Chapter 8: Harvest (Part 2)

Luo Zhan had already buried the Great Sage. He said, “This man was actually quite alright. He didn’t drag us down with him in death…”
Guo Shier said, “Yeah, otherwise I wouldn’t have turned back. If he had used illusion talismans to trap us, hehe, we wouldn’t have been able to escape and would have died for sure. Our strength isn’t enough yet…”
Eagle Demon said, “That’s right. I realized it after running for a while. It’s just a shame about this man.”
Guo Shier nodded. He had a fairly good impression of this Great Sage. He said, “It’s indeed a pity. I’m thinking about that previous battle…” They fled when they saw things were going wrong. Later, seeing the Great Sage’s miserable state, they could imagine how brutal that battle must have been. They wondered what had become of those people in red robes.
Eagle Demon said, “Shier was decisive. Leaving immediately was the wise choice.”
Luo Zhan sighed, “Even watching can cost your life. This place is truly terrifying.”
Guo Shier said, “Forget it. Let’s not think about it. We should leave this desert first and find a more secluded place. I need to disassemble this giant golden armor. Over time, some of the materials might change.”
After packing up the talisman house and storing the formation talismans, the three of them flew deeper into the desert.
After several days of flying, they finally saw patches of green vegetation, and the climate was no longer so dry and hot. The three of them felt greatly uplifted. Eagle Demon pointed in the distance and said, “That’s a river!”
From the air, they could see vast grasslands and a river shining with a bright white light, forming an arc across the land. It came from the distant mountains on the left and disappeared into the grasslands on the right. There were herds of animals on the ground, but from such a distance, it was impossible to tell what kind of animals they were. The sky was no longer so dark, and a cool breeze blew gently.
Guo Shier took a deep breath and said, “It feels much better here. I can smell the fragrance of grass.”
The scorching magma flows in the Volcanic Region and the barren, dry desert made people feel uncomfortable. Only by coming to this lush grassland did the three of them relax. Luo Zhan said, “I thought the Earthfire Continent was all volcanoes. I never expected there to be places like this. Hehe, it’s similar to the continent where our Northern Talisman Sect is located.”
Guo Shier said, “Let’s go to the river.”
The river was actually quite shallow but very wide. They could see wild bulls crossing it in groups, numbering in the thousands. The climate here was hot, but not as extreme as that in the Volcanic Region. In Guo Shier’s memory, this place resembled Africa from his past life, except with more animals, many of which he had never seen before.

After setting up the concealment talisman array and activating the talisman house, Guo Shier finally took out the corpse of the giant golden-armored creature. He took out a large number of talisman boxes and bottles made from spells. Having obtained quite a few talisman spirit stones, the boxes and bottles he crafted all had the function of storing talismans and could hold a great deal of materials. Guo Shier carefully cut off two pieces of the outer shell on the sides of the giant golden-armored creature’s body—its outermost pair of wings—which could be refined into two talisman shields. Those translucent wings were already damaged beyond repair, but due to their large size, there was still much that could be utilized. Its mouthparts and six long legs were also separated one by one. Guo Shier found the heart of the giant golden-armored creature, a gem-like golden crystal. At the moment of death, the heart had turned into a crystal, emitting a warm glow. It was only the size of an adult’s fist and looked extremely beautiful. Luo Zhan asked, “What’s the use of this?” Eagle Demon interjected, “It can be used to refine one’s own life talisman book or to strengthen it. Hehe, I guess Shier will use it in his own life talisman sphere… Shier, I’m not wrong, am I?” Guo Shier smiled and said, “Yes. I plan to use many of the things from this giant golden-armored creature to strengthen my own life talisman sphere.” Luo Zhan said, “Hehe, Shier has reaped the most benefits this time.” Guo Shier said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, help me remove the outer shell of the giant golden-armored creature. Uncle Luo, go hunt a wild ox. We’ll grill it later.” Luo Zhan stood up and said, “Okay, I’ll go hunting. Hehe, it’s been a long time since I’ve eaten the grilled meat made by Shier.” Eagle Demon said, “Find a young wild ox; its meat is softer.” The outer shell of the giant golden-armored creature was covered in runes. Since it had been forcibly stripped once by the man in red but failed, many of the runes on its shell were damaged, and their quality had declined significantly, which made Guo Shier feel regretful. If the runes had remained intact, their value could have increased by at least one-third. Even so, the materials from the giant golden-armored creature were still top-notch. Guo Shier carefully collected them and sorted them out. Some materials needed to be simply purified on the spot, while others had to be sealed with virtual talismans to prevent the loss of their active ingredients. Fortunately, he had inherited the knowledge from the Ancient Soul Altar; otherwise, he really wouldn’t have known how to proceed.

It took half a day to finish organizing everything. Guo Shier was very cautious, using talisman fire to burn away all traces completely, leaving no sign at all. This was something Master Kumu had repeatedly emphasized—in secret realms, one must never leave any scent or trace of killing mutated talisman beasts, and everything must be cleaned up as thoroughly as possible. That’s why he would use talisman fire to clean the area after each collection.

