Chapter 4: Purple Golden Vine (Part 1)

The handsome old man fell silent for a moment before saying, “It’s a pity our time is limited. We haven’t scanned enough areas and have missed quite a few. Even so, we’ve obtained a large number of soul fragments, enough to refine over ten thousand soul beads—just under twenty thousand… Heh, it seems we still need to fight. We still have a chance.”
Guo Shier was surprised. “So many?”
The handsome old man replied, “This isn’t much. Over a hundred thousand people died just to get this little amount. But I’ve done my best.” He seemed somewhat dissatisfied. If not for Guo Shier’s firm refusal to allow him to extract souls from those severely injured, the number of souls obtained would have at least doubled.
Guo Shier said, “That’s quite good. With so many soul beads, it’s enough for us to use.”
The handsome old man smiled. “It’s enough for the three of you, but… if you go back home, it won’t be enough at all, unless you don’t want to train your family’s disciples. If you want to train them, you’ll need to work harder to get more soul beads.”
Guo Shier was stunned. “What do you mean?”
The handsome old man tempted him with a smile, “If you want your family’s disciples to advance quickly, then soul beads are the best thing.”
Guo Shier immediately understood. He had established the family only as a temporary measure, with no real intention of staying long, as he left almost immediately to search for his master Luo Jie and Grandpa Nanshan. He always felt guilty toward the family.
He said, “Well, let’s keep working hard. There’s still time for this war; we still have many chances.”
The handsome old man nodded in satisfaction. He was afraid that Guo Shier would be satisfied and stop collecting soul beads. After all, collecting professionals’ souls was a taboo act.
Guo Shier called out, “Uncle Luo, Uncle Eagle Demon, come in.”
Luo Zhan and Eagle Demon entered the tent. Without saying much, Guo Shier took out three soul beads and gave one to each of them, keeping one for himself. He said, “Don’t ask anything. Just swallow them.”
Luo Zhan and Eagle Demon trusted Guo Shier deeply. Without hesitation, they put the soul beads in their mouths. As soon as they did, the soul beads transformed into a warm current that flowed into their souls. They exclaimed in surprise and slowly sat down on the ground.
Guo Shier pressed the soul bead against his forehead, and in an instant, it was absorbed by his soul. Originally, after absorbing three soul beads, he would have to rest for a while, but due to the battles that had drained much of his spiritual energy, he took out another one to replenish himself.

Sitting in front of Luo Zhan and Eagle Demon, Guo Shier began to silently recite scriptures. A wave of spiritual energy spread out, causing Luo Zhan and Eagle Demon to immediately relax. The two were already accustomed to this kind of energy and knew it was extremely beneficial to their souls. The handsome old man also came over to enjoy this spiritual energy together.

It took a day and a night for Guo Shier to finish reciting the scriptures. This Soul Pearl was quite taxing on him; without the guidance of the spiritual scriptures, his soul would likely have become chaotic.

Luo Zhan exclaimed in delight, “Wow! My soul is ready for advancement. I… I can now construct my own Virtual Form Altar!”

Eagle Demon was equally overjoyed. He said, “Shier, what is this? It’s managed to greatly enhance my soul. If I had a few more of these… I think I could advance to a Real Form Altar!”

The handsome old man smiled proudly and said, “Regardless of what it is, as long as it can significantly improve the soul… you’d better keep it a secret. Otherwise… hehe.”

Guo Shier nodded and said, “Yeah, don’t ask. Just use it.” He didn’t want to reveal that these were souls of professionals he had collected, as that could easily lead to misunderstandings.

Eagle Demon laughed and said, “Luo, you’re advancing silently at a speed that’s catching up to mine. Hehe. Once you reach the Virtual Form Altar, you’ll be able to keep up with Shier.”

With three masters of altars, they could go anywhere in the world.

Luo Zhan’s face was filled with joy. He certainly understood that only by reaching the Virtual Form Altar could one truly stand at the pinnacle of professionals.

Nan You asked from outside, “Ancestor, may I come in?”

Guo Shier smiled and said, “Nan You, come in.”

Nan You entered and said, “An attack is about to begin. Ancestor Nan Qiang asked me to check if you want to go.”

Guo Shier replied, “Go!” Then he asked, “What task do you have for me?”

Nan You said, “The Gujin Family has sent two ancestor-level masters. Hehe, we’ve sent one as well. Your task is to keep one of them busy. If you can defeat them, even better.”

Guo Shier smiled and said, “No problem!” With so many Soul Pearls collected, he was in high spirits and agreed right away. Then he remembered another question and asked, “What level of altar are these masters?”

Nan You replied, “Two ancestor-level masters at the third-tier altar, hehe.”

Guo Shier nodded and said, “Good, let’s go together.” The group stepped out of the tent. Outside, there was a sea of people, with teams of professionals heading toward the battlefield.

Nan You said, “Neither side has time to construct defensive rune arrays, so this will likely be a fierce battle.”

