Chapter 1049: Ma Kuangyu's True Identity
After everyone returned to the training space, Zhang Fei left the Star Tower and went to the Sovereign Heaven Realm. However, he didn't linger there for long and joined the others straightaway.
Most of them decided to go straight back to the portable mansion and cloud mansion, especially since they had previously spent a lot of time at the Star Tower taking on all the challenges from floors one to four. Even senior cultivators like Lin Jingxia, Xia Tian, and the others felt tired from all the challenges.
Zhang Fei asked Wei Xiaoya, Qian Shuang, Shangguan Yan, Duanmu Luolan, Jia Yuyan, and Leng Xueyan to temporarily stop their training. Since they had never met his other wives and family members before, he wanted them to spend some time together to get to know each other.
Zhang Fei introduced them to his grandmother first, and Zhang Chen's warm response caused the six women to feel relieved and strange at the same time. After all, she was much younger than them, but she was their senior based on their relationship status with her grandson.
Zhang Chen always supported Zhang Fei's decision in choosing new wives, as he has never made a mistake in choosing them with the help of his demon eyes.
"Uncle." Wei Xiaoya called out to Hun Di with an embarrassed expression.
Hun Di nodded slightly before rubbing Wei Xiaoya's head. "All these years, I've always worried that you'll live a lonely life when you're old, but you're Fei'er's wife now, so I can feel relieved."
"Haha." Wei Xiaoya laughed awkwardly, especially since she still couldn't fully accept Zhang Fei, even though they were now husband and wife.
"Hey, Xiaoya! Show us your true form!" Yan Yinqing suddenly spoke.
Jing Qiuyue nodded her head slightly. "Please don't hide your true form from us anymore, Xiaoya."
"Come on, Xiaoya!" Lin Moxian shouted at her as he hugged his wife, Xi Hongyan.
Although he didn't say anything, Qiao Liangren also looked at Wei Xiaoya curiously, as did Yue Qinhua, who was in his embrace.
Wei Xiaoya immediately returned to her true form, which amazed them. "Are you all satisfied now?"
"Haha." Yan Yinqing laughed and embraced her. "Hey! You're already a wife now, so you should stop using your disguise. Moreover, no man will dare to approach you with my possessive junior brother around, and he will beat them up if they dare to do that."
Wei Xiaoya stole a glance at Zhang Fei, who was chatting with Zhang Chen and the others. She then nodded to Yan Yinqing. "Sigh, you are right, Yinqing. Uncle, your senior sister is inside the pavilion now, but she is not willing to come out and prefers to dual-soul cultivate with one of Zhang Fei's clones."
Upon hearing that, Jing Qiuyue and Yan Yinqing immediately left them and went to the pavilion to meet Tang Ying, especially since the two of them rarely saw her.
"My senior sister has always been like that because she harbors ambitions to reach the peak of the soul cultivation path, so I won't disturb her for now, and she will come to me by herself soon." Hun Di briefly looked at Zhang Fei and the others. "Go there and join them, Xiaoya. I will rest for a few days before starting my training."
"Yes, uncle."
After Wei Xiaoya joined Zhang Fei and the others, Hun Di led his two disciples and their wives to the portable mansion, and they decided to focus on resting to refresh their bodies and minds.
Zhang Chen didn't stay with them for long, and she led the others back to the portable mansion to rest. After that, Zhang Fei took all his women back to the pavilion, where they spent time together to deepen the relationship between them.
However, Liu Hua and the other women insisted that Zhang Fei leave, primarily because they wanted to have a private conversation among themselves, making him feel helpless by their behaviors.
Zhang Fei decided to go to the Sealed World Pearl to check a few things, but he was disappointed because his soul power was still not strong enough to speed up the flow of time within it much faster, and the barrier that sealed the five areas was still not open, even though his soul level had already reached the Venerate Soul level.
Then, Zhang Fei went straight to the Yin-Yang Space to check the amount of Qi in the glass tube. As usual, he woke the prisoners to nourish their bodies and restore their Qi; otherwise, they would die from Qi depletion, especially since the chains continuously absorbed and sent their Qi into the glass tube.
Zhang Fei never touched any of his female prisoners, even though one of his clones had dual cultivated with some of them before, such as Qin Liangyu, Lei Huiyin, and Huang Bingyun, who were members of the destroyed Huang Clan from the Xianjin Realm.
Shi Wuxian and Shang Xishun had long resigned themselves to their fate, but they were jealous of Shang Ziyuan, especially since Zhang Fei did not imprison her in a dream like them.
The four female mythical beasts, Long Yingwu, Long Tianzhu, Wang Qingyi, and Dai Yanxu, also felt helpless about their situation. They couldn't even remember how long Zhang Fei had imprisoned them, especially since the flow of time in the dream world differed from the real world.
