The Spiritual Wine for the Mind's Consciousness was completely different from what Gu Qingfeng had imagined.
He had thought that the legendary Spiritual Wine for the Mind's Consciousness should be similar to fine wine in reality. It didn't need to have an intoxicating aroma or offer a refreshingly smooth experience, but at the very least, one should feel something after drinking a cup.
Yet this cup of Spiritual Wine for the Mind's Consciousness had no wine fragrance at all. After drinking it down, there was no sensation upon entering his mouth—it was like drinking plain water, without even a hint of saltiness or blandness. As for any feeling, there was simply none to speak of. Drinking plain water could at least quench thirst, but after drinking this stuff, it was as if he hadn't drunk anything at all.
Fine wine in reality, after being consumed, would more or less have some wondrous effect on the physical body. Some could nourish essence, return to the origin, transform spiritual energy, and so on. After drinking the Spiritual Wine for the Mind's Consciousness, Gu Qingfeng specifically tried to sense any changes, but his spiritual consciousness showed no alteration whatsoever.
Fine wine, after all.
One either seeks a bout of drunkenness.
Or seeks some wondrous effect.
Or seeks a particular sensation.
One must be seeking something, right?
Otherwise, why drink wine?
Looking at the Spiritual Wine for the Mind's Consciousness, it had no wondrous effects, no particular sensation, not even a damn mouthfeel. It could be said it lacked everything. Gu Qingfeng truly didn't understand the point of drinking this stuff.
"How is it?"
Old Senior Feng Zhu sat upright, gently picked up a cup of Spiritual Wine for the Mind's Consciousness, took a sip, and looked at Gu Qingfeng with a smile, asking, "Young Friend Qingfeng, how do you find this Spiritual Wine for the Mind's Consciousness?"
"Perhaps because it's my first time drinking it,"
Gu Qingfeng shook his head and said, "I don't feel anything particularly special."
Old Senior Feng Zhu smiled faintly and said, "Young Friend Qingfeng, you're not still using the method of tasting ordinary fine wine to taste this Spiritual Wine for the Mind's Consciousness, are you?"
"How else should I taste it?"
"Is there some particular way to drinking this Spiritual Wine for the Mind's Consciousness?"
"Particular way isn't quite the word, it's just...
Spiritual Wine for the Mind's Consciousness, as the name implies, naturally requires using one's consciousness to perceive it, only then can one savor the wonder of the Spiritual Wine for the Mind's Consciousness."
"I still need to use my consciousness to perceive it?"
Gu Qingfeng carefully focused his senses, yet still didn't perceive anything particularly special. But after a short while, a vague, indescribable feeling soon emerged, like soaking in a hot spring after a tiring day's work—it felt extremely comfortable.
Focusing more carefully, his consciousness actually felt refreshed and invigorated.
All of this was like a dream, wonderfully indescribable.
"So that's how it is."
Gu Qingfeng laughed with pleasant surprise, "This Spiritual Wine for the Mind's Consciousness truly has a unique flavor. That ethereal, dreamlike, half-real, half-illusory feeling is quite excellent. Moreover, it seems to have a nurturing effect on consciousness as well."
"That is only natural. To be honest with Young Friend Qingfeng, this old one's wisp of remnant consciousness has been able to persist until now largely thanks to this Spiritual Wine for the Mind's Consciousness."
"Really?"
"It seems it really is a good thing."
Clearly, Gu Qingfeng was somewhat skeptical about the exaggeration in Old Senior Feng Zhu's statement.
No matter how miraculous the Spiritual Wine for the Mind's Consciousness was, in the end, it was still just Spiritual Wine for the Mind's Consciousness. Even if it could nurture remnant consciousness, Old Senior Feng Zhu couldn't possibly rely solely on it to maintain himself. Perhaps this old man's wisp of remnant consciousness was itself unimaginably powerful.
Gu Qingfeng didn't dwell on this issue, nor did he inquire further. He raised his cup, first toasting Old Senior Feng Zhu with a drink, then asked, "Old Senior, why have you stayed here for so long? Is it that you cannot leave, or that you do not wish to leave?"
