Zhang Fei - The Abandoned Son

Chapter 1564: The Source

"Shadowy creatures? What kind of creatures are they? Where do they appear?"

"The Ancient Realm."

Zhang Fei took out the Demon’s Eye Orb and sent it into the Ancient Desolation Domain to inspect the place. He also created a qi screen connected to the orb, allowing them to see the situation there more clearly.

They focused on the areas of the Ancient Desolation Domain that the orb passed through and observed that shadowy creatures had already infested those areas. They overpowered the domain’s demons and beasts, who were stronger than those in the Paradise Realm.

"Where do those shadow creatures come from?"

"I don’t know," Zhang Fei answered with a shake of his head. "My sister-in-law told Luo Yunxiao that these shadowy creatures appear out of nowhere, and the Will of the Universe still hasn’t managed to locate the source, so she can’t stop them."

"Even the Will of the Universe doesn’t know the cause of the appearance of these shadowy creatures, huh?" Nalan Wangzi pointed to the screen. "Look at them, husband. Those shadowy creatures possessed those beasts and demons, and they seem to be controlling them now."

"Yeah." Zhang Fei frowned as he watched those beasts and demons become more ferocious, but strangely, they didn’t attack each other, and they seemed to be searching for a way out of the domain. "What actually happened in the Ancient Realm? Why did those shadowy creatures suddenly appear? What were they really looking for there?"

"My two souls." Zhang Fei and Nalan Wangzi turned to Hu Tianlang’s Wrath Soul. "I don’t have any information about the origins of those shadowy creatures, but they are clearly targeting my greed and envy souls. If my two souls fall into their hands, the next ten-tailed fox will never be born, and this universe will be headed for destruction."

"Are those shadowy creatures unstoppable, Senior?"

"I’m already dead, and I’ve already divided my power, so I can’t stop them. The cultivators living in this era, whether they’re from the Paradise Realm or the Ancient Realm, can’t stop them either." Hu Tianlang looked at Zhang Fei. "Aren’t you coming out, Shen Yuanzhi?"

Feng Yao immediately emerged from Zhang Fei’s body. "I myself have no information about those shadowy creatures, so I can’t offer any solutions to deal with them."

"You can’t give this kid a solution, but you have something that should be able to stop those shadowy creatures, right?"

"Can the Eternal Flame stop those shadowy creatures, Feng Yao?"

Feng Yao nodded to them. "Huo Ling should be able to crush them, but she can’t eradicate them completely, and they will continue to appear until we can destroy the source. The most important thing now is to secure Hu Tianlang’s Greed and Envy Souls, but both are located deep within the Ancient Realm, and we will face many obstacles in going there."

"This kid won’t be able to go there by himself, but you and Huo Ling should be able to take him to both places. If my two souls fall into the hands of those shadowy creatures, our hopes for the future of this universe will be destroyed, and our efforts thus far will end in vain." Hu Tianlang looked at Feng Yao. "I know you want this kid to try to go there himself, but we have no other choice now, so you have to take him there."

"No," Feng Yao rejected it. "There is still another solution to prevent those shadowy creatures from reaching both locations of your last two souls, and I’m sure they won’t be able to enter those two places."

"What kind of solution?"

"The Will of the Universe should be able to create two barriers to protect both places, and I’m sure these shadowy creatures won’t be able to go there."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes," Feng Yao nodded. "For now, you’re not ready to go to the Ancient Realm, let alone face those shadowy creatures, so the best solution is to ask the Will of the Universe for help to prevent them from entering those two places."

Zhang Fei was fully aware of his own strength, so he had deep doubts about going to the Ancient Realm with his current strength. "I’ll go to the Immortal Lotus Sanctuary now, and I’ll ask Bing Xingying to take me there."

After he withdrew the Demon’s Eye Orb from the Ancient Desolation Domain and Feng Yao re-entered his body, Zhang Fei opened the gate leading to the Empyrean Domain and took Nalan Wangzi with him.

"Where do those shadowy creatures actually come from?" Hu Tianlang thought for a while before disappearing from the scene.

