Chapter 7: Delicate as Ink (Part 1)

The handsome old man spun around on the Ancient Ink Lotus—actually, just his head rotating 360 degrees, giving an eerie impression. He said, “What place is this? It feels somewhat familiar…”
Guo Shier looked at his head spinning wildly and said, “Handsome Old Man, your altar is right here. How could you not find this place familiar?” He hesitated to add, “You’ve been dead here for thousands of years—how can you say it only feels a bit familiar?”
The handsome old man’s head kept spinning 360 degrees, often multiple times in a row. Zhou Xiaoling, watching him, felt dizzy and said, “Stop looking. It’ll still be the same if you keep looking.”
Guo Shier laughed and said, “Ding ding— the handsome old man’s soul is damaged; he might not remember many things.”
Suddenly, the old man’s head stopped. He stared at Zhou Xiaoling for a long time before saying, “Ding ding? What an ugly name. Is there also a ‘Dang dang’? Ding ding dang dang—perfect pair.”
Zhou Xiaoling stamped her foot in anger and cursed, “You dead old man!”
It wasn’t wrong—after all, he was just a dead old man. Guo Shier said, “Ding ding, don’t talk nonsense.”
The old man said, “This little girl deserves a beating!” Suddenly, he spat out a rune, which turned into a gust of wind that swept over and wrapped around Zhou Xiaoling’s legs, immobilizing her. Then, the wind struck her buttocks with a clear sound, as if someone had slapped her.
Zhou Xiaoling’s face turned red instantly as she cursed, “Dead old man! Bullying!”
Guo Shier was stunned. He could control such a tiny gust of wind to hit someone’s buttocks—such power was incredible.
The old man smiled satisfactorily and said, “I’m not bullying you, little girl. You should show respect to your elders, understand?” With that, he retracted into the Ancient Ink Lotus. Soon, the lotus shrank rapidly, turning into a palm-sized lotus-like object that flew to Guo Shier’s head, spun around, and silently landed on it.
When Guo Shier stepped onto the ground, the lake water had receded. Standing there in thought, he said, “Fortunately, it’s a damaged soul. Otherwise, even the Ancient Ink Lotus wouldn’t be able to subdue it.”
Eagle Demon asked curiously, “Are you referring to the handsome old man?”

Guo Shier smiled and said, “I’m really lucky. Hehe, this altar has been submerged in water all along, and it’s also damaged, so it avoided being noticed by many people. Although the outside of the altar was thoroughly searched and nothing was left behind, no one could have imagined that there was a broken soul inside it.”
Zhou Xiaoling still didn’t understand what a broken soul meant to Guo Shier and asked puzzledly, “Shier, what’s the use of a broken soul? Why are you so happy… That old bastard teased me, and you didn’t even help me!”
Guo Shier broke into a cold sweat and quickly said, “Ding ding, that handsome old man isn’t human. It’s a soul that has lived for thousands of years, and its memories are damaged, so it doesn’t know many things. You don’t need to be angry.”
Zhou Xiaoling was a very open-minded girl. She was just upset because she had no way to resist and someone just slapped her butt with wind, so she was very resentful. She said, “Forget it. Next time I come out, I’ll show him what I’m capable of! Hmph, old bastard, bad old man!”
Guo Shier was speechless. What Zhou Xiaoling said wasn’t wrong—whether it was an old bastard or a bad old man, it was a very accurate description. That head was indeed dead, bad, and old, with only a head left. No wonder that head wanted to bully her.
Eagle Demon looked up at the sky and said, “Someone’s coming!”
Guo Shier took one look and realized something was wrong. He said, “It’s being chased by a Spirit Beast… um, a Spirit Bird!”
The four of them stood by the lake, watching quietly.
After a while, Eagle Demon asked, “What kind of Spirit Beast is that?”
Guo Shier examined it carefully and said, “It looks like a bat…”
Eagle Demon already identified it: “That’s a mutated Mad Bat!”
Guo Shier also recognized it; it was recorded in his inherited memories. He said, “It should be level ten… no, level eleven… That person is at least at the level of a Junior Great Sage, otherwise they couldn’t keep fighting.”
Luo Zhan said, “That person is interesting. They dare to come in alone and even fly in the sky. Isn’t that seeking death?”
Zhou Xiaoling said, “They saw us and are flying over!”
“Help me! Help me kill this stinky bat!”
Guo Shier was stunned and said, “A woman?”

Zhou Xiaoling was also taken aback. Women were rare among professionals, especially among high-level ones. Generally, women made up a quarter of low-level professionals, but among high-level professionals, they accounted for only one-tenth. However, female professionals had one characteristic: it was very difficult for them to advance to high levels, but once they did, their chances of advancing to the Virtual Altar were much higher than those of male professionals.

Thus, every female high-level professional was an exceptionally talented individual. Underestimating them was absolutely foolish.

Eagle Demon asked, “Will you help?”

Zhou Xiaoling replied urgently, “Of course! Why not help?”

Guo Shier nodded and said, “Let’s go!”

