Zhang Fei - The Abandoned Son

Chapter 990: The Key And The Portal

Nong Qinhua sat down weakly on the side of the bed after they left. ”I didn’t expect you to bring a monster here, Xinlei.”

”I didn’t expect that myself, especially since he hasn’t shown his strength to me before.” Yin Xinlei then asked her. ”Do you think he’ll keep your secret from those people, Big Sis?”

”I can’t be sure of that, but I hope he won’t reveal it to anyone; otherwise, the Yin Clan will be in great danger because of me.” Nong Qinhua then turned to Yi Ping. ”That kid should be aware that he is a soulless doll, but he didn’t say anything about him.”

Since Zhang Xiaolong [3] had so many powerful beasts by his side, Yin Xinlei also believed that he had already noticed Yin Ping’s situation. ”He doesn’t seem to be a nosy person, so he didn’t ask anything about his condition. Do you think my cousin will be able to return to normal?”

”I don’t know.” Nong Qinhua replied with a heavy sigh. ”The only way to cure him is to find that female demon and take back his soul from her, but we have been searching for her for thousands of years, and we have never managed to find a trace of her.”

Yin Xinlei observed Yi Ping’s face before asking again. ”What exactly is the female demon’s reason for stealing his soul and turning you into a yin demon?”

”Only she knows her purpose for doing something like this to us.” Nong Qinhua tried to recall the day when the terrible incident befell her and Yin Ping. ”If I recall correctly, she also brought some other people, and one of them was a corpse of a woman.”

”Don’t you remember her face?”

”No.” Nong Qinhua shook her head. ”I only remember that female demon wore a mask like a tengu, and she also had huge crow wings on her back. Additionally, she did not speak our language, and I had never heard a language like hers before, which led me to believe that she was speaking an ancient language.

”Ancient language?”

Nong Qinhua immediately explained. ”According to the history that I have researched with Yin Ping in the past, there were various languages ​​in the universe, but they disappeared along with the appearance of the barrier that separated the three mortal realms and the realm beyond, leaving behind the language we use now.”

”If that’s true, that female demon should have come from the realm beyond, and she is very powerful, or she wouldn’t have succeeded in capturing you and my cousin back then.” Yin Xinlei then took out a dildo with two heads. ”How about we try this thing together, Big Sis?”

Nong Qinhua examined the dildo before nodding. ”Let’s do it then; I’m feeling stressed out by that kid’s arrival, so I want to have some fun.”

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After spending some time in Spring City, Zhang Xiaolong went to the northern region and visited its largest city, Orchid City. As the name suggests, the city was filled with many wild orchid plants of various colors, which emitted rich floral scents.

[Why are you going to this city, Master?]

’Actually, I want to visit all the big cities in this realm to look for some things, but not all of them are interesting, and this city is one of the interesting ones, especially this floral scent.’ Zhang Xiaolong [3] quickly walked along the streets of the city, and he went to the biggest alchemy shop in the city, where he found several types of herb seeds that were not yet available in the Sealed World Pearl.

Since Janette, Lillea, and Shi Wu were still in the Star Tower, Zhang Xiaolong [3] first put away all the seeds. He then went to a blacksmith shop and bought a lot of materials to forge celestial-grade equipment. He made sure to visit a formation array shop afterwards, particularly considering that his array master rank had been stagnant for an extended period.

[Master, I think you should wait for Duanmu Luolan to come back, and you can learn more about formation arrays from her.]

Zhang Xiaolong [3] nodded in agreement. ’Fa Zhen is indeed an expert in arrays, but his knowledge is still limited. Meanwhile, Duanmu Luolan is much more senior than him, and this realm has more knowledge, so she is the best choice to help me study the formation array more deeply.’

After he bought everything, Zhang Xiaolong [3] immediately left the Orchid City because Han Ling had already returned to his hut, and he immediately went there to meet him.

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”You’re finally back, Old Han.”

”Hahaha.” Han Ling laughed before asking. ”Have you mastered the first stage of the Forgotten Sword Technique?”

Zhang Xiaolong [3] answered him by summoning the demon extermination sword, making a sword stance, and closing his eyes.

”Oh?” Han Ling was surprised to see that.

Zhang Xiaolong [3] slashed his sword at a high speed, which was difficult for Han Ling to follow. Although nothing appeared from his sword, a large rock far away from their location split itself as a result of his slash.

”What do you think about that, Old Han?”

Han Ling nodded in satisfaction. ”Incredible! It took me two weeks to master the first stage, but you only needed three days to master it. This way, you can start practicing the second stage, and the Whisper Thrust is useful against those with high defenses, especially since it can bypass their defenses.”

”Yes.” Zhang Xiaolong [3] then returned his sword into his body and activated his sword Qi.

Han Ling raised his eyebrows slightly. ”Don’t tell me that you’ve successfully used your sword domain.”

”Hehehe.” Zhang Xiaolong [3] chuckled, and his sword Qi quickly spread out, forming a sword dome, leaving Han Ling speechless. ”I succeeded in creating this domain thanks to Shangguan Yan’s advice, but my sword domain is still too weak compared to yours, Old Han. For now, I still have to continue strengthening my sword Qi and sword intent, and my sword domain will strengthen by itself.”

”That’s right.” Han Ling nodded in agreement with that. ”Sword Qi and sword intent are essential for our sword domain, and if you keep strengthening them, our domain will become extremely powerful; therefore, you must not stop this process. What else did you learn from Shangguan Yan? Did you succeed in forming domains with all your elements?”