Among the prisoners, Leng Xiulan and Cao Feihong still showed their anger toward Zhang Fei. He captured the first woman in the Grand Royal Realm and the last woman in the Sovereign Heaven Realm after the battle some time ago.
Zhang Fei originally wanted to imprison the Qiang Emperor and his three wives for a while longer, but he changed his mind and sent them back to the Grand Royal Realm, delighting the people of the Qian Kingdom with their return.
Zhang Fei stood in front of the glass tube while thinking. 'Do you think the Qi in this tube is enough for me to break through several minor levels, Mei?'
[I believe that with the Qi in this tube, you can only break through two or three minor stages, Master. After breaking into the Seven Divine Realms, you need a lot of Qi to break through to the next minor stage, and it will keep increasing with each minor stage; However, I'm sure that your cultivation will accelerate once you transform the divine qi in the training space into celestial qi. Additionally, you can teach these female prisoners how to convert their qi as well, and I'm sure your stock will be even more abundant, especially since the amount of their yin qi will be much greater.]
Zhang Fei nodded in agreement and seriously thought about it. He eventually decided to take the eleven female prisoners to the training space, especially since he couldn't break through yet because his second clone was on his way to the Paradise Realm. Moreover, the flow of time there is faster than in the Yin-Yang space, so they can transform their divine qi into the celestial qi faster by using Qi Lai's celestial qi.
These female prisoners were shocked when Zhang Fei moved them to the training space, leaving them wondering about his real purpose. He then took them to the cloud mansion, especially since he locked Qi Lai there.
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"Hmm?" Qi Lai raised an eyebrow as soon as they entered the room. "What are you going to do? Why did you bring them here?"
"Sit." The female prisoners immediately sat on the floor, and Zhang Fei imparted the Celestial Tempering Cycle method to them, which shocked them. Some of them wanted to refuse, but they had no other choice except to follow his orders, especially since their soul replicas had already merged with his soul.
Zhang Fei then guided them to master it more easily, making Qi Lai realize his goal. 'This crazy kid! They won't be able to cultivate if the Qi in their bodies turns into the celestial qi.'
A few minutes later, Cao Feihong and the others had started to learn that method. Qi Lai immediately asked Zhang Fei. "Are you crazy, kid? Why did you force them to do that?"
"Haha." Zhang Fei chuckled in response. "They aren't my women, but my prisoners, so I want to use them as guinea pigs. If the results are as I expect, I will be able to reach the Divine Ascension Realm sooner than my initial estimate, and I will move to the Paradise Realm at that time. By the way, I heard from Wan Jiang that you have a relationship with the Nine Nether Demon Race, and I heard they are the fourth strongest demon race after the Celestial, Asura, and Heavenly Fiend."
"How do you know about those demon races? Did Jia Yuyan tell you about them?" Qi Lai's eyes widened in shock as soon as Nalan Yushu and Ma Kuangyu emerged from Zhang Fei's tiny soul world, and he could immediately recognize their identities. "Lord... Lord Ma!"
"I see." Ma Kuangyu nodded his head several times. "Back then, I could only guess your identity after Wan Jiang told this kid about you, but I am now certain that you are a member of the Qi Clan, which is a subsidiary of Gongsun Ye's Gongsun Clan."
Qi Lai broke out in a cold sweat as soon as Ma Kuangyu mentioned that, and his reaction didn't escape Zhang Fei's notice. "Who is Gongsun Ye, Old Ma? What exactly is your true identity? Why is this old man so afraid of you?"
"Gongsun Ye was the first to find out that I obtained the cursed item, and he persuaded the others to betray me." Zhang Fei furrowed his brows at Ma Kuangyu's response. "My real name is Ma Kuangyu, and my Ma clan always acts as the vice leader of the Nirvana Sky Domain, which is ruled by five powerful clans, including the Gongsun Clan. Those traitors were once my comrades, but their greed blinded their eyes and hearts, and they decided to betray me because of it."
"What are the other three clans?" Zhang Fei curiously asked.
Ma Kuangyu immediately explained it to him. "The Han, Qiao, and Liao Clans. However, our clans are not the leaders of our domain, and we are under the leadership of the Spirit Temple. Our true leader is the current leader of the Spirit Temple, Sheng Youhun. Each of the five clans supervises the other ten clans, and the Qi clan is under the Gongsun clan."
"Does that mean the Qi clan was also involved in their betrayal?" Zhang Fei asked this question as he glanced at Qi Lai.
"No." Ma Kuangyu shook his head in response. "Qi Hao is quite powerful, but he's not powerful enough to participate in the betrayal. Actually, I've long suspected something was wrong with the Spirit Temple, but I couldn't prove anything. I also suspected that Sheng Youhun ordered Gongsun Ye and the others to betray me, but I didn't know his exact purpose. However, the Qi clan's relationship with the nine-nethers demon clan made me think that the demon clan had already invaded the temple; otherwise, that clan would have been wiped out long ago ago."
