Chapter 4: Spirit Stone (Part 2)

Zhu Juan, the fat man, certainly understood what Ku Mu meant. He agreed to Guo Shier’s request not to report it to the sect, but he needed Guo Shier’s plans to seize this mineral vein first, and then find a way to obtain the raw ore. By then, there would be no problem in deciding what to do next. He nodded and said, “Hmm, leave it to Shier.”
Guo Shier said, “Thank you, Uncle Zhu.”
Monier asked curiously, “Honey, what are you talking about?” She didn’t understand the code between them at first. Guo Shier explained, “My master and uncles have agreed to let me handle this matter.” Monier nodded and said, “Alright, then you take care of it. If you encounter any difficulties, tell my wife.”
Zhu Xu and Zhu Dachang inwardly groaned in frustration. They immediately realized that this shipment was no longer theirs, and it would be impossible to complete this delivery task. Zhu Xu, pale-faced, said, “Young Master Guo, if you take this shipment, our Zhu Family Merchant Guild is finished.”
Guo Shier replied calmly, “When did I say I would steal this shipment?”
Zhu Xu was stunned for a moment. Poor old man, trapped under a child’s control. He said with a bitter smile, “What do you plan to do?”
Guo Shier raised one finger and said, “First, I won’t seize these Spirit Stones. However, I want to take them. Any losses suffered by the Zhu Family Merchant Guild will be compensated by our Inner Sect of Beifu Sect. Second, I need to know the origin of this shipment and locate the mine, which requires your cooperation… Can you agree to these conditions?”
Zhu Xu was overjoyed. He thought he was in a dead end, but Guo Shier had left him a way out. There was no choice left for him. If Guo Shier turned against him, he would be helpless. He repeated, “I agree! I agree!”
Ku Mu approached the four great rune warriors, raised his hand, and pressed his fingerprint onto one of their foreheads, imprinting a virtual seal. Then, he quickly created three more virtual seals, controlling all four of them.
Guo Shier suddenly remembered something and tapped his own forehead lightly. Monier asked, “Honey, what’s wrong?”
Guo Shier said with a bitter smile, “I forgot Fu Ye Xiang Rong on the altar…” He had been so focused on returning to Beifu Sect that he forgot about Fu Ye Xiang Rong, who would only follow orders. It wasn’t until he saw Ku Mu using virtual seals to control the four great rune warriors that he remembered him.
Monier smiled and said, “It’s okay. They will send him back to the sect.”

Guo Shier thought there was nothing he could do but give up; it was impossible to go back and pick up Fuye Xiangrong now. He said, “Let’s head back to Beifu Gate first. Master, the issue with the Fuling Stones can only be resolved by returning to Beifu Gate.”
Kumu nodded and said, “If we can find enough Fuling Stones, I can make a decision to ensure that Beifu Gate won’t suffer any losses.”
Guo Shier said, “Good. In that case, let’s follow the caravan.”
Zhu Xu finally felt relieved. He resolved in his heart that as soon as he returned to Beifu Gate, he would dissolve the Zhu Family Trading Company. He no longer wanted to continue working there. If it weren’t for Guo Shier, he would have died for sure.
Guo Shier said, “Give us five warhorses.” He smiled at Monier and said, “Master, let’s ride horses.”
Monier laughed and said, “Okay, hehe. I haven’t ridden a horse in ages.”
Zhu Xu quickly had five warhorses brought over and ordered everyone to dig a large pit to bury the corpses. Unexpectedly, a large group of warhorses was found in the forest—they were the mounts of those dead men. Zhu Xu happily ordered the horses to be brought over and immediately distributed them among everyone to take care of. These horses were also very valuable.
Zhu Xu wanted to assign some people to serve the five of them, but Guo Shier declined. The five of them rode their horses and followed the caravan slowly. Monier laughed and said, “These horses are terrible. If they were Fuhorses, that would be better, hehe. But Fuhorses are quite rare. I once saw a mutated Fuhorse before—it was truly amazing.”
Guo Shier was surprised and asked, “There are mutated Fuhorses? What level are they?”
Zhu Juan said, “The lowest level of mutated Fuhorses is probably just level one… But these mutated Fuhorses are incredibly fast, comparable to the speed of flying talismans. They also have immense strength, thick skin, and can charge straight through ordinary trees without any hindrance.”
Kumu said indifferently, “Only a Sage can tame mutated Fuhorses. But a Sage’s flying speed is even faster than theirs, so it’s unlikely that lower-level professionals would use them, and a Sage doesn’t need to tame them either.”
Guo Shier laughed and said, “Actually, taming any mutated Fuhorse is a very impressive feat. Hehe, it would be amazing to be able to ride a large mutated Fuhorse at level seven or eight.”

