Zhang Fei - The Abandoned Son

Chapter 584: Level Two Alchemy

A middle-aged woman in the Zhou Kingdom was heartbroken as she held a broken jade in her hand. Several other middle-aged women tried to comfort her, but she ignored them and continued to cry.

Behind them, a middle-aged man in a grand robe stood with a dark face, and he was the Emperor of the Zhou Kingdom, Zhou Xiaochuan. The middle-aged woman who continued to cry was one of his wives and Zhou Taiʼs mother, Rong Jinglin. ”Were there people who had previously targeted Taiʼer, Fangʼer?”

”No, Father.” Zhou Fang, standing behind him, responded by shaking his head. ”Everything went smoothly during the first three challenges, but I donʼt know if there were any changes in the maze challenge.”

Zhou Xiaochuan nodded in understanding. ”I want you to go to the army barracks and train with them for a month, and I will test your combat abilities after you return.”

”Yes, Father.”

As Zhou Fang walked out of the room, a young woman with the appearance of a teenager in her mid-twenties gracefully walked in. Although she looked so young, she was actually as old as Zhou Tong, especially since she was Zhou Shenxin, the first princess of the Zhou Kingdom.

Zhou Shenxin was a beauty with a fine nose and cherry lips. Her beautiful cloud-like hair, which draped over her shoulders, revealed her slender nape. There was a mix of purity and seductiveness, aloofness, allure, and other strikingly contrasting dispositions on her beautiful face. She possessed a pair of sea-blue eyes, decorated with shapely eyebrows, and matched her fair white skin and clear-cut features.

Zhou Shenxin possessed a well-defined physique, particularly her legs. They were slim and long, and her backside was highly raised, displaying amazing flexibility. Her frontside was capable of intoxicating any manʼs soul and heart, particularly her round and bouncy breasts.

”Big Sister.” Zhou Shenxin simply nodded to Zhou Fang and walked to their fatherʼs side, so he immediately walked away. ʼSeductive but indifferent as always.ʼ

”Why did you summon me, Father?” Zhou Shenxin inquired in a soft and melodious voice.

”Taiʼer is dead.” After a moment of shock, Zhou Shenxin turned her gaze to the few middle-aged women in front of them. ”I donʼt know how he died, and their guards donʼt know either because he was in the maze challenge, but Iʼm sure one of those princes or princesses killed him.”

”Do you want me to investigate the identity of Taiʼerʼs murderer?”

”Yes.” Zhou Xiaochuan nodded in response. ”Your mastery of the Soul Whisper Art is the best among your brothers and sisters, and you also obtained a special demon bloodline from Nu Huangjin, so I want you to investigate this matter after they return. In addition, I want you to investigate a young man named Zhang Fei, who has close ties with the Xian Kingdom, and I want you to use all means to draw him to our side.”

”Zhang Fei?” Zhou Xiaochuan promptly informed his eldest daughter about Zhang Fei, citing reports from his subordinates and Zhou Fang. Zhou Shenxin was surprised by this revelation, especially given his impressive strength. ”If heʼs that strong and talented, Iʼm sure Young Master Yan and Young Master Hongwu will try to capture him. Not only them, but Huangfu Shou will also want him, so it wonʼt be easy to bring him to our side.”

”Thatʼs why I asked you to use all means.” Zhou Xiaochuan turned to Zhou Shenxin. ”He has a close relationship with Xian Xianqin, and we can use him to capture her, thereby forcing Xian Feng to surrender to us.”

”Oh?” Zhou Shenxin was surprised to hear Zhang Feiʼs closeness to Xian Xianqin. ”Does that mean heʼs on the Xian Kingdomʼs side now?”

”Yes.” Zhou Xiaochuan replied with a slight nod. ”He also seems to be close to Yun Xinyue, so bring him to me, or I will strip you of your stats as the first princess.”

Zhou Shenxin was furious because of that, but she didnʼt say anything to refute her father, especially since it would be useless. ”All right, I will do it, but I need information about his situation first. If Young Master Yan, Young Master Hongwu, or Huangfu Lian manage to capture him first in the maze challenge, then I wonʼt be able to bring him to you.”

”You can contact Zhou Hanling for that, as he is at the Star Tower now.”

”Yes, Father.” Zhou Shenxin then hurriedly left the room.

Zhou Xiaochuan looked at his wife and concubine for a while before leaving the room, and he also ordered some of his subordinates to infiltrate the Xian Kingdom.

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”How are my two daughters, Luan Xing?” Huangfu Shou asked a middle-aged woman who was examining Huangfu Xiaoying and Huangfu Xiaomei.

Luan Xing let out a heavy sigh before turning to him. ”Emperor, the black liquid has already spread throughout their cultivation veins, and it has begun to spread to their internal organs. For now, I can only prevent it from spreading further, but I have no method to remove it from their bodies.”

