Zhang Fei - The Abandoned Son

Chapter 772: Li Tiannan Captured

Cheng Gaoji, who was helping Duan Zhao forge Zhang Feiʼs new weapon, suddenly felt several powerful auras entering the Nine Stars Realm. ”Several cultivators from the upper realms have just entered this realm, and one of them has cultivation at the 5-Moon Divine Transformation Realm.”

”They should be Huangfu Shouʼs ancestors.” Duan Zhao answered with certainty, especially since Zhang Fei had already told those close to him about it. ”They are cultivators from the Huangfu Clan who reside in the Grand Royal Realm.”

Cheng Gaoji nodded in understanding. ”Iʼve heard of the Huangfu Clan, and their leader is Huangfu Fanling. Their second most powerful cultivator is Huangfu Shong, and I believe he is the one leading their entourage. Even though he is strong, he still has to bow if he meets me, so you donʼt need to think about them and focus on completing this weapon.”

”Haha.” Duan Zhao laughed. ”I still didnʼt expect to have the chance to meet you, Senior Cheng. Although I am quite skilled in blacksmithing, my cultivation is not as good as my forging skills, and it has not progressed in the past decades. Therefore, I have no ambition to go to the upper realms, and I thought of spending the rest of my life here. However, things have changed since Zhang Fei appeared, and that kid continues to bring changes to this realm. He also gave me some pills, which made my cultivation start progressing again.”

”Phew.” Cheng Gaoji released a soft sigh, remembering his position as Zhang Feiʼs subordinate. ”Little Duan, Iʼm uncertain about the kidʼs future plans, but I intend to return to the Xianjin Realm once we finish crafting this weapon. If you want, I can bring you and your four disciples with me there, and you guys can cultivate faster. Furthermore, I have a good status there, and I can help you all improve your blacksmithing abilities.”

”Is that true, Senior?” Xian Xian asked as she approached them along with her three friends.

Cheng Gaoji nodded at her. ”If all of you donʼt have a deep connection with this realm and want to further develop yourselves, you can come with me to the Xianjin Realm. The difference in Qi between the middle and upper realms is too stark, and you guys will be more enthusiastic about cultivating if you do it there.”

”What do you guys think about that?”

”Itʼs a rare opportunity, so I wonʼt miss it.” Ah Hu was the first to answer.

Lu Zhong was also interested in Cheng Gaojiʼs offer. ”Such an opportunity wonʼt come twice, and Iʼll go there if our master decides to go.”

Gang Zhishou was also interested in it, but he had different thoughts. ”Master, you are quite old now, and your cultivation has not been broken through for decades. If you continue to stay here, you might never break through, and your lifespan will eventually run out. Therefore, you must go with Senior Cheng, and you can bring them with you.”

”What about you, Shou?” Duan Zhao asked.

”Iʼm not going anywhere, at least for now.” Gang Zhishouʼs answer surprised Duan Zhao and his three disciples. ”Master, such an opportunity is indeed rare, but I am not ready to go to the upper realms. Moreover, Zhang Fei has already helped me in several things, so I want to stay in this realm to help him. Once he is ready to go to the upper realms, I will go with him there, and we will meet again then.”

”I still want to develop my forging abilities and reach the highest level in blacksmithing, but I wonʼt be able to do that if my cultivation continues to stagnate like now, and going to the upper realms is my best choice, so I will go with Senior Cheng.” Duan Zhao looked at his three disciples, who were overjoyed by his decision. ”If you want it like that, you can stay in this realm, Shou. Once Zhang Fei goes to the upper realms, you should join him, and we will wait for you there.”

”We will meet again in the future, Master.” Gang Zhishou replied with a nod.

”Thatʼs good.” Duan Zhao then spoke to the other three. ”The three of you have promised to join Zhang Fei in going to the Star Tower, so you guys should wait for him to meet us to discuss this matter with him. If he is okay with it, you can go with us to the upper realms.”

”Yes, Master.”

After that, the four of them continued their cultivation, and Duan Zhao continued to forge Zhang Feiʼs new weapon with the help of Cheng Gaoji.

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On a small island not far from the Beast Kingdom, Mai Xiaomeng stood on a large rock while watching the flying artifact move toward the Huangfu Kingdom. ”Those people must be members of the Huangfu Clan, and they must want to find the old man trapped in the tower. Given that they are Zhang Feiʼs adversaries, I will assist him in monitoring them, which could potentially provide an opportunity for me to establish a closer relationship with him.

”Are you leaving again, Big Sis?” Mai Yuzhen suddenly appeared beside her.

”I will supervise those cultivators from the upper realm for Zhang Fei, so I leave the members of our race to you.”

