"Understood," Evan Yang replied. The blue soul continued, "Besides, you should be careful. Not all souls are as easy to talk to as I am."
"Oh? So all conscious souls are blue like you?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"Not exactly. The ones with heavy evil thoughts are red, and the deeper the color, the higher their cultivation. Blue is the same—it's for souls with kindness, and the deeper the blue, the stronger they are. So it's common for blue and red souls to fight," the blue soul explained.
After listening to the blue soul, Evan Yang finally understood.
So in the Death Realm, you can tell good from evil just by their color. Evan Yang smiled at the kind blue soul. "Thanks."
"You're welcome. Now, just follow the route I gave you to the city. You'll see all kinds of souls there and learn more, but remember—not to linger too long," the blue soul warned.
After thanking him, Evan Yang followed the route. Along the way, he saw many souls—just as the blue soul said, the blue ones were all friendly, but the red ones were fierce. Some even tried to destroy Evan Yang.
Seeing those aggressive red souls, Evan Yang decided the best move was to run.
About an hour later, Evan Yang arrived at the city the blue soul had mentioned. When he saw it, he was stunned—the city was unlike anything he'd ever seen. Everything was transparent; he had no idea what material it was made from.
Not only that, you could see whatever the souls were doing inside the houses from the street.
Inside this city, all souls were either blue or red; there were no fully transparent souls, since those didn't have consciousness yet.
As soon as Evan Yang arrived, he drew lots of curious looks from the souls—especially the red ones, who eyed him with hatred, while the blue ones showed kindness.
Faced with this situation, Evan Yang naturally sought out a blue soul. He quickly found one and asked, "Excuse me, where can I find a seer?"
"A seer? What do you need him for?" the blue soul asked.
"I want to consult him about something," Evan Yang replied.
"I'll take you there, but I can't guarantee he's around today," said the blue soul.
Evan Yang nodded and walked for a bit, when a group of red souls blocked them. The lead red soul snapped, "Leave this damned human behind."
"Why should we!" The blue soul shielded Evan Yang. Evan Yang felt grateful—he was amazed at how good-hearted some souls were, and how bad-hearted others could be.
"Why? Because we're stronger than you! Move, or we'll teach you a lesson too!" the red soul snorted.
"Looks like you don't get it. Fine, I'll just devour you today," the red soul said greedily, unleashing a unique power against the blue soul.
The blue soul refused to back down, so the two started fighting, while the rest of the souls kept their eyes on Evan Yang.
Other blue souls on the street came out to protect Evan Yang. He never expected that his presence would spark a brawl between the two sides.
The fight quickly grew massive. Evan Yang could hardly believe it—were their usual battles always like this, gangs against gangs? It was wild.
Just then, an angry roar rang out: "Do you all have a death wish?"
At that shout, all the souls stopped and nervously stood aside. Evan Yang saw the owner of the voice step forward.
"Who is that soul?" Evan Yang wondered, noticing this soul was green—and had a halo above his head.
The City Warden snorted, "What are you doing? Are you trying to wreck this city? Unbelievable!"
"City Warden, he wanted to kill this human," the blue soul explained.
The red soul protested, "City Warden, humans should be killed—they don't belong in our realm."
"Maybe you used to be human yourself," the blue soul retorted.
Watching the two argue, the City Warden snorted, "Enough. Stay out of this."
The souls dispersed, and the blue soul glanced at Evan Yang, then reluctantly left.
"You—yeah, I'm talking to you. Stop looking around," the City Warden said to Evan Yang.
"Who are you?" Evan Yang asked, curious about the City Warden—he'd never seen one before.
"I'm the City Warden here. I manage the souls. What are you doing here? This isn't a place for you—go back," the City Warden said.
"Oh, you're the City Warden. I'm here to find a seer. Can you tell me where?" Evan Yang asked.
"A seer? What do you want with him?" the City Warden asked, curious.
"I want to ask him something," Evan Yang said.
"Just tell me what you want to ask. If I know, I'll answer, and then you can leave," the City Warden said.
