Chapter 2: A Loss for Both Sides (Part 1)

It was a giant silver-white ivory, over 140 meters long. Guo Shier was stunned as he stared at it. After a long while, he said, “It’s actually an elephant tusk… Damn, such a huge tusk…” He looked up at the sky and added, “It can fly hundreds of kilometers… This is fucking insane!”
The handsome old man exclaimed, “Great stuff! Great stuff… Hurry up and put it away!”
Guo Shier didn’t rush to collect it. Instead, he glanced at Nan You. Although Nan You was willing to follow him, this was different from fighting Eagle Demon Luo—he was a altar-level expert.
Nan You smiled and said, “Don’t look at me… If I needed it, I would definitely ask you. Right now… I don’t need it.”
Guo Shier nodded and said, “Handsome old man, you go ahead and collect it.”
The handsome old man smiled and said, “Okay, I’ll do it.” He slapped the top of the altar, and the tentacles of Gu Xi Bi immediately stretched out, wrapping around the silver-white ivory. It was quickly pulled up and stored inside the altar in an instant.
If one hadn’t reached the altar level, it would be impossible to store such a huge tusk in the storage space unless it was broken apart. Just like in the Tan Ya Secret Realm before, they could only take a small part of the three giant beasts’ bones; most remained behind and couldn’t be taken away.
Now, with two layers of altars and the Gu Mo Lotus as the core, storing items became much easier. After the joint efforts of the handsome old man and Guo Shier, an extremely large storage space had stabilized within the Gu Mo Lotus. Storing an ivory tusk over 140 meters long was no trouble at all.
After storing the tusk, Guo Shier said, “It seems the winner will be decided soon.”
Boom!
Guo Shier couldn’t help but curse, “Damn, why did they target us…” This time, it was a dark brown horn that crashed down from the sky.
Eagle Demon said, “It seems to be a horn from the back of the Earth Dragon… It’s actually broken!”
Although it was just a part of the horn, it was still huge. Guo Shier collected it without hesitation and said, “Both of those mutated talisman beasts are injured. Hehe, if we can make them both suffer and perish together, we’ll have an advantage.”
The handsome old man said, “Dream on!”
Guo Shier said, “We can’t go up and fight. Even if we did, we couldn’t win. It’s just a dream, hehe.”
Eagle Demon smiled and said, “I trust Shier. I hope his wishes come true. It won’t be in vain for us to come here. Even if we get lost, we might still make a fortune, hehe.”
Luo Zhan raised his hand in agreement and said, “That’s right, that’s right. Even if we get lost, we’ll still be lucky.”

The handsome old man shook his head and said, “There’s no such good thing… If we can obtain the essences of these two Abnormal Talisman Beasts, the altar can advance by a huge step. Abnormal Talisman Beasts at level 15… they’re extremely rare. Some professionals never see high-level Abnormal Talisman Beasts in their entire lives.”
The distance gradually calmed down.
Guo Shier said, “It seems the fighting has stopped. Are they all dead?”
Nan You said, “Let’s go and take a look to find out.”
Guo Shier slapped the altar and shouted, “Let’s go!” He had been waiting in confusion, too scared to move due to the handsome old man’s presence. Only now did he come to his senses. The two altars immediately flew toward the battlefield.
As soon as they approached the edge of the battlefield where the two Abnormal Talisman Beasts were fighting, they saw traces of the battle. Guo Shier and the others were shocked—the destructive power of these two creatures was simply immense.
Hundreds of kilometers away from the battlefield, the ground was already pitted and full of trenches. Guo Shier said, “Slow down, Nan You. Let’s fly up high.”
Soon, they approached the battlefield, where the fighting had completely ceased.
Guo Shier hovered at a distance of several kilometers and exclaimed in astonishment, “Damn it, after such a fight… not a single one of them is dead. What the hell…”
A strong smell of blood filled the air. There were large patches of blood on the ground, and in some places, the blood had formed streams and pools. It was impossible to tell how much blood the two Abnormal Talisman Beasts had lost.
The two massive Abnormal Talisman Beasts stood facing each other, separated by a kilometer.
Thud, thud…
The Abnormal Earth Dragon limped away into the distance, blood streaming down its body. Unexpectedly, it was the one retreating first.
Guo Shier said, “The Earth Dragon is badly injured. It seems to have lost one leg, and its tail is also broken. How tragic…”
Not only had the Earth Dragon lost one leg, but few of its horns on its back remained, and a small part of its single horn on its head was broken too. A large amount of blood flowed from one of its eyes, clearly indicating it was blind. Its body was covered in wounds, including countless huge puncture wounds, obviously caused by ivory spears.
The Earth Dragon retreated in disarray. Due to its enormous size and the injury to one leg, it moved slowly, occasionally letting out frustrated roars.

