Swoosh!
Even Xuefeng who approached with no evil intentions has been welcomed with multiple Lightning bolts sent his way. He already predicted it and stayed cool, simply taking them onto his own body without defending.
If he couldn't impress them with his strength, they wouldn't treat him seriously.
"Ah! So good!" Xuefeng exclaimed happily as all the Lightning struck his chest but he proceeded forward unbothered. "Is that all you have got? I thought it would hurt but those few bolts didn't even tickle me."
Xuefeng let the destructive force of Lightning burn his shirt and he flexed his muscles, showing the lack of effect. His body went through so much strengthening that normal attacks could no longer injure him.
As a response to his taunt, tens of more bolts burst from all directions and attempted to drown him inside a Lightning cloud. He lost sight of his surroundings as lightning burned him from all around but he only smiled and swiped with his hand to get rid of it.
Huh?
To his surprise, no matter what he did, the cloud didn't want to disperse.
'Watch out, it's not a normal cloud!' Ming warned but he already figured it out on his own.
Soul Art.
Just as he thought of how to escape it, he heard a familiar voice from behind, a voice he thought he would never hear again.
"Feng'er!"
His eyes widened as he turned around and saw his crying mother rush to his embrace. Her frail body hugged him tightly as she cried endlessly, "Thank God! Thank God! I finally found you!"
Xuefeng was shocked since it wasn't the Mistress of the Liu Clan but rather his real mother from back on Earth. Her actions, her voice, and even her favorite perfumes matched perfectly.
'It's an illusion. Don't fall for it,' Ling warned him but even if Xuefeng already knew that fact, the old regrets came back into his mind. He hated the fact he could never meet his parents again and that he left them alone with no help.
"Feng'er! I missed you so much! Please, come back to us!" His mother begged as she looked up with tears in her eyes. "Please, come home!"
Xuefeng blinked a few times to stop his own tears and pulled the lady away from him. "You are not my mom but it was good to see her once again. You reminded me why I am working hard in this world."
His mother looked at him confused. "Feng'er, why did you leave us? Do you know how miserable our life is right now? We don't have enough money to eat and your sister is dying. Please you have to return and help us! I know a way to get you out of here! Follow me!"
She grabbed his hand and tried to pull him towards the Lightning cloud but Xuefeng didn't budge.
"Haha," Xuefeng laughed as he rubbed his mother's hand. "You see, your illusion is quite good but you didn't get some facts right. My mother would never guilt-trip me into anything. Even if my parents were starving, they would always give their last bite of food to us. Even if they were too tired to work, they would continue to push through for our sake. If we had no money, they would search for another job, even if they had to sacrifice their sleep."
Xuefeng rubbed his mother's cheek and promised, "Don't worry, I will work hard and return to you before you know it. I will repay you for all the pain you suffered because of me."
If he was able to reach the Cultivation World, he believed there was a way to return back to Earth. After all, couldn't he do anything if he became the King of Heaven?
After his vow, he wrapped his body with his Soul Power and walked out of the Lightning cloud. If he wasn't strong mentally, maybe he would fall for this tricky art but Xuefeng was far from losing hope.
"That was a nice Soul Art but I think you need to step up if you want to stop me," Xuefeng announced casually before calling out firmly, "I demand a meeting with your Leader! I'm not someone you can deal with!"
He didn't play around anymore and raised his right arm. The Water Stone brightened and the water responded to its master. All the rivers flowing into the basin suddenly stopped as the exits froze. The noise from the waterfalls was gone, creating an awkward silence.
Just as Xuefeng thought, the water level began to slowly drop, exposing more of the Fate Mountain. If the water was flowing into the basin, there had to be an outflow as well or else the basin would fill pretty quickly.
'They are coming,' Xuefeng commented satisfied, seeing humanoid figures swim up to the water surface.
"STOP!"
A loud female voice cried out in panic. Xuefeng was pleasantly surprised as he recognized the Race.
Mermaids!
Beautiful women with their naked torso belonging to a human and fishtails instead of legs. He thought there were only female Mermaids but then he spotted multiple male Mermaids with Lightning tridents in their hands. They seemed to be the culprits of the previous attack.
"Call your Leader then. I will stop if he graces us with his presence," Xuefeng responded casually.
One of the females swam closer under Xuefeng and pleaded, "We already sent a message to our Queen. In the meantime, please return the flow of the rivers. Our Queen will really appreciate it."
She didn't display any anger in her voice and asked politely, showing her sincerity. Xuefeng didn't have a reason not to agree.
Snap.
With a click of his fingers, the ice melted and the rivers flowed once again, falling into the basin.
"Thank you, Sir," the female Mermaid bowed before swimming back towards the rest.
All of the female Mermaids grouped together and giggled as they stole glances at his body. Their interested gazes clearly pissed off the males but Xuefeng ignored them and even winked at the ladies to tilt them even more. Who asked them to attack him with their puny tridents?
Xuefeng waved to his wives and they all approached him as they waited for the message back.
A few minutes later, the message from the Queen arrived.
"Sir! Our Queen allows you to meet her in our palace. Unfortunately, only Sir can attend the meeting while your friends have to wait."