Chapter 10: Xingji Continent (Part 2)

A faint smile appeared on Pang Guang’s face as he stepped forward and bowed. “Senior Grand Talisman Martial Artist, inner disciple of Haimen, Pang Guang. Just call me Old Pang.”
Guo Shier quickly imitated his gesture and bowed. “Junior Talisman Saint, Guo Shier.”
Monier remained silent, watching curiously. Eagle Demon stepped forward and said, “Junior Talisman Martial Saint, Eagle Demon.”
Pang Guang was taken aback. He hadn’t expected both Guo Shier and Eagle Demon to be saints. Saints held a certain status in the sect—unlike masters or mad masters, who could only take ordinary tasks, leaving them with little chance to participate in important sect activities.
Xuan Ai said, “Alright, let’s continue with our mission. Shier, I’ll come back when we pass through the checkpoint later. Hehe, you guys won’t need to check then.”
Guo Shier was overjoyed. With Xuan Ai around, infiltrating the Advanced Continent seemed feasible. He said, “Okay, I’ll wait for you.”
Xuan Ai and Pang Guang flew back to the inspection vehicle to resume their work.
Guo Shier whispered, “What good luck! We even met a disciple from Haimen.”
Eagle Demon said, “Yeah. I didn’t expect Xuan Ai to be from here. I wonder which Advanced Continent Zhou Xiaoling and the others are from. Maybe we’ll get the chance to meet them someday—having an acquaintance… after all, it’s different.”
Monier asked, “Baby, did you meet him in that secret realm last time?”
Guo Shier nodded. “Yes, that bloody secret realm. It was full of trial disciples from the Advanced Continent. We formed a small team, and he was one of them.”
Monier said envyingly, “No wonder the professionals from the Advanced Continent are so strong. They can exchange knowledge and learn from each other. Professionals from the Intermediate Talisman Continent rarely interact; it’s all about life-and-death battles, making it hard for them to advance to the Advanced Continent… Our Chenxiao Sect’s professionals don’t have such opportunities.”
Guo Shier nodded. “The Advanced Continent has more opportunities and more experts, so their living conditions are much better than ours.”
Eagle Demon laughed. “At Beifu Gate, if a few saints lead them, the barbarians outside the Wildman Pass are nothing to worry about. But without advanced professionals, the threat of those barbarians consumes most of Beifu Gate’s strength.”
Monier asked curiously, “What barbarians?”
Guo Shier explained, and Monier couldn’t help but laugh. “So there are still uncivilized natives left in Beifu Gate? No wonder it can’t develop.”

The Eagle Demon shook his head and said, “Reaching the master level means being on the top-tier professional continent. Their strength is far too weak. I didn’t realize it before, but now I understand just how powerful professionals really are.” He had witnessed Li Ran and Chou Mo’s strength firsthand and knew they were the true top-tier professionals.

Guo Shier said, “We’re like frogs in a well. That’s exactly what we are.”

The sea ship moved slowly. It took over an hour before it approached the entrance to the secret realm. There was a significant difference in elevation between the seas of the Secret Realm and those of the Core Foundation Continent, forming a waterfall about ten meters high. Every sea ship had to rely on the power of spells to cross it. Guo Shier and the others watched curiously.

The sea ship entered a box-shaped dam. With the help of spell power, the seawater was pushed aside until it reached the water level of the Core Foundation Continent’s ocean, after which the other end of the dam was opened to allow the ship to exit. It was almost identical to the dams Guo Shier had seen in his past life, but even simpler and more convenient. The power of the spells was strong enough to achieve such a result.

Looking at the waterfall several kilometers wide behind them, Guo Shier couldn’t help but exclaim, “Amazing!”

At that moment, Xuan Ai flew over alone and landed at the bow of the ship. He smiled and said, “I specifically asked for leave to come with you to Sea City.”

Guo Shier was delighted. “That’s great! Thank you.” With Xuan Ai around, many troubles could be avoided. After all, they were not familiar with the higher-tier continents, and having an acquaintance to help would prevent any accidents.

Xuan Ai was very loyal. Ever since he had received help from Guo Shier in the Land of Bloodshed and successfully advanced, he had felt indebted, so he had taken special leave to accompany Guo Shier.

Once the sea ship entered the ocean of the Core Foundation Continent, it immediately set sail toward the distance.

Six or seven hours later, Guo Shier and the others saw a dark line on the horizon—the coastline of the Core Foundation Continent.

The crew cheered. They were finally home. After being away for nearly half a year and on a journey to the secret realm that could earn enough money for their family’s living expenses for two years, how could they not be excited? As long as they returned safely, the effort wouldn’t have been in vain. Sea transportation carried both rewards and risks; who knew if they would be able to return alive next time?

Xuan Ai also smiled and said, “Shier, do you all have your identification? You’ll need to register when we land.”

Guo Shier’s heart skipped a beat. Where could he get any identification? Did he have to show the identity token of the Chenxiao Sect? That was a sect from the Intermediate Spell Continent; it wouldn’t be recognized by the Higher Spell Continent. He quickly thought of a solution and said with a smile, “Sorry, Xuan Ai. I’ve left the sect. I’m now alone, so… I don’t have an identity token.”

