Chapter 2186: Ghost Pool

"I'm not here to visit anyone, but to leave an imprint and gather 'wish power'!" Zhang Xuan said.

The guard looked puzzled. "Not everyone can receive wish power, and without merit or the like, one isn't even eligible! However, if you're truly set on it, the Soul Hall won't refuse, but you'll need to pay ten thousand divine coins!"

"Ten thousand?" Zhang Xuan nodded. "Alright!"

The money that Clan Head Qi had given earlier, Qi Ling'er had transferred the entire sum to him without keeping a single coin. For others, ten thousand divine coins could mean losing everything, but for him, it was easily affordable.

He took out his card, transferred the funds, and followed the guard into the hall.

The Soul Pool was located in the deepest part of the hall. Its power was entirely different from that of the Moon Clarity Pool. Standing by it, one's soul felt warm and nourished, as if an unknown force was continuously flowing in from afar.

However, trying to absorb this power felt like trying to catch a kite with a broken string—impossible to grasp.

"This is the Soul Pool. If you wish to leave your imprint, simply place your blood on the stone tablet!" the guard said, pointing.

Zhang Xuan looked over and saw a small stone platform standing beside the Soul Pool. It was carved with special patterns, resembling an altar for sacrifice.

"It's somewhat similar to the altars of the otherworldly demons... yet completely different!"

He didn't know who the Spirit God was, but he had specifically asked who in the God Realm was skilled in sacrifices. The answer he received was the experts of the Soul Heaven. He had initially thought there might be some connection with the Spirit God, but upon seeing the patterns before him, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but shake his head.

Although there were some similarities, their structure and content were entirely different, belonging to completely distinct systems.

It seemed there was no relation between this place and the Spirit God.

Just as he was about to approach the stone platform to inject his blood and leave his imprint, the pool water in front of him suddenly began to boil, and a series of illusory figures began to flicker.

These illusory figures varied in size; the tallest were about a zhang tall, while the shortest were no bigger than a thumb. Thousands of them densely packed the pool, constantly flickering and pulsating with the boiling water.

The special energy he had sensed earlier in the air rained down like sunlight. The taller figures became increasingly solid, while the smaller ones flickered unsteadily, like candles, their light wavering.

A thumb-sized illusory figure suddenly dissipated and vanished before his eyes.

"What's happening?" Zhang Xuan asked, puzzled.

"The larger illusory figures are formed because many people remember them and generate a lot of wish power. The smaller ones might only have family and friends remembering them, and as time passes, and those people pass away, with no one left to remember, they naturally extinguish!"

The guard looked over and shook his head. "Actually, many people spend a great deal of money to leave an imprint here each year, hoping to be resurrected after death. But unfortunately... when a person dies, it's like a lamp going out. If they're truly gone, how many will remember them? Unless they are close family, wish power is rarely generated. So, unless you're exceptionally wealthy, even if you leave an imprint, you still can't be resurrected. Otherwise, if everyone in the God Realm were immortal, wouldn't it have been overcrowded long ago?"

Zhang Xuan deeply agreed.

Kindness and gratitude are fleeting. Who can remember them for long?

Just like many online authors in his previous life, if they didn't update for a few days, readers would forget them.

If forgotten, the wish power would diminish, making it difficult even to maintain, let alone condense into a physical form...

Therefore, the so-called resurrection was merely a form of psychological comfort. In the entire God Realm, for countless years, those who successfully achieved it were few and far between.

"Who is that tallest illusory figure? It looks like it's almost about to take a solid form!"

Filled with emotion, he looked at the tallest one in the pool.

The thumb-sized figures couldn't endure and would dissipate sooner or later. But the tall one, more than a zhang in height, would surely be able to take solid form. He wondered which martyr could command such worship and adoration to gather into such a shape.

"I honestly don't know who it is specifically. It suddenly appeared about forty years ago. Its appearance is unclear, and there's no corresponding deity, so even we aren't sure..."

The guard shook his head.

"It can gather wish power even if no one knows who it is?" Zhang Xuan was stunned.

"Wish power appears based on those who remember someone. As long as someone holds them in their heart, it will exist. It's not strange for outsiders not to know who it is! After all, many souls have been gathering for thousands of years... not everyone can be remembered!" the guard explained.

Zhang Xuan nodded, walked to the stone platform, bit his fingertip, and a drop of blood flew onto it.

The moment the blood touched the stone platform, energy ripples immediately spread rapidly along its carvings. Immediately afterward, Zhang Xuan felt his soul become connected to something, and an illusory figure, even smaller than a thumb, suddenly appeared in the water.

"Is this my imprint?" Zhang Xuan couldn't help but laugh wryly.

"For just being formed, this size is quite good..." the guard said after a glance.

When ordinary people first leave an imprint, they can't form wish power in the Soul Pool. Yet, this person immediately had a thumb-sized figure, indicating that many people were already thinking of him.