Evan Yang thought for a moment. "I'm looking for someone."
"Who? What do they look like? Any features?" the City Warden asked.
"I don't know what he looks like, but he's been here for a very long time," Evan Yang replied.
"A long time? Then he's definitely become a decayed corpse—a soul now. You won't find him," the City Warden said.
"Really? He'd definitely turn into a soul?" Evan Yang asked, not convinced.
"That's right. He'd become a soul," the City Warden said.
"But he's really strong!" Evan Yang insisted.
"So what if he's strong? Even the strongest can't escape the laws here! After a month, no matter how powerful, their body is destroyed," the City Warden replied.
"Law? There's actually a rule like that?" Evan Yang muttered.
"Alright, I've told you everything. You can leave now," the City Warden said.
Seeing he couldn't find the person, Evan Yang thought for a moment and asked, "City Warden, have you ever heard of a certain artifact?"
"A certain artifact? What kind?" the City Warden asked, curious.
"The Ember Core," Evan Yang said.
"The Ember Core? Why are you asking about that!" the City Warden exclaimed in shock.
Seeing the reaction, Evan Yang realized the City Warden definitely knew about it. Evan Yang was delighted and pressed, "Where is it?"
"Are you out of your mind? You think you can just ask about that? Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you. Get out—it's not something you should ask about," the City Warden said.
Evan Yang was puzzled—why wouldn't he tell him? Was something wrong? He asked again, "City Warden, just tell me."
"Tell you? Kid, you're courting death. If you die, don't blame me. Even if you find a seer, he wouldn't dare tell you," the City Warden snorted.
Evan Yang was frustrated—why wouldn't they tell him? He'd come here just to find this artifact, and now he found a soul who knew its whereabouts. He couldn't let this opportunity slip.
"City Warden, please just tell me," Evan Yang begged again.
"Alright, I've told you everything. You can leave now," the City Warden said.
After a while, Evan Yang caught up to the City Warden, who was shocked—he thought he was fast, but Evan Yang was even faster. Evan Yang used wind power to boost his speed, making it easy to catch up.
"Please, just tell me," Evan Yang called out from behind.
"I'm not telling you," the City Warden said stubbornly. But Evan Yang wasn't easy to shake off. He kept following, day after day, shadowing the City Warden everywhere. In the meantime, Evan Yang wandered the city and learned about the souls.
Eventually, the City Warden couldn't stand being followed anymore and became the butt of everyone's jokes. He finally said, "Fine, I'll tell you—but not directly. I can give you a method."
"Alright, tell me," Evan Yang replied.
"Head north from here and you'll reach a glowing mountain. Stay on that mountain for a day, and a cloud will drift down. Stand on it, and it'll take you to a mysterious place. There, you'll find souls strong enough to answer your questions—they have the right to tell you. But here's my advice: that place is dangerous, way beyond the little scuffles here," the City Warden warned.
Evan Yang smiled, "Thanks. I'll be careful."
"That's up to you. It's not that I don't want to tell you—there are rules. We souls aren't allowed to speak about it. If we're caught, our souls will be destroyed for good," the City Warden explained.
Evan Yang nodded, then headed north. Soon, he saw a glowing mountain in the distance.
The mountain was covered in a golden glow, as if made of light. Evan Yang climbed up and waited for a day.
On the second day, a cloud floated down from above. Evan Yang stepped onto it, and the cloud lifted him up, flying swiftly toward a mysterious, unknown place.
He didn't know how long he traveled, but eventually the cloud stopped. When Evan Yang looked around, he was stunned—he'd arrived at a city of souls, but this one was completely different from the last.
Here, the souls were all tall, with fierce faces and terrifying auras. Evan Yang felt a chill down his spine.
He walked into the city, drawing the attention of every soul. Evan Yang realized this place was far more dangerous than the last city.
But he had no choice—he had to find the Ember Core. Gritting his teeth, Evan Yang pressed on.
The souls here eyed him with hostility, and some even licked their lips, as if they wanted to eat him.
Evan Yang took a deep breath and moved forward, determined to find the answer.