Chapter 2: Return to the Star Continent (Part 1)

Xuan Ai looked up and couldn’t help but smile. “That’s a message pillar for selling houses. There are many in Sea City, containing all sorts of information. You just need to spend some Great Symbol coins to post a notice.”
Guo Shier was surprised. “There’s such a place? I’ll go take a look.”
Weren’t these similar to TV commercials in his past life? A pillar as thick as a tree trunk, with eight sides, each displaying rolling runes containing various messages. The runes were essentially a universal language, so Guo Shier could understand them.
Rows of runes scrolled down the message pillar, mostly containing information about sales and purchases. One side was dedicated to house sales. Guo Shier said with a smile, “This is pretty good. Um, Xuan Ai, how do we use it?”
Xuan Ai replied, “If you like something, just click on it. Use your Affirmation Spell, then your identity token from Sea City, and you can contact the seller. It’s very convenient.”
Monier noticed Guo Shier was interested and asked, “Baby, do you plan to buy a house here?”
Guo Shier whispered, “To have a place to settle down… a safe coordinate point. That way, we can come and go from this continent freely. Masteress, we need a stronghold.”
Monier understood Guo Shier’s intention—he wanted to leave a safe coordinate point for Master Kuumu to enter the higher continents, which could even serve as a base for the Chenxiao Sect. She said, “Alright, then buy a courtyard.”
They shopped until dark before returning home satisfied. That night, Xuan Ai went to the Sea Treasure Merchant Shop, retrieved over four hundred thousand Great Symbol coins, settled the cost of the fabrics, and stored the remaining coins in a symbol storage bag before heading home.
The next day, Guo Shier busied himself buying a house. Houses here were extremely cheap compared to fabrics—just over thirty thousand Great Symbol coins could buy a small courtyard with two two-story stone houses and seven or eight rooms. After making a few minor arrangements, Guo Shier and the others moved in.
Xuan Ai accompanied them for a few days before returning to the inspection team, as his leave had run out. Before leaving, he couldn’t help but sigh—living in a sect meant having no freedom, a life of constant toil.
The four of them rested in Sea City for over ten days. Qi Nan Shan became restless first and urged them to head to the Star Continent. Guo Shier was also worried about Luo Jie, not knowing where he was. They decided to leave the Core Continent in two days and return to the Star Continent together.

Since they didn’t have time to explore the Core Continent, Guo Shier used a Cross-Realm Talisman to return to the Chenxiao Sect. As the talisman could only carry a few people, Guo Shier went back alone. After finding Kuumu, he explained the situation. Kuumu immediately agreed to go to the Core Continent with Guo Shier, bringing a few sect disciples along to manage the courtyard in Haicheng—only trusted people could be relied on for that. Kuumu had already advanced to the rank of Junior Great Sage and was considering going to the Advanced Continent to find a suitable sect. With a place to settle down, he agreed to go gladly. To Guo Shier’s surprise, the encounter between Qi Nanshan and Kuumu turned out to be extremely intense. If not for Guo Shier’s desperate efforts to stop them, the two might have fought. Fortunately, both of them doted on Guo Shier, and seeing him so anxious, they restrained themselves and avoided a fight. According to Qi Nanshan, they hadn’t fought Kuumu before because they were weaker, and it was Guo Shier’s insistence that stopped them; now, who was afraid of whom? As for Kuumu, he cared even less. He still didn’t know that Qi Nanshan had inherited the Black Talisman Cult’s legacy and possessed the abnormal skill of burning souls, so he still looked down on Qi Nanshan. Even if Qi Nanshan had advanced to Great Sage, he might not necessarily be stronger in actual combat—after all, Kuumu was also a madman who dared to challenge those above his rank. Kuumu stayed in Haicheng with a few sect disciples. Guo Shier sent a message talisman to Xuan Ai, telling him that he had elders in Haicheng and asking him to look after them. Then he returned to the Star Continent with Qi Nanshan, Monier, and Eagle Demon. The location this time was the coordinates left last time. If Ao Kuang had arranged people to wait patiently, Guo Shier and the others would definitely have been exposed. But after encountering a storm at sea and having his remaining talisman disc destroyed by lightning, Ao Kuang had completely given up hope. He guessed that the enemies pursuing them would never return to the Star Continent. Eagle Demon sighed in relief and said, “No one!” Qi Nanshan also said, “It’s safe!” Guo Shier said, “Now that we have identification for Haicheng in the Core Continent, we can operate here openly. But I think we still need to conceal our identities as much as possible, otherwise it could put Haicheng’s residence at risk.” Monier asked, “Baby, what do you think we should do?” She knew he was resourceful and a natural leader; following his instructions was the right choice. Everyone, including Qi Nanshan and Eagle Demon, trusted his wisdom.

