Zhang Xiaolong [3] stood a little distance away from the portal connecting the Forbidden Land and one of the domains in the Ancient Realm. An invisible barrier blocked his path, preventing him from reaching the portal.
Hu Tianlangâs wrath soul and Feng Yao immediately appeared beside him.
"You wonât be able to get past that barrier."
Zhang Xiaolong [3] looked at Feng Yao.
"This barrier was created to prevent people from the Forbidden Land from going to the Ancient Realm, andâ"
"You can change or remove this barrier, right?"
"I can do that, but I wonât."
"Bring me there."
Hu Tianlang and Feng Yao frowned at Zhang Xiaolong [3] because they had warned him not to go to the Ancient Realm with the current situation, but he still insisted on going there.
"I wonât go to explore that realm, and you can bring me back here directly."
"Hey, kid! Why are you so adamant about going there? You already know that the situation there is dire, but you insist on going there."
Zhang Xiaolong [3] glanced at Hu Tianlang. "I just want to confirm something, and weâll be right back here."
"What do you want to confirm?"
"I canât tell you about that, but Feng Yao already knows what I want to confirm."
Hu Tianlang looked at Feng Yao, but she didnât want to tell him the truth. "Unfortunately, I canât take you there with this body, but I can do it with my real body. If you want to go there, you should settle all your matters in the Tower of Eternity first, and Iâll take you there after that."
"You said it yourself." Zhang Xiaolong [3] thought for a moment. "From now on, I donât want you to live in my body anymore. Iâm grateful for everything youâve done for me, but I donât want you to observe my activities anymore."
"Alright." Feng Yao immediately disappeared.
"Arenât you being too harsh with her, kid?" Zhang Xiaolong [3] looked at Hu Tianlang. "I know sheâs lied to you about many things, but you know that sheâs never harmed you; instead, sheâs always protected you and helped you in many ways, including when you faced those powerful cultivators like Yuan Xiajie and the others. If it werenât for her protection, you would have been in big trouble long ago."
"I know," Zhang Xiaolong [3] sighed. "She has helped me a lot and protected me all this time, but I was disappointed by her lies. She should have told me the truth from the start, but she didnât say anything, and I found out everything from someone else."
"What could you have done for her if she had told you everything from the start? You couldnât even defeat Yuan Xiajie, and you were scared to death of her. She did lie to you a lot, but you have to remember that you would never have gotten this far if it werenât for her help." Hu Tianlang grabbed his shoulder. "I know youâre angry with her because of your pride, but you should learn to understand her. Sheâs lived for so long because sheâs the embodiment of the core of this universe, and she has no ill intentions toward you. All she wants is freedom, and you are the only person who can help her achieve it, so I hope you can understand her better."
After saying that, Hu Tianlang also disappeared from the place, leaving Zhang Xiaolong [3] to think things over by himself.
"Zhang Fei."
Zhang Xiaolong [3] looked at Ancient Leiyu Tianlu and the people of the Xuanyuan Clan.
"Who exactly is that woman? What do you mean by calling her the embodiment of the core of this universe? What exactly are the black chains that bind us?"
Zhang Xiaolong [3] sighed. "This universe has its core, and it manifested itself as Shen Yuanzhi in the past, who was a primordial being like the ten-tailed fox. I never knew her purpose until yesterday, and she reincarnated again and again to free herself from those black chains that bound her to this universe. I donât have clear information about those chains, and I only know that they have existed since the birth of this universe, which binds all living beings within it."
"Why donât those chains bind you?"
"As Feng Yao said before, I died some time in the past. That young girl accidentally killed me, and she revived me, which allowed me to come this far. I donât understand why those chains didnât bind me, but it might have something to do with my death at that time."
"Who is the young girl you are referring to?"
"I myself have never spoken directly to that young girl, so I donât know her identity." Zhang Xiaolong [3] looked at Ancient Leiyu Tianlu. "What are you going to do now? I wonât stay here, and I have to return to the outside world."
