Zhang Fei - The Abandoned Son

*Slash... Slash... Slash...*

Following the death of their last enemy, Huangfu Xiaoying and Huangfu Xiaomei collapsed onto their buttocks, breathing heavily, their bodies adorned with numerous claw-like wounds. Both of them immediately took out a bottle of ointment and smeared it on their wounds, causing them to grimace because some of them were quite deep.

Huangfu Xiaofan's condition was not much different from his two sisters, but he was still better than them. He also smeared ointment on his wounds as he looked at their dead enemies with a frown, especially since they were neither human, demon, nor beast. "Since when have there been strange living creatures like this in this tower, Big Brother?"

"If you ask me, then who should I ask?" Huangfu Lian crouched beside one of the corpses. "The tower's appearance in our realm is already quite mysterious, so I don't find these creatures' presence too surprising. I never met them when I challenged this tower back then, and I thought they only appeared for this challenge this time. Judging from their form, I feel that they are a combination of human, demon, and beast."

Huangfu Xiaofan nodded slightly in response. "Their upper body is clearly a human body, but their lower body is that of a boar beast, and their small wings are like those of a demon."

"Do you think the owner of this tower created them, Big Brother?" Huangfu Xiaoying asked.

Huangfu Xiaomei joined in. "How can humans create creatures like this?"

"We don't know anything about this tower, so we don't know whether the owner is human or not." Huangfu Lian then observed their dead and living members. "There are only a few of us left now, so I'm not sure we can get through this inner area, especially with so many new obstacles we've never encountered before."

Their expressions became gloomy after hearing that, especially since they would fail miserably if they failed to pass the maze challenge. Huangfu Xiaofan then spoke. "The best way for us is to find Bai Chongxi's group, and we can use them as a sacrifice to pass those obstacles. Unfortunately, it is not easy to find them in this kind of situation, and we can only hope for luck to meet them."

"Forget it." Huangfu Lian said this as he stood up. "We just need to try our best, and we don't need to force ourselves. Our lives hold the utmost importance, and we still have a lot of chances to challenge this tower in the future. Therefore, we will immediately surrender if we encounter more challenging obstacles."

Huangfu Xiaofan, Huangfu Xiaomei, and Huangfu Xiaoying nodded in agreement with their big brother. Although they are eager to complete the first floor of the Star Tower, they don't want to die in it. After they rested for some time, Huangfu Lian immediately led them to continue their journey.

.

.

.

In another area, Bai Chongxi's and his group's journey was much easier compared to Huangfu Lian's group. They didn't encounter any strange creatures; they only encountered beasts and puzzles.

Even so, they spent a significant amount of time defeating those beasts due to their limited numbers and the complexity of the puzzles they faced.

Sometime later, they arrived at the next room, but the entrance to the room immediately closed as soon as they entered it, and water began to pour out of the floor beneath them.

"This is serious, Big Brother!" Bai Renfu uttered these words frantically, then pointed to the wall. "We have to solve those riddle questions quickly, or else we will drown in this room."

Bai Shouyi ignored her second brother, went to the riddles on the wall, and seriously read them one by one. "I think I can answer these riddle questions, big brother. However, I need time to answer them all so you all can rest first."

"All right, I leave them to you, Shouyi." Bai Chongxi then ordered his group to rest.

.

.

.

Zhou Tong and his group had also arrived in another room, but it was different from the other previous rooms, especially since it was filled with mirrors.

Zhou Tai immediately approached one of the mirrors and took a closer look. "What kind of mirror is this? Could it be an artifact mirror?"

"I'm not sure if these mirrors are artifacts." Zhou Tong also approached one of the mirrors and touched it, but it did not react at all.

Zhou Meiling, standing behind, gave a faint smile as she gazed at the mirrors. The woman's soul that possessed her had been trapped in the tower for a very long time, and she had seen various areas within it. She noticed their effects immediately, but she had no intention of telling them, instead waiting for the mirrors to react.

Zhou Meiling then walked to Zhou Tai's side. "These mirrors are no different from the ordinary mirrors in our palace, so I'm confused about the purpose of the owner of this tower placing them here."

"That's true."

All those mirrors suddenly released bright light, sucking them in before they could react. Zhou Meiling quickly grabbed Zhou Tai's hand, and both of them were sucked into the same mirror.

Zhou Tai was surprised to find himself in a glass room filled with glass furniture. "What kind of place is this?"

