Chapter 7: The Great Submergence Castle (Part 2)

The flight this time was not long—just two hours—before they rushed out of the passage. As soon as they emerged, Nan You exclaimed in delight, “The Submergence Castle! It’s the Great Submergence Castle!”
It was a stone castle built in the void, a light green-colored structure floating in the air, protected by a circular energy shield. The castle was enormous; Guo Shier estimated it covered at least ten square kilometers. He asked, “Nan You, what Great Submergence Castle?”
Nan You replied cheerfully, “It’s a supply point and trading venue built by various families and sects, as well as a place for professionals to rest. Hehe, in the Eight Paths Vast Heaven, these Submergence Castles and the Great Submergence Castle are where we professionals replenish our supplies.”
Guo Shier was surprised, “There are such places?”
Nan You said, “Of course. The Great Submergence Castle has large talisman gates. As long as you buy a one-time teleportation talisman there, you can teleport back directly if in danger elsewhere.”
Guo Shier smiled, “That’s quite useful. Hehe, are teleportation talismans expensive?”
Nan You replied, “Mm, extremely expensive. Let’s go in first.”
In this stretch of void, there was only one floating Great Submergence Castle, with professionals occasionally flying into it.
Guo Shier retracted the Ancient Ink Lotus, and they all flew toward the Great Submergence Castle.
Nan You said, “Attach your family or sect’s identity badges to your belts; otherwise, you won’t be able to enter.”
Fortunately, the three of them all had identity badges from the Ancient Miluo Family; otherwise, they really wouldn’t have been able to enter. This place completely excluded wandering professionals. If they didn’t have identity badges, they could only follow Nan You as his followers or attendants.
The Great Submergence Castle had an interesting shape—like a large tray, with buildings surrounding it and a huge open space in the center. Guo Shier and the others followed Nan You until they reached the center of the castle before descending. They successfully passed through the defense shield and landed directly on the vast square.
Guo Shier wondered, “Is there no one on the square?”
Nan You, used to his ignorance, said, “This isn’t a square; it’s the roof.”
Guo Shier said awkwardly, “Damn, are the buildings below?”
Nan You cast a spell. Once again, Guo Shier became curious. He asked, “What spell is that?” Nan You replied, “It’s a spell to open a passage. What else could it be? If it were an attack spell, I’d be in trouble, hehe.” He joked. Then, a small entrance appeared on the ground. He said, “Follow me in.”
The group followed Nan You down the stone steps.

Below is also a square, but much smaller than the one above. There are many professionals at the level of Great Sage. Nan You explained, “Most of them here are Great Sages. They are brought in by experts from their families who can enter the Hidden Fortress directly. They have fixed places to go; unlike us, we don’t have to follow their rules.”
The lowest rank here is still that of a Junior Great Sage. Guo Shier looked around and saw at least a hundred Great Sages, but not a single expert from a altar.
Guo Shier said, “Nan You, you’re familiar with this place. You go and handle things; we’ll follow you.” Although he had the strength of an altar expert, he was actually still a Senior Great Sage.
Nan You gave a knowing look and said, “I understand, I understand… Hehe.” He didn’t understand why Guo Shier wanted to hide that he was an altar expert, but he also didn’t plan to expose him. Ever since Guo Shier had stolen Salt Old Monster’s sacred treasure, he had thought this guy liked to pretend.
Guo Shier smiled bitterly. He didn’t want to pretend to be weak while actually being strong. He secretly resolved to build his own altar as soon as possible; he couldn’t keep waiting. Without the strength of an altar expert, it was simply unbearable here.
A Great Sage came up and asked, “Elder, is this your first time visiting the Hidden Fortress?”
Nan You replied, “This is my first time at the Hidden Fortress. Please arrange accommodation for us.”
The Great Sage said, “Yes, Elder. Please show me your identity token.”
Nan You tossed over his identity token. The Senior Great Sage glanced at it and said, “Gu Nan family, Nan You… Elder, I am the manager of the Hidden Fortress, a Senior Great Sage named Zeng Qian.”
Zeng Qian ignored Guo Shier and the other two, focusing instead on chatting warmly with Nan You.
Guo Shier, Eagle Demon, and Luo Zhan stood quietly, all being very self-disciplined. In this world, strength ruled everything, so Zeng Qian’s attitude wasn’t strange at all. It would have been odd if he hadn’t focused on Nan You.
Nan You gave Guo Shier a subtle glance. Guo Shier smiled slightly and waved his hand casually. Nan You nodded and said, “Zeng Qian, take us there. I need a good room.”
Zeng Qian replied respectfully, “Yes.”
There were countless alleyways surrounding the square. Zeng Qian said, “The layout of the Hidden Fortress is somewhat similar to that of the Eight Paths Heaven. There are passages connecting various rooms and activity areas. Hehe, if you don’t live here for a while, it’s easy to get lost in the Hidden Fortress. Of course, if you can memorize the map, there won’t be any problem.”

