Chapter 1: Soul Beads (Part 2)

Guo Shieru nodded and said, “No matter whose hunting vehicle it is, shoot it down as soon as it enters!”
Nan You was terrified and immediately sent a signal. He knew Guo Shieru wasn’t joking. Though he didn’t know that Guo Shieru used Soul-Collecting Whisks to gather souls, with the Grand Ancestor’s presence here, no one would dare question him if he killed the lower-ranked disciples of the family.
The hunting vehicles of both sides clashed and attacked each other. Roars filled the sky, accompanied by continuous explosions, with bursts of flames lighting up the air—giving Guo Shieru the feeling of being on a battlefield from his past life. One hunting vehicle rushed in in panic. Before Nan You and Eagle Demon could act, Moon Blade transformed into a streak of fiery light and slashed out.
Boom!
A burst of flames erupted. Moon Blade continued its assault, destroying several more hunting vehicles in an instant. Guo Shieru let out a loud roar and shouted, “Any hunting vehicle that dares to approach… will be killed without mercy!”
His voice rang like thunder across the sky, causing the hunting vehicles fighting around them to flee desperately. Luo Zhan laughed and said, “Shieru, you’re truly domineering.”
Each side deployed around two thousand hunting vehicles, totaling five thousand combat vehicles. The entire sky was filled with flying vehicles, yet not a single one was within a kilometer of Guo Shieru’s altar. No one dared ignore the warnings from the experts at the altar.
Elder Shuai praised, “Not bad. That’s exactly the kind of momentum we need.”
Guo Shieru’s altar began to move slowly. Elder Shuai controlled it, steering it toward the side where the fighting was fiercest and the casualties highest.
Elder Shuai beamed with joy—the more people died, the happier he became. Guo Shieru, however, didn’t have such a twisted mindset. He sat silently atop the altar, watching the battles above and below. On the surface, he seemed calm, even cold, but inwardly, his blood was boiling, and he longed to join the fight.
It was undeniable that despite having been reborn twice and lived three lives, Guo Shieru still had moments of passion. He just managed to hide them better than ordinary people.
The cries of battle continued until dawn.
As the sky turned gray, the scenes of fighting on the ground became clearly visible.
The defensive talisman array of the Gu Nan family had dimmed under the assault of tens of thousands of opponents, but this had also cost them tens of thousands of casualties. The Gu Jin family lost over ten thousand soldiers, with tens of thousands more injured.

Thanks to the protection of the defensive talisman array, the Guunan family’s professionals suffered few deaths but many injuries. Even so, nearly four thousand died and over twenty thousand were injured. The two families fought fiercely, leaving a sea of corpses and blood; the soil on the ground was soaked with blood and turned into a reddish-black sludge from trampling.

The old man with the spirit-catching whiskers retracted them. He didn’t dare to collect souls too openly, as it was considered taboo. He could do it in the darkness when no one noticed, but during the day, even if his whiskers were tiny, hundreds of them would be seen, so he had to be more cautious.

Of course, the old man wasn’t completely honest—he was still looking for an opportunity.

Luo Zhan said, “They’re retreating!”

Guo Shier nodded. “Mm, we really can’t fight anymore. If we don’t retreat now, we won’t be able to leave.”

Eagle Demon said, “Let’s go back. There’s nothing interesting to see for now.”

Guo Shier laughed. “Going back! Hehe, Old Man, how was your harvest?”

The old man replied, “What does it matter to you? Go back!” He retracted his head and returned to the altar, leaving Guo Shier frustrated. Luo Zhan couldn’t help but laugh. “Shier, you two are like enemies… You’re not happy unless you fight each other every day.”

Guo Shier sighed. “Ugh, that old bastard!” He flew back with the altar and soon arrived at the camp.

As soon as he landed, several servants came forward and said, “Greetings, Ancestor.”

Guo Shier waved them off. “You can go first.” He entered the tent and said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, Uncle Luo, keep watch outside. I need some time alone—no one should disturb me.”

Then he summoned his altar and called, “Old Man, come out.”

