Chapter 2: Soul Spring (Part 1)

Eagle Demon refused outright. He said, “Wang Keer, the team leader isn’t determined by strength. Even if you win twelve battles, you won’t become the team leader. Besides, you might not even be able to win twelve battles. Hehe, Shi Er has already defeated professional experts from the fourth-tier altar at the second-tier solid altar.”
Wang Keer was momentarily stunned. Defeating someone at the second-tier altar against those at the fourth-tier? What a joke.
Luo Zhan smiled and said, “She can be the team leader… hehe.”
Eagle Demon asked, “Lao Luo, what do you mean?”
Wang Keer immediately smiled triumphantly.
Luo Zhan said, “She can be the team leader, but no one will be her team members. I’m Shi Er’s follower. Whether Shi Er is the team leader or not, I’ll follow him.”
Wang Keer was furious and shouted, “You… what kind of talk is that?”
Eagle Demon also laughed. “I understand what he means. You can be your own team leader. As for us… we won’t be your team members. In other words, you’re a single team leader, haha.”
Realizing she couldn’t gain any advantage, Wang Keer, being sensible, stopped wasting effort. She waved her hand and said, “Who cares about being a team leader or not… If you ask me to do it, I won’t do it.”
Even Lian Nanyou couldn’t help but laugh. He kindly advised her, “It’s not easy being a team leader. It’s very tiring.”
Guo Shi Er said, “We still have time today. Let’s hunt one more mutated talisman beast before going back.”
Eagle Demon asked, “Who will take care of the giant lizard’s body?”
Luo Zhan said, “I’ll handle it. We can collect more on the way back.” His talisman storage space was large enough to hold such a huge mutated talisman beast. With that, he collected the giant lizard’s body from the ground. The talisman storage spaces of the virtual altar varied in size, but at least they could hold ten such giant lizard bodies.
Guo Shi Er said, “I guess this is the most powerful giant lizard in this area. To find more prey, we’ll probably have to go to the border between the grassland and the forest, or venture deeper into the grassland. We don’t have time to go far, so let’s try our luck at the edge of the forest first.”
Everyone got up and flew toward the edge of the forest.
Along the border between the grassland and the forest, some powerful mutated talisman beasts used the forest to hide their massive bodies and strike suddenly to hunt animals on the grassland. Therefore, going to the border between the grassland and the forest was a good way to find mutated talisman beasts.
As the forest extended into the grassland, the trees gradually thinned out, forming small groves. The terrain was extremely complex, and it was easy to get lost without flying. Among the sparse trees, large herds of herbivores could be seen.

Several small rivers flowed through the forest, with herds of herbivores such as wild bulls and wild donkeys drinking from them. Groups of wild elephants wandered through the sparse trees, using their long trunks to pick up tender leaves from the treetops and eat them. Even the herbivores here were enormous in size.

Guo Shier looked at the terrain below and the wildlife and couldn’t help but marvel inwardly—it was as if he had arrived in a land of giants, where everything was colossal. The trees that could be embraced with both arms were considered small; the diameter of larger trees often reached over ten meters, and some giant trees even had trunks over twenty meters in diameter.

The wonders of this world were beyond imagination in his previous life, and this secret realm was something he had seen for the first time. Such a vibrant secret realm, with such massive creatures, gave him a sense of harmony. If it weren’t for the Guji family’s materials being stolen and Qi Wuzhen needing to step in, they would never have been able to come to such a place.

For an ancient family, such a secret realm was a vast treasure trove of living beings.

Guo Shier said, “It’s a shame about those Black Armored Bees. If there were more of them, we could drive them along the forest edge and surely find suitable prey quickly.”

Even in such a secret realm, mutated talisman beasts and aberrant talisman beasts weren’t everywhere. This time, it was to collect spiritual essences for Luo Zhan, so suitable essences were needed—neither too high nor too low in rank would do. After searching for over half an hour, aside from finding a few low-level mutated talisman beasts, they didn’t locate a single suitable one.

Ying Mo said gloomily, “Strange. Earlier, when the Black Armored Bee swarm was flying over the forest, I saw countless mutated talisman beasts, even some aberrant ones. Now it’s so difficult to find just one. I can’t figure it out…”

Wang Keer snorted disdainfully and said, “What’s there to figure out? By normal calculations, there should only be a few mutated talisman beasts of varying ranks within a thousand miles. This place is already remarkable—there’s probably one every few dozen miles. Although their rank isn’t high, it’s still a highly concentrated area of mutated talisman beasts.”

Nan You said, “This is the thinnest area for mutated talisman beasts. The forest is where they’re most dense.”

Guo Shier said, “It’s true that there are more mutated talisman beasts in the forest, but they’re even harder to find. Hidden among giant trees hundreds of meters tall, a mutated talisman beast is invisible unless you get close.”

Wang Keer said, “I saw one! Haha, it’s coming over!” She hovered high in the air, hand on her forehead, looking just like a monkey watching the sea.

