Zhang Fei - The Abandoned Son

Chapter 582: Demon Maze

”Are they not chasing us anymore?” Shang Xinyu inquired after they reached a different location.

”Haha.” Shang Yaolin laughed before telling her. ”Xinyu, Longʼer has the teleportation ability that he inherited from his father, so you donʼt have to worry about those people, especially since theyʼve lost track of us now.”

”Thatʼs right, Big Sis Xinyu.” Zhang Xiaolong [3] then looked into the distance. ”Weʼre already halfway to the northern city, but we shouldnʼt rush to that city, especially since they might have partners there. For the time being, I want to look for herbs in this area, and weʼll go there after the situation has calmed down.”

Both women agreed with that, and Zhang Xiaolong [3] immediately led them to another area, especially since Mei found a lot of herbs there.

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Meanwhile, Ye Hu and the other two had arrived at a hut where a demi-human man with the appearance of a black bear was waiting for them. They then reported the presence of Zhang Xiaolong [3] and the two women to him. ”What should we do, Big Brother Xiong Ju?”

”Hmm?” Xiong Ju pondered briefly before issuing the order. ”Based on their route and their herb-hunting activities, I believe they intend to go to the northern city. Therefore, you should go there and instruct our team to monitor the entire area. Once the three of them appear, you must capture them immediately. I donʼt care about the two women, but that male foxʼs ability seems interesting, so I want to recruit him into our group.”

”Big Brother, may we have the two women?”

Xiong Ju nodded to them. ”Donʼt waste any more time and go to that city, or they will escape, and we will have a hard time finding them.”

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Even though they were only sovereign-rank beasts, Bai Chongxi and his two siblings were overwhelmed by the beasts blocking them in one room, especially since there were too many of them and they had fought other enemies many times before.

”Big brother, there are too many of them, so we should retreat now to rest first.” Bai Renfu spoke as he attacked one of the beasts.

Bai Shouyi agreed with his second brother. ”After we rest, we can fight them again.”

”All right.” Bai Chongxi immediately ordered the remaining members of their group to retreat outside, and they rested there. ”Swallow recovery pills, especially since weʼve wasted so much time.”

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In another area, Huangfu Lianʼs group was overwhelmed by the strange creatures in front of them, particularly due to their exhaustion from fighting numerous enemies and avoiding numerous traps.

In the end, Huangfu Lian decided to retreat and rest first before fighting them again, but one of the strange creatures suddenly sprayed a black liquid from its mouth, which directly hit the backs of Huang Xiaoying and Huang Xiaomei.

”Retreat!” Huangfu Lian shouted as he hurled an artifact at the strange creatures, causing them to bounce against the back wall. He and Huangfu Xiaofan then helped their two sisters out, but Huang Xiaoying and Huang Xiaomei right away fell unconscious.

*Tear... Tear..*

Huangfu Lian immediately laid them on their stomachs and tore the backs of their dresses, but his expression became serious once he saw the black liquid begin to enter their bodies.

”What kind of black liquid is this, Big Brother?”

”I donʼt know; Iʼve never seen it before.” Huangfu Lian immediately took out some pills, forced the two women to swallow them, and then pressed his palms on their backs to remove the black liquid from their bodies. Unfortunately, his efforts were in vain, and the black liquid spread even faster, so he decided to seal it inside their bodies to prevent it from spreading further. ”Xiaofan, we have no other choice but to surrender, or else they will die.”

Huang Xiaofan nodded in agreement with that. ”Our father will definitely be furious because we failed to capture Xian Xianwu, Xian Xianqing, and Yun Xinyue. However, Xiaoying and Xiaomeiʼs lives are more important, so we should give up. As for Zhang Fei, we can tell him about that guy, and he will definitely send people to capture him later.”

”Yeah.” Huangfu Lian immediately raised his hand and shouted upwards, and all of them right away disappeared from that place before being sent out of the tower.

Huangfu Shouʼs people immediately approached them, and they swiftly brought all of them back to their kingdom at full speed, especially given the concerning condition of the two princesses.

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After being trapped in the mirror for a whole day, Zhou Tong finally managed to find his way out, but he was no longer in the previous room, and he was sent to another room, separating him from his two siblings and group.

”Fuck! What an annoying trap!” Even so, Zhou Tong felt fortunate to find the second key in the mirror, but he still needed to locate his group before he could enter the core area.

*Tap... Tap...*

Zhou Tong immediately turned towards the sound of the footsteps, but he right away bowed to them. ”Prince Hongwu and Princess Yueliang.”

”Where are your other members? Why arenʼt they here?” Zhou Tong immediately explained to Ximen Hongwu about their situation. ”In that case, you could join us to find the way to the gate faster.”