"I don't know." Zhou Meiling answered with feigned ignorance. "Since our Big Brother isn't here, I want to rest first, especially since I'm really tired because he keeps forcing us to walk forward in a hurry."

Zhou Tai let out a heavy sigh at that. "Our Big Brother has always been ambitious, and he wants to be the first to complete this maze challenge, especially since he is the strongest among the others."

Zhou Meiling then pulled Zhou Tai toward a long glass bench and sat down together before laying her head on her second brother's shoulder. "Sometimes, I think it would be better if we were born as ordinary people without status, so we don't have to bother thinking about royal affairs."

"Hahaha." Zhou Tai laughed. "I want something like that, but fate has predetermined our lives, so we must accept it."

Zhou Meiling's body suddenly released a purple smoke, which directly entered Zhou Tai's body through his nose. She then turned her gaze to her second brother and reached for his cheeks, causing his heart to flutter due to the smoke's effect.

Zhou Meiling kissed her second brother, and Zhou Tai immediately responded. Quickly, their mouths moved wildly as their kiss heated up, and their tongues danced in rhythm.

Unfortunately, Zhou Tai didn't realize that his little sister was absorbing his life force and soul powers, but Zhou Meiling did not rush to absorb both. 'His life force and soul powers are stronger than that useless Bai Renfu, but unfortunately, I can't kill him because Zhou Tong will suspect me. If I get the chance, I will kill their big brother by absorbing his life force and soul powers dry, and I will kill this guy after that.'

.

.

.

In a room, Long Chen and his group were trapped in the same room as Zhang Fei's group before, but their opponents were much more numerous because they entered it together, and the formation array copied all of them.

Even so, they didn't think much of it and instead enjoyed their fight with their copies, especially since they didn't have to hold back their strength to fight them.

.

.

.

Xian Jinglan and the other natural races were trapped in a mini maze, and they were all separated from each other. However, they finally realized that their senses were no longer suppressed like before, so they could find their way out more easily.

They eventually got out of the mini maze and went to another area, but obstacles blocked their path and strange creatures awaited them at the end.

.

.

.

Xian Yu and Xian Mu's group were really unlucky because they fell into a trap and landed on a scale. Above them, a clue guided them to complete the test, which required them to balance the scale before the time limit expired. If they fail to do so, they will fall into the fiery crater below them and die.

Unfortunately, balancing the scales was not easy because there were quite a lot of them, and they had different weights. Not only that, but hot steam continued to billow out of the fiery crater below them, disrupting their concentration.

.

.

.

Xian Qifeng and Luo Qinglin's group were also quite unlucky as they were sent to a vast wilderness, and their task was to find five items scattered around the place, so their task was much more difficult than looking for a needle in a haystack.

Moreover, the place had two scorching suns, and it was really hot even though they had covered their bodies with their Qi, causing sweat to pour down their bodies and dizziness to hit them.

.

.

.

Li Yao and her group were quite lucky compared to some of them, but they were also annoyed because they were sent to the side of a large lake after they entered a portal, and they were given a task that required great patience.

Their task was to fish for the largest aquatic beast in the lake, but there was only one of the largest beasts in it, and they were not given any fishing rods or bait to fish for it. Additionally, their cultivation was sealed by the formation around the lake, so they had to find bait and fish manually.

Since most of them belonged to royal families and nobles, they had never engaged in such activities before. Unfortunately, they were left with no alternative but to dig up bait and search for something to use as a fishing rod.

.

.

.

Inside a prison, Ximen Yueliang sat leisurely on a chair with her legs propped up against each other, and she propped her chin up as she watched Ximen Hongwu and the rest of their group try to solve the big puzzle in front of them. "Ugh! Why are all the obstacles in this maze so annoying? The obstacles in the outer area are already so troublesome, but the obstacles in the inner area are even more troublesome! If the situation continues like this, I will never be able to capture Xian Xianwu and Zhang Fei Tch! If I fail to capture them here, I will ask my mother to capture them for me, and they will be my puppets for the rest of their lives!"

"Hey, Yueliang! Be patient and stop grumbling, okay?" Ximen Hongwu spoke to his little sister in an annoyed tone. "I also want to get out of here quickly, but this puzzle is really complicated, and your grumbling is disturbing our concentration."

"Stop talking and solve the puzzle as quickly as possible!"

