Zhang Fei - The Abandoned Son

*Swoosh*

Huang Xiaoyi, who had previously left with Zhang Chen and the others, finally arrived at the dead mountain. She wasn't alone; she was accompanied by several members of the Huang Clan.

They were stunned for a moment as soon as they saw the beast forms of Long Jishan and Hong Xinxin. Huang Xiaoyi immediately ordered them. "Spread out and protect him!"

"Yes, Matriarch!" The people from the Huang Clan immediately spread out around the area, and they took out talismans before throwing them into the sky, creating a protective barrier that enveloped the entire dead mountain.

Luo Yunxiao's two brothers and sisters-in-law came shortly after their mother, but they were shocked after seeing the two mythical beasts. They were even more shocked after they detected Zhang Fei's cultivation, which had already reached the 4-Moon Divine Transcend Realm.

"Hey, Jiaxuan! Our brother-in-law is really crazy! Not only did he break through three stages at once, but his breakthrough provoked the wrath of the heavens!" Long Zhenyu spoke with a serious expression.

"You're right, brother. However, the wrath of the heavens is truly terrifying, so I think he's too reckless, and I'm afraid he'll have a hard time getting past it." Luo Jiaxuan then asked Huang Xiaoyi. "Why doesn't he break through in the Three Mortal Realms, Mother? Wouldn't he be much safer if he broke through there? With his current strength and the people around him, I'm sure that no one will dare to disturb him."

"Try to pay attention to Zhang Fei's body." Luo Jiaxuan immediately did so and realized what Huang Xiaoyi meant. "Since he has transformed all the Divine Qi in his body into the Celestial Qi, he can no longer break through in the Three Mortal Realms. The Celestial Qi does not exist there, and its power is too great for those weak realms. If he breaks through there, and the heavens use it to attack him, then the realm where he broke through will be destroyed, which will take too many casualties."

"Mother, doesn't this mean that Zhang Fei has accumulated too much bad karma? Otherwise, the heavens wouldn't be that angry and want to kill him, right?" Bing Xingying asked.

Cheng Mengyao, who was beside Bing Xingying, seriously observed Zhang Fei. "He's much younger than us, but he's killed far more than us. Back then, I thought my grandfather was the most vicious, but he's far more vicious than him. I don't know how many living beings have died at his hands, but it's probably more than my grandfather's."

"You're right, Mengyao." Huang Xiaoyi released a soft sigh. "Despite his young age, Zhang Fei's victims far surpassed Cheng Zhong's, and the heavens wanted to kill him because of it."

All of them suddenly felt an overwhelming pressure coming from the darkened sky, and that pressure was still too strong even for cultivators in the Five Celestial Realms like them, making them doubt Zhang Fei's chances of passing his three lightning tribulations.

Luo Yunxiao, who was watching from inside the mountain, clasped her hands together in front of her chest. Her eyes and expression were filled with worry, mainly because Zhang Fei's lightning tribulations continued to grow stronger.

Among them, only Ma Kuangyu was not worried about Zhang Fei's situation, especially since he had witnessed him go through hundreds of lightning tribulations.

"Hey! What's that?" Long Zhenyu exclaimed as he pointed at several lightning figures that began to form in the darkened sky.

"They are the manifestation of the heavens." Long Zhenyu and the others turned to Ma Kuangyu directly. "The heavens have already manifested themselves twice to kill Zhang Fei. The first time was when he broke through to the Quasi Divine Realm, and the second time was when he broke through to the Seven Divine Realms. They were too strong for ordinary cultivators like us, but they could never stop him. You guys don't need to worry about him, and you should pay attention to how he will defeat them."

*Boom*

A loud explosion suddenly rang out in the sky, and everyone gasped in shock as Zhang Fei's cultivation broke through to the 5-Moon Divine Transcend Realm, causing the lightning to rumble even more and putting even greater pressure on the people below.

[Congratulations! Your cultivation has broken through to the 5-Moon Divine Transcend Realm.]

"He's too crazy and reckless." Luo Fenghan shook his head before turning to the dozens of cultivators who had just arrived. "Please forgive me; his breakthrough has disturbed the peace of all of you, but I hope you guys don't approach him for now. As you can see, his lightning tribulations are no ordinary ones, and the pressure they exert is incredibly powerful. If you approach there now, you will be swallowed by his lightning tribulations and perhaps die to ashes."

"Hahaha!" An old man suddenly laughed as he moved to their side, followed by four senior cultivators, a man and three women. "Sect Master Luo, this old man is still not senile, and I can see that his lightning tribulations are truly terrifying. However, we are curious about his identity, so I hope you are willing to enlighten us."

