Zhang Fei - The Abandoned Son

Chapter 1271: Enter The Forest

The Wailing Soul Forest lies in the northernmost part of the Soul-Devouring Domain, a land where death itself dwells. The trees are born not from soil and water, but from the essence of souls and resentment; their bark is as black as charred bones, and their branches are wrapped in translucent, ghostly veils that sway without wind. From afar, the forest seems alive with a faint glow; they are not fireflies but wandering souls, forever bound to the trees that imprison them.

This forest’s name comes from the endless wails of wandering souls that drift through the shadows. Every tree trunk hums mournful cries, every leaf trembles with spectral screams, and every gust of wind carries the wails of thousands of souls. The sound doesn’t echo in the ears; it directly pierces through the mind, which drags intruders into an endless despair that devours their souls.

According to the legend, once every thousand years, the Nine-Petal Phantom Soul Lotus blooms in the heart of the forest, a flower formed from the endless resentment of wandering souls. However, a powerful being is always born alongside its bloom, which serves as its guardian.

The Soul Wraith Lord is the sovereign of the Wailing Soul Forest, and it commands endless Soul Wraiths that roam the forest. However, its appearance never lasted long, and it disappeared again as the Nine-Petal Phantom Soul Lotus withered in seven days, waiting for it to bloom.

Zhang Fei and the other three arrived in front of the Wailing Soul Forest, where he discovered hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of red dots on the map. The map showed countless red dots not only in the forest but also throughout the entire area of ​​the Soul-Devouring Domain. "This forest is much scarier than the Blood Forest! That forest is filled with bloodthirsty demon beasts, but this forest is filled with wandering souls, all of which are evil."

"Hahaha." Nalan Wangzi laughed at that. "Now you understand why our ancestors chose this domain, right? These evil wandering souls are indeed frightening for others, but they are the nutrients and guardians of our soul-devouring race, and we have lived side by side ever since."

Zhang Fei nodded to Nalan Wangzi. "As I told you before, I once absorbed countless of them in the Nine Hells Darkland Realm to increase my soul power, so these wandering evil souls are also nutrients for me. However, the wandering evil souls in that realm are not as strong as those in this forest. Since I’m not a soul-devouring demon like you guys, I doubt if I can absorb too many of them."

"What did you feel when you absorbed those wandering demon souls back then?" Nalan Shizhe asked him.

"Hatred, grudge, malice, and various other negative emotions." Zhang Fei opened his palm and summoned the Soul Flame, which shocked Nalan Shizhe, Nalan Wangzi, and Nalan Huanzi. "I obtained this flame in that domain, and it was guarded by the wandering soul demon who was born from the collection of countless wandering evil souls. Fortunately, I possessed the light element from my heavenly fox bloodline, and some people helped me to purify those souls; otherwise, those negative emotions would have already taken over me, and I would never have reached this realm."

"Unfortunately, your people are still too weak, so you can’t bring them into this domain to help you. If you want to absorb these wandering souls, you’ll have to use your abilities to do so." Zhang Fei smiled at Nalan Shizhe, who then observed the Soul Flame. "As I recall, this flame should be one of the ten heavenly flames, right?"

"You’re right, mother-in-law." Zhang Fei then summoned his other six heavenly flames, shocking Nalan Shizhe further. "Phoenix flame, dragon flame, soul flame, sky flame, earth flame, blood flame, and the eternal flame. I need the other three to perfect my fire technique, and I’ve found the moon flame, but I haven’t been able to get it. The sun flame should be in the Zenith Sun Sanctum, but the dungeon won’t open until another thousand years. As for the chaotic flame, I still don’t have any information about its whereabouts."

"How did you manage to collect them, brother-in-law? Where did you find the eternal flame?" Nalan Huanzi asked in a perplexed manner as he stared at the eternal flame.

"As a heavenly fox, I can move between realms easily, but I must have been to my destination to do so." Zhang Fei removed all the flames and opened a gate to the Starry Sky Realm, and Nalan Shizhe directly entered it after he realized that it connected them to the Three Mortal Realms.

