Zhang Fei - The Abandoned Son

Chapter 1046: Tian Kongquan’s Soul Remnant

”Hahaha.” Yan Huo laughed at that. ”Back then, I was close friends with Tian Kongquan, but I wasn’t one of the founders of this realm, and I met him after he and the others founded it. At that time, he was looking for resources to improve this realm, and I was one of his competitors. Our strengths were equal, and we shared many similar thoughts; therefore, we embarked on an adventure together until we found the Sky Flame, which ultimately led to my current condition.”

”I see.” Zhang Xiaolong [3] nodded in understanding. ”Do you remember Qing Peng, old man?”

”How do you know that name?” Yan Huo asked with a frown, especially since only he and the people closest to Tian Kongquan should know about the beast.

”My wife and I found Qing Peng’s preserved corpse in the Raging Thunder Realm, and we also met his soul there.” Yan Huo was a little surprised after Zhang Xiaolong [3] mentioned that. ”He told us that Tian Kongquan deliberately kept his corpse and soul in the hole within the Thunderfall Gorge to wait for his successor to come, and he chose my wife as his successor. With his permission, I used his corpse to turn her into the Azure Emperor Roc.”

”Is it possible to turn a human into a beast?” Yan Hao asked in disbelief.

Zhang Xiaolong [3] smiled in response. ”Old man, you have witnessed many of my actions since I arrived in this realm, and you yourself previously said that I am not an ordinary kid. Therefore, you shouldn’t be surprised if I can do such a thing, right?”

”Yeah, you’re right.” Yan Hao nodded his head slightly.

”Actually, I’ve turned several of my wives into beasts or demon beasts, but I won’t explain the details because it’s my secret.” Zhang Xiaolong [3] then asked him. ”Can I look inside? I want to check Tian Yualing’s situation myself.”

Instead of answering his question, Yan Hao grabbed Zhang Xiaolong [3]’s shoulder and took him away.

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A while later, they arrived at the cemetery complex, and Yan Hao immediately led Zhang Xiaolong [3] to the center, where a tall golden statue stood upright.

”Why did you bring me here, old man?” Zhang Xiaolong [3] asked in confusion.

Yan Huo did not answer Zhang Xiaolong [3] and continued walking until they arrived in front of a statue with a large cube of stone beneath it. The statue was naturally the statue of the founder of the Sovereign Heaven Realm, Tian Kongquan.

Zhang Xiaolong [3] looked up. ”So, this is Tian Kongquan’s tomb, huh?”

”Not everyone can come to this place, and only certain people can do it.” Yan Huo pressed the symbol in front of the stone and channeled his qi into it, causing it to open by itself and reveal a descending staircase. ”Let’s go in.”

Zhang Xiaolong [3] immediately followed behind Yan Huo, and the entrance swiftly closed by itself. ”Doesn’t anyone know about this secret staircase?”

”No.” Yan Hao responded with a shake of his head. ”Only cultivators in our generation and the generation after us know about this place; not even Ji Zhongli knows about it, especially since he came from Tian Jingxuan’s grandfather’s generation. Currently, I am the only remaining member of those two generations, and we have never disclosed this information to others as per my friend’s instructions.”

Zhang Xiaolong [3] felt strange about it because the Tian Clan were Tian Kongquan’s direct descendants, but he deliberately hid the place from his descendants. ”Why did you guys decide to hide this place from them?”

”The answer to your question is at the bottom.” Yan Huo briefly replied.

Zhang Xiaolong [3] questioned him again. ”If that’s the case, why did you bring me here? After all, I am a newcomer in this realm, and I don’t have a favorable relationship with the Tian Clan. Moreover, there is a possibility that I will become their enemy, remember?”

”Qing Peng.” Yan Hao stopped walking and faced Zhang Xiaolong [3]. ”My old friend told me to bring whoever managed to find his beast’s corpse and get that brat’s approval. Moreover, that Qing brat should have told you about his master’s unique ability, including his reason for leaving his corpse and soul in that hole, right?”

”Yes.” Zhang Xiaolong [3] nodded at him. ”Actually, Qing Peng didn’t say anything to me, and he only told my wife about Tian Kongquan’s ability to see a person’s fate far into the future.”

”I see.” Yan Huo then continued walking down the path, followed by Zhang Xiaolong [3], who was still pondering the truth.

A few minutes later, they had arrived at the bottom. Zhang Xiaolong [3] saw an old wooden coffin in the middle of the room, and there was a bookshelf full of old books to the north of it. On the walls around the place, he could see many paintings, and he immediately approached one of them. However, it was clearly not a depiction of the Sovereign Heaven Realm, but something else. ”Did Tian Kongquan paint all of these paintings himself?”