”Yes.” Zhang Xiaolong [3] then showed Han Ling all the domains from each of his elements, causing her to smile in satisfaction. ”Even though I managed to create all my domains, I feel that they are too weak if I use them separately, so I have thought of something to strengthen them.”

”For example?”

”This.” Zhang Xiaolong [3] activated his light and darkness domains simultaneously, and he merged the two domains just like what he did when he merged his two elements.

Han Ling took a deep breath after he saw Zhang Xiaolong [3]’s new domain, which revolved around his body like Yin and Yang. ”Such a crazy kid! Not only do you have light and darkness elements, which is impossible for other people, but you also managed to combine both elements and their domains.”

”As you said before, I have to keep strengthening myself. However, I will be no different from them if I do everything the normal way, so I try many things that other people might not be able to do.” Zhang Xiaolong [3] then activated his other domains, and he merged all of them into one, making it enormous, thick, and sturdy. ”This way, my enemy won’t be able to guess my next move, especially since there are seven elements in this domain.”

’Who gave birth to this monster? Did she ever think that her son would become like this?’ Han Ling muttered inwardly with a bitter laugh. ”Stop showing off, kid. If you use anything else absurd, I might die of a heart attack.”

”Hahaha.” Zhang Xiaolong [3] laughed as he canceled his domain. ”Old Han, have you ever thought about leaving this realm and ascending to the realm beyond?”

”I never thought of that before, but I do now.” Han Ling then looked up at the sky. ”Honestly, the Paradise Realm is my old dream, especially after I listened to my master’s story about his master. I don’t have any burden in my heart now, so I want to pursue my dream of going to that realm, and I will look for my grandmaster there. Unfortunately, I can’t do that now because Senior Yuyan still has a lot of business in the three mortal realms, and I will go with him after he finishes all his business here.”

Zhang Xiaolong was surprised by that. ”Does Jia Yuyan really want to take you to the Paradise Realm?”

”Yes.” Han Ling looked at him again. ”Senior Jia offered it to me a long time ago, but the burden in my heart continues to weigh me down. If you hadn’t appeared in that realm and brought me back to the Earth, I wouldn’t have been able to let go of all my burdens.”

”Did Jia Yuyan tell you the location of the portal to go to the Paradise Realm?” Zhang Xiaolong [3] curiously asked.

”Over there.” Han Ling pointed toward the Tiantang Mountain. ”Senior Jia came to this realm through that mountain, and your phoenix friends also went there through that place.”

’That woman really has a big mouth! She revealed many of my secrets to the people in this realm.’ Zhang Xiaolong [3] felt increasingly annoyed with Jia Yuyan. ”I’ll go check out that mountain, Old Han.”

”I’ll go with you.”

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”Where exactly is the portal?” Zhang Xiaolong [3] asked once they arrived at the Tiantang Mountain.

Han Ling jumped onto the stone monument in front of them and pointed to the sky. ”According to Senior Jia, the portal is up there, but we need a key to open it.”

”A key?” Han Ling nodded at Zhang Xiaolong [3], who immediately disappeared from the spot.

Han Ling shook his head at that. ”He must have picked up Senior Jia.”

As Han Ling expected, Zhang Xiaolong [3] returned with Jia Yuyan half an hour later.

”Why did you bring me here?” Jia Yuyan asked as she moved away from Zhang Xiaolong [3].

”How to open the portal to the Paradise Realm?”

”Hmm?” Jia Yuyan turned to Han Ling first before taking out a large key-like device similar to the one Feng Yao used to open the portal when she brought her parents to the Paradise Realm. ”Only certain people have this key to prevent those evil cultivators from coming down here, and you need celestial qi to activate it. Once I channel my qi into it, the portal will open, and it will take us a month of travel to arrive at the main gate. I know you’re eager to go to that realm, but you wouldn’t be that crazy to go now, right?”

”You’re wrong.” Jia Yuyan frowned as soon as Zhang Xiaolong [3] said that. ”Actually, I thought about going there sooner, but I haven’t thought about exploring that realm, especially with my current strength.”

Jia Yuyan immediately understood the meaning behind Zhang Xiaolong [3]’s answer. ”I don’t know if you can do that, especially since the barrier separates the three mortal realms and the Paradise Realm. If you go there now, you’ll have to come back here straightaway, which will just waste two months of your time.”

”Only two months?” Zhang Xiaolong [3] was confused by that because Ma Kuangyu and Feng Yao had said that the flow of time in the Paradise Realm was much faster than in the three mortal realms.

Seeing his confusion, Jia Yuyan immediately explained to him. ”The flow of time during the journey will not change, but you will experience a time difference once you arrive there.”

”I see.” Zhang Xiaolong [3] nodded in understanding. ”If only certain people have the key, then how did Taotie come down here in the past and bring Xereth there? He also sent that demon back to the three mortal realms after he finished his training.”

Jia Yuyan let out a soft sigh. ”In fact, there are hundreds or even thousands of paths connecting the two realms, but we will pass through dangerous routes if we go through them, and the portal in this realm is one of the safest.”

”Hmm?” Zhang Xiaolong [3] fell into thought after hearing that. ’I have to meet that woman again, especially since she’s the only one who can give me answers.’

- To Be Continued -