The group soon arrived at a residence. It was a small courtyard complex with six rooms and a small yard—though without a sky. Zeng Qian said, “Elder, this is it! If you’re not satisfied, we can adjust it further.”
Nan You glanced subtly at Guo Shier, and seeing him nod slightly, she said, “Alright, this is it. The payment can be deducted directly from my family’s account.”
Zeng Qian took out several talismans and said, “This is a map of Da Qian Fort. Please avoid entering the red areas; you can go anywhere else.” With that, he took his leave.
Guo Shier asked, “The defenses here aren’t very strict. Aren’t we worried about someone sneaking in to cause trouble?”
Nan You replied, “No one will come to cause trouble here. Those who can enter are all disciples from various families and sects. Outsider professionals can’t get in. Moreover, there are always skilled experts guarding the place year-round. Trying to cause trouble… would be pure suicide.”
Guo Shier asked, “How many families and sects are needed to build such a Da Qian Fort?”
Nan You shook her head. “I don’t know exactly how many ancient families and sects there are—there must be countless. Just Da Qian Forts, Qian Forts, and supply outposts number in the thousands. As far as I know, if you’re unlucky, you might even encounter Qian Forts that don’t belong to us. If that happens, you’ll be hunted.”
Guo Shier said, “That’s quite complicated.” Suddenly remembering something important, he asked, “Nan You, what should we do if we want to leave Ba Qi Da Mi Tian?”
Nan You replied, “We can leave through the teleportation array in the center of Da Qian Fort. But the cost is high. If we can’t gather enough resources, we won’t be able to leave.”
Ying Mo asked in confusion, “Resources? What kind of resources?”
Nan You explained, “It’s the materials you’ve collected. You need to give up some of them to exchange for the chance to use the teleportation array. The stars we collected in the Starlight Secret Realm last time can be used to get such a chance.”
Guo Shier glanced at the map and saw that Da Qian Fort was very large, with many areas. Besides residential zones, there were also numerous trading areas—some high-end, some mid-to-low end, and even an auction area, all clearly divided.
“Should we go to the trading area or the auction area?”
Nan You said, “The trading area is where lower-ranked disciples exchange items. It’s not very useful for us. The auction area does have some good items, but you need to exchange something to participate.”
Guo Shier asked, “What should we exchange with?”
Nan You replied, “There’s special talisman money here. You need to exchange your own items for it before you can attend the auction.”

The soul of the handsome old man fluctuated, saying, “Kid, I’ve refined several pieces of high-purity Rainbow Stars. You can take them to auction; you should be able to get quite a bit of talisman money from them.”
Guo Shier said, “Hmm, we’ll see when the time comes.” He then declared, “Let’s rest for a couple of days first, then go check out the auction area.” Throughout the journey, although no one had been seriously injured, they were all extremely tired. Since they had arrived at Da Qian Fort, it was only right to rest for a few days.
Nan You nodded and said, “That’s good. Let’s rest for now.”
……
He Da Niao looked sadly at the two dead Great Saints on the altar. So many people had entered, yet only two Great Saints remained alive. He was deeply troubled—how would he face his family’s questions upon returning? He couldn’t help but curse, “Damn you, Old Salt! I’m not done with you!”
One of the Great Saints asked, “Are we going back now?”
He Da Niao replied, “We’re heading to Da Qian Fort! Our family has a contact point there.”
The other Great Saint said, “I’ll go look for my fallen brother’s body.” The other Great Saint also said, “I’ll go too.” The two flew off the altar and headed toward the place where the battle had taken place.
He Da Niao sighed and followed them.
One by one, the bodies were found and placed in talisman bags. He Da Niao said, “Let’s go back.” Leading the remaining two Great Saints, he chose a random passage and flew in. Without examining the surroundings carefully, he took out a talisman, crushed it, and a portal appeared. He led the two of them through it.
Upon stepping out of the portal, they found themselves back in the familiar Da Qian Fort. The two Great Saints clearly breathed a sigh of relief. This time, they had narrowly escaped death; being able to return to Da Qian Fort alive was truly a blessing from heaven.
He Da Niao said nothing and rushed off into an alley, with the two Great Saints following closely behind.
Not long after the three of them disappeared, Old Salt appeared. He scanned the surroundings and headed toward an alley.
……
Two days later, Guo Shier, Nan You, Eagle Demon, and Luo Zhan slowly made their way toward the auction area.
Da Qian Fort’s auction area was divided into a premium section and a regular section—the premium section served experts from the altar, while the regular section served professionals at the level of Great Saints. Nan You naturally headed toward the premium auction area.
Everyone already knew the layout of the talisman maps, so they were well aware of how to get to the premium auction area. After turning through a few alleys and crossing several small squares, they soon reached a wider road. Guo Shier said, “It’s pretty deserted; not a single person in sight.”

A few people were walking on the road, their footsteps making the road seem even more quiet. Gradually, a few more pedestrians appeared on the road. After walking a bit further, there were even more people. Guo Shier suddenly stopped and looked across the road, where a person was standing.