Zhang Fei - The Abandoned Son

Chapter 565: Other Groups Situation

”Honestly, Iʼve never heard of the Immortal Soul Palace, and your reactions earlier showed that you guys donʼt know about it either.” Xian Xianqin nodded to Zhang Fei. ”According to my guess, this Star Tower and that sect are not from the upper realms, but they come from the realms beyond the upper realms.”

”The realms beyond the upper realms?” Zhang Fei then told Xian Xianqin about his previous conversation with Feng Yao. ”Do those realms truly exist?”

”Thatʼs just Feng Yaoʼs parentsʼ guess, and they still donʼt have clear information about the existence of those realms, especially since their flying artifacts canʼt go beyond the upper realms.” Zhang Fei then embraced Xian Xianqin. ”Since we donʼt have any information about those realms, we donʼt need to think too much about it, and we can better focus on completing this maze challenge.”

”Yeah, youʼre right. We donʼt need to think about things that are out of our reach and focus on the problems in front of us.” Xian Xianqin was taken aback when Zhang Fei unexpectedly carried her in a princess carry, prompting her to embrace his neck. ”What do you want to do?”

”Nothing.” Zhang Fei then carried her to the bed and laid her beside Yun Xinyue, who had already fallen asleep. ”Get some rest, and Iʼll cultivate on the chair.”

Xian Xianqin smiled in response, and she immediately closed her eyes to rest her mind. Zhang Fei then sat on the sofa and closed his eyes, but he was not really cultivating, and he thought of the little girl who appeared in the previous heart challenge demonstration.

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Xian Xianwu was fortunate to have his paternal aunt by his side, which made it easier for him to deal with the beasts that blocked their path, and Xian Changyue handled them with ease. However, his expression was still tense as they still hadnʼt managed to find Xian Xianqin and Zhang Fei, but they had no choice but to keep moving forward.

Soon, they arrived at the next room, but there was only a portal inside, so they entered it directly. In the next moment, they arrived at a garden brimming with a variety of colorful flowers. However, Xian Changyue immediately sensed something strange and right away covered her nose with qi. She then tried to warn her nephew, but she was a second too late because Xian Xianwuʼs eyes had gone blank, and he immediately pounced on her as if he was under control.

Xian Changyue released a soft sigh, knocked her nephew unconscious, and shouldered him. She then observed several flowers in the garden, which she immediately recognized.

”This is really bad! Xuanwu is exposed to the effects of the Soulweaver Orchid and Scarlet Peony, and I donʼt have an antidote to relieve the effects of either of them.” Xian Changyue quickly carried her nephew to a large flat rock, where she sat him down. She hurriedly sat behind him, pressing both her palms against his back before channeling her qi. ”I donʼt know if my Qi can relieve the effects, but I have to try.”

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”Hah... Hah... Hah...” Yuan Luo breathed heavily as she leaned against one of the tree walls, gazing at the numerous beast corpses a short distance away from her. ”Brother Chui, this maze is really weird. We have passed four areas, but we have always encountered a lot of beasts. Usually, they only appear in the inner area, and we are still in the outer area now. If this continues, we will not be able to clear it. Even if we manage to pass it, our usable items will not be enough for the survival challenge.”

Ximen Chuixue immediately agreed with that. ”For decades, every time we challenge this tower, the challenges have always been the same. However, this maze challenge has suddenly changed, leading me to believe that someone intentionally set it up to make things difficult for us.”

”Why do you think like that?” Ru Yanyue asked as she circulated her breathing, especially since their previous fights drained her energy.

”Thatʼs just my feeling, and I donʼt know the truth.” Ximen Chuixue then glanced at Ying Shanhu, who had fallen asleep on the ground. ”You guys can rest first, and I will remain on guard to protect the three of you.”

”Yeah.” Both women immediately closed their eyes, but they did not dare to sleep completely because their enemies could find them at any time.

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In another area, Bai Renfu still hadnʼt moved from his spot, and his appearance was already that of a frustrated person, especially since he still hadnʼt managed to solve the puzzle in front of him. ”Damn it! If Shouyi were with me now, I definitely wouldnʼt be in trouble like this. I wouldnʼt be able to save her if I remained stuck here.”

Bai Chongxi also appeared frustrated, as he encountered numerous beasts on every path he chose, forcing him to seek refuge in a gap in one of the tree walls. He couldnʼt possibly face all of them by himself, so he was forced to run away and hide from them. ”Thank goodness they couldnʼt leave their rooms, or else they would have ganged up on me and killed me. Moreover, I couldnʼt give up this challenge because I didnʼt know where Renfu and Shouyi were, so I had to find them as soon as possible.”

