Chapter 2: Fierce Thunderstorms (Part 2)

Zhou Xiaoling vented her anger and felt much better. She hadn’t used much force—had she really gone all out, a single punch would have killed that heavily patterned big cat.
Guo Shier burst into laughter. He saw the big cat holding its head, lying on the ground, crying out in pain one after another, while Zhou Xiaoling gradually softened her blows. Despite being over three meters long, the cat was beaten like a kitten. Zhou Xiaoling couldn’t continue beating it, so she grabbed its neck and dragged it over. The cat kept crying out, its four paws flailing on the grass as it was reluctantly dragged along.
Zhou Xiaoling patted the cat’s head and said, “Dare you attack again? Hmph, no sense at all. Remember this! Next time you see people, stay far away!” With each pat, the cat’s head dipped lower—it was quite amusing.
Luo Zhan said, “Poor thing. It dared to provoke our Dingding.”
Guo Shier said, “Let’s fly a bit further ahead to see what’s going on here.” He flew low over the grass. Eagle Demon shouted, “Dingding, let’s go!”
Zhou Xiaoling said, “Forget it. I’ll spare your life.” She flew away as well. The big cat, as if granted amnesty, darted into the bushes and never dared show itself again. In its eyes, Zhou Xiaoling was absolutely a terrifying existence.
The four of them flew quickly across the vast grassland. There seemed to be no signs of people. After flying for a long time, it was still just an endless expanse of grassland. Guo Shier said dejectedly, “This might be a closed secret realm. If there’s an entrance or exit, we should be able to find traces left by people.”
Among professionals, a closed secret realm was known as a death zone, generally holding no value for exploration. Such a realm might develop into a new continent or gradually decline into a desolate place.
After flying for a while, Guo Shier stopped and said, “Let’s leave here. Wait for me.”
In the inherited memories, there were many coordinates for secret realms and continents, but they were in complete disarray with no explanations. Only whether it was a continent or a secret realm was indicated—no other information was provided. This made it difficult for Guo Shier to choose, and at least two-thirds of the coordinates were unusable.
Now, compared to when they first escaped, there were three times as many usable coordinates, which still made it hard for Guo Shier to decide. He had already discussed with the others to avoid staying on continents as much as possible and instead head to secret realms, ideally finding ones with hidden passages, which would provide more options.

After searching for a long time, Guo Shier found an unremarkable coordinate. He said, “Try this coordinate; maybe there will be a change.” He activated the Cross-Dimensional Talisman and stepped through, with the other three hurriedly following.

As soon as they stepped out of the talisman portal, a bolt of lightning struck.

Crack! Boom…

Guo Shier was terrified and fell to the ground—it was an instinctive reaction. The lightning struck a rock not far away, causing it to explode with a loud roar. The thunderous sound shook Guo Shier deeply. Eagle Demon, Luo Zhan, and Zhou Xiaoling were also knocked to the ground by the shock.

With another boom, another bolt of lightning hit the nearly vanished talisman portal.

Guo Shier was dizzy from the shock. He was horrified to realize that the Cross-Dimensional Talisman could no longer be used.

Dark clouds rolled, heavy rain poured down, and one bolt of lightning after another flashed in the clouds. The thunder was like a dense network of electricity, striking continuously. The four of them lay in the muddy ground, their eyes filled with terror.

Eagle Demon shouted, “Shier, activate the Cross-Dimensional Talisman! Let’s get out of here!”

Guo Shier smiled bitterly. “We can’t leave… I can’t activate it now!”

Eagle Demon’s expression changed instantly. He said, “We’d better leave here. The lightning is too intense.”

Guo Shier said, “Let’s go!” He raised the Qinglian Talisman. Since ascending to the rank of Great Sage Master, the Qinglian Talisman had also changed slightly, but there hadn’t been time to refine it again. For now, it was still sufficient for protection.

All four raised their own defenses and braved the fierce wind, rain, lightning, and thunder as they headed deeper into the secret realm.

Water flowed everywhere on the ground, forming rivers. The low trees were all submerged in water, with their thick roots exposed beneath. None of the trees here were taller than five meters, but their trunks were extremely thick, looking quite strange—like winter melons standing on the ground. Guo Shier saw a slightly taller tree struck by lightning, instantly breaking and catching fire before being extinguished by the heavy rain.

When lightning struck the ground or trees, arcs of electricity spread everywhere, glowing brightly. Guo Shier felt that the lightning here was different from what he had seen in his past life—there was a strange sensation. Just then, a bolt of lightning struck him directly. He didn’t have time to dodge, and it hit the protective barrier formed by the Qinglian Talisman.

Boom!

Guo Shier didn’t realize the lightning could be so powerful. He was instantly thrown into the water, stunned beyond measure. It took him a while to recover. Eagle Demon rushed over and pulled him out of the water. Guo Shier mumbled, “Damn! I got struck by lightning!”

Fortunately, he was already a Great Sage Master, and the Qinglian Talisman was strong enough. If it had been shattered, Guo Shier knew well that although he wouldn’t die, he would surely be injured.