Monier couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s impossible… Baby, a large mutated rune beast, especially one above level seven, can’t be kept even if tamed. It has an enormous appetite and can’t be taken to densely populated areas. Even tamed mutated rune beasts will eat people if their master isn’t around. It’s too dangerous unless it’s turned into a beast rune.”
Guo Shier said, “It’s a shame…”
Zhu Juanqi asked, “What’s a shame about?”
Guo Shier replied, “I planned to catch a mutated rune beast when I reached the level of Saint Master and use it as a mount after taming it. It seems that’s no longer possible.”
Zhu Juan smiled and said, “Direct taming won’t work, but it can be turned into a beast rune. Hehe, if it can be turned into a virtual rune, that would be even better—better than truly taming a mutated rune beast. It would be truly impressive… There are people in the Advanced Continent who specialize in this. If you have something good, you can exchange it with them. It’s even more powerful than your scorpion rune—that’s what a real mutated rune beast is.”
Guo Shier retorted, “My ancient insect rune isn’t bad either! It’s a Dark-Wing Demon Scorpion from the Secret Insect lineage!”
Monier explained, “Baby, they’re different. Rune insects and rune beasts are two separate concepts. In terms of power, rune insects are indeed inferior to rune beasts, especially in terms of attack and defense. Advanced mutated rune beasts are extremely powerful.”
Kumu said, “I should still have a beast rune there. It’s a True Spirit rune-level beast rune, sealing the spirit of an eighth-level mutated rune beast. Its strength is equivalent to that of a real seventh-level mutated rune beast… I’ll give it to you when I get back. I don’t need it.”
Guo Shier was overjoyed. He was now very interested in insect and beast runes. When released, they had immense power, and one didn’t have to worry about them. With a little command, they would attack enemies—truly essential for both daily life and travel, as well as the best weapon for killing enemies. He kept saying, “Thank you, master! Master… What kind of mutated rune beast’s spirit is sealed in that beast rune?”
Kumu replied, “It’s a Giant Nesting Dragon.”
Guo Shier was surprised. “Damn, an eighth-level dragon-type mutated rune beast?”
Kumu said, “Yeah. I caught it myself. At that time, a junior Saint Master challenged this eighth-level Giant Nesting Dragon but was beaten into fleeing for his life. Fortunately, he encountered me, and together we killed it. That man was an expert at creating beast runes. He sealed the spirit of the Giant Nesting Dragon and gave me this beast rune as thanks for saving his life… He was from the Advanced Continent.”
Guo Shier asked, “Did you meet them in a secret realm?”

Withered Wood nodded and said, “That person is out here to gain experience; they don’t have much combat experience yet… In our place, a Saint, whether beginner or advanced, can handle an eighth-level mutated talisman beast. Even if they can’t defeat it, they can still retreat calmly.”
Guo Shier was astonished. A Saint out here to gain experience, yet without combat experience—meaning that person had trained to become a Saint within their sect or family before going out. It was easy to imagine how powerful professionals on the Advanced Continent must be.
“Master, don’t you use this beast talisman yourself?”
Withered Wood just grinned without saying anything.
Monier said, “Deadwood doesn’t like beast talismans. He prefers to use his own virtual talismans; he disdains using others’.”
Withered Wood was too lazy to explain and merely snorted.
Guo Shier sighed, “If Master uses it… I won’t get any share. Hehe, I like beast talismans.”
Monier said, “If baby likes beast talismans, your wife will help you find some.” She began to think about who in the sect might have powerful beast talismans. Zhu Juan couldn’t help but shake her head—too many powerful talismans wouldn’t be good for Guo Shier’s growth; he might become dependent on their power and slack off in his own training.
Guo Shier would never slack off in his training. His soul wasn’t that of a child—he knew that true strength came from being strong oneself. But he also didn’t dismiss powerful talismans, as they were like weapons. Having a pistol versus a machine gun—their power was vastly different. In his view, weapons and ammunition were also important; the more, the better, the more powerful.
In fact, on the Intermediate Talisman Continent, professionals relied far less on physical talismans than those on the Lower Continent. They knew that once they reached the rank of Saint, physical talismans could be transformed into virtual ones, leading to a dramatic increase in strength—the two were not comparable. A person who reached Saint status would usually pass on their physical talismans to disciples or give them to the sect.
Withered Wood had given all his previous physical talismans to the sect to reward inner disciples, so he didn’t have many left.
Monier was the same, but she still found a few physical talismans to give to Guo Shier. As for Zhu Juan, she didn’t have a single one left—she had given them all to her juniors. This was why Guo Shier hadn’t received many talismans after becoming her disciple.
The simple caravan moved quickly, and before dark, they arrived at a crude supply station. Guo Shier noticed that this was a newly built supply station; it hadn’t existed when they passed by last time.

The supply point was bustling; another caravan happened to be resting there, one that had come from the Northern Talisman Gate. As the horse caravan entered the supply point, Zhu Xu ran back and forth busy with arrangements. Zhu Dachang, along with a few of his subordinates, quickly set up five tents in the open area of the supply point and politely invited Guo Shier and the others to rest. It was indeed different having someone to serve them—no one could refuse such kindness. Soon, each person’s tent was assigned, with Guo Shier’s tent in the center for better protection, while the others’ tents were arranged around it. Guo Shier didn’t enter his tent; instead, he called out to Eagle Demon and decided to take a walk around the supply camp. The two strolled over to a row of wooden houses, which were the residence of the outer disciples of the Northern Talisman Gate. Every supply point and camp was dispatched and controlled by the Northern Talisman Gate, with important camps guarded by inner disciples, while ordinary and remote camps were overseen by outer disciples. Usually, only one or two lower-ranking outer disciples would be sent, along with some ordinary people recruited as well. This was a camp established by outer disciples. Guo Shier entered one of the wooden houses and asked, “Is anyone here?”