"Judging by your demeanor, you don't seem like someone who cannot leave."
"This old one is here waiting for someone."
"Waiting for someone?"
Gu Qingfeng asked, "Who?"
"A destined person."
"May I ask if Old Senior has already encountered the destined person you've been waiting for?"
"Since the end of the Desolate Ancient Era, this old one has been waiting here. Through the Great Antiquity, the Remote Antiquity, the High Antiquity, all the way to the present ten thousand years of the Modern Antiquity, this old one has finally waited for the destined person I've been anticipating."
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng murmured Old Senior Feng Zhu's words, especially the phrase 'the present,' which caused his heart to jolt. He said, "Old Senior, the destined person you've been waiting for... couldn't it be me, could it?"
"It is, and yet it is not."
Old Senior Feng Zhu's words left Gu Qingfeng somewhat confused. He asked, "What do you mean?"
"This old one is here solely to wait for a destined person, not specifically to wait for Young Friend Qingfeng. It just so happens that Young Friend Qingfeng is that destined person."
This statement Gu Qingfeng understood. Old Senior Feng Zhu was waiting for a destined person, and that destined person could be anyone. As Old Senior Feng Zhu said, it was merely that Gu Qingfeng happened to be the destined person he was waiting for. If the destined person were someone else, like Ancestor Lin Chi, then Ancestor Lin Chi would be the person Old Senior Feng Zhu was waiting for.
"What kind of karmic connection is this karmic connection you speak of?"
Gu Qingfeng asked, "Is it the karmic connection between us?"
"No!"
"Young friend misunderstands."
Old Senior Feng Zhu stroked his neatly trimmed white beard and said, "The destined person this old one awaits is not due to any karmic connection between us, but rather the karmic connection between young friend and an Omen Object."
"Omen Object?"
Gu Qingfeng asked, "What thing is that?"
This time, Old Senior Feng Zhu did not continue to answer. The smile at the corner of his mouth gradually faded, and his entire demeanor became serious.
Across from him, Gu Qingfeng thought for a moment. In this Desolate Ancient ruin, only this one giant cauldron had survived. He tentatively asked, "Is Old Senior referring to this giant cauldron?"
"It is the Omen Object sealed within this cauldron."
"Really?"
Gu Qingfeng found it hard to believe. "I've broken the Seal surrounding the Artifact Eye of the giant cauldron, and not just once. There was nothing inside, and I've never seen any Omen Object."
Old Senior Feng Zhu fell silent once more. He simply picked up the wine bottle, poured a cup for Gu Qingfeng, then poured one for himself. Raising his cup in a gesture, he drank it down. After a moment, he finally spoke, "That Omen Object was still sealed within the Artifact Eye of this cauldron before Young Friend Qingfeng arrived. When Young Friend Qingfeng came to this Desolate Ancient ruin, the Omen Object disappeared along with it."
"What does Old Senior mean by that?"
"I have never seen any damn Omen Object, nor have I taken anything."
Old Senior Feng Zhu gazed at Gu Qingfeng, his eyes rather peculiar, making Gu Qingfeng feel uneasy all over, with a faint sense of foreboding.
"When Young Friend Qingfeng entered, that Omen Object had already merged into your body."
What!
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng was greatly shocked. His first reaction was that it was impossible. Ever since entering this Desolate Ancient ruin, he had been extremely cautious, knowing this place was mysterious and bizarre, and he hadn't dared to be careless. Moreover, for so long, he hadn't felt anything abnormal. If some Omen Object had truly merged into his body, Gu Qingfeng felt he couldn't possibly be unaware.
"Old Senior, are you trying to scare me?"
Old Senior Feng Zhu did not speak, only stared solemnly at Gu Qingfeng.
Gu Qingfeng felt his heart grow uneasy under that gaze. Without saying anything more, he began to carefully sense, trying to perceive whether some Omen Object had truly merged into his physical body.