After some thought, Guo Shier said, “If we’re in the water… maybe lightning won’t reach us!”
With their abilities, the four of them could move quickly whether in water or on land. Eagle Demon said decisively, “Then let’s follow the current. Everyone, get in the water.”
After being struck by lightning, Guo Shier also felt a bit fearful. He dived into the water first, but he didn’t need to swim like in his past life—after all, he was a professional, and he had ways. He used virtual talismans to form a fish-shaped shield, twisted his body slightly, and shot forward through the water, as agile as a large fish.
Eagle Demon smiled bitterly. “This is something I can’t learn!” He was a Talisman-Warrior, and although he could use some virtual talismans, he couldn’t compare to those who specialized in spells. As a Talisman-Warrior, his strength was also unmatched by spellcasters. With just a few strokes of his arms and legs, his speed in the water was no less than Guo Shier’s.
The four of them grew excited in the water; playing in the water felt great. The continuous lightning in the sky and the thunderous booms made it difficult to stay submerged—anytime their heads broke the surface, the shocking noise would shake their souls, causing great discomfort.
Following the direction of the river, the four of them moved swiftly through the water. The current was fast, and in less than half a day, the smaller rivers merged into one massive river. They couldn’t see the banks at all; the water was vast and boundless, dozens of times wider than the Yangtze River in Guo Shier’s hometown from his past life.
The rain gradually weakened, and the clouds rose. Although there was still lightning and thunder, it was much less intense than before.
Guo Shier shot up from the water and hovered above it, saying, “Alright, let’s fly close to the surface.” Thanks to the virtual talismans protecting him, he remained dry.
With splashing water, Eagle Demon also flew up, saying, “I’ve rarely seen such violent thunderstorms.”
Luo Zhan and Zhou Xiaoling also emerged from the water. Zhou Xiaoling laughed, “It’s so fun! In our Fire Sect, we rarely have such heavy rain or so much water.”
Guo Shier stared intently into the distance. He rubbed his eyes but quickly regained his composure and cast a vision-enhancing spell on himself. Eagle Demon asked curiously, “What’s wrong?” He also looked in the direction Guo Shier was staring at and searched carefully.
“Why is there such dense lightning gathered there?”

In the distance, streaks of lightning flashed, and distant thunder rumbled. After casting the vision-enhancing spell, Guo Shier could see clearly countless hair-thin bolts of lightning flickering, seemingly gathering together. Guo Shier said with a smile, “It’s strange. Why do such dense bolts of lightning gather together?”
Eagle Demon narrowed his eyes and watched for a while before suddenly saying, “That’s not right. They’re moving!”
Guo Shier asked, “Should we go take a look?”
Zhou Xiaoling said, “I heard from an experienced senior that in mysterious realms, there are usually two possibilities when encountering something strange: either finding treasure or facing danger… And the chance of danger is greater than that of finding treasure. But that senior also said that even though danger is more likely, one should still go take a look.”
Luo Zhan said, “Then let’s go together.”
Guo Shier said, “Okay, let’s go!”
The sky remained overcast, with dark clouds covering it. Streaks of lightning flashed within the clouds, and thunder rumbled from time to time. The heavy rain had stopped, leaving the air humid and stifling. The four of them flew quickly along the water’s surface.
After a while, the thunder grew louder, and the flashing lightning illuminated the ground from time to time.
The intensity of the thunder was astonishing. Guo Shier and the others dared not move forward any further and hovered above the water. What they saw ahead left them stunned. They had never seen such dense lightning and thunder, and strangely, it was concentrated within a range of about a hundred kilometers, as if something was attracting the lightning.
Guo Shier said with a wry smile, “I really don’t dare get any closer!”
Even professionals were afraid of the power of the lightning. Eagle Demon said, “What if… we wait until the lightning subsides before approaching?”
Zhou Xiaoling looked up at the clouds not far away. Intense lightning streaked across the sky, striking repeatedly. Filled with fear, she said, “It’s terrifying!”
Suddenly, Guo Shier said, “There… something is moving!”
It was a raised area surrounded by water. The elevation wasn’t very high, but there were many natural conical stone pillars standing there at various heights. Electric currents surged within the pillars, and under the blinding light of the lightning, the pillars reflected a faint metallic glow.
Then everyone witnessed a stunning scene: a dazzling beam of light soared into the air, with countless bolts of lightning striking it, the roar shaking the ground.
Guo Shier exclaimed in horror, “Oh my god, it’s a person!”
Eagle Demon’s forehead was covered in cold sweat. He said, “A three-tiered solid altar… This person is amazing!”

All four of them could see clearly now—it was a solid altar! Though its shape was rather strange: the bottom layer was a disk, the second layer was a hollow pentagon, as if made of glass, and the top layer, the third layer, was a pillar-shaped platform. The person was sitting upright on that platform. Due to the blinding lightning, they couldn’t make out the person’s appearance; all they could see was that he was holding a rod-like object, which also couldn’t be seen clearly. Massive bolts of lightning struck the top of the altar repeatedly; just as it rose, it was knocked back down by the force of the lightning. Guo Shier was observant and asked, “Have you seen what’s under the altar?”