A technologically powerful nation: The national treasure is actually myself.

There were many people around the barrier.

They are all trying various methods to break through the barrier and leave.

Although many have given up the struggle, there are still quite a few people who persist.

Lin Yang released his senses and found that he could not detect the existence of the barrier.

He reached out and touched the void in front of him, but could feel an invisible force blocking his way.

It's like an invisible wall.

He then attempted to mobilize some of his power to attack the invisible barrier.

The force, however, was like a mud ox sinking into the sea, producing no reaction whatsoever.

It was obvious that the difference in strength was too great; they couldn't even touch the barrier.

Just as the previous reports had stated, an invisible barrier separated heaven and earth, completely isolating the City of Blazing.

Even perception and sight cannot penetrate the barrier to extend to the area outside the barrier.

"The ancient ruins have trapped us, and we don't know what they want us to do," Cheng Fu murmured.

Lin Yang frowned and remained silent.

The situation is currently chaotic and complex.

If the power of ancient ruins is meant to destroy, why didn't they simply cause everyone to lose control or die?

Rather, only a portion of the people lost control.

What is the purpose of leaving these sober individuals behind?
He didn't quite believe that the power of ancient ruins couldn't cause everyone to lose control simultaneously.

But it was precisely this gradual loss of control that led to the situation.

There must be some unknown reasons behind this.

Whether there is life within the ancient ruins deliberately controlling everything, or there is another reason, remains unknown.

To find out the truth, it seems the only way is to enter the ancient ruins.

However, entering the ancient ruins is impossible.

I've never been inside. It's already this dangerous just outside. If I went inside the ancient ruins, I probably wouldn't even know how I died.

"Captain, do you think we can get out of here alive?" one of the team members asked in a deep voice.

Now that Lin Yang is the team leader, he doesn't know how to answer.

His instinct was to say yes.

But then he suddenly remembered the elder who was the only one to emerge alive from the ancient ruins that day, only to go mad and die soon after.

Before he died, the elder was delirious, saying things like "everyone has to die."

I didn't think much of it at the time.

Looking back now, it seems there was a hidden meaning behind it.

It's very likely that everyone here will really die.

Lin Yang fell silent for a moment before saying, "At least we're alright for now."

Plain words of comfort are meaningless at this moment.

An atmosphere of despair spread.

People around them also started to lose control.

Or rather, the loss of control has never stopped.

It's just a difference between first and last.

After a long silence, Lin Yang thought of the system.

"System, is it possible to escape from here?"

"Host, the power source of this barrier is too high. Your current national treasure value is insufficient to pay for crossing the barrier."

The system's answer was exactly what Lin Yang expected. He then asked, "What about the emergency escape routes?"

"I'm sorry, host, your current situation does not meet the conditions for opening the emergency escape route."

Lin Yang sighed.

He understood what the system meant.

So-called emergency escape routes are only opened when conditions are met in a critical moment.

His current situation does not meet the requirements.

Although there are out-of-control crowds everywhere, he himself is not under enough threat.

Of course, he could consider rushing into the melee to create opportunities.

However, he was not entirely confident that he could hold out in the chaos until the emergency escape route opened.

Furthermore, and most importantly, he dared not easily put himself into battle.

If all forces are mobilized, it could very well lead to a complete loss of control.

Throughout their journey, they avoided fighting and also avoided using too much power.

The exact cause of its loss of control is still unclear, but one thing is already very clear.

That is, once too much power is used to enter a combat state, it may immediately lose control.

Once you use force, you may lose control of yourself and become completely out of control.

He had seen many such examples along the way.

Some people are not out of control initially, but they quickly lose control after being forced to use their power in battle.

Therefore, Lin Yang dared not risk entering the battle.

If things get out of control, even if the system teleports you out, it's useless.

"System, check the physical condition of those who have lost control and see if we can find a solution," Lin Yang said again.

We can only consider other options now, unless we find a solution or eliminate the risk of losing control.

"Okay, host. This system will select enough out-of-control individuals for comprehensive testing. Please wait a moment."

Lin Yang moved his position slightly, getting a little closer to some of the out-of-control individuals who were engaged in a chaotic battle.

Shortly after, the system's feedback arrived:

"Host, I'm sorry, but after scanning at least a hundred out-of-control individuals, we have not yet been able to find the specific cause of their loss of control."

