"However..."

Wang Jian paused. The scant amount of information he had gleaned from ancient texts was hardly sufficient. Therefore, his understanding of the matter was fragmentary at best. But he had a vague feeling that for this group of ordinary people, who lacked cultivation, having their souls separated from their bodies for too long could lead to serious problems.

Thus, he advised, "It's best to quickly figure out the situation here and leave as soon as possible. I'm worried that if you stay too long, it will affect your bodies." As he spoke, he urged them to look at their physical forms. "After your souls leave your bodies, your bodily functions deteriorate with every passing moment. I suspect if you are separated for too long, it could cause permanent damage."

Xiao Cao, who had been the most skeptical of Wang Jian's claims, was now his firmest believer. The others, including Liang Bo, were much the same. Wang Jian's words had suddenly become gospel truth, and they all believed him.

"But this place is shrouded in clouds and mist, with a cliff right below us. How are we supposed to explore?"

"Yeah, it's so far away. Even if we tried to jump, it would be impossible, right?"

The group looked troubled.

Wang Jian could only repeat himself. "Like I said before, let me scout ahead first. It's best if you all stay here to avoid any new dangers. Or you can try to return to your bodies. If you can, leaving directly would be for the best."

Wang Jian admitted to himself that there was an element of experimentation to his suggestion, but if it worked, it would save a lot of trouble.

Liang Bo and the others agreed it was worth a try and lay down beside their physical forms. Fortunately, they were lucky. None of them encountered any issues and successfully returned to their bodies.

The sensation of emptiness immediately vanished, replaced by a tangible sense of being grounded. Xiao Cao breathed a sigh of relief. "That was truly... an unexpected experience." Unable to find the right words, that was the best he could come up with.

Liang Bo added, "Will you dare to be so reckless next time?"

Xiao Cao laughed sheepishly. "Heh, you're joking, Teacher. This place is different from the others; I really wasn't expecting this. By the way, Doctor Wang..."

Only then did Liang Bo remember Wang Jian. He hurriedly looked toward the spot where Wang Jian had been, but the space was empty.

"Teacher!" Xiao Cao exclaimed. "Doctor Wang is gone!"

But Xiao Cao frowned. His heterochromia was already unusual, and now his eyes could perceive a human-shaped halo of light in that spot. Sure enough, the next second, Wang Jian's form reappeared. The others also witnessed his manifestation, and they were all startled into silence, looking at one another, speechless.

"You should all leave first. This place isn't suitable for a long stay," Wang Jian said, offering no explanation. "Leave quickly if you can. If something unexpected happens, I won't know what to do." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Even if it wasn't for their safety, getting them to leave would make it easier for him to explore alone.

Perhaps it was Wang Jian's current, mysterious state, or maybe their recent ordeal had made them more cautious, but for once, no one contested his words.

Xiao Cao even took the initiative to smile and say, "Doctor Wang is right, I'll head out now." After speaking, he tugged on Liang Bo's sleeve. "Teacher, let's do as Doctor Wang says. If there are ghosts or monsters in here, I can't handle it."

There was a young woman in their team who let out a small gasp at the mention of ghosts.

Liang Bo felt he had no choice but to nod in agreement, accepting Wang Jian's proposal. He had a nagging suspicion that Wang Jian was deliberately trying to confuse them, but he couldn't find any evidence. The experience had certainly been beyond anything they had ever encountered. It would be a lie to say they weren't scared.

And so, the five of them crawled back out through the same hole they had entered. Fortunately, their exit was uneventful, and everyone was safe. They all breathed a collective sigh of relief, patting their chests and finding their legs had gone soft.

As soon as he was out, Xiao Cao began searching for Wang Jian. Sure enough, not far away, he spotted Zhang Haiyuan and Wang Jian. Zhang Haiyuan stood beside Wang Jian like a security guard, while Wang Jian himself was leaning against the rock wall with his eyes closed, clearly unconscious.

Liang Bo and the others also noticed Wang Jian's condition. They stared at one another, stunned into silence. They all subconsciously kept quiet about what they had experienced inside, until Liang Bo took the initiative to pull Zhang Haiyuan aside and explain. His palms were sweating as he nervously recounted their experience, all the while glancing at the seated Wang Jian, as if afraid he might suddenly lurch back to life.

He was extremely anxious, but after listening to the entire story, Zhang Haiyuan simply nodded and uttered a single word. "Mm."

"That's it?" Liang Bo was taken aback. "Don't you have anything else to say?"

"What else is there to say?" Zhang Haiyuan was surprised by the description of the environment inside but showed no shock at the concept of a soul leaving the body. "What do you want me to say? I told you about this before we came. You were the one who didn't believe me; it's not like anyone forced you."

He was implying that their fear was a direct result of Liang Bo's refusal to believe his earlier warnings.

Reflecting on it, Liang Bo realized that the message Zhang Haiyuan had sent did indeed mention something of the sort, but they had all dismissed it. With that, Liang Bo lost the desire to probe any further and simply led his students to one side to rest and recuperate.

Their trip inside had lasted only a dozen minutes or so, yet they felt as exhausted as if they had climbed an entire mountain, completely drained of strength. They all sat on the ground and began discussing things in low voices. One thing was certain: Wang Jian's earlier warning, that a soul being separated from the body for too long would cause physical harm, was no baseless claim. Xiao Cao and the others now understood this profoundly.

Even masturbating seven times in one day wouldn't leave a man feeling this depleted.

「Back inside the relic」

After the five had left, Wang Jian began to carefully sense his surroundings. The sheer scale of this relic is astounding. The suspended buildings and the Stone Gate all indicated that this place was anything but simple.

As soon as he had entered, he was met with a sea of clouds and mist that obscured the actual situation below. Yet, he could feel a faint summons coming from beneath the clouds.

Without hesitating, Wang Jian flew straight down.

After he passed through the layer of clouds, the structure of the buildings below became clearer. The true mountain was hidden beneath those buildings. Nestled within the mountain range was a massive, crystal-clear natural meteorite. Beside it stood a large stele, inscribed with the ancient seal characters for "Spirit Stone."

Centered around the Spirit Stone was a primordial Eight Diagram. Further out from the diagram was another ring of similar, though much smaller, Spirit Stones. At the very edge was the wall of the cavern, and only then did Wang Jian see the complete mountain interior.

It turned out that the heavenly Jade Palace and the sky were illusions. They had never left the great mountain; they were still deep inside it. There had to be something he was unaware of that created the illusion of the sky and the sea of clouds.