The mutated mad bat was about eighty meters long—not a super giant, but its size was already terrifying among birds. The bat’s attacks relied mainly on its claws and soul shock waves, and with its massive body, it had a huge advantage in aerial battles.

It wasn’t difficult for a Grand Sage to kill a level-10 mutated talisman beast, but killing a level-11 one required considerable effort. Killing a flying level-11 mutated talisman beast was even harder, as they were far more troublesome than those on the ground—faster and equipped with various strange skills. Compared to mutated talisman beasts, Spirit Beasts were relatively weaker.

That junior Grand Sage was a Talisman Martial professional, wielding her own life talisman sword. Among Talisman Martial professionals, the majority used swords, blades, or spears, while some used axes, hammers, forks, or oddly shaped life talisman weapons. As for shields, almost all Talisman Martial professionals used them, though in different shapes.

Eagle Demon was also a junior Grand Sage. Without hesitation, he charged to the front, with the others following behind, not rushing to attack. With Eagle Demon’s help, the two Grand Sages had no problem dealing with a level-11 mutated Spirit Beast.

The Grand Sage’s spirits soared as she said cheerfully, “You just need to hold them off for me!”

Eagle Demon replied straightforwardly, “No problem!”

With a single slash, Eagle Demon realized that the power of his life talisman blade had increased several times over. The blade emitted a light beam a hundred meters long, its ferocity and sharpness startling even him. He had received the true teachings from the Gu Mi Luo family, allowing his strength to grow much faster after advancing.

Boom! Crack!

One slash—instant kill.

Not to mention the Eagle Demon being stunned, Guo Shier and the others were also shocked. The Great Sage was completely dumbfounded. An 11-level mutated spirit beast was killed with just one slash! He had even planned to let it struggle a bit so he could use his powerful skills, but it turned out to be unnecessary at all. But this was just a Spirit Beast; his blade dispersed its spirit without truly killing it. The massive Spirit Beast exploded into fragments of soul, which then began to coalesce. At that moment, a clear chirping sound was heard, and the Ancient Flame Finch suddenly swelled in size before darting forward. It would be foolish not to take such an opportunity. Without Guo Shier’s orders, the Ancient Flame Finch rushed ahead on its own. In an instant, a flame was emitted, igniting the spirit. The Ancient Flame Finch quickly sucked in the spirit of the mutatedmutatedmutated bat：mutated bat.. An 11-level mutated spirit beast like this immediately brought the Ancient Flame Finch close to advancing in level. If it could absorb this spirit quickly, it should be able to reach level 10—a truly astonishing rate of advancement. After a while, the young Great Sage screamed, “Wow… Ah… No way! I finally found a suitable flying spirit beast… Ugh, you stupid bird! Why did you steal it from me… Aiyaya…” Guo Shier wore a bitter smile; he hadn’t expected the Ancient Flame Finch to go and steal the spirit on its own. By now, the Ancient Flame Finch had shrunk back to Guo Shier’s shoulder. It flapped its tiny wings, lifting Guo Shier’s long hair before hiding inside it, revealing a pair of red eyes that stared at the Great Sage with caution. It was a young and beautiful girl. In Guo Shier’s opinion, she hadn’t become young because she had advanced to Great Sage status; she was actually quite young, probably no older than thirty. She looked like a girl of seventeen or eighteen from his past life, somewhat naive, especially when she stamped her feet and screamed—more like a child. The Eagle Demon helplessly spread his hands and said, “Miss, I’m truly sorry. I didn’t know this guy was so fragile and would die with just one strike…” Guo Shier almost burst into laughter but forced himself to keep a serious expression. Laughing now would surely anger her. Fortunately, Zhou Xiaoling was in the group. She stepped forward and said, “Hello, sister.” The girl finally calmed down and sighed, “Ah, hello, little sister. I’ve had such bad luck today. By the way…” She stood up straight and said seriously, “I’m Xian Ru Dai, a junior Symbolic Martial Great Sage from the Gu Dai family.” Everyone exchanged glances, surprised to encounter another professional from the Gu Dai family.

Guo Shier said, “Wandering Professional, Advanced Spellmaster Grand Sage, Guo Shier.” Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan also stepped forward to register, and finally Zhou Xiaoling spoke up, “Wandering Professional, Advanced Spell-Weapon Master Grand Sage, Zhou Xiaoling. Hehe, sister, you can call me Dingding.” Qian Ruidai stepped forward, grabbed Zhou Xiaoling, and complained, “Sister Dingding, I’m so unlucky! I finally lured a Spirit Beast, but that damned little bird swallowed it. Hey, where is that little bird? Let me strangle it…” Zhou Xiaoling suspected that this wasn’t a girl but rather a child who hadn’t grown up yet. She asked in surprise, “Sister… how old are you?” Qian Ruidai puffed out her chest and said proudly, “I’m sixteen!” Guo Shier almost fell over, while Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan showed shocked expressions. A sixteen-year-old junior Grand Sage? Was this a joke? It was terrifying—even more monstrous than Guo Shier. Zhou Xiaoling was also stunned and said, “You… are only sixteen?” Qian Ruidai replied, “Yes, I’m not lying to you… little sister.”