Guo Shieru narrowed his eyes and gazed into the distance. After a while, he said, “We’re sure to win this battle. The enemy’s morale is completely broken; it’s hard for them to resist our army’s assault.” Though he didn’t understand warfare in this world, he knew some basic things—if an army lost its morale, it was hardly worth fearing.

Guo Shieru and Luo Zhan leaped onto their altars, while Eagle Demon and Nan You did the same with theirs. The professionals below showed expressions of awe and envy. Those who had reached the status of grand elders and clan elders were the top figures in their families, serving as the army’s most formidable deterrent force.

Nan You said, “Ancestor Nan Qiang is over there.”

Guo Shieru replied, “Let’s go.”

Ancestor Nan Qiang hovered in the air with five altar masters, seemingly discussing something. When he saw Guo Shieru approaching, he smiled. In this war, the newly recruited Guo Shieru had played a crucial role. As a professional with a two-layer altar, he had dared to challenge masters with three or four-layer altars and even won. Such potential and combat strength were rarely seen in Ancestor Nan Qiang’s lifetime.

Guo Shieru asked, “Ancestor Nan Qiang, whom should I hold back?”

Ancestor Nan Qiang smiled and said, “A newcomer named Jin Qingren, an ancestor with a three-layer altar.” He handed Guo Shieru a talisman and said, “Jin Qingren’s image is sealed inside this talisman. Take a look and you’ll know.”

Guo Shieru glanced at it. It was the image of an old man with a white beard, looking somewhat shabby with a sly grin on his face. He couldn’t help but say, “This guy… how can he have such character?”

Ancestor Nan Qiang replied, “He’s very cunning, using all sorts of tricky tactics. Be careful when facing him—he’s not actually that strong.”

Guo Shieru nodded and said, “Alright, leave it to me.”

Ancestor Nan Qiang added, “This time, we need to push all the way into their main camp. Beyond that is their main mining settlement. There’s basically no one there to stop our army. Oh, and when we reach the settlement, come find me.”

Guo Shieru was surprised. “Find you?”

Ancestor Nan Qiang laughed and said, “I’ll take a few people to their material warehouse. Hehe, come with us.”

Guo Shieru was overjoyed—this meant sharing the loot. He said, “Okay, I’ll come find you then.” He flew forward a distance using his altar. Eagle Demon and Nan You followed closely behind. Guo Shieru threw the talisman over and said, “You guys take a look at Jin Qingren’s image too. Let me know as soon as you see him.”

Take a look at Nan You and Eagle Demon Legend. Eagle Demon nodded and said, “Don’t worry. He should show up soon. The army is about to launch an attack.”
This time, it was the Rock Dragon Beast Army that struck first. From high above, Guo Shier could clearly see the Rock Dragons of the entire army forming a conical formation as they rushed toward the enemy camp. After a quick glance, he realized that out of the original hundred Rock Dragons, only over eighty remained—dozens had been lost in the battle the day before.
Boom!
When the Rock Dragon army reached the enemy’s defense line, the Gu Nan family’s army launched a full-scale attack, advancing rapidly alongside them.
Countless spears and talisman arrows were thrown from the Gu Jin family’s positions, falling like rain. Numerous talisman lights flashed—these were the defensive spells cast by professionals, capable of blocking talisman arrows but barely resisting spear attacks. Of course, this also depended on an individual’s strength. Spear attacks had no effect on Grand Masters or Supreme Saints, as they could still protect those around them.Mad Masters could fend for themselves, but masters-level profes… Crazy Masters could fend for themselves, but masters-level professionals… Masters could fend for themselves, but masters-level professionals were in greater danger; a slight mistake could result in severe injuries.
A moment later, the two armies clashed. From high above, the battlefield chaos was clearly visible, with waves of blood mist rising where the armies met. Professionals were much stronger than ordinary people and fought even more ferociously. In an instant, many fell, and a stench of blood filled the air, detectable even by Guo Shier and the others from above.
Old Shuai poked his head out and said excitedly, “What a fragrant smell… I can smell it…”
Guo Shier’s face twisted in annoyance. “Fragrant? It’s the smell of blood! It’s not roasted chicken—where’s the fragrance?”
Nan You said, “They’re here!”
Talisman lights flashed on the horizon, and soon, a group of Altar Masters appeared above the battlefield. Guo Shier said, “It’s our turn to go in!” Talisman lights flashed on their side as well, and the prepared Gu Nan family’s Altar Masters teleported out immediately, and the two sides clashed.
Eagle Demon shouted, “The Jin Qing people are over there!”
Guo Shier’s altar flashed briefly, appearing about a hundred meters in front of the Jin Qing people’s altar. He shouted, “Hey, old man, you’re mine…”
Old Shuai was displeased and said, “You already have one old man—you don’t need a second one!”
Guo Shier almost fell off his altar. He said helplessly, “Old Shuai… are you jealous?”
Old Shuai cursed, “You’re the one who’s jealous! You… you drive me crazy!” Suddenly enraged, his golden spear appeared, turning into a golden streak that pierced forward fiercely.