An Encounter in the Sea of Spirit

"As the saying goes, wealth and honor have no roots; they are found through diligence. Do not value a foot of jade over an inch of time. After improving your talent, not only did you not slack off, you actually hastened your cultivation. Child, I'm increasingly convinced that you'll carve out a world of your own."

Huo Yuhao sat down cross-legged and had only just begun cultivating his Soul Power when everything before his eyes suddenly turned pale gold. The old man's familiar voice rang out again, and then he found himself in a pale golden space.

Huo Yuhao stared at the pale golden space before him in surprise. Countless motes of light filled it, stretching beyond the limits of his sight, yet his vision seemed able to extend into every corner of this space.

Just as he was marveling at the wonder of this place, winds and clouds suddenly stirred within it, and streaks of golden light shot in from all directions.

The golden light gathered into an enormous Golden Halo that hovered in midair. Every mote of light in the space grew much larger because of its appearance.

The enormous Golden Halo began to rotate slowly. Looking closely, golden feathers seemed to be dancing within it. Golden radiance spread outward, growing stronger and stronger until it gradually became a huge Golden Orb floating there. The height and volume of the entire space expanded by an unknown number of times.

The motes of light suspended in the air gradually sank below, gathering into a pale golden sea that bore the Golden Orb.

"Huo Yuhao... Mm, a fine name." A sudden voice rang out. Huo Yuhao's vision immediately narrowed, and he instinctively lowered his head to see an illusory version of himself standing above that Golden Sea.

"Old Man, you're not dead?" Huo Yuhao asked in apparent shock, though a faint, barely perceptible wariness flashed through his eyes.

"Child, don't look at me with such suspicion. We're tied to the same rope now."

The old man's figure slowly emerged from within the Golden Orb. His face looked kindly and approachable, giving off the warm, familiar air of an elderly neighbor.

"This is your Sea of Spirit. From now on, this old man will have to stay in your Sea of Spirit for a while longer. Of course, that depends on whether you permit it. Otherwise, with a single thought from you, I'll be expelled from your Sea of Spirit and vanish between heaven and earth."

"My Sea of Spirit?"

Huo Yuhao found the term somewhat unfamiliar.

"That's right, the Sea of Spirit. Simply put, it is your own spiritual world, the source of your self-awareness. Let me introduce myself. I am Qian Daoliu. My current identity is roughly that of a tenant in your Sea of Spirit. Of course, that is only if you, the landlord, allow me to remain here. I did not stay silent in your Sea of Spirit these past few days on purpose. I was simply too weak at the time and nearly on the verge of dissipating at any moment. Only after recuperating in your Sea of Spirit for some time did I barely recover."

Huo Yuhao nodded without revealing anything and immediately tried to move Qian Daoliu out of his Sea of Spirit. When he saw that the enormous orb before him truly shifted about at will with his thoughts, Huo Yuhao finally relaxed slightly and moved the orb back to its original position.

Seeing Huo Yuhao's cautious expression, Qian Daoliu, who had been frightened into breaking out in a cold sweat, calmly wiped away nonexistent sweat from his forehead. "Cautious indeed. Very good. Only by remaining wary of everyone can you go far down this path. Staying silent in your spiritual world these past few days was not my intention. However, as compensation, you may ask whatever you wish to know. This old man will answer all he knows. How does that sound?"

Qian Daoliu's tone was sincere. Not only did he not put on airs as an elder, there was not even the slightest hint of condescension in his voice. In their exchange, Qian Daoliu had clearly placed himself in the lower position. Even if it was merely a show, Huo Yuhao could indeed feel the other party's sincerity.

"Old Man Qian, are you truly human, or...?"

Huo Yuhao immediately asked the first question that concerned him, though he clearly trailed off.

"Hahaha, what you really want to ask is why this old man was able to provide you with a Soul Ring, isn't it?"

Having soothed Huo Yuhao, who might kick him out of the Sea of Spirit at any moment, Qian Daoliu finally relaxed a little. Stroking the illusory beard on his chin with his left hand, he said, "This old man is indeed a genuine human. Back then, I was also the owner of the Holy Angel Martial Soul. The reason I was able to produce a Soul Ring is very simple: we were in the Spirit Realm at the time."

The owner of the Holy Angel Martial Soul?

Huo Yuhao was slightly stunned. He seemed to have heard of this Martial Soul before, but it also seemed somewhat different. According to the rumors he had heard, an owner of an Angel Martial Soul had once appeared on Douluo Continent, but he had never heard of a Holy Angel Martial Soul.

However, what Huo Yuhao cared about most was the latter half of Qian Daoliu's statement. They could produce Soul Rings simply because they were in the Spirit Realm? Why was that?

Perhaps seeing the confusion in Huo Yuhao's heart, Qian Daoliu stroked his beard as he spoke. "Yuhao, do you truly think there is an insurmountable gulf between humans, Soul Beasts, and other animals?"

Huo Yuhao had no opinion to offer on this question and could only continue listening to Qian Daoliu's explanation.

"Da Jiao should have told you before that the Spirit Realm is the final destination of all souls. Unless a God-level expert intervenes and interrupts this process, everyone will eventually meet in this gathering place for wandering souls. Because of this, the distinctions between humans, Soul Beasts, and wild beasts become blurred in the Spirit Realm. Many of the rules of the human world do not entirely apply there."

"That is also why, when this old man's soul completely dispersed in form, it condensed into a Soul Ring with an age of only one hundred and fifty years. The reason is simple: this old man truly only lived to be over one hundred and fifty years old back then. Hahaha."

Qian Daoliu's explanation was plain and simple, yet it brought immense shock to Huo Yuhao's young heart. Other people's Soul Rings all came from Soul Beasts, but his First Soul Ring had been absorbed from an old man over one hundred and fifty years old. And that old man could still chat with him so energetically in his Sea of Spirit.

"Alright, I have a few more questions. For example, why could the Hundred Year Soul Ring produced by Old Man Qian provide me with two Soul Skills? And when I released my Soul Skills, why did my Soul Ring turn golden for an instant?"

Huo Yuhao admitted that the things he had encountered lately had truly shaken him deeply. But the more that was the case, the more he understood that he could not show weakness. So he immediately threw two questions back at Qian Daoliu.