"At present, we can only determine that the level of the force that caused the loss of control is too high, and it is not possible to solve it for the time being."

Lin Yang frowned, but said nothing more.

The system is not omnipotent.

Or perhaps it's due to limitations imposed by the national treasure value and his own cultivation level that the system is currently unable to achieve omnipotence.

However, this only makes the problem more serious.

It seems all we can do is wait for things to spiral out of control and we'll die.

But waiting is the most agonizing thing.

Especially since you have no idea whether you will suddenly lose control in the next second.

There is absolutely no pattern to it.

Lin Yang was considering whether to take a gamble and join the melee in order to gain the chance to open the emergency escape route.

But before that, he thought of "boundary".

This thing seems to have a significant history; I wonder if the "boundary" can resist the influence of that ancient ruin.

He didn't just think about it casually.

Rather, it's because "Jie" has demonstrated similar abilities before.

However, ever since the last breakthrough in Baichi City, "Jie" has inexplicably fallen silent.

Even he himself couldn't mobilize it.

The only thing that can be confirmed is that the thing still exists in his soul.

"boundary!"

Lin Yang called out in his heart and tried to activate it again.

But the "boundary" remained unresponsive.

"I guess I'll just have to figure it out myself," Lin Yang sighed inwardly.

Suddenly, Shi Jie sent a message: "Brother Lin Yang, my side has been completely overrun. I can't hold on any longer. I wish you well."

After saying that, Shi Jie abruptly ended the communication, not giving Lin Yang a chance to speak.

Lin Yang's heart tightened, and he immediately sent another message, but Shi Jie did not respond again.

Lin Yang sent another message to Xin Hao.

Fortunately, Xin Hao answered quickly: "Brother Lin Yang, I was just about to send you a message. Shi Jie... he's gone."

“I know, I just received his message,” Lin Yang sighed.

Xin Hao was silent for a moment, then said, "My situation isn't much better. More and more people are losing control, and I feel like I'm about to follow suit. If I can't get in touch with them again, then I've lost control too."

Lin Yang was unsure how to comfort him, and for a moment, the two remained silent.

Finally, the message was disconnected.

This was likely the last message, and Lin Yang and Xin Hao both wished each other well.

But can things really be alright?

Lin Yang didn't know.

Nobody knows.

People who are out of control never stop.

Those behind the barrier, gripped by despair, began to lose control en masse. The power of the ancient ruins amplified its emotional and psychological impact immeasurably.

Some of them, even before they lost control, took the initiative to attack others.

It seems like a broken jar.

Even worse, Lin Yang saw some male cultivators ganging up on and coercing female cultivators, attempting to vent their anger before their deaths.

Furthermore, there were even a few male cultivators who coerced weaker male cultivators to vent their frustrations.

And then there are those perverts who prey on corpses…

The evil in human nature was magnified infinitely at this moment.

This place has become a living hell.

Lin Yang continued to move further away.

He couldn't save those who were being coerced, so he could only try to avoid seeing it.

The team also changed from seven people to four.

Yes, three more people have lost control.

"Lin Yang, where are we going now?" Cheng Fu asked sullenly.

Actually, you can't go anywhere right now, or rather, it's all the same no matter where you go.

He just wanted to break the deathly silence of despair.

And find a goal for yourself to keep going.

Lin Yang looked into the distance and could still see people fighting out of control in the distance.

He paused for a moment, then said, "Let's go back to White Blaze City."

"Back to Baichi City?" Cheng Fu's expression was calm, clearly indicating that no matter what Lin Yang answered, as long as there was a goal, he would follow.

But he still subconsciously asked, "What are we going back to Baichi City for?"

Lin Yang said softly, "There is a teleportation array in Baichi City. Although it was destroyed by the people in the city at the beginning, I am a magic array master. Perhaps I can find a way to repair the teleportation array and try to see if I can escape through it."

Even though it is known that the possibility is very low, or even zero.

But Lin Yang still wanted to give it a try.

Hope is essential.

As long as he hasn't lost control, he will never give up any hope or possibility.

This was also meant for Cheng Fu and the others.

As long as there is a glimmer of hope, people will have something to look forward to and motivation to do.

As expected, Cheng Fu was taken aback, and the other two members of the team also paused abruptly, their eyes gleaming.