Not long after Hu Tianlang left, Feng Yao and Huo Ling appeared at that place. "Master, you should know the origins of those shadowy creatures, right? Why don’t you tell them the truth?"

"I don’t know the origins of those shadowy creatures, but I have some guesses about them."

"What are your guesses?"

"They come from the source of this universe’s creation."

"You mean?"

"Yes," Feng Yao nodded at Huo Ling. "The two women we met years ago came from another universe, and the older one told us that her universe also faced many problems, which forced her husband to take over control of it. If my guess is correct, the source of those shadowy creatures comes from the same source in their universe, but I can’t trace it."

"What if we meet that girl, Master? Back then, she said that she would continue to monitor Zhang Fei, so I’m sure she’s still in our universe now, and she might be in that place."

Feng Yao shook her head in refusal. "Sometimes it’s not a good thing for us to know everything, and we have to wait for the right time to find out the truth. Moreover, our universe is different from that girl’s, so she might not have the answers for us. Let’s go back; we will monitor the situation from our domain, and I will think of another way to stop those shadowy creatures."

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Far away from the Paradise Realm, Xuanyuan Yue sat in front of several large screens, observing those shadowy creatures.

"What are you looking at, Yue’er?"

Xuanyuan Yue pointed at the screen. "Are you familiar with those shadowy creatures, Aunt Huang?"

"Hmm?" Aunt Huang observed those shadowy creatures. "They are similar to the darkness that appeared in our universe in the past, and it would have swallowed it if your father hadn’t stopped that person and taken control of our universe from him."

"I share your opinion." Xuanyuan Yue turned to her. "However, the situation in this universe is different from ours, Aunt Huang. Feng Yao is a higher existence than those sleeping primordials, and I suspect that she is the core of this universe that has deliberately manifested itself."

"Are you sure about that?"

Xuanyuan Yue nodded to her. "Feng Yao wouldn’t tell me the truth when my mother and I met her a few years ago, but my gut tells me that my suspicions about her are correct. I’m certain she’s the embodiment of this universe itself because she knows many things that others don’t, and she can enter the place known as the Era of the Beginning, where all the history of this universe is stored."

"If your conjecture about Feng Yao being the core of the universe is correct, then where did those shadowy creatures come from? Could she have intentionally created them to destroy this universe? Could they have come from a different source?"

"I can’t be sure about that yet, Aunt Huang." Xuanyuan Yue looked at the screens again. "However, I’m certain that those shadowy creatures came from the same source as the darkness that appeared in our universe in the past, and I’m not sure that Zhang Fei could stop them because he was different from my father. If he failed to stop them, those creatures would dominate this universe, and the giant Yin-Yang Lotus would be destroyed along with the destruction of the balance of Yin and Yang in this universe. Can you help him with something, Aunt Huang?"

"No," Aunt Huang immediately refused. "I know how you feel, Yue’er. We already made a mistake when you accidentally killed Zhang Fei, and I also made a mistake by bringing him back to life, so we can’t interfere any further in the affairs of this universe; otherwise, the situation would be even worse for them."

Xuanyuan Yue sighed heavily. "You’re right, Aunt Huang. I hope Zhang Fei will be able to handle everything like my father, but I also doubt that he will be able to do so since he doesn’t have people like you to support him."

"Doesn’t Zhang Fei have Feng Yao by his side?"

"Feng Yao is different from you, Aunt Huang." Xuanyuan Xue looked at her. "You loved our universe, and you did everything to save it from the darkness, making my father hate you for so long. On the other hand, that woman only cares about herself, and she doesn’t really care about the safety of her universe. She had often helped Zhang Fei over the years, but she did everything for her own benefit, not for him or this universe. If she continues to act like that, I’m sure this universe will be completely destroyed."

Aunt Huang nodded slightly. "I don’t want this universe to be destroyed either, but we can no longer interfere in matters here. You’ve given Zhang Fei several important things, including Mei and the system, so he must use his own power to prevent the destruction of his universe."

"I know." After Aunt Huang left, Xuanyuan Yue thought for a while before doing anything using her keyboard. "I don’t want to interfere anymore, but I can’t let you and this universe be destroyed, so I’ll help you one last time."