Chapter 8: Soul Extraction (Part 2)

The spirit beast formed from the level-7 mutated striped tiger sensed something was wrong but was instantly chopped to pieces with a single strike. The speed was too fast; it didn’t even have time to see clearly. Before it could reassemble, it was burned by the flames spat out by a firebird. In an instant, it lost all its memories and turned into a pure beast soul, which was swallowed whole by the firebird.

Xian Ru Dai sighed and said, “It’s great to have such a firebird!”

Guo Shieru landed at the top of the hill, with the Ancient Flame Finch returning to his shoulder. This level-7 spirit beast offered little help to him. He swallowed it because his master ordered him to; otherwise, he wouldn’t have bothered consuming a spirit beast that provided no benefit.

Eagle Demon said, “I don’t know who’s fighting. It must be a professional with considerable strength—capable of fighting several level-9 and level-10 spirit beasts without falling behind. But if more spirit beasts appear, he might not be able to hold back.”

Guo Shieru stared at the fighting professional for a while before saying, “That person is strong—probably at the level of an intermediate Great Sage… Strange, I feel a sense of familiarity.”

Eagle Demon’s vision was even sharper than Guo Shieru’s. He narrowed his eyes and observed carefully. If anyone paid attention, they would see runes flashing in his pupils. Then he smiled and said, “It’s indeed an acquaintance.”

Guo Shieru asked, “Who?”

Eagle Demon replied, “I didn’t expect him to become so powerful. It’s Zhang Yaojin! Shieru, do you remember that guy in the Bloody Secret Realm who advanced to Sage status but refused to leave? Who knew we’d meet him again in the Fierce Battle Secret Realm?”

Guo Shieru immediately remembered, explaining the sense of familiarity. He exclaimed happily, “Quick! Let’s go rescue him! Haha, he should know the way back!”

Eagle Demon also realized what needed to be done and said, “Exactly!” Before his words faded, he took off, flying swiftly toward the battlefield.

There were three spirit beasts formed from level-9 mutated snow wolves, along with a level-10 mutated ice and snow wolf and a level-12 mutated lynx. These two latter spirit beasts were extremely cunning—they shrank their bodies, hid among the snow wolves, and launched continuous attacks. No wonder Zhang Yaojin could only defend himself. If this continued, he might eventually have to flee in panic.

Guo Shieru shouted, “Uncle Eagle Demon, take care of that level-10 mutated ice and snow wolf! Zhang Yaojin, deal with one of the snow wolves. Xian Ru Dai, handle the one outside. Ding Ding, Uncle Luo, you two take care of one snow wolf each. I’ll handle that lynx!”

Zhang Yaojin’s expression changed drastically upon seeing the crowd rushing toward him. Suddenly, he heard Guo Shier’s shout—a voice so familiar. Then he saw Eagle Demon and Zhou Xiaoling, three people he knew! He realized he was saved. If not for his slightly injured leg, he would have fled long ago. He shouted, “Eagle Demon, let me take care of that Ice and Snow Wolf!”

Eagle Demon was now extremely powerful. His life sigil blade had already been swung, and he laughed loudly, “Old Zhang, that Ice and Snow Wolf is mine!”

Zhang Yaojin said, “These Spirit Beasts are very tricky. Killing them only makes them revive!”

Guo Shier laughed, “They can’t survive!”

Boom!

The Giant Perch Dragon appeared suddenly. The Spirit Beast formed from the mutated lynx let out a frantic howl as its body swelled rapidly. It didn’t dare continue disguising itself—once its spirit shattered, it would surely be devoured. So it immediately reverted to its normal lynx size at level twelve, a massive creature over eighty meters long.

At first glance at the Giant Perch Dragon, Zhang Yaojin felt a sense of warmth—a feeling of safety and comfort. Tears even welled up in his eyes. After navigating countless secret realms and fighting countless battles, he had always been alone, with no help. When injured, he could only endure in silence, hiding away to heal quietly on his own. He never expected to meet his old companions today and receive help for the first time.

Eagle Demon laughed loudly, “Zhang Yaojin, take care of that snow wolf, haha!” He shattered the Ice and Snow Wolf with a single slash. Spirit Beasts formed naturally in the wild had one major flaw: their outer shells weren’t hard enough. Unlike Spirit Beasts with beast sigils, those formed naturally were weaker.

The Ancient Flame Sparrow took flight. It had no interest in the Ice and Snow Wolf; it was only interested in the mutated lynx.

Guo Shier not only released the Giant Perch Dragon but also the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion and the Blade Shadow Mantis. The Giant Perch Dragon had reached level eleven as a Spirit Beast, the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion was at level nine, and the Blade Shadow Mantis was progressing rapidly, already at level six. Of course, the Blade Shadow Mantis wasn’t a mutated sigil worm but a Spirit Insect formed from an alienated sigil worm.

As Eagle Demon shattered the spirit of the level-ten Ice and Snow Wolf with a single slash, the Blade Shadow Mantis flew into the spirit cluster first, followed by the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion. These two Spirit Insects were enough to prevent the Ice and Snow Wolf’s spirit from re-forming, allowing them to devour it quickly.

Boom!

The Giant Perch Dragon engaged in a fierce battle with the level-twelve Spirit Beast. Guo Shier was surprised to find that the Giant Perch Dragon wasn’t weak at all—indeed, it was three times stronger than the mutated lynx. He was slightly puzzled: since they were both Spirit Beasts, how could the Giant Perch Dragon challenge one that was a higher level?

Guo Shier also was confused for a moment, but after a brief thought, he understood. The Giant Perch Dragon was like a warrior with plenty of equipment and various supports, while the Spirit Beast formed from the mutated lynx, though powerful, had nothing at all—like a barbarian without weapons. How could it fight against the Giant Perch Dragon?

