Chapter 5: The Starlit Secret Realm (Part 1)

Guo Shier didn’t understand. “With so many Node Symbol Hearts, there must be plenty of natural runes too. We just need to explore more places to collect many natural runes,” he saidobviously.
Nan You could no longer bear Guo Shier’s greed. He said, “Won’t other people come in? Having so many Node Symbol Hearts is great, but there are also many altar-level professionals here. Do they all come just to watch you collect natural runes? Finding one natural rune out of ten Node Symbol Hearts is already considered lucky!”
These words instantly shattered Guo Shier’s hopes. He said gloomily, “I’ve always been lucky! Don’t you know that?”
Nan You was speechless—those words were powerful. He suddenly realized he was no longer a free, independent altar expert but a follower, a professional under someone else’s command. Once a follower, he lost his identity and became a professional who automatically joined his master’s family. He couldn’t help but sigh deeply.
The handsome old man said, “Then let’s take our chances. Since we’re already in, how can we not reap some benefits?”
Guo Shier stared at the circular wall, where passages kept appearing and disappearing. He asked, “Which passage should we take?” There were too many passages, and he couldn’t decide which one would lead somewhere. It was best to listen to everyone’s opinions.
Nan You said, “Hachiman Daimiten is extremely vast. If hundreds of thousands of people enter here, they’ll quickly scatter, making it hard to meet up. So there’s no need to worry—just go wherever you like.”
Guo Shier was surprised. “It’s that big? To actually meet you… What a coincidence!”
Nan You retorted, “What coincidence? It’s my bad luck—ending up in the hands of a monster like you, who wears the guise of a great sage but actually has altar-level power! Ugh… I’m really screwed!”
The handsome old man asked, “What? Are you not happy?”
Nan You said with a bitter face, “There’s nothing I can do but accept it. I can only blame my bad luck.” He seemed resigned.
Guo Shier felt a strange sensation. He never expected this guy to actually give in. Initially, Guo Shier only planned to take him out. If he wanted to leave, he wouldn’t stop him. If he tried to attack instead, with the handsome old man backing him, he wouldn’t be afraid. Even if he lost, he could still escape. With so many passages here, he could pick any one to enter, making it difficult for Nan You to track him. The passages appeared and disappeared rapidly—missing just one second could mean losing track. It was a great place to escape.

Nanyou didn’t want to leave at all. It was much better to explore together in a group than to wander around alone. There were not only experts of the Virtual Altar here but also many experts of the Physical Altar, though opportunities to meet face-to-face were rare. The Eight Paths Vast Heaven was simply too huge—like thousands of ants on a small enclosed island, where even two strong ants would hardly ever meet.

Guo Shier knew that with Nanyou joining them, their strength could increase significantly. An expert of the Virtual Altar far surpassed a Grand Sage-level professional in every aspect.

Nanyou said, “Wait a moment.” He flew outside the Ancient Ink Lotus, and neither Guo Shier nor the Old Handsome Man stopped him.

A circular talisman disk appeared in Nanyou’s hand. He gently tapped the center of the disk, and it floated in front of him. It was a black disk with seven golden lines, a triangle in the middle, and seventy-two tiny beads the size of soybeans spinning around inside.

Guo Shier wondered, “What is this thing?”

The Old Handsome Man looked surprised and said, “Is there still someone using a prediction talisman disk? Hehe, this is interesting. If one obtains true inheritance, it can indeed bring good fortune and ward off misfortune. Well, this talisman disk is almost becoming a sacred artifact.”

Nanyou cast dozens of spells in succession. Suddenly, the seventy-two beads inside the disk emitted streams of colored light. Then the triangle in the center began to spin rapidly, causing the beads to rotate as well. Streams of light merged together, forming countless runes that flashed by at incredible speed.

Guo Shier widened his eyes. As a high-level Grand Sage with sharp vision and the aid of an eye-clearing spell, he still couldn’t make out those flashing runes—only catching a faint impression that they were runes, though he had no idea what kind, as they flashed too fast.

The Old Handsome Man was also watching intently. He was far stronger than Guo Shier and could barely make out a third of what was happening. It wasn’t because his cultivation was insufficient, but because he wasn’t the one controlling the talisman disk. Being able to understand a third of it was already quite remarkable.

Guo Shier turned and saw the Old Handsome Man staring intently, so he couldn’t help asking, “Old Handsome Man, can you understand it?”

The Old Handsome Man nodded first, then shook his head. He said, “I can understand a little, but I can’t figure out the pattern. This skill is extremely rare, with few inheritances.”

After a moment, the glowing light of the runes dimmed. Nan You pointed at the rune board, took a deep breath, casually put away the board, and flew back to the Ancient Ink Lotus. He said, “Go in any passage in this direction.”

Guo Shier asked, “Is this the path you predicted?”

Nan You’s horse-like face showed a smile as he replied, “That’s right. This direction is the most advantageous for us.”

