What place could be called a paradisiacal realm? Was it the Jade Palace's White Jade City, or the misty Cloud Mountains with their Twelve Pavilions?

When Wang Jian recovered from the sensation of a fish slipping into water, he was plunged into thought. Why is this ruin just as bright as the outside world, as if it were daytime, not to mention shrouded in clouds and mist?

The buildings detected by the instruments did indeed exist. However, the scene one saw after entering made it seem like a dream. Those structures were surrounded by seas of clouds and mist-capped mountains, all suspended in the air. High above in the 'sky,' a Stone Gate hung, seemingly borne aloft by the swirling vapors.

The light had no identifiable source. There was no ceiling, so naturally, there were no lamps or luminous jade stones either. When Wang Jian looked up, all he saw was the same sky as the outside world; they were clearly not inside any mountain.

"How can this be?"

It wasn't just Wang Jian who was perplexed. Liang Bo and his students, who had entered first, were so shocked they couldn't speak.

Following the sound, Wang Jian glanced over and saw Liang Bo and his group standing on a platform. Before them stretched a sea of clouds with no place to set foot, and they dared not try to move forward.

But Wang Jian's gaze landed on what was behind the group.

Good heavens, their physical bodies were left at the entrance of the cave—five corpses in total. What stood there now were their soul forms. From the looks of it, they haven't realized this at all.

This transformation confirmed many of Wang Jian's hypotheses.

"Above the heavens is White Jade City, with its twelve pavilions and five realms. The Immortal touched my crown; tying up my hair, I was granted eternal life."

As Wang Jian pondered, Liang Bo recited a poem. Given the circumstances, the verse seemed quite fitting. Even Wang Jian began to wonder along the lines of the poem; could this place truly be an Immortal's abode? If so, it was no surprise that it could obstruct his Yangshen.

"Teacher, what do we do?" Xiao Cao asked in a trembling voice, the fear finally hitting him. Neither his family's traditions nor his university professors had ever prepared him for a scene like this. The unknown is what truly terrifies people.

It wasn't just him; the other three students who had followed them in wore the same shaken expressions, clearly stunned by the sight before them.

Liang Bo sighed. "This place... is not something we can handle. Perhaps we should have listened to Doctor Wang."

At that moment, Xiao Cao mentally agreed with his teacher but still retorted stubbornly, "He's just a doctor. What could he possibly know?"

The words had barely left his lips when one of the students let out a scream. They had discovered everyone's "corpses" and, second, they saw Wang Jian floating in mid-air. These two things were horrifying on their own. Combined, they delivered a worldview-shattering impact on this group of modern-day graduate students. This was especially true for Xiao Cao. Having just badmouthed Wang Jian, he now watched him approach like a vengeful ghost and scrambled back several steps in terror.

"Are you a man or a ghost?" Xiao Cao blurted out subconsciously.

He wasn't the only one. As the others processed the situation, they mimicked Xiao Cao and also took a step back.

Liang Bo was the calmest among them. Having heard some things from Zhang Haiyuan, he was the first to realize what was happening. Yet even he was contemplating it. Seeing was believing, after all. No matter what Zhang Haiyuan said, it couldn't compare to witnessing it firsthand.

"How did Doctor Wang get in here?" he wondered aloud.

As he finished speaking and started to step forward, Xiao Cao tugged at his sleeve. "Teacher, he's a ghost! Don't go over there!"

"Nonsense!" Liang Bo rebuked irritably. "That's Doctor Wang. This is one of his abilities. Don't be so easily startled." After saying that, he cupped his hands in a small bow toward Wang Jian. His palms were sweating. Though he acted brave, he was still nervous deep down.

"Doctor Wang, no offense intended."

"No need!" Wang Jian laughed. "I told you all this place wasn't simple and that I should scout it out first. And now, look at you…" He pointed at the "corpses" on the ground, drawing everyone's attention.

Only then did Liang Bo's group seem to grasp the gravity of the situation.

"Doctor Wang... what's happening?"

"Are we really dead?"

"That can't be! We just came to explore some ruins. How did we end up in a situation like this?"

"It's an illusion, right?"

One of them pinched their own arm and, finding they felt nothing, laughed out loud. "Look! It doesn't hurt when I pinch myself!" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Hearing this, Xiao Cao also pinched his face and started laughing as well. "Yes, yes! It really doesn't hurt! It must be an illusion!"

But Wang Jian shook his head. "Stop pinching. Your Yang Souls have left your bodies. Souls are inherently incorporeal, so it would be strange if you could feel pain from pinching yourselves. If you get hit by something that can actually strike a soul, you might end up crying for your parents."

Ever since discovering this blessed land, Wang Jian was certain it contained treasures that only a Yang Soul could use, which prompted his comment. Of course, the group wasn't convinced so easily and was still debating the reality of the situation.

Surveying the environment, Wang Jian floated over to them and explained, "I know this is hard to accept, but think about it. Current technology has never proven the existence of souls. However, that's only because our science isn't advanced enough yet. It doesn't mean souls don't truly exist.

"What you are seeing now is just one form of a soul's existence. It's not some ghost or monster, so don't scare yourselves.

"I was the one who discovered this ruin in the first place. How do you think I managed to do that?"

Suspended in mid-air, Wang Jian already projected an aura of profound mystery. Coupled with his words, his explanation gradually calmed the archaeology students and their teacher. Indeed, as archaeologists, they had encountered bizarre things before; their ability to accept the unusual was much higher than that of the average person. Once they mentally accepted the premise that souls were real, the scene before them became far less difficult to process.

Xiao Cao looked at Wang Jian with his heterochromatic eyes and asked tentatively, "Doctor Wang, did you discover this place by flying around as a soul?" After a moment, he added, "Why is your soul different from ours? I see a layer of silver light on you, and inside your body, there's a black and white energy circulating. We're just translucent figures."

"Oh?" Wang Jian was genuinely surprised this time and gave Xiao Cao's unique eyes a second look. This person's eyes are still heterochromatic even in his soul form. They're clearly unusual. "You're certain you can see the Yin and Yang energies within my body, as well as the Yue Hua on the outside?"

Xiao Cao nodded, observing Wang Jian with conviction. "That's right. So that's what they're called? Yin and Yang energies, and Yue Hua."

"Interesting," Wang Jian said with a smile. "It seems you have some skill. After we get out of here, let's find some time to have a proper chat."

"We can get out?" Xiao Cao asked in surprise. "So we're really not dead?"

"Of course," Wang Jian smiled. "A soul leaving the body doesn't necessarily mean death; there are other special circumstances. This place, for example, has very unique rules that only permit existence in soul form. That's why this happened."