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

"They've expanded again?"

Lin Yang was still quite surprised to hear this news.

Although this is not the first time that ancient site has expanded.

However, this time the interval between the expansion and the last expansion was significantly shorter.

"Brother Zhao Hu, what's the situation in the Far East Prefecture?" Lin Yang couldn't help but ask.

Zhao Hu said, "I heard that not many people died this time, much fewer than during the last expansion. After the ancient ruins expanded last time, people from neighboring cities gradually moved away, so this time it's better."

"This is the second expansion already. I wonder if they will continue to expand," Lin Yang said in a low voice.

Zhao Hu shook his head: "It's hard to say, but it will most likely continue to expand. The ancient ruins that appeared before at least covered an entire prefecture. Although this ancient ruin only occupied a city at the beginning, it has been expanding continuously. I'm afraid it will eventually expand to cover an entire prefecture before it stops."

"I hope so." Lin Yang nodded and didn't pay any more attention.

Whether or not the ancient ruins expand is not something he can decide.

Time passes slowly.

Lin Yang had been guarding the "boundary" within the secret cave realm, secretly absorbing the power of this realm.

Because the speed of his stealth absorption was so slow, Lin Yang began to comprehend some things.

For example, a magic circle.

Based on his current cultivation level, if he were in the Ancient Ruins World, he would theoretically be able to set up and control the power of Yin spirits in an advanced spirit communication array.

In reality, he had difficulty controlling the power of the spirits summoned by a basic spirit summoning array.

Therefore, Lin Yang has been secretly mastering the Yin spirit power of the primary spirit communication array.

After each formation is set up, an exceptionally powerful spirit will attempt to break through the constraints of the spirit array and break free.

This power was difficult for Lin Yang to control.

This is also why he has been unable to fully control the power of the spirits summoned by the rudimentary spirit array.

This also made him hesitant to attempt intermediate-level spirit communication arrays.

"We need to find a way to suppress that particularly powerful evil spirit."

After pondering for a moment, Lin Yang set up some other magic arrays in the cramped cave.

With his current strength, he may not be able to suppress that extremely powerful Yin spirit, and he needs to rely on external forces.

Lin Yang set up several high-level magic arrays in succession to help him suppress that Yin spirit power.

Then the basic spirit communication array was rearranged.

After easily suppressing ordinary Yin spirits, that extremely strong special Yin spirit power reappeared.

Because he had made thorough preparations this time, Lin Yang did not destroy the spirit communication array directly as he had done before.

Instead, it aroused its own Dao power and forcibly suppressed it.

The several magic arrays that were set up at the same time also started operating simultaneously.

The immense power collided with that ghostly force.

However, the power of that Yin spirit was even stronger than Lin Yang had anticipated.

Even with his full strength and the aid of the magic array, he still couldn't suppress it.

Furthermore, this ghostly power even showed a faint tendency to break through the constraints of the spirit communication array.

Lin Yang sensed an immense crisis in an instant.

The power of this evil spirit was constantly increasing, and it was actually trying to suppress him instead.

Click click click.

The magic arrays that had been set up began to crack as they could not withstand the power of this yin spirit.

"not good."

Lin Yang's heart skipped a beat.

My immediate thought was to destroy the spirit communication array.

But when he made his move, he realized that he had been unknowingly suppressed by the power of the evil spirit.

"Hehehe..."

A sinister laugh rang in Lin Yang's ears.

This gave him the creeps.

He seemed to see a mysterious, faceless ghost watching him through endless darkness.

boom.

With just one glance, tears of blood flowed from Lin Yang's eyes.

A stinging, needle-like pain filled my eyes.

The formless and intangible power of the Yin spirit within the cave also condensed into a visible gray hand at this moment, reaching out to grab him.

Lin Yang instinctively tried to dodge, but he couldn't move at all and could only be grabbed by the large gray hand.

next moment.

A chilling power surged into Lin Yang's body.

However, they didn't kill him.

Instead, it seemed they wanted to enslave him.

A chilling force was trying to control his consciousness and body.

Lin Yang felt completely powerless to resist.

He sensed that the owner of this ghostly power, that mysterious ghost whose face he couldn't see, was trying to take over his body.

The spirit power summoned by the spirit array was originally meant to be controlled by the person who set it up.

But now, it's the other way around.

The evil spirit wanted to control Lin Yang, the one who set up the formation.

Lin Yang felt his consciousness blur in an instant.

The difference in strength between the two sides was too great; he had absolutely no power to resist.

However, just when Lin Yang thought he was doomed...

