Chapter 6: Searching for Clues (Part 1)

When Guo Shier and the others arrived at the entrance of the Beast Realm, they immediately realized they had found the place. The ground was covered with countless fragments—furs, clothes, broken items. Though overgrown with weeds and shrubs, these remnants were still visible. There were also many bones and broken weapons, especially at the entrance, almost everywhere.

Guo Shier calculated and said, “This is probably just one of the passages. There must be others. With a realm like the Beast Realm’s passages… I estimate it can only transport tens of millions at most—impossible to move the entire continent’s population.”

Luo Jie agreed, “That’s right. This is just one passage. But… as long as we follow this path, we can find the continent where their family is!”

Guo Shier said, “Let’s go in!”

The group flew into the Beast Realm and soon saw a large, damaged teleportation array. Guo Shier landed to examine it for a while before saying solemnly, “It can’t be repaired. What a bold move—to build a teleportation array here and destroy it after use. It’s unbelievable. Did they know in advance… that someone would follow? Judging from their reckless plundering of people, they seem to have no concerns. I can’t figure it out…”

Eagle Demon’s soul trembled as he said, “Landing the altar on that teleportation array—let me take a look.”

Guo Shier immediately released the altar, which landed on the damaged array. After a moment, Eagle Demon said, “This teleportation array is for fixed-point teleportation. It’s not that mysterious. We used them frequently in our era—they’re quite ordinary. They can be prepared in advance and set up directly. What you see here is just an empty shell; the core has been removed.”

Eagle Demon asked, “Shier, have you found anything?” Seeing Guo Shier release the altar, he knew it must be at Eagle Demon’s request. He admired Eagle Demon greatly—this old man had rich experience and broad knowledge, knowing many things they didn’t.

Guo Shier didn’t answer. His soul trembled slightly as he said, “Eagle Demon, can you determine their coordinates?”

Eagle Demon replied, “If the core were still there, we could determine the destination’s coordinates. Unfortunately, since there’s only an empty shell left, it’s impossible.”

Guo Shier sighed and said, “We need to keep searching. We can’t find the destination with just this teleportation array.”

Inside the Beast Realm, Guo Shier and the others found seven teleportation arrays, all of which were just broken shells lacking their core components.

Luo Jie said, “Let’s head to the Mystery Realm!”

Guo Shier shook his head and said, “Master, the Secret Realm of Tranquility has very little contact with this continent. I don’t think it’s related to this invasion.” He recalled that he had entered the realm by accident back then, met Li Ran, obtained the Talisman Gate, and got its coordinates. This realm shouldn’t pose much threat to the continent where the Northern Talisman Gate is located.

Luo Jie insisted, “I always feel there’s something wrong with the Secret Realm of Tranquility. It’s worth checking—maybe we can find some clues.”

Guo Shier thought for a moment and said, “Alright, we shouldn’t overlook any clue.” He immediately activated the coordinates of the realm and stepped inside. Luo Jie followed in, saying, “Everyone, come on.”

The Secret Realm of Tranquility was the place where Guo Shier began his rise. It was there he first encountered a supreme expert like Li Ran, allowing him to truly meet the top professionals in this world. With the Interdimensional Talisman, he started exploring the world and has since become a professional expert at the third-tier altar level. In essence, the Secret Realm of Tranquility was the starting point of his journey to professional greatness.

Standing on the land of the Secret Realm of Tranquility once again, Guo Shier couldn’t help but feel emotional. Back then, he had been hunted and nearly became prey, barely managing to escape. He carefully checked the Interdimensional Talisman—the coordinates given by Li Ran were already usable. He remembered Li Ran saying that one could go there once they reached the level of a Great Sage, but he had always gotten lost and never made it there.

Now that he was an altar-level professional, it was temporarily impossible for him to go there; he had more important things to do right now.

The realm was completely silent, with not a single person in sight. Luo Jie said, “Let’s search. Exchange signal talismans so we don’t get separated. Shier, you and Eagle Demon search the north, I’ll search the west, Nan Shan the east, and Luo Zhan and Nan You the south. Send signal talismans immediately if you find anything. Alright, we’ll meet back here in three days.”

Guo Shier nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll head to the north!” He activated his altar, called out to Eagle Demon, and the two flew toward the north.

Amidst the rolling mountains, Guo Shier and Eagle Demon raced through the terrain. Both sat on their altars, controlling them as they flew almost right along the mountain peaks. There were few mutated talisman beasts in the Secret Realm of Tranquility, hardly any advanced ones—mostly fourth or fifth-tier mutated talisman beasts, with occasional sixth-tier ones. But Guo Shier and Eagle Demon showed no interest in them.

Such mutated talisman beasts posed no threat at all to them. In just half a day, the two had flown a long distance.

