Chapter 3: Soul of Heaven and Earth (Part 2)

Whenever Guo Shier began reciting scriptures, the Eagle Demon and the others would come upstairs and sit around him. They all knew that as long as they stayed near Guo Shier, any fluctuations in his soul would benefit them. Each of them had had their souls infused by Gu Mu Lian, allowing them to advance rapidly, but their souls were not pure enough. Only by listening to Guo Shier’s recitations could they eliminate various hidden dangers.

After a month, everyone had strengthened their souls.

Xian Ru Dai was very curious. She often hung around Guo Shier, trying to find things to talk about. During the day, when Guo Shier was crafting his virtual altar, he asked the Eagle Demon to guard the stairs, which kept the persistent Xian Ru Dai at bay. But at night, during the recitations, the girl acted like a clingy kitten, constantly staring at Guo Shier.

It was amazing. The fluctuations in Guo Shier’s soul shocked Xian Ru Dai greatly, but she couldn’t understand how it happened. Why could her own soul be purified just by sitting near him? This puzzled her greatly. Unable to figure it out, she kept pestering Guo Shier, yet not knowing where to start, which left her frustrated.

Guo Shier knew what Xian Ru Dai was thinking, but he couldn’t explain it—nor could he. So whenever he saw her, he tried to keep himself busy to prevent her from approaching.

After enduring for over thirty days, Xian Ru Dai finally couldn’t hold back and asked, “Brother Shier, why does your soul fluctuate in such a strange way?”

Guo Shier secretly admired her patience—she had managed to endure for over thirty days. He replied casually, “Is it not good?”

Xian Ru Dai said, “It’s good, very good—so good I can’t believe it. Is this some kind of skill?”

Guo Shier shook his head. “No… it’s my instinct, not a skill. Hehe.” He could only make things up.

Xian Ru Dai had never heard of the term “instinct,” nor did such a concept exist in this world. So she was confused and kept repeating, “What is instinct… is it a skill? No, Brother Shier said it’s not a skill…” Suddenly, she raised her head with bright eyes and asked, “Can you teach me?”

Guo Shier said, “I can’t…”

Xian Ru Dai immediately pouted and said, “You’re stingy!”

Guo Shier laughed. “It’s not stinginess; it’s instinct… something innate, like certain mutated talisman beasts that can breathe fire or emit cold air. Can you make them teach you? That’s instinct.”

Xian Ruidai was stunned and said, “Ah? Ah! You… you still have this instinct, but why don’t I?”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “Look at the mutated talisman beasts. Even for the same type of mutated talisman beast, their instincts vary—some are fast, some are strong. These are all different instincts…” He started to bluff, leaving Xian Ruidai confused. She felt something was off but couldn’t pinpoint what.
Zhou Xiaoling watched with a smile. She knew Guo Shier was talking nonsense, but she couldn’t expose him and didn’t know how either. She said, “Alright, Sister Xian, don’t worry about that. As long as we sit here, we can enjoy the benefits. That’s enough!”
Xian Ruidai said, “But… but… if we leave, we won’t be able to enjoy these benefits anymore.”
The handsome old man suddenly appeared and said, “It’s very simple!”
Xian Ruidai was used to the handsome old man’s sudden appearances. She asked, “What’s simple?”
The handsome old man said, “I have a very simple solution.”
Xian Ruidai immediately became happy and said, “Ah, really? Tell me quickly!”
The handsome old man said, “Marry him! Then you can enjoy these benefits every day, haha!” With that, he quickly pulled back his head. Guo Shier wore a bitter smile—this old man was really too bold.
Xian Ruidai wasn’t angry either. She tilted her head and looked at Guo Shier for a moment, almost able to see the cold sweat on his face. She said, “It’s not completely impossible… but… Brother Shier isn’t my type, so… no! Brother Shier, I’m telling the truth. Please don’t get angry.”
Guo Shier didn’t have such thoughts about the girl either, but her words made him feel frustrated. He thought, “Do I really look like that?” and quickly said, “Alright, I’m not that angry. Don’t listen to the handsome old man’s nonsense. Let’s stop talking about this.” He hurriedly tried to end the topic.
Zhou Xiaoling laughed heartily, enjoying seeing Guo Shier in a tough spot. She asked, “How much longer do we need to stay here?”
Guo Shier said, “It will take some more time. By the way, if you have time, reforge your life talisman artifacts. By the time you become a high-level Great Sage, your current ones will be too weak.”
Xian Ruidai said, “Sister Dingding, my life talisman artifact doesn’t need to be reforged. There aren’t any good materials.”
Eagle Demon asked, “How do we forge it?”

Guo Shier explained. Since he had been responsible for crafting the Eagle Demon’s core talisman weapon, he could no longer take care of it alone; the Eagle Demon itself had to forge it. The next step, constructing a virtual altar, was also a challenge for the Eagle Demon. Thanks to Shuai Lao Tou’s help in building his virtual altar and the use of ancient Ink Lotus as the foundation, Guo Shier had gathered much more material that could be used by the Eagle Demon.

The Eagle Demon smiled and said, “I see. Alright, I’ll forge my own core talisman blade… Hehe, actually, the knowledge is already in the inherited memories. We advanced too quickly and didn’t have time to learn how to craft them.”

Guo Shier nodded. “Yes. Once I build my own soul altar, I won’t be able to help anymore. I’ll have to rely on my own efforts.”