Mai Yuzhen could only shake her head after Mai Xiaomeng left. ”Zhang Feiʼs refusal caused my big sister to become obsessed with him, and she tried to do anything to attract his attention.”

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Li Tiannan, Helian Yueyi, and several others were already waiting at the flying artifact landing site. Soon, a flying artifact landed there, and an old man led five other people down it.

”Ancestor Huangfu Shong.” Li Tiannan respectfully greeting the old man.

Helian Yueyi led the others to bow their heads. ”Welcome to our kingdom, Ancestor Shong.”

”Where is your husband? Why isnʼt he here?”

ʼThis old man is better than Huangfu Fanbo.ʼ Helian Yueyi then answered him. ”Ancestor, my husband is in his room, and his condition has been strange since three months ago.”

Huangfu Shong turned to Li Tiannan, who immediately explained Huangfu Shouʼs condition to him. ”Huangfu Shou seems to have made a mistake in his cultivation, which caused his memory to decline.”

”Have you checked his condition?ʼ

”I didnʼt find any residue of pills or anything in his body, so I came to that conclusion.” Li Tiannan then asked the old man. ”Ancestor, can you arrange a replacement for me? After decades in this realm, my cultivation has not been broken through, so I hope to return to my clan and enter seclusion.”

”Ask your father to send someone else to this realm.” Huangfu Shongʼs answer relieved Li Tiannan. ”Before that, you have to take us to the Star Tower, and we have to find Huangfu Fanbo as soon as possible.”

Li Tiannan nodded to him. ”I will take you there, but I cannot join in the search for Senior Fanbo. A month ago, we failed in the tower, so I cannot enter there for the next few years.”

”The six of us are enough to find him.” Huangfu Shong looked at Helian Yueyi. ”I want to help your husband, but Huangfu Fanbo is more important than him, so I will help him after we have successfully found him.”

”Yes, Ancestor.”

After that, Huangfu Shong and the others hurriedly left the Huangfu Kingdom.

”Mother, I feel like our ancestors donʼt care about us at all.” Huangfu Lian suddenly spoke.

Helian Yueyi was also aware of that, but there was nothing she could do. ”Lianʼer, you have to be careful what you speak, especially when they are in our kingdom. You are our first son, but the Huangfu Clan is too big, and they have many members in other realms. Iʼm afraid theyʼll kill you if they hear what you just said, so you have to be careful at all times. Do you understand?”

”I understand, Mother.”

Helian Yueyi immediately left the place and went to Huangfu Shouʼs room to check on his condition. When she arrived there, she found her husband asleep, but she sat beside him and looked at him.

ʼDo you know how heavy my feelings are right now? What should I do? Your obsession with Zhang Fei has gotten our family into big trouble, and his father asked me to kill you to save our two daughters. I want to save them, but I donʼt have the heart to kill you. If I donʼt kill you, he will kill you and our daughters, and he will probably kill our sons too.ʼ Helian Yueyi then stroked her husbandʼs face. ʼI love you, but our children are much more important than our lives. If I have no other way to save them from that evil demon, I will kill you, but I will accompany you to the afterlife.ʼ

After she spent some time in her husbandʼs room, Helian Yueyi went straight to her two daughtersʼ room, where she pondered the two choices Zhang Fei had given her.

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Huangfu Lian was having a discussion with Huangfu Ziyuan and Ling Baozi in his room. ”What about those generals, Grandpa Ling? Zhang Fei has married Zhou Shenxin, and Zhou Xiaochuan has also become his slave, so the Zhou Kingdom is now his. Besides, the Bai Kingdom is under his control through the people from those major clans, so we must move quickly to take over our kingdom from my father.”

”Your fatherʼs generals still canʼt move unless Du She gives them the antidote, and the majority of their soldiers have already submitted to me, so we can move whenever we want.” Ling Baozi then asked Huangfu Ziyuan. ”What about the people from the Huangfu Imperial Sect?”

”Since my big brother never dealt with them directly, they have always been on my side, so you donʼt need to think about them,” Huangfu Ziyuan said casually. ”By the way, Du Sheʼs poison has started to have an effect on him, and his memory continues to decline because of it. Sooner or later, he will completely lose his memory, and Lianʼer can take his place at that time.”

In the past, Huangfu Lian harbored the ambition to replace Huangfu Shou as the emperor of their kingdom, but he no longer had the ambition because he was Zhang Feiʼs slave, and his status as emperor would be useless since he would be the one controlling the kingdom. ”Grandpa Ling! Uncle Ziyuan! You two must move faster to convince those nobles and clan leaders to side with us, especially since Iʼm sure he will make his move soon.”

Huangfu Ziyuan and Ling Baozi nodded to Huangfu Lian before leaving his room, and he himself went to another room to carry out another task that Zhang Fei had given him, but he moved cautiously so that Helian Yueyi would not notice his actions.

