Learning the Fire Lake Ghost's backstory, the resentment Chu Feng had felt from the ghost relentlessly pounding the back of his head completely dissipated.
Even the way Chu Feng looked at the Fire Lake Ghost had changed.
Chu Feng had always thought that growing up without his biological parents by his side was pitiful enough.
But compared to this Fire Lake Ghost, he had it far better. No matter what, his parents were still alive.
Moreover, Chu Feng knew full well that even though his parents hadn't been there for his upbringing, they loved him dearly.
The Fire Lake Ghost, on the other hand — while his parents had undeniably loved him just as much, they were no longer around.
How could one not pity him?
"Youryuan, so this Fire Lake Ghost — is it a person, or a ghost?" Chu Feng asked.
He asked because the Fire Lake Ghost appeared to have retained both its consciousness and its appearance from when it was three years old, which defied all reason.
"Chu Feng, unless one is a god, who in this world can live forever?"
"The Fire Lake Ghost's parents had pursued the martial path for many years and were already experts in the martial cultivation world."
"But even they themselves could not achieve immortality. How could they grant eternal life to their mere three-year-old child?"
"This Fire Lake Ghost is called a ghost because it has, in truth, already died."
"It can only continue to exist as a living being within this Fire Lake. If it were to leave the lake, its soul would likely scatter, and it would vanish from this world entirely," Chu Youyuan explained.
After hearing Chu Youyuan's words, Chu Feng felt even greater sympathy for the Fire Lake Ghost.
"Chu Feng, do you feel it?"
Suddenly, Chu Youyuan's emotions grew agitated.
"I feel it — the energy of heaven and earth. What powerful energy of heaven and earth."
At that moment, Chu Feng himself grew excited as well.
After chasing the Fire Lake Ghost for so long, he had finally sensed the aura of heaven and earth's energy.
And that aura was growing ever more concentrated — no further explanation was needed. Both Chu Feng and Chu Youyuan understood what this meant.
It meant they were drawing closer and closer to the source of the Fire Lake.
Sure enough, before long, the Fire Lake Ghost finally slowed its pace, for ahead lay a stretch of water that was entirely different from the rest.
The water throughout the Fire Lake was crimson red, as it was a fusion of fire and water, after all.
But now, before the Fire Lake Ghost, there appeared a stretch of water so clear it was almost transparent.
The appearance of that water was like finding a paradise amid a horrifying abyss — utterly mesmerizing.
And the powerful energy of heaven and earth was emanating precisely from that body of water.
The water appeared to be boiling, surging upward in a towering column.
That column was likely the origin of the spring eye within the cavern.
"Chu Feng, what are you standing there for? Get in already! With such dense energy of heaven and earth, and it even contains profound insights into the martial path — your cultivation will surely advance once you enter. You might even have a chance to break through to the Heavenly Immortal Realm!" Upon seeing the source of the Fire Lake, the Queen was even more excited than Chu Feng.