Zhang Fei - The Abandoned Son-Chapter 1598: Sixth Soul Challenge

Shortly after the five women continued their challenge, Zhang Fei opened his eyes and clenched his fists. "Even though I’ve obtained so many soul fragments, my soul power is still far from the immortal soul level."

"The immortal soul level is unattainable."

"Eh? Is that true, Senior?"

Dugu Yuanshen nodded at him and released his soul. "I don’t know how you managed to reach the perfection stage of the divine soul level at such a young age, but my soul power had already reached this stage several tens of thousands of years ago. Since then, I have continued to cultivate my soul, and I challenged this tower tens of thousands of times to absorb those soul fragments, but I was never able to reach that stage."

Zhang Fei remembered the old fox’s previous words, telling him that he must get his greed and envy soul first. He also mentioned that he needed to find certain items, which were only located in the ancient realm.

Zhang Fei activated his demon eyes and looked at Dugu Yuanshen’s soul, but he was surprised to find nothing negative within the old man’s soul, as if he had no dark side. "Senior, have you ever heard of the existence of a realm higher than the Paradise Realm?"

"I do." Dugu Yuanshen nodded at him. "I once met a senior cultivator in the Forbidden Realm, and he told me that he came from a higher realm called the Ancient Realm."

"Oh? Did that person come from the Puyang Clan?" Dugu Yuanshen looked at Zhang Fei with surprise. "Several years ago, I went to the Forbidden Land, and I met Senior Puyang Shangren. He told me about the Ancient Realm, but he didn’t tell me how to get there. In fact, he told me that the Forbidden Land was part of the Ancient Realm, but the people from that domain have never been able to return to that realm since the disappearance of the Eternal Flame."

"The person I met at that time was not a member of the Puyang Clan but the Shizu Clan, and his name was Shizu Jiao."

"The Shizu Clan." Zhang Fei remembered that Zhuxian Sheng’s master came from that clan.

"Unfortunately, I only met Senior Shizu Jiao once, and the person who came from that realm kept changing since our last meeting."

"I see," Zhang Fei continued. "As you already know, the Forbidden Land was once part of the Ancient Realm, but that place isn’t the only one connecting this Paradise Realm and that realm; there are several other domains."

"Other domains?"

"Have you ever heard of the Ashen Lotus Monastery?"

"Not only have I heard of that place, but I’ve also entered it once. I heard that the Luo Clan of the Immortal Lotus Sanctuary obtained their ultimate technique from there, but I didn’t find anything when I entered there. Have you entered that place before?"

"I’ve been there and explored the place, but I couldn’t find anything of value there." Although he didn’t see anything inside Dugu Yuanshen’s soul, Zhang Fei didn’t tell him the truth about the domain. "However, I found some records that indicate that the domain was once part of the Ancient Realm, and the Qi strength there is much better than our realm."

"You are indeed right about that; the strength of the qi there is much better than in this Paradise Realm. Unfortunately, I have only entered there once, and I never managed to find the entrance portal again after that." Dugu Yuanshen sighed in disappointment. "Alright, we have to discuss something else later, and you have to continue the challenges of your soul. You must be careful when you reach the eighth area, as the toughest challenges begin there and continue up the stairs; your soul may be destroyed if you are not cautious."

"So, there are only ten soul challenges, right?"

"Yes," Dugu Yuanshen nodded at him. "The hardest is the last challenge, but I won’t say anything about it, and you can see for yourself when you arrive in that area."

"I know." Zhang Fei immediately moved to the side of the five women and began the next challenge.

Dugu Yuanshen looked at Zhang Fei. ’This young man is really cautious, huh? I’m sure he knows the entrance portal to the Ashen Lotus Monastery, and he also knows some other things that other cultivators in this Paradise Realm don’t know, including how to get to the Ancient Realm.’

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Zhang Fei had already entered the sixth challenge, and he arrived at a vast silver ocean with a small pier on one side.

"I’ve never seen this place before." Zhang Fei looked towards the ocean. "The water is not water but soul fragments."

