Chapter 3: Pursuit (Part 2)

Guo Shier entered the room and sat down. Ao De and Ao Bao exchanged a glance. Though they didn’t get along, they both felt fear toward Guo Shier. Guo Shier said, “Alright, sit down. By the way, Ao Bao, do you have anything that Ao De is trying to get back?”
Ao Bao let out a long sigh. He took out an object the size of a palm and said, “It’s this. If my lord desires it, I’ll give it to him.” He was quite bold—realizing he couldn’t keep it, he simply gave it to Guo Shier.
Ao De’s face turned extremely embarrassed. He was so angry his face turned blue, but he dared not speak.
Guo Shier reached out and took it, surprised to find it was a piece of jade, about the size of a palm, with a faint green hue. The jade was smooth and its shape resembled a wild beast, as if it had been often handled—a truly beautiful piece of jade. He asked, “Is it just this? Is there any story behind it?”
Ao Bao replied, “This is a spirit jade I obtained by chance. I don’t know what use it has, but carrying it makes me feel very comfortable…”
Guo Shier played with the jade. The term “spirit jade” was his translation. He turned his gaze to Ao De and asked, “Why did you try to steal this spirit jade?”
Ao De smiled bitterly. “This spirit jade… I suspect it came from Bai Yuan…”
Guo Shier said, “Bai Yuan? Hmm…” He suddenly remembered the Battle of Bai Yuan and asked, “Is it the Bai Yuan mentioned in the legends of that great battle?”
Ao De nodded. “Yes, that’s the Bai Yuan. Everyone here knows that from Bai Yuan… one can obtain extremely precious ancient treasures. I suspect… this spirit jade is one such ancient treasure.”
Ao Bao said, “Nonsense! How could this possibly be something from Bai Yuan?”
Ao De glanced at him disdainfully and said, “So you’re just an ignorant fool. Even if good things are in your hands, they’re useless.”
Guo Shier threw the spirit jade back to Ao De and said, “What use does it have? Take a look for yourself.”
Ao De had always wanted to get this spirit jade, but getting it under these circumstances left him without any sign of pleasure. After examining it carefully for a while, he smiled bitterly and shook his head. “I’ve only heard that… ancient things obtained from Bai Yuan are extremely precious antiques that can fetch high prices, but what use they have… I don’t know.” With that, he returned the spirit jade to Guo Shier.

Guo Shier thought for a moment before saying, “Let’s stop here. The item is now in my hands. I won’t bully you anymore. I’ll give you some compensation.” With a wave of his hand, two pieces of talisman beast fur appeared on the ground—both from lower-tier talisman beasts. Carefully processed, these furs were quite unique in this world.

Aode and Aobao were both half-businessmen. Upon seeing such extraordinary talisman beast furs, they were stunned. The furs in this world weren’t this delicate or magnificent. Both pieces were a strange dark blue color. They weren’t whole but rather sections taken from the backs of the beasts, about two square meters each, covering the best parts of the fur.

The two stopped paying attention to the spiritual jade. They were shrewd individuals, and these furs had a huge impact on them. Each held a piece of fur, smiling so widely their eyes were barely visible. Although Aobao still felt a bit resentful—having thought he could keep it all for himself—Aode had taken a piece from him.

Guo Shier said, “Go outside first. I need some quiet time.”

Aode stood up and replied, “Yes.” He turned to leave but didn’t actually go away. Instead, he waited outside the door. Having obtained one such piece of fur, he believed he still had a chance to get a second and third. In his eyes, such furs were absolutely priceless.

Aobao still feared Aode, as Aode had a group of subordinates. If he went outside and got beaten, it would be a huge loss for him. He trudged to the door and glanced back at Guo Shier.

Guo Shier waslooking down looking at the spiritual jade, lost in thought, so he didn’t notice Aobao’s hesitation.

Aobao sighed and left with the fur in his arms. He had no choice but to take a risk. If Aode dared to attack him, he planned to shout loudly, which would surely attract Guo Shier’s attention. So as soon as he stepped outside, he sat down by the door to wait. He wasn’t stupid enough to go far away.

Aode also sat by the door. The two faced each other. Though they weren’t glaring at each other, they also didn’t show any kindness.

Only after the two left did Guo Shier turn his attention back to the spiritual jade. He instinctively felt that there was something wrong with it, but he couldn’t identify the issue yet. He needed to study it carefully. That’s why he sent the two away and invited the old man to take a look together.

The handsome old man poked his head out from Guo Shier’s shoulder; if anyone else were present, they would surely be terrified. He stretched out his hand, and the spiritual jade fell into it. After examining it carefully, he said, “What a strange kind of jade… it’s very different from talisman jade. Hmm, let me try the power of a talisman.” He cast a talisman on the spiritual jade.

