Chapter 5: Planning for Capital Star (Part 2)

The officer nodded and said, “If there’s enough energy, there won’t be any problem.”
Guo Shier said, “No problem. I have plenty of energy here. Select a ship right away—I want the best backup ship. You have heavy-duty starships; there must be good ones among them.”
The officer replied, “Yes, we do have the best ship here. It’s the captain’s personal ship.” He added, “Our captain is also the commander of the entire fleet.”
Guo Shier asked curiously, “Where is he?”
The officer gave a wry smile and said, “He… he committed suicide.”
Guo Shier said, “Oh, dead… Then forget it. Go prepare. Let us know once you’re ready. Remember, don’t try any tricks—it won’t work.”
The officer repeated, “Understood, I understand!” He knew well that with Guo Shier and the others’ abilities, even if they damaged the ship, it wouldn’t help, and they would all die as a result. The officers left the command cabin and immediately set out to activate the commander’s personal ship. One of them happened to be the commander’s adjutant, who had control over the ship.
Soon, everyone boarded the ship, but the passage was blocked. Li Ran smashed through it with a single slap.
It was the first time those officers had seen those monsters in action up close, and then they understood why such a large fleet had lost to just a few people. They could punch a huge hole in the ship’s hull with a single blow, completely unfazed by the intense vacuum outside, and calmly board the ship.
It was a luxurious ship, with a silver-white spindle-shaped hull and portholes four meters high. The interior was exquisitely decorated. It was said that the commander’s family was a very famous political family in the United Spirit Kingdom, as well as a renowned business dynasty, so it wasn’t surprising that they used such a personal ship.
Passing through the hole in the damaged starship, the personal ship quickly entered space. After circling once, it determined the location of Capital Star before departing calmly.
Guo Shier got himself a large reclining chair and sat there with his feet up. Seshilin sat beside him and said, “Shier, give me a bottle of that… slightly green-colored wine.” She loved drinking, especially wines with a fascinating taste, particularly green ones.
Guo Shier handed her a bottle and said, “This fruit wine’s only feature is its sweetness. Actually, strong liquor is more enjoyable.”

Ceciline said with a smile, “I just like sweets. Oh, and give me some preserved fruits too.” She loved the various strange snacks that Guo Shieru had. Guo Shieru was also a glutton; he would often put something in her mouth, and he never disappointed her—those snacks truly tasted great. Gradually, she developed a habit of eating snacks casually. She had a talisman bag filled with all kinds of snacks, all obtained from Guo Shieru.

Qi Wu Zhen reached out, and she said nothing. Guo Shieru laughed and threw her a large talisman bottle, which contained strong liquor.

Soon, everyone had a talisman bottle along with a big pack of dried meat and other snacks to accompany the drink. They took the opportunity to eat something and rest a bit.

Guo Shieru was secretly communicating with the handsome old man. During this time, the handsome old man continued his research, discovering many good combinations of runes and modifying some previously unsuitable rune spells. This world imposed no restrictions on them, so the power of many spells had increased. However, it lacked the essence of the spell world, a major flaw that required careful study to find substitutes. In the greater world, their souls were too powerful, making it difficult to replenish them.

For Guo Shieru, however, this difficulty was somewhat less severe. Due to his collecting habit, he had unconsciously gathered everything he saw from childhood onward. Especially in the spell world, he had a talisman bag, altar space, and soul-stabilizing cauldron space. Later, he even obtained a small secret realm sealed inside the altar, whose enormous interior allowed him to collect countless valuable items. In the spell world, he hadn’t cared much about these things, but in the greater world, they became extremely precious.

Relying on his abundant stockpile, Guo Shieru still had many items for the handsome old man to experiment with. Of course, some items were so precious that even the handsome old man dared not use them lightly—such as souls and soul beads. With only one of each left, they would only be used in extreme cases, mainly to replenish the altar’s and weapons’ consumption, which should be saved whenever possible.

During this time, the old man has been refining the Jiebaina Pearl Sacrificial Artifact. He applied the insights he gained from the void to the Jiebaina Pearl, and the results of his experiments exceeded his expectations—the quality of the artifact improved greatly, especially in terms of attack power. After adding several sets of runes to it, its ability to decompose materials reached terrifying levels; even the toughest substances could be quickly broken down, including defenses formed by intangible forces. Once the experiments were successful, the old man immediately told Guo Shier.

Guo Shier was also very curious. After thinking for a moment, he asked, “Old man, can it really break down defenses?”

The old man replied excitedly, “Really! It’s truly amazing. I’ve tested it several times, and I still can’t believe the results. It’s incredible. Next time you face an enemy, give it a try. I’m sure you’ll fall in love with this amazing ability.”

Guo Shier smiled and said, “Okay. Next time I fight, I’ll use the Jiebaina Pearl. By the way, old man, what else have you refined? Hehe, you must have refined more than just the Jiebaina Pearl.”