This was the first time in a long time that people's eyes had lit up.

"Is...is it really possible?" Cheng Fu murmured.

Lin Yang said firmly, "No matter what, let's go back and take a look first."

“Bai Chi City must be very dangerous. Should we wait a while longer?” Cheng Fu hesitated.

Lin Yang smiled and said, "By the time we get back, it will probably be almost over."

A period of time has passed since the riots spiraled out of control.

Lin Yang estimated that most of the out-of-control individuals in and around Baichi City, including those in densely populated areas, should be dead after such a long period of fighting.

Going back now will still be dangerous, but it will definitely be much less dangerous than before.

Hearing this, Cheng Fu realized what was going on and stopped hesitating.

Immediately, the four-person team dodged the out-of-control individuals who were still fighting and headed back to Blazing City.

……

After traveling for some time.

The City of Blazing Light is once again in sight.

Lin Yang observed from a distance.

Now, only he and Cheng Fu remained in their team.

The other two lost control one after the other on their way back to the city.

Unlike its former glory and bustling activity, Baichi City is now desolate and has become a ghost town.

Even from afar, one can feel the deathly stillness within the City of White Ink.

The area outside Baichi City, which was originally crowded with people, was now littered with corpses.

“There are still out-of-control individuals active.”

After observing from a distance, Lin Yang was also somewhat surprised.

After fighting for so long, there are still out-of-control individuals alive.

Fortunately, the number is not large.

"Let's go into the city and take a look. Be careful, there might still be survivors inside," Lin Yang cautioned.

Then, after thinking about it, just to be on the safe side, he decided to hide himself and Cheng Fu together before quietly entering the city.

With his current cultivation level and strength, the possibility of him being discovered while hiding and entering Baichi City is extremely low.

When Baichi City was bustling before, he couldn't use his stealth techniques.

But now, there's nothing left to worry about.

As you get closer, a strong smell of blood fills the air.

Rivers of blood flowed across the ground.

It's all made up of the blood of those who died.

Corpses were everywhere, and in some densely packed areas, there was nowhere to even step.

Many of the corpses were unrecognizable and mutilated.

This shows how terrible the previous chaos was.

"Luckily we ran fast, otherwise we would have been part of this mountain of corpses and sea of ​​blood, or even be completely wiped out," Lin Yang said quietly.

There were many corpses on the ground, and it's conceivable that there were many more who didn't even leave behind a body.

After cautiously entering the city.

The devastation within Baichi City was even more horrific.

The streets were littered with corpses and wreckage, as well as ruins of buildings destroyed in the fighting.

"Let's go check the outpost first and see if there are any survivors."

Lin Yang did not go to the teleportation array immediately.

He wasn't very confident about repairing the teleportation array.

Even if it's fixed, it probably won't be able to transfer the data.

Therefore, it's better to hold onto hope a little longer.

Let's take a walk around the city first and see what's going on.

Cheng Fu naturally had no objections.

He understood Lin Yang's thoughts to some extent.

The two went to the original stronghold of the government army squad.

This place has long been completely changed.

Lin Yang cautiously extended his senses, trying to see if there were any survivors.

His main purpose was to find the officials sent by the government troops.

Unfortunately, the result was that nothing was gained.

It wasn't entirely without any gains.

They saw Zhen Ge's body.

A half-crippled corpse.

Lin Yang remained silent for a moment.

Although I was mentally prepared, seeing it with my own eyes was still very disheartening.

“Even Lord Zhen Ge is dead, so I guess the other lords are probably dead too,” Cheng Fu sighed.

Lin Yang nodded without speaking or continuing his search.

He didn't recognize the other adults.

Even if they saw the corpse, they wouldn't recognize it.

His purpose in seeking out these people was to see if anyone was still alive. If the adults were still alive, perhaps they could find a way to contact the outside world.

Seeing Zhen Ge like this, Lin Yang gave up.

He then traveled throughout the entire city of Blazing, searching for survivors.

But after searching around, they found no other living people.

He even went to the Yun family's residence, only to find that the entire Yun family had perished.

It could be said that, apart from him and Cheng Fu, Baichi City was a ghost town.

This situation, while expected, is still heavy-hearted.

"Let's go see if the teleportation array can be repaired."

Lin Yang silently walked towards the teleportation array. (End of Chapter)