Chapter 7: The Closed Continent (Part 1)

Aoooh…
Guo Shier looked up and saw several wild wolves growling at him from among the low-growing grass. He couldn’t help but smile. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen wolves—how familiar they are…” He walked over slowly. Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan watched with smiles.
One of the wild wolves immediately focused on Guo Shier, and soon the others surrounded him as well. Guo Shier walked right into their circle without concern.
Luo Zhan asked, “What does Shier want to do?”
Eagle Demon said, “Maybe he wants to play. Hehe, who knows what crazy idea he has.”
One of the wild wolves leaped suddenly, attacking from behind. Guo Shier stood motionless. Before it could even touch him, it was held in place by a gentle force, suspended in midair—strangely as if frozen in an instant. Then two more wolves attacked, only to be similarly frozen mid-pounce.
The other wolves let out fearful whines. Guo Shier tilted his head, examining them carefully. “These wolves… there’s no mutation. They’re just ordinary gray wolves. Hehe, maybe there are no mutated magical beasts on this closed continent.” He patted one of the wolves on the head and released its restraint.
The three gray wolves fell to the ground. Even if they were stupid, they knew they couldn’t provoke this man. With a whimper, they immediately fled into the distance. In moments, they were gone without a trace.
Guo Shier said, “Let’s go. Let’s see what interesting things this continent has to offer.” He flew into the air, and the three of them chose a direction at random and flew off quickly.
The forests here were dense, mostly primeval forests. From time to time, wild animals could be seen, but they were all ordinary—some large in size, but none were mutated magical beasts. Eagle Demon said disappointedly, “No mutated magical beasts. Maybe this is just an ordinary continent.”
Guo Shier laughed. “Bad luck, hehe.”
Luo Zhan said, “It’s not really about luck. I heard that closed continents and secret realms are extremely rare, while ordinary ones are common. Some continents and secret realms even have natives…”
Guo Shier shook his head. “A continent or secret realm that has been closed for thousands of years must have something unusual. It just depends on whether we have the time to search or the luck to find it.”
Luo Zhan nodded. “Mm. I’ve seen people selling coordinates to closed continents and secret realms before. Hehe, those must have leaked from professionals at the Ninth-Level Altar.”

A closed continent and secret realm that only professionals from the Ninth Layer and beyond can enter; other professionals have no way in. However, professionals can obtain the coordinates of this continent and enter through teleportation arrays. Thus, such coordinates must have leaked from professionals above the Ninth Layer. Once acquired by other professionals, this closed continent and secret realm lose their mystery.

This is why some ancient families can place their core headquarters on a closed continent—it is not only hidden but also difficult for outsiders to enter or attack once the teleportation arrays are in control. By sealing off the continent again and leaving the teleportation array pathways, it becomes a stronghold that is easy to defend but hard to attack.

So even if a closed continent lacks rare treasures and is quite ordinary, as long as it is suitable for human habitation, its coordinates can fetch a high price.

Along the way, they didn’t find anything else but did discover many delicious wild fruits. Guo Shier gathered some and placed them in the altar secret realm.

Eagle Demon pointed to the distance and said, “Look, what’s that?”

A faint red glow shone in the distance. Guo Shier wondered, “What treasure could that be?” There are all kinds of strange things in this world, and no one can fully understand them. He knew now that anything that could emit light must be related to runes, so he immediately flew over.

The three of them rushed there at lightning speed and soon saw a tree about ten meters tall. It was a very strange reddish-brown tree, with entirely red trunks and branches. The thick main trunk near the ground was translucent, revealing naturally formed runes inside.

Dozens of fist-sized bright yellow fruits emitted an extremely tempting fragrance.

Guo Shier swallowed hard and said, “Damn, what kind of tree is this? These fruits… they smell so good!”

Handsome Old Man poked his head out from Guo Shier’s shoulder and said, “Let me take a look…”

Eagle Demon said, “I’ve never seen such a tree before. It even glows… Hmm, could it be a rune tree?”

Within a hundred meters around the tree, no other plants could survive. Guo Shier said, “I have a feeling that this tree… is extremely poisonous. Even if it’s not poisonous, it’s still very dangerous…” The three of them hovered nearby, discussing it.

Handsome Old Man said, “We’ll know if it’s poisonous by testing it. Eagle Demon, go catch some wild beast.”

The Eagle Demon smiled and said, “Good, that’s a fine idea.” He turned and left, and moments later returned with a strange beast that resembled both a bear and a dog. He threw it right under the tree. Suddenly, countless thin red threads descended from the tree and quickly tied up the beast. Everyone could clearly see the beast shriveling up rapidly. Guo Shier said in astonishment, “Wow, this thing can even suck in flesh and blood!” When the beast was reduced to skin and bones, those threads, like sharp knives, quickly shredded them into fine powder that scattered around the tree. Guo Shier said, “It even knows how to fertilize itself. What a tree god.” At that moment, a flock of birds the size of pheasants descended from the sky, diving at the bright yellow fruits. Before they could land on the branches, they were entangled by countless threads and then sucked dry. In the blink of an eye, except for a few cautious birds, all the others turned into fertilizer. The handsome old man said, “Shier, pick a fruit for me.” Guo Shier stretched out his hand, and a very thin virtual chain flew out, wrapping around a bright yellow fruit before quickly falling into his palm. He said, “What a beautiful fruit! I can’t help but want to take a bite; it smells so good.” The fruit, the size of a fist, was bright yellow, as shiny as jade, with a smooth and oily surface, emitting a strong fragrance. Holding it in his hand gave a warm sensation—it was truly amazing. But Guo Shier didn’t dare eat it. He handed the fruit to the handsome old man and said, “Handsome old man, do you know what this is?” The handsome old man reached out and took the fruit, saying, “I need time to think. Well, wait here for a while. I’ll go back to the altar. Hehe, I’ll have an answer soon. I seem to have some memory of it, but I can’t recall right now.” With that, he retreated. There were over thirty bright yellow fruits on the tree, looking extremely tempting. Guo Shier said, “It’s strange. I wonder if you guys feel the same…” The Eagle Demon nodded and said, “I do… I want to eat it, and the desire grows stronger.” Luo Zhan agreed, “I do too.” Guo Shier smiled bitterly and said, “I feel hungry. Hehe, I haven’t felt this in a long time.” After a while, the handsome old man reappeared and said, “This thing isn’t poisonous, but I’m not sure if it’s edible. I can’t remember what kind of fruit this is.”

Guo Shier said, “Since there’s no poison, let’s eat it.” He reached out and grabbed a fruit with his spiritual talisman, bit into it, and a mouthful of rich, sweet juice flowed into his mouth. The taste was simply incredible—extremely delicious. He didn’t know what to say for a while before finally exclaiming, “Great!”