Chapter 1: Jin Shiyen (Part 2)

The old man showed half of his body above the altar, holding his hands together as if watching the spectacle.
Guo Shier felt helpless and said, “Old man, please help!”
The old man replied earnestly, “Young man, you must rely on yourself at all times; relying on others won’t work. Since you’re not in danger now, the old man won’t intervene. Hehe, you need to train more… Hurry, he’s getting far away! Chase after him!”
Guo Shier said, “Hey, you’re my sacrificial spirit! Old man, you… you can’t just watch. You should help! I remember you have a Soul Lock Chain… Right, the Sacrificial Treasure Soul Lock Chain, which can control others.”
The old man rubbed his bald head and laughed, “The old man won’t help this time.”
Angrily, Guo Shier teleported away. If they continued, Jin Shiyen would vanish completely.
Seeing the altar appear not far away, Jin Shiyen turned around without hesitation and teleported away. The two chased each other in the sky. Determined not to fight Guo Shier, Jin Shiyen left Guo Shier feeling frustrated. Without a Sacrificial Treasure like the Outline Pearl or Soul Lock Chain, and with the old man not helping, Guo Shier could only chase with his Moon Blade. The more he chased, the angrier he became. Jin Shiyen was like a slippery loach—impossible to catch.
The old man laughed heartily. He enjoyed watching the chaos and occasionally gave advice: “Young man, no, it’s on the left…”“No, he’s behind you…”“Ah, you’ve chased past him! Turn around and chase again, haha…”
Under the old man’s guidance, the chase turned into a joke.
Suddenly, Guo Shier stopped and said, “Damn it, I’m not chasing anymore. I have no grudges against him… I’m going back!”
The old man panicked and said, “Hey, don’t! Keep chasing…” He still hadn’t had his fill of the spectacle. It was a pleasure to see Guo Shier suffer.
Jin Shiyen flew around like a headless fly. Suddenly, he noticed that his pursuer had stopped chasing. But since he was used to teleporting, he accidentally ended up right in front of Guo Shier.
Seeing Jin Shiyen appear about thirty meters ahead, Guo Shier was stunned. After chasing him for so long without success, he never expected Jin Shiyen to teleport right in front of him. Without hesitation, he roared, “Slash!” His Moon Blade swept down with a howl.

Jin Shiyen was on the verge of tears. This wasn’t the way to seek death—since the opponent had already given up chasing, why go and look for trouble? How could he be so stupid? The handsome old man was also stunned. He had seen fools before, but never one this idiotic. He sighed, “You want to die… Just take a knife and cut yourself instead… Coming here to let others kill you—ah, you’re so lazy!”

To teleport to a new location, one had to pause before moving again. This time, Jin Shiyen had no chance to escape. A mouthful of blood sprayed onto the Axe Sacrificial Treasure, which rushed forward to confront him. In any case, although breaking the Axe Sacrificial Treasure would cause severe injuries, it wouldn’t be fatal. He had no other choice but to use his cracked axe to buy himself a sliver of a chance.

Boom!

Crack, whoosh! Whoosh…

The Axe Sacrificial Treasure indeed shattered the Moon Blade, but it could no longer hold together. With a shocking crack, it shattered into countless pieces and scattered everywhere. Jin Shiyen felt a sharp pain in his chest, and more blood sprayed out. He had finally secured a chance and immediately teleported away.

By the time Guo Shier’s Moon Blade swung down again, Jin Shiyen had already disappeared from that spot.

The handsome old man cursed, “What else can you do besides slashing? A fool comes here for you to beat, and you still let him run away? Ah, two fools… a perfect pair!”

Guo Shier said calmly, “I didn’t want to kill him. If I really did, it would cause big trouble… Handsome old man, use your brain. I’m just a guest, not a disciple of the Gunan family. There’s no need to go to such extremes. Severely injuring him is enough. It would be better if we could capture him, but unfortunately, he’s not that easy to catch.”

The handsome old man was stunned and muttered, “Sly little brat. Don’t call me unless it’s necessary. I’m busy.” He retracted his body into the altar and never came out again.

Guo Shier smiled bitterly, glanced at Jin Shiyen’s flying figure in the distance, and turned to fly back toward the camp.

After this chase, Guo Shier had moved far away from the camp. Fortunately, the distance wasn’t enough for him to get lost, and he soon returned to the supply camp.

Everyone in the camp stood on the streets, discussing the event. Guo Shier landed in front of the camp gate. Several professionals clearly recognized him and immediately bowed respectfully. Some rushed inside to report. Moments later, Nan Ya came over and asked, “How did it go?”

Guo Shier replied, “He ran away, but I destroyed his life sacrificial treasure.”

Nan Ya shuddered inwardly. Destroy the sacrificial treasure? For a professional using a virtual altar, if their life sacrificial treasure were destroyed, it would cost them at least half of their life force. Recovery would take at least a year—almost impossible unless they had rare, high-quality talismans to quickly heal their spiritual wounds, along with plenty of precious materials to reforged their sacrificial treasure. This severe blow would cause Jin Shiyen great pain for a long time.

“Elder, please go inside and rest.”

Guo Shier said, “Elder Leader, we should prepare to evacuate. This camp is no longer safe. Jin Shiyen has sent many distress signals; who knows what powerful figures might arrive? We’d better return to the main camp or go somewhere else. This place… has become very dangerous.”

