"He's out! He's out!"

Wang Jian's Yang Soul was no longer in its original form; it was now visible to the naked eye. Consequently, the people waiting outside spotted him the moment he emerged from the cave. For some reason, however, the group seemed overly excited to see him.

"You're finally out." Zhang Haiyuan's reaction was a bit extreme. He rushed forward and hugged Wang Jian. "If you hadn't come out any sooner, I would've thought you'd died in there."

"But wait!" Zhang Haiyuan gestured awkwardly at Wang Jian's Yang Soul, then his eyes widened. "How are you... Wait, how can I even see you?"

Zhang Haiyuan knew this was his Yang Soul, as he had been watching over Wang Jian's physical body.

Wang Jian shrugged and smiled. "It's a long story. Let me get back into my body first." With that, he flew back into his own body. Almost everyone present witnessed his Yang Soul returning. Previously, Wang Jian might have been concerned about the impression this would make, but after what he had seen inside, he no longer cared.

The first thing he did upon opening his eyes was pull Zhang Haiyuan aside. "You must have heard about the situation inside from Mr. Liang and the others, but the situation might be a little more unexpected than we thought. This place isn't a tomb or any kind of ruins."

"Then what is it?" Zhang Haiyuan asked. "Isn't there a White Jade City inside?"

"No," Wang Jian said, rolling his eyes. "Inside is a seal. As for that White Jade City and the twelve towers, they're just things that fell from the sky."

Wang Jian continued, "Remember that living thing that was in your head?"

"Of course," Zhang Haiyuan said, a lingering fear in his voice. "I'll never forget it as long as I live."

"You'd better not," Wang Jian said grimly. "There's also a Stone Gate in there. Behind it, the entire sky is filled with those things. We're talking about their ancestors—creatures countless times larger, covered in tentacles. Even if you cut a tentacle off, it can survive on its own."

Zhang Haiyuan's mouth twitched. "This is no time for jokes."

"I wish it was a joke." Wang Jian pointed toward the cave's interior. "There are hundreds of our ancestors' Yang Souls in there, plus the self-sacrifice of two Saints. That's what has kept these monstrous things sealed for a thousand years. I really wish it was a joke..."

"What do you mean, Saints?" Zhang Haiyuan asked curiously.

"Exactly what it sounds like." Wang Jian spread his hands. "Regardless, we need to get the higher-ups' attention. I don't think the seal can hold for much longer. When millions, even tens of millions, of those monsters burst out, our clan will be the first to fall."

His clan.

Zhang Haiyuan noticed Wang Jian's choice of words. People didn't generally use a term like that to describe their own kind anymore.

Wang Jian said, "Forget about millions of them. Do you think you could handle even one if it got out?"

"You're giving me too much credit," Zhang Haiyuan said, stunned. "I don't even know how that thing attacked me in the first place."

"Right. You just reminded me of something." A thought suddenly struck Wang Jian. "These monsters... they might be like Yang Souls. Initially, ordinary people can't see them at all."

"That's possible," Zhang Haiyuan recalled. "I don't remember ever coming into contact with anything like it, but I was still afflicted. So either someone ambushed me, or I was attacked without even realizing it."

"Then we have a big problem," Wang Jian said worriedly. "I was planning to ask you to stand guard here while I took care of some things. But now, it looks like I can't be away for too long. Otherwise, if a single one of them slipped out, none of you would even notice."

"But didn't you say the gate inside is still closed?"

"It is, but when I was in there just now, I found a few that were trying to slip out. I took care of them," Wang Jian said. "Actually, there is a solution. You should have your military unit follow up on this. Send in a few teams to guard it in shifts, operating in their Yang Soul forms. Rotating like that shouldn't cause any physical harm."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll report this to my superiors right away," Zhang Haiyuan said. "I'll also report everything else you said, but I suspect the leadership won't believe it."

"That's not a problem," Wang Jian smiled. "Have them come here for a visit. Let them personally experience having their Yang Soul leave their body to broaden their horizons. Everyone will believe it then."

"However, there is another serious issue," Wang Jian added, recalling something important. "I dealt with the monster that was on you, but the ones that killed the Tomb Robbers are likely still rampant outside. And since this place hasn't been overrun, we need to investigate where the monsters those Tomb Robbers unleashed came from."

"On the other hand, it's not all bad news," Wang Jian smiled. "I figured out the Cultivation method for the Yang Soul this time. It can be taught on a small scale under specific conditions. On top of that, there's the Qi that my master and I practice. That one doesn't require any prerequisites and can be popularized using our ancestors' methods."

"Really?" This news excited Zhang Haiyuan even more than the talk of monsters.

He had never seen a sky filled with monsters, so the idea was too abstract to be truly shocking; he had no real concept of it. The concepts of Qi and the Yang Soul, however, were very real. Ever since they had learned about them, his military unit and the higher-ups had been researching them nonstop, but with no results. Even Xu Changqing was helping with the research, hoping to bring glory to his own school. How could Zhang Haiyuan not be thrilled to hear this from Wang Jian?

"With news like this, I'm sure the higher-ups will finally pay attention!"

Seeing how happy he was, Wang Jian had no desire to pour cold water on his enthusiasm but still felt the need to stress a point. "Don't get too excited just yet. Even if I have a method to teach everyone and the entire country starts to cultivate, it'll be too late. By the time everyone starts making a little progress, the monsters from inside will have already broken out. When that happens, I suspect that besides me, none of you will have any power to resist."

Zhang Haiyuan felt that Wang Jian was being pessimistic and countered, "You can't underestimate our current military might. Don't forget, we're in the age of firearms."

"True," Wang Jian nodded. He had been waiting for Zhang Haiyuan to say that and immediately followed up, "But what if firearms are useless against them? Don't forget, in this day and age, our research into the soul is at a complete standstill. We're not even as advanced as our ancestors. After all, they began practicing Cultivation using souls long ago and even became Saints."

At the mention of the word 'Immortal', Wang Jian suddenly chuckled coldly. "Speaking of which, it's quite ironic. When these creatures from beyond the heavens first appeared, our ancestors thought they had encountered Immortals. The legend of White Jade City spread from here. But when they opened the gate, they never expected that what awaited them were these kinds of monsters—monsters that feed on human souls. They're our natural enemies."

"What kind of Immortals are those?" Zhang Haiyuan chimed in. "If they're enemies, we should just kill them all."

"Yes," Wang Jian replied, recalling that the ancestors' thoughts had coincided with Zhang Haiyuan's idea. "But it's a shame. Our ancestors fell one after another—some self-destructing, others being devoured. If it weren't for two Saints, I doubt we'd even be standing here today. They were simply impossible to kill completely..."