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Unlike her two brothers, Bai Shouyiʼs situation was much better, even though she fell into the hands of the two demons from the Ximen Demon Kingdom. Despite encountering numerous beasts, Bai Shouyi didnʼt need to expend her energy fighting them, as Ximen Yan had instructed Qian Ying to fight them alone. ʼAs I recall, she used to be a close friend of Xian Xianqin, but she has now transformed into a demon, and she is completely obedient to this despicable man. Sigh! I want to give up on this challenge, but Iʼm concerned about Big Brother and Brother Renfuʼs condition, so Iʼm not willing to save myself and leave them here.ʼ

*Boom*

The explosion wakes Bai Shouyi from her thoughts, and she sees that Qian Ying has already killed the last beast. Her eyes lit up when she saw some crystals on top of the beastsʼ corpses, but the female demon immediately took them and handed them to Ximen Yan.

To Bai Shouyiʼs surprise, Ximen Yan threw a purple crystal at her, which was a poison elemental crystal. ”Hey! What about my previous offer? If you surrender yourself to me, I can make you as strong as Qian Ying, and your family will no longer have to be Huangfu Shouʼs lapdog.”

”Keep dreaming!” Bai Shouyi shouted and threw the crystal back at Ximen Yan. ”I will never give myself to a demon like you!”

”Heh!” Ximen Yan immediately put away the crystal and pulled Qian Ying into his lap. ”Will you still be able to fight if we meet other beasts?”

”Please forgive me, Master. I have been fighting for too long, and my qi is greatly drained, so please allow me to rest for some time.”

”I see.” Ximen Yan nodded in understanding and lowered Qian Ying from his lap. ”All right, you can rest first, and Iʼll check the next room.”

Not long after, Ximen Yan arrived at the next room, which was not far from their resting place. Since he didnʼt see any beasts inside, he immediately entered it, but the floor beneath him disappeared as soon as he arrived in the middle. ”Fuck! Qian Ying!”

Upon hearing that, Qian Ying and Bai Shouyi immediately rushed towards the room, but it was too late, as Ximen Yan had already fallen inside.

Bai Shouyi wanted to escape from there, but Qian Ying swiftly grabbed her shoulder and pulled her into the hole, causing her to scream hysterically. ”Argh! Youʼre going to kill me!”

*Splash... Splash...*

Fortunately, the area below them was a lake, and they fell straight into it, drenching their bodies. Qian Ying immediately swam to the surface to look for Ximen Yan, but she didnʼt find him there. ”Shit! Where did my master go?”

”Puahh!” Bai Shouyi had just surfaced, but Qian Ying had already grabbed her hand and guided her to jump out of the lake. ”Where is your master?”

However, two large tongues suddenly shot towards them and wrapped around their bodies, one each. They immediately pulled both women in opposite directions.

Qian Ying immediately reacted by cutting off the tongue, but it right away grew back and coiled around her body again, and the coil was tighter than before.

Bai Shouyi immediately took out her dagger, enveloped it with her poison qi, and stabbed it into the tongue that was wrapping around her body. However, it didnʼt budge and pulled her until she disappeared into the tree wall, as did Qian Ying, who was pulled into the opposite tree wall by another tongue.

The two tongues pulled them into two different slippery pockets filled with thick fluid, causing their consciousness to fade quickly before finally losing it completely.

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Countless ice flowers quickly filled a room, causing the air temperature to drop, and several beasts there swiftly froze. ”Shatter!”

*Crack... Crack...*

The ice immediately shattered into pieces along with the beasts inside, but the woman who used the technique fell to one knee. Her face was extremely pale, and her breathing was irregular. ”Hah... Hah... I donʼt want to use this technique, but these beasts are really endless.”

”Swallow this pill, Zhiqiu.” Bai Tian said this as she handed a pill to Ye Zhiqiu with one hand and then swallowed a similar pill herself.

”Thank you.” Ye Zhiqiu immediately accepted the pill, sat cross-legged on the ground, and swallowed it. ”The changes in this maze are far beyond our expectations, and Iʼm not sure if we will make it through.”

Bai Tianʼer immediately sat next to Ye Zhiqiu, stretched her right hand forward, and sucked the two elemental crystals in front into her hand before storing them away. ”Somehow, I feel that the change in this maze challenge has something to do with Zhang Fei, especially since his abilities are too absurd. He was able to light up ten crystals in the strength test, and he managed to defeat Zhou Fang in the battle challenge, which no other cultivator at his level would ever be able to do.”

”I have the same thoughts as you, but we canʼt do anything, and we can only try our best to get through everything.” Ye Zhiqiu then looked towards the exit ahead of them. ”I think we should take a rest first, or weʼll be overwhelmed if we encounter a large group of beasts again.”

