Chapter 8: Waste Members (Part 2)

Guo Shieru smiled bitterly. How could he know the secrets of this place? He said, “I don’t know. No one has told me.”
Xuan Ai said, “Never mind. Let me tell you then. Not knowing anything is why you keep running around.” He looked at the thin gray mist and said, “Junior masters train in the gray mist to advance the fastest. The blood mist is a good place for intermediate masters, while the black mist… is suitable for senior masters.”
Guo Shieru said, “I see. No wonder I haven’t seen any intermediate or senior masters here.” After thinking for a moment, he asked, “If you go to the black mist area… will the training be more effective?”
Xuan Ai replied, “Sure! Of course! The problem is I dare not go. The mutated talisman beasts there are fierce. Just encountering one… any mutated talisman beast will be my death! How could I dare to go? It’s suicide! I can barely survive in the blood mist area.”
Guo Shieru tapped his forehead and said, “No wonder! So that’s how it is!”
Xuan Ai smiled bitterly. “So… Shieru, do you still want to lead us?” Everyone except Eagle Demon looked at Guo Shieru nervously. If Guo Shieru and Eagle Demon left alone, they would be helpless. Senior masters had no obligation to take care of junior masters.
Guo Shieru laughed and said, “It’s the same whether driving one sheep or herding a flock. Why wouldn’t I lead everyone? The more people, the greater the strength. Since we’re together, it means we’re fated. If we advance together, our strength will grow even more!”
Xuan Ai visibly relaxed, and Lan Hu, Yang Qi, and the others also smiled.
Guo Shieru said, “Let’s find a campsite to rest for a while, then start hunting for food.”
Eagle Demon said, “Good. Xiao Lanzi, Wangwang, Sun Min’er… the three of you will be under my command from now on. Now, Wangwang and Sun Min’er, go scout ahead. I need to find a place with some cover to set up camp… Go, but don’t go too far, or you won’t be able to find us!” He naturally took over the command from the senior talisman martial artist, feeling a little proud. In the Northern Talisman Sect, where else could one find so many masters as subordinates?
The two replied and quickly darted into the gray mist.
Guo Shieru continued to steer the Dark Wing Scorpion, moving forward slowly. He asked, “Xuan Ai, were you already an intermediate master when you came in?”

Xuan Ai said, “When I first entered, I was at the beginner level… but I was almost ready to advance, so I went straight to the Blood Mist Zone. In just a few days, I reached the intermediate master level. But with my weak strength, I was on the run almost every day. Hehe, I finally mustered up the courage to fight mutated talisman beasts, only to be chased relentlessly.”

Lan Hu said gloomily, “I’m even luckier than you. I encountered those killers like Fat Yang just a few days after entering… Not to mention advancing, I almost starved to death!”

Yang Qi showed a simple and obsequious smile, chuckled a few times, and said, “Little Lanzi… this…”

Lan Hu snapped, “Who told you to call me Little Lanzi! Is that how you call me? You should call me Sister Lan!”

Yang Qi immediately complied, saying, “Sister Lan… I’m sorry! Hehe, hehehe…”

Lan Hu was left speechless. Once he showed weakness, she couldn’t continue bullying him. Moreover, she found it awkward to be called Sister Lan, even though she wasn’t actually that old.

Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh and said, “Little Lanzi, didn’t you already get it back? By the way, is there any place for inheritance where you are?”

Lan Hu replied, “Yes. Lower and intermediate-level professionals can take the Path of Illusion, while higher-level ones can inherit through the Soul Altar.”

Guo Shier and Eagle Demon exchanged a glance. Soul Altar! Both of them looked shocked. Guo Shier asked, “Soul Altar? What is it?”

Now, not only was Lan Hu surprised, but Xuan Ai also showed a surprised expression. Xuan Ai said, “Shier, you don’t know about the Soul Altar?”

Guo Shier said, “I know about it. I’ve seen a Soul Altar before, but I don’t know how to use it.”

Xuan Ai said, “The Soul Altar isn’t something we can use. Only those above the rank of Great Sage are qualified to use it… After obtaining inheritance, one can build their own Soul Altar… But that step is extremely difficult. It requires countless rare materials and also the dissipation of one’s own life talisman book. I probably won’t have the chance to receive soul inheritance in my lifetime.”

Guo Shier already understood how important the altar discovered in the secret realm was. He asked, “Are there differences in quality among Soul Altars?”

Xuan Ai replied, “Of course. There are low-level Soul Altars as well as mid-to-high-level ones. But they have little to do with us. Once one builds their own Soul Altar, they transcend the limits of professionals—it’s beyond our understanding.”

Guo Shier wanted to ask more questions, but Sun Min’er and Peng Yuanwang, who had gone to explore, returned.

Eagle Demon asked, “Did you find a suitable place?”

