Zhang Fei - The Abandoned Son

Chapter 1027: The Ancestors

With the absence of Cao Ren and the elders, the situation in the Cao Clan was in chaos because the previous explosion was very close to their clan, which caused many of their buildings to be destroyed.

However, an old man and an old woman suddenly appeared in the clan, they were the ancestors of the Cao Clan, whom Ren Shou had told Zhang Xiaolong [3] about when they first met. The male ancestor was Cao Yunbai, and he was the one who helped Gu Changsheng when fighting the ancestor of the natural races, Ju Xing.

”What do you think happened, Old Man? Who dared attack our clan?” The female ancestor asked Cao Yubai as she gave some instructions to their clan members.

Cao Yunbai looked at the barrier protecting their clan. ”Feihong, no one can get through our protection, so I’m sure the explosion just now wasn’t because someone attacked our clan directly, but it came from something else.”

”Ancestors.” Both of them looked at the man who had just arrived. ”The explosion just now came from the underground passageway, and it not only happened in our area, but it also destroyed the other three passageways.”

”Hmm?” Both Cao Yunbai and Cao Feihong frowned. ”Did no one detect the mastermind’s movements? Have you checked the ruins of the passageway?”

”Ancestor, our warning alarms didn’t activate before the explosion, so we couldn’t detect the mastermind’s movements. I have already ordered people to excavate the ruins of the passageway, but we don’t have many earth element cultivators, so it will probably take a while before we can investigate the cause of the explosion.”

Cao Yunbai nodded in understanding. ”Leave and help the others.”

”Yes, Ancestor.”

Cao Yunbai then used his senses to inspect the area for remnants of the culprit’s Qi, and he managed to find many thin traces of it there. He then informed Cao Feihong. ”The mastermind is not one person but dozens, but I don’t understand how they could destroy it without leaving a strong trace of Qi. They destroyed all four passageways at the same time, so they must have used a large amount of Qi to do it. Our alarm should have detected their actions, and both of us would have sensed their movements, but we didn’t feel anything even after the explosion happened.”

”I also think that this incident is really strange.” Cao Feihong then asked him. ”Do you think the previous explosions had something to do with the Tian and Shangguan Clans? After all, only those two clans still have their ancestors, so I think they might be the masterminds.”

”That’s impossible.” Cai Yunbai immediately denied it and looked towards the location of the two clans. ”I am familiar with the Qi of Tian Jinfeng and Shangguan Mengxin, and the traces of Qi I found in the ruins do not belong to them. Furthermore, they have not come out of their seclusion cave, so I am certain that they are not the masterminds. We were too focused on our seclusion before, and we were unaware of several events in this realm until the explosion just now.”

”I will order our clansmen to investigate everything.” Cai Feihong immediately ordered some people to investigate everything that had happened recently in their realm.

”Those masterminds could be hiding anywhere in this realm, and they might not dare to come out after attacking us.” Cao Yunbai then contacted Cao Ren and the others, ordering them to return as soon as possible. He also contacted the three ancestors of the Bao, Sima, and Gu Clans. ”Our lifespan continues to decrease, but we still have no way to break through to the next stage. If we continue like this, we will die like our predecessors.”

Cao Feihong looked gloomy because of that. ”What exactly did we do wrong? Do we need something else to break through to the next stage? The ancient records in our realm’s library clearly indicate that the realm beyond and the next cultivation level exist, but they don’t provide any instructions on how to ascend there or break through to the next stage.”

”I—” Cao Yunbai stopped talking and listened to Cao Ren’s reply voice transmission. ”Ren’er managed to reach the top of the Dark Tower, and he told me that the tower is the key to ascending to the realm beyond. However, we cannot go to the top directly, and we must undergo a series of tests before we can do so.”

”Did any of them decide to ascend before us?” Cao Feihong’s expression turned furious.

”No.” Cao Yunbai shook his head. ”They decided to return to this realm, and they brought a powerful cultivator from the realm beyond with them to help us get rid of the Tian Clan and the others.”

”Hmm?” Cao Feihong looked at him in shock.

Cao Yunbai continued straightaway. ”According to Ren’er, the realm beyond is the Paradise Realm, and we can only continue our cultivation if we ascend to that realm because we need the Celestial Qi to break through to the Five Celestial Realms.”

”Celestial Qi? Five Celestial Realms?”

”Yes.” Cao Yubai nodded slightly. ”However, we can’t go to the Dark Tower anymore because the people from that realm will capture us if we set foot there, which is due to that person’s decision to help us. That person told Ren’er that there are still many other towers in the middle realms, so we will go to one of them after we get rid of the Tian Clan and the others.”

