly, and with all his strength, he shouted. The sword emitted a brilliant light as it was thrust deep into the Earth Mole’s body. The Earth Mole tried desperately to close its massive front limbs to crush the Eagle Demon.
With a loud laugh, the Eagle Demon soared into the air. “Shier, this guy’s strength is limited! Not even as good as a level-seven mutated talisman beast!” As long as its defenses could be broken, the Earth Mole’s power would be greatly reduced.

This strike truly hit the Earth Mole Rat’s vital point, causing it to weaken instantly as it struggled desperately with its four toes. Yet the Giant Perch Dragon’s massive body pressed down on it, leaving the Earth Mole Rat no chance to turn and escape.

Guo Shier had already set up the talisman array for extracting souls. He hovered one meter above the array, conjuring countless virtual talismans to connect with it. The power of this array wasn’t strong, and it was crudely crafted, but it was sufficient for use.

As countless virtual talismans fell into the array, Guo Shier gave a mental command. The Giant Perch Dragon roared and swung its huge front claw, slamming it hard onto the Earth Mole Rat’s head.

Boom!

That single swipe knocked the Earth Mole Rat unconscious, its cries weakening. Then, the Giant Perch Dragon struck again. After several consecutive blows, even though the Earth Mole Rat had a long lifespan, it was left severely injured and completely in chaos.

Crafting beast talismans was different from crafting insect talismans—the latter was much simpler, while the former was more complex.

Guo Shier was bold and reckless, willing to try anything. After discovering the advantages of soul beasts, he became obsessed with them. Whenever he saw a unique mutated talisman beast, he felt the urge to turn it into a soul beast.

As countless virtual talismans merged into the array, with the final spell cast, dozens of finger-thick chains of runes surged out from the array and rapidly extended toward the Earth Mole Rat’s body. Driven by Guo Shier’s spells, those chains slowly but firmly penetrated the Earth Mole Rat’s wounds. When they came into contact with its blood, the chains glowed red.

The Giant Perch Dragon continued to strike the Earth Mole Rat repeatedly to keep it from regaining consciousness.

Guo Shier’s soul fluctuated as he sensed the Earth Mole Rat’s soul. As the chains penetrated deeper, he began to cast another set of spells to control the soul of the mutated talisman beast. With the spells, the chains that had entered the Earth Mole Rat’s soul gradually dispersed and merged with it. Since the Earth Mole Rat’s soul was in chaos, this step was easily accomplished.

Qi Dayong and the others watched from a distance. Xuan Ai said, “What an amazing Giant Perch Dragon! This eighth-level mutated talisman beast… is doomed, haha.” He couldn’t help but laugh. This was an incredible achievement that could earn a lot of sect points. An eighth-level mutated talisman beast was enough to give him a chance at inheritance.

“What’s he doing?” Qi Dayong couldn’t help but ask.

Xuan Ai didn’t understand either, because the array Guo Shier used was part of the legacy of the Ancient Soul Altar, which differed somewhat from the professional system they were familiar with. For now, he couldn’t tell what was going on.

Seeing Guo Shier forcefully pulling the soul out of the Earth Mole Rat’s body, Xuan Ai’s mouth dropped in shock. Only then did he realize that Guo Shier intended to forcibly extract the rat’s essence. He muttered to himself, “This… how is this possible… This is the technique of a great sage!”
Qi Dayong and the others were also stunned—such a technique was simply too powerful.