Ma Kuangyu's words caused Qi Lai to sweat even more, quickly soaking his clothes with his sweat. "Old Ma, it seems your guess was right."
"Yes." Ma Kuangyu released a soft sigh. "Sheng Qingtai established the Spirit Temple to combat the demon race, particularly after the Celestial Demon Race destroyed his Sheng clan. I never expected that one of his descendants would be in cahoots with one of them, and Sheng Youhun's actions disgraced his ancestor's reputation."
After saying all that, Ma Kuangyu immediately entered Zhang Fei's tiny soul world again to calm his emotions, and Nalan Yushu right away followed him.
Qi Lai wiped away his sweat before asking Zhang Fei, "Did... did you meet Lord Ma and the female demon from the soul-devouring demon race in one of those towers, kid?"
"Yeah," Zhang Fei then asked him. "Is the Gongsun clan powerful?"
Qi Lai nodded his head vigorously. "The Gongsun clan is the third strongest after the Spirit Temple and the Ma clan, followed by the Han, Qiao, and Liao clans."
"I see." Zhang Fei nodded in understanding. "No wonder Wan Jiang didn't dare stop Old Ma when he asked me to take him away from the tower; it turned out his status was that high."
Qi Lai shook his head when he heard that. "High? Their status is higher than you can imagine, kid! Even many clans from the other domains don't want to have problems with the Ma clan, especially since many of their members are truly powerful."
Since Ma Kuangyu had been living with him since he left the Star Tower for the first time, Zhang Fei naturally knew that he was strong, and his clan members should be no less strong than him. "Did the Ma clan ever investigate Old Ma's death?"
"Yes." Qi Lai responded with a light nod. "The Ma clan began their investigation as soon as they heard about Lord Ma's death, but I heard that the Spirit Temple stopped them and declared him a heretic. Although they didn't exterminate the Ma Clan, they stripped the clan of its status as the vice leader of our domain and exiled them, and they were replaced by the Gongsun clan."
Zhang Fei let out a soft sigh and asked Qi Lai various questions, especially those related to his domain and their clans, while waiting for the female prisoner to master the method.
Sometimes later, all the female prisoners had finished learning the method, and Zhang Fei ordered them to use Qi Lai's qi inside the tube at the end of the Yin-Yang Absorbing Shackles to transform their divine qi into celestial qi.
Since the process took quite a long time, Zhang Fei decided to leave them with Qi Lai. He didn't need to worry about them freeing the old man because they were completely obedient to him, and only he could untie the shackles.
On the other hand, Qi Lai looked at those female prisoners with pity, especially since Zhang Fei used them as guinea pigs. However, he himself knew that his clone would arrive in the Paradise Realm soon, which was based on his conversation with Tian Kui a few days ago. 'Can he really reach that stage in three to four years?'
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When Zhang Fei arrived at the pavilion, Yan Yinqing had already left, and Jing Qiuyue was chatting with Tang Ying, who was persuading her to become his woman.
Zhang Fei could only shake his head, especially since he didn't have such feelings for his senior sister, and Jing Qiuyue remained steadfast in her feelings for Qiao Liangren.
Zhang Fei didn't bother Tang Ying and Jing Qiuyue; instead, he went to see Tantai Lingyan, who was pensive in front of her room alone. "What are you thinking, Lingyan?"
"Hmm?" Tantai Lingyan looked at Zhang Fei, but she still found it strange to hear him call her by her name directly, even though they had lived together for over a year in the pavilion. "I'm just thinking about the future."
"The future?" Tantai Lingyan nodded at Zhang Fei, who immediately carried her in his arms. "Are you thinking about our future?"
Back then, Tantai Lingyan always felt uncomfortable with Zhang Fei's shamelessness and intimate actions toward her, but she became used to his presence after living together for so many years.
Tantai Lingyan wrapped her arms around Zhang Fei's neck and asked him. "What kind of future do we have?"
"What is our future if we are not husband and wife?" Zhang Fei brought Tantai Lingyan into her room and laid her down on the bed. He then crawled on top of her and stared into her eyes, making her heart thump.
"Do you really love me, Fei?" Tantai Lingyan asked with a serious expression.
Zhang Fei smiled and rubbed her cheek. "Lingyan, we've lived together for years now, so you should already be clear about my feelings for you, right? All these years, I kept approaching you to convince you, and my senior sister has long agreed for you to become my wife, so I hope you won't be stubborn anymore and accept me."
'Perhaps it's time for me to move forward with my life.' Tantai Lingyan let out a soft sigh before pulling Zhang Fei's face closer and kissing him.
- To Be Continued -