Guo Shier said, “No reaction. Let me try the power of the soul.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the handsome old man had already infused the spiritual jade with soul power. Instantly, a dazzling light flashed, and the jade underwent a sudden change. The handsome old man exclaimed in surprise, “Wow! Kid, take over quickly… This jade can absorb soul power. Uh…” Almost instantly, the solid body of the handsome old man began to fade away, scaring Guo Shier into quickly reaching out to grab the spiritual jade.

In just an instant, the jade absorbed a quarter of the handsome old man’s soul power, nearly causing his soul body to collapse. As Guo Shier held the jade, his own soul power also rushed into it, leaving him astonished, “Damn, it’s terrifying…” He took out a handful of soul beads and swallowed them quickly to replenish his depleted soul power.

The handsome old man cursed under his breath and quickly returned to the altar, where he also took out soul beads to restore his own soul body. Unlike Guo Shier, he relied entirely on his soul—his body was his soul, and his soul was his body. Any loss to his soul would mean severe damage to him.

Guo Shier’s face gradually turned pale. He decisively cut off the transmission of soul power, and the jade dimmed. He cursed, “Damn it! It absorbed so much soul power yet still isn’t full…” He swallowed two more handfuls of soul beads before starting to chant silently to calm and replenish his depleted soul.

It took two hours before Guo Shier and the handsome old man recovered. The handsome old man poked his head out again, still shaken, and said, “There’s something strange about this jade—it wasn’t formed naturally… When I infused it with soul power, I had a feeling that with enough soul power, I might be able to get something from it… But I didn’t dare continue. If I had lost half of my soul body just now, I would really have become a dead old man.”

Guo Shier remained silent for a moment before infusing soul power into the jade once more. This time he was extremely careful, slowing down the infusion rate to avoid falling into a passive situation.

The handsome old man stared at the jade, filled with doubt. He said, “What the hell is this thing? How can it absorb so much soul power, even a small portion of the soul… It’s unbelievable. Not even in the world of talismans does such a jade exist…”

Throughout the entire night, until dawn broke, Guo Shier and the old man Shuai finally activated the spiritual jade. In an instant, a massive amount of information flooded into Guo Shier’s mind, leaving him stunned.

Noticing Guo Shier’s unusual expression, the old man Shuai asked anxiously, “What’s wrong?”

Guo Shier handed the spiritual jade to the old man Shuai and said, “Input some soul power…” Then he began to process the information he had received with all his might.

The old man Shuai input some soul power, and this time the spiritual jade did not greedily absorb it, as if it had already been satisfied. When his soul power lightly touched the jade, a huge amount of information surged into his soul. He exclaimed in surprise, “Wow…”

After both of them processed the information from the jade, they looked at each other in silence. After a while, Guo Shier said, “There’s already a ready-made passage… but it’s too dangerous. Let’s go back and find Brother Li Ran.”

The old man Shuai replied, “Go back now? Forget it. They’re probably refining a way to break through the barrier and hiding in some safe place. Even if you send a message token, they might not respond. Let’s go back in half a year… We could check out Baiyuan. Hehe, I never expected this spiritual jade to be a key that allows us to enter the passage.”

Guo Shier said, “Yes, I never would have thought that even in the high-end martial worlds of the small world, there are countless intelligent beings trying to break through. This must be a mature passage, but it’s extremely dangerous.”

The old man Shuai said, “According to the records, there are many checkpoints. I wonder if our strength is enough to pass through them.”

Guo Shier thought carefully for a moment before saying with a wry smile, “I don’t know if we can use this ancient passage. It’s strange—we never knew about it before. The paths Brother Li Ran took required forced passage, with very slim chances of success. With this ancient passage… things might be very different.”

The old man Shuai said, “I think this is the real way to leave the small world. Hmm, I wonder how much longer it will take them to refine the barrier… It’s a pity we never knew about such a path.”

Guo Shier agreed, “Yes, we’ve spent too much energy and time taking detours.”

The old man Shuai asked, “What about those two?”

Guo Shier replied, “What else can we do? I don’t want to kill them, and they pose no threat to us. Let’s rest here until the time to gather and relax… We might never see the small world again.”

The old man Shuai nodded. “Mm, the last small world, hehe.”

Guo Shier said, “Let’s rest for a few days first, then try the Spirit Jade again. I always feel… we’ve only seen part of it.”
Aode and Aobao still stood outside the door, both looking uneasy. At this point, they were filled with doubts. The only thing that intrigued them was the item Guo Shier had brought out—it was extremely delicate and beautiful. It was obvious without further thought that such a piece was priceless.
Both of them wanted more such treasures, so not only would they not leave, but they also resolved to follow Guo Shier. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and as part merchants, they definitely wouldn’t miss it.
“Aobao, Aode, come in!”
The two exchanged a glance and rushed into the room at the same time.