Guo Shier didn’t think any further. Moonblade suddenly moved, transforming into a crescent moon and slashing down with force. With a clean, decisive strike, the Lynx Spirit Beast couldn’t even defend itself and was shattered in one blow. The Giant Perch Dragon charged forward, and the Lynx Spirit Beast vanished instantly.

Working together, they quickly eliminated several more Spirit Beasts.

Zhang Yaojin said, “Shier, if it weren’t for seeing the Eagle Demon, I wouldn’t have recognized you at first. You’ve grown up!”

Guo Shier rolled his eyes and said, “Am I that small?”

Zhang Yaojin smiled and said, “Not anymore. Hehe, I didn’t expect you to be a Great Sage too… uh, a high-level Great Sage. Shier, are you human… or a monster?”

The Eagle Demon laughed and said, “Shier is still okay. There are even more monstrous ones here—a 16-year-old junior Great Sage. Have you seen one? Haha, come over, let me introduce you. See that little girl? A 16-year-old Great Sage, as delicate as Dai… Um, this is Luo Zhan, an intermediate Sage.”

Dai didn’t pay attention to the Eagle Demon’s shouting. Her focus was entirely on the Giant Perch Dragon, the Dark-Winged Scorpion, and the Blade Shadow Mantis. She exclaimed, “Brother Shier, are these all your Spirit Beasts and Spirit Insects? How can you control so many of them… It’s incredible!”

Zhou Xiaoling stepped forward and asked, “Zhang Yaojin, do you still remember me?”

Zhang Yaojin nodded. “Dingding, of course I remember. Huh, you’ve also reached the level of a high-level Sage?”

Zhou Xiaoling replied, “Mm, I’m just one step away from advancing.”

Guo Shier said, “You’re pretty amazing too, Zhang Yaojin. You must be an intermediate Great Sage by now.”

Zhang Yaojin nodded. “Yes. I heard there are many altars in the Wild Battle Secret Realm, so I plan to find a complete one in hopes of obtaining ancient heritage.”

Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh. “We’re here to find heritage as well.”

Zhang Yaojin was surprised. “You?”

Guo Shier said, “Well, to be precise, it’s for Dingding. We all already have our own heritage.”

Zhang Yaojin said, “I don’t know if that altar will work. I’ve been wandering around here for dozens of days but can’t get in. There are always Spirit Beasts coming, which is very troublesome.”

A level-9 Snow Wolf suddenly noticed the group and rushed over quickly.

Before Guo Shier could give orders, the Giant Perching Dragon and the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion rushed forward. In a flash, the Blade Shadow Mantis moved, and with a swish, the snow wolf was chopped to pieces before being swallowed by the Giant Perching Dragon. The Blade Shadow Mantis let out an indignant chirping sound. The Giant Perching Dragon nonchalantly swayed its massive tail and turned back. Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh. He realized that even the spirit beasts and spirit insects under his control competed with each other, and he couldn’t help but scold, “You stubborn dragon, why do you snatch the Blade Shadow Mantis’s food?” The Giant Perching Dragon acted as if it had nothing to do with it and swayed its tail before moving aside. Zhang Yaojin said, “Let’s go over there and see if this altar can be used.” The ruler of this area was the level-12 lynx spirit beast that had just been killed. If judged by the strength of a true mutated lynx, that spirit beast was at most equivalent to a level-9 mutated talisman beast, as the strength of spirit beasts had declined significantly; otherwise, it would have killed Zhang Yaojin long ago. At Guo Shier’s level, fighting a true mutated talisman beast, he would never be able to slay a level-12 one with a single strike. After killing that lynx, they cleared the path to the altar. Guo Shier said, “Okay, let’s go. Be careful not to alert other spirit beasts. We’ll ride the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion.” He retracted the Giant Perching Dragon—its target was too large, and once it moved, it would surely alert other spirit beasts. Zhang Yaojin jumped onto the back of the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion, sat cross-legged, and sighed, “I last rode this scorpion in the Bloodied Secret Realm. How many years has passed?” Qianru Dai curiously jumped up and said, “What a beautiful scorpion! Hey, Brother Shier, where can we find such a scorpion? I want one too.” Guo Shier smiled bitterly and said, “I don’t know either. This is an ancient insect talisman that I’ve been raising for a long time.” Later, he acquired many powerful spirit beasts but didn’t turn them into beast talismans instead keeping them in his life talisman sphere. Since he already had so many spirit beasts and spirit insects, he didn’t want to create more beast talismans. He felt deep affection for the Giant Perching Dragon, the Ancient Flame Finch, the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion, and the Blade Shadow Mantis—they were like his companions. The group rushed quickly toward the altar. The altar was huge, appearing like a massive structure from afar. Zhang Yaojin placed great hopes on it. When they arrived at the altar, Guo Shier and the others realized that there was already a group of professionals there, about a dozen people. Upon seeing them approach, they immediately stepped forward. The leader of the professionals shouted, “Stop!”

Zhang Yaojin frowned and flew to the front first, saying in a deep voice, “What’s the matter?”
Guo Shieru frowned slightly. He could tell that the leader was a high-ranking Great Sage. Anyone who could reach the rank of high-ranking Great Sage must be extraordinary. There were many Great Sages, but few who could reach this high rank.
The man said coldly, “We arrived first. There’s no place for you here. You must leave!”
Zhang Yaojin flew into a rage and said, “Is this your altar? You’re being way too domineering!”
The man glanced at Zhang Yaojin and said, “Just an intermediate Great Sage like you don’t have the right to call me domineering!”
Guo Shieru stepped forward and said, “You’re just a high-ranking Great Sage yourself. What’s so special about you?”
The man was stunned because he realized that Guo Shieru was also a high-ranking Great Sage.