Chapter 288: Chapter 288: Mysterious Temple (8)

“…A soul?” Li Feng murmured as he blinked and stared at the thing in his hand.

The old man also looked equally shocked for some reason.

His cloudy eyes widened as he stared at Li Feng.

“Ehh?? A human??”

His old voice was full of disbelief as if the very sight of Li Feng was something impossible.

For a brief moment, both of them simply stared at each other.

Then the old man suddenly began struggling.

“W-Wait! Let go of this old man!”

His translucent body flickered violently as he tried to escape Li Feng’s grip but Li Feng’s spiritual qi wrapped around him like invisible chains.

No matter how much the old soul struggled, he couldn’t move even an inch.

Li Feng raised an eyebrow.

“You were the one sneaking around.”

The old man froze.

“… Sneaking?”

His expression quickly turned awkward.

“I was not sneaking! I was merely observing!”

Li Feng didn’t look convinced.

“Observing? Why do you—”

Just then, hurried footsteps echoed from behind him as the others finally arrived.

Shui Ruo rushed forward first, slightly out of breath.

“What happened?! You suddenly—”

Her words stopped the moment she saw the translucent figure floating in Li Feng’s hand.

Her eyes widened dramatically as she jumped back defensively.

“…A ghost?!”

The old man immediately looked offended.

“I am not a ghost!”

Yue Lan’s golden eye glowed faintly as she examined the old man.

“…Not a ghost,” she said calmly. “it should be a remnant soul.”

Liu Yanyue and Jian Ruyi both stared at the figure carefully, their expressions turning serious.

…They knew that only someone at the Nascent Soul Realm could have their soul linger after death and even have a chance of rebirth if given a new body.

But judging by the age of this ancient place and the secret realm itself… for this soul to have lingered here for so long meant he was likely… someone far above the Nascent Soul Realm.

They couldn’t help but feel a faint pressure, knowing that this rough-looking old man was stronger than even the strongest they knew.

Yue Lan then interrupted their thoughts. “But his soul is extremely weak.”

Liu Yanyue and Jian Ruyi blinked and turned to look again and as expected,

Up close, everyone could see that the old man’s soul looked unstable.

Parts of his body were already fading away like smoke in the wind.

It was clear he had existed like this for a very long time and they could sense that he was extremely weak at the moment.

Li Feng studied him carefully.

“So.”

He relaxed his tightened grip slightly, feeling that this old man wasn’t hostile.

“Who are you?”

The old man didn’t reply; instead, he slowly studied Li Feng, as if evaluating him.

’What kind of strength is this? Is this guy really at the Qi Refinement… hmm? A special physique I couldn’t recognize? This… could it be that the new generation is really this exaggerated?’

The old man sighed heavily, wondering what the world had become to produce a youth like this.

But he couldn’t help but smiling faintly as well.

’If such a terrifying youth existed in the present time…Then perhaps their lord plan had truly worked.’

Otherwise, there was no way that thing would have allowed someone like this to grow.

“Youth nowadays have no respect for the elderly at all.”

His tone carried a hint of helpless amusement.

After all, he never imagined that one day it would be his turn to become a wandering soul, lingering inside an ancient ruin.

Li Feng, meanwhile, couldn’t help but notice the others serious expression as they stared at the old man.

’Hmm? Is this old man some big shot or something?’

He looked curiously at the soul in his hand, feeling no hint of threat at all.

In fact, he could probably crush it easily but of course, he wouldn’t.

After all, this might be a chance to learn something about this place…. or perhaps an opportunity to finally gain something.

At that thought, Li Feng couldn’t help but smile kindly.

“Senior, could you tell us more about this place?”

“Oi… stop with that smile. It’s scary.”

The old man shuddered slightly as he looked at Li Feng’s overly kind expression.

Li Feng’s smile froze for a second.

Behind him, Shui Ruo covered her mouth, trying very hard not to laugh.

Even Liu Yanyue’s lips twitched slightly.

Li Feng coughed lightly and returned to a more normal expression.

“Ahem. Senior must be joking.”

The old man snorted. “I’ve lived long enough to know when a little fox is plotting something.”

His cloudy eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at Li Feng.

” And that look on your face clearly says you’re thinking about nothing but benefits.”

At his words, Li Feng didn’t even bother denying it.

Instead, he just shrugged casually.

“Senior has sharp eyes. If there are benefits, I naturally wouldn’t refuse them.”

The old man stared at him for a moment… then suddenly burst out laughing.

“Hahaha!”

His translucent body flickered slightly from the movement.

“Good! Very good! At least you’re honest about it.”

Most cultivators would have pretend to be humble in front of a powerful cultivator like him.

But this boy didn’t even try.

That shamelessness strangely made the old man feel more comfortable.

After laughing for a while, the old man slowly calmed down.

He glanced around then looked back at Li Feng.

“So you want to know about this place?”

Li Feng nodded.

The old man sighed softly.

He turned his gaze toward the tunnel they had just come from.

“You must have saw the statue, didn’t you?”

Li Feng nodded slightly. “The one with the sword.”

The old man smiled.

“That’s him. The greatest genius of our Great World and also the lord I serve… he is the Lord of Azure Heaven.”

Li Feng and the others remained silent, already having somewhat guessed this much, letting the old man continue.

“This place was once a sanctuary… and also a fortress… a temple…”

Then his words paused slightly.

“…and eventually a prison.”

Hearing those words, Li Feng’s eyes narrowed.

“Prison?”

Slowly, everything he had seen in this place began to make sense, and Li Feng couldn’t help but click his tongue.

He had long heard of the so-called ’lucky encounters,’ where people accidentally stumbled into ancient places and found fruitful opportunities… but he never expected to end up inside a prison.

No wonder he hadn’t seen anything valuable anywhere in this place.

But Li Feng couldn’t help but frown.

’Strange…’

If it was a prison… then where were the prisoners?

Seeing Li Feng’s expression, the old man slowly nodded, already guessing his doubt.

“Yes… a prison. But it wasn’t for ordinary prisoners…. it was for something that should never have existed.”

Then a nostalgic look appeared on his face as he continue with a proud smile.

“And I am a warden, appointed by the Lord of Azure Heaven himself to watch over this place.”

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