Nalan Huanzi immediately followed his mother, causing Nalan Yushu and Nalan Wangzi to shake their heads. However, the two immediately returned to their side a few minutes later, and Nalan Shizhe asked Zhang Fei. "Did you send Ye Mingran and Qi Qingxiu to that realm?"

"Yes." Zhang Fei closed the gate instantly. "If you didn’t find them there, they must have gone elsewhere to search for Wu Mian’s true body. However, I doubt he hid his true body there, as it would only hinder his cultivation, and I suspect he hid it in one of the domains in this realm."

Nalan Shizhe nodded in agreement with Zhang Fei. "However, we’ve been searching for Wu Mian’s true body throughout all the demon domains for so many years, but our efforts have never yielded any results. That’s why Ye Mingran suspects he’s hiding his true body in the Three Mortal Realms."

"If that’s the case, let them try looking for it there. However, there are simply too many demon realms there, so they have to visit and check them one by one, which will waste a lot of time, especially due to the large difference in time flow." Zhang Fei then summoned the demon extermination sword, which immediately vibrated in excitement after feeling the presence of those wandering evil souls.

Nalan Huanzi took several steps back as he stared at the demon extermination sword. "What kind of sword is that? Why does it give me a dreadful feeling?"

"A sword created specifically to kill demons." Nalan Shizhe muttered under her breath.

"That’s right." Zhang Fei released the demon extermination sword, and the sword immediately flew into the sky, chasing the wandering evil souls above them before absorbing them. "The blacksmith created my sword to kill Xereth, as he had slaughtered his family and the people of the Starry Sky Realm. I wanted to kill that demon, but he was Taotie’s subordinate, so I didn’t kill him and imprisoned him in the Star Tower."

Nalan Shizhe released a soft sigh. "Sooner or later, Taotie will notice that his subordinate is missing, but fortunately, he cannot descend to the Three Mortal Realms because Long Wuzhao and those people will move to stop him."

"I know that." Zhang Fei asked the demon extermination sword to return to him. "Where does the Nine-Petal Phantom Soul Lotus usually bloom, mother-in-law?"

"It usually blooms in the heart of this forest, but the location is quite deep. We can’t fly in it because of the many natural traps, so we have to go there on foot." Nalan Shizhe then led them into the Wailing Soul Forest. "Do you want to fight and absorb these wandering evil souls?"

"Hmm?" Zhang Fei thought about it first, as the system couldn’t detect the strength of those wandering souls. Instead, he activated his soul domain before capturing the soul closest to them.

"Mother, he—"

"You don’t need to worry, big brother." Nalan Yushu immediately stopped Nalan Huanzi. "Try to pay attention to my husband first."

Nalan Huanzi nodded slightly and observed his brother-in-law, but he was surprised when Zhang Fei used his light domain, which helped him purify the wandering soul before it was absorbed by him. "That’s fast!"

"Hehe." Nalan Yushu giggled at her big brother’s reactions. "My husband’s light element has long reached the peak stage, and his mastery of the light elemental law has also reached the perfection stage; therefore, you shouldn’t be surprised that he could purify that wandering soul so quickly."

After absorbing it, Zhang Fei moved again to capture another wandering evil soul. He captured not just one, but ten, and he immediately used his light domain to purify them before absorbing them. ’Mei, do you think I can reach the immortal soul level if I absorb all the wandering evil souls in this domain?’

[Master, I don’t have any information about the immortal soul level, but I can guarantee that your soul level will instantly break through to the perfection stage of the divine soul level if you absorb all the wandering evil souls in this forest.]

Zhang Fei choked when he heard that because the wandering evil souls in the Wailing Soul Forest were simply too numerous, and their strength grew higher the deeper he moved.

After he absorbed the ten, Zhang Fei turned to the others. "Let’s move faster, and I will absorb these wandering evil souls while we walk inside."

Nalan Shizhe and her three children immediately followed Zhang Fei, while Nalan Yushu mimicked her husband’s actions by devouring the wandering evil souls. After all, she had been dead for a long time, and she hadn’t come back alive for a very long time, so she was eager to devour them.

Nalan Shizhe, Nalan Wangzi, and Nalan Huanzi did not follow their actions, and they protected the two by driving away powerful wandering souls who tried to approach and attack them.

- To Be Continued -