Chapter 1: Secrets in the Secret Realm (Part 1)

Guo Shier said, “Follow me! Remember, don’t let them intercept us—we don’t have time to go back and rescue them!” He spoke to Xianming and Xianliang.
Xianming and the other four great saint masters showed grateful expressions. In fact, Guo Shier didn’t even need to worry about them; it was already very kind of him to promise to bring them in. He had no obligation to protect them forever. Xianming said gratefully, “Yes! We’ll keep up!”
The four senior great saint masters chasing behind launched a combined attack at Guo Shier and the others.
It was four life talisman knives attacking in a cross pattern.
Guo Shier felt his soul tremble, his whole body covered in goosebumps, as an extreme sense of danger surged from deep within. He quickly flew upward, and the others followed closely. The four life talisman knives also rose into the air, turning into four dazzling beams that slashed down. The four senior great saint masters roared, “Slay!”
The other chasing great saint masters also joined in the attack. Twenty great saint masters attacking together created an astonishingly powerful force.
Xianming screamed in fear, “Run!”
Xianliang rushed forward using instant movement. Guo Shier reached out and grabbed Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan. Before they could even fight back, he pulled them along and used instant movement to appear hundreds of meters away. The other two great saint masters were not fast enough; one of them even tried to attack to block the slashing life talisman knives.
Silently, the blades crossed, and a cloud of blood spread in the air. The one who tried to fight back was torn to pieces. Even though he was an intermediate great saint master, he couldn’t withstand the attack of twenty people and was instantly destroyed. Someone shouted, “Good! Kill one—don’t let the other five escape!”
“Qi Zhen, take a group to block them ahead. Ai Yafa, take a group to attack from above! Yao Bao, take a group to flank from the left. Qian Geng, take a group to flank from the right… There are two great saint masters here, so there are two spots. Whichever group kills them can secure one spot for their family!”
“Yes! Lord Qi Yutan!”
“Lord, let us handle the left side!”
Qi Yutan was Qi Niantan’s brother. Although he hadn’t yet built his own virtual altar, he was already a peak-level senior great saint master with extremely rich combat experience. He roared, “Chase!”

Guo Shier used teleportation several times in a row, carrying Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan and fleeing thousands of meters away. Xian Ming and Xian Liang complained nonstop, but these two were indeed good at escaping and could barely keep up. The worst off were those two Great Saints—one had been killed, and the other hadn’t gone far, clearly lacking combat experience.

Hearing the screams of that Great Saint, Guo Shier realized he could no longer flee. Once surrounded by these people, he and Eagle Demon might be fine, but Luo Zhan would be in great danger. As for Xian Ming and Xian Liang, he felt no responsibility or obligation toward them; he had no time to worry about their lives.

A total of twenty people were chasing them, divided into five groups, plus five senior Great Saints. With such a combined force, Guo Shier wasn’t stupid enough to fight them head-on. He already had a plan to deal with them. While fleeing, he said, “Uncle Eagle Demon, Uncle Luo, prepare your life sigil blades first. When I stop, attack immediately. I need your cover—make the attack as loud as possible.”

Eagle Demon knew this guy was always cunning and couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay, I’ll follow your orders. Do as you say!”

Luo Zhan replied, “No problem. My life sigil blade has been reforged once already.”

With teleportation and rapid movement, although Guo Shier and the others were moving fast, their pursuers were Great Saints, so their pursuit speed wasn’t slow either. However, there were differences among Great Saints—even among senior ones, their strengths varied.

One group was chasing the fastest—led by Qi Yutan. He was almost ready to construct his virtual altar. With the help of a super expert, namely Qi Niantan, he had already gathered all the materials needed. It was only that his soul wasn’t pure enough, falling short by a bit, so he needed to enter this secret realm to refine it with Yin Mud Water. Once refined, he might be able to advance to the long-desired Virtual Spirit Mirror.

Qi Yutan said coldly, “They can’t escape. Chase them all… don’t fall behind!”

Xian Ming and Xian Liang fell behind. They kept looking back, terrified as their pursuers got closer. Xian Ming couldn’t help but shout, “Help!” After all, they were just junior Great Saints. Neither their teleportation nor flying skills were as fast as Guo Shier’s group’s. Realizing they were about to be caught, they knew they wouldn’t survive if caught.

Guo Shier glanced back. Eagle Demon asked, “Shier… should we save them?”

Luo Zhan replied quickly, “Let’s save them. Their strength may be weak, but they can hold them off for a while.”

