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

Zhao Xiongshan's eyes were burning.

He learned all about Lin Yang's identity from Zhao Chen and Zhao Hu.

They knew that Lin Yang came from the distant Zhengmufu and had arrived here by accident through spatial turbulence.

He was rescued again by Zhao Chen and his group during their trade.

Such a person, with a clear background, a personal connection, astonishing strength, and even more remarkable potential, is naturally worthy of the Zhao family's utmost efforts to befriend and win over.

Because it is extremely difficult to return to the Zhengmufu from Xiwu City.

Even if Lin Yang wants to go back later, it will take a considerable amount of time.

This means that Lin Yang will have to live in Xiwu City until he returns.

He can handle the peak of Nirvana Realm in the mid-stage of Nirvana Realm. If Lin Yang reaches the peak of Nirvana Realm, he might even have the strength to rival the Yuanhe Realm.

The Zhao family's overall strength in Xiwu City is too average. If they could have another Yuanhe Realm expert to oversee things, there would be a very high probability that they could take another step forward.

The benefits and returns that will be brought about at that time will be beyond imagination.

Therefore, Zhao Xiongshan did his best to show his sincerity.

After all, if Lin Yang were to join another family, the loss would be too great.

In Zhao Xiongshan's mind, Lin Yang's appearance was also an opportunity for the Zhao family to take another step forward.

The main government is too far away, and Lin Yang is all alone here. As long as we win over Lin Yang, even if he is not a member of the Zhao family, it won't make much difference.

As Lin Yang entered the secluded cultivation room, Zhao Xiongshan waved his hand and said, "Until Elder Lin emerges from seclusion, this place will be designated as a forbidden area of ​​the family. Anyone who trespasses will be severely punished."

The other elders of the Zhao family exchanged glances, responded in unison, and said nothing more.

Zhao Chen understood what Zhao Xiongshan was thinking and a sense of anticipation began to grow within him as well.

……

Spiritual practice knows no time, while time flows like water.

Unbeknownst to him, more than 30,000 years had passed since Lin Yang went into seclusion.

His cultivation had reached the late stage of Nirvana Realm, but he did not leave seclusion. Instead, he wanted to break through to the peak of Nirvana Realm in one fell swoop.

Before going into seclusion, he prepared sufficient resources, determined to reach the peak of the Nirvana Realm this time.

In this way, even in a place like Xiwu City, after leaving the pass, they will have enough strength to protect themselves and establish themselves.

And so, nearly 100,000 years passed.

On this day, Lin Yang successfully broke through to the peak of the Nirvana Realm.

Originally, Lin Yang could have left seclusion once he reached the peak of the Nirvana Realm, but after breaking through, he had a vague sense of enlightenment, as if he could take another step forward, so he continued to cultivate.

at the same time.

Inside the main hall of the Zhao family, Zhao Xiongshan, Zhao Chen, several elders of the Zhao family, and Zhao Hu were all seated.

Everyone's face looked unhappy.

"That Bai family is going too far! They actually want us to give up two more treasure troves in the cave realm. It's infuriating!" an elder from the Zhao family said angrily.

"Zhao Ping, calm down. We need to come up with a solution. Don't just vent your anger," Zhao Chen said calmly, glancing at the elder.

Zhao Ping paused, then said bitterly, "What can we do now? If we don't give up this treasure land, the Bai family will never let us go. We've had conflicts with them for a long time, and they've wanted to take action against us for a long time. Now that they have an elder at the Yuanhe Realm, they're probably going to take this opportunity to drive us out of Xiwu City."

Zhao Chen didn't look at him again, but said, "Thinking is one thing, being able to do it is another. My Zhao family has been established in Xiwu City for so many years, and we are not easy to bully."

After saying that, he looked at Zhao Xiongshan and said, "Patriarch, this matter still needs your decision. Should we give up the precious land, or simply fight the Bai family?"

Zhao Xiongshan tapped the table lightly, not responding immediately, clearly hesitant.

At this moment, another elder of the Zhao family, Zhao Yan, said, "Why not just fight them? If we lose, we can start over. If we give up this precious land today, the Bai family will definitely take advantage of us and keep pressing us to give up all the precious land. Then they will take all our assets. They won't stop until they have completely devoured us."

Zhao Hu echoed, "I agree with that. One step of compromise leads to more compromises, but compromise won't make the Bai family back down. They'll only become more aggressive!"

Zhao Xiongshan remained silent for a long time before finally sighing and speaking:

"I would love to fight them, but the Grand Elder failed to break through last time and is now in seclusion again. The Supreme Elder alone is no match for four people. It would be unwise to fight the Bai family right now."

After saying this, he didn't give the other elders a chance to speak, and immediately continued:
"Let's give up this precious land for now. We can buy time as long as we can. With the matter of the secret realm at hand, the Bai family won't have the energy to deal with us even if they get the land. As long as we can hold out until the Grand Elder breaks through again, or..."