”Yeah.” Bai Tianʼer replied with a soft sigh. ”All the beasts from before were too many, and there are only two of us here, so we shouldnʼt overexert ourselves.”

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The four royal members of the Huangfu Kingdom encountered no major difficulties, as their cultivation had already reached the seven divine realms. Even so, Huangfu Lian continued to put on an annoyed expression because those beasts had wasted a lot of his time, and they had also gotten lost in dead-end rooms several times, forcing them to turn back several times.

”Big Brother, I know youʼre upset, but we should rest now.” Huangfu Lian immediately frowned at Huangfu Xiaofan, who pointed at their two sisters. ”The two of us are not tired, but Xiaomei and Xiaoying are too tired now, and we canʼt possibly fight those beasts while carrying them on our backs. Furthermore, Iʼm certain that the other participants are facing similar challenges, so thereʼs no need for haste.”

Huangfu Lian nodded in agreement. ”All right, we will rest first, and we will immediately continue our journey once they recover.”

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Ximen Hongwu and Ximen Yueliang sat relaxing at the edge of the room, and they watched their demon summons kill the beasts that blocked their way. ”Brother, Iʼm growing tired of encountering these beasts in every room we pass, so I want to capture Xian Xianwu and Zhang Fei soon.”

”Do you think I donʼt get tired of seeing them all the time?” Ximen Hongwu asked with a shake of his head. ”I donʼt know whatʼs going on here, but I feel like this maze has grown wider, the number of traps inside has also increased, and even the number of beasts is much greater than last time.”

Ximen Yueliang pouted her lips and rested her head on Ximen Hongwuʼs shoulder. ”I think weʼll spend a month or more in this maze.”

”Yeah.” Ximen Hongwu replied with a slight nod. ”Thatʼs why you should be patient and stop grumbling; I will definitely help you to capture them.”

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In another area, Zhou Tai had difficulty keeping up with his big brotherʼs movements because Zhou Tong kept moving in a hurry because he was worried about their sisterʼs fate, and his qi was rapidly depleting just to keep up with him.

*Bam*

Zhou Tai finally collapsed on the ground, causing Zhou Tong to frown. He immediately let out a soft sigh, went over to his brother, and helped him swallow the pill. ”Sorry, I was too worried about Meiling.”

”Itʼs okay, Big Brother. Iʼm also worried about Meiling, but I really canʼt keep up with your movements, and I need to rest first.” After he said that, Zhou Tai immediately closed his eyes.

Zhou Tong immediately brought him to the side and sat down beside him, but his mind was still occupied with Zhou Meiling. ”Sigh! I hope sheʼs okay.”

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Meanwhile, Zhou Meiling finally managed to leave the hole after struggling for so long, but she felt her whole body stiff. Her qi was severely depleted due to the depth of the hole, and she frequently fell due to the slippery walls. Hence, she immediately swallowed some pills to recover from her condition. ”Where am I now? This place is not the place where I was separated from my two brothers, and Iʼm sure this is another area.”

After she had rested for some time and her condition was much better, Zhou Meiling immediately stood up and hurried to another room. However, her head became heavy, and her eyes became blurry, causing her to collapse on the ground again.

As soon as Zhou Meiling lost consciousness, the ground beneath her suddenly split open and sucked her in. In the next second, she was transported to another area, where a woman with long purple hair and a transparent body was waiting for her.

”This little girlʼs face is not bad, and her physique is also quite strong, so I will possess her and take over her body for the time being.” After the woman turned into purple smoke and entered her body, Zhou Meiling immediately opened her eyes and stood up. ”This way, I can leave this room, and I might be able to leave this tower to live freely once again. After leaving this tower, I will reform my body, and I will kill her afterward.”

Zhou Meiling then proceeded to another area, where she encountered a group of beasts. Immediately, a purple smoke emanated from her body, sucking their life force. ”Hahaha! Iʼm lucky to have found this woman, and Iʼll use her to absorb the life and soul forces of all living creatures in this tower.”

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In some other areas, the groups from all the kingdoms were experiencing their own difficulties. The two groups from the Xian Imperial Sect and one group from the Yun Imperial Sect faced not only beasts and traps but also other groups, particularly those from the two demon kingdoms. The battle between them was inevitable, which drained their physical and energy.

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The group from the kingdom of beasts and natural races was the luckiest among all the participants; with Long Chen and Long Tian on their side, they didnʼt need to exert any effort to defeat the beasts, especially since all of them directly cowered in fear before their overbearing dragon auras.

This way, they can make their journey to explore the areas of the maze at a leisurely pace, and they only need to avoid the traps that have been prepared to hinder them. However, some of them ended up separated from their group after they were caught in a trap, but it wasnʼt a big deal for them, and they continued walking forward.

- To be Continued -