The old man poked his head out of the altar. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist.”

Guo Shier smiled. “Now we can talk about the harvest, right? I knew you were cautious, hehe.” He realized he had been careless earlier—how could he ask the old man about his harvest outside?

The old man said, “The harvest is pretty good… Hehe. But this is a rather taboo matter. Try not to mention it. After I refine it, you and your people can use it… Using this soul bead can greatly enhance soul power, but it requires your peculiar soul fluctuations to integrate it, otherwise, it will be very dangerous.”

Guo Shier asked, “What’s the difference between this soul bead and those of the mutated people?”

The handsome old man said, “These are two different concepts. It’s like the Soul Pearl of a mutated beast and the Soul Pearl of a mutated human. The difference between them is that this Soul Pearl can not only enhance soul power but also strengthen altars and even help in crafting sacrificial treasures. It’s an incredibly precious material.”

Guo Shier was a bit curious and couldn’t help asking, “Handsome old man, since the Soul Pearl of a professional is so powerful, why doesn’t anyone collect them?”

The handsome old man laughed loudly. “How nice of you to think so! It’s not that easy to obtain a professional’s soul. If such a thing gets exposed, unless you’re an expert at using solid altars and can run fast, otherwise, you’re dead if caught. Moreover, there are several prerequisites to purify a Soul Pearl—it’s not just about forming one that you can use.”

Guo Shier was surprised. “Oh, there are prerequisites? What are they?”

The handsome old man shook his head. “You don’t need to know. Actually, you should understand on your own. With Gu Xi Bi, you don’t have to blatantly go ahead and steal souls from the dead—otherwise, you’ll be killed. Besides, Gu Xi Bi has special skills that can purify souls, removing all kinds of impurities. Also, I have the Jie Baina Pearl Sacrificial Treasure, which can further purify the soul and form it into a Soul Pearl… Lastly, and most importantly, you have strange soul fluctuations that can perfectly melt a Soul Pearl.”

“Think about it—how difficult is this? In this world, the only ones who can quickly absorb professionals’ souls are the Black Symbol People. They’re born as altar architects and rely on stealing others’ souls to grow stronger. Ah, those are the truly powerful professionals.”

Guo Shier noticed that the handsome old man didn’t harbor any hatred toward the Black Symbol People; instead, there was a hint of envy. He asked, “I see. Handsome old man, if I get these Soul Pearls, can I advance quickly?”

The handsome old man replied, “Tch! How nice of you to think so!”

Guo Shier smiled bitterly. “Why not?”

The handsome old man said, “Do you think you can advance to the altar level just with a soul? Besides… if your soul is like a special sweet drink, and foreign souls are like saltwater, adding too much of it will change your soul. By then, your sweet drink will become both sweet and salty! It’s all about balance. Once you go too far, you definitely won’t be able to handle it!”

Guo Shier thought it made sense. If one could truly grow stronger by plundering others’ souls, then the entire world of talismans would fall into chaos. This was a rather despicable practice. Fortunately, this time it was only done by taking souls on the battlefield, rather than through killing oneself to obtain them; otherwise, Guo Shier wouldn’t have agreed.

“Show me a soul pearl,” he said.

The handsome old man replied, “Alright. I’ve only managed to create two refined soul pearls. I’ll give you one first. You can try integrating it with your soul.”

Guo Shier reached out and took the soul pearl, examining it carefully out of curiosity.

His first impression was that the pearl was unremarkable—about the size of an egg, translucent, with wisps of white fluff inside. He didn’t know what those were. The rest of it was transparent, without any runes or spells. Its outer shell resembled glass but was extremely tough. Guo Shier squeezed it a few times and laughed, “This thing… has an indescribable feeling.”

The handsome old man smiled. “There are at least ten people’s soul essences inside this pearl… Hehe, it’s a pity… I can only extract the scattered souls. If I could extract them directly, two people’s souls would be enough to create a soul pearl like this.”

Guo Shier’s forehead broke out in sweat. This was too evil. He asked, “How do I use it?”