Chapter 3: The Refining Cauldron (Part 2)

A moment later, Guo Shier had inserted the Soul-Nourishing Wood and Spirit-Storing Wood into the cauldron. In an instant, an ancient rune depicting the character for “soul” appeared on its surface. He continued to create hundreds of such “soul” runes before stopping to proceed with other refining steps.

As more and more ancient runes entered the cauldron, the old man with a handsome appearance laughed, “We’ve spent a fortune this time—haha! These are all ancient runes made from extremely precious materials… quite extravagant. But their power should be immense too. Once we activate the rune array later, these ancient runes will be able to exert great effects.”

Guo Shier frowned and said, “It’s not enough—far from it. I miscalculated; I didn’t expect to need so many materials.”

The old man replied, “As long as we succeed, it’s all worth it.”

Not only were large amounts of materials being consumed, but the Spirit Essence Beads collected earlier were also being used up rapidly. Fortunately, he had gathered a huge number of them. In the blink of an eye, Guo Shier had used tens of thousands of Spirit Essence Beads—something that would have been impossible in the past.

The old man sighed, “Even in our era, no professional would dare to use so many Spirit Essence Beads. Even with the support of an ancient family, it would be unsustainable.”

A professional at the first-tier altar level only needed dozens of sacrifices. Those at the sixth-tier altar level required only six or seven hundred Spirit Essence Beasts as sacrifices—by no means tens of thousands. When refining a sacred treasure, twenty or thirty Spirit Essence Beads were usually sufficient. So, seeing Guo Shier use tens of thousands at once, the old man was utterly astonished.

Guo Shier said, “Old Man Shuai, if I can complete the refinement of this sacred treasure, I plan to transform it into my life sacred treasure.”

The old man nodded. “There’s no problem with that. I also think this sacred treasure is the truly powerful weapon. Anyway, you’re not afraid of damaging your soul—just replenish it in time.” It was difficult for altar-level professionals to transform their life sacred treasures, as it required sacrificing their souls. But Guo Shier was different; he could directly consume Spirit Essence Beads and organize them using soul scriptures, so he wasn’t worried about any problems.

Guo Shier nodded. “After the refinement is complete, I’ll first immerse it in my soul to nurture it. Once it’s fully integrated with my soul, I’ll transform it into my life sacred treasure.”

As countless ancient runes entered the cauldron, the entire cauldron emitted dazzling lights. Each ancient rune glowed and flickered, as if countless spots of light were shimmering on its surface and moving around it, like schools of fish drifting and gathering unpredictably.

Two days later, Guo Shier and the old man began working together to arrange the talisman arrays. This was a crucial step—Guo Shier used a large amount of Anluo Stone to create a vast space inside the cauldron. Countless spells were cast; tens of thousands of virtual talismans were deployed. After three days of refining the arrays, they used over a hundred thousand talismans of various sizes, layered upon each other—not only on the cauldron body but also on its feet, handles, and lid.

The old man sighed, “There are already 3,600 basic talisman arrays, not counting the duplicates, plus 7,200 auxiliary arrays. This thing is going to be insane.”

Guo Shier inspected the space inside the cauldron and smiled, “I divided it up. There are 36 super-large spaces. Hehe, now there’s enough room to store things.”

The old man covered his forehead and said, “You maniac who collects everything! Other than caring about space size, I don’t see you showing much interest in anything else.”

Guo Shier chuckled, “Yeah, that’s just a poor person’s habit.”

The old man was puzzled, “Poor person? What nonsense! Professionals can never be poor. No matter how down and out they are, they’re not poor. In this world, even the lowest-level professionals aren’t poor.” So the old man couldn’t understand at all. He had no idea that Guo Shier’s habit of being poor came from his past life.

Unable to explain, Guo Shier cheerfully changed the subject, “It’s almost done. I’ll give it a try first.”

The old man said, “Okay, it’s basically complete. You can add more things later, once you reach the eighth level of the altar.”

After the refinement, the cauldron turned a deep red, with layers of talisman arrays appearing on its surface. Countless runes moved within them, emitting various colors, making it look extremely magnificent.

Guo Shier shook his head slightly. He didn’t like such a showy cauldron. In his mind, a cauldron should be steady and grand. But with his current capabilities, this was the best he could do. Maybe he would have another chance to refine it in the future.

The old man warned, “Be careful the first time you retrieve sacrificial treasures. The talisman arrays aren’t fully coordinated yet. As you collect the treasures, you need to adjust the arrays constantly.”

Guo Shier said, “Don’t worry, I know.”

A few spells were cast, and the cauldron floating in the air began to tremble slightly. As virtual talismans were inserted, the huge cauldron started to shrink. The old man watched anxiously. If control was lost at this moment, it was possible for the sacrificial treasures to collapse, so he was extremely nervous.

