Zhang Fei - The Abandoned Son

Chapter 1272: Soul Pond

Shang Luohu and Shang Zhui stood by the Blood Sea, and they wanted to check on Tian Shuixiang at the bottom. However, they abandoned it because they didn’t want to anger the Slaughter Blood Phantom.

"Do you know where they went?"

Shang Zhui shook his head slightly. "I’ve tried asking them about their next destination, but they’ve kept quiet, and I think it has something to do with Zhang Xiaolong’s residence. He doesn’t want people to know about his true identity, so he deliberately hides everything. Are you thinking about investigating him?"

"Hmm?" Shang Luohu looked at Shang Zhui for a moment before shaking her head. "That kid’s cultivation is at the Celestial Lord Realm, but he managed to escape from the Blood Tree King, which means he is not a simple cultivator. Since my husband is currently following Mo Shentian, I am considering going to the Temptation Valley in the Endless Domain."

Shang Zhui looked shocked when he heard that. "Are you thinking about meeting Xie Yao and Xie Yan?"

"Yes." Shang Luohu replied with a nod. "I have never met a nine-tailed lust demon before, and Zhang Xiaolong’s demon form has kept me curious for the past two days. Only they can answer my curiosity, as they are demon gods of the lust demon race. Even though their fighting skills are not as good as those of my husband and the other demon gods, we cannot underestimate them."

"That’s true." Shang Zhui nodded in agreement. "I will accompany you to meet them so I can help you if Xie Yao has malicious intentions toward you."

Shang Luohu immediately flew away, followed by Shang Zhui. "We have to go now, or we will waste a lot of time. It is never simple for other demon races to find the Temptation Valley, let alone enter it."

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As night fell, the Wailing Soul Forest area became darker and colder, making it difficult to see the natural traps within. Nalan Shizhe asked Zhang Fei and Nalan Yushu to stop absorbing the wandering evil souls, and she led them to an area with fewer evil souls.

"Mother, there’s a soul pond in the area ahead, right?"

"Yes." Nalan Shizhe nodded to her second daughter. "Countless souls lived in the pond, but they aren’t evil like the souls wandering in this forest, so we will rest there."

Nalan Yushu then turned to Zhang Fei. "Husband, that pond is similar to the one in the Nine Hells Darkland Realm. I think we can absorb them to strengthen our souls."

"We—"

"You two can’t absorb those souls." Nalan Yushu and Zhang Fei looked at Nalan Shizhe directly. "As I said before, those souls aren’t evil like these wandering evil souls, and they guard something at the bottom of the pond."

"What exactly are they guarding, Mother? Since we were little, you’ve always forbidden us from devouring those souls, but you’ve never told us the reasons." Nalan Wangzi asked.

"Those souls protect our ancestor’s corpse." Nalan Shizhe’s answer shocked her three children. "The souls in the pond look harmless, but they are much stronger than these wandering evil souls. In fact, they are the souls of our ancestor’s loyal followers, who gathered there to protect her corpse. Her corpse is unusual, and it is still intact even though she has been dead for millions of years. If the corpse demons of the Nine Nether Demon Race find her corpse, they could use it to control or even destroy our demon race. Thus, I never told you anything about it, and only the demon gods of our race know the truth. However, I’ve heard that their artifact was lost tens of thousands of years ago, and they still haven’t managed to find it to this day."

"You mean this artifact, right, mother-in-law?"

Nalan Shizhe looked at the small black coffin in Zhang Fei’s hand. "How did this Corpse-Refining Coffin end up in your hands? Where did you find it?"

"We found it near the Blood Sea, mother."

Nalan Shizhe looked at her first daughter in disbelief, prompting Zhang Fei to explain the truth to her. "Ma Kuangyu found this artifact by accident, and he hid it in the Slaughter Blood Domain. The people of the Nirvana Sky Main Domain knew that he found this artifact, but they didn’t know that this was the Corpse-Refining Coffin. Sheng Yaohun from the Spirit Temple ordered them to kill him and destroy his Ma Clan after declaring them heretics, but in reality, they were the heretics, and the demons from the Nine Nether Demon Race transformed them into various demons."