Xuan Ai was very surprised: “Huh? A genius like you… would even be abandoned by your sect? How is that possible?”
Guo Shier looked extremely distressed and said, “What’s impossible about it? It’s just abandonment!” Eagle Demon tightly pressed his lips, staying silent, but the smile in his eyes was hard to hide, so he had to lower his head.
Monier’s lips curled upward as her face turned slightly red. She didn’t expect the kid to be such a good liar. Looking at his serious little face, she couldn’t help but laugh.
Xuan Ai said cheerfully, “There’s actually such a stupid sect. Haha, Shier, join our Hai Men! I’ll introduce you.”
Guo Shier shook his head repeatedly. Come on, if he joined Hai Men, he would have to reveal his original sect. Where could he find such a sect?
Xuan Ai immediately lost interest. Puzzled, he asked, “Hai Men is a major sect. What’s not to your satisfaction?”
Guo Shier gave a mysterious look and said, “I’m not considering joining for now. I want to explore more secret realms, collect more materials, meet more people, learn more about secret realms and the continent, and kill more mutated beasts. Once I’m tired… then I’ll find a sect to join.” His list of “more” things left Xuan Ai dizzy.
Monier burst into laughter.
Eagle Demon turned to the ship’s edge. He too couldn’t hold back his laughter, knowing Guo Shier was talking nonsense again.
Xuan Ai shook his head gloomily and said, “Well, since you refuse to join, forget it. But… if you get tired out there, I can introduce you to Hai Men. How about that?”
Guo Shier smiled and said, “No problem with that.” As for whether he would actually join or not, that was another matter. It was uncertain whether he could return after leaving the Xinji Continent, so agreeing now wouldn’t cost him anything, so he agreed readily.
Xuan Ai nodded and dropped the topic. He said, “Then you can register as wandering professionals.”
Guo Shier was surprised. “Wandering professionals?”
Xuan Ai replied, “That’s right. Wandering professionals don’t need any identity proof; as long as they’re professionals, it’s fine.”
Guo Shier breathed a huge sigh of relief. At least he didn’t need identity proof after all. Then Xuan Ai added, “Wandering professionals… have a low status and are often bullied. But if they have strength at the level of a Saint Master or above, it’s much better. Ideally, reaching the level of a Great Saint Master would solve all problems.”
With the strength of a Great Saint Master, one would be a core member even in the sects of the higher continents. Guo Shier understood why professionals from the Intermediate Spell Continent tried to advance to Great Saint Master status in order to enter the higher continents.

Sea ships gradually gathered in the waterway, one after another preparing to enter the port, with the silhouettes of buildings in the distance faintly visible. Flocks of seabirds flew behind the ships, emitting continuous cries. On the ships, the noise was even louder, filled with laughter and chatter.

Excitement, enthusiasm, and joy are contagious. Unconsciously, Guo Shier and the others also wore cheerful smiles, and that feeling could be summed up in one sentence: “It’s great to be home!”

Xuan Ai said, “We’ll be there soon. We don’t have to enter the port with the sea ships; we can leave first!”

Guo Shier hurriedly said, “Wait!” He waved to call over a crew member, gave him a few instructions, and the crew member rushed off to the cabin. Moments later, Qi Nanshan came out. His complexion wasn’t good—he had been hiding in his cabin for a long time and rarely showed himself. Guo Shier was surprised and asked, “Grandpa Nanshan, what’s wrong?”

Qi Nanshan shook his head and said, “Nothing!” In fact, he had felt unwell shortly after boarding the ship. At first it was fine, but later it became extremely uncomfortable. He didn’t realize it was a symptom of seasickness and had suppressed it with the power of his strong talismans, which made his complexion look terrible.

Guo Shier said, “We’re going ashore.”

Qi Nanshan perked up and said, “Good!” He was eager to leave.

Xiao Cheng came over specially and said, “Master Qi, Master Mo, Master Ying, Master Guo… Thank you! Thank you! If you ever have the chance to visit my home, hehe, let my wife prepare some special dishes for you all.” He gave them his address, though he knew these professionals might not come.

Guo Shier also expressed gratitude on behalf of everyone. Xiao Cheng smiled and said, “We’re really lucky this time. In the Xinji Archipelago… there’s a strong wind now, and there’s a storm in the nearby deep sea. Hehe, we just managed to leave the secret realm; otherwise, things would have gotten very troublesome.”

Guo Shier didn’t mind and nodded. “Then we’ll take our leave.” The four of them flew toward the port city of Haicheng under Xuan Ai’s lead.

…

Ao Kuang, along with three Great Sage Masters and ten Sage Masters, had already tracked them to the sea. This guy was truly powerful, always staying on the right track. Since Guo Shier and the others weren’t aware that their whereabouts had been exposed, they flew without any concealment. Even after many days, he still managed to find clues.

That day, Ao Kuang flew at sea with his subordinates. After a long period of tracking, he had calmed down somewhat, but the cold glint in his eyes still made his subordinates tremble with fear.

Ao Kuang suddenly hovered in midair, took out a small talisman disk, and calculated carefully. With a cold laugh, he said, “It’s getting clearer… Hehe, I wonder where you can run to!” Before his words faded, the sky suddenly darkened, a cyan-white light flashed by, followed by a thunderclap. The talisman disk in his hand began to flicker wildly. He screamed, “Damn it, heaven! No…!” A lightning bolt struck straight at the talisman disk in his hand. With a loud explosion, a blinding light flashed. Ao Kuang threw away the talisman disk and teleported away, reappearing hundreds of meters away. The talisman disk had already been shattered into pieces. Raindrops fell suddenly, and in the blink of an eye, it turned into a downpour. Ao Kuang’s eyes turned red. His enemies hadn’t even caught up to him yet, and he had already been defeated by heaven—how frustrating! Volume 14: Continental Turmoil