Chapter 10: Cooperation (Part 2)

Lan Hu nodded and said, “Hu Zi, Wang Wang, come here… Let’s discuss what to do tomorrow!” Forced to this point, they became serious. After all, they were all master-level professionals with considerable strength, though lacking combat experience and in need of more training.
Guo Shier understood that if they worked well together, the team’s strength would improve significantly. With him and Eagle Demon, they would be fully capable of navigating the Black Mist Area. If they could kill a level-6 mutated rune beast, they’d be rich. As for level-7 or 8 mutated rune beasts, he didn’t even consider them—fleeing would be the best option if they encountered such creatures, as they were beyond their capabilities.
Back in the Withered Wood Forest, everyone except Eagle Demon collapsed on the ground. Lan Hu felt a heavy sense of responsibility; even though they were exhausted, she still didn’t stop discussing strategies with Sun Min’er and Peng Yuanwang on how to cooperate.
Guo Shier continued his cultivation as usual. Having experienced its benefits, he certainly wouldn’t slack off and focused on strengthening his soul. He now longed to go to the Black Mist Area, where cultivation would likely be even more effective.
The Dark-Winged Scorpion seemed to enjoy the environment here, lying motionless by the tent. The gray mist around it was thicker than elsewhere, clearly as it absorbed it.
Guo Shier could understand the Dark-Winged Scorpion’s feelings. He suddenly realized that this place was a sacred site for cultivation, beneficial not only to humans and beasts but also to rune insects and beasts that refined their essence. He immediately stood up, stepped aside, and unleashed the Giant Perch Dragon.
With a loud roar, the Giant Perch Dragon appeared at the edge of the Withered Wood Forest. Its nearly 100-meter-long body was awe-inspiring, covered in dark blue scales, with a huge horn on its head and another large triangle on its tail. As it swayed slightly, it struck a thick, ancient dead tree nearby, causing it to snap in half with a crack.
Sun Min’er, who was facing it, clearly saw the dragon’s pale golden eyes and its massive body. Terrified, she jumped up from the ground and shouted, “Run!” before sprinting in the opposite direction.
Peng Yuanwang didn’t even look back and rushed out immediately—his speed impressed even Eagle Demon. Lan Hu turned to look and covered her mouth in shock, her legs turning weak. This mutated Giant Perch Dragon was at least level 7 or higher. Despair appeared in her eyes—against a level-7 mutated rune beast, running fast wouldn’t help. She couldn’t understand how such a high-level mutated rune beast could appear here.

Yang Qi also collapsed. He was a great talisman master, not a great talisman martial artist, so his physical reactions weren’t as fast. He only said, “I’m… so unlucky…”
Xuan Ai laughed heartily, completely forgetting that when he first saw the Giant Perch Dragon, he had been in just as dire straits.
The Eagle Demon shouted, “This is a Beast Talisman of Number Twelve! Come back!” His voice was loud, and Sun Min’er and Peng Yuanwang, who were running frantically, stopped in their tracks. They stared in shock at the massive Giant Perch Dragon outside the withered wood forest.
Sun Min’er asked, “Is it a spirit beast released by a Beast Talisman?”
Peng Yuanwang nodded. “I heard it… seems so… Haha, you run really fast!”
Sun Min’er pouted. “You’re the same—fast enough… Sigh, I was almost scared to death today, just running nonstop…”
Peng Yuanwang walked back, saying as he went, “Running is good for health!”
Sun Min’er shamelessly replied, “Yeah, running fast… is also an amazing skill. Life is important, life is important!” The two brothers had similar views—they were both death-fearing speed runners, truly a pair of clowns.
After emerging, the Giant Perch Dragon seemed very excited. Guo Twelve only controlled it from charging into the withered wood forest; he didn’t care about anything else. The dragon started running around in the gray mist area, its footsteps terrifying—each step shaking the ground. It soon disappeared from everyone’s sight, only its footsteps remaining. Gradually, those footsteps grew fainter and farther away.
Xuan Ai was surprised. “Twelve, did you let it run away?”
Guo Twelve wondered, “What’s the problem with that?” In the Yanhu Secret Realm, the Flaming Sparrow wandered back and forth in the Talisman Fire Area all day long, and he never interfered, with no problems arising.
Xuan Ai was puzzled because, according to his inherited memories, Beast Talismans made from the spirits of mutated beast beasts had many restrictions, and their release time was strictly controlled—spirit beasts couldn’t be released indefinitely. But Guo Twelve’s approach was unusual. Just like his giant scorpion, once released, it had never been taken back.
“Can… can you keep the spirit beasts outside forever?”
Guo Twelve replied, “Yeah, it’s not hard.” He had once left the Flaming Sparrow out for nearly half a year without knowing any taboos.
Xuan Ai hesitated for a long time before saying, “This is crazy! My inherited memories don’t say this!”
Guo Twelve was also a professional who had walked the Path of Delusion, but he hadn’t received such inheritance. He asked, “What are your inherited memories…?” If he hadn’t received any inheritance, he could ask others.

