Chapter 8: Harvest (Part 1)

Guo Shier said, “Uncle Luo, help collect the body and check if there are any identity tokens or other markers on it.” Luo Zhan nodded in agreement. He was very skilled at such tasks and had done them many times before.
The Giant Nesting Dragon and the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion stared intently at the Great Golden Armor. The two scurried over, and without wasting time, Guo Shier summoned them back into his talisman. If left unattended, they might have devoured the Great Golden Armor’s soul first.
Guo Shier quickly arranged a talisman array, dragged the Great Golden Armor to the center, and began extracting soul beads. Due to the armor’s high level, the purified soul beads were of a golden-red color and each was the size of an egg. He managed to extract over seventy soul beads in one go.
Even in the end, Guo Shier still extracted a few less pure soul beads before the Great Golden Armor’s soul completely dissipated. Satisfied, he said, “It’s a shame. If only we could obtain a complete soul from the Great Golden Armor… Uncle Eagle Demon, help me make a cut on it.”
Besides extracting soul beads, the most important task was to obtain blood essence beads. The blood essence beads of these Level 13 mutated talisman worms were true treasures—used not only as materials for crafting various talismans but also edible to enhance physical strength.
Eagle Demon made a cut on the Great Golden Armor’s belly, and Guo Shier inserted a talisman tube into the wound, using the power of the talisman array to purify the blood essence before sealing it with virtual talismans.
On average, one blood essence bead was purified every five minutes.
Guo Shier ended up extracting twenty-seven blood essence beads, a number far beyond expectations. He realized then that the blood of these Level 13 mutated talisman worms was of extremely high quality, with very few impurities. He handed one blood essence bead to each of Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan, saying, “Uncle Eagle Demon, Uncle Luo, take one… and see the effect.”
Eagle Demon tossed it into his mouth without even looking and swallowed it whole. Luo Zhan held it in his hand, examining it. The blood essence bead was the size of a child’s fist, golden-red in color, with hundreds of virtual talismans sealing its life force, preventing any leakage. These sealing talismans were generated by the talisman array and were far stronger than ordinary ones.
Luo Zhan was already extremely tired—spiritual battles were even more grueling than physical fights. Knowing the value of the blood essence bead, he carefully put it in his mouth. Immediately, a warmth spread through his mouth, and the bead transformed into a stream of warmth that slid down his throat. The sensation was peculiar, and moments later, he felt his entire body burning hot with his face turning red.

The Eagle Demon was the same; he was slightly better than Luo Zhan, as he was already a Saint Master and could endure such intense burning sensations. Guo Shier also took one—these Vital Blood Beads, which could improve physical condition, were rare and valuable. Although he was a Spellcaster, he had also forged his own signature talisman sword, granting him some skills in Spell Martial Arts. Compared to Spellcasters, Spell Martial Artists still had much weaker bodies, so Vital Blood Beads could enhance physical fitness. None of the three expected the Vital Blood Beads of the Great Golden Armor to be so powerful. A burning sensation rose from within them, as if they could spew flames at any moment. Guo Shier was the first to lose control. He said, “I’m dying… It’s so hot… Aaaah…” Realizing something was wrong, he immediately used his large talisman storage bag to put away the Great Golden Armor. Luo Zhan could no longer speak; he sat on the ground, clutching a handful of stones tightly, trembling violently. The Eagle Demon’s face turned red as he said, “Shier… use the Spell House! Hide our traces!” Guo Shier endured the burning sensation and summoned awild Spell House, casting formation talismans. The Eagle Demon grabbed Guo Shier with one hand and Luo Zhan with the other, rushing into the house. He placed Luo Zhan in the room downstairs and Guo Shier in the room upstairs, then went outside the cottage, resisting the severe pain caused by the Vital Blood Beads’ effects on his body while keeping a vigilant eye on the surroundings. Guo Shier hadn’t expected the effect of taking a Vital Blood Bead to be so intense. Previously, he had eaten one from a level-7 mutated Earth Dragon, which his master Luo Jie had purified. At that time, he could only extract the Vital Blood Bead from the Earth Dragon’s heart, and its quality was not high, so taking it didn’t cause much reaction. Thus, he didn’t think there would be any problem with taking one. But now he understood that Vital Blood Beads couldn’t be taken casually. The Vital Blood of a level-13 mutated Spell Worm contained extremely powerful life force. As a Saint Master, he was at a level where he could consume them, but Luo Zhan was in a more precarious position—the Vital Blood Bead rapidly released life force and transformed his body. All three were enduring great suffering. Guo Shier was in excruciating pain, not only physically but also spiritually, as if his soul was burning. So he kept chanting scriptures. Gradually, his soul felt lighter, but the physical pain remained. He could only endure it, thanks to his strong willpower and endurance cultivated over the years. As he chanted, Guo Shier found his soul growing rapidly. In just a short while, he reached the brink of advancement.

