Chapter 6: Searching for Clues (Part 2)

Luo Zhan smiled and said, “In the dense forest, this guy was really unlucky. He encountered a level-five mutated talisman beast and almost got torn to pieces. We happened to see it and caught him right away. Heh, before I could even ask him anything, we brought him here.”
Guo Shier stepped forward and asked, “What’s your name?”
The man glanced at Luo Zhan in fear—the earlier scene had terrified him. That mutated talisman beast was extremely ferocious, yet Luo Zhan had killed it with just one strike. Such strength was simply terrifying. He knew even the family’s ancestor didn’t possess such terrifying power.
Nan You kicked him and said, “Answer my question!”
The man replied in terror, “I… I’m from the Fuyue family… I’m a… a great… great talisman martial artist… I… I…” He swallowed hard before continuing, “I… my name is Fuyue Akka. My name is Fuyue Akka…”
Guo Shier was pleased. If he was from the Fuyue family, he should know about the troubles in their main stronghold. He asked, “Who destroyed your Fuyue family?”
Fuyue Akka was stunned. After a long while, he said, “It was a long time ago… So long ago. I managed to escape that time. Nearly a hundred of us escaped together, but we were killed one by one. I was severely injured and fell into a crack in the ground, barely managing to survive…” The fear in his eyes was undeniable.
Luo Jie asked, “Who are they?”
The soul pressure nearly killed Fuyue Akka. It felt as if a giant hand was squeezing his neck, preventing him from breathing. Guo Shier shouted, “Master…” Only then did Luo Jie realize that with his current monstrous strength, he didn’t even need to use his hands—just the soul pressure could kill the opponent. He quickly retracted the spreading soul pressure.
Fuyue Akka gasped for breath before finally saying, “It’s… it’s the Gumi family… the Gumi family…”
Guo Shier exclaimed, “We’ve finally found them!”
Fuyue Akka trembled in fear. Luo Jie asked, “Which continent are they on? I mean the continent where the Gumi family is located. Do you know?”
Fuyue Akka looked at everyone pitifully, his eyes filled with confusion. After a long while, he said, “How… how could I possibly know? That’s the legendary ancient family! They have countless skilled professionals, countless great masters… and even altar-level experts… Good heavens, it was a nightmare!”

Guo Shierou shook his head slightly and asked, “How did they get here? Had you heard any rumors before?”
Fuye Akka said, “Let me think… Let me think. It’s been a very long time…” He lowered his head in thought.
In fact, Guo Shierou and the others no longer held any hope; they just wanted more clues. Finding the continent where the Gumi family was located directly was practically impossible.
After a long while, Fuye Akka finally raised his head and said, “I have heard some rumors, but my status isn’t high enough, so I’m not aware of many things. When we first heard about the Gumi family, everyone seemed quite happy. They said it was an ancient family with a large ancestral altar and strong strength. If we could ally with them, we would gain many benefits.”
“Later, there were rumors that negotiations with them failed…”
“Then we were attacked violently. The continent where our family lived fell within just over ten days. Many people fled to the Secret Realm. I was here, in charge of training lower-level disciples…”
“The people who escaped from the family only stayed for a day before the Gumi family tracked them down. They sent dozens of great sage masters and one altar-level professional, who destroyed our camp. Then, a flood of professionals poured in…”
Fear in Fuye Akka’s eyes seemed to take physical form as he said, “At that time, everyone was fleeing… They didn’t seem to want captives. Even those professionals who surrendered were killed by them… I was lucky enough to fall into a crack and pass out. When I woke up and climbed out, I found that everyone was dead.”
Luo Jie said, “Give me the coordinates of your continent!”
Fuye Akka smiled bitterly and said, “I’m just a great talisman martial artist… How could I possibly have the coordinates of a continent? We all use teleportation arrays. I don’t belong to any talisman sect.”
Luo Jie turned away in disappointment and said, “Damn those big-headed ghosts!”
But Guo Shierou wasn’t giving up. He asked again, “Are there any more hidden teleportation arrays?”
A hint of bitterness appeared on Fuye Akka’s face as he said, “I want to go back too… If there were such an array, I would risk my life to go back and see it…”
Guo Shierou finally gave up. This guy hadn’t provided any useful information other than mentioning the Gumi family.

Fu Ye Akka said, “Can… can you take me away? There’s nothing here. I’ve searched for a long time but still can’t find the entrance to this secret realm… It’s too big. No matter where I go, I end up back in this forest. There are a few supply points here where I can get some supplies… Sigh…” He was a martial artist; without the help of spellcasters, he couldn’t even create talismans, so his strength had declined greatly, making life here extremely difficult.