At this point, he glanced in the direction of Lin Yang's secluded cultivation room:
"Perhaps we should wait for Elder Lin to emerge from seclusion, which may offer a turning point. It is not advisable to engage in a direct confrontation with the Bai family for the time being."

Upon hearing this, the elders fell silent for a moment, while Zhao Ping, whose temper was clearly more fiery, couldn't help but say:
"Patriarch, are you still pinning your hopes on that guy?"

"I'm not trying to be pessimistic, but he's been in seclusion for over 100,000 years. Even if he can improve, how much can he improve? Even if he was already close to the late Nirvana Realm when he went into seclusion, this time he'll probably only be able to reach the peak of the Nirvana Realm at most."

"Even so, even if he can fight beyond his level, the gap between the Nirvana Realm and the Yuanhe Realm is not small. It's okay to fight across small levels within the same realm, but it's simply unrealistic to fight across major realms."

As he spoke, Zhao Ping snorted: "As for breaking through to the Supreme Yuan Realm? That's simply impossible. No matter how extraordinary he is, even if he can break through the bottleneck that traps the vast majority of people, he still needs time, a very long period of time to accumulate before he can possibly break through to the Supreme Yuan Realm. But we can't afford to wait that long!"

Zhao Xiongshan remained silent.

Because what Zhao Ping said also makes a lot of sense.

However, he ultimately said:
"Let's give up this precious space and delay it a little longer. Perhaps the Grand Elder will be able to break through next time, or we can wait for the Supreme Elder to improve further. It's not the final moment yet, so let's be patient for now. As long as we can hold out until the Grand Elder breaks through, all the forbearance we have now is worthwhile."

"Patriarch..." Zhao Ping wanted to say something more, but Zhao Chen stopped him.

Zhao Chen said, "The patriarch's idea is to delay as much as possible. We still have some resources. Unless we can't delay any longer, we won't take action. I also think it's better to delay for now."

Now, no one objected anymore.

The atmosphere just became heavier.

"Go on with your work. Tell them to avoid conflicts with the Bai family during this time, especially the younger generation in the clan. Don't be impulsive, lest you give the Bai family an opportunity to take advantage of you." Zhao Xiongshan waved his hand wearily.

……

Indoor retreat.

Lin Yang opened his eyes, his gaze bright.

"Such a short time, yet such a huge improvement."

When he broke through to the peak of the Nirvana Realm, he could have left seclusion directly.

But at the very moment of that breakthrough, he gained some new insights.

Unexpectedly, the gains from this moment of enlightenment were enormous.

In just a few hundred years, he had almost reached the limit of the Nirvana Realm.

Now, I'm just one step away from entering the Yuanhe Realm!

It should be understood that, under normal circumstances, even if one is free from constraints, it takes a very long time to accumulate foundation in order to break through from the peak of the Nirvana Realm to the Yuanhe Realm.

This saved him countless years of effort.

"My current combat strength is probably at least comparable to the mid-stage of the Yuanhe Realm."

Lin Yang conjured a flower from the realm at his fingertips, sensed the power fluctuations slightly, and then quietly dissipated.

The gains from that moment of enlightenment were immense. Originally, after breaking through to the peak of the Nirvana Realm, he would only be able to fight against an ordinary early-stage Yuanhe Realm cultivator.

Now he is at least comparable to the mid-stage of the Yuanhe Realm.

Of course, this refers to the normal mid-stage of the Yuanhe Realm. If it refers to someone who has accumulated experience for many years and is about to break through to the late stage of the Yuanhe Realm, then there is probably still a gap.

"That's enough. It's comparable to the combat power of a mid-stage Yuanhe Realm cultivator. In Xiwu City, that would make one a patriarch or elder of a second-rate family."

Lin Yang was very satisfied.

Then he took a step out and left the seclusion room.

He left the pass without alerting the Zhao family.

The fact that all the elders of the Zhao family came to see him off when he went into seclusion before still made him feel that it was a bit too much.

There's no need to inform them in advance once you're clearing customs, so they can come and greet you.

Lin Yang walked towards the main hall of the Zhao family, intending to go there by himself.

But he soon discovered that a sense of oppression seemed to permeate the entire Zhao family.

Some members of the Zhao family had worried expressions on their faces.

"Has something happened?" Lin Yang wondered to himself.

They also sped up their journey to the main hall.

He also informed Zhao Hu of his departure from the pass and asked Zhao Hu to pass on the message.

He hadn't exchanged messages with Zhao Xiongshan and the others during his previous seclusion, so now he could only ask Zhao Hu to relay them.

While one could simply unleash their power to declare it, that would be somewhat impolite.

soon.

When Lin Yang arrived at the main hall of the Zhao family, Zhao Xiongshan and the others had already arrived.

Upon seeing Lin Yang arrive, Zhao Xiongshan said, "Guest Elder Lin, why didn't you give us a heads-up before leaving the pass so we could greet you?"