Sun Min’er of the Big Hu clan said, “Yes! I’ve found something—right ahead is a forest of dead trees.”
Peng Yuanwang said, “I haven’t found a suitable place.”
Guo Shier laughed and said, “A forest of dead trees? Good, let’s go there. You lead the way.” He realized that having these masters with him had its advantages—there were many tasks they could handle, and he could also learn more about the advanced continents. Besides, more people made things more lively.
The group flew swiftly. No one dared to fly high here; it was said that above the mist lay extremely powerful mutated talisman beasts, at least at the fifth level, too strong for masters to withstand. So those who could fly kept low, staying about ten meters above the ground at most.
After a while, they arrived at a forest of dead trees. It was a forest long dead, with only dozens of withered trunks lying scattered across the ground, forming a desolate woodland. Guo Shier looked at the pale tree trunks and nodded, saying, “Not bad. This place is great. Let’s set up camp here.”
Guo Shier didn’t need to do the work himself. With several great talisman martial artists around, all the heavy labor could be done by them.
The tents were quickly set up. As the leader of the team, Guo Shier’s tent was protected by the others. His beast-skin tent was erected among three dead trees. Eagle Demon said, “Wangwang, go up a tree to keep watch!”
Guo Shier laughed and said, “No need. My Dark-Wing Scorpion can do the watching.” Dozens of small scorpions crawled out from the Dark-Wing Scorpion’s back and scattered quickly in all directions, while the scorpion itself stayed by the tent, guarding Guo Shier.
Sun Min’er of the Big Hu clan didn’t set up his own tent. He took out a thick piece of beast-skin, laid it on the ground, and collapsed onto it, sighing, “Finally, I can get a good night’s sleep! Hey, Fatso! Is there anything to eat? Anything will do! I’m starving…”
Yang Qi spread his hands and said, “You know very well that we’ve lost our talisman storage bags!”
Lan Hu rolled her eyes, threw the ten stolen talisman storage bags away, and said, “Here they are. Don’t do such shameless things again!”
Sun Min’er got up and thanked her, “Thank you, Sister Lan!”
Lan Hu snapped, “Don’t call me Sister Lan!”
Sun Min’er, Yang Qi, and Peng Yuanwang said in unison, “Thank you, Sister!”
Lan Hu felt frustrated. After a while, she said, “Call me by my name from now on! You don’t deserve to call me sister!”

Guo Shier secretly chuckled. These three guys were truly amusing. He said, “There’s no need to eat dried food for now. I guess you don’t have much of it either. Well, I’ll cook something for everyone in a bit.”
Eagle Demon asked, “Shier, how about some grilled meat?”
Guo Shier replied, “It’s better to cook it. If we can catch a mutated talisman beast, I’ll make grilled meat once. It’s quite troublesome—the meat has to be fresh.”
Eagle Demon nodded. He really liked the grilled meat made by Guo Shier, but he also knew it took a lot of time and required fresh meat.
Xuan Ai stepped forward, smiling, “I can cook grilled meat too! My skills aren’t bad!”
Eagle Demon said, “I don’t believe it!” Those words made Xuan Ai roll his eyes. He really wanted to show off, but he had neither fresh meat nor any tools. If it weren’t for Guo Shier, he would have starved to death. Here, food was more valuable than anything else.
The group had a simple meal.
Guo Shier said, “Everyone, rest. Tomorrow we’ll start searching the area to see if we can find a mutated talisman beast.” After saying that, he returned to his tent to practice on his own. He had already begun learning the cultivation methods passed down from the Path of Illusion. Before reaching master level, all cultivation was merely exercise; only at master level did it truly count as cultivation.
These were the incantations for talismans, with many ways to practice them. Guo Shier now understood that mastering these incantations well was highly beneficial for soul cultivation, especially when transitioning from tangible talismans to intangible ones. Tangible talismans still left traces, while intangible talismans relied entirely on the incantations—so their importance was self-evident.
He had been practicing these incantations for some time now. This time, he felt something different—he sensed his soul growing rapidly. Suddenly, he realized it was related to the gray mist.
He practiced until late at night. Feeling as though his soul was about to expand, he began reciting the scriptures habitually. It was like drinking ice water in summer—the coolness instantly filled his soul. In just a moment, he was deeply immersed in it.
Guo Shier’s soul was already extremely powerful. In his previous life, aside from reciting scriptures, he didn’t know how to cultivate. In this life, he finally obtained a valuable cultivation method. Although he sat there moving his arms and hands in various gestures, like a mute signing, of course at a different speed. Once the speed of the incantations reached their limit, hundreds of gestures could be made in an instant—far beyond what sign language could achieve.

After finishing chanting the scriptures, Guo Shieru fell asleep immediately. Even in his dreams, he kept thinking about the Blood Mist Area and the Dark Mist Area. Now he knew that as long as one could survive here, they could advance in rank. Once the soul grew strong enough, it would be easy to inherit knowledge. Advancing in rank here was actually secondary; what mattered most was strengthening the soul, as that was the essence of a spellcaster.

In the early morning, Guo Shieru stepped out of his tent in high spirits. He never expected the Bloody Secret Realm to be a sacred place for cultivation. Li Ran had given him an enormous advantage—this was the strength of the higher continents.

“Today we’re going to hunt a mutated spellbeast!” Sun Min’er said. “I hope it’s a low-level one…”

Lan Hu said disdainfully, “Fools who fear death!”