Shuai Lao Tou said, “Kid, I’ll help you build the virtual altar, but the most important thing is… you need to reforge that broken sword.”

Guo Shier replied, “That’s the Moon Blade, not a broken sword!”

Shuai Lao Tou said nonchalantly, “It’s still a broken sword. It must have been transformed from a talisman sword. Such talismans were quite common back in our day. I’m curious… why did you incorporate it into your core talisman blade as if it were a treasure?”

Guo Shier couldn’t help but sigh bitterly. Back at the Northern Talisman Sect, which was a low-level continent, it was already lucky to come across such a sword talisman, let alone use it when one’s strength was weak. After Qin Han obtained this sword talisman, it delayed his advancement.

Shuai Lao Tou continued, “The only thing decent about your broken sword is that it incorporates bones from some high-level mutated talisman beasts. Unfortunately, with a weak foundation, those bones can’t fully exert their power.”

Guo Shier was so discouraged he couldn’t speak. He had thought his Moon Blade was quite powerful, but according to Shuai Lao Tou, it was almost worthless. Gathering his courage, he said, “It’s not that bad, right?”

Shuai Lao Tou pressed on, “Sigh… it’s really bad, extremely bad. I advise you to reforge it as soon as possible. At least you need to be able to save your life when facing enemies. Kid, the inherited memories you got aren’t very good. You should know that when advanced Grand Sage Masters start building virtual altars, almost all professionals choose to make their core talisman weapons their first sacrificial treasures. Tell me… can your broken sword become a sacrificial treasure?”

After hesitating for a while, Guo Shier said, “It seems not. But… if I forge it twice more, it should reach the quality of a sacrificial treasure, right?” He had the inheritance of ancient talisman spells, and the first time he forged the Moon Blade, he followed the methods from those spells—though it was only a half-finished product.

The handsome old man seemed to enjoy seeing Guo Shier’s gloomy expression. He continued to criticize harshly, “Forget it—it’s simply unbearable. Your crappy sword has unknown attributes, an uncertain attack method, mediocre materials, and a completely flawed foundation. It’s truly unbearable to watch.”
Xianru Dai covered her mouth and giggled, while Zhou Xiaoling looked at Guo Shier with pity. Eagle Demon tried to defend him, saying, “I think the Moon Blade is not bad. It’s very powerful when fighting others!”
The handsome old man retorted, “Powerful? Pfft! That’s only because you haven’t encountered a strong opponent. Once you do, their sword will collapse instantly, and then you’ll be in trouble! I’m puzzled… You used the signature sword blade of a Spell-Warrior profession to craft it, yet you’re a Spellcaster… I really can’t understand how you could do that. You’re quite a genius, I guess!”
Guo Shier was utterly speechless. This guy was vicious in his insults, leaving him sweating coldly. He said, “Handsome Old Man, I admit you’re strong, but there’s no need to belittle me like this.”
The handsome old man replied, “Why would I belittle you? Do I have nothing to do? I’m just pointing out your mistakes!”
Guo Shier finally gave up. He said, “Okay, okay. Could you please suggest a solution?” He had no choice but to admit that his Moon Blade was inadequate.
The handsome old man was pleased. After venting his anger, he felt much better. He said, “Your Moon Blade… can’t be modified. You’d better disassemble it and craft it anew.”
Guo Shier was stunned. The Moon Blade had been with him for a long time, and he had deep feelings for it. He said, “Handsome Old Man, can’t we strengthen it… instead of disassembling it?” Once disassembled, the Moon Blade would vanish forever, and even if recrafted, it wouldn’t be the same as before.
The handsome old man replied, “If the foundation is poor, how can it be strengthened?”
Guo Shier lowered his head and remained silent for a while before saying, “The Moon Blade… has faced many difficulties with me and fought alongside me. I… I can’t bear to give it up. Although it lacks a spirit, it’s still my companion.”
The handsome old man also fell silent. He hadn’t expected Guo Shier to refuse to give it up for this reason. After thinking for a while, he said, “Old things must go before new ones can come… Think carefully! Once you build your own altar, if your first sacrificial artifact is weak, it will greatly affect your strength.”
Guo Shier shook his head. “Even if it’s weak, I still don’t want to disassemble the Moon Blade. In the future… I can craft other powerful sacrificial artifacts, but the Moon Blade must be kept.”

Elder Shuai said, “Other highly powerful sacrificial treasures… For any practitioner with an altar, the most powerful sacrificial treasures are those derived from their personal talismans, with few exceptions.”
Guo Shier said, “Elder Shuai, please help me think of a way to improve the quality of the Moon Blade.”
Elder Shuai replied, “It’s troublesome… This will require much more material than before. Are you willing to spend that much?”
Guo Shier said cheerfully, “I am! No matter how much it costs, I’ll do my best to find it.”
Elder Shuai sighed, but he wasn’t really upset. Since Guo Shier valued a single Moon Blade so much, he probably wouldn’t abandon him either. After all, even sacrificial spirits could be abandoned by their masters in exchange for more powerful ones, leaving the spirits helpless. With such a loyal master, he would have more security than other spirits.
Elder Shuai was well aware that the Moon Blade wasn’t as terrible as he had made it out to be; it just didn’t meet his standards. He said, “First, let’s break down some materials. Many of the sacrificial treasure fragments you get have quite good quality.”