Guo Shieru pondered for a moment before saying, “We can’t go to the Star Sect’s territory for now. Let’s explore more secret realms. I think the old man must be in one of them… Grandpa Qinan, how many communication talismans do you still have?”
Qinan Qinan smiled bitterly and replied, “Six more, all left by the old man.”
Guo Shieru knew Qinan Qinan wouldn’t dare use the talismans recklessly—each talisman could only be used in the same place, such as the same continent or the same secret realm. With countless secret realms here, and the old man not on the Star Continent, he must be hidden in one of them. Six talismans were far from enough.
Guo Shieru said, “Unless we find a definite clue, we shouldn’t use the talismans… Well, Grandpa Qinan, give me two talismans.”
Qinan Qinan took out two special communication talismans and said, “Use them carefully. This is our only way to communicate.”
Guo Shieru nodded solemnly. The structure of this world was completely different from his previous life—there were countless continents and secret realms. If one got lost in them, it would be extremely difficult to find them. Moreover, he now knew that talismans weren’t omnipotent either; ordinary talismans couldn’t cross large distances between realms or continents. Only intercontinental talismans were truly valuable, but even those couldn’t take one to every place.
That was the rule of secret realms and continents. Perhaps only those who reached the pinnacle of their profession could navigate among the various continents and secret realms. According to Guo Shieru’s guess, one person might be able to do so—that was Li Ran. But he wasn’t sure if Li Ran had already reached that peak.
Guo Shieru had no other choice but to follow Luo Jie’s retreat route and search through various secret realms. While searching, he also recorded the valuable ones.
The Star Continent was a famous area packed with secret realms, connecting countless of them. Not only were there many types of secret realms, but there were also numerous mutated talisman beasts and professionals coming in and out. While full of dangers, it also offered many opportunities.
This was a small entrance to a secret realm, hidden beneath the soil, discovered by Monier. Importantly, she saw a trace—a sign of someone entering the realm—and this realm was on Luo Jie’s retreat route.
Guo Shieru and his group had already entered fifteen secret realms, all of which were relatively ordinary. Six of them were extremely small, and they could be explored in just one round. It was also the first time Guo Shieru had seen the edge of a secret realm—a vast expanse of mist that prevented anyone from entering, blocked by an invisible force. According to Monier, those were secret realms that had formed less than a thousand years ago and held no exploration value.

Upon entering this secret realm, everyone realized it was nothing ordinary. The entire place was gloomy, with a chilling aura seeping into their bodies. Even a great sage like Qi Nan Shan couldn’t help but shiver. He couldn’t suppress his excitement as he said, “There’s something strange about this!”

Secret realms varied in size and fertility. The most worth exploring were the special realms, or extreme realms, which often produced unique items. However, such realms were rare, and encountering one was considered lucky. The reason countless professionals came to the Star Continent was precisely because of the large number of secret realms here, including a slightly higher count of special ones.

As soon as Monier entered, she asked, “Could this be a special realm?”

Guo Shier said, “I’m not sure, but this chill is really strange.”

Eagle Demon remarked, “It’s a very gloomy place!”

The entire landscape was gray, filled with the incessant buzzing of insects. The sounds were erratic yet capable of making one’s soul tremble slightly. Large patches of white plants emitted a faint glow. From time to time, the sound of fluttering wings could be heard—tiny insects were flying about.

A cold wind blew gently, sending a piercing chill into their bodies. Everyone immediately activated their talisman defenses to ward off this strange wind.

Strange, mysterious, dark, terrifying!

Monier felt a bit frightened. Women were always afraid of dark things, and she was no exception. Unconsciously, she moved closer to Guo Shier and said, “Honey, be careful.”

Guo Shier replied solemnly, “My wife, don’t worry. There are four of us. If we encounter danger… even if we can’t fight back, we can still escape.”

Qi Nan Shan smiled and said, “It’s not that serious. I think this is… a Talisman Insect Realm.”

Monier nodded. “That’s right. I feel the same way. This place might be dominated by mutated Talisman Insects. Honey, you should release… that scorpion.”

Guo Shier did as she said and released the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion. Once it appeared, it turned slightly and let out happy chirping sounds, as if it were at home.

Then, the small scorpions on its back climbed out one after another, scattering quickly to start searching on their own.

Guo Shier said, “Let them go in and search for any signs of the old man.” He jumped onto the scorpion’s back and added, “Everyone, come on. With the Dark-Winged Demon Scorpion here, the ordinary mutated Talisman Insects won’t come near.”

Both normal cryptids and mutated cryptids pose a headache for professionals; without relevant knowledge, dealing with them can be extremely troublesome. Mutated cryptids are either numerous or poisonous. The most terrifying ones aren’t even the large ones—it’s the tiny mutated cryptids that are truly dangerous, as they can infiltrate anywhere, are impossible to kill completely, and are very hard to deal with.
There’s no need to release the giant dragon; with a Secret Insect-type Dark-Wing Demon Scorpion and the Ancient Flame Sparrow on his shoulder, Guo Shier felt he didn’t need to worry.
The Dark-Wing Demon Scorpion moved swiftly, making almost no sound, only a faint rustling noise.