Inside the building, a Qi gathering realm cultivator led Zhu Yi to the top floor. Entering through a door, Zhu Yi saw Wen Si cultivating.
From the feeling he gave off, he was at the 1st level of the core formation realm. As Zhu Yi entered, Wen Si opened his eyes.
"Why are you here?" He asked simply.
"I want to know about the celestial ice sect." Zhu Yi responded.
Wen Si shook his head. "Do you have something to offer, or do you just expect me to tell you for free?"
"What if we sparred?" Zhu Yi asked. He found the current Wen Si unusual.
Wen Si thought for a moment and agreed. "Fine."
He took out his brush and paper without wasting a single second. As soon as he drew on the paper, he stopped. Zhu Yi held a sword to his throat.
"You of the writing sect aren't all that threatening if you don't have time to write."
Zhu Yi's comment clearly made Wen Si annoyed. "What do you want to know?"
Wen Si quickly accepted his defeat.
"I want to know everything."
Wen Si looked at him deeply. He seemed different from before.
"You think too much of our friendship. You don't get to know everything you want unless you want to fight the entire sect as well."
Zhu Yi somewhat expected such a response. They had both been younger back then.
"Tell me what you can."
"Alright. The celestial ice sect is powerful. Very powerful. They do not exist in this world. No matter how much I speak, I cannot accurately describe them. They are on a different level. If you wish to truly understand, leave this world." Wen Si said.
"And how will I find the celestial ice sect?" Zhu Yi asked.
"You'll understand in the future. Our world is just one of many. The world above can be considered a true world where the strong gather." Wen Si said.
Zhu Yi did not understand a lot, but that seemed to be a common theme. He could either accept it, or beat Wen Si until he shared more information. Unfortunately, they were inside the writing sect. He would probably die if he tried to do something like that.
Zhu Yi sighed in disappointment and walked away. All of his worries would be solved by increasing his strength, and gaining strength was what he planned to do.
He planned to go into seclusion and cultivate for a long time. Many cultivators did so.
There was only one thing remaining before he did so. He needed to visit his parents.
Cultivation was a long path, and they would die long before he did. it would be best to see them one last time.
Zhu Yi remembered where he lived and flew to the village. As a nascent soul realm cultivator, he had no issue doing so.
He soon returned and flew down into a valley. Waving his hand, the cave he had entered long ago was blown open. Zhu Yi waved his hand, and Zhou Fan's body was stored into his spatial ring.
Zhu Yi then turned around and, with a single step, arrived at the village. Looking around, both a lot and nothing had changed. The people had changed greatly. Many shops had shut down and been replaced, while others grew larger and had new owners.
However, the atmosphere remained the same. Mostly vibrant. Such was the life of mortals. There were a lot less worries.
Zhu Yi walked around. He spotted his house and knocked on the door.
An old lady opened the door, leaning on a cane. Seeing her, memories flew through Zhu Yi's mind. It felt like the time he had spent here was so short, yet so long.
The old lady paused and tears poured from her eyes. Zhu Yi seemed young, though much different from himself when he left. However, he was still easily recognizable, especially by his own parents.
The old lady dropped her cane and hugged Zhu Yi tightly. "I never thought I'd see you again! Look at you! You're a real cultivator."
Although Zhu Yi had not thought much of his parents, he still felt warmth from them. Perhaps he, more than many cultivators, had an appreciation for mortals.
As Zhu Yi's mother cried, his father soon came, joining.
Zhou Fan stood away from them. He didn't quite understand it all. He couldn't quite remember having such intense familial emotions. At most, he liked Leaf and the animals at the manor. It was hard to say if he truly loved them like this, however.
He couldn't help but think to himself. He had never even thought about crying after not seeing Leaf for so long.
Even if they met again, he would just smile.
'Have I ever felt love?'
Everything he thought was love seemed so fake in front of Zhu Yi's family.
It was at this moment that Zhou Fan finally realized a long obvious truth. He wasn't built for such emotions.
He remembered seeing someone's funeral and feeling somewhat sad. It was so long ago that he couldn't remember.
It must have been when he was younger and more emotional.
He thought back to the beasts. He hadn't even felt that sad when he found out that they were dead.
Even for Zhu Yi, he merely felt proud at some times. He would be upset if Zhu Yi died, but that's all.
Zhou Fan seriously looked back at every part of his life. Countless figures flashed through his mind. The beasts, the buddha, the animals at the manor, Heaven, Lu Wei, the old man from the library, Ying Xiong, Anna, all of humanity, all of his creations, all life within the universe.
He felt no love, neither kinship, familial, the love of a teacher, a mentor, a friend, a lover, nothing.
At most, he liked things.
And most interesting of all, he didn't care. Right now, he was simply curious as to why he had never felt things that all humans seemed to feel. Was he even human?
There was no doubt that he was. He had checked long ago.
'The time when I felt the most emotions? That would have to be when I fought the Cosmic Dao. That was fun.'
Zhou Fan seemed to be lost in his thoughts as Zhu Yi cried with his parents.