When Huangfu Shou heard that, he became enraged and wanted to kill Luan Yingwu outright. However, his wife, Helian Yueyi, immediately stopped him. ”Husband, this black liquid is not an ordinary thing, so you donʼt need to blame her.”

”Leave.”

Luan Yingwu, filled with gratitude, glanced at Helian Yueyi before hastily departing from the two womenʼs room, driven by her fear that Huangfu Shou might suddenly change his mind and kill her.

Shortly after the female physician left, a mysterious person wearing a black robe and a black mask appeared in the room, surprising Huangfu Shou and Helian Yueyi. ”Can you save my daughter, Senior?”

”Iʼll try it first.” Based on his voice, the mysterious person was a man. He immediately sat down by the bed and checked the condition of the two women, but Huangfu Shou and Helian Yueyi did not notice the shocked expression behind his black mask. ʼWhat kind of black liquid is this? Iʼve seen many poisons and strange liquids in the upper realms, but Iʼve never encountered anything like this before. This black liquid does not harm their lives, but it seems to be trying to take over their bodies, and they might become strange creatures in the maze.ʼ

The man, having lived in Huangfu Palace for a long time and possessing a high level of cultivation, had heard reports from Huangfu Lian and Huangfu Xiaofan about the events in the maze. He immediately did something about the black liquid in the two womenʼs bodies before turning to Huangfu Shou and Helian Yueyi. ”I have never seen this black liquid before, but I can say for sure that their lives are not in danger. It behaves like a parasite, and if it spreads throughout their bodies, it will transform them into those strange creatures. Therefore, I have sealed it inside their bodies for the time being.”

Huangfu Shou and Helian Yueyiʼs faces turned pale, especially since their two sons had already described to them those strange creatures, and they were creatures that had no consciousness and only had the desire to kill. ”Can you find something to remove the black liquid from their bodies, Senior?”

”I donʼt know.” The man then took out a dagger, slashed Huangfu Xiaoyingʼs back, and collected some of the black liquid into a bottle. ”Iʼll go back to the upper realms to find the antidote, but Iʼm not sure if I can find it. You better seal this kingdom while Iʼm gone, or theyʼll attack you.”

”Yes, Iʼll do it right now.” After the man disappeared, Huangfu Shou hurriedly left his two daughtersʼ room and ordered his subordinates to seal his kingdom.

Meanwhile, Helian Yueyi sat by the bedside as she rubbed her two daughtersʼ heads, her expression filled with sadness at their condition. ”Sigh! I hope he can find an antidote, or else they will turn into those strange creatures.

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In another area, Huangfu Lian and his third brother sat together, their expressions intensely serious after hearing their father order his subordinates to seal their kingdom. He didnʼt even allow them to leave the kingdom, which meant that the problem they were facing was truly dire.

”Do you think our fatherʼs decision has anything to do with Xiaoying and Xiaomeiʼs condition?” Huangfu Xiaofan asked his first brother.

”Thatʼs for sure.” Huangfu Lian replied with a nod. ”However, I donʼt know why he had to do it, especially since their condition has nothing to do with the safety of our kingdom.”

Huangfu Xiaofan let out a soft sigh and stood up. ”Fortunately, our father is willing to accept our failure, or else he will punish us. Since we canʼt leave, I will go to Brother Xiaogangʼs place, and I will train with him for the time being.”

After his third brother left, Huangfu Lian tried to contact his two women, Gu Hanshuang and Dan Qingying. Unfortunately, the formation in the kingdom restricted communication with the outside world, so he rushed off somewhere else to have fun with his other women.

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[Ding]

[Daily Quest: Absorb 100,000 Qi.]

[Status: Done]

[Reward: 1,000 bronze coins sent to the inventory.]

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[Daily Quest: Killing 500 beasts or demon beasts at the earth realm or above.]

[Status: Done]

[Reward: Daily gift pack x1 sent to the inventory.]

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Zhang Lingxue, who was sitting in front of Zhang Fei [1], suddenly smelled the pill aroma coming out of the furnace, indicating that he was close to successfully concocting a rank-2 pill.

A while later, Zhang Fei [1] withdrew his fire qi and opened the lid of his furnace. He smiled with satisfaction as he removed two white pills from the furnace, both of which were of superior grade.

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[Ding]

[Alchemy feature upgraded to level 2]

[New items available.]

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Zhang Fei [1] ignored the notification and looked at the pills. ”Even though these foundation pills are only rank 2, concocting them is quite difficult, but I finally managed to concoct them. Unfortunately, the effects are not as beneficial as mine, but they still hold value if we sell them in our shop.”

”Thatʼs true.” Zhang Lingxue then took the pills from his hands. ”This way, you have officially become a master alchemist, and you can start learning to concoct rank-3 pills. If we can continue to concoct superior-grade pills, we can sell them at a high price. However, it will attract the attention of the alchemy union again, and they might take other actions against us. Although Big Sis Yaoʼs suppression of their leaders may have prevented them from directly attacking us, their high popularity and long-standing control over the alchemy market could still hinder our business.”