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Huangfu Shong and his entourage had already arrived at the Star Tower, and Li Tiannan led them to undergo the first test, the strength test. With their overly high cultivation, it was not difficult for the six of them to pass the challenge, and they immediately entered the tower.

Like Huangfu Fanbo, the old man in charge of the tower sent them into the maze challenge, and he deliberately made things difficult for them by increasing the difficulty of the challenge.

Li Tiannan, who was waiting outside the tower, suddenly shivered, feeling the presence of another person behind him. Before he could escape, Mai Xiaomeng immediately knocked him unconscious, sealed his cultivation, and shouldered him. ”Hehe! Since Zhang Fei needs him to free Emperor Bai, I will hand him over to him. However, he is in another realm now, so I will take him somewhere else first.”

Sometime later, Mai Xiaomeng took Li Tiannan to land on another island, but two people stopped her. They were Linghu Xiaoting and Linghu Shiwei, so she handed him over to them directly. ”You two can take care of this guy for the time being, especially since Zhang Fei is busy with his personal affairs. By the way, he is the one who controlled your emperor using the Gu Insect, and you guys need him to free him.”

”Who are you, Senior?”

Mai Xiaomeng shook her head at Linghu Xiaoting. ”You donʼt need to know my identity, and you must take care of this guy until Zhang Fei returns.”

Linghu Xiaoting turned to Linghu Shiwei as Mai Xiaomeng disappeared, making the two curious about his identity. They then brought Li Tiannan into the residence on the island and woke up Linghu Yincheng, who was resting in her room.

As soon as Linghu Yincheng met them, Linghu Shiwei explained to her about Li Tiannan and Mai Xiaomeng. ”Empress, that woman is unwilling to reveal her identity, but we are certain that she is one of Zhang Feiʼs subordinates, especially since she asked us to wait for him to return before we can free your husband from this manʼs control.”

”I see.” Linghu Yincheng then looked at Li Tiannan with a relieved expression. ”My decision to support Zhang Fei was one of the best of my life, and we will soon reunite with my husband.”

”What are your next plans after your husband is free, Empress?” Linghu Xiaoting asked.

”I havenʼt thought of any plans yet, and I will discuss the whole situation with my husband once he is free.” Linghu Yincheng looked at the three childrenʼs rooms. ”My husband and I have fallen into this guyʼs control for so long, so we are no longer worthy to lead our kingdom. Even if we were to return to lead our kingdom, our people have already joined Zhang Fei, so our status is no longer meaningful. With his help, our kingdom will definitely be safe, so I think itʼs time for Chongxi to step up to replace us.”

Linghu Xiaoting and Linghu Shiwei were shocked to hear that, and they felt that Bai Chongxi still did not meet the qualifications to become the emperor. They believed, like Linghu Yincheng, that Zhang Feiʼs support would protect their kingdom, so it wouldnʼt matter if he became Emperor.

Linghu Yincheng spoke to them again. ”Letʼs wait for Zhang Fei to come back first, and we will discuss everything with him and my husband later.”

”Yes, Empress.” Linghu Shiwei immediately took Li Tiannan to an empty room and locked him up there.

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”How do you feel about being the empress?” Jiang Tingxi asked Zhou Shenxin, who had just arrived in her room.

Zhou Shenxin let out a soft sigh, sat down beside Jiang Tingxi, and rested his head on her shoulder. ”Being an empress is not as easy as I imagined, but I am fortunate that my father and the others are obedient to my orders, so I didnʼt have too much difficulty living my first day as empress. Have you contacted Grandpa Jiang to bring the others back to this kingdom?”

”Theyʼre already on their way back here, and theyʼll be here in a few days.” Zhou Shensin was relieved by that. ”Iʼve told him about your wedding plans with Zhang Fei, and he is looking forward to the day. He asked you to give him a grandchild soon, but I told him that it was impossible, especially since Zhang Feiʼs cultivation is still at the ten mortal realms.”

”My grandpa has long wanted a grandchild, but he has to wait much longer. Even if Zhang Feiʼs cultivation breaks through to the Seven Divine Realm, he still has no plans to have children, and he wants to have children after our lives are completely secure.” Zhou Shenxin looked up at her mother. ”What about you? Donʼt you want to find new happiness?”

”No.” Jiang Tingxi gently refused. ”I am satisfied with my life, so I donʼt need other happiness. Since your father and the others are helping you take care of this kingdom, I plan to enter a long seclusion, and I will come out briefly during your wedding with Zhang Fei.”

Zhou Shenxin then took her mother to lie down on the bed. ”Accompany me to sleep tonight, Mother.”

”All right.”

- To Be Continued -