Although this guy was a bit ugly, Guo Shier found him fairly tolerable. Compared to a true horse face, he wasn’t that ugly, and since he was already his follower—and a follower who possessed a Virtual Form Altar—Guo Shier wouldn’t look down on him just because of his appearance.

“Alright, let’s go this way and see what the prediction holds.”

The handsome old man took control of the Ancient Ink Lotus. He was more familiar with it than Guo Shier and could manipulate it more skillfully. In an instant, the Ancient Ink Lotus entered a passage.

This passage was different from the last one. The walls of the passage were dotted with twinkling stars, dazzlingly beautiful. Sitting on the Ancient Ink Lotus, Guo Shier stared blankly at the wall and said, “The starlight is brilliant…” Clusters of moving starlight shone with beauty, somewhat resembling the light spots from the rotating lights in the dance hall from his past life.

Nan You looked incredulous and said, “What luck… It’s truly amazing. Just by entering any passage, we end up in a Starlit Passage… I’m impressed!”

Guo Shier asked in confusion, “What’s a Starlit Passage?”

Nan You replied, “Within the Eight Paths Vast Expanse, there are various passages, some of which are extremely rare to encounter. The Starlit Passage is one of them… Because it leads to a small extreme secret realm.”

“A secret realm?”

Guo Shier was surprised. “Does it mean we can get out?”

Nan You shook his head. “No, it’s not about getting out. These small secret realms are contained within the Eight Paths Vast Expanse, usually formed by node rune hearts. They contain extremely rare materials. Such Starlit Passages are very hard to come by.”

Guo Shier smiled and said, “That’s because you gave me good advice by telling me to go this way.”

Nan You replied, “It has nothing to do with my advice. In this direction, hundreds of passage entrances appear instantly. Hehe, maybe only one of them is a Starlit Passage.”

Guo Shier said, “Hmm, the luck is good, but it’s also thanks to the handsome old man.” It was the handsome old man who controlled the Ancient Ink Lotus earlier, so this luck could also be attributed to him.

Gu Mo Lian flew swiftly through the passage, a tremendous pressure ravaging her shield. Stars fell and struck the shield, emitting explosive noises that left everyone dizzy.
Nan You stared anxiously at the shield and said, “The Star Night Passage… If you’re not strong enough, entering means death!” He knew Guo Shier had the power of an altar, but he didn’t know about Gu Mo Lian—unaware that she was essentially a natural altar. With the old man’s control, even if Guo Shier lacked altar power, having Gu Mo Lian meant he would have nearly the same strength, or even more.
Star needles!
The starlight transformed into countless star needles that rained down like a storm. The old man slapped the top of Gu Mo Lian hard, and numerous tentacles extended from her, swinging wildly to block the star needles.
Some tentacles were shattered by the star needles, turning into clusters of spirits that were quickly absorbed by Gu Mo Lian, only to reappear as more tentacles to continue defending against the attacks.
Nan You glanced down at the fluttering tentacles and wondered, “What is this? It can actually block star needle attacks?”
Guo Shier replied, “It’s a Gu Xi Bi.”
Nan You exclaimed in surprise, “Ah? A Spirit Devouring Beast! This… it’s too extravagant! Using a Spirit Devouring Beast to block star needles…”
The old man said, “A high-level Gu Xi Bi has both offensive and defensive capabilities.”
Nan You shook his head and said, “It’s such a waste.”
After a while, the attacks of the star needles ceased, and Gu Mo Lian continued flying forward. The group gradually got used to the various attacks. Guo Shier asked, “The passages… um, are there attacks in every passage?”
Nan You realized Guo Shier knew nothing and said, “No, only the good passages have attacks. Many passages have none at all. Hehe, for a great sage, entering such passages would mean misfortune—if they don’t die, they’ll be severely damaged… For us, this is luck.”
After two more attacks, even the Gu Xi Bi could barely hold on and was pulled back by the old man. Relying solely on Gu Mo Lian’s defense, they continued flying for a day before breaking through the Star Night Passage.
Indeed, this place was not a Node Symbol Heart but a secret realm.
The group disembarked from Gu Mo Lian. She rotated slightly, shrinking to the size of a grain of rice, and flew into Guo Shier’s hair. At this point, he didn’t dare absorb her into his body, as he needed to rely on the old man to handle emergencies.
A Starlight Secret Realm!
The sky was filled with countless stars, shining with colorful light. There was no land—only the glow of the stars.

Guo Shier felt confused, as he understood in his heart that these were not real stars. He asked, “What’s in the Starlight Secret Realm…?”
Nan You replied simply, “Stars!”
The handsome old man explained, “Stars are a kind of material.”
Guo Shier was stunned—this was completely different from his concepts in his past life. Stars turned out to be materials. He said with a wry smile, “What’s the use of stars? How can they be obtained?”