Chapter 7: Internal Strife (Part 2)

Guo Shier simply recounted what had happened. Luo Zhan cursed angrily, “There are actually such scumbags? I quit too.”
Nan You grabbed Luo Zhan’s sleeve and pleaded, “Brother Luo, sir Luo, please help persuade them. Don’t add fuel to the fire, sigh…”
Luo Zhan said, “That Nan Zhiren from your family must be crazy. I’ve never seen such an idiot.” He started cursing right away.
Nan You was also helpless. He said, “He’s too arrogant. There’s nothing I can do. He’s the ancestor of another branch.”
Guo Shier understood the situation—he knew it was a factional struggle within the family, and he was just caught in the crossfire. He had originally wanted to leave; it was too dangerous here. Not only were there conflicts between the two ancient families, but there were also internal fights. He didn’t want to get involved at all.
At that moment, Nan Qiang, the ancestor, came in shakily, leaning on a cane, calling out, “Shier, Shier!”
Guo Shier knew this guy was pretending to be old and pitiful. He had seen Nan Qiang argue with Jin Longqing before. Back then, Nan Qiang hadn’t shown any signs of old age at all—full of energy and terrifying to look at.
“Ancestor, why did you come?” he pretended to be clueless.
Nan Qiang gently patted his waist and said, “Sigh, I’m getting old. My legs and back aren’t what they used to be. Shier, I came to apologize to you.”
Guo Shier felt a headache coming on. He said, “It’s no big deal. It’s just that I want to leave for my own reasons.”
Nan Qiang said, “I know, I know. Sigh, Shier, this time it’s our Gu Nan family’s fault. Whether you stay or leave, it’s still our fault.”
Guo Shier’s headache worsened. With Nan Qiang lowering his stance and constantly apologizing, he couldn’t be too proud. He could only say, “Ancestor, let me think about it, okay?” With no other choice, he decided to delay things for now.
Nan Qiang was a cunning old man. He nodded and said, “Alright, alright. By the way, I’m preparing to give you some materials… well, provided by Nan Zhiren…”
Guo Shier was stunned. He thought, “Damn, there’s even such a good thing? A free gift… should I take it?”
The handsome old man wasn’t interested in anything else, but as soon as it came to materials, this guy showed up. The handsome old man said, “Kid, take a look at what materials there are… if there are any hard-to-find good things, just agree.” He used soul vibrations, so outsiders couldn’t hear him.
Guo Shier couldn’t help but say, “No way, can you be bribed with just a few materials?”

The handsome old man said, “Nonsense! What do you mean ‘a little material’? Don’t you know how rare materials are? Go ask around—what good things are there?”
Guo Shier smiled bitterly. “Handsome old man, you’re even more greedy than me.” Forced by the old man, he had no choice but to say, “Well, I happen to need some materials. Ancestor, could you help me gather them?”
Ancestor Nanqiang sighed in relief, thinking, “As long as you need materials, things will be easier from now on.” He agreed readily, saying, “No problem, no problem. How about you give me a list?”
Nanyou was stunned. After trying to persuade him for so long with no effect, just a few words from the ancestor made Guo Shier agree. The ancestor was truly powerful! With the ancestor involved, one person was worth two!
Guo Shier grinned, and Ancestor Nanqiang immediately felt a chill, thinking to himself, “Hope this guy doesn’t ask for too much.”
The handsome old man immediately threw a talisman, which appeared right above Guo Shier’s head and flew to Ancestor Nanqiang’s side. Even Guo Shier was shocked. He knew it was the handsome old man’s doing and couldn’t help but complain inwardly: That old man’s greed is really outrageous.
Ancestor Nanqiang was amused and exasperated. This guy wasn’t modest at all and immediately handed over the list. He picked up the talisman, examined it briefly, frowned slightly, then quickly smiled and said, “Okay, I’ll go gather them first… Stay here and wait for my news.”
Guo Shier didn’t even know what was written on the talisman, so he could only bow and say, “Thank you, Ancestor.”
Ancestor Nanqiang added, “Nanyou, take care of the clan elders.” Then he turned and left.
The handsome old man poked his head out and wondered, “Huh? He actually accepted the list… Amazing! Truly worthy of an ancient clan!”
Guo Shier became curious and asked, “Handsome old man, what materials are on the list you made?”
Only then did Nanyou realize the list wasn’t made by Guo Shier but by his spirit sacrifice, the handsome old man. He couldn’t help but sigh, “If only I had such a considerate spirit sacrifice… How wonderful that would be… Ah, forget it. It’s just a dream; it’s impossible.” He was extremely envious, having never seen someone this clever.
The handsome old man smiled and said, “It’s nothing special. Just a few natural runes… Oh, and they have to be original, not copies…”
Guo Shier staggered back, stammering, “A… a few? Damn it, handsome old man, you’re too cruel…”

The handsome old man said calmly, “You fool, you underestimate the Gu family. A family with a heritage of tens of thousands of years has a depth you can’t imagine. Do you think everyone is like you—a pauper with nothing? Don’t worry. Since he’s willing to take on my order, he’ll surely be able to gather all the materials.”