"Patriarch Zhao, you flatter me too much. I dare not accept such praise," Lin Yang said, quickly glancing at the expressions of the crowd.

Even Zhao Xiongshan and the others had undisguised worries and exhaustion in their eyes.

"Congratulations to Guest Elder Lin on successfully breaking through and emerging from seclusion. You've progressed from the mid-stage of Nirvana Realm all the way to the peak of Nirvana Realm. It's truly a cause for celebration," Zhao Xiongshan congratulated with a smile.

Zhao Chen, Zhao Hu, and several elders also offered their congratulations.

Even Zhao Ping, who had previously been critical of Lin Yang, offered his congratulations, though his expression wasn't very pleasant.

Lin Yang returned the greetings one by one, and then took the initiative to ask, "Patriarch Zhao, you all seem to be looking a little unwell. Has something happened?"

He was a little curious; what could be causing all the elders of the Zhao family, including Zhao Xiongshan, such distress?

Before the seclusion, the Zhao family was still living in harmony.

Seeing his question, Zhao Xiongshan sighed and didn't hide anything, saying:

"Unknown to Guest Elder Lin, about 50,000 years after you went into seclusion, a secret realm suddenly appeared outside Xiwu City. The realm was extremely large and rich in resources, containing many good things and mineral resources."

"In particular, some of the land is unusually fertile for some reason. Crops planted on it not only grow quickly but also grow well. Some high-grade medicinal herbs planted on it can have stronger medicinal effects and can also cultivate some special medicinal herbs that are difficult to cultivate under normal circumstances."

"After several trials, those precious plots of land were divided into three grades, A, B, and C, according to their fertility."

"Guest Lin should also understand that we cultivators need elixirs and resources everywhere, so that treasure land is extremely valuable."

"After several rounds of competition, and with the approval of higher authorities, our Zhao family was finally allocated three small plots of Class C prime land."

"At first there were no problems, but later the Bai family, which was originally a second-rate family like us, gained an elder who was at the Yuanhe Realm."

"They dare not compete for the precious lands of the first-class families and the five great families, and since they are also at odds with our Zhao family, they come to seize our precious lands first."

"They initially took one piece, then took two more, and now our precious land is gone."

"But the Bai family still refused to give up. Relying on the fact that they had gained an elder at the Yuanhe Realm, they began to try to annex us."

"so……"

At this point, Zhao Xiongshan stopped talking, but Lin Yang had already fully understood.

The reason why everyone in the Zhao family is looking worried is because of the pressure brought by the Bai family.

"Did that secret realm appear suddenly?" Lin Yang asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Yes, it just appeared very suddenly.” Zhao Xiongshan nodded.

"So what do you plan to do now?" Lin Yang asked again.

Zhao Xiongshan sighed again: "Let's stall for now. Although the Bai family has gained a Yuanhe Realm elder, they still lack sufficient foundation and dare not challenge the authority of those established first-class families, nor do they dare to go too far."

Lin Yang couldn't help but ask, "Has the Grand Elder not broken through yet?"

He knew that the eldest elder of the Zhao family had been in seclusion for many years, attempting to break through to the Yuanhe Realm.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiongshan gave a wry smile: "The Grand Elder failed to break through not long after you went into seclusion, and then went into seclusion again to try to break through a second time."

"Uh..." Lin Yang was a little unsure how to respond to that sentence.

No wonder the Zhao family was so tolerant.

I reckon they'll wait for the outcome of the Grand Elder's attack.

If successful, the Zhao family will also have two members at the Yuanhe Realm.

That would allow them to contend with the Bai family.

After a pause, Lin Yang said, "If there's anything I can help with, I can give it a try."

The Zhao family treated him well, and there was also the kindness shown to him by Zhao Chen and others when they initially saved him from unconsciousness.

He was still willing to help the Zhao family.

Zhao Xiongshan's eyes lit up upon hearing this: "Guest Elder Lin, are you confident in fighting across major realms now?"

Everyone else immediately stared at Lin Yang.

Lin Yang nodded slightly: "We should be able to give it a try."

He didn't say it too absolutely.

As I always say, always leave yourself some leeway.

Zhao Xiongshan was overjoyed, but quickly calmed down: "In that case, I thank you in advance, but we still need to plan this matter carefully so that you don't get into danger."

"You're too kind, Patriarch Zhao. Please feel free to make any arrangements you have. Just let me know if you need my help," Lin Yang said.

Zhao Xiongshan nodded emphatically, expressing his gratitude to Lin Yang once again, then, as if remembering something, suddenly said:
"By the way, Guest Elder Lin, that ancient, ferocious ruin near Baichi City in the Far East Prefecture suddenly expanded again 40,000 years ago, swallowing up another city near Baichi City and turning it into a restricted area."

"Huh? What? The ancient ruins have expanded again?"

Lin Yang was startled. (End of Chapter)