Guo Shier controlled it with extreme care, occasionally casting dummy talismans to adjust the talisman array inside the cauldron. The cauldron was gradually shrinking. This was different from using sacrificial treasures; one had to be extremely cautious at this stage, slowly adapting to control it with one’s soul—neither too much nor too little power. Sweat beads appeared on Guo Shier’s forehead. He hadn’t expected obtaining a sacrificial treasure to be so difficult.

Guo Shier said, “Elder Shuai, it would be best to have a natural rune… a soul rune. It would be great if we could get one, but alas…”

Elder Shuai replied, “A natural soul rune… We once had one. I put it in the altar. We can look for it again when we have the chance.”

Guo Shier couldn’t help but smile bitterly. Natural runes were extremely rare, only able to be born in this world. They were even rarer than soul beasts, usually only obtainable by luck.

The cauldron, originally over ten meters tall, gradually shrank to just over a meter high, with blinding light flashing. Elder Shuai knew it was a critical moment. He kept giving soft reminders, almost unable to resist reaching in several times, but ultimately held back. If he intervened, it would mean he could also share this sacrificial treasure, which would be very disadvantageous for Guo Shier.

A beeping sound arose, as if something had shattered. Sweat streamed down Guo Shier’s forehead. Elder Shuai said, “It’s okay, it’s okay… Keep going, keep going…”

Guo Shier instinctively felt that this cauldron was very important to him. He cast spells even more carefully, gradually controlling the rotation of the talisman array.

When the cauldron shrank to the size of a fist, Guo Shier finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, “It’s done!”

Elder Shuai laughed and said, “Congratulations! This should be your first sacrificial treasure refined by yourself… Amazing! Even professionals at the seventh-tier altar haven’t refined their first sacrificial treasure yet. Haha.”

Relieved, Guo Shier couldn’t help but retort with a smile, “Old man, are you insulting me or praising me?”

Elder Shuai replied, “Of course I’m insulting you. When have I ever praised you?”

Guo Shier said, “I knew it. You never have kind words. Hmph.” He opened his mouth and sucked in the cauldron, which spun around once before turning into a streak of light and vanishing into his mouth. The two of them often bickered when they had free time, and it had become routine for them. If Elder Shuai didn’t say a few mocking words, Guo Shier would even feel uncomfortable.

The handsome old man was very happy. Arguing with Guo Shier was a pleasure for him. He said, “Alright, you can develop the functions of the cauldron in your soul by yourself. I won’t get involved anymore. Ugh, I’m exhausted. I’ll go organize the materials… Every time you take some materials, you mess up the Hidden Talisman Space, forcing me to tidy it up again. What a hassle!”
Guo Shier smiled slightly and immediately focused his attention on his soul. He saw a cauldron floating within his soul, and his own soul was slowly merging into it. He began to adjust the talisman array bit by bit, fixing the mistakes he had made earlier.
Half an hour later, Guo Shier let out a sigh of relief and said, “This is what real success looks like… By the way, handsome old man, come out for a moment.”
The handsome old man poked his head out and asked, “What?”
Guo Shier said, “Pick out a hundred Spirit Soul Beads for me… No, just throw them into the cauldron. I want to test its effects.”
The handsome old man replied, “No problem. Just bring out the cauldron.”
Guo Shier spat out the cauldron, pointed at it, and it spun around before transforming into a tiny cauldron about a foot square. Guo Shier said, “Alright. Pick out a hundred Spirit Soul Beads—forty of them should be from mutated birds, and the rest from alienized talisman beasts… Hmm, use ten Spirit Soul Beads from mutated talisman beasts. Their level shouldn’t be too high; I’m just conducting an experiment.”
A hundred Spirit Soul Beads flew into the cauldron. Guo Shier cast a spell, and the cauldron immediately began to glow. Illusory Spirit Beast creatures appeared, running or flying around its sides, roaring with fierce expressions, yet no sound could be heard. Guo Shier exclaimed in joy, “Haha, it worked!”
The handsome old man asked, “How many more Spirit Soul Beads are needed?”
Guo Shier grinned and said, “Hmm, five hundred will suffice!” He added, “I need the strongest Spirit Souls—the higher the level, the better.”
The handsome old man didn’t ask further and immediately started selecting the beads, dropping them one by one into the cauldron.
The cauldron trembled, emitting clear ringing sounds. As more and more Spirit Soul Beads were added, Guo Shier cast spells to lift the seals. Once those beads fell into the cauldron, they instantly turned into Spirit Beast creatures, struggling and roaring inside. Numerous virtual talismans then entered their bodies. In a short while, five hundred Spirit Soul Beads had been added, resulting in five hundred Spirit Beast creatures in the cauldron.
These five hundred Spirit Beast creatures, along with the hundred already inside, made a total of six hundred, all completely subdued by the cauldron and becoming part of its power.
Guo Shier’s face showed extreme joy as he said, “Hehe, now I can test just how powerful this cauldron really is!”