Chapter 5: The Madman (Part 2)

Nan You was laughed at by everyone. Stunned, he said, “But… how could there be treasures here?”
Guo Shier opened his arms and said, “Let’s go look!”
Eagle Demon stepped forward, patted Nan You on the shoulder, and said, “Brother, stop thinking about it. Come with us.”
Nan You replied foolishly, “Oh.”
Luo Zhan laughed and said, “This is the first time I’ve seen Nan You this cute. Haha.”
Nan You wasn’t really stupid. He said, “You guys are laughing in such a wicked way… Alright, let’s go pick up trash!” With that, he began his first trash-picking mission in life.
The group walked down the street, chatting and laughing. Guo Shier said, “There seems to be a half-ruined building over there. Let’s go take a look.” They flew over and arrived there in moments.
It was a stone building with only three floors left, and runes could be seen on the remaining structure. Guo Shier said, “Let’s go inside and take a look.” Pushing open the heavy stone door, they stepped inside.
There was a thick layer of dust on the ground, along with torn animal skins. When stepped on, the skins turned to ashes. Guo Shier said, “I don’t know how long this place has been ruined. Even the skins of mutated beast runes have rotted…”
The handsome old man said, “The architectural style here is very ancient.”
Guo Shier asked, “Is it older than your era?”
The handsome old man replied, “Yes.”
Guo Shier said, “Incredible. Uncle Eagle Demon, go check if there are any secret chambers in this building…” Before he could finish, Luo Zhan shouted, “There are some skeletons here.” Guo Shier immediately walked over quickly. Around a broken stone wall, he saw several skeletons on the ground.
Nan You examined them briefly and said, “There are no injuries on the bones.”
The handsome old man said, “Hmm. They died because their souls vanished directly, not because they were killed.”
Eagle Demon searched quickly and said, “There are no secret chambers here. Let’s go upstairs and check.” They climbed the broken stairs and looked around but found nothing valuable. They went up to the third floor, where only ruins remained—most of it had collapsed.
The handsome old man suddenly remembered something and said, “Let’s check the center. That should be where the teleportation rune array or portal is. I wonder if there’s still an intact array left. If so… maybe we can use it.”

Guo Shier said in surprise, “That’s right. If there’s a teleportation array, maybe we can find people or go to some other continent. Let’s go!” He flew up from the third floor, quickly determined the direction, and headed toward the center. Nan You followed, while Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan also flew out through the broken window.

The four of them flew swiftly along the streets. The ground was full of pits and holes, making it hard to discern the original layout of the streets, with scattered bones visible from time to time. Nan You said, “It’s a pity. This was a Great Submergence Fortress built on the ground. If it had been built underground, it might have been better preserved.”

The handsome old man said, “Building underground wasn’t the style of that era. In ancient times, people rarely built underground… Kid, over there… fly that way.”

Guo Shier looked up and indeed saw remnants of buildings. Though mostly damaged, they still revealed their former prosperity. He adjusted his direction slightly and flew over quickly.

Soon, they saw a huge platform. Guo Shier said, “That’s right. This is a teleportation platform… Huh, it’s already destroyed.”

Dozens of huge stone pillars on the platform only had their bases left; the pillars themselves lay scattered on the platform, with debris and bones everywhere. In some areas, bones were piled up, allowing one to imagine the terrifying scene that must have occurred there.

Guo Shier sighed and said, “A massacre must have taken place here. Maybe no one was able to escape.”

Suddenly, the handsome old man said, “There’s someone!” Guo Shier and the others were horrified because they hadn’t noticed anyone; everything around was silent.

Nan You said, “Don’t scare us, handsome old man! Where is anyone?”

Guo Shier asked, “Where?” He trusted the handsome old man’s intuition greatly. The strongest person here was him—not only because of his skilled tactics but also his keen senses.

The handsome old man said, “Behind that stone pillar!”

Guo Shier became curious and said, “Could it be that someone else, like us, came to this strange place? Stay alert and go take a look… Maybe we can find someone who can take us out.”

The four of them approached cautiously from different sides. Guo Shier saw him first, but after just one glance, he froze.

A person was sitting against the base of the stone pillar, holding his head. He was dressed in a bright blood-red robe, with long hair hanging down to the ground. Not only did Guo Shier freeze, but Nan You also stood there with his mouth wide open. Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan’s eyes were almost bulging out, and the handsome old man fell silent. This person looked very familiar—very much like the one who had wreaked havoc in the Great Submergence Fortress.

Nanyou’s legs trembled like sieves, and the only thought in Guo Shier’s mind was: It’s over.
The four of them were trapped—too far to escape at such close range, yet too afraid to approach. They knew full well how vicious and brutal that man was. A being who could kill hundreds of thousands in an instant without any reason was nothing short of a supreme demon.
The man slowly raised his head, his gaze filled with confusion. Only then did the four realize he wore a strange mask covered in runes, resembling a heavy makeup look. His eyes shifted between confusion and cruelty, and the fluctuations in his soul were extremely odd. He tilted his head, scanning the four of them from top to bottom.
Sweat streamed down Guo Shier’s back like a stream, his heart pounding like a drum. He lamented inwardly: After running for so long, we actually came right here to seek death. There’s a better way to do that. The soul of the handsome old man whispered, “That’s not right, kid. That man’s soul is strange—seemingly very chaotic… This might be your chance. Talk to him… act like nothing’s wrong!”
The man’s gaze swept over their faces. After a while, he said, “You… you seem very scared. What are you afraid of?”
Guo Shier was drenched in sweat, his face covered in cold sweat as well. He forced a smile and said, “We? We’re professionals here for training… Just arrived.”
Nanyou was impressed that Guo Shier could finish a sentence whole. He was so nervous his teeth were chattering nonstop.
The man said, “This is Beilunburg.”
Guo Shier suppressed his fear and said, “Oh, so it’s Beilunburg. Heh, thanks for letting us know. If there’s nothing else, we’ll take our leave.” He stepped back.
The man glanced at him again, then continued to stare at the ground, lost in thought.
Guo Shier silently signaled with his hand and slowly retreated, with the others following. They moved to the other side of the pillar and exchanged glances, their fear unmistakable. Guo Shier quietly pointed outside and suddenly teleported away. The three others followed him, leaving the center area in an instant.
They kept teleporting until they reached the edge of Beilunburg. Only then did Guo Shier take a deep breath and exclaim, “Damn it, I was terrified…”
Nanyou said with a bitter smile, “My hands and feet are completely weak.”
Eagle Demon said, “Let’s get out of here quickly. Strange… How did that man end up here?”