The old man smiled proudly and said, “I’ve also refined the Guxi Bi. Hehe, it gave me a huge surprise. Ah, I forgot to tell you—using the Guxi Bi can collect the weak souls here and barely form soul pearls, which can replace spirit cores. Although they’re not as useful as spirit cores, at least they serve as a substitute.”

Guo Shier was surprised and asked, “What? Really?”

The old man replied, “Yes. But it must be used on the battlefield. Well, ordinary people who are too weak… are useless. Only slightly stronger humans can collect a little. If it’s someone like Xingyunzi, a master, they can obtain a soul that’s no less powerful than that of a professional at the altar level in the spellcraft world. Unfortunately, such people are extremely rare.”

Guo Shier immediately lost his enthusiasm and said, “Forget it. We’ve only seen two such masters, and we don’t even know if we can defeat them. Those people aren’t easy to kill… It doesn’t seem very promising. But being able to absorb soul fragments from the battlefield is still a good gain.” In a moment, he became happy again.

The old man said, “We’ve been here for too short a time. Once we settle down, we’ll have enough time for further research and experiments.”

Guo Shier said, “Who knows? This time it’s very troublesome. If we can’t subdue the United Spirit Kingdom, we won’t be at peace.”

The handsome old man sneered, “Those wretched dogs aren’t even your match. When you go to Capital Star this time, don’t hold back—grab as many Spirit Jades as you can. I have great uses for them. After some experimentation, I found that Spirit Jades combine excellently with spells. They contain a kind of power, and I can already utilize a little of it. Once I fully develop it, hehe, it might even be able to replace Soul Essence.”

It was another major discovery. Guo Shier was so stunned by the old man that he couldn’t speak. This old man was truly incredible. After a long while, he asked, “Can it really replace Soul Essence?”

The handsome old man replied, “It’s not that easy. Many more experiments are needed. I need time… But I already see hope. If we succeed, we can get rid of the shortage of Soul Essence. By then, your strength can improve even further.”

Guo Shier said, “Okay, I understand. Spirit Jades… I’ll collect plenty of them.”

The handsome old man said, “For now, don’t use your Moon Blade. I need to re-cast it and modify the runes and spells. Well, it might consume some Soul Essence—not too much, just a hundred or so should suffice.”

The Moon Blade was Guo Shier’s most important weapon, but it was starting to fall behind because it had been used constantly without proper re-casting. Even when cast, it was only done in a patchwork manner. Guo Shier turned around and asked, “Hey, how much longer until we reach Capital Star?”

The officer replied, “About ten days, but along the way, we’ll encounter… space fortresses.”

Guo Shier did some quick calculations and asked the old man, “How long will it take you to finish re-casting it?”

The handsome old man said, “About five or six days, at most eight or nine. I’m confident about that.”

Guo Shier nodded and said, “Good. Then re-cast it. I also have some ideas. I’ll pass them on to you later to see if they can be integrated. The Moon Blade’s flaws are becoming more and more serious—its power weakens when dispersed and consumes too much energy when concentrated. I hope this re-casting can overcome these issues.”

The handsome old man said, “No problem. I’m thinking of adding several sets of spells. From my experiments, these spells are extremely powerful. They might even completely change the form and strength of the Moon Blade.”

This was Guo Shier’s advantage—with the help of the old man Shuai, he didn’t have to worry about many things and could focus solely on enhancing his soul power. After being refined by the Soul Scriptures, along with those obtained from Li Ran, his soul had become exceptionally strong, to the point where he sometimes worried that such a massive soul might affect his rebirth. He couldn’t imagine how a baby’s body could bear such a huge soul.

Guo Shier asked, “Old Man Shuai, any progress on sealing the soul?”

The old man Shuai was confused. “Sealing the soul? What do you mean?”

Guo Shier couldn’t help but smile bitterly. Had the old man Shuai forgotten? They had discussed this for a long time, and he had come up with many ideas. Sealing the soul was mainly the old man Shuai’s responsibility; otherwise, he probably wouldn’t be able to rebirth at all. He wondered if his soul would dissipate significantly upon his death. If that happened, he would suffer greatly. In fact, as long as his soul regained consciousness and remembered his past life, he could quickly strengthen his body and restore his strength.

“I mean… once I die and need to rebirth, my soul is too large…”

The old man Shuai suddenly understood. “This has been prepared long ago. You’re asking now? Damn it, of course I know this is the most important thing. If you die, I’ll be finished too…” He kept talking on and on.

This time, Guo Shier didn’t interrupt the old man Shuai. He was very grateful—there were many things the old man Shuai did without saying anything.

After talking for a while, the old man Shuai finally said, “I specifically crafted a sacrificial artifact for your rebirth. It’s already on your altar. Once you feel you’re about to die, immediately activate that artifact. Um, if there’s no time, I can help activate it too. Don’t worry. I spent countless efforts and precious materials on that artifact.”

Guo Shier immediately started searching on the altar.