”Yes.” Yan Huo walked beside Zhang Xiaolong [3] and touched the painting. ”Tian Kongquan’s unique ability not only allowed him to see the future fate of others, but he could also see the past. However, such an ability was not without its risks, and it came at the cost of his lifespan, causing him to die faster as his lifespan continued to decrease every time he used it. According to him, this one shows our universe in the past when the realm beyond and the Three Mortal Realms were still connected to each other, and this realm was the last realm that connected the two.”

”Does that mean this realm didn’t exist back then?” Zhang Xiaolong [3] asked as he looked at the painting in a serious manner. ’Mei, record everything.’

[I’m doing it, Master.]

Yan Huo shook his head at Zhang Xiaolong [3]. ”This realm already existed before Tian Kongquan and the others discovered it, but the barrier had already separated the realm beyond and the Three Mortal Realms when they occupied it and established the Sovereign Heaven Realm.”

”I see.” Zhang Xiaolong [3] nodded in understanding, but he felt that some of the history he had heard before contradicted each other, which confused him. ”The realm beyond is the Paradise Realm, and the cultivation stage after that is the Five Celestial Realms. The two people Cao Ren brought here before were cultivators from that realm; one of them had a cultivation at the 3-Sun Celestial Emperor, and the other had a cultivation at the 3-Sun Celestial Lord.”

Yan Huo nodded slightly and didn’t bother too much with it, especially since he was already dead, and he would disappear once the Sky Flame merged with the Yuan Tianling. He then walked over to the old wooden coffin and stood in front of the head part. ”Come here, kid.”

”Hmm.” Zhang Xiaolong [3] walked there, but he was standing in front of the lower part. ”Don’t tell me that Tian Kongquan left a small part of his soul in this place.”

”Smart.” Yan Huo then told him. ”However, I cannot summon his soul remnant, and the only person who can do that is your wife. Therefore, you must pick her up now and bring her here, and you will find out the truth.”

”Okay.” Zhang Xiaolong [3] immediately opened a portal to the training space, and Hong Xinxin walked out of it a few minutes later. ”Xinxin, this coffin belongs to Qing Peng’s late master, and I brought you here because you are the only person who can summon his soul remnant.”

Hong Xinxin was momentarily taken aback by that, but she quickly transformed into her Azure Emperor Roc form in a small form. She flew to the middle of the chest and landed there, and Yan Huo immediately instructed her. ”Little girl, touch that symbol and channel your beast aura into it, and my old friend will appear to meet you.”

Hong Xinxin nodded slightly, touched the symbol with her leg, and carried out Yan Huo’s instructions. In a few moments, the coffin sparkled brightly, followed by the appearance of Tian Kongquan’s soul remnant.

”Long time no see, old friend.” Yan Huo spoke as he looked at Tian Kongquan’s soul remnant with a melancholy gaze.

Tian Kongquan’s soul remnant looked at Yan Huo as he smiled. {Apparently, the two of us will soon disappear, old friend.}

”Yes.” Yan Huo did not have any regrets on his expression. ”The merging process of the Sky Flame and Tian Yuanling is already halfway through, and I will disappear after the process is complete, just as you predicted in the past.”

{Do you still regret your carelessness back then?}

”Hahaha.” Yan Hao laughed at that. ”What else is there to regret? I’ve been dead for too long, so all my regrets have long since disappeared. I’ve been waiting for this day to come, and I will embrace my death with open arms. My only regret is that I couldn’t continue our adventure back then, so I hope we’ll meet again in the future.”

{Don’t worry, old man. We will meet again in the future, and we will have adventures together again, just like in the past.} Tian Kongquan’s soul remnant looked at Hong Xinxin, lifted her in front of him, and placed her in his hands. He rubbed her fur and looked at her longingly, but his longing was not for her but for Qing Peng. {My vision in the past has become a reality, and my little beast has found his successor.}

If another man dared to touch Hong Xinxin, Zhang Xiaolong [3] would have been furious and beaten up that man directly. However, he could understand Tian Kongquan’s feelings, so he didn’t say anything or stop him.

{Since you succeeded in convincing him and becoming his successor, I will give you a final gift. However, you won’t be able to use it now, and you have to go to the realm beyond first.} Zhang Xiaolong [3] and Hong Xinxin were shocked when Tian Kongquan’s soul remnant spoke, particularly because he was unaware of anything regarding the Paradise Realm, much less how to reach it. He then touched her small head and imparted something into her mind, causing her body to glow purple for a while. {Back then, I didn’t give it to that kid because I never managed to find a way to go to that place, but you and your husband are different from us, and you two have already found a way to get there.}

”How do you know about that, senior?” Hong Xinxin asked in confusion.

Zhang Xiaolong [3] immediately spoke to him. ”Did you use your ability to see this era?”

