Liu Yunqing's method was quite effective; wandering souls, resentful spirits, and malevolent energy are all afraid of fire.

The fire instantly illuminated the exit, allowing Liu Yunqing to successfully escape the Soul-Swallowing Gorge.

However, as soon as they landed, they were met with three shocked faces.

Zhuo Ying reacted the fastest, instantly closing her jaw and calmly saying to Liu Yunqing:

"As amazing as you are, fellow Daoist, you were able to fight those souls for several days without being injured."

Just as Liu Yunqing was about to say that it was because of the low strength of the soul, she suddenly felt that something was wrong and blurted out in surprise:

"Several days? How many days have I been inside?!"

Seeing Zhuo Ying nod, Liu Yunqing was surprised, but then understood.

No wonder Liu Yunqing's spiritual energy reserves were depleted in such a short time; several days had actually passed.

Glancing around, Liu Yunqing didn't see Wuchen and couldn't help but ask:

Where is Master Wuchen?

The two bickering duo simultaneously pointed into the Soul-Stealing Stream and said:

"They're not out yet!"

Liu Yunqing turned to look, and although the Soul-Stealing Stream seemed small, she couldn't even see Wuchen's shadow.

If Liu Yunqing hadn't known Wuchen's strength, she would have been worried that something had happened to him.

"Will Master Wuchen be alright?"

Liu Yunqing was confident, but the other three didn't know that, so they asked, though it was unclear whether they were asking Liu Yunqing or talking to themselves.

"He can."

Seeing Liu Yunqing's calm reply, Ruan Qing tilted her head in confusion and asked:

"You can understand being a pervert, but why can't he?"

Liu Yunqing pursed her lips, as if she had been praised, but it didn't sound like anything good.

Unexpectedly, Liu Yunqing didn't bother to answer the question. Instead, she sat down cross-legged on the spot, recovering her spiritual power while releasing her divine sense to keep an eye on the Soul-Stealing Stream.

As soon as Wuchen emerged from the room after being knocked unconscious, she noticed it immediately.

But Liu Yunqing wasn't looking at Wuchen; he was looking at what was behind Wuchen.

Before Wuchen's feet crossed the line at the edge of the Soul-Stealing Stream, nothing could be seen from the outside. The moment he stepped out, only the part of his body that came out first could be seen.

What are you looking at?

Wuchen stopped in front of Liu Yunqing and noticed that her expression was strange, so he couldn't help but ask.

Liu Yunqing frowned and remained silent, and Wuchen did not urge her either.

After a while, Liu Yunqing suddenly looked up with bright eyes, staring at Wuchen with certainty:

"Master Wuchen, is this Soul-Gathering Ravine really that shallow? What ancient texts support this claim?"

Wuchen was taken aback and immediately asked:

What are you trying to say?

"I suspect that the Soul-Gathering Valley... is a spatial rift."

Liu Yunqing hesitated for a moment when she was halfway through her speech, but still spoke her mind.

Upon hearing this answer, Wuchen shook his head without hesitation and said:

"impossible!"

Liu Yunqing was taken aback. Was the rebuttal so straightforward?

Why is it impossible?

It was Ruan Qing who asked the question, but it was exactly what Liu Yunqing was thinking.

Why is it impossible?

Of course, spatial rifts cannot exist for hundreds or thousands of years. What can exist for a long time is not spatial rifts, but boundary rifts.

But the Sun Realm... cannot possibly have boundary rifts.

A realm that has been abandoned and is on the verge of being downgraded is in a completely closed state. How could there be a realm rift?

Seeing that Wuchen remained silent for a long time, and his confusion was growing, Liu Yunqing couldn't help but ask again:

"The space of the Soul-Gathering Valley is completely independent, so why couldn't it be a spatial rift?"

Before Wuchen could answer, Ruan Qing smiled and said to Liu Yunqing with a hint of smugness:

"How come you don't even know this? Of course, it's because spatial rifts can only exist for a short period of time. What exists for a long time should be called a boundary rift!"

"Right, Senior Wuchen?"

Wuchen only frowned, without answering whether it was right or wrong. He was clearly confused, but he couldn't tell anyone.

It's definitely something I can't tell anyone.

Many people know that a great calamity is about to befall the Sun Realm.

But what exactly this great calamity is, apart from a very few powerful ancestors, is unknown to most people.

Wuchen was able to know this because the Fanyin Temple was skilled in astrology and divination, with Wuchen's lineage being the most outstanding. Moreover, he was born with Buddha bones and was the only disciple of the Venerable Samantabhadra.

Even so, he was repeatedly warned and made to swear an oath to God that he would not reveal this matter to others.

It's unimaginable what would happen if all the cultivators in the Sun Realm learned that the Sun Realm would be demoted and eventually destroyed after becoming a mortal star.

With no hope of ascension, they can only be trapped and die in the Sun Realm.

For a cultivator, this is even more despairing than dying instantly.

Despair breeds chaos, chaos leads to instability of rules, instability of rules leads to the collapse of the Heavenly Dao, and once the Heavenly Dao collapses, the Sun Realm will completely lose its chance to save itself.

Wu Chen's mind flashed back and forth between the solemn and serious words of his ancestor. His furrowed brows relaxed, and he regained his usual calm and gentle demeanor as he spoke:

"The cultivation world is vast and full of wonders. It's not impossible that the yin energy produced by wandering souls and vengeful spirits was too strong and automatically separated from the spiritual energy of the Sun Realm, forming its own little world."

The others thought about it and agreed that it was true, so they nodded and put the question aside, asking what they were more concerned about: why Liu Yunqing and Wuchen could stay inside for so long without getting hurt.

Only Liu Yunqing felt that Wuchen wasn't telling the truth.

But in her memory, Wuchen was not a liar.

Unless there's a hidden story behind this, so big that Wuchen has no choice but to lie.

Liu Yunqing did not expose them, but followed up on the three people's questions and steered the conversation away from them, though she still kept some attention on Wuchen.

Sure enough, while Liu Yunqing was talking to the other three, Wuchen silently threw out a communication talisman that could travel thousands of miles, with his hand behind his back.

After Liu Yunqing finished explaining her situation, and the other three finished recounting their experiences at the Soul-Stealing Stream, Wuchen spoke up:

"I have some ideas about our next steps, and I wonder if you would like to hear them?"

Although Wuchen had his own suspicions and promptly sent a message to Venerable Puxian, as he said, the cultivation world is full of wonders, and the possibility he mentioned to everyone was not impossible.

So his next task is to train while finding a way to thoroughly explore the Soul-Stealing Valley and get a clear answer.

If it really is a rift between realms, then perhaps the Sun Realm has a glimmer of hope.

Wuchen was lost in thought, but his expression remained unchanged. However, he could sense the subtle probing in Liu Yunqing's eyes, so when he spoke, he looked at Liu Yunqing first.

Liu Yunqing had no objection, and neither did the others.

After considering it carefully, Wuchen spoke:

"Just as you guessed, I think it makes a lot of sense. This Soul-Staying Abyss may not be as shallow as we know it to be."

"If that's the case, I'd like to explore the true depths of the Soul-Gathering Abyss."

The four nodded in agreement, with Feng Piaopiao offering her strong support:

"The path to immortality is fraught with peril; new explorations bring new opportunities, don't they? So, what should we do?"