"If I continue to slumber, that would be fine too," Ru Feng suddenly said, his words startling Chu Ling Wei.
"Ru Feng, why would you think that? Isn't living good?" Living is so interesting. Chu Ling Wei couldn't understand what those who wished for death were thinking. In any case, no matter what happened, she wanted to live, to live well.
"Living?" A complex smile appeared on Ru Feng's lips. He turned his head, "Do you really think I am a living person?"
Chu Ling Wei's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this.
The first time she saw Ru Feng, she had suspected he wasn't a living person but a remnant soul. However, he resembled a person so much, and his cultivation was so high that she couldn't tell.
"Then you are..."
"I don't know," Ru Feng shook his head. He didn't even know if he was alive.
"Uh..." Chu Ling Wei's expression darkened. Those words were better left unsaid.
"Ru Feng, don't you want to see what's above?" Chu Ling Wei changed her approach. She didn't believe Ru Feng had no curiosity about the world above.
"Not curious."
"Don't you want to see what the world of spiritual cultivation is like?" Chu Ling Wei forced a polite smile. She truly couldn't communicate with Ru Feng anymore.
Ru Feng lowered his head and thought for a long time. He touched the area of his heart, "Here, I don't want to go anywhere."
"Alright."
Chu Ling Wei knew she had failed. In front of Ru Feng, she had no chance of winning.
"Actually, it's quite good here. As long as you like staying here, that's all that matters." Everyone has different thoughts; we must learn to respect everyone's way of life.
Ru Feng listened to Chu Ling Wei's words, as if contemplating each one. He kept his head down, his eyes fixed on the ground, not saying a word.
Chu Ling Wei sat on the spirit gathering seat, closed her eyes, and began to cultivate. Chatting with Ru Feng was a bit painful; cultivating was much more straightforward.
Time passed little by little. Chu Ling Wei clearly felt her dantian had grown stronger. A smile appeared on her lips. She opened her eyes, wanting to share this news with Ru Feng.
When she opened her eyes, she saw a pale and unfamiliar face only an inch away from hers.
This was not Ru Feng's face.
"Ah..."
Chu Ling Wei instinctively unleashed a surge of spiritual power. That face retreated rapidly like a gust of wind and disappeared without a trace.
"Ling Wei, what's wrong?" Ru Feng appeared before Chu Ling Wei, his eyes filled with extreme worry.
"Where did you go just now?" Chu Ling Wei had thought there were only the two of them in Ling Long Jian, but she didn't expect there to be others.
"I went to catch Nine-tailed Ice Fish." Ru Feng threw the Nine-tailed Ice Fish onto the ground. Chu Ling Wei's internal cold energy hadn't completely dissipated, and she needed to eat more Nine-tailed Ice Fish.
"Are there others here?" Chu Ling Wei looked at Ru Feng. Her spiritual power seemed to have struck someone just now. "There was someone in front of me just now, but I didn't see their face clearly, nor could I tell if it was a man or a woman."
Chu Ling Wei remembered Ru Feng telling her that besides him, there were no other people or spiritual beasts here.
"I didn't expect them to come out so soon." Ru Feng didn't appear guilty upon hearing Chu Ling Wei's words. Instead, he showed a hint of worry, "You don't need to be afraid. They can't come out for long; they'll go back soon."
"Them?"
Chu Ling Wei was confused by the meaning of "them" in Ru Feng's words. "Do you mean there are other people here?"
"No, they are no longer considered people; they are all remnant souls." Ru Feng shook his head. "Every eight hundred years, they gain three days of freedom. It seems another eight hundred years have passed."
"Whose remnant souls are they?" Chu Ling Wei was curious. Remnant souls were created when powerful beings, unwilling to perish, extracted a wisp of their soul.
Some were also created when people were framed, hoping to be reborn with this remnant soul. The existence of remnant souls had many reasons, but they all had one commonality: they lived in place of those who were not dead.
"Do you want to see them?" Ru Feng guessed Chu Ling Wei's thoughts when he saw a glint of curiosity in her eyes.
"If possible, I would still like to see them." Chu Ling Wei nodded. These remnant souls might have been here longer than Ru Feng, and they would surely know about what happened in Ling Long Jian.
Ru Feng took Chu Ling Wei's hand and flew towards Zi Sheng Lake.
"They are suppressed beneath Zi Sheng Lake?" Ever since her last visit to Zi Sheng Lake, Chu Ling Wei had felt the place was unreliable and hadn't been there again.
To leave this place, Chu Ling Wei had traversed every inch of the ice plains of Ling Long Jian. She was now intimately familiar with everything here.
Only the area around Zi Sheng Lake remained unexplored.
"Yes, only the water of Zi Sheng Lake can prevent their remnant souls from dissipating," Ru Feng replied.
Chu Ling Wei recalled the time Ru Feng danced with her above Zi Sheng Lake. She shuddered at the thought that countless remnant souls might have been watching them.
Ru Feng seemed to sense Chu Ling Wei's thoughts and couldn't help but chuckle, "To live longer, they only wake up for three days every eight hundred years. The rest of the time, they are asleep."
That's not bad.
Chu Ling Wei breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they weren't staring at her all the time, it was fine.
Soon, Ru Feng brought Chu Ling Wei to Zi Sheng Lake. Everything here was just as it had been during their last visit. The ice plains emanated colorful spiritual energy, and the Zi Sheng water flowed freely within the lake.
Threads of spiritual energy emanated from the water, creating a scene like a fairyland.
"Can they only come out at night?" Chu Ling Wei saw no remnant souls. She walked to the front of Zi Sheng Lake and stared into the water.
"Come out."
Ru Feng's voice, imbued with spiritual power, penetrated the Zi Sheng water, causing ripples to spread across the surface.
Chu Ling Wei quickly retreated. She saw many shadows floating out from the Zi Sheng water and gathering on the open ground beside them.
These remnant souls were very strange. Although they had human bodies, they moved in postures like animals, appearing incredibly eerie.
"Most of them were spiritual beasts. Although they are remnant souls, under Zi Sheng Lake, they gradually transformed into human form." Ru Feng explained to Chu Ling Wei. "Ask them what you want to know directly."
Ru Feng was astute. He knew Chu Ling Wei's intention in meeting these deceased beings was to inquire about the past events of this place.
"Can they speak?" The remnant souls before them stood in an orderly fashion with respectful expressions. They seemed very afraid of Ru Feng, suggesting his identity was extraordinary.
"Yes, they dare not refuse to answer whatever you ask." Ru Feng's voice seemed to be a manifestation of spiritual power, causing the remnant souls before them to tremble involuntarily.
"Do you remember what happened before you died?" Chu Ling Wei walked up to them. With Ru Feng present, she could question them boldly and freely.