With that, Paul once again went to look for the elders, who by this time were done answering all the questions.
This time, he was alone and gathered a lot of attention from every lady in the district, especially since he was not wearing his combat gear but his normal black robes.
Many ladies were enchanted by his good looks and mysterious aura.
The fact that many of them didn't see a man in a decade or two made some of them almost drool at the sight of a young and handsome man.
However, they didn't try to start a conversation with him at the moment, since they guessed that he was there to see the elders.
Moreover, they witnessed in the morning that he was surrounded by a dozen beauties already, and most of the ladies were not confident enough to try their luck in seducing him.
-How can we help you?
Lin Mei asked, seeing him once again.
She was grateful that he obtained the information about the portals and what was going on in the city, since it prevented any more tragedies from occurring, as another group was getting ready to try and leave using the river, while a few ladies were approaching the minimum level required to use the portals to ascend.
Thanks to the information, they all abandoned their plans, not wanting to throw their lives away or, even worse, be captured by the creatures in the forest.
-I want to go to the portals, to see if there is a possibility of returning them to normal.
If it turns out to be impossible, then try to find a way to destroy or, at the very least, seal them, to prevent any more people from being sent here.
He explained his intentions.
-You didn't need to come see us for this.
Gu man said, surprised, about what he was planning.
-Are you also an array master?
Len Ai asked, at the same time surprised, as it was getting hard for her to believe how talented he was.
-I'm not, but he is.
Paul said, and Lord Sei materialized.
-Greetings, ladies.
The soul said when it fully materialized.
-Let me introduce you to Lord Sei, who is also my reincarnation soul.
Paul said, seeing the stunned expressions on the elders' faces.
-With his help, we might be able to either repair the portals or destroy them, if it's necessary.
Paul explained.
-Alright, but that does not explain why you came to us?
Lin Mei said, still puzzled by his presence, since he could simply go and do his thing without informing them until he was done.
-Truth be told, I'd like one of you to accompany me, to prevent any misunderstanding with the guard stationed at the portals.
Paul explained.
-Alright, that makes more sense now, and since I have nothing better to do then i'll go with you.
Gu Man said with a smile, taking all the other elders offguard.
They all wanted to go, as it would give them a chance to learn more about Paul and maybe even seduce him if they were lucky, but since Gu Man already took the spot, they would not hinder her chances to have some fun.
On their way, Gu Man seized the opportunity to learn more about Paul, and she was surprised time and again when he told her where he came from and how he ended up in the mortal realm.
The most shocking for her was the information that he had three more ladies who were in the higher realms, as she never expected such a thing.
Not that she doubted it, as she was attracted to him even though they only knew each other for a short time, and she could not attribute it to not seeing a man for more than two decades.
She was certain that even if they met, in different circumstances, she would still be attracted to him, which was a bit terrifying when she recalled how picky she was about men in the past.
Paul also noticed her attraction to him, and sighed inwardly, as the temptation was indeed great, since Gu Man looked no older than twenty years old, though he was certain she was much older than that.
What's more, she had a body of which any woman would be proud of, with her large breasts, round butt, and overall look of a porn star, coupled with her beautiful face, blue eyes, and long black hair reaching below her waist; she was a beauty on par with any of his ladies, and he could even say that she was not that far from Fei Fei in that departament.
What's more, she was not the only one, as all of the ladies trapped in the city were beauties in their own right, which was not surprising, as all of them were cultivators, and most of them were at the beginning stage of cultivation.
Thankfully, they reached the portal room shortly, and he could focus on the matter that brought them there.
The woman on guard duty was once again Li Fei, whom they met earlier.
From Gu Man, Paul learned that she volunteered for this job and was there every day, only swapping places with another woman in the evening.
After explaining why they were there to Li Fei, Sei manifested and started examining the portals one after the other.
-There is good and bad news.
The soul said after looking at the portals for more than an hour.
-The bad news is that we can't alter the formations, so we won't be able to repair the portals.
Sei stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
-Simply put, there is no one here who's strong enough to override or change the formations, since they were adjusted by a god-stage expert.
He explained before any of the humans could even ask.
-The good news is that we can destroy them or at least make them useless, to prevent anymore people from falling into this trap.
-How?
Gu Man asked.
-We tried to attack them, and many of us got injured when our attacks were deflected back at us.
-Yes, that's because you used Qi and mana attacks.
Sei Nodded.
-These portals have deflective arrays to protect them from such things.
But lift that rock and throw it at the portal.
The soul pointed at a piece of rock on the floor.
The ladies were surprised, but Paul did as he was told and threw the rock before they could say anything.
To everyone's surprise, the rock went right through the barrier, hitting the portal with a loud bang.
-Alright, so the stones can pass through, so what? Do you want us to bury them under some rubble?
Paul asked.
-That's exactly what I'm planning, but the idea is to drop this whole building down on the portals, to bury them for good.
Lord Sei confirmed.
-While the portal inscriptions were significantly altered, the safety features were left intact.
Every portal in the twelve realms has a feature that prevents it from establishing a connection if it's buried or if there is something stuck in the portal.
Also, there is a significant chance that the portals will simply get crushed under such a large amount of stone.
Either way, this should prevent more people from being sent into this trap.
-Alright, since we can't use them to escape anyway, let's bury them.
Paul agreed to the plan.
However, he would need either a few days to do this by himself or the help of as many earth mages as he could find in the city.