Guo Shier was speechless, but he was still happy inside. After traveling across so many continents and secret realms, he now knew that secret realms near lower-tier continents contained many rare materials, while on higher-tier continents or those occupied by ancient families, rare materials were scarce. This was somewhat similar to some places in his past life—remote, undeveloped areas with plenty of valuable things.

The settlement grew increasingly lively as large numbers of disciples returned every day. Since everyone had to evacuate, all the disciples withdrew from their camps. It was only later that Guo Shier learned that the Gu Jin family had allied with another ancient family, and the two fought each other, resulting in many experts dying. This forced the Gu Nan family to retreat, effectively abandoning that secret realm.

All the disciples of the Gu Nan family retreated to the Great Diving Fortress and then returned to their family’s settlement in batches, leaving behind the Baqi Dami Tian. Of course, there were still many altar-level experts remaining in Baqi Dami Tian.

Eagle Demon successfully emerged from seclusion after five days, having successfully constructed his own virtual altar. Guo Shier’s strength also increased greatly. With a professional who possessed a virtual altar by his side, exploring outside meant not only fewer burdens but also an extra helper.

Guo Shier and the others retreated to the Great Diving Fortress along with the disciples of the Gu Nan family.

Less than three days after returning to the Great Diving Fortress, Anqiang Patriarch brought Nanqin Patriarch with him. This time, he didn’t summon Guo Shier to meet him. The strength Guo Shier had demonstrated already made these patriarchs view him differently.

Guo Shier lived in a large courtyard, served by many disciples of the Gu Nan family. One day, a servant came in and reported, “Elder, the family patriarchs have come to see you.” He still couldn’t understand why two patriarchs would come to see a guest elder.

Guo Shier said calmly, “Oh, invite them in.”

The servant bowed and left, still muttering to himself, “This elder is really arrogant.” He had no idea that Anqiang Patriarch was trying to ingratiate himself with Guo Shier.

Anqiang Patriarch and Nanqin Patriarch entered, and Guo Shier went forward with a smile, saying, “I greet you both, patriarchs.”

Nan You followed behind the two ancestors, with a small tail behind him as well—that was Nan Jiao, the little girl he had seen before, accompanied by the Snow Wolf King. Nan Jiao loved the Snow Wolf King deeply, which made her also feel a strong fondness for Guo Shier. Hearing that the ancestors were coming to Guo Shier’s place, she insisted on coming along as well.

Ancestor Nan Qiang said, “Don’t be polite. These are the materials you asked for, along with the clan’s rewards.”

Guo Shier didn’t expect Ancestor Nan Qiang to actually agree to give him these materials. He asked in confusion, “Clan’s rewards?”

Nan You explained, “It’s because last time you captured a group of disciples from the Ancient Gold Clan on the Donghuan Grassland. This time, you exchanged them for many of our clan’s disciples. Additionally, you saved a group of disciples—these all qualify for clan rewards.”

Ancestor Nan Qiang took out a dozen or so token bags and placed them in front of Guo Shier.

Guo Shier was shocked. He used soul communication to ask the old man, “Old Man Shuai! How many materials did you ask for… a dozen token bags!”

Old Man Shuai replied immediately, “Heh, you really brought them? Damn, the Ancient Gold Clan is truly powerful. Haha, kid, you’ve struck it rich! I never thought they would actually give them away… Uhh, haha.” In his excitement, he even learned Guo Shier’s casual expressions.

Guo Shier said, “Old Man Shuai, if we take these things, we won’t be able to leave. We might even have to get involved in their clan conflicts. Should we really take them?” He was very hesitant.

Old Man Shuai shouted, “You fool! Hurry up and take them! You idiot! If you tried to collect them by yourself, it would take decades—don’t even think about it… It’s worth staying here a few more years. Some materials can’t be collected even if you find them. Just take them quickly!”

Guo Shier knew he shouldn’t agree too quickly, but he was so confused by Old Man Shuai’s noise that he reached out and picked up the token bags. Each bag was filled to the brim. He had no idea how Old Man Shuai had made the list—it was like robbery.

Ancestor Nan Qiang said, “Fortunately, the clan was able to gather them. Some of these materials… heh, most professionals these days don’t use them. Only ancient professionals did. It took a lot of effort to find them in the clan’s inventory.” He was also quite curious.

Guo Shier didn’t know what to say. He didn’t understand what ancient professionals needed—those were the things Old Man Shuai wanted. But he had once told Old Man Shuai, “What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is still mine.” So what Old Man Shuai wanted was also what he wanted—there was no contradiction.

Guo Shier nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll take them.”

Ancestor Nan Qin said with a smile, “Most of these were taken from Nan Zhiren’s family as compensation and an apology to you.”
Guo Shier laughed and said, “I see… Then I won’t be polite.” He emptied the talisman bag in front of him, causing Nan You’s eyelids to twitch.
Ancestor Nan Qiang said with a smile, “That’s good.”
Guo Shier thought to himself, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch. They’ve given so much—now it’s time to put forward conditions. Let’s see what they have to say.”