Ximen Hongwu's lips twitched because Ximen Yueliang was acting like a spoiled child too often, but he did not say anything further and concentrated on solving the puzzle. 'This is all our mother's fault; she spoils her too much.'

.

.

.

"Don't you know the way out of this place?" Qian Ying asked her master, as there was only darkness in front of them.

Ximen Yan shook his head at her. "I have indeed been locked up in this tower for a long time, but the areas inside often change on their own, so I don't know the way out."

"Who exactly are you? Why did those people betray you and lock you up here?"

Ximen Yan turned to Qian Ying. "As I said before, my name is Ma Kuangyu. They are my friends, but they are greedy people, and they are after my most precious item. Fortunately, I realized their evil intentions towards me, so I immediately hid it in a safe place, and they will never be able to find it."

Qian Ying appeared intrigued upon hearing that. "What kind of item is that?"

"I won't tell you about it." Ximen Yan's answer made Qian Ying frown. "It's not beneficial for you to know too much about me, as it could lead to obstacles in your cultivation. Therefore, there's no need for further questions, as I will never divulge any information."

"What will you do next after you leave this tower?" Qian Ying asked again.

"Haha." Ximen Yan laughed at that. "After I leave this tower, I will leave this body and find someone who can help me reshape it. After that, I will focus on restoring my cultivation, and I will look for those people to settle accounts with them."

"How can you reshape your body if you are already dead?" Ximen Yan did not intend to answer Qian Ying and sped up his pace directly.

.

.

.

===

[Ding]

[Daily Quest: Absorb 100,000 Qi.]

[Status: Done.]

[Reward: 1,000 bronze coins sent to the inventory.]

===

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

[Status: Done.]

[Reward: Daily gift pack x1 sent to the inventory.]

===

Zhang Fei's group had already arrived in front of a room, and there was only a portal in front of them, so they hurriedly entered it. In just a few seconds, they found themselves inside a spacious house filled with furniture. However, they quickly realized that the doors and windows were covered with arrays, preventing them from leaving immediately.

Moreover, they couldn't find any puzzles or riddle questions anywhere, and Zhang Fei's map also didn't show anything on it except for their presence.

Yun Xinyue immediately told them. "My group and I were trapped in this place last time, and the riddle questions will appear once every hour, but we only have one hour to solve them. If we fail to solve them, then we have to wait for the next one."

"I don't think it's a problem for us." Zhang Fei then pointed at the rooms. "We've walked for a long time and gone through many obstacles or battles, and it should be almost midnight, so we can wait for the riddles to come out while resting."

They immediately agreed with that and chose their respective rooms, but Yuan Luo and the other disciples swiftly pulled Zhang Fei's three wives with them, especially since they still had many questions for them.

Yun Xinyue also went to one of the rooms to rest because the previous illusion still weighed on her mind, and she was afraid that the events in the illusion might become a reality in the future.

Bai Tian'er and Xian Changyue wanted to ask Zhang Fei about his abilities, but they felt that the time was not right, so they also decided to rest first.

"Aren't you going to sleep, Princess Xianqin?"

Xian Xianqin pouted her lips because Zhang Fei continued to address her as such. "We're getting closer now, and we've even kissed, so I want you to call me something else, especially when we're both like this."

"Haha." Zhang Fei laughed softly, hugged her waist, and planted a brief kiss on her lips. "What if I call you Qin'er?"

Xian Xianqin nodded with a smile before hugging him back. "You can call me that when we're alone, but you have to call me Xianqin when we're with others, okay?"

"Okay."

Xian Xianqin then led Zhang Fei to sit on a sofa and placed her head on his shoulders. "Can you tell me about your five clones? Who are Shang Yaolin and Shang Xinyu?"

Zhang Fei told Xian Xianqin about his five clones, and he also explained to her about the two women, including the reason he approached them.

Xian Xianqin was shocked after hearing that Zhang Fei's five clones had their own woman, but she didn't want to talk about that anymore. "I didn't expect that you have already faced cultivators from the upper realms with your current cultivation, so I'm no longer surprised that you dare to face cultivators in this realm, especially since they are much stronger than us."

"Even though I dare to face them, I still have to plan everything well, or I will die in their hands." Zhang Fei embraced Xian Xianqin. "You can rest now, and I will wait for the riddle question to come out."

"No." Xian Xianqin refused with a slight shake of her head. "I still want to talk to you to get to know you better, so I'll accompany you to wait for it to come out."

- To Be Continued -