Chapter 1: Harvest (Part 2)

This area was already stable in terms of space. Continuing in a straight line would likely lead them to the entrance of the Luotian Ruins. So, Li Ran changed direction after flying for a while—he definitely wouldn’t go back to the exit, as there was a strange region there. It was said that once one entered it, all moisture would vanish instantly. He certainly didn’t want to suddenly turn into a mummy mid-flight.

Li Ran led the group in large circles in the sky, and the swarm of insects gradually weakened. The seven of them flew steadily ahead. The insects were at a loss; they didn’t dare disperse, as doing so would make flying difficult. The space here was extremely stable, and they could only barely keep up by relying on the collective strength of the swarm. They could no longer create spatial rifts to attack and could only try to maintain a tiny unstable space to draw strength from. Yet even this unstable space was hard for them to sustain.

After two more large circles, the swarm grew weaker and weaker. Not only were Li Ran and the others aware of this, but Sericeline also noticed something was wrong. She said, “Hey, they’re done!”

Guo Shier said, “Yeah, it’s almost over. Big brother, Sister Zhen, should we head back?”

Qi Wuzhen replied, “I have no objections. Hehe, we’re in for a big harvest now!”

Wang Dayang nodded. “Mm, they’re really done.”

Kumu simply said one word: “Dry!”

Monier said, “Interesting insects. So there’s a weakness like this. Let’s turn back!”

With everyone in agreement, Li Ran immediately changed direction and charged at the swarm, shouting, “Shier, use the Soul-Calming Cauldron to scatter the insects! Don’t let them gather together!”

In just one breath’s time, they rushed into the swarm. Guo Shier slammed his palm on the Soul-Calming Cauldron, and with a loud explosion, a shockwave spread rapidly, instantly knocking down countless Void Insects.

The Cauldron then tilted, emitting a beam of white light. As the light curled, thousands of Void Insects were sucked into its mouth, and Guo Shier immediately began sealing them. Suddenly, the Old Hero sent a telepathic message: “I’ve entered the Soul-Calming Cauldron. I’ll take care of it. You just focus on catching the insects!”

Guo Shier was overjoyed. With the Old Hero’s help, the speed would increase by at least several times.

Once the Void Insects dispersed, the original spatial rifts closed. Since the space here was extremely stable, once the insects dispersed, they no longer had the strength to keep the rifts open, causing them to weaken further.

Ceciline was the least busy. She witnessed an unbelievable scene: countless Void Worms fell to the ground and struggled, yet there was hardly any damage to the surface, unlike before, when a single Void Worm landing caused the ground to fail to support it, causing it to continue falling as if in mid-air and creating holes. Now, there were no more spatial rifts around the Void Worms, revealing their true forms and rendering them powerless.

The flying speed of the Void Worms was so slow that it left Guo Shier and the others in astonishment. Could these really be the same Void Worms that had been rampaging just moments ago? It was simply inconceivable.

By this point, the Void Worms had completely lost their menace, like a swarm of venomous bees trapped in thick mud—struggling desperately but unable to take off. Li Ran said decisively, “Scatter and catch the worms individually!”

The Five-Star Formation dispersed instantly. At that moment, they all knew they were safe. The Void Worms were no longer a threat; even an ordinary expert wouldn’t need to fear them. Yet Ceciline still clung closely to Guo Shier. She didn’t dare act alone. Even if the Void Worms couldn’t kill her, she wouldn’t try to catch them. She was the only one who didn’t know how to use spells and could only watch others work.

Guo Shier let out a shout and rushed toward the area where the Void Worms were thickest. With the help of the handsome old man, he was confident he could catch more worms.

Plunging into the swarm, the white light from the Soul-Calming Cauldron flickered continuously. Thousands of Void Worms were drawn into the cauldron’s opening and quickly sealed by the handsome old man. Soon, he grew impatient and transmitted a message, “Kid, these worms no longer have the power to open space. Put them into the Soul-Calming Cauldron; I’ll seal them inside. Your speed is too slow!”

Guo Shier was surprised and asked, “Are you sure it’ll work?”

The handsome old man replied impatiently, “Stop nagging. Just do it!”

Guo Shier still trusted the handsome old man and quickly said, “Okay!”

Immediately afterward, Ceciline was amazed to see more white light burst from the Soul-Calming Cauldron, covering a wider area. A wave of white light swept through, eliminating every Void Worm in its path. In her eyes, thousands of worms could be cleared at once. Guo Shier moved swiftly back and forth, and within minutes, tens of thousands of worms disappeared. Unable to hold back, she asked, “Why is it so fast this time?”

Guo Shier smiled and said, “Isn’t it better to be a bit faster?” Without delay, he directed the Soul-Calming Cauldron, not missing even those Void Worms on the ground. The cauldron acted like a super-powered vacuum cleaner, sweeping everything in its path.