Luo Zhan returned, dragging a young wild ox behind him. He said, “This wild ox is also a talisman beast, but not a mutated one. Hehe, there are countless talisman beasts here—what a great place.”

Among them, wild beasts are the weakest, while mutated talisman beasts are the strongest. Wild beasts form the largest populations and can be found on all continents and in secret realms. There are also many talisman beasts, with fewer mutated ones, and the fewest being the aberrant talisman beasts, which are the most powerful.

Aberrant talisman beasts or aberrant talisman insects are extremely rare, though aberrant talisman insects have a slightly higher chance of appearing, as insect populations are much larger than those of beasts. Just as there are more advanced mutated talisman insects than advanced mutated talisman beasts, this is common knowledge among professionals on the advanced continents.

Guo Shier was in high spirits. He took out the roasting stove. Having these tools with him in the wild was very convenient, especially with the Talisman House, which was like carrying a home with him, following him wherever he went—making any place his home. When he was a lama in his first life, he had dreamed of traveling the world, but back then he had never gone more than a hundred miles from the temple.

After setting up the roasting stove, Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan helped cut the beef and thread it onto skewers. They were already familiar with this process, so they worked quickly and efficiently. Eagle Demon, in particular, loved grilled meat skewers. The first time he met Guo Shier, he was drawn there by the aroma of grilled meat.

By the time they finished eating the grilled meat, it was completely dark outside.

Guo Shier packed up the roasting stove and said, “I’m going up to refine my life talisman sphere. I’ll also craft a talisman shield for each of you. Hehe, it’s my first time using materials from a level-13 mutated talisman insect, so it might be a bit of a waste, but we need to upgrade our equipment. Our strength is still weak, and better equipment will give us more ways to survive.”

Eagle Demon said, “Okay, Luo and I will guard outside.”

Guo Shier’s life talisman sphere was of extremely high quality, which he had realized when he received the inheritance from the Ancient Soul Altar. In that inheritance, he also learned how to strengthen and refine his life talisman sphere. The main challenge was the scarcity of materials—this heart crystal from the great golden armor was a precious material for enhancing it.

Only advanced purple talisman fire can deal with such crystals. Fortunately, Guo Shier has such talisman fire; otherwise, there would be no way to handle it.
Guo Shier sat in the room, with many talisman boxes and bottles in front of him. He checked them and found all kinds of materials, including Anluo Stone and Zuling Wood, though in very small quantities. Even an ordinary Saint Master would not know how to proceed even if they obtained the Heart Crystal of the Golden Armor, as it was difficult to gather all the required materials.
Spitting out his life talisman sphere, Guo Shier gently tapped it with his hand. The fist-sized sphere immediately grew as large as a football, spinning in front of his chest like a planet. Countless runes orbited the sphere, forming layers of talisman arrays. Most of the other talismans were located at the core, invisible unless Guo Shier activated them.
With a slight thought, countless tiny talismans floated out, rotating along with the arrays. Guo Shier carefully lifted the life talisman sphere into the air and inserted the Heart Crystal of the Golden Armor into it. Then, the seven layers of talisman arrays exerted force simultaneously, with one purple talisman fire beginning to burn the core of the life talisman sphere.
After about ten minutes, Guo Shier sat cross-legged on the ground, reciting spells with both hands. This was a set of spells specifically designed to refine the core of a life talisman, consisting of over 20,000 hand movements, or more than 200 sets of virtual talismans, which had to be recited continuously—a truly arduous task.
For three days and nights, Guo Shier worked tirelessly, reciting spells one after another, shooting virtual talismans into the life talisman sphere. After each set of ten spells, he would take a short break before moving on to the next set, until he completed the 200th set of virtual talismans. He could only take small sips of water in between; there was no time for meals.
Finally, after reciting the last spell, a ball of purple talisman fire flew out and quickly returned to the talisman array. A warm sensation spread through his soul, and Guo Shier knew he had succeeded. He let out a deep sigh of relief, drew back the life talisman sphere, collapsed to the ground, and fell into deep sleep within less than a minute.
When he woke up, it was already the next day. Guo Shier then began crafting a talisman shield.
The two outer shells taken from the Golden Armor were its first pair of wings. Their durability was so great that even a Great Saint Master could not pierce them—extremely formidable—and they contained powerful firepower. Although the runes on them were somewhat damaged, Guo Shier could understand them, meaning he could repair them.
The nearly four-meter-long semi-circular hard wings had to be refined using talisman fire, which couldn’t be done inside the room. Guo Shier stepped outside. The Eagle Demon, seeing him come out, asked, “Shier, are you done?”

Luo Zhan quickly brought over a large basin of steaming meat soup and said, “It just came out of the pot. Eat it while it’s hot.”
Guo Shier was indeed very hungry. Smiling, he sat down and said, “Let’s eat together. After that, I’ll craft talisman shields for you using the ancient method.”
Eagle Demon, who also had inherited this knowledge, exclaimed in delight, “Are all the materials ready? Using the ancient method is extremely difficult!”
Luo Zhan asked curiously, “What ancient method?”
Guo Shier replied, “It’s the method used by the ancient talisman makers—a very practical way of crafting.”
Luo Zhan asked, “What makes it special?”