Finally, they stopped among a cluster of rocks. The figures hovered atop the stones, staring fearfully at Evan Yang behind them.
"Who are you, really?" Evan Yang realized these shadows weren't people at all—more like soul bodies.
At this moment, the figures floated there like ghostly, unreal humans.
Seeing the figures acting like the dead, Evan Yang asked again, "If you don't speak, I'll use fire!" Knowing they feared his fire, Evan shouted loudly.
"I'll talk," one of the figures replied, stammering like a child learning to speak.
"I really thought you were actual ghosts!" Evan Yang laughed once he saw they could speak.
The figure who spoke pleaded again, "Please spare us."
"Then tell me—what are you, and why are you lingering here?" Evan Yang looked closely and saw three transparent, phantom-like figures. One was smaller, standing behind the speaking one.
The phantom stammered, "The three of us are aggregated souls, formed from countless spirits of the dead combined together. Who knows how many years it took for us to become what we are now."
"Aggregated souls?" Evan Yang had never heard of such a thing before.
"I'm First Soul, that's Second Soul, and she's Third Soul," the phantom explained, introducing each one to Evan Yang.
"First Soul? Second Soul? Third Soul?" Evan Yang realized all three soul bodies had cultivation at the Foundation-Building stage.
"Yes," all three nodded in unison.
Evan Yang still didn’t fully understand the concept of soul bodies, so he questioned them one by one. Eventually, he figured out the truth behind their origins.
Over hundreds of thousands of years, many cultivators died here. Some left unconscious soul fragments behind, which eventually merged into three wandering soul bodies without hosts. Since their strength wasn't great, they hid deep in the gorge for years, only daring to venture out recently as more cultivators appeared.
"Are you naturally formed souls? Do you have any memories?" Evan asked curiously.
All three shook their heads. They had no memories from the original souls that formed them.
"No wonder the villagers said they saw ghosts—it must have been you," Evan finally understood, though he remained fascinated by the three soul bodies.
Evan asked another question, "Then how did you cultivate your power?"
"What cultivation?" The three soul bodies shook their heads, confused by the term.
For these three soul bodies, who acted like infants, Evan Yang had no choice but to patiently explain the concept of cultivation. Once he finished, they finally understood, and their learning was surprisingly quick.
"We gain strength by absorbing this," First Soul said, trusting Evan Yang and leading him to a cave behind a cluster of rocks.
Following the soul trio down the tunnel, Evan discovered a small Spirit Crystal Ore vein below. Scattered around were piles of strange powder.
"You absorb these?" Evan asked in surprise.
The three soul bodies nodded. First Soul added, "After we eat these, we feel stronger."
"So they treat Spirit Crystal Ore as their source of power," Evan thought to himself.
"These taste great!" Third Soul, the girl, picked up a small piece of Spirit Crystal Ore and tapped it. Instantly, it crumbled into powder before Evan's eyes.
Seeing the thick layer of powder underfoot, Evan finally understood where it came from—Spirit Crystal Ore drained of spiritual energy, reduced to useless dust.
"How long have you lived here?" Evan asked curiously.
"We don’t know. It’s been many years—eating and sleeping. Only recently did we start exploring outside," First Soul replied, as if recalling something.
"Hundreds of thousands of years of accumulated souls... That’s terrifying," Evan thought, shuddering at their origins.
"Can you take us out of here?" Third Soul’s words pulled Evan back to reality.
"Take you out?" Evan was startled. If three soul bodies left, they’d terrify mortals, and cultivators would surely try to capture and study them.
"Yes, we really want to leave this place," Third Soul pleaded. The other two soul bodies saw her eagerness and looked at Evan hopefully.
"Can’t you leave on your own?" Evan wondered what would happen to them and was curious why they couldn’t escape by themselves.
"If we could, we’d have left already. When we go too far, it’s like something keeps us trapped here," First Soul explained, still stumbling over his words.
"Trapped here?" Evan wondered if the mysterious spatial pressure outside was the cause. Anything floating was pulled back, and these soul bodies naturally hovered, making escape impossible.
