-Calm down, ladies, I'm not leaving the city this time, and only plan to visit the sect master's mansion.
Paul quickly explained, seeing that he landed himself in the middle of their rage storm once again.
-Then we are coming with you this time.
Wei Lan stated, without leaving any place for discussion, and all the ladies immediately supported her words.
-Alright.
Paul agreed, as it seemed that he had no other choice.
This calmed the ladies down a lot, and soon everyone came back to their mansion, since the first order of business was to restore Paul's mana to full.
It took a few hours before his power was finally topped off, and after a good meal, they all went out to visit the city lord's mansion.
Paul didn't even try to transport them all using the shadow jump spell, as it would deplete his mana once again.
Instead, he adjusted the ready-made spells he had given them for emergencies and told the ladies to use them to get inside.
He also gave the same spells to the elders, since they didn't have any.
-This is different.
Lin Mei said as soon as they appeared inside the barrier.
They felt the same concentration of powers as Paul did during his last visit.
-Since we are already inside, why don't you tell us what you are looking for?
Anna asked Paul, as he refused to tell them the objective before they were inside the barrier.
-I want to find the power source that powers this barrier.
He revealed.
-What for?
Natalie and Gu Man asked at the same time.
-Because there is no such thing as an eternal power source, sooner or later, this power source will be depleted, and I want to know how much time we all have before that happens.
Paul explained.
He didn't have to add that it would be a catastrophe if the pulse that protected the city suddenly disappeared.
Now the ladies understood why he didn't tell them the reason he wanted to come here, while they were outside and could be overheard by someone.
Since, along with the elders, there were eighteen of them, they divided themselves into three groups of six, with each group taking on a floor to thoroughly explore, with the main focus placed on finding the power source of the barrier.
Once they started, they went through the whole mansion, room by room, exploring every nook and cranny, as they suspected that a place of such importance would most likely be well hidden.
-Paul, we found it.
Rin shouted as she ran down to the basement, where his team was looking around.
-It was in the sect master's office, behind a bookcase.
My sister already gone to look for the other group.
The girl explained that as soon as she found them.
-Good work, let's go.
Paul said, eager to examine the power source that lasted for so many years.
When they arrived, everyone else was already waiting for them.
As soon as he entered the hidden room, Paul was surprised to see a dozen power crystals, arranged into a circle, and if he sensed it correctly, the empty ones were moved along the lines of a very complicated array to be recharged before they were moved once again to power the barrier.
-What the heck is all of this?
Paul asked, not expecting an answer.
-I have no clue, there were no arrays like this one when I was alive.
Lord Sei materialized and examined the array.
-Well, it was a few millennia since we died, so it's natural that there are things we have never seen before.
Lady Peacock also appeared.
-Back in our time a heard about some sect trying to make something like this, but they were unsuccessful after decades of working on it, and they finally gave up on the idea.
She added.
-Well, it seems that someone else managed to do it.
Wen Lan stated the obvious, but nobody she knew ever heard about such an array.
-Whatever the case, this explains why the barrier is still working after so many years.
Anna chimed in.
-Well, it won't work forever.
Paul said, making all the ladies look at him.
-Look at the crystals, they have cracks in them, so I don't think they will last that much longer.
He pointed at the thin crack lines on every crystal.
-Paul's right, these crystals will last at most for another six months before they start breaking.
Lord Sei stated, after examining the crystals.
-Then what are we going to do about it?
Lin Mei asked nervously, as half a year was way too little time for everyone to reach the ascension realm.
-We can either replace the crystals with new ones, which will buy us all more time, that is, if we can find any, or we need to leave this place before they break and the barrier goes down.
Paul stated the obvious.
-Sei, how long will it take us to reach the ascension stage?
He asked his reincarnation soul.
-If you cultivated with your ladies for the next half a year, you might be able to barely reach the ascension stage, but it's not guaranteed that you would be able to ascend before the crystals broke.
Not to mention that you would have to focus entirely on cultivation, without doing anything else.
Lord Sei said after thinking about it for a moment.
-And what if we were not the only partners he cultivated with?
Irine asked, surprising everyone.
-That would certainly help, as the more partners he has, the faster he will grow, but even if all the women in this city became his partners, he would still need at least five months to reach the ascension stage.
Not to mention that he would be the only one to reach this stage, leaving the rest of you behind, even if you used the vials to supplement your cultivation.
-Well, truth be told, he is the only one who needs to ascend, and he would be able to take everyone with him.
Lady Peacock chimed in on the conversation.
-The two of you are assuming that all the women here would agree to that, and then to become my slaves for the duration of the ascension.
Paul shook his head, as he very much doubted that this would be the case.
He did not doubt that many women would like to be his cultivation partners, but many would refuse, which was fine, as he would not force them.
However, there was no way they would agree to become his slaves, since they had no reason to trust him or his promise of freeing them as soon as they arrived at the ascension realm.
-Moreover, there are some women here who are already approaching the ascension stage, so it does not have to be me who takes them away.
He reminded everyone.
-Alright, let's discuss this later. For now, let's leave this place.
Anna said, calming everyone down.
-Also, you wanted to start your breakthrough, and tonight is my turn.
She added with a smile, which earned her glares from the test of the ladies, as she was evidently just rubbing it in.