Chapter 2: Golden Jade Stone (Part 1)

Meng Da said, “You don’t need it now. It’s the Golden Jade Stone, a companion mineral to the Thousand Fluff Food Demon. Hehe, to be precise, it’s actually the excrement of the Thousand Fluff Food Demon. After refinement, it becomes a very precious material. By raising Thousand Fluff Food Demons, you can also obtain Golden Jade Stone, but not in such large quantities, and the quality won’t be as good.”
Guo Shier immediately searched through his inherited memories and quickly found an explanation for the Golden Jade Stone. It was an extremely precious material, valued for its ability to replace Yellow Yan Soil or be used in combination with it—it was one of the auxiliary materials for constructing soul altars.
After finding this information, Guo Shier was stunned and inwardly smiled bitterly, realizing that Meng Da was actually the one who truly needed the Golden Jade Stone. Meng Da must be preparing materials for constructing a soul altar, and this was likely one of them—no wonder he was so happy.
Guo Shier regretted it in his heart. He could have exchanged certain materials with Meng Da, but based on his past experiences, his strength was only at the level of a Saint Master, while Meng Da was a master beyond even a Great Saint Master. He didn’t dare to trade rashly—it wouldn’t be sensible.
Meng Da said, “Since I personally asked you all for help with this task, I’ll distribute the sect’s points among you. Little guy…” He waved at Guo Shier. “The points I give you… will be recorded under… um, what’s your name?”
Xuan Ai quickly replied, “I’m Xuan Ai, an inner sect disciple.”
Meng Da said, “Hmm. The little guy’s points will be recorded under your name. Whatever he wants… as long as the point requirements permit, you should help him get it.”
Guo Shier said, “Thank you for your concern, senior.” With Meng Da’s words, using points became much easier for him.
Meng Da casually asked, “How old is the little guy? What’s his name? Why doesn’t he join a sect? If one reaches the level of a Saint Master or above without a sect, it’s very difficult to advance. Without inheritance, one has to rely solely on finding opportunities by oneself, which is extremely painful.”
Guo Shier certainly understood this. He said, “My name is Guo Shier. I’m sixteen this year… um, I’ll be seventeen soon. I haven’t considered joining a sect yet.”
Meng Da was stunned and incredulous. “What? Sixteen? Are you joking?”
Guo Shier said, “Well… there’s no need for me to lie.”

Meng Da took a sharp breath. Holy Masters were not rare; any sect on the Advanced Continent had plenty of them. But a 16-year-old junior spellcasting Holy Master, even among elite inner disciples, could hardly reach such a high level. He casually cast a spell, and a phantom symbol appeared on Guo Shier’s forehead before vanishing in an instant.

Guo Shier knew the other party was only suspicious and would not harm him, so he stood still calmly. Eagle Demon, however, was startled and stared at Meng Da nervously.

Meng Da quickly determined that Guo Shier was indeed very young. Though he didn’t know his exact age, he was sure Guo Shier couldn’t be over twenty. This made him consider taking him as a disciple. But he wasn’t a domineering person, so he asked, “What inheritance have you received? In which sect did you obtain your Holy Master inheritance?”

Guo Shier replied, “I happened to receive an inheritance from an ancient soul altar once.”

Meng Da knew that strange soul altars sometimes existed in secret realms. He asked, “Is that altar still there?” Excitement flashed in his eyes.

Xuan Ai knew where Guo Shier had received his inheritance and said, “Elder, Shier got his inheritance in the Bloody Secret Realm. That ancient soul altar has already been taken away.”

Meng Da was surprised. “Oh? Is it the ancient soul altar you discovered?”

Guo Shier nodded. “Yes. I didn’t realize it was an ancient soul altar at first. I found out only after going up there.”

Meng Da stared at Guo Shier for a while before saying, “I won’t force anyone. If you want to join Haimen, I can take you as my personal disciple…”

Guo Shier already had two masters and really didn’t want to take another one. He shook his head and said, “Thank you for your kindness, but… I prefer to keep wandering.”

Xuan Ai grew anxious and kept signaling urgently for Guo Shier to accept the offer right away. To his surprise, Guo Shier refused outright, leaving him extremely disappointed.

Meng Da sighed and said, “Although there are some formidable wandering professionals, they still fall short compared to the top experts in sects. You’re noble, strong, and have a broad vision. Unlike Kuumu, you have the grace not to force Guo Shier to become your disciple.”

Guo Shier nodded. “I want to stay outside for a while longer. Maybe when I can’t stay any longer, I’ll find a sect to join.”