A sudden fluctuation emanated from his spatial ring, as if something was about to burst out.

Lin Yang's consciousness was very blurred at this moment, and he was almost unable to resist the fluctuations, so he subconsciously chose to release them.

With a hum, a tattered piece of gray cloth appeared.

An indescribable aura emanated from the cloth and instantly enveloped Lin Yang's entire body.

The chilling power that was originally eroding Lin Yang's body quickly dissipated under the aura of the cloth.

Even the force that was trying to control Lin Yang's consciousness and body began to retreat steadily.

In the ambiguity.

Lin Yang seemed to hear a roar of resentment.

"Damn it, this can't be, how can this thing still be here..."

"... "

With that barely audible roar, Lin Yang's consciousness quickly returned to clarity.

Control over the body is thus regained.

He stared blankly at the cloth floating in front of him, still somewhat shaken.

The extremely powerful Yin spirit was gradually suppressed by the cloth and eventually returned to the spirit communication array.

boom.

The spirit communication array exploded with a deafening roar.

At the same instant, the cloth lost some kind of support and fell to the ground.

Lin Yang reached out and took it, his feelings complicated.

He recognized the piece of cloth.

This piece of cloth is something he received in the cosmic region back then.

When he was guided to this piece of cloth, he was very confused as to why he was guided to a piece of cloth. However, the system told him to keep it safe, so he put the cloth in his spatial ring.

If this piece of cloth hadn't reappeared today, he would have completely forgotten about it.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Yang solemnly bowed to the gray cloth and said, "Thank you for saving me, senior!"

This piece of cloth was most likely left behind by some incredible being.

If it weren't for this cloth, he would have been controlled by that evil spirit today. After Lin Yang finished bowing, he put the cloth away again.

Despite being amazed by the origin of this cloth, it was able to suppress that terrifying evil spirit.

However, he currently lacks the ability to ascertain the origin of this piece of cloth, and can only suppress his curiosity for the time being.

After glancing at the messy room, Lin Yang cleaned it up with a wave of his hand.

He then sat down cross-legged and began to think seriously.

That ghost seemed to possess some kind of intelligence, attempting to control him and enslave him.

Although we don't know why that ghost did this, it's definitely not a good thing.

Something that has been dead for countless years still possesses wisdom.

It's a little scary to think about.

"Could the underworld really exist? When that ghost looked into my eyes, it was on the other side of endless darkness. Could that be the underworld?"

Lin Yang couldn't help but let his mind wander.

He was trying to piece together some useful information from the limited circumstances available.

Unfortunately, the information was so limited that he couldn't piece together the results.

What we can confirm at present is that ghosts exist, and the underworld may also exist.

Furthermore, there exists a terrifying, powerful, and vengeful spirit.

Lin Yang pondered for a long time, but ultimately resisted the urge to set up a spirit communication array.

The spirit communication array should no longer be usable.

At least not at the moment.

Although the power of the cloth repelled the powerful evil spirit, it did not destroy it.

He cannot continue to take the risk.

This prevented him from finding more clues through the spirit communication array.

“The Yin spirit, the Yin realm, the ancient ruins, the Holy Spirit Sect… and the ancient times, there may be some kind of connection between them.”

Lin Yang pondered and decided to wait until the "realm" stopped absorbing the power of this hidden cave before going out to look for information in this regard.

He felt that he was being targeted by that evil spirit.

Although the cloth repelled the power of the evil spirit.

But there's just this inexplicable feeling.

He had to figure out what was going on.

....
Time flies, and another ten thousand years have passed.

The world continues to absorb the power of the secret realm, but the speed remains just as slow.

Lin Yang was a little helpless.

This hidden realm is clearly extraordinary; it's unknown how long it will take for the "boundary" to absorb it.

His cultivation has also advanced further, and he is not far from breaking through to the Yuanhe Realm.

This was much faster than he had imagined.

It seems that while absorbing the power of the secret realm, the "realm" also feeds back some power to him.

Of course, this was just a vague feeling from Lin Yang, and he couldn't be entirely certain.

There is really no other explanation besides this reason.

That day, Zhao Hu arrived: "Brother Lin Yang, that ominous ancient ruin in Baichi City has expanded again."

"Hmm? It's expanded again. This is the third expansion, isn't it?" Lin Yang frowned slightly.

This time, the time interval for expansion is even shorter.

Zhao Hu nodded: "This is the third expansion, and this time, that ominous ancient ruin has enveloped three cities at once!"

Zhao Hu's words startled Lin Yang: "This expansion directly extends the territory of three cities??"

"Yes."