Nan Ya thought for a moment before nodding. “Alright, let’s evacuate immediately. Some of us can return, while others can go to another supply camp in the Donghuan Grasslands. We’ll suspend operations here for now…” He waved to the camp supervisor and gave a few instructions. Chaos immediately ensued in the camp.

“Elder…”

Nan Feng led six team members over to Guo Shier. They didn’t dare leave without permission and needed to seek his approval before acting.

Guo Shier asked, “We’re about to evacuate. Where do you plan to go?”

Nan Feng replied, “We plan to follow the Elder…”

Guo Shier nodded. He had originally intended to move with a small team—being alone was too lonely. With a team, at least there would be someone to talk to. He also wanted to learn more about the Gunan Clan, as he still didn’t know much about it.

Nan Feng said excitedly, “Great! Let me introduce the team members to the Elder.”

The team consisted of four men and three women, including Nan Feng. Seven people made up a standard Gunan Clan team: one leader and six members.

Nan Feng said, “Come here and greet the Elder.” The six team members stepped forward to bow. Guo Shier smiled and said, “No need for formalities. I’m just someone here to make a living. Please introduce yourselves.”

“Junior Grand Sage Nan Xiaotong, greeting the Elder.”

“Senior Sage Nan Hu, hehe, greeting the Elder.”

“Intermediate Mad Sage Nan Xiaoyi, hoping the Elder will take care of me.”

The three female team members generously stepped forward to introduce themselves first. Except for Nan Xiaotong, who looked like a middle-aged woman, the other two were youthful and lively, clearly quite young.

“Intermediate Sage Nan Zhao, greeting the Elder.”

Guo Shier glanced at them and nodded, thinking, “This one doesn’t have a horse face… Strange. Do I have to reach the virtual altar level to develop a horse face? This clan is quite interesting.”

“Senior Mad Master Nan Zhongye, paying respects to the clan elders.”
“Senior Talisman and Martial Arts Master Nan Bao! Paying respects to the clan elders.” It was a boy-like child with a clear voice, seemingly not yet at puberty.
Guo Shieru coughed. That name sounded powerful—Nan Bao! It seemed even more formidable than a male performer. He reached out and patted the little boy’s head, saying, “Hmm, not bad, Nan Bao. Hmm, Nan Bao… How old are you?”
Nan Bao replied excitedly, “I’m twelve years old this year! I was specially allowed to come out for training.”
Upon hearing this, Guo Shieru knew the child must have some background; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been sent out for training at such a young age. He was likely a core disciple of the clan. To have advanced to a senior master at such a young age must mean he was a disciple heavily nurtured by the clan.
“This camp will be disbanded soon. Everyone must evacuate. We’ll go to another camp.”
Nan Feng asked, “Should we use the talisman gate of the camp, or fly there?”
Guo Shieru replied, “Use the talisman gate.” He didn’t want to encounter experts from the Gu Jin clan right after leaving. He led Nan Feng’s team to the talisman gate. The gate of the camp was already open, with countless people waiting to be transported. When they saw Guo Shieru approaching, the camp’s managers immediately stepped forward to greet him. Since the clan elders needed to use the talisman gate, they were given priority, so Nan Feng’s team didn’t wait and used it first.
With one step through the talisman gate, Guo Shieru arrived at another camp. After checking the talisman map, he realized he had arrived on the other side of the Donghuan Grassland. This place was backed by a swamp, with a mountain range to the east called the Boshu Mountain Range. The swamp behind the camp was known as the Donghuan Swamp, part of the Donghuan Grassland.
This camp was a relatively important supply camp, called Donghuan Camp No. 3, much more bustling than the previous camp. There were numerous buildings in the camp, and many clan disciples as well. This camp was a crucial stronghold; beyond it lay territory no longer under the control of the Gu Nan clan.
Nan Feng asked, “Elders, where are we going?”
Guo Shieru waved his hand and said, “I’m just following you. Do whatever you need to do. I’ll just follow. Um, my task is to watch the fun—nothing serious.”
Nan Feng and his teammates stared at Guo Shieru in shock, completely confused. Nan Feng swallowed hard before finally saying, “This… isn’t quite appropriate, is it?”
Guo Shieru replied bluntly, “There’s nothing inappropriate about it. I’m just here to have some fun and relax.”
Nan Bao said enviously, “The clan elders are so carefree. They don’t have to do anything…”

Guo Shier said, “Don’t call me grandpa; I’m not that old yet.”
Nan Bao was startled and quickly said, “Yes, clan elder…”
A large crowd poured out of the Fumen, most of them being disciples from the temporary camp, with some coming from other camps as well.
Guo Shier estimated that there were no less than a hundred thousand people in the entire camp. It was a terrifying number—back at Beifumen, master-level professionals could be counted on one’s fingers, but here, most professionals had master-level skills, and there were even many at the level ofSaint Master orSaint Master.
A noise arose. Nan Feng, being clever, said, “Clan elder, let me go and find out what’s happening.”
Guo Shier nodded and said, “I guess something went wrong at the temporary camp.”
A moment later, Nan Feng returned and said, “Clan elder, the temporary camp was attacked… but the losses aren’t severe. Most people have evacuated.”
Guo Shier asked, “Has the eldest elder, Nan Ya, evacuated?”
Nan Feng replied, “We don’t know yet… He seems to be the last one to leave. The disciples who arrived earlier aren’t sure.”
A disciple from the Gunan family came over and bowed, saying, “Are you the clan elder, Senior Guo Shier?”
Guo Shier nodded and asked, “What’s the matter?”