Xuan Ai said with a bitter smile, “I’m suspecting… you’ve obtained a more advanced inheritance. Our inheritances are completely different. The most fundamental difference is… you’re a high-level grand talismanist. At most, you can only use beast talismans made from level six mutated beast spirits. The higher the level of the beast talisman, the harder it is to control. Your Giant Nesting Dragon talisman shouldn’t be something you can control, but now… this clearly doesn’t hold up.”

Guo Shier was secretly pleased. This meant that the grand talismanists here couldn’t have powerful beast talismans, and even if they did, they wouldn’t be able to control them. As for why, he didn’t want to delve deeper. As long as he could control them himself, that was enough.

Xuan Ai couldn’t continue. Every piece of information he knew had been refuted by Guo Shier. This kid could even control high-level mutated beast worms and beasts at the same time—it was simply unbelievable. He didn’t know Guo Shier also had an Ancient Flame Sparrow talisman. If the flame sparrow appeared, he would have even less idea what to do.

Guo Shier suddenly exclaimed, “Hey, the Giant Nesting Dragon is hunting… I didn’t give any orders!”

Xuan Ai asked, “You… can sense the Giant Nesting Dragon’s movements?”

Guo Shier replied, “Yeah, so what? That’s normal…”

Xuan Ai waved his hand, remaining silent, his face full of confusion. After a long while, he said, “Only beast talismans that have been kept in one’s life talisman book for a long time can gain sentience… at least twenty years!” He looked devastated and added, “How old are you?”

Guo Shier said, “It has nothing to do with age.”

Eagle Demon shouted, “Sun Min’er, Wang Wang… damn it, come here! Why are you running? It’s just the two of you who can run fast… If it were a real Giant Nesting Dragon, could you two escape?”

Peng Yuanwang thought to himself, “As long as I can run a little faster than you…” But he didn’t dare say it out loud. If he did, getting beaten would be the least of it—he might even get driven away. With a forced smile, he said, “Hehe, my life is important… I’m sorry, I really don’t know what happened—I just started running… I didn’t see any Giant Nesting Dragon at all!”

Eagle Demon cursed, “You bastard… If you didn’t see the Giant Nesting Dragon, why are you running?”

Peng Yuanwang, still smiling, said confidently, “Min’er ran… so I ran after him! You don’t know—he might not be good at anything else, but running is his forte. Following him… that’s right!”

Eagle Demon was so angry he wanted to hit him. He had seen scumbags before, but never one like this.

Yang Qi said, “Enough, let’s stop talking!” He could see the Eagle Demon’s cold gaze and quickly stepped in to defuse the situation. The Eagle Demon said coldly, “Tomorrow, when we fight against the mutated talisman beasts, whoever tries to run… I will chase after them and throw them in front of the beasts! Let’s see if you can run faster or I can!”
Peng Yuanwang and Sun Min’er were instantly terrified. They exchanged a glance and saw fear in each other’s eyes.
The Eagle Demon sneered, turned to Guo Shier, and said, “Without courage or a fighting spirit, Shier, you should consider letting these two go!”
Guo Shier replied, “Let’s wait and see. If we give up now, they’re done for.”
The Eagle Demon said, “Let’s see if we can change them. With such an attitude… there’s no way they’ll improve, and they’ll only drag everyone down.”
Guo Shier admitted the Eagle Demon was right. Those who only thought about escaping could never integrate with the team. Having two people who wanted to run at the first sign of danger posed a threat to everyone.
The Eagle Demon nodded, found a piece of animal skin to sit on, and said, “This place is indeed quite comfortable.”
Sun Min’er and Peng Yuanwang returned timidly. Lan Hu glared at them and snorted before finding a place to sit herself.
Sun Min’er found that the animal skin she had laid out was now occupied by the Eagle Demon, so she had to get another one. She said, “Wangwang, sit down. Let’s discuss what to do tomorrow.” This time, she was truly scared. She had no doubt about the Eagle Demon’s words—if she angered this old guy, he would really capture her.
Peng Yuanwang whispered, “Lan Hu, let’s discuss this together.”
Lan Hu sat down grumpily and said, “Can’t you two be more responsible? With masters like Shier and Uncle Eagle Demon protecting us, you still try to be lazy and sneaky. No wonder Uncle Eagle Demon is angry.”
Before the three could say much more, they suddenly felt the ground shaking. They all stood up. Sun Min’er asked anxiously, “What’s that sound?”
Everyone stood up, looking nervously outside the forest of dead trees. As the sound grew louder, the ground shook more intensely. Serious expressions appeared on everyone’s faces. The only one whose expression remained unchanged was Guo Shier, who calmly stared at the misty distance.
Suddenly, a one-horned blood rhinoceros rushed out of the thin mist, followed by another. Xuan Ai said in terror, “Damn it, have all the mutated talisman beasts from the deployment point come over?”
Seventeen or eighteen mutated talisman beasts, large and small, emerged one after another from the mist and charged toward the forest of dead trees.

The Eagle Demon shouted, “Ignore the tent! Are you ready? Run!”
Guo Shier said, “Slow down!”
Book 11: Blood Soul Stone