{Yes.} Tian Kongquan’s soul remnant nodded at him. {I didn’t know how the ten-tailed fox knew about me and my ability, but he suddenly came to me in the past, and he told me about many things, especially about the future of this universe. He has the ability to see the future, but he can’t see his own fate. Therefore, he came to me and asked me to use my ability to foresee his future fate, and the item I gave to your wife was a gift from him. In my vision at that time, I saw a man with three identities: a human, a demon, and a heavenly fox. According to my vision at that time, you have all three, right?}

Zhang Xiaolong [3] took a deep breath after hearing all that. ”So, the writings that the old fox left in various realms were the result of your visions at that time, huh? Why did you agree to help him? After all, your abilities came at the cost of your lifespan, and I am certain that the lifespan you sacrificed to witness such a distant era was significant.”

{If you saw the vision of the ten-tailed fox, you would probably choose the same path as me.} Zhang Xiaolong [3] frowned at Tian Kongquan’s soul remnant. {I cannot share his vision with you because it would only burden you, and it could change your perspective on everything. If you want to know the truth, you only need to gather all of his soul fragments, and you will know the absolute truth at that time.}

”You are a dead ghost but still playing secrets!” Zhang Xiaolong [3] shouted at him.

{Hahaha!} Tian Kongquan’s soul remnant burst into laughter when he heard that. {Why are you in such a hurry? Don’t you already understand that you need to take one step at a time? When the time comes, you will obtain the truth, including the ten-tailed fox’s reasons for sacrificing himself, and you can make a decision at that time.}

Zhang Xiaolong [3] released a heavy sigh. ”To tell you the truth, I never liked any of that because the safety of this universe is not my responsibility, but I have to be responsible for the safety of everyone around me. However, I somehow felt that fate kept pushing me toward that direction, no matter how hard I tried to deny it. Even though I don’t like it, I will keep moving forward, and I will see everything in the future before I make my decision.”

{Have you ever heard the parable that defying fate is defying the heavens?}

”Don’t all cultivators cultivate to defy fate and the heavens?”

{Unfortunately, not all cultivators possess the ability to defy fate and the heavens; however, you are different from them and have everything needed to achieve it.} Zhang Xiaolong [3] did not dispute Tian Kongquan’s soul remnant because everything in his grasp had helped him a lot since he started his path of cultivation, especially his godly cheat, the system. {The fate of all living creatures has been determined, such as my encounter with the ten-tailed fox and my death. You may not be able to do it now, but I believe you will be successful in the future. At that time, you can make decisions according to your preferences, and you may be able to break free from the shackles of this universe.}

Zhang Xiaolong [3] raised his eyebrows. ”What do you mean by breaking free from the shackles of the universe?”

{Kid, one step at a time, remember?}

Zhang Xiaolong [3]’s lips twitched in response. ”Fine! I will find out all the truths myself in the future!”

Tian Kongquan’s soul remnant nodded and flicked his finger, causing a small light ball to enter Zhang Xiaolong [3]’s forehead. {That thing is the ten-tailed fox’s remnant for you, and it will help you find the fragments of its soul, which are hidden in various realms in the realm beyond.}

[Master, there is a lot of information in it, and I will organize it all first so you can read it all more easily later.]

’Thank you, Mei.’ Zhang Xiaolong then asked Tian Kongquan’s soul remnant. ”What is your reason for hiding your soul remnant from your descendants? Where did those books come from?”

{I collected those books during my adventures to strengthen this realm, and many of them are not good to be revealed to the public. Therefore, I kept them all here, but you can have them if you want, and some of them might be useful to you and the people around you.} Hearing that, Zhang Xiaolong [3] immediately approached the bookshelf and stored all the books into the system inventory, causing Tian Kongquan’s soul remnant and Yan Huo to shake their heads. {As for my reasons for keeping everything a secret from my descendants, I’m sure you should already be aware of it, right?}

”Moral degradation.”

Tian Kongquan’s soul remnant nodded to Zhang Xiaolong [3]. {I once witnessed the impending collapse of my Tian Clan, which was caused by the ten-tailed fox’s successor, who is none other than you. However, I also saw other opportunities at that time, so I don’t know the final result yet, and the final result will depend on you.}

Zhang Xiaolong [3] shook his head. ”The final result does not depend on me, but on your descendants, especially Tian Jingxuan.”

{I still want to talk to you a lot, but my time is up. Therefore, it is time for us to part ways, but we will meet again in the future.} Zhang Xiaolong [3] frowned upon hearing that, but Tian Kongquan’s soul remnant had no intention of saying anything to him. {Old friend, we will meet again in the future.}

”I hope so.” Tian Kongquan’s soul remnant instantly disappeared from their sight, making Yan Huo release a heavy sigh. ”Let’s leave, kid.”

- To Be Continued –