Cai Feihong clasped her hands, and an evil smile appeared on his old face. ”The Tian Clan has been in control of our realm for a long time, and our Cao Clan has always been under them. I’m fed up with their attitude, so we must get rid of them, and our clan will rule this realm. By the way, did Ren’er tell you the reason that person was willing to help us?”

”Jia Yuyan.” Cai Feihong raised an eyebrow in confusion. ”That person said that female fairy is not a native of this realm, but she came from the Paradise Realm. She has a special bloodline and physique, and the Fairy King deliberately sent her here to hide her.”

”I see.” Cao Feihong nodded in understanding. ”No wonder Jia Yuyan was so strong back then, and she could even take on the five of us alone; it turns out she came from the Heaven Realm. If it weren’t for her, our dream of ruling this realm would have long since come true.”

”Forget the past and look to the future, and this realm will belong to our clan soon.” After he said that, Cao Yunbai immediately disappeared, and Cai Feihong followed.

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In the Bao Clan, the patriarch of the clan was busy ordering his clan members to dig up the ruins of the passageway, and a woman accompanied him by his side. ”What exactly happened? How did someone know about our secret passageway? Our ancestors built the passageway over several years, and they also placed an alarm formation to warn us; however, the mastermind managed to infiltrate and destroy it without our knowledge.”

”I myself am confused as to why the alarm formation didn’t respond when the intruders broke in.” The two then looked up at the sky, specifically at the old man standing there. ”Why did you suddenly come out of your seclusion, Ancestor Yundong?”

”Do you think I’m deaf to not hear such a loud explosion, Bao Sanli?” The old man asked with narrowed eyes.

Bao Sanli smiled bitterly in response. ”That’s not what I meant, Ancestor. I know the explosion was very loud, but you don’t need to bother with such a trivial matter. Ji Qingchun and I can handle this, and—”

”What can you do?” Bao Yundong landed directly in front of them. ”Cao Yunbai just contacted me; he told me that the perpetrators were dozens of people. You were here, but you couldn’t sense the intruders, and they managed to blow up our passageway because of your carelessness.”

”Ancestor, I know you’re angry, but you shouldn’t blame my husband.” Bao Yundong glared at Ji Qingchun, but she returned it with a smile. ”Aren’t you in this clan yourself? Yet, you didn’t sense the presence of the intruders, right? Moreover, you have installed an intruder alarm on our passageway, but it didn’t react at all.”

”Bring our people to investigate this entire realm, and you must find the intruders as soon as possible. If you fail to find them, I will beat you with my own hands” Bao Sanli immediately left while grumbling in his heart. Bai Yundong then grabbed Ji Qingchun and kissed her. ”If I didn’t need your services, I would have killed you because of your words just now.”

”Hehe.” Ji Qingchun giggled and rubbed the old man’s lower body. ”Are you ordering my husband to investigate the masterminds so we can have fun?”

Bao Yundong squeezed her buttocks directly. ”You little bitch! How dare you tease me! I’ll teach you a lesson while your husband is away.”

”I’m looking forward to it.” Ji Qingchun leaned against his chest, twirled her finger around it, and asked him a question. ”Did Cao Yunbai give you any other news?”

Bao Yundong nodded at Ji Qingchun and recounted the news he had gotten from Cao Yunbai, which shocked and elated her. ”Once the Tian Clan and the other clans disappear, I will take you to one of those towers, and we will ascend to the Paradise Realm together.”

”What about my husband?”

”Leave that useless guy.” Bao Yundong then looked at the ruin. ”I didn’t expect that Jia Yuyan came from the Paradise Realm, and I felt that today’s incident had something to do with her. She is much more powerful than us, so it is not difficult for her to trick the intruder alarm I installed in it.”

”Are we going to do something about the natural races?”

”We don’t need to do anything now.” Bao Yundong shook his head slightly. ”That senior is willing to help Cao Ren because he wants to get Jia Yuyan, so we just need to wait for him to capture her and take her away. Once she leaves, no one will protect those natural races, and we will have no difficulty capturing them.”

Ji Qingchun nodded in understanding before pulling him along. ”Let our people handle this matter, and we’ll have a good time before my husband returns.”

”Hahaha!” Bao Yundong laughed at that.

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Inside a cave, a middle-aged man was sitting opposite an old woman, who was thinking with a serious expression. ”Sima Yunfeng, order our members to spread out and search for those intruders immediately. I am sure that Tian Jingxuan and the others were not the masterminds of the explosion just now, but other people did it. If my guess is right, Jia Yuyan and the natural races were the perpetrators, but I am sure they had help from others because the explosion just now did not use Qi.”