"He-"

"Senior Fan Ning, that kid is the future husband of Empress Huo Yanling's reincarnation." The old man and the new arrival cultivators immediately turned to Huang Xiaoyi with looks of shock, especially since they were very familiar with the latter's name. "You guys might not believe me, but Empress Huo Yanling returned to this realm several years ago, and she lives in the Flame Spirit Citadel now. If you want to prove it, you can all go to that place to meet her."

"How did you know that Empress Huo Yanling was back, Xiaoyi?" A senior female cultivator curiously asked.

Huang Xiaoyi immediately touched the senior female cultivator's forehead and shared some of her memories with her, especially her memories of her encounter with Feng Yao. "You can see her for yourself, Senior Ru Yan. Her current name is Feng Yao, and she has already proven her identity by showing me the plaque of Empress Huo Yanling."

The other four were also curious about that, so Ru Yan shared Huang Xiaoyi's memories with them, and they immediately watched them all. Sometime later, they had already opened their eyes, and there was no doubt in their eyes, especially since no one dared to fake the plaque of Empress Huo Yanling.

Another old woman released a soft sigh. "Empress Huo Yanling died thousands of years ago, and many people have been waiting for her return, especially people from the Blazing Nirvana Domain. However, despite their long wait, she never returned."

"Empress Huo Yanling is back now, so their wait is over, Zhi Yuan." Another old woman spoke as she looked at Zhang Fei in the sky. "Her return will revive the Blazing Nirvana Domain, and those demons will tremble in fear if they learn of her return. However, I didn't expect that she would return to this realm with a husband-to-be, and that kid is definitely no ordinary one. His cultivation has only been broken through to the 5-Moon Divine Transcend Realm, but he has a Thunder Dragon and an Azure Emperor Roc as his beast contracts."

"You're right about him, Chen Qi." Zhi Yuan replied with an approving nod. "However, I think he was too rash in breaking through four minor stages straight away, which caused his already strong lightning tribulations to become even stronger. Moreover, look at those faint figures; they are clearly manifestations of the heavens, and I've never met any cultivators who managed to provoke them to such an extent."

Fan Ning, Ru Yan, Zhi Yuan, and Chen Qi continued to pay attention to Zhang Fei, as did the cultivators floating in the distance.

Unlike them, the last male senior cultivator is more interested in other things. "Aren't you Lord Ma Kuangyu of the Nirvana Sky Domain?"

"Haha." Ma Kuangyu laughed and nodded at him. "A lot of time has passed since my death, and I didn't expect you to still recognize me, Zhuang Qihong."

"Lord Ma, I—"

"No need." Ma Kuangyu stopped Zhuang Qihong, who was about to kneel to him. "My Ma Clan fell with my death, and those people declared me a heretic; thus, I am no longer a lord. Right now, I'm just a wandering soul, so you can forget the past and act normally with me. Did you bring your Zhuang Clan to move to this domain after my death?"

"Yes." Zhuang Qihong nodded at him. "After your death, the situation in our domain became utterly chaotic, especially after the Spirit Temple appointed Gongsun Ye and the Gongsun Clan to replace you and your Ma Clan. Among the ten clans under your leadership, the Song, Shuo, and Ruan clans met their end. The Nie, Fu, Situ, Wan, and Guan clans chose to be loyal to them, primarily due to their fear of destruction. I brought my Zhuang Clan here because I remembered that you had a good relationship with Sect Master Luo, and Tan Beng brought his Tan Clan to move to the Peach Garden Domain."

"Let's talk about that later, especially since that kid has almost started." Ma Kuangyu and Zhuang Qihong stared at Zhang Fei, but the latter was shocked because he had committed another madness by breaking through to the 1-Moon Divine Expansion Realm. "Hahaha! That kid is as fearless as ever!"

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[Congratulations! Your cultivation has broken through to the 1-Moon Divine Expansion Realm.]

After the final notification appeared, Zhang Fei immediately swallowed his fifth True Foundation Pill. He then summoned his last clone out of the Yin-Yang space, and they stared at the dozens of lightning figures that had already fully formed.

"Are we going to fight them head-on, husband?" Hong Xinxin asked.

"Yes." Zhang Fei nodded as he summoned the demon extermination sword, and all his clones took out other weapons. "At first, I thought they would be extremely powerful, but their strength was no different from last time, and they only increased their numbers. Fortunately, I've improved a lot after I went to the Sovereign Heaven Realm, so I deliberately broke through to this stage directly; otherwise, we would have wasted our precious time facing them again and again. Let's fight them now so you guys can continue your cultivation again, and you can break through to the Five Celestial Realms faster than our initial estimate."

After he said that, Zhang Fei activated the soul link, making his and his five clones' cultivation skyrocket sharply. They also activated their lightning domains, all of which shocked all the cultivators, who were watching them from a distance.