Meng Da shook his head. Those words left him speechless—how could anyone think of just muddling through like this? He said, “It’s a shame. Well, if one day you want to join a sect and don’t have a place you’re satisfied with, then come to me… This is a talisman as a token. If you change your mind, bring this talisman to Haimen and find me there.”
Guo Shier thanked him and took the talisman. Meng Da said, “Xuan Ai, take good care of your friend.” He soared into the air and returned to the flying vehicle. Xuan Ai watched the vehicle depart before saying, “Shier! Do you know… what you’ve missed? That’s the great elder of our Haimen!”
Before Guo Shier could reply, Xuan Ai continued, “Sigh, you’ve missed a great opportunity! What’s not good about our Haimen… On the Xinkji Continent, our Haimen is among the top five major sects. With Great Elder Meng Da’s protection, you could practically do as you please on the Xinkji Continent!”
Guo Shier said, “I’m not some sea crab—why would I want to act recklessly?”
Xuan Ai laughed in exasperation and said, “You guy is really a freak! A monster! I’ve never seen a professional like you.”
Ying Mo interjected seriously, “You’re right. He’s just a little monster. We’ve known that for a long time.”
Guo Shier knew Xuan Ai was trying to help him, so he smiled and comforted him, “Didn’t Great Elder Meng Da leave behind a talisman as a token? If I change my mind, I can still go find him.”
Xuan Ai said with a wry smile, “Well, there’s nothing else to do. Sigh, if only you could join Haimen—it would be better than wandering around out there. I don’t know what you’re thinking—refusing such good conditions.”
After encountering masters like Li Ran and Chou Mo, Guo Shier’s vision was much broader than Xuan Ai’s. He was solely focused on cultivating to that level. As for seeking a master or anything like that, he wasn’t willing to consider it.
By now, Guo Shier had a vague realization that only by cultivating to the point of having his own soul altar could he truly be free, unbound by anyone, and roam across various continents and secret realms.
Xuan Ai had no idea that Guo Shier had such lofty aspirations. He thought he could at most rise to the rank of Great Sage in his lifetime, and if he could reach the rank of Advanced Great Sage, that would be more than enough for him. After all, a Great Sage was among the elite of the sects—something not every professional could aspire to.
Guo Shier said, “Don’t worry. Hehe, I’m still young… Can’t I play around for a few more years?”

Xuan Ai was utterly speechless—how could such words even come out of someone’s mouth? He was truly impressed and laughed, “Alright, I’m already desperate, while you remain so calm and unworried. Hehe, I guess I’m overthinking things…”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “I still need to thank you for your concern.” Xuan Ai was doing this for his own good, and he understood that well, so he still felt obliged to say thank you.
Xuan Ai sighed and asked, “Alright, where should we go?”
Guo Shier replied, “We’ll continue searching for isolated mutated talisman beasts. I need a large amount of soul energy.” Since ascending in rank wasn’t possible for now, he wanted to upgrade his beast talismans and insect talismans. The Giant Nesting Dragon was just short of reaching the ninth-level Soul Beast. The Ancient Flame Sparrow required more difficult-to-obtain soul energy; its current strength was at the peak of level six, and it was almost at level seven. The Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion had recently ascended and had already reached level seven. The Blade Shadow Mantis had the weakest strength; so far, Guo Shier hadn’t figured out whether it was actually a mutated Soul Insect.
According to Guo Shier’s estimate, the Blade Shadow Mantis had at most the strength of a level-four mutated talisman insect. The only thing worth hoping for was its speed—so fast that even sight couldn’t keep up, truly faster than lightning.
As for the beast talisman for the Earth Mound Rat, Guo Shier needed to find a quiet place to create it, and it required many precious materials, so it wasn’t appropriate to rush into making it now. The Earth Mound Rat was an eighth-level mutated talisman beast, and once its beast talisman was created, it would be a high-grade one, at least reaching the level of a True Spirit Talisman.
Xuan Ai was also willing to go hunting. Although they would use Guo Shier’s beast talismans and insect talismans to hunt mutated talisman beasts, he would get half of the rewards, especially since he could earn a large amount of sect points, which made him very happy.
The three of them quickly left the mountain area—this wasn’t a place to stay long, as who knew if a ninth-level mutated talisman beast might appear? They still planned to wander around the edge of the mountain range, as the exclusive secret realm was vast enough for them to search for prey.
Flying along the edge of the mountain range, they soon found an isolated seventh-level mutated talisman beast. It was a mutated giant brown bear, over thirty meters long, with its massive body covered in brown fur. Up close, it could be seen that each hair on the mutated giant brown bear was as thick as a chopstick, and with every step it took, the ground would tremble slightly.
Guo Shier liked this kind of mutated talisman beast. Most bear-type mutated talisman beasts fought by brute force rather than relying on innate talisman skills. To deal with such a beast, as long as the Giant Nesting Dragon kept it occupied, they could hunt it calmly.

Seeing the mutated brown bear emerge from the foot of the mountain, Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh, “What I wish for comes true! I’m so lucky— a mutated bear beast! Haha!” Xuan Ai, on the other hand, feared such mutated brown bears the most because she couldn’t defeat them. Bears had extremely high defense capabilities. Although a level-7 mutated brown bear’s attack power wasn’t as great as that of a level-7 mutated earth dragon, its defense was on par with it. Guo Shier released the Giant Perch Dragon, followed by the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion. As for the Blade Shadow Mantis, he didn’t use it, as its attacks couldn’t penetrate the brown bear’s defenses. The Ancient Flame Sparrow remained perched on his shoulder.