”How can you conclude that Jia Yuyan is the culprit, Ancestor Huiqing?” Sima Huiqing immediately explained to Sima Yunfeng the information she had previously received from Cao Yunbai, which shocked him. ”That bitch! He’s been deliberately fooling us for the past thousands of years! However, I’m confused about her reason for attacking us suddenly, and they also attacked three of his clans at the same time, but what confused me the most was how they could cause such a big explosion without using Qi.”

”Jia Yuyan should have no motive to attack us, so I believe there is someone else behind her. I don’t know how that person could influence her and the other natural races to attack us, but we must find that person as soon as possible. Today’s incident has greatly hindered our plans, and it will be even more difficult for us if that person does something else to us again.” Sima Yunfeng immediately ordered their clan members to scatter before leaving Sima Huiqing’s cave. ”Who is the real person behind the natural races? Why is that person targeting us? No one has dared to attack our clans since the foundation of this realm, but today a mysterious person suddenly appeared and attacked us.”

Sima Huiqing let out a soft sigh before standing up, and she hurriedly left her cave before leaving the Sima Clan, trying to find out the mastermind behind the huge explosion.

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In the Gu Clan, the situation was different; the clan members appeared relaxed despite the severe impact of the previous explosion, largely due to Gu Changsheng’s influence.

Gu Changsheng ordered the members of the Gu Clan not to overreact to the chaos, which confused the patriarch and the others. Although none of them dared to refute his order, the patriarch still sent their clan members to investigate the mastermind behind it.

Gu Changsheng did not forbid or stop the patriarch from doing so, but he sent all the news he got from Cao Yunbai to Zhang Xiaolong [3], which was in accordance with his order.

After he took care of all that, Gu Changsheng immediately ignored outside matters, and he focused on creating the Gu Heart, especially since Zhang Xiaolong [3] couldn’t wait to have it.

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Elsewhere, an old man and an old woman were sitting together, enjoying tea while discussing the big explosion. ”Do you know anything about that incident, Old Shangguan Lizhi?”

”Old Tian Junfeng, we’re both the same, right? I was too focused on my cultivation, and I never bothered with external matters.” Shangguan Lizhi then put down the teacup in her hand. ”I know you don’t want to interfere in your clan’s affairs anymore, but I think you should go there, and you should warn Tian Jingxuan not to give priority to his greed. Yan’er has already told me about Zhang Xiaolong, and I’m sure you’ve heard the same thinga about him.”

Tian Junfeng nodded at her. ”Jingxuan already told me about that kid and his acquaintances, but he was acting stupid by being hostile towards him. Those people were clearly stronger than us, so he and the others would just be throwing their lives away in vain if they fought with that kid.”

”Why didn’t you go there and warn him?”

”Haha.” Tian Junfeng laughed before asking her. ”Would you believe me if I said that I want my Tian Clan to fall?”

”Are you serious about that?” Shangguan Lizhi asked in shock.

Tian Junfeng nodded at her. ”My Tian Clan has ruled this realm for a very long time, and we have had some things that have always managed to protect us. Unfortunately, the character of my clan members has declined, leading to increased arrogance among them, including Jingxuan. He already knew the strength of that kid and his acquaintances, but he chose to take the wrong path. Honestly, I’ve long wanted to teach them a harsh lesson, but I’ve never done it before. Therefore, I’ll use this opportunity to teach them a lesson, but I have to meet that kid first.”

”I see.” Shangguan Lizhi expressed her understanding. ”Shall we meet him now?”

”No.” Tian Junfeng refused with a shake of his head. ”If we go out now, Cao Yunbai and the others will be alerted. Moreover, Jingxuan and the others won’t dare to make a move in the current situation, so I’ll wait for our problems with those people to be resolved first. Once everything is over, I will go straight to him to talk to him, and I will ask for his help to carry out my plan.”

”Are you going to let Tian Jingxuan and the others die in his hands?”

Tian Junfeng let out a soft sigh and drank the tea in his cup. ”If some casualties are needed to improve the quality of my clan, I won’t mind letting them die, and I will appoint someone else to lead our clan after that.”

”Aren’t you too cruel to your descendants?”

”You’re right, I was indeed too cruel to them. If my ancestors were still alive, I’m sure they would do the same thing, so I’ll follow their line of thinking.” Tian Junfeng then stood up. ”I hope this realm will be more peaceful after this incident.”

Shangguan Lizhi shook her head slightly after Tian Junfeng disappeared, but she then left her private room to confirm something.

- To Be Continued -