Suddenly, Guo Shier pointed to the distance and said, “Look… what’s that?”
Eagle Demon replied, “Can’t see clearly… Are those buildings?” By then, the two had already flown over a section of mountains, and on a slightly flat area in the distance, there was a row of simple wooden structures.
Guo Shier quickly descended and arrived in front of the buildings. Eagle Demon followed suit, and the two put away their altar.
Eagle Demon sensed around briefly and said, “No one’s here.”
Guo Shier nodded and said, “But it doesn’t seem like abandoned buildings either. Let’s go in and take a look.”
The buildings were entirely made of logs. Pushing open the wooden doors, they found a layer of animal skins on the floor, though they were already rotten, and stepping on them raised clouds of dust. Inside, there were some simple tables and chairs covered in thick dust. Beyond this row of buildings, there were two abandoned hunting carts, also in ruins.
Guo Shier recognized the design of these hunting carts and said, “It’s the Fuyue family…” When they first entered the Secret Realm, Eagle Demon didn’t know Guo Shier yet. He asked, “Fuyue family? What’s that? Is it an ancient family?”
Guo Shier shook his head and said, “It’s a family similar to the Chenxiao Sect. Well, it’s also a rather domineering family. The first time I entered the Secret Realm, they chased after me and I had to flee everywhere. Hehe.”
Eagle Demon couldn’t help but laugh and said, “It seems like you’ve never been left alone, haha.”
Guo Shier sighed and said, “Maybe it’s because I’m quite handsome… so I arouse envy and hatred?”
Eagle Demon laughed and said, “How could you be more handsome than me… to arouse envy and hatred? Maybe so. Otherwise, why would they all chase after you?”
Guo Shier was also puzzled. He said, “I don’t know either. Maybe I’m too honest? It gives people the impression that I’m easy to bully?”
Eagle Demon laughed and said, “No, it’s because you’re not ruthless enough, not strong enough… If you were like Sister Zhen, who would dare chase after her? It’s always her who chases others!”
Guo Shier walked around and said, “Strange. This should be a base of the Fuyue family. This secret realm is their family’s training ground. It seems no one has been here for a long time, and there’s no one guarding it. Could it be that they too were invaded, just like the Beifu Sect?”
Eagle Demon shook his head and said, “I don’t know. But judging from these buildings, indeed no one has been here for a long time—at least over ten years.”
Guo Shier narrowed his eyes and calculated for a moment before saying, “If it’s been over ten years, then… if the Fuyue family was destroyed…” He looked at Eagle Demon, paused for a while, and then continued, “Could it be that the continent where our Beifu Sect is located was leaked from their side?”

Eagle Demon said, “If they were the ones who leaked it, then why haven’t they come to occupy our continent?”
Guo Shier said, “It’s because of the Chenxiao Sect. If not for their support, our continent would have been ruined long ago. Unfortunately, even the Chenxiao Sect has been destroyed this time. If Master Kumu knew… Sigh, and Masteress Monier too—no one knows where they’ve gone.”
Eagle Demon said, “If this is a stronghold of the Fuye Family, then they must have a larger gathering place.”
Guo Shier suddenly remembered something and said, “Right. The Fuye Family once had 100,000 professionals and tens of thousands of hunting vehicles here. This must be just a small forward base. Let’s keep flying forward.” The two flew back into the air and continued onward.
After a while, they flew out of the mountainous area and arrived over a primeval forest. Along the way, they saw a ruin—some structure from an unknown era. They didn’t stop and kept flying north.
In the forest, Guo Shier spotted a large open area and said, “Over there!”
Numerous buildings were hidden among the dense trees, and there were countless fragments of hunting vehicles on the open ground. Guo Shier said, “This must be their main base… As expected, it’s completely destroyed!”
When Guo Shier and Eagle Demon landed, they saw piles of bones on the ground—no one knew how many people had died. The entire open area was filled with bone fragments and bones everywhere. Guo Shier couldn’t help but exclaim, “How many people did it take to kill all these?”
The handsome old man poked his head out from the altar. He turned around, scanning the area thoroughly, and said, “Not many. It won’t exceed 30,000…”
Guo Shier was speechless. 30,000 wasn’t many? That old man was way too arrogant.
The handsome old man continued, “The souls have almost completely dissipated. There’s no point in staying here.”
Guo Shier ignored him and said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, let’s search around for any clues. It would be best if we could find out who did this.”
The two searched for most of the day. Apart from bones and various broken weapons, there were plenty of talisman javelins in the warehouses, as well as a few intact hunting vehicles. Most of the houses in the forest were damaged, but no traces of the perpetrators could be found. Disappointed, the two left the camp.
Guo Shier said, “Forget it. Let’s go back. It’s hard to find any useful clues here.”
Eagle Demon nodded and said, “Good idea. Let’s head back first.”

The two quickly returned to their original spot. A day later, Luo Jie and the others came back one after another, also finding no clues. Luo Jie said frustratedly, “Damn it, these guys appear out of nowhere and vanish just as quickly. They hide so well that we can’t find a single clue.”
Qi Nanshan said, “Elder, don’t worry. There are still places we can go…”
Luo Jie smiled bitterly. “I know. Let’s go to the Insect Talisman Gate.”
Guo Shier said, “Uncle Luo and Nan You are back… Huh, it seems they brought someone with them.” Everyone immediately perked up—this person might know something.
Luo Zhan landed, folded away the altar, and fell to the ground alone.
It was a middle-aged man, sturdy in build, with two curved mustaches that pointed upward. His small eyes were filled with fear. He wore tattered animal skins, and his grayish-long hair was messy and draped over his shoulders. It was unclear how long he had not taken a bath, as his body emitted a strong smell of sweat.
He was a professional. With Guo Shier and the others’ expertise, it was easy to tell that this guy was a low-level Great Talisman Martial Artist.
Luo Jie asked, “Luo Zhan, where did you catch him… Who is he?”