The mutated mammoth stood motionless, its four legs firmly rooted in the ground like nails. Yet it was in a pitiful state—two of its tusks were completely broken, one remaining only as a half, with its upper part also severed and lost somewhere; its thick nose hung limply, the tip completely torn, and its golden fur was in tatters, with dozens of massive wounds on either side of its body.

Guo Shier said, “It’s not dead yet…”

The mutated mammoth’s breathing was heavy and rapid, accompanied by dull roars coming from its nose from time to time. Blood flowed from its wounds and gathered beneath its golden fur. After all, this creature was hundreds of meters long, and its blood volume was astonishingly large.

Nan You said, “The Earth Dragon has retreated, but the mammoth isn’t dead… We won’t get anything.”

Guo Shier remained silent, observing the mammoth carefully. He could see that it was extremely weak but still had enough strength for one or even two more attacks. Its final strike might even be too much for the Earth Dragon, which was why it had retreated.

Elder Shuai said, “Heh, the Earth Dragon is smart. Retreating now means the mammoth can no longer chase after it. It might still fight one last time, but the mammoth… wants to live more. Heh, our chance has come.”

Guo Shier, looking at the severely injured mammoth, felt no confidence at all. He said, “Stop joking. Even if we attack, we can’t stop its last desperate strike. This thing isn’t easy to deal with.”

Elder Shuai replied leisurely, “Who said we’re going to attack? Just wait. It can no longer stop bleeding. Soon… it will weaken. Hehe, that’s when it’s our turn to reap the benefits!”

Everyone immediately thought the old man was cunning, but they all liked him.

It wasn’t until the Earth Dragon’s figure disappeared in the distance that the mammoth seemed to relax. It struggled to use its nose to scoop up soil from the ground, spraying large amounts of it over its wounds. But its injuries were too severe—tons of soil fell on its wounds only to be washed away quickly by the flowing blood.

Roar!

The mammoth let out a pained roar. Gradually, it could no longer stand and slowly lay down, its strength fading bit by bit as its life slipped away. It held its head high, letting out unwilling roars.

Elder Shuai was excited, repeating, “It’s done. Ignore it now. Soon it won’t even have the strength to fight.”

Guo Shier understood perfectly—that this was an excellent opportunity. By seizing the right moment, they could achieve the best results. He didn’t even need to attack; he just had to wait patiently.

Nan You sighed, “I have no choice but to believe that Number Twelve is truly lucky—being able to get the soul and body of a Level 15 Abnormal Talisman Beast for free.” They waited for a whole day. The mammoth had actually already spotted Guo Shier and the others; it saw no danger in these tiny, insect-like beings, so it ignored them. Throughout the day, it tried hard to stop the bleeding by spraying countless amounts of soil on its wounds, but to no avail—its massive body was still soaked in blood. Gradually, it lost the strength to move its nose, lying motionless on the ground, unable even to roar.

Guo Shier felt like a vulture on the African savanna in his past life, quietly waiting for its prey to die.

Shuai Laotou looked around and said, “I hope this smell of blood won’t attract other powerful Abnormal Talisman Beasts…”

Guo Shier replied, “As long as the mammoth isn’t completely dead, I don’t think any Abnormal or Mutated Talisman Beasts will dare to come. Even if its aura is extremely weak, its deterrent power remains significant.”

Shuai Laotou laughed, “I almost forgot—right! Hehe, the soul of a Level 15 Abnormal Talisman Beast… I like it.”

Another day passed. Guo Shier was growing anxious; he could hardly stay calm. The mammoth’s aura was weakening, but its vitality was still incredibly strong, keeping it alive. He discussed it with Shuai Laotou, “Shuai Laotou, what if we just extract its soul directly…?”

Shuai Laotou thought for a moment and said, “That’s too risky. Well, I have an idea—though it’s more troublesome. We should first set up a trapping formation to bind it, and then extract its soul. That way, we’ll have a much better chance.”

The mammoth occasionally opened its eyes, noticing a few insect-sized figures busy around it. But it was too weak and didn’t see any threat from them. It continued to endure, relying on its formidable strength to get through this ordeal. It knew well that a little recovery would be enough to help it regain its strength.

The trapping formation was quickly set up. Shuai Laotou said, “What a remarkable mammoth—it’s stopped bleeding…”

Guo Shier replied, “Let’s do it now. There’s no time left. Once it recovers a bit, we won’t be able to handle it.”

Countless virtual symbols rose from the ground, quickly spreading over the mammoth and gently wrapping around it. The mammoth wasn’t aware of anything at all; it was already in a deep coma. Soon, numerous virtual symbols pinned the mammoth to the ground. The old man said, “That’s enough. Go up in the air; we’ll extract its soul directly.” His tone was filled with excitement.
Guo Shier controlled the altar to fly above the mammoth. As incantations were recited, countless tentacles emerged from the altar—those of the ancient Guixibi. The Guixibi was a famous spirit-devouring beast, and one that had become a sacrifice served as Guo Shier’s powerful weapon, designed specifically for extracting souls.
In an instant, the tentacles pierced into the mammoth’s body.