"Could it be that figures just formed can be even smaller?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"Most are even smaller than this, many are invisible to the naked eye. In my twenty-plus years of service, the largest I've seen was the Divine King Bai Yi, who died ten years ago! He was killed in a spiritual tide, and many of his subordinates placed items he left behind into the pool, immediately creating a palm-sized illusory figure!"

"It shocked many people," the guard added.

"Was this Divine King Bai Yi greatly beloved?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"Not necessarily. As a Divine King, he certainly had many powerful subordinates. Just those individuals alone could generate a lot of wish power, not to mention others!" the guard explained.

"So... the generation of wish power is also related to the strength of those who remember the person?"

"Naturally, it's related. The stronger one's power and the longer one's lifespan, the longer the remembrance can be maintained, and consequently, the greater the wish power generated. Normally, the wish power produced by Deities, Celestial Deities, and Divine Kings increases a hundredfold with each tier!"

The guard smiled.

Zhang Xuan suddenly understood.

If lifespans and strengths differ, how could the generated wish power be the same?

Birds of a feather flock together; people gravitate towards their own kind. Those with higher cultivation are more likely to be resurrected. This isn't solely because they are famous or remembered by many; more importantly, those connected to them are also powerful experts. The remembrance from just one such person can be worth hundreds, even thousands, of weaker individuals... Naturally, the efficiency is entirely different.

"You're quite good yourself," the guard said with a smile. "A thumb-sized figure means that those who remember you and generate wish power include not only Deities but also Celestial Deity experts!"

A thumb-sized figure might not seem like much, but for someone to have that, it means there must be Celestial Deity experts among those remembering them; otherwise, such strong wish power wouldn't be possible.

"Celestial Deities?" Zhang Xuan nodded.

Qi Ling'er and Zhang Jia were both Celestial Deities. One was loyal to him and worked for him, and the other was his beast pet. Both would certainly generate wish power.

Feeling the power in the Soul Pool connect with his soul and indeed cause the latter to slowly improve, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, then cupped his fist and left.

As he left the hall, another guard entered, looked at the first guard, and asked curiously, "How was the one who just came in?"

"Just a thumb-sized figure. I estimate it'll automatically dissipate in less than half a year!" the first guard snorted.

"Being able to last half a year right after appearing, that's not bad..." the second guard commented.

"It's not bad, but thinking of resurrection when one isn't even dead yet... shows no spirit of struggle or adventure. I look down on that, so how could anyone genuinely miss or admire such a person? He might have wish power now, but it's likely from some relatives who don't know the full story. Once they do, it will certainly extinguish immediately!" the first guard stated.

"That's true..." the second guard nodded in deep agreement.

In the God Realm, the strong are revered, and power is worshipped. The powerful will always earn others' admiration.

If you were an octogenarian, that would be one thing, but for a young man around twenty with plenty of life left, to fear death and leave a soul imprint—that immediately marks him as a coward. How could such a person earn genuine respect from others?

Even if he can generate an illusory figure now, it won't last long before it extinguishes!

"Let's go!"

With a sigh, the first guard said no more. Just as he was about to leave, he saw the pool before them suddenly shake.

They stopped and looked over.

They saw the illusory figure left by the young man shaking uncontrollably. Though not large, its vibrations caused the pool water to churn violently.

"This is..."

After a moment of confusion, the first guard's pupils constricted as if he'd remembered something. "More people are remembering him, and more wish power is surging in?"

Such a phenomenon could only mean one thing: an increasing amount of wish power was pouring in from those remembering him.

Before he finished speaking, the thumb-sized illusory figure suddenly trembled violently, expanding to palm-size. Moreover, the figure became more solid and full of power.

"Although many people are remembering him, most of them are Deity experts, so the effect isn't significant..."

Although they didn't understand why this wish power was taking so long to arrive, judging by its purity and quantity, most of those remembering him were at the Deity realm, and largely low-level Deities at that, with very few Celestial Deities. While there was some improvement in the figure, it was negligible, and it wouldn't last long before dissipating.

Again, before he finished speaking, the palm-sized illusory figure surged wildly once more, growing visibly.

"This is... the remembrance from a Divine King expert?"

His pupils constricted, and the first guard stood frozen in shock.

The person was only a low-tier Celestial Deity; how could he receive remembrance from a Divine King expert?

The illusory figure grew again.

"Two more Divine Kings?" The second guard was also dumbfounded.

"Three Divine Kings generating wish power for one person simultaneously? Is this person really just a low-tier Celestial Deity?" The first guard gritted his teeth, trembling continuously.

He had just remarked that this imprint, created by someone seemingly just burning money, would surely disappear in less than half a year. He never dreamed that, in the blink of an eye, countless Deities and three Divine Kings would be generating wish power for him.

The illusory figure surged dramatically again, becoming life-sized.

The two guards exchanged glances, their bodies trembling uncontrollably as if they had witnessed something unbelievable. After an unknown amount of time, a murmur slowly escaped from the first guard's throat.

"This is... the wish power of a Conferred Divine King?"