"We're definitely taking a huge risk by entering this black sea, but now that we're here, we can only play it by ear."
Hun Lao also let out a sigh as he spoke.
And so, the small white boat sailed forward through the vast, dark expanse of the black ocean.
"Look! There seems to be an island up ahead," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm suddenly cried out, pointing towards a spot in the distance.
Ye Yunfei's gaze followed, and sure enough, he saw an island suddenly appear amidst the boundless black ocean ahead. The island was covered in all sorts of green plants, and at first glance, the scenery appeared quite beautiful. Moments later, the small boat reached the area where the island was located.
The island wasn't very large. Green trees provided shade, creepers wound their way around, and flowers bloomed everywhere. What was even more surprising was that many small birds flitted about, chirping merrily. Ye Yunfei even saw a few small white rabbits hopping around as if searching for food.
"Why would such an island appear here?"
Ye Yunfei and the others, standing on the small white boat, looked at the distant green island brimming with life and couldn't help but feel astonished.
Ever since entering the Reincarnation Passage and journeying all the way into this Reincarnation Cave, everything they had seen was strange and filled with an aura of death—bleak, desolate, and abandoned was the norm. Now, such a vibrant, lively island suddenly appeared, making it almost unbelievable.
"Let's go take a look," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm suggested.
"I'll try."
Ye Yunfei took out a Perfected Demigod-level artifact and, using his skills, transformed it into the shape of an oar. He then dipped it into the black seawater, intending to row the white boat towards the green island. However, as soon as his Perfected Demigod-level artifact touched the inky black water below, the energy contained within began to rapidly drain away, seemingly sucked out by the dark seawater.
Startled, Ye Yunfei immediately pulled the artifact from the water, only to find that it was almost half destroyed.
"This seawater is too terrifying!"
Ye Yunfei's expression turned grim.
Next, Ye Yunfei exerted his own energy onto the white boat beneath his feet, hoping to steer the boat towards the island. But to his disappointment, the white boat remained completely unaffected and continued sailing straight ahead in its original direction.
"Let me try," Hun Lao offered.
He then deployed a profound spatial secret art of his race, releasing a large amount of spatial energy in an attempt to guide the white boat towards the nearby green island. Still, the white boat remained unmoved.
Following that, the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm also tried to steer the boat towards the island, but likewise failed.
Finally, Ye Yunfei, Hun Lao, the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, Hu Miao, and even Huang Shang all joined in, attempting to use their energy to forcibly control the white boat's course towards the island. Yet, it was to no avail.
The white boat continued on its own predetermined path, eventually sailing past the waters near the island, leaving it behind.
"This is terrible. We truly can't control this boat; we can only let it carry us forward," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm couldn't help but groan miserably. "The biggest problem now is, will it even take us back later? If it doesn't bring us back when the time comes, will we be trapped here forever?"
Ye Yunfei's expression was also somewhat grim, but since they were already here, he had no choice but to brace himself and proceed step by step.
Not long after, another island appeared in the misty black ocean ahead, similar to the previous one. It was also covered in all sorts of green vegetation, with beautiful scenery. There were even some gentle, adorable little creatures moving about, creating an atmosphere of peace and tranquility.
Subsequently, more and more islands appeared in the black ocean ahead, scattered across the vast, dark expanse like green dots sprinkled across a massive black cloth.
"Look! There seems to be a figure moving on that island. Could there be someone living there?"
Just as the white boat was passing by one of the green islands, the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm suddenly cried out in surprise, pointing at the island.
Ye Yunfei immediately looked in the direction indicated and, upon careful observation, indeed saw a moving figure on the island.
Since entering this black sea, Ye Yunfei had discovered that his Soul Force Energy and heart energy could perceive things only within an extremely narrow range—not even a hundred meters. It seemed there was a terrifying restriction within this sea that limited Soul Power perception.
"That's not a living being, but a lingering soul—a Soul Body. However, judging by its appearance, it shouldn't possess much consciousness, as its movements are very slow and rigid," Hun Lao spoke up at this moment.
"Couldn't it mostly be a spatial projection recorded there? This Reincarnation Cave has been abandoned for a very long time; how could there still be real lingering souls here?" the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm said.
"I sense that this lingering soul is not a spatial projection but exists in reality, because I feel a thick Soul Body energy. Try sensing it carefully," Hun Lao said.
"What? There's actually a real lingering soul here? How is that possible?" The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm was somewhat surprised by Hun Lao's words, though he knew Hun Lao's spatial perception abilities were, in fact, a bit stronger than his own.
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm immediately released streams of golden spatial runes that spread towards the distant green island.
Ye Yunfei also employed his Soul Force Energy and heart energy to perceive the figure on the island, simultaneously using the Chaos Heavenly Secrets Art to conduct deductions.
"It really doesn't seem to be a spatial projection. Could there truly be a lingering soul there?" Ye Yunfei exclaimed in astonishment after a moment, because the deductions suggested the figure really was a lingering soul.
"Correct, I also detected that it should be a genuine lingering soul. We ghost cultivators are more sensitive to them because lingering souls are fundamentally somewhat similar to us—they belong to the class of dark, yin-type existences," Huang Shang suddenly interjected.
Huang Shang's perception abilities were much weaker than those of Ye Yunfei, Hun Lao, and the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm, but as a Ghost Cultivator, he was more sensitive to lingering souls and could discern that the figure on the island was a real lingering soul and not a projection.