Ancient Leiyu Tianlu could only shake his head. "My master asked me to protect you from those shadowy creatures, but I canât leave this place because of the barrier that separates this domain from the outside world, so I donât know what to do now."
[Try sending him to your beast space, Master.]
âAlright,â Zhang Xiaolong [3] agreed. "I donât know if this will work, but I will send you into my beast now, and I will leave here after that."
"Okay."
After he sent Ancient Leiyu Tianlu into his beast space, Zhang Xiaolong [3] spoke to the people of the Xuanyuan Clan. "I know you guys still have many questions, but I donât have the answers to all of them myself. Only Feng Yao and Hu Tianlang have the answers, but Iâm sure they wonât tell you anything. I still have a lot of things to do, so I have to go now, and I will come back here in the future."
The people from the Xuanyuan Clan did not stop Zhang Xiaolong [3] and the three clones from leaving, but todayâs events left many questions in their minds regarding Feng Yao and those black chains.
"What should we do?"
"We canât do anything, right?"
"That kid, that woman, and Hu Tianlang are beyond our capabilities. We wonât be able to do anything to help them, especially with our limited strength."
"Furthermore, we canât leave this domain, so I think we shouldnât worry about them, and weâll wait until the time comes."
"Letâs go back now."
"Yes."
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"What happened, husband?"
Zhang Fei explained to Luo Yunxiao the details of the previous incident, which included his dispute with Feng Yao and the arrival of Ancient Leiyu Tianlu. "That ancient beast is in my beast space now."
"Can you bring him out here?"
"I donât know." Zhang Fei shook his head. "The barrier in the Forbidden Land is used to prevent all living beings from the Ancient Realm from entering the Paradise Realm, but my beast space is unaffected by it, and I donât know what will happen to him if I bring him out here."
"In that case, donât let him out for now and let him recover from his injuries in your beast space." Then, Luo Yunxiao grabbed his hand. "Husband, I know Big Sis Yao lied to you a lot, but she also helped you a lot when you both lived in the Three Mortal Realms, and I think your attitude towards her is too harsh."
"Butâ"
Luo Yunxiao pressed her index finger to his lips and shook her head. "I know sheâs wrong, but you have to learn to understand her situation. Her status as the embodiment of the core of this universe is truly bizarre, so I think itâs natural that she didnât tell you the truth. You are already a powerful cultivator now, but you are still weak compared to her or the others. I believe that she wonât hide it from you forever, and sheâs chosen to wait for the right time to tell you the truth, so I hope you can get rid of your disappointment and stop blaming her."
Zhang Fei sighed and hugged her. "I know what you said is true, but Iâm still disappointed in her, and I canât shake that feeling right now."
"I know." Luo Yunxiao laid her head on his shoulder. "I know getting over our disappointment wonât be that easy, but you have to try to get over it, okay? Big Sis Yao has been so good to you, and she has done so much for you, including protecting us and our sect."
Zhang Fei didnât say anything and hugged Luo Yunxiao silently, but his mind was replaying all the events that had happened since he met Feng Yao in the Sky Jade Realm.
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"Brother Wuzhao, there seems to be something different about that kid."
Long Wuzhao agreed with Tianshi Bailong as he also felt that there was something different about Zhang Fei, but he couldnât guess what the difference was because he chose not to tell them anything, especially about his other conversation with the mysterious man.
"What exactly happened to him before we reached this floor?" Long Xukong asked, glancing towards Zhang Fei.
Long Wuzhao responded with a slight shake of his head. "I donât know what happened to him, but heâs an adult and experienced enough now, so we donât need to interfere in his personal affairs."
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On the other side, Yue Ningxue sat alone and waited for the next challenge, but she didnât stop looking at Zhang Fei, wondering about the changes that had happened to him. âDid something happen to him before? Why did he become so serious and gloomy?â
Lu Wangyi, Ju Jushen, Dugu Yuanshen, and Dugu Liangsen were also wondering about Zhang Feiâs sudden change in attitude.