”Yes, Prince.”

As he led them, Ximen Hongwu asked his sister a question. ʼAre you interested in turning this guy into your puppet?ʼ

ʼNo.ʼ Ximen Yueliang answered by shaking her head. ʼThis guyʼs cultivation is indeed high, but he is just a useless man, and his family is under our control, so I have no interest in him. We are still having difficulty attacking the Xian Kingdom, so I want Xian Xianwu as my puppet, and I will use him to help our parents destroy his kingdom. As for Zhang Fei, I will not hand him over to anyone, and I will keep him by my side to serve me.ʼ

ʼYouʼre already captivated by Zhang Fei, huh?ʼ Ximen Hongwu commented by shaking his head.

ʼHehe.ʼ Ximen Yueliang giggled in response. ʼHe is handsome and talented, and all women will undoubtedly be attracted to him, including me.ʼ

Ximen Hongwu released a heavy sigh at her answer, and he asked them to speed up their pace, especially since he wanted to reach the gate to the core area as quickly as possible.

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The other two royal members of the Zhou Kingdom had also managed to get out of the mirror, but Zhou Taiʼs condition was already very weak because his little sister had absorbed so much of his life and soul powers.

At first, Zhou Meiling thought that they would meet Zhou Tong after getting out of the place, so she didnʼt kill Zhou Tai directly, but they were sent to another area instead. Since they were separated from their big brother, she decided to kill her second brother by absorbing his remaining life and soul powers, causing his body to dry up.

”Hehehe! This way, Zhou Tong and their father will not suspect me, and I will kill them one by one after I return to their kingdom.” Zhou Meiling then left the room, but she ran into Ximen Yanʼs group, who had just come out of the darkness. ”Prince Yan.”

”Hmm?” Ximen Yan turned to Zhou Meiling directly, but he raised his eyebrows before ordering Qian Ying. ”If she tries to do something, you can kill her straight away.”

Zhou Meiling was shocked to hear that, but she immediately stepped back when Qian Ying turned to her. ʼWhat the heck is going on with this guy? Doesnʼt this little girlʼs family have a good relationship with his family? Why did he order his right-handed woman to kill her?ʼ

”Move.” Ximen Yan immediately led his group in front, but Qian Ying moved behind Zhou Meiling, forcing her to follow them.

ʼDamn it! I have to think of a way to escape from them. ʼ Zhou Meiling grumbled in her heart.

Zhou Meiling didnʼt have to wait long as they entered a room full of strange creatures. Qian Ying had to assist Ximen Yanʼs group, so she immediately fled from them.

”Arenʼt you going to stop her?” Qian Ying asked as she started attacking those creatures.

Ximen Yan personally engaged in combat with their adversaries. ”That girl has been possessed by one of the souls locked in this tower, and that soul is very evil, so we donʼt need to think about her.”

”I see.”

After she managed to escape from them, Zhou Meiling rushed to find a way out of the inner area.

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Li Yaoʼs group finally succeeded in capturing the largest aquatic beast in the lake after spending so much time trapped. To their surprise, the second key was in the beastʼs body, and they were immediately sent out to another room after they got it.

When they appeared in the room, Xian Qifeng and Luo Qinglinʼs group, who had just completed their test in the wilderness, also arrived there.

”Why are you all so exhausted, Qinglin?” Li Yao asked Luo Qinglin, who immediately told her about their previous test. ”Our group also got a similar test, but we were a little luckier than you guys, and we only needed to lure the largest aquatic beast.”

”You guys are really lucky.” Luo Qinglin then asked her husband. ”How about we rest first? Weʼre all very exhausted now, and thereʼs no way we can fight off the enemies that might come our way.”

”Yeah, weʼll take a break first.” Xian Qifeng then turned to Li Yao and the others. ”What if we move together? That way, we can face other obstacles more easily, and we might be able to find a way out faster.”

”Sure.” Since the Yun and Xian Kingdoms had a good relationship, Li Yao immediately agreed with Xian Qifeng, and they rested together in the room to recover their condition.

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Xian Yu and Xian Muʼs group also managed to pass their hurdles on the scales after trying for a whole day, but some of them died in the test after they fell into the fiery crater below them.

They arrived in the same room as the group of the natural races, who were resting inside. However, Xian Yu and Xian Mu refrained from approaching them due to the clear hostility of Zheng Ru and the group, leading their members to take a rest on the opposite side.

