Gu Qingfeng had seen many people in his lifetime, especially Immortals—more than he could count. But when it came to those who truly deserved the description 'possessing the grace and bearing of an Immortal,' he had genuinely never met one. At the very least, he believed that many so-called famous figures of the Immortal Dao fell far short of that ideal.
This time, however, in the illusory spiritual space of the Desolate Ancient Ruins, the mysterious old man who had abruptly appeared gave him precisely that first impression: the very essence of 'possessing the grace and bearing of an Immortal.' This held true even though he clearly knew the other was merely a wisp of residual consciousness, a spiritual manifestation.
Recalling the mysterious old man's earlier words, Gu Qingfeng asked, "How did you know I would come?"
"When you entered from the outside, this old man knew you would inevitably arrive here."
"What do you mean by 'the outside'?"
"Why, the Desolate Ancient Black Hole, of course."
"And what is 'here'?"
"Here? This can be considered a spiritual illusion within the Desolate Ancient Ruins."
"Then what exactly are the Desolate Ancient Ruins?"
The white-haired old man smiled faintly and responded casually, "The Desolate Ancient Ruins are, naturally, the Desolate Ancient Ruins."
"You knew from the day I entered from the Desolate Ancient Black Hole?"
"Yes."
"In other words, you also know everything that has happened since I've been trapped in these Desolate Ancient Ruins?"
"Correct."
Gu Qingfeng fell into contemplation. He didn't know who this mysterious old man was, nor what his intentions might be. After a moment, he asked again, "And who are you?"
"This old man's Dao title is Feng Zhu."
After introducing himself, the mysterious old man inquired, "Might I ask how you are addressed, young friend?"
The Dao title 'Feng Zhu' was unfamiliar to Gu Qingfeng; he had no impression of it. He replied, "My surname is Gu, given name Qingfeng."
"So it is Young Friend Qingfeng. A pleasure to meet you."
"Might I ask why Old Senior Feng Zhu remains here? Could it be that you are also trapped here?"
"Heh, trapped here?" The mysterious old man who called himself Feng Zhu shook his head slightly. "No! This old man is not."
"Then you are..."
"This old man has been here for a very, very long time already..."
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng's heart stirred. He probed, "Are you a senior from the Desolate Ancient Era?"
Feng Zhu placed one hand behind his back while stroking the white beard on his chin with the other. He gazed at Gu Qingfeng with a faint smile. Though he did not respond verbally, his silence, in a sense, was already an admission.
Incredible!
Gu Qingfeng truly hadn't expected to encounter a senior expert from the Desolate Ancient Era within these Desolate Ancient Ruins. Even though this senior was merely a wisp of spiritual manifestation, it was enough to fill him with profound shock.
One must understand that a spiritual manifestation is also a type of residual consciousness.
What is residual consciousness? It refers to a spiritual sense that has lost its soul.
Once a spiritual sense loses its soul, it is equivalent to losing its life essence. Even if it retains self-awareness, it becomes extremely fragile. Not to mention being discovered and refined by cultivators, even surviving in the natural world is exceedingly difficult. Turning to dust and ashes is merely a matter of time.
Yet this Old Senior Feng Zhu had persisted from the beginning of the Desolate Ancient Era all the way to the present, ten thousand years into the Modern Era—relying on nothing but a wisp of residual consciousness!
This spanned an incredibly vast stretch of time, and in this godforsaken Desolate Ancient Ruins, no less.
Take that Ancestor Lin Chi from Dan Ding Valley from before; he was a complete, whole person who had plundered countless resources, yet he had only barely managed to endure from the Ancient Era until now.
But Old Senior Feng Zhu had persisted from the Desolate Ancient Era until the present with just a wisp of residual consciousness. It was truly unimaginable how profound and unfathomable his cultivation must have been in life. Even if he wasn't a fallen Great Dao Progenitor, he couldn't have been far from it.
"I imagine Young Friend Qingfeng must have many doubts in his heart. Why don't the two of us sit here, enjoy some wine, and chat leisurely?"