Guo Shieru nodded and said, “We can take you out, but the continent we’re going to has also been ravaged by the Gu Mi family. There are hardly any people left there.”

Fu Ye Akka replied, “That’s still better than staying in this secret realm. I really can’t stay here any longer.”

Although Guo Shieru didn’t have any goodwill toward the Fu Ye family, he wouldn’t take it out on an ordinary martial artist. He said, “Nan You, take him with you. Once we return, set him free.”

Fu Ye Akka bowed gratefully, tears in his eyes, and said, “Thank you, senior, for saving me.”

Guo Shieru ignored him. He walked up to Luo Jie and asked, “Master, are we going to the Insect Talisman Gate?”

Luo Jie nodded and said, “It’s a pity. I don’t have the coordinates for the Insect Talisman Gate. We’ll have to fly there. It’s quite far. I estimate it will take dozens of days… Well, maybe just over a dozen days. In the past, going to the Insect Talisman Gate required traveling over land, which took a year. Even at the fastest, it took half a year or more.”

Qi Nanshan sighed and said, “I hope we can get the information we need at the Insect Talisman Gate.”

Guo Shieru suddenly said, “Maybe we’re looking in the wrong direction. We should go to the continent where the Chen Xiao Sect is located. There, there should be more clues!”

Everyone’s eyes lit up. They realized that the continent where the Chen Xiao Sect was located was an intermediate continent, much stronger than the continent where the North Talisman Gate was. There should be some survivors there, which would be better than going to the Insect Talisman Gate.

Luo Jie nodded and said, “That’s right. We got the direction wrong from the start.”

Guo Shieru said, “Wait a moment.” He began to go through the coordinates he had saved. Soon, he found the one he needed and said, “Uncle Eagle Demon is also familiar with this place. It’s Rain Mist Town, also known as Blood Rain Town. Let’s go there!”

Eagle Demon said, “Hmm, we lived there for a while. I guess it’s ruined now.”

Luo Jie said, “Shieru, open the talisman gate.”

Guo Shieru opened the talisman gate. The Cross-Realm Talisman was very useful; it could be opened quickly without taking much time. He said, “Follow me!” and stepped into the talisman gate.

…

Whether it’s called Rain Mist Town or Blood Rain Town, it can only be called Ruins Town now. The entire town has been completely destroyed—there isn’t a single intact house; almost everything has been leveled.

Guo Shier stood in the courtyard where he used to live. With a glance, he could see the whole town clearly, with nothing blocking the view. If it weren’t for the coordinates being set in this courtyard, he would never have imagined that the place where he once lived could become so desolate.

Eagle Demon said, “Damn! Is this the courtyard where we used to live? It’s in such a state?” He was also deeply moved.

Guo Shier turned around and exclaimed in surprise, “Is that Star Lake Tavern? Half of it still stands?”

Eagle Demon turned to look and said, “That’s right. It’s indeed Star Lake Tavern—half of it has collapsed… Back then, this tavern was the tallest building in Rain Mist Town.”

Guo Shier suddenly felt a stir in his heart and said, “Let’s go take a look…” He disappeared from his spot and reappeared on top of Star Lake Tavern in an instant. Eagle Demon followed by teleporting there as well. Luo Jie asked, “What’s wrong with Shier?”

Qi Nanshan said, “I don’t know. Let’s go take a look too.”

Star Lake Tavern was originally a wooden structure, but thanks to magical incantations, it was stronger than most buildings in the town, which is why only half of it collapsed. When Guo Shier landed on it, he saw the staircase leading downstairs. Going down the stairs, he was surprised to find a person sitting on the ground.

A strong smell of alcohol filled the air.

Eagle Demon followed down the stairs and also saw someone sitting there. He couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise, “There’s still a living person?”

The person was sitting motionless facing the distant lake, seemingly unconcerned about those approaching behind him. From the back, he appeared very thin, with two wine jars beside him—both were magic wine jars. Guo Shier recognized at a glance that such jars could hold hundreds of pounds of wine and were considered quite good.

The person picked up one of the jars and started drinking wildly, with audible gulping sounds.

Bang!

The person put down the jar and said in a deep voice, “Why haven’t you run far away… Why are you back?”

Guo Shier asked, “Run away? Why would I run away?”

The person lowered his head and after a long while said, “Are you a disciple of Chenxiao Sect? Or… were you once a disciple of Chenxiao Sect?”

Guo Shier replied, “Yes.” He had indeed once been a disciple of Chenxiao Sect.

The person let out a long sigh and slowly turned around.

When Guo Shier saw the person’s face clearly, he couldn’t help but shout, “Ah? It’s you!”

The person obviously recognized the two in front of him as well, showing an expression of disbelief on his face.