Chapter 8: The Stormy Secret Realm (Part 1)

Nan Qiang said, “Annoyed? Still making noise after dying? Let’s go!” Leaning on his crutch and holding Nan Jiao by hand, he staggered back. Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh—this old man was interesting.
Jin Longqing stamped his feet and swung his fists, but his feet were stuck like nails, unable to move an inch. He couldn’t attack. Though he held a high rank and status, he neither could nor dared to attack. His opponent wasn’t someone to mess with; any attack would lead to severe consequences.
The young Jin finally snapped out of it. Having been slapped twice in a row, he was dazed. It wasn’t until then that he cried out, “Elder Ancestor, kill them!”
Slap!
Another slap. Jin Longqing roared, “Bastard!” The young Jin was flung aside by the blow, and soon after, he heard his elder ancestor shout, “Strip him of his family inheritance rights and send him to the outer expedition team! Get lost!”
The young Jin was completely defeated. Due to his outstanding potential, he had always been arrogant and disrespectful. In his fury this time, he lost his head and even dared to give orders to his family’s elder ancestor, only to have the elder unleash all his anger on him.
Although Jin Longqing vented his anger on the young Jin, he still hated Nan Qiang deeply, thinking to himself, “Old bastard, this isn’t over between us!”
……
The Stormy Secret Realm.
There was neither strong wind nor heavy rain—no one knew why it was called that. The entire realm presented an extremely beautiful landscape, with countless huge canyons covered in lush vegetation. Numerous mutated magical beasts hid in the forests, and flocks of mutated birds circled in the sky.
On the cliff face of one canyon, a faint green glow enveloped the area. There were many cave entrances, wooden platforms, and walkways built on the cliff. That green glow was the protective barrier generated by an activated magic array. This was a stronghold of the Gu Nan family, serving as a starting point for exploration and a supply base.
This supply base and stronghold were located inside the cliff, with countless passages and vast spaces carved into the rock, along with specialized teleportation magic arrays. The stronghold housed a large number of inner and outer disciples, along with hired professionals, making it resemble a city with a population of over a million.
The vast majority were mid-to-low-level professionals, with only a small number of high-level professionals such as Saints and Great Saints—just tens of thousands. As for those at the altar level, they were even rarer. Including the guest elders and clan elders, there were no more than a hundred, most of whom were experts at the virtual altar level.
Guo Shier and the others, following Elder Nan Qiang along with Nan You and Nan Gua, lived on the highest level of the stronghold.

The Ancestor Nan Qiang held a high position in the Ancient Nan Clan and was one of the members of the clan’s core Ancestor Council. These past few days, Guo Shier and the others had stayed by Nan Qiang’s side. Guo Shier took the opportunity to ask many questions and exchanged some cultivation insights with Nan You and Nan Gua. He had become quite familiar with everyone and met many professionals who came to pay respects to Ancestor Nan Qiang. Most of them were high-ranking professionals from the Ancient Nan Clan, along with some experts in altar cultivation.

One after another, exploration teams set out. Their task was simple: to draw talisman diagrams, search for minerals and materials, and most importantly, find natural entrances and exits. Since the Wind and Rain Secret Realm and the Mysterious Path Secret Realm were of the same type—characterized by their interconnected layout—they were fiercely contested by various ancient clans.

In the Wind and Rain Secret Realm, each ancient clan had its own stronghold, with large numbers of disciples exploring the realm. Experts were needed because many high-level mutated talisman beasts, mostly above level 10, had been discovered there, causing significant harm to the disciples of various clans, and they had to be eliminated.

In addition to this task, the altar-level experts had another crucial responsibility: to find an exit passage. This required strong military support so that the clan’s disciples wouldn’t suffer heavy casualties while exploring. This was the work of exploration and development.

Of course, conflicts among the disciples of various clans—such as ambushes, killings, and battles over prey—were also common, and these issues had to be resolved by the clan’s higher-ups. Sometimes, altar experts had to step in.

The Wind and Rain Secret Realm was a vast secret realm, so enormous that its boundaries had not yet been explored. There were several types of terrain: mountains, plains, and swamps. It was said that there were also rainforests and deserts in the distance. For now, the strongholds of various sects were all located in the mountainous areas.

Guo Shier didn’t know exactly how many ancient clans there were. Almost all the ancient clans known in the Eight Paths Vast Heaven had strongholds, including the Ancient Sages Clan, the Ancient Cranes and Famous Clans, the Ancient Gold Clan, the Ancient Huo Clan, the Ancient Hidden Lin Clan, and so on. As for the unknown clans, their number was unknown. Just from the flying vehicles and hunting cars that passed by from time to time in the mountainous area, it could be seen that there were already a dozen or so ancient clans in this region alone.

Since he was with Ancestor Nan Qiang, Guo Shier received a large amount of information. After all, he was now a guest elder of the Ancient Nan Clan, holding a high status.

Guo Shier had had a comfortable time these past few days. Aside from occasional arguments between Nan You and Nan Gua, everything else was fine. He had dedicated servants at his service, and all kinds of treatments were provided to the highest standard.

