Chapter 5: The Madman (Part 1)

The handsome old man said, “There shouldn’t be much of a problem. Kid, if you can reach that person’s level, you’ll be able to move freely in this world without any constraints.”
Guo Shier asked, “Can I reach that level?”
The handsome old man replied, “It’s difficult, but not impossible. Stay alive carefully and work hard to advance—then it might be possible. Hehe.” He offered encouragement. In truth, he wasn’t sure whether Guo Shier could reach the height beyond the ninth-tier altar; that was no longer a problem he could solve.
After changing paths several times, Guo Shier soon got lost again. In the Eight Paths Vast Heaven, any professional would get lost, but with a return spell, there would be no issue. Guo Shier didn’t intend to return to the Great Diving Fortress; he hoped to find the area where the four ancient clans were located, but so far, he had no clue.
The four of them stopped in a space without any node sigils, with countless paths surrounding them. Guo Shier rushed here and dared not wander further. The Eight Paths Vast Heaven wasn’t a safe place—danger lurked everywhere, and a single mistake could mean death. He had to be cautious.
The handsome old man smiled and said, “We’re lucky this time. If it weren’t for so many altar experts holding us back, we wouldn’t have been able to escape. Well, we’re safe here now. As for where to go… let’s discuss it.” His expression became less serious, looking more relaxed.
Guo Shier said, “I have no idea where I am anymore. Everyone, do you have any suggestions?”
Eagle Demon replied nonchalantly, “When have we ever gone in the right direction? It’s fine—as long as we’re alive, it’s okay.” His words made Guo Shier blush. In his past life, he wasn’t directionally challenged, but since arriving in this world, getting lost had become normal. Sometimes, he even felt embarrassed himself.
Luo Zhan laughed upon hearing this and said, “Hmm, my suggestion is… to keep wandering. Anyway, we don’t know the way. If we’re lucky, we might encounter some professionals and ask them for directions.”
Once deep in the Eight Paths Vast Heaven, it was hard to see anyone. The world of the Eight Paths Vast Heaven was enormous, and the professionals inside were like sand grains in a lake—completely invisible. If unlucky, one might get trapped there for life. Everyone understood this, but no one voiced it.
In the Eight Paths Vast Heaven, the worst thing was losing confidence. Without it, even if there was a chance to escape, one might still lose it. So, everyone maintained a calm expression, joking around to relax themselves.

The pressure that man put on them was too great; only by coming here could they relax. They discussed excitedly how to move forward, seemingly ignoring the danger of Yachi Daimiten altogether.
Guo Shier said, “Hey, we’re off-topic again. Let’s talk about it… Which passage should we take? Oh right, Nanyou, don’t you have a prediction talisman disk? Use it quickly.”
Nanyou gave a wry smile. His prediction talisman disk was just for psychological comfort—it couldn’t really help find a path. He said, “If I use the prediction talisman disk and it points to a path… what if it’s a dead end?”
Guo Shier couldn’t help but scold, “Jinx!”
The others were confused. Nanyou asked, “What’s a jinx?” He had never heard of crows before, let alone what a jinx was.
Guo Shier replied, “It means… good things don’t happen, but bad things do!”
Nanyou said, “Then I’d better not predict. I’ll just pick any passage.”
Guo Shier said, “The passages of Yachi Daimiten are really strange. Every time I see them, they give me an unreal feeling. This thing keeps moving, and sometimes it even disappears.”
The old man said, “Alright, pick that passage. Uh, it’s disappeared. Never mind. Just pick any one and go in. You guys are so troublesome. Is it that hard to choose a passage?”
The others were speechless. Guo Shier activated the altar and plunged into one of the passages.
Not far after flying, Guo Shier said, “Does this passage look familiar?” Countless starlight spiraled along the walls of the passage. When the altar flew past, they suddenly turned into countless star needles shooting at them. But with his current strength, he didn’t need to worry at all. The star needles were blocked by the altar’s protection before they could even get close.
Eagle Demon was surprised, “It seems we encountered such an attack when we first arrived.”
Nanyou said, “This kind of attack is quite common. Many passages have them. There’s nothing strange about it. I’ve seen many such passages.”
Guo Shier couldn’t help but complain, “Nanyou, can you give me some confidence? Sigh, never mind. Keep going!”
This passage was unbelievably long. They flew for over ten hours. Guo Shier was impatient. Grumbling, he said, “Even a randomly chosen passage is extremely long. I don’t know how much longer we’ll have to fly to get out. Damn it.”
The old man said, “Be patient. We’ll be out soon.” Among these people, except for the non-human old man, everyone was somewhat anxious because they didn’t know what lay ahead.

