"So... those Immortals chose to cooperate with the Divine Realm?"
Su Shi'er spoke up, immediately understanding.
Ren Yunzong nodded. "That's right! The Immortal Ruins are in upheaval, and the Divine Realm is stirring trouble. If this isn't dealt with promptly, the consequences will be unthinkable."
A look of realization crossed Su Shi'er's face. "So, Senior Brother, you and Senior Sister Miao Yin weren't unable to leave, but rather... couldn't simply stand by and do nothing?"
"That was how it was at first. But after coming here a hundred years ago, being unable to leave also became a fact."
"The Nine Pillars here were originally part of a grand formation in the Immortal Realm. The reason the Immortal Ruins have endured within the Exotic Space to this day is precisely because of the Nine-Pillar Formation."
"However, after Divine Beings from the Divine Realm intervened tens of thousands of years ago, the formation that had originally protected the Immortal Ruins was forcibly reversed."
"Back then, among the countless Immortals remaining in the Immortal Ruins, nearly ninety percent had their souls bound by the Nine-Pillar Formation.
"Over the past ten thousand years, the formation's power has used the Immortal Ruins as its foundation, ceaselessly plundering the souls of living beings from the Cultivation World.
"Since ten thousand years ago, quite a few cultivators in the Cultivation World who should have ascended to the Immortal Realm had their bodies forcibly destroyed after ascending, their souls imprisoned within this Nine-Pillar Formation.
"If the effects had stopped after ascension, the scope of those affected would still have been limited. But starting a thousand years ago...
"Many cultivators at the Tribulation Crossing stage and even lower realms were affected as well. Whenever a Lightning Tribulation appeared, they could be forcibly abducted here.
"The Divine Realm's ambitions are