These days, aside from communicating with Ancestor Nan Qiang and others, he spent his time practicing diligently, sometimes also assisting the old man Shuai in strengthening the altar. After obtaining the third natural rune, the altar needed to be repaired and reinforced.

Nan Jiao visited Ancestor Nan Qiang every day and got along well with Guo Shier. The little girl was proud on the surface but kind at heart, a quality Guo Shier appreciated in her. Since he had given Nan Jiao a Snow Wolf King beast rune, she was very close to him. Guo Shier, having had no children over three lifetimes, also liked children quite a bit.

Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan had been practicing in their rooms these past few days. Especially Eagle Demon, who was on the verge of advancing. Once his spiritual power was sufficient, he could begin constructing an altar. Luo Zhan was slightly behind, so his task was to act as a guardian for Eagle Demon.

Ancestor Nan Qiang enjoyed chatting with Guo Shier. One day, as Guo Shier and Ancestor Nan Qiang were chatting, he asked, “Ancestor, your people… must have obtained quite a few natural runes in the Eight Paths Vast Heaven, right?”

Nan You and Nan Gua, sitting nearby, drank the fruit juice brought by Guo Shier. Hearing this topic, they looked at Nan Qiang with interest. Natural runes were rare, but given the Ancestor’s strength, he should have obtained quite a few.

Nan Qiang sighed and said, “Very few… In my entire life, I’ve only obtained eight natural runes in total. Among them, there are only three true basic runes and five auxiliary natural runes. Unfortunately… when I tried to advance to the Virtual Form Altar, I wasted two opportunities. Two of the basic natural runes shattered during extraction. It’s a pity—my strength wasn’t enough at that time.”

Guo Shier was shocked. He knew that even before reaching the altar level, he had already succeeded in extracting natural runes—of course, that was thanks to the old man Shuai. Thinking about it, if he tried to extract them himself, he might end up like Ancestor Nan Qiang.

Ancestor Nan Qiang shook his head and said, “If I had been more careful back then and obtained those two basic natural runes, I might have been able to overcome that obstacle. Even now, it would be difficult for me to break through if I got them again.”

Guo Shier calculated and said, “So, in total, you’ve obtained ten natural runes, with two of them shattered?”

Ancestor Nan Qiang smiled and said, “I’m already very lucky. Some people reach the third-tier altar level yet haven’t obtained even one basic natural rune. Hehe, if you see a natural rune, don’t miss it, but also be careful. Failure to extract it can be infuriating.”

Nan Gua said, “There aren’t that many natural runes. So far, I’ve only found one… but the extraction failed. There’s nothing I can do—those things are too delicate. Without experience, failure is inevitable!”
Elder Nan Qiang said, “That’s quite normal. Generally, only when one reaches a second-tier solid altar can extracting natural runes be more stable. Below that level, success is almost impossible.”
Nan You said, “Elder, do you mean… if I find a natural rune, I should just not try to extract it?”
Nan Qiang smiled and asked, “Would you give up?”
Nan You replied firmly, “How could I give up? I’ll try first. How can I be satisfied without giving it a shot?”
Nan Qiang said, “You see… many natural runes end up being ruined like this.”
Everyone burst into laughter. Elder Nan Qiang added, “More and more professionals are entering the Eight Paths Great Heaven realm, so relatively, the resources of natural runes are becoming scarcer. Most of them get ruined—what a pity.”
Guo Shier said, “There’s no need to feel sorry. This is a necessary stage.” In truth, he was also regretful, especially regarding basic natural runes. According to Old Shuai, one basic natural rune meant one tier of altar. He deeply understood the power of natural runes—his second-tier altar was built using two such runes, plus the significant contribution of the Ancient Ink Lotus.
Nan Qiang nodded and said, “Yes. Those who can advance to a virtual altar are all exceptionally talented and confident. When they see natural runes, they surely won’t miss the chance. Failure is normal.” He was filled with emotion.
A Grand Sage entered and said respectfully, “I greet the Elder.”
Nan Qiang frowned slightly and asked, “Deacon Nan Yan, what’s the matter?”
Nan Yan took out a message token and said, “Disciples from two squads are trapped in Moye Ridge. They encountered high-level mutated rune beasts—level twelve, mutated silver-threaded crocodiles.”
Nan Qiang said, “If they can’t defeat them, they should run. Come back and organize more people to go…”
Nan Yan said with a wry smile, “It’s not just one silver-threaded crocodile, but a whole group. The leader is a level twelve mutated silver-threaded crocodile. They’re trapped, forced into a narrow crack, and can’t get out at all.”
Elder Nan Qiang cursed, “A bunch of idiots.”
Guo Shier’s expression changed, and he said, “Let me go.” It turned out Old Shuai was communicating with him—there was a need for the souls of some high-level mutated rune beasts, and this was a perfect opportunity. He didn’t want to keep relying on others for free, so he decided to do something if he got the chance.

Nan You said with a smile, “I’ll go with the clan elder.” Ever since Guo Shieru joined the Gunan family, Nan You and the others had started calling him the clan elder right away.
Nan Qiang nodded and said, “Go quickly and come back soon, hehe.” He really enjoyed chatting with Guo Shieru. As an elder, he liked to reminisce and show off, and Guo Shieru was a great listener.