As he spoke, Old Senior Feng Zhu gave a slight wave of his hand. Immediately, a round stone table and two stone stools appeared before him. On the table sat a white jade bottle and two white jade wine cups. He said, "This old man noticed that ever since you entered from the outside, young friend, you've never been without wine in hand. It seems you must be quite the connoisseur. Coincidentally, this old man has some fine wine stored away here. Might you be interested in sampling it?"
Under ordinary circumstances, upon hearing there was fine wine, Gu Qingfeng would have sat down without a second thought.
But that was only under ordinary circumstances.
After all, he was currently trapped in these mysterious and bizarre Desolate Ancient Ruins. Moreover, he didn't know what scheme Old Senior Feng Zhu might be brewing or what his intentions were. He also wasn't clear whether everything he had experienced within the ruins was connected to this old man.
No matter how bold Gu Qingfeng was, facing a residual consciousness that had survived from the Desolate Ancient Era to the present, he couldn't help but be cautious.
However...
Looking at the exquisitely crafted wine bottle on the stone table, Gu Qingfeng genuinely felt the urge to go over and sit down.
It wasn't because he was craving a drink. Rather, after drinking fine wine for so many years, he had sampled almost every variety from across the heavens and earth, the myriad realms, past and present. There was only one type of wine he had heard of but never had the chance to taste.
That was Spiritual Wine for the Mind's Consciousness.
So-called Spiritual Wine for the Mind's Consciousness is wine meant for the spiritual sense—a type of spiritual wine, also known as dream wine.
The current Desolate Ancient Ruins were a spiritual world. Old Senior Feng Zhu was a wisp of residual consciousness. Gu Qingfeng's physical body was meditating within the real Desolate Ancient Ruins; the him here was a wisp of spiritual consciousness, as if in a dream.
Therefore, there was no doubt that the white jade bottle on the stone table absolutely contained Spiritual Wine for the Mind's Consciousness.
"Heh, Young Friend Qingfeng, surely you don't fear that an old fellow like me, who has already died and is nothing but a wisp of residual consciousness, would harm you?"
"Fear isn't the issue. It's just that when facing an unfathomable existence like yourself, I have to keep my wits about me and be a bit more cautious."
Gu Qingfeng was neither modest nor arrogant; he simply spoke the truth. "After all, as the old saying goes, 'a starved camel is still bigger than a horse.' Leaving aside whether you, venerable elder, have truly died or not, even if you are truly dead, with a wisp of residual consciousness that has survived from the Desolate Ancient Era until now, I cannot afford to be careless."
"Those words sound rather crude at first hearing, but upon closer consideration, they are not without reason."
"Of course."
Then, shifting his tone, Gu Qingfeng walked over and directly sat on the stone stool. "As for this wine... it should still be drunk."
"Ha!"
Old Senior Feng Zhu shook his head and chuckled wryly. "It seems this old man guessed correctly. Young Friend Qingfeng truly is a connoisseur of fine wine."
"No joy without wine, as you said—wine never leaves my mouth. Rather than calling me a connoisseur, it would be more accurate to say I'm a slave to drink."
"Heh."
Old Senior Feng Zhu smiled faintly and picked up the exquisite white jade bottle to pour a cup of wine for Gu Qingfeng.
"Is this Spiritual Wine for the Mind's Consciousness?"
"An old remnant consciousness like me can only savor Spiritual Wine for the Mind's Consciousness now."
"In all my years, I've never tasted this stuff."
"Oh? Does no one in the Great Desolate of the Modern Era brew Spiritual Wine for the Mind's Consciousness?"
"Not to my knowledge. I've heard this stuff has long been lost to time."
"In that case, today Young Friend Qingfeng can savor it to his heart's content."
Gu Qingfeng didn't stand on ceremony. He picked up the wine cup, tilted his head back, and downed the entire cup of Spiritual Wine for the Mind's Consciousness in one go.