”Yeah, youʼre right.” Zhang Fei [1] then touched her forehead, especially since he still hasnʼt imparted the Divine Alchemy Method to her. After all, she is his wife, so her alchemy skills will be further enhanced, making it easier for him to increase her alchemy rank.

Zhang Lingxue was momentarily stunned when the method flashed into her mind, and her expression changed to one of shock upon reading it. She had repeatedly seen Zhang Fei [1] bring out many extraordinary things, but the method was too extraordinary. ”Husband, I am truly speechless; you possess an abundance of secrets, and the alchemy method is extremely valuable. If other alchemists know it, they will definitely try hard to get it.”

”Naturally, I wonʼt share it with anyone else, but you are my wife, so you can use it to develop your alchemist skills.” Zhang Fei [1] then took out the Heaven Creation Furnace, making Zhang Lingxue glare at him in shock, especially after he explained its function. ”You can use it to concoct pills, but you have to use it inside here, or else weʼll be in big trouble if people find out about it.”

Zhang Lingxue let out a heavy sigh, clearly aware that Zhang Fei [1] was not going to reveal the origin of the Heaven Creation Furnace to her. ”I will use this furnace to concoct a few batches of several kinds of pills, and we will sell them directly at the opening of our new shop.”

Zhang Fei [1] immediately stood up and left Zhang Lingxue to join his partners in the portable mansion. He immediately started dual-cultivating with them again, especially considering that his cultivation was on the verge of another breakthrough.

Zhang Lingxue immediately retrieved dozens of different types of pills from her storage ring, confident that the Heaven Creation Furnace would enable her to produce high-quality pills. Moreover, the time flow inside the training space was also two times faster, so she had plenty of time to concoct them before the opening of their shop.

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On the western island of the Wasteland Realm, Zhang Xiaolong [3] felt very satisfied after he harvested several kinds of high-quality herbs. Even so, he still wanted to look for many other kinds of herbs so the items in his new shop would not be less varied than the alchemy shops owned by the alchemy union in the other three kingdoms.

”Are we going to the northern city today, Longʼer?” Shang Yaolin inquired as she sat beside Zhang Xiaolong [3] while Shang Xinyu sat on the opposite side.

”I have a hunch that the three demi-humans who followed us yesterday are already waiting for us in that city, so we wonʼt be going there, and we will go to the central area of this island instead.” Both women nodded in agreement to Zhang Xiaolong [3], sharing the same thoughts. ”I still have ten days before Senior Hun Di arrives in this realm, so we will spend that time on this island, and I will collect as many types of herbs as possible. Anyway, itʼs getting late now, so we should rest in this area, and we will start walking to the central area tomorrow morning.”

Shang Yaolin immediately pulled Zhang Xiaolong [3] to his feet. ”There is a clear river not far from here, so we will go there to clean ourselves and rest there.”

Before long, they had arrived at the river, and Shang Yaolin hurriedly took off her clothes before helping Zhang Xiaolong [3] undress. She then pulled Zhang Xiaolong [3] into the river, shouting at Shang Xinyu. ”Join us, Xinyu! Youʼve seen us intimately too often, so you donʼt need to be shy anymore.”

Shang Xinyu let out a soft sigh, undressed herself, and joined them in the river. However, her face was completely red as she watched Zhang Xiaolong [3]ʼs adult figure, especially his lower body. Moreover, Shang Yaolin shamelessly started playing with it, causing lewd thoughts to start popping into his mind. ʼTch! Yaolin has become different since she was intimate with him, and she has become even more shameless.ʼ

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After killing the last demon beast in the Netherworld Realm, Zhang Fei [4] immediately returned the demon extermination sword to his body and turned his attention to the three female demons around him.

Orith immediately spoke to him. ”Letʼs go back, Elion. Iʼm really bored watching you kill these demon beasts since earlier, and I want to have sex with you.”

Zilvora and Balena shook their heads after hearing that, especially since Orith hardly ever thought about anything other than sex.

Zhang Fei [4] immediately took them back to the succubi tower, but Balena rushed back to her room. He then took Zilvora and Orith back to their room, but Ilsath was already waiting for them there.

Orith hurriedly approached Ilsath and sat by her side. ”Hehe! Are you ready to have sex with Elion now?”

”Yes.” Ilsath admitted it without hesitation. ”Iʼve been contemplating this for the past three days, and Iʼve noticed a significant improvement in both your and Queen Zilvoraʼs cultivation after having sex with him for a few days. Thatʼs why I want to have sex with him now so that I can overcome my current weakness and defeat that guardian beast in the future.”

”In that case, Queen Zilvora and I will leave you two alone so you can enjoy your first experience with her.” Orith and the spider queen immediately left again.

Zhang Fei [4] immediately moved to the bed, sat down at the side, and pulled Ilsath into his lap. ”I will help you become stronger, and you will help me increase my demon rank.”

- To Be Continued -