"Put away the artifact first and don’t let anyone know that it’s in your possession." After Zhang Fei stored it back into the system inventory, Nalan Shizhe spoke again. "Back then, the corpse demons used the coffin to transform the villagers into their kind, but they were unfortunate because the winged race caught them in the act and summoned their higher-ups to attack. As a result, the coffin disappeared for tens of thousands of years, and they thought that those winged races had destroyed it, but it turns out it’s in your hands now. Therefore, you must keep and guard it well, as it will cause many problems if it falls into the hands of those corpse demons again. Do you understand?"

"I understand." Zhang Fei then asked Nalan Shizhe about something else. "Mother-in-law, have you ever heard of the Nine Yin Soul Banner?"

"Huh?" Nalan Shizhe’s expression turned shocked upon hearing that. "Don’t tell me the Nine Yin Soul Banner is also in your hands now."

"I’ve seen the Nine Yin Soul Banner in the past, but someone snatched it from me when I wanted to take it." Nalan Shizhe furrowed her brows, and Zhang Fei told her about the matter, including the appearance of Yuan Xiajie, who snatched the banner and kidnapped Wang Yin. "That woman came from the Yuan Clan, one of the ancient clans. I wanted to find her to save my friend, but I had difficulty finding information about her hiding place. The only person who knew about her hiding place was Feng Yao, but she was unwilling to tell me because that woman was stronger than Long Wuzhao."

"Since Empress Huo has already said it like that, you should listen to her and forget about that woman for now; instead, you should focus on your cultivation to reach her level." Nalan Shizhe then continued leading them toward the soul pond. "The truth is that the Nine Yin Soul Banner once belonged to the previous Heavenly Fiend Demon God, and Tian Qiye ganged up on him along with several grand elders of the winged race. They defeated him and stole the banner from him, but he knew that they couldn’t destroy it, and he was sure they hid it somewhere. Back then, his injuries were severe, and he ordered the current Heavenly Fiend Demon God to find the Banner because it was their race’s mainstay artifact, but he never expected that they sent it to the Three Mortal Realms, and he never looked for it in there. Since it had fallen into the hands of someone from the ancient race, I was sure that he would never succeed in finding it."

Zhang Fei nodded in agreement. "Oh, I just remembered something. Where do the lust demons of this realm live, Mother-in-law?"

"They live in the Temptation Valley in the Endless Domain." Nalan Shizhe then explained to Zhang Fei about the demon race, their habitat, and their leader. "You must be careful if you want to go to that domain; otherwise, you’ll get lost in the endless illusion, and you’ll have difficulty leaving it."

"I understand." Zhang Fei did not take Nalan Shizhe’s warning lightly, but he was also not too worried about it because he possessed the Illusion Negation ability that he mimicked from the Black Amaris long ago.

After walking for some time, they finally arrived at the soul pond Nalan Shizhe had previously mentioned. Zhang Fei immediately took out some firewood and built a bonfire using his eternal flame, preventing it from dying out and keeping the wandering evil souls away from their location.

Nalan Yushu crouched by the pond, where countless souls swirled inside like a whirlpool. The look in her eyes showed that she was eager to devour the souls inside, but she didn’t do it after her mother had mentioned all that.

Nalan Yushu tried to dip her hand into the pond, but those souls stopped her and hit it back, causing her to fall backwards. "Huh? Why are they attacking me?"

"I told you not to do anything to these souls, but you didn’t listen to me." Nalan Yushu turned to Nalan Shizhe, who was already standing by her side. "Never mind you; these souls never let me enter this pond, and they attacked me in the past because I insisted on entering it. Fortunately, their attacks were not fatal; otherwise, I would have suffered serious injuries back then. Therefore, you should forget your wishes for these souls, or they will be furious and attack you."

"I know." Nalan Yushu sat down while hugging her legs, staring at the souls inside the pond.

Nalan Wangzi sat by Nalan Yushu’s side and embraced her. "Is there another way into this pond, Mother?"

"No." Nalan Shizhe shook her head in response. "Honestly, I’m curious to see the bottom, but I won’t try again."

Hearing that, Zhang Fei walked to their side and crouched beside the pond. "Let me try it."

- To Be Continued -