Just as Guo Shier wanted to say something, a red figure flashed before his eyes, and the person suddenly appeared among the four of them. Nan You’s legs gave way, and he sat down on the ground. Guo Shier stepped back, while Ying Mo and Luo Zhan also retreated continuously.

The man asked, “Do you know me?”

Ying Mo had always been bold. Suppressing his fear, he said, “No.”

The man said, “I’m hungry. Is there anything to eat?”

All four were stunned, unable to imagine that this guy would say such a thing. Guo Shier, being clever, quickly said, “Yes, we have food.”

Guo Shier was a natural food lover who had always enjoyed eating. In his past life, he came from a poor family and often went hungry as a child, so he had a special fondness for food. In this life, thanks to his storage space, he never lacked food—there was a variety of meats as well as plenty of vegetarian options.

Guo Shier said, “I’m hungry too. Let’s eat together. How about grilled meat?”

The man nodded. “As long as it’s food, it’s fine.”

Nan You swallowed hard. It wasn’t greed that made him nervous—it was fear. Was Guo Shier really going to eat with this monstrous figure?

Guo Shier had no other plan but to muddle through for now. As long as the other party didn’t intend to kill them, he was confident he could handle the situation. So, he quickly took out pieces of fresh meat, marinated them slightly, and then grilled them using the Jiebaina beads. The Jiebaina beads were not only super sacrificial treasures capable of decomposition and purification but also excellent for grilling—especially for the meat of high-grade mutated beast creatures, which couldn’t be grilled with ordinary flames.

Luo Zhan spread thick animal skins on the ground, set out a long table, and arranged metal plates the size of trays. Guo Shier quickly grilled a large amount of meat and then set up a pot to boil hot soup.

The man took a bite and seemed slightly surprised. “This taste… is quite good,” he said before starting to eat voraciously. Guo Shier, using the Jiebaina beads for grilling, was also fast, but barely kept up. As for the others, they didn’t even get a piece of meat.

According to Guo Shier’s estimate, the man ate over 600 pounds of grilled meat and a large pot of hot soup before stopping and saying, “I’m full.” Guo Shier inwardly smiled bitterly—this guy really could eat. He packed up his things and said, “Elder, if you’re done, we’ll leave.”

The man thought for a moment and said, “I’ll go with you.”

Guo Shier’s whole body stiffened as he inwardly groaned in despair. This guy was a killing star. If he followed them, and something didn’t go his way, he could easily kill all four of them with a single slap. He hesitated for a moment.

The man’s gaze suddenly turned sharp as he asked, “You don’t want to?”
Guo Shier tried to bite back his anger and said, “I do.” But inside, he was cursing violently. How dare he say no? If he did, that man would surely kill him on the spot.
The man asked, “What are your names?”
Guo Shier replied, “I’m Guo Shier. This is Eagle Demon, Luo Zhan, and Nan You—they’re all my followers. What’s your honorable name, sir?”
The man replied indifferently, “Grandmaster Fire Sacrifice, Huo Fen Tian.”
Guo Shier murmured to himself, “Grandmaster Fire Sacrifice? What’s that…”
Huo Fen Tian said, “So annoying… Grandmaster Fire Sacrifice is just Grandmaster Fire Sacrifice! There’s no need for so many ‘whys’!” His voice suddenly changed, turning into a female voice, completely different from before.
Guo Shier thought to himself, “Damn it, who is this person… Why is it a woman’s voice? Could he be a woman? Impossible… There’s no such cruel woman… Um, maybe I heard wrong.” But seeing the stunned expressions on Nan You and the others, he knew he hadn’t heard wrong.
Huo Fen Tian held his head and screamed shrilly, “So annoying… so annoying…”
Guo Shier and the others stepped back in fear. Suddenly, Huo Fen Tian vanished in a flash and reappeared in the sky above Beilun Castle. With a strange cry, he slapped down, causing a loud explosion. A gust of wind roared outward, and countless streams of fire appeared out of nowhere.
The old hero shouted, “Run, idiots!”
Guo Shier quickly teleported outside, followed by Eagle Demon and the others. They were already on the edge of Beilun Castle, so in the blink of an eye, they hid behind a huge rock. Countless pieces of debris and dust flew overhead with a loud noise. Guo Shier exclaimed in surprise, “What’s wrong with this guy?”
Nan You screamed, “Who knows… Sometimes a male voice, sometimes a female voice… Sometimes acting crazy…”
The old hero said calmly, “There’s nothing strange about it. He absorbed so many souls at once; it’s not impossible for him to go mad… Relying on his strength, he forced his way to devour so many souls. If he remained normal, that would be strange.”
Guo Shier smiled bitterly, “Is he a madman?”