Following Wang Keer’s line of sight, Guo Shier also saw a mutated talisman beast hunting. Smoke billowed, and faint roars could be heard. He couldn’t help but clap his hands and say, “Let’s go! There’s prey!”
The four of them flew over like a whirlwind.
It was an eighth-level mutated talisman bear, over eighty meters tall, leaning against a giant ancient tree. In front of it lay a huge wild ox, over ten meters long, which it was devouring with relish. The crunching sounds made the surrounding herd of wild oxen panic and flee into the distance.
Guo Shier didn’t take action. An eighth-level mutated talisman bear was nothing to him; he was too lazy to hunt it.
Wang Keer also didn’t intervene. She considered herself an expert at the fourth-tier altar and felt that hunting an eighth-level mutated talisman bear would be underutilizing her skills, with no real challenge.
Luo Zhan smiled and said, “Let me do it. I need to practice.”
Eagle Demon asked, “Do you plan to kill it with your bare hands?”
Luo Zhan was stunned. He hadn’t thought of killing it unarmed, but Eagle Demon’s words inspired him. He said, “If I have to use my bare hands, then so be it. Hehe, I haven’t fought in close combat for a long time. Ever since I got the Virtual Form Altar, I’ve been using sacrificial treasures to attack—those things aren’t effective at all.”
Eagle Demon clapped and said, “Yes, I like close combat too.”
Luo Zhan flew down and hovered a hundred meters in front of the mutated talisman bear. The bear was covered in brown fur, each strand as thick as an arm. Luo Zhan could even see talisman worms, resembling infants, crawling around in the fur. The bear glanced at him with its two dark eyes but ignored him, continuing to eat the wild ox meat.
The bear didn’t even consider Luo Zhan as prey—he was too small; one bite wouldn’t even fill its mouth, so it had no interest in him. Even if it ate the entire ten-meter-long wild ox, it would only be enough for one meal.
Luo Zhan cast various talismans on himself and placed the Virtual Form Altar half a foot above his head. The palm-sized altar spun rapidly, releasing countless virtual talismans. He stretched lazily, his body making a popping sound like beans cracking, and said with a smile, “I wonder if it will work. Sigh, this guy is too big!”
Guo Shier said interestingly, “Uncle Luo, don’t attack its body—attack its head! There’s less fur there.”
A sudden whooshing sound rang out, sharp and brief. Luo Zhan moved at incredible speed, delivering a punch to the bear’s huge head with a loud crash.
Auw!
Eagle Demon shouted, “Idiot! Old Luo, have you forgotten how to fight? Attack its eyes!”

Guo Shier said, “That punch was useless. It hit the mutant talisman bear on the forehead, where the bone is the hardest.” The mutant talisman bear was stunned by that punch. Come on, this wasn’t some great sage—it was a master of the Virtual Form Altar, and that punch almost split its skull. It suddenly stood up, roared, and charged at Luo Zhan. Its thick front limbs swept through the air, and the bear claws made a high-pitched whistling sound as they moved. Luo Zhan let out a scream, moved slightly, and arrived at the mutant talisman bear’s jaw before suddenly delivering a punch. It was an uppercut—a punch that seemed absurdly disproportionate, like a tiny ant throwing an uppercut at a big dog. Guo Shier felt like vomiting just watching it. Boom! The mutant talisman bear was flung backward, crashing into a giant tree behind it, just like a big dog sent flying by an ant’s punch. Only then did Guo Shier realize that even a master of the altar, let alone one of the Virtual Form Altar, could possess incredible strength. Luo Zhan was also surprised and excited, shouting, “That’s awesome!” Eagle Demon couldn’t hold back anymore; that punch also ignited his enthusiasm. After all, the mutant talisman bear had thick skin and was tough to fight, making battles thrilling. This guy was even more violent than Luo Zhan, loving close combat. With a roar, he too flew forward and kicked the bear’s huge head. That kick sent the bear crashing to the ground. Guo Shier shook his head and said, “Poor mutant talisman bear.” Wang Keer had never seen such violent professionals before; she was terrified. With her life’s sacrificial treasure, she could kill one of these mutants in just a few strikes, but she had never seen such a fighting style. No altar-level master would use fists and feet to hunt an eighth-grade mutant talisman bear—that was pure recklessness. Bang! Howl… Eagle Demon actually kicked off the bear’s front limb, but the immense force sent him flying as well. He was thrown over a thousand meters before he could stabilize himself. Thanks to his altar protection, he wasn’t injured, but the shock left him dizzy. Nan You stared dumbfoundedly, muttering, “Two violent maniacs… fighting like this!” Those two twisted uncles almost killed the mutant talisman bear with their fists and feet. It was only when Guo Shier couldn’t stand it any longer that he pierced the bear’s heart with his Moon Blade, forcing them to stop. Eagle Demon still seemed unsatisfied and said, “Shier, why rush? I haven’t had my fill yet.”

Guo Shier said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, you’re being too harsh on people—no, too harsh on bears.”
Eagle Demon chuckled and said, “You don’t know; after this fight, I feel so refreshed, haha.”
Wang Keer couldn’t help but say, “What a violent man!”
Luo Zhan was busy extracting the essence of the mutated talisman bear—this couldn’t be delayed, or it would dissipate in the air. He finished quickly and stored the mutated talisman bear in his talisman storage space.
Guo Shier calculated the time and asked, “Are you going to continue hunting or head back? I need to go back first; Sister Zhen needs my help.”
Wang Keer was surprised and asked, “Needs your help? What kind of help?”
Guo Shier wouldn’t tell her and just said with a smile, “Sister Zhen needs to refine a sacrificial treasure, and there are some tasks she needs me to do.”
Wang Keer was skeptical, but she couldn’t restrict Guo Shier’s actions. She turned and asked, “Are you planning to hunt or go back?”
Luo Zhan said, “Let’s continue hunting. There’s nothing to do by going back.”
Guo Shier nodded and said, “Okay, you guys continue hunting. I’ll head back first. I’ll come back to find you tomorrow.”
Eagle Demon said, “Shier, I’ll accompany you back.”