Guo Shier said, “Everyone, get ready to act.” His soul pulsed, saying, “Elder Shuai! Get ready to strike!”
Qi Yutan also prepared to act, shouting, “Use the binding talismans to trap them first!” As he flew, he cast spells, and countless purple phantom talismans shot out, quickly turning into chains of phantom talismans. Almost everyone knew how to do this—it was a common advanced technique that even saints and above could master, and it was one of the best ways to trap enemies.
Qi Yutan’s group of four—one intermediate Grand Saint and two junior Grand Saints—attacked together. Together, they formed a huge net of purple chains that rushed toward Xian Ming and Xian Liang.
Guo Shier shouted loudly, “Teleport!”
Xian Ming and Xian Liang desperately teleported away, causing the purple chain net to miss them. Qi Yutan cursed, “Damn it! I’ll see how far you can run!” The four of them maintained the net of phantom talismans and rushed forward like a whirlwind.
Elder Shuai said, “I’ll control the Moon Blade. Heh, it seems like it’s been a long time since I last fought.”
Guo Shier was speechless and said, “I think… we fought not long ago!”
Elder Shuai replied, “Is that so? I can’t remember…”
Guo Shier shouted, “Attack!” The three of them suddenly stopped, and Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan immediately unleashed their own life talisman blades. Two beams of light streaked across the sky, heading straight for the four Grand Saints chasing behind them.
Qi Yutan sneered and ordered, “Trap them!” He was confident—there were five groups of twenty Grand Saints in total. As long as they trapped the first few, it wouldn’t take long, maybe just a few dozen seconds, for those three to fall into the abyss.
The net of purple chains controlled by the four of them descended directly.
Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan’s attacks were powerful, and they instantly broke through the net of phantom talismans. But the four of them already had enough time to act.
Xian Ming and Xian Liang didn’t dare to keep running. They exchanged a glance, gritted their teeth, and unleashed their own life talisman blades. They both knew that if they continued to flee, Guo Shier would never be able to save them.
Their attacks split left and right, drawing one Grand Saint away.
Qi Yutan suddenly realized something was wrong. He realized he had rushed too quickly—his opponent wasn’t just one advanced Grand Saint but two. His heart stirred, and he instantly teleported backward. At that moment, Guo Shier launched a surprise attack.
Elder Shuai deliberately concealed the glow of his Moon Blade. With a single strike, silently, the two Grand Saints turned into blood mist. The strike was originally aimed at Qi Yutan, but that guy was very cunning and suddenly teleported away to avoid the attack.

Seeing the two great saints turn into blood mist, the others turned their attacks toward the remaining great saint.
“No!”
With a loud explosion, that person was instantly shattered. Guo Shier didn’t hesitate and said, “Let’s go!” He led the four of them to flee again.
Qi Yutan appeared from a hundred meters away, drenched in cold sweat as he watched his three subordinates turn into blood mist. The opponent had killed three people with just one strike. Only then did he realize these people were not to be trifled with.
By the time he reacted, Guo Shier and the others had already run far away.
Members of other teams chased after them. Qi Yutan snapped, “You fucking slowards! You’ve caused me huge losses! Chase them hard… I’m going to kill those bastards!” He roared, the chill in his heart refusing to dissipate.
The remaining seventeen people chased after them frantically.
The handsome old man shouted repeatedly from within the Ancient Ink Lotus, “Kid, no need to run! Let the old man take care of them!”
Guo Shier paused slightly but didn’t slow down at all. As he continued flying forward, he sent a psychic message, “I mean… Handsome Old Man, there are so many of them… Seventeen great saints. Only two of us can fight here. They have four strong guys, and the rest aren’t weak either. I think it’s better to run. If we create distance and launch a surprise attack, killing a few before fleeing—this strategy suits us better!”
The handsome old man cursed, “Suit us better my ass! I hate running! Stop!”
Guo Shier insisted, “No way! My life is more important!”
The handsome old man cursed in anger. It wasn’t that Guo Shier was cowardly; in a disadvantageous situation, he never fought head-on. In this life, nothing was more important than his own life. He wanted to live another lifetime. Who knew if he would be reborn after dying? He couldn’t take that risk, so he had to run.
“Stop, kid! Bastard! Weakling! I, the handsome old man, always kill others! You’re such a shame…”
“I won’t stop! It’s better to lose face than lose my life…”
“I have a way to kill them!”
“I’m afraid it will drag in Uncle Eagle Demon and Uncle Luo! I won’t fight!”
By now, it wasn’t just a matter of fighting or not. Guo Shier and the handsome old man were arguing—one insisting on fighting, the other refusing. The handsome old man was furious.
“Really not going to fight?”
“No!”
“Sure you’re not?”
“Uh…”