"This Reincarnation Cave has been abandoned for so long; how can there still be a lingering soul lingering here?" Ye Yunfei stared at the slowly moving lingering soul on the island, feeling both shocked and puzzled. He wanted very much to go over and take a look, but the small white boat simply wouldn't obey his commands and soon left that green island behind as well.
After that, they encountered more and more islands. These islands were all similar—shady green trees, flowers everywhere, birds chirping happily, and all sorts of small creatures moving about.
During this process, Ye Yunfei tried many more times, but he still couldn't make the white boat approach any of the green islands.
And so, the white boat continued sailing into the depths of the ocean, with no telling how far they had traveled.
The number of green islands they encountered along the way was considerable. Ye Yunfei roughly estimated that he had seen at least over five to six hundred of them.
"Where in the world is this boat taking us?"
The Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm looked at the boundless black sea around them, feeling a bit of a headache coming on.
"Don't be impatient. Since we've already come here, impatience won't help us," Ye Yunfei said reassuringly.
Another green island appeared ahead. Ye Yunfei glanced at it and found it similar to the ones encountered before, so he didn't pay it much mind—after all, they couldn't land on it.
However, at that very moment, the white boat beneath Ye Yunfei's feet suddenly trembled slightly and then changed its direction of travel.
The bow turned, now pointing directly towards that island. This sudden change shocked Ye Yunfei.
"What's going on? The white boat seems to be heading for that island ahead. Could this be its intended destination? With so many islands before, it wouldn't stop. Why choose this specific island? Is there something special here?" the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm exclaimed in surprise.
"Regardless, this black sea is full of strangeness, and these islands are equally bizarre. We must be cautious in everything we do," Hun Lao reminded everyone via voice transmission.
At that moment, the white boat sailed swiftly towards the island, getting closer and closer.
"I sense a force pulling the boat towards that island," Hun Lao suddenly spoke up.
"Right! There's indeed a powerful pulling force controlling this white boat, dragging it towards the island," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm also cried out.
"Look! There are actually two figures standing at a high point on the island, looking out at us. There might be two lingering souls on this island," Huang Shang suddenly said.
By now, the white boat was much closer to the island ahead, so they could see more clearly.
"Correct, I see them too. There are two figures. They look like they might be two females," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm pointed at a spot on the island and shouted.
By this time, Ye Yunfei had also seen the highest point on the island, where indeed, beneath a dense tree, stood two figures gazing out towards the white boat.
"It seems we are about to interact with those two lingering souls. They say lingering souls are quite strange and unpredictable; I wonder if there's any danger," Hun Lao couldn't help but say with a wry smile.
"We're about to dock!" the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm shouted.
Hardly had his words finished when the small white boat suddenly shook violently. A sound of collision was heard, and then the white boat stopped, having arrived at the shore of the island.
On the island's shore was a small, dilapidated dock. The white boat neatly berthed within it, and then, automatically, a pitch-black rope was thrown out from the boat, securing itself to a wooden post on the shore.
"We've made landfall," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm said, looking around the island with a vigilant gaze. When they were far away, the island seemed very small, but now that they were here, they found its area wasn't as small as imagined. Tall trees, shady groves, lush green grass, swaying flowers, and the faint fragrance of blossoms drifted towards them.
Ye Yunfei's eyes looked towards the highest point of the island and found that the two figures from before were now gone.
"Let's go ashore and have a look," Ye Yunfei said after thinking for a moment. The white boat had automatically docked and tied itself to the post; in this situation, they had no choice but to disembark.
Thus, Ye Yunfei leaped lightly, leaving the white boat and stepping onto the island. The shore was soft, sandy beach, making a rustling sound underfoot.
"Let's go directly to find those two lingering souls," Ye Yunfei thought for a moment, then began walking towards the island's highest point.
"But I felt that those two lingering souls earlier seemed to possess consciousness. They were looking at us as if watching. If they were unconscious lingering souls, why would they actively look at us?" Hun Lao suddenly remarked.
Hearing this, Ye Yunfei paused his steps.
"Right. The actions of those two lingering souls did indeed seem like they possessed consciousness," Ye Yunfei couldn't help but frown.
According to legends, when lingering souls enter the Reincarnation Passage, their memories and consciousness from life are washed away. Therefore, lingering souls generally do not possess consciousness.
"This is too strange," Huang Shang said.
"Could it be that those two weren't lingering souls, but instead, like us, are two living beings who barged in here?" the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm speculated.
"No, I feel that those two are indeed lingering souls because I sensed their lingering soul aura," Huang Shang affirmed.
"That's interesting, then. It seems we've encountered lingering souls with consciousness. But if they retain their life's consciousness and memories, can they still be called lingering souls?" Hun Lao said.
"Alright, no need to guess. We'll understand what's going on when we see them. Since we've come here, we definitely can't avoid contacting them," Ye Yunfei said, striding forward towards the island's highest point.
At the same time, in an empty, open space at the central area of the island, voices sounded.
"Miss, we weren't mistaken. There really is a Spirit Ferry, and that ferry actually came to our Soul Island."
A woman's voice spoke, sounding quite astonished.
"I saw. But something seems a bit off. The beings aboard that Spirit Ferry... aren't lingering souls, but a living creature! How is that possible? How could a living creature come here? Has something gone wrong with the Reincarnation Passage?"
Another woman's voice, filled with puzzlement, answered.