Zhao Hu nodded:

"It is said that the Far East Prefecture suffered heavy losses this time. Although they have been relocating, it is not easy to relocate all the people of the prefecture in a short period of time. This time, the ancient ruins expanded into three cities in one go, which was very unexpected and somewhat difficult to guard against."

"This..." Lin Yang had a bad feeling. "If this continues, the Far East Prefecture will probably be swallowed up after a few more attacks."

"Yes, the expansion time of that ancient ruins is getting shorter and shorter, while the area of ​​Champa is getting bigger and bigger. I'm afraid the Far East Prefecture won't last much longer," Zhao Hu sighed.

Lin Yang remained silent.

Zhao Hu added, "By the way, the Ancient Ruins are appearing more and more frequently, and more and more people are getting involved. Now trade has basically been cut off, and no one dares to leave the city easily. In the past ten thousand years, thousands of people have died from being caught up in the Ancient Ruins, and several thousand more are still trapped inside."

"So many people were involved?" Lin Yang was quite surprised.

For unknown reasons, the ancient ruins will not attack cities, meaning that people in cities will not be caught up in the ancient ruins.

In addition, people rarely leave the city.

It's quite remarkable that so many people could be involved over a period of ten thousand years.

Zhao Hu sighed softly, "Several members of our Zhao family were also caught up in this. Two died, and a few others are still in the ancient ruins, but they are likely in grave danger."

Lin Yang was speechless.

Zhao Hu sighed and said:
"Brother Lin Yang, the reason I came here is to ask you if you are going back to Xiwu City."

"The ancient ruins are appearing more and more frequently. Although this secret realm is not far from Xiwu City, we can't be sure when the ancient ruins will also cover this area. If we are going back to the city, we should go back as soon as possible. We cannot be sure whether it is safe in the secret realm at the moment."

"Has the situation outside become this dire?" Lin Yang's heart sank slightly.

“Yes, the Ancient Ruins have caused widespread panic. Now even the five major families have begun to gradually collect resources from the Cave Heaven Secret Realm and do not plan to send more people here. They will only leave a few people to verify whether the Ancient Ruins can affect the Cave Heaven Secret Realm,” Zhao Hu explained.

Lin Yang was startled again.

He really didn't know that...

He has been in this cave for thousands of years and has not paid much attention to what is happening outside.

Unexpectedly, even the people from the hidden cave realm are now starting to evacuate.

This put Lin Yang in a bit of a dilemma.

There aren't many things that can be absorbed by the "realm".

Furthermore, the attraction of this hidden paradise to the "realm" is clearly extraordinary, otherwise the "realm" would not have secretly absorbed it.

After a pause, Lin Yang asked, "When do the five major families plan to withdraw?"

"Probably soon." Zhao Hu didn't know the exact time either.

"How about this, I'll stay a little longer and go back with the last people from the five major families who left," Lin Yang said.

Zhao Hu said, "Alright, but I still suggest you leave as soon as possible, Brother Lin Yang. Although it's good to cultivate here, safety is more important."

"Understood," Lin Yang replied.

The reason he wanted to stay a few more days was to see if the "boundary" would accelerate its absorption once most people had left.

As for evacuation, he will definitely evacuate.

This hidden paradise isn't going anywhere; we can always come back when it's safer.

"Brother Lin Yang, this is for you." Zhao Hu took out a crystal-clear branch and handed it to Lin Yang. "This is a Crystal Wood Spirit Branch, which is a kind of rare item. It can resist the influence of the ancient ruins to a certain extent."

Lin Yang paused, then said, "This...isn't it a little embarrassing? How much is it? I'll give it to you."

He originally intended to acquire a rare item.

I just didn't have time to go.

Unexpectedly, the Zhao family has now prepared something for him.

Zhao Hu laughed heartily: "No need to be so polite, it's just an ordinary rare item. Brother Lin Yang, you don't need to take it to heart. I still need to collect some medicinal herbs from this treasure land, so I'll head back first."

Zhao Hu didn't let Lin Yang give him Yuan Sha; he put down the Crystal Wood Spirit Branch and left.

Lin Yang had no choice but to pick up the Crystal Wood Spirit Branch and put it on his person.

Then he walked out of the cave.

Sure enough, the once bustling central area was now nearly deserted.

Lin Yang headed towards the exit of the secret cave.

I want to see how "Jie" will react if I leave.

As he walked, an idea popped into his head.

"The ancient ruins in White Blaze City are expanding at an increasingly rapid pace, and ancient ruins are appearing more and more frequently. Could there be some connection between these two phenomena?" (End of Chapter)