Xian Jinglan, the elf princess, observed them repeatedly and discovered a demon aura emanating from their bodies. ʼTheir fatherʼs decision to join Ximen Gongfu was truly foolish, but itʼs puzzling how they managed to conceal that aura from Emperor Xian and his wife. If they had known about that, they would have imprisoned these two kids.ʼ

”Guys, itʼs time for us to leave, as demon scents have contaminated this place.” Xi Xianzi abruptly spoke as she floated away, and her group members swiftly followed suit.

ʼBig Brother, did they notice the demon aura on our bodies?ʼ Xian Mu inquired, his gaze fixed on the group of natural races.

Xian Yu nodded with a frown. ʼThe natural races possess such abilities, so they must have detected it. However, we donʼt need to worry about them, especially since they wonʼt meddle in our affairs.ʼ ”Letʼs rest now, and weʼll continue our journey afterward.”

”Yes.”

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Unlike their groups, the group from the Beast Kingdom did not look tired at all. They were more interested in exploring the maze and were in no hurry to get to the exit because they kept encountering new, powerful opponents, so Long Chen kept leading them forward without rest.

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[Ding]

[Daily Quest: Absorb 100,000 Qi.]

[Reward: 1,000 bronze coins.]

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

[Reward: Daily gift pack x1.]

===

Zhang Fei let out a soft sigh after the two notifications appeared, but he then turned to his group members. ”Since youʼve all recovered, we should move now because time is ticking, and the other groups are probably far ahead, so we should catch up with them.”

All of them were already bored and fed up with the situation in the test, so they immediately agreed with him, and Zhang Fei hurriedly led them to the room at the end of the path in front of them. There, they encountered dozens of beasts in the sovereign realm, but their cultivation in the seven divine realms made it no big deal, and they immediately slaughtered their enemies without mercy.

After they collected the items that appeared, they hurriedly continued their journey through the only path in front of them. Time passed quickly, and they had already traversed several other rooms. They repeatedly encountered numerous enemies, which forced them to engage in combat.

On the map, Zhang Fei saw that they had reached the middle of the inner area, but they hadnʼt found the second key, so they focused on finding it first.

After they passed through several more rooms, they finally found the second key in the next room, but they were once again faced with a riddle question to retrieve it.

”I reveal your flaws, yet I hold no judgment. Look into me, and you may see eternity. Destroy me, and you shatter yourself. What am I?”

”Hehe.” Bai Tianʼer chuckled after she read the question. ”This question is too easy for me because our master once said something similar, and the answer is our inner self.”

*Rumble... Rumble...*

Instantly, the wall blocking the key disappeared by itself, and Zhang Fei immediately pulled it into his hand. ”Now we have no business in the inner area, so we can focus on finding the gate to the core area.”

”By the way, we have to prepare for the worst once we enter the core area.” Zhang Fei turned to Bai Tianʼer, who immediately provided him with an explanation. ”We will face one last test in the core area by fighting the gatekeeper, but the beast is powerful and has many strange abilities, including the ability to use soul attacks. Back then, it took us two days to defeat it, but we had several other soul cultivators at that time. Unfortunately, you and I were the only soul cultivators in our group this time, so we had to work hard to protect the others while attacking it.”

”If we take too long to defeat it, the other groups might arrive there, and the situation will become chaotic for us, especially since they might take advantage of that to attack us.” Ying Shanhu added.

Zhang Fei frowned for a moment before turning to Xian Changyue. ”Senior, if that happens, you can concentrate on shielding us from their attacks, and we will battle the beast.”

”All right, leave them to me.”

Zhang Fei then led them out of the room, but they unexpectedly fell into a trap that even his system couldnʼt detect. The trap sent them straight into a mini-maze, which was filled with demons. Moreover, they were separated from each other, so they were forced to fight them one by one in order to leave the place.

Zhang Fei immediately summoned the demon extermination sword because his first opponent was a pure giant demon with an inhuman appearance, and the demonʼs rank was the same as his at the duke rank.

However, the soul of a young boy suddenly appeared above the demonʼs head, causing Zhang Fei to raise his eyebrows. ”Please free us from this place, Big Brother.”

”Who are you? How did you get trapped here? What do you mean by us?” Zhang Fei inquired with heightened vigilance, but the demon extermination sword continued to vibrate, seemingly eager to slay the demon before them.

The young boy shook his head at Zhang Fei. ”I donʼt remember my name, and I donʼt remember how I ended up in this place. I hope you can free us by killing this demon, which is an amalgamation of the souls of many people imprisoned here, or else we will remain imprisoned here.”

”All right, I will free you all.” After using his demon eyes, Zhang Fei immediately held the demon extermination sword with both hands, channeled his light element into it, and slashed it at the demon.

- To Be Continued -