First Soul thought Evan didn’t understand, so he explained their predicament again. All three looked at Evan with pleading eyes, hoping he would help them leave.
"Are you sure you want to leave?" Evan asked again, uncertain whether these souls had existed for tens or hundreds of thousands of years.
The three soul bodies nodded in perfect unison.
"But how am I supposed to take you with me like this?" Evan looked at the three floating soul bodies, unsure how to bring them out.
The three soul bodies glanced at themselves, thinking their appearance would frighten others. In tacit agreement, each found a small piece of Spirit Crystal Ore and merged into it, vanishing from Evan's sight.
Evan was curious where they'd gone, when the three pieces of Spirit Crystal Ore began to speak.
"You're inside the stones?" Evan exclaimed in shock.
"Yes, we can reside in these stones. You just need to carry us," First Soul replied. The other two soul bodies chimed in, pleading as well.
So the three soul bodies could use Spirit Crystal Ore as hosts. Evan was impressed and, seeing they meant no harm, agreed to fulfill their wish and take them out of this strange place.
Hearing Evan’s words, the three soul bodies were overjoyed and extremely grateful. First Soul even said, "Why don’t we just follow you from now on?"
"Follow me?" Evan was dumbfounded. If three soul bodies followed him around and were discovered, people would think he was a monster.
Third Soul, excited, added, "Yeah! We don’t know anything about the outside world. You’re so powerful—it’ll be fun to follow you!"
"Fun? You’re not just following me to play around, are you?" Evan felt a chill at the thought, but instead said, "Fine, but you have to listen to me."
"We’ll do whatever you say," the three soul bodies replied in unison.
Satisfied, Evan picked up the three pieces of Spirit Crystal Ore and put them in his cloth bag. Seeing only a little ore left, he reluctantly gathered some for future use.
After collecting the ore, Evan left the tunnel and walked out of the gorge. Looking back at the quiet canyon and thinking of the three soul bodies in his bag, he sighed, "Once we leave the Death Crystal Field, I’ll let you out again."
A strange, haunted gorge turned out to be the result of the soul bodies’ mischief. Now, under Evan’s guidance, the three decided to follow him out into the world.
With no more soul-body pranks, Evan made his way smoothly through the gorge. By the next day, he emerged at a riverside.
"This river is controlled by the major clans and sects. Better to avoid it," Evan thought, deciding to cross and leave the area.
Following the village chief’s directions and the map he’d purchased, Evan walked for most of the day before finally seeing a vast mine glowing faint green in the distance.
"Could that be the Death Crystal Field?" Evan exclaimed, staring at the endless mountain range.
In the sunlight, gases from the mine created a pale green glow that covered the whole area.
Upon arriving, Evan took out Jade Rabbit.
"We’re at the outskirts now. Up ahead is the Death Crystal Field," Evan said, holding Jade Rabbit and pointing to the glowing mine.
"Big brother, there must be so many treasures inside!" Jade Rabbit’s eyes sparkled as it gazed at the mine.
"No, we can’t go in there. Let’s stay on the outskirts," Evan said firmly.
Jade Rabbit knew the place was dangerous, but still wanted to go. It finally said, "Let’s look around nearby instead."
"We’re close to the Death Crystal Field, and there may be clan members nearby. Let’s be careful," Evan said, noticing Spirit Crystal Ore on some rocks.
Just as Evan finished speaking, he sensed a group of people by the river nearby.
Curious, Evan looked over and saw several disheveled men running, chased and tormented by cultivators.
The lead cultivator sneered, "Run! Run!" as three others chased the men, laughing and slowing down to torment them.
Terrified, the men ran along the river. If anyone slowed, a cultivator would mercilessly kill them and toss the body aside.
The fleeing group grew smaller until only two remained: a small boy and an adult man. Unable to bear it anymore, the man stopped and shielded the child, shouting, "We gave you everything—why must you kill my family?"
The lead cultivator grabbed the man and smiled at the two, "You know too much. For the Wong Clan’s future, you must die."
"We’ve worked for the Wong Clan for years—please spare us!" The man’s eyes were bloodshot, but for his child’s sake, he pleaded humbly.