Luo Zhan’s changes were even more noticeable. He had directly advanced from a Senior Great Symbol-Warrior to a Junior Symbol-Warrior Madmaster, and he was still improving—both his spiritual power and physical fitness were rising rapidly. Eagle Demon also faced an advancement. He and Luo Zhan had extraordinary willpower and endurance; such pain couldn’t knock them down, and they still had the strength to observe their surroundings. Guo Shier was drenched in sweat from the pain, but after enduring the toughest period, he finally advanced successfully. His spirit continued to grow rapidly, and with the help of a Blood Essence Pearl, he reached the rank of Intermediate Saintmaster. The one who benefited the most was Luo Zhan, who advanced continuously from a Senior Great Symbol-Warrior to an Intermediate Symbol-Warrior Madmaster. Overjoyed, Luo Zhan ignored the pain. With the right inheritance, he could become a true Madmaster-level expert. Eagle Demon and Guo Shier both reached the rank of Intermediate Saintmaster. They didn’t need to receive further inheritance because they already had the complete inheritance of the Saintmaster-level Ancient Soul Altar. Only when they reached the rank of Grand Saintmaster would they need to seek corresponding altar inheritances. The three of them rested in the Symbol Chamber for five days before fully recovering. Luo Zhan asked, “Shier, if I eat another Blood Essence Pearl… will I continue to advance?” Guo Shier replied with a smile, “How could that be? If it weren’t for the Blood Essence Pearl from the Level 13 Mutated Symbol Worm, we wouldn’t have been able to advance this time. Eating another one would only slightly improve our physique; we can’t advance any further. It would be a waste.” Only then did Luo Zhan understand. Nodding, he said, “That’s true… If eating Blood Essence Pearls could keep us advancing, it would be too unfair. Hehe, I’m lucky—after just one outing, I’ve advanced several times… I never expected to reach the rank of Symbol-Warrior Madmaster so quickly.” Overjoyed, he realized that at the Madmaster level, following Guo Shier would give him considerable strength, and he wouldn’t be as weak as before. Guo Shier said cheerfully, “Congratulations, Uncle Luo!” Eagle Demon didn’t speak but simply patted his shoulder. Luo Zhan felt deeply grateful and said, “Hehe, no wonder the eagle has always followed you. From now on… I won’t leave either.” Guo Shier shook his head. “We were lucky this time. We got a bargain. If it weren’t for that Grand Saintmaster risking his life, we wouldn’t have obtained a Level 13 Mutated Symbol Worm.” Eagle Demon added, “If he hadn’t died along with the Golden Armor, we wouldn’t have gotten the Golden Armor either.” Guo Shier said with a wry smile, “Yeah, that guy was really unlucky.”

Luo Zhan took out several token bags and said, “That person’s life talisman book has disappeared. We only found a few token bags and an identity badge. His name is Ning Wanluo—a strange name. It seems he’s an elder of the Fire Sect.”
“The Fire Sect? Is that the largest sect on the Earthfire Continent?” Eagle Demon asked in surprise. They had originally planned to go to the Fire Sect. If this man was indeed an elder there, it could cause trouble. He wondered, “Why didn’t he send a distress signal from the sect? The Fire Sect isn’t far from here…”
Guo Shier took one of the token bags to examine. He pulled out a message token, glanced at it briefly, and said, “Ning Wanluo is an elder of the Fire Sect. He came here at the invitation of a friend to participate in the hunt for the Golden Armored Beast. So he and the man in red robes aren’t from the same sect.”
Luo Zhan said, “He came to help? That’s really unlucky—helping him only got him killed.”
Then, Guo Shier took out a bright red plant storage token. It was the first time he had seen such a token. Inside, there were over a dozen Firewood Plants. The token created a scorching hot environment, and those Firewood Plants were all treasures over a thousand years old, with three of them having grown for tens of thousands of years—truly top-tier Firewood Plants.
Guo Shier said, “It’s a pity. Perhaps his life talisman book was destroyed along with his soul. Most of his belongings were stored in that talisman book…”
Most of the items in the token bags were materials and food, with nothing particularly precious. Most of the materials were local specialties. To Ning Wanluo, they might not be much, but for Guo Shier, they were excellent materials.
Eagle Demon said, “We can only help him send a message token, but we can’t directly reach the Fire Sect. Otherwise… it will cause trouble, even danger.”
Luo Zhan agreed, “The death of a great sage is an unusual event even for sects on the higher continents. We definitely shouldn’t get involved personally. I think we shouldn’t even send a message token…”
Both Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan were cautious, harboring an innate distrust toward the sects on the higher continents.
Guo Shier thought for a moment and said, “Let’s just send a message token. We really aren’t suitable to get involved…” He took out the message token given to him by Ning Wanluo and checked it—it turned out to be a farewell letter. Apparently, he knew he couldn’t return, so he left behind his last words.
Eagle Demon asked, “Does it involve us?”
Guo Shier shook his head. “No, it’s just… how do we send this message token? It doesn’t have a delivery coordinate; it must be delivered in person.”

The Eagle Demon said, “Then don’t send it.”
Guo Shier said, “No, I’ll find another way. Let’s first go to the Fire Sect’s territory and act as the situation demands… Don’t worry, I won’t recklessly send the message token.” In these times, it’s not easy to be a good person, so he had to be extra careful.