This time, a huge number of Void Worms were collected—some strong and some weak. Regardless of their strength, Guo Shier didn’t discriminate and gathered them all at once. As the number of Void Worms dwindled and the remaining ones scattered in panic, their speed was too slow; without the power of the void, their speed was practically negligible. Wang Dayang happily collected the sealed Void Worms, but his speed couldn’t compare to Guo Shier’s. Guo Shier was like a super-powered vacuum cleaner, while he was just a broom—even a broken one. Their efficiency was incomparable. When Guo Shier flew past Wang Dayang not far away, Wang Dayang suddenly noticed that half of the surrounding Void Worms had disappeared. He gasped in shock—this was too much. After working so hard, he had collected less than three thousand sealed Void Worms, while just by Guo Shier passing by, tens of thousands of worms vanished. He quickly sped up, knowing that if he continued at this slow pace, there would be no worms left. Although Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen collected faster than Wang Dayang, they were still far behind Guo Shier. By now, the weaker Void Worms had begun to die out. Without the support of the void’s power, they were like fish out of water, and soon many of them perished one after another. Through the detection of their soul fluctuations, everyone could clearly sense this and grew anxious. Li Ran shouted, “Collect the weak ones first! Take your time with the strong ones! It’s such a waste!” Just then, Guo Shier passed by Li Ran, sweeping away all the worms in an instant, weak or strong. Seeing this, Li Ran couldn’t help but scold laughingly, “You little bastard! How fast are your hands?” Sericeline behind Guo Shier covered her mouth and laughed uncontrollably. Guo Shier laughed loudly, “Fast hands mean you get them! Brother Li Ran, you better hurry up, or… you won’t get anything!” Guo Shier circled around, collecting Void Worms at an unparalleled speed. Qi Wu Zhen was still the most capable. Seeing Guo Shier approaching her, she shouted, “Don’t come over!” Guo Shier really feared Qi Wu Zhen and quickly said, “Okay, Sister Zhen. I just wanted to help…” Qi Wu Zhen scolded, “Get away! If you go around here, I’ll have nothing left!” Guo Shier turned and flew towardKumoku and Monier.Kumoku didn’t say anything but sped up his collection. Monier didn’t care at all and called out, “Baby, come here! There are lots!”

Cerislin couldn’t help but sigh. From this perspective, Monier truly doted on Guo Shier, her care coming from the heart without any ulterior motives—pure, unconditional affection.
Guo Shier smiled and said, “Sure, I’ll collect them for Master and Master’s wife. I’ll give them to you later.” He passed between the two of them, and in an instant, all the Void Worms in the surroundings were gone.
Monier gave a slight smile and said softly, “Still so mischievous.”
Kumu merely twitched the corners of his mouth, indicating he was smiling.
Cerislin almost fell off Guo Shier’s back from the shock. Guo Shier had already rushed after the Void Worms that had fled farther away.
There were over four hundred thousand of these Void Worms, including those that had emerged from the void. They were overwhelming in number, but now they had become scarce. Seventy or eighty thousand of them had died from weakness, leaving only the stronger ones. The truly strong ones were flying far away, already several hundred miles away. Yet their speed was far inferior to Guo Shier’s. In just the time it took to take a breath, Guo Shier caught up with them.
The Soul Calming Cauldron unleashed a burst of white light, fiercely biting into the swarm of worms. Immediately, thousands of Void Worms were drawn into the cauldron.
The old man was busy trying to cope with the overwhelming number of worms entering. But he soon realized that even the weakest worms no longer died, as the Soul Calming Cauldron had the ability to nourish souls. The weak souls of these worms were nourished by the peculiar energy within the cauldron, becoming even more active than before.
Of course, although these worms’ souls had become slightly stronger, the cauldron created its own space, preventing them from breaking through the void.
Guo Shier drove the Soul Calming Cauldron, frantically clearing away the Void Worms. He couldn’t afford to worry about the weaker worms behind him for now; instead, he focused on capturing the stronger ones. Once sealed, these worms would be far more powerful than others.
In just a few minutes, all the worms that had fled ahead were cleared away.
Guo Shier looked back and saw not a single Void Worm left. He couldn’t help but say, “Cerislin, look. If we had been slower, we wouldn’t have gotten anything at all.”

Ceciline was utterly speechless. Was this even considered slow? She had been right behind Guo Shier, collecting Void Worms along the way. If he was ranked second, then no one would dare claim first place. Just relying on the Soul Calming Cauldron, he was already much faster than others. Later on, it became even more terrifying—the Void Worms disappeared instantly from the mouth of the cauldron; it was unclear what method he used. The number of Void Worms drawn into the Soul Calming Cauldron by him was likely greater than all the others combined.

Guo Shier smiled as he watched everyone gather around. His soul trembled with excitement and asked, “Elder Shuai, how’s the harvest?”

Elder Shuai replied impatiently, “Stop bothering me! I’m busy!” He continued sealing the worms—there were simply too many of them, all trapped inside the Soul Calming Cauldron. Fortunately, the cauldron had the ability to soothe and suppress souls. Once those Void Worms entered, they remained completely still; otherwise, even Elder Shuai wouldn’t be able to handle them. There were nearly a hundred thousand Void Worms inside. If they rebelled, even the Soul Calming Cauldron might shatter.

Guo Shier was very pleased. He flew over to Li Ran and the others. Wang Dayang was still complaining, saying, “Your sacrificial artifact is way too weird!”

Li Ran laughed and said, “That thing is a cauldron. Its name is the Soul Calming Cauldron!”

Qi Wuzhen praised, “It indeed is a quite excellent sacrificial artifact.”

Wang Dayang wondered, “A cauldron? What kind of thing is that?”