"You’re right, Young Man." Zhang Fei raised an eyebrow and looked at the old man sitting at the end of the pier with a fishing rod in his hand, but he saw that there was no fishing line at the front end of his rod. "Come here and accompany me fishing."

’The old man wasn’t there before.’ Zhang Fe realized that the old man was his soul challenge, and he immediately approached him. "What are you fishing for here, Old Man?"

"Don’t you already have the answer?" The old man pulled his fishing rod, and a silver fish came out of the ocean before entering his body. He handed a fishing rod to Zhang Fei. "Patience and calm are the keys to goodness; impatience and anger are the keys to destruction. This is your soul challenge, so you should already know what you have to do to fish in this sea, right?"

Zhang Fei received the fishing rod and sat beside the old man. He used a bit of his soul power, created a fishing line, and threw it into the ocean. "How should I fish for those soul fishes, Old Man?"

"Sigh." The old man sighed. "Use your soul power as bait, Young Man. You will pass this challenge if you manage to catch the largest soul fish in this ocean, but you cannot ignore those small fish, as they will be beneficial to your soul."

"How many soul fish are in this ocean?"

"One percent of the ocean’s area."

The old man’s answer made Zhang Fei choke, and his eyes widened. "That’s—"

"As I said before, patience and calm are the keys to goodness. If you’re impatient and angry, you’ll never catch that biggest fish, and you’ll have to stay here until you do."

Zhang Fei nodded at him. "I know you’re the embodiment of my soul challenge, but I wonder how long you’ve been here, Old Man."

"Since the Tower of Eternity was completed."

"Who built the tower?"

"This universe."

"So, the tower was created naturally, huh?"

"That’s right." The old man looked at Zhang Fei. "Since this tower was completed, I’ve seen countless cultivators from the Paradise Realm challenge it. Unfortunately, only ten cultivators managed to reach the third floor, but they couldn’t go beyond the gate."

"I know some of those ten people." Zhang Fei suddenly felt a fish eating his bait, and he immediately pulled it up. However, the fish was much smaller than his palm and went straight into his soul, disappointing him.

"Hahaha! Be patient, and you will get the best results."

Zhang Fei sighed and started fishing again. "Why couldn’t those people go beyond the gate in the past, Old Man?"

"They don’t have the key to open the gate."

"What is that key? Where is it?"

"The key is always on the third floor, but none of them can see it."

"No one?"

"Yes."

Zhang Fei found this strange. "Since you know about them, you should know about the woman named Huo Yanling, right?"

"I’ve met that woman in the past, and she managed to complete this challenge in one try. However, she didn’t succeed in finding the key, and she has never challenged this tower again since then."

"She is on the first floor now to protect my people."

"I see."

"Have cultivators from across the gate ever come down to this Paradise Realm, Old Man?"

"No one."

"Why?"

"I don’t know." The old man looked up at the sky. "They were never able to descend to the Paradise Realm in the past, and they were even less able to do so after the gate was sealed. If you want to go there, you must find the key and open the gate, but you must first complete all the soul challenges on the second floor to go to the third floor."

"I know that."

"I warn you not to underestimate the final challenge; otherwise, you will die, and your body will be taken over by something."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Be patient, Young Man. You will know what I mean when you reach the final challenge, and you must be careful because no one can help you in that challenge."

Zhang Fei furrowed his brows and considered the old man’s words.

"Then—" Zhang Fei didn’t finish his sentence because the old man suddenly disappeared, leaving him there alone. "How long do I have to stay here? Can I catch that fish faster if I use more of my soul power as bait?"

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"Hehehe," Luo Yunxiao giggled after she lifted the biggest fish from the sea. "Old man, this challenge is too easy for me."

The old man nodded to her. "You are a patient woman, and you have no burdens in your heart and mind, unlike your husband."

"My husband has a big responsibility, so it’s natural that he has many burdens on his heart and mind, right?" Luo Yunxiao immediately absorbed the fish. "I’m sure he will overcome all the challenges ahead, and we will go to the third floor together."

"I’ll send you out now."