Finally, the altars rushed out of the passage. It was a foggy space, with a thin layer of mist blocking visibility—allowing sight only for a few hundred meters at most—but everyone realized it was quite large. Guo Shier asked doubtfully, “What place is this?” He knew it was a pointless question, but he still couldn’t help asking.

The handsome old man said, “Fly inside. The three of you go down and fly together so that if danger arises, you can rescue each other.”

The three responded and released their altars. Eagle Demon said, “I’ll scout ahead.” He took off first.

The four altars moved forward together, but not quickly, as the fog made it unsafe to fly fast. One had to be cautious when in an unfamiliar place.

Gradually, a huge shadow appeared ahead—a massive floating rock. Guo Shier said, “It’s like the location of the Great Diving Fortress, but this isn’t it. Let’s fly upward.”

The principle behind building the Great Diving Fortress was to have a stable space with large floating rocks, so that large-scale buildings and teleportation arrays could be constructed on them. Clearly, this place was suitable for building such a fortress.

The four quickly flew above the rock. Guo Shier exclaimed in surprise, “This… it’s abandoned! Good heavens, who destroyed this place?”

High in the air, despite the fog obscuring their view, they still witnessed a shocking sight. A deep crack, hundreds of feet wide, ran through the entire rock, almost splitting it in two. Only traces of the buildings on the ground remained; most had been destroyed and weathered away.

The handsome old man said, “Land down. There’s no one here. These are relics left behind thousands or even tens of thousands of years ago. Maybe we can find something.”

Guo Shier, being greedy, immediately lit up. He said, “Right! There must be many valuable things left. Let’s look for them.”

Nan You couldn’t help but sigh bitterly. Coming from an ancient family, he rarely became obsessed with materials, as most were provided by the family, and very little needed to be collected personally. Thus, he wasn’t very interested in searching for relics.

Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan both looked excited. Having come from lower-tier continents, collecting materials and searching for treasures was instinctive—a necessary survival skill.

They landed on the ruined streets, surrounded by broken bricks and debris. Nan You said, “How could there be anything good in such a dilapidated place?”

Guo Shier said indifferently, “For those who have never picked up trash or searched for treasures, there’s obviously nothing good here… Sigh, it’s the same with children from wealthy families.” He waved his hand, leaving Nan You feeling embarrassed.
Nan You argued, “I don’t have any experience in this!”
Guo Shier pointed at the altar, which spun rapidly and shrank to the size of a palm, floating about a foot above his head. Although it seemed harmless, he still kept the altar above his head, and the handsome old man also shrank to a tiny size, yet his voice remained loud: “If you have no experience, learn it!”
Nan You asked, “Learn what? Picking up trash?”
Guo Shier and the others replied in unison, “Idiot, why would you pick up trash?”
The handsome old man burst into laughter, slapping the altar hard. Unfortunately, since the altar was now very small and he was even smaller, everyone could only hear his wild laughter: “Haha, hahaha! You idiot, picking up trash… Haha, Nan You… You’re really ridiculous. Why would you pick up trash for no reason?”
Nan You said aggrievedly, “But wasn’t it Shier who said… to pick up trash?”
Now not only did the handsome old man laugh wildly, but Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan also burst into laughter. They never expected Nan You to be so clueless. Guo Shier was the only one who was more considerate; he explained, “‘Picking up trash’ is just a metaphor. Trash is trash—no one picks it up. You only remembered what I said about picking up trash and forgot the next part: searching for treasures. What we’re looking for are useful things, not trash. Do you understand?”