"Follow me, Xinxin." Zhang Fei and his five clones immediately flew toward those lightning figures, followed by Lei, the lightning spirit.

Hong Xinxin immediately flew behind them, leading Lei Que and Long Jinshan. All of them disappeared into the darkened sky while fighting the lightning figures, which made it difficult for the cultivators to observe their battle. Just like Zhang Fei, they also activated their lightning domains, which had different advantages.

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"Do you think he'll make it, Mother?"

"Even though those lightning figures are powerful, he's not weak, and he has a lot of support by his side. I'm sure he'll pull through, so we just have to wait for him to finish." Huang Xiaoyi looked towards the dead mountain, as she knew that her daughter must be worried about Zhang Fei. 'Didn't you always believe in him, Yunxiao? Don't you believe that he will successfully pass the lightning tribulations?'

'Yes, Mother. I believe Zhang Fei will successfully pass his lightning tribulations, but I'm still worried about him because those lightning tribulations are so strong.'

'I know you are worried about Zhang Fei, but you should go back to our place now.' Huang Xiaoyi looked at the cultivators before continuing to speak to her daughter. 'I'm afraid these people will notice your presence, and we will face new problems if people find out about you. Once he completes his breakthrough, I will bring him to you, and the two of you can spend some time together after that.'

Luo Yanxiao was silent for a long time, causing Huang Xiaoyi to sigh and try to persuade her again. 'Okay, Mother. I'll go back now, and you must bring Zhang Fei to me immediately once he completes his breakthrough.'

'Don't worry, I will bring him to you straight away.' After that, Luo Yunxiao disappeared from the place using a device similar to the returning jade, much to Huang Xiaoyi's relief. She then looked at the sky again. 'Zhang Fei, you must finish your breakthrough as soon as possible, or Yunxiao will continue to worry about you.'

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While the people below were worried about him, Zhang Fei and his clones were enjoying their fight with the dozens of lightning figures. Lei, Hong Xinxin, Long Jishan, and Lei Que were also enjoying themselves, beating up their enemies.

Unlike in Zhang Fei's previous breakthroughs, the group was much more relaxed in facing their enemies, especially after they created their lightning domains. Moreover, the Qi in their bodies was no longer the Divine Qi but the Celestial Qi, which significantly improved all their aspects.

The hellflame frost lotus, the annihilation flame, and many other techniques caused those lightning figures to be overwhelmed to face Zhang Fei and the group. Although the lightning figures put up fierce resistance, they gradually vanished one by one from all the attacks, which continuously reduced the pressure in the sky.

Quickly, the day changed, and the previously pitch-black sky began to become a little brighter with the appearance of stars there. Sometime later, the sky had returned to normal, but those cultivators couldn't find Zhang Fei and the group anywhere.

Almost all of them believed that Zhang Fei had failed and turned to ashes, but a few knew he had safely survived his multiple lightning tribulations, especially since he had already informed them of his departure.

"The show's over, so you can all go back now," Luo Fenghan's words broke the silence between them.

"Did he survive, Sect Master Luo?" Fan Ning asked him.

"Hahaha," Ma Kuangyu laughed at that. "That kid was tough and stronger than his level, and those lightning tribulations weren't a big deal for him. He managed to get through them just fine, but he didn't easily get along with strangers; thus, he took them away once he finished everything."

"How did he manage to take them away without us knowing?" Zhi Yuan asked with a frown.

Ma Kuangyu was too lazy to explain to her, and he directly led Luo Fengyan and Zhuang Qihong to leave the place to return to the Immortal Lotus Sanctuary.

"Senior Zhi, I already told you that he is Empress Huo's future husband, right? Do you think she would choose him if he were an ordinary kid?" Without waiting for Zhi Yuan's answer, Huang Xiaoyi immediately left with her two sons and two daughters-in-law.

Beiming Youhuang followed Huang Xiaoyi and her family members, especially since she had many questions for Zhang Fei.

Chen Qi suddenly let out a soft sigh. "Old Zhi, I'm also curious about that kid's identity, but we shouldn't think too much about him, considering Empress Huo's character. If she finds out we're disturbing her future husband, she will come to us and bring trouble to our clans."

"I agree with her, Old Zhi," Ru Yan said as she nodded. "If he truly is Empress Huo's future husband, he will surely rise above many other cultivators with her support. At that time, we will definitely hear that kid's name, and we will know his true identity."

Zhi Yuan nodded in agreement with them. "Let's go back! We must inform the people of our clans about him, and they won't look to trouble him if they meet each other."

"You guys can go back, and I'll go to the Immortal Lotus Sanctuary to talk to Luo Fenghan." The three women could only shake their heads as Fan Ning left in such a hurry. They also left the place, leaving the cultivators still filling the air, wondering about Zhang Fei's identity.

- To Be Continued -