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

Yu Qing maintained her smile and said, "Fellow Daoist Lin Yang, please don't misunderstand. I didn't mean anything by it. It's just that you probably know that with our strength, we can't cross multiple prefectures on our own without using a teleportation array."

"Once the ancient ruins descend on a large scale, the wilderness will become even more dangerous. The best way to avoid danger is to take a teleportation array and evacuate in advance. The farther you go, the safer you will be."

"But teleportation arrays are expensive, especially in the current situation where the cost has skyrocketed. If it involves multiple prefectures, it is generally difficult to afford."

"so……"

Yu Qing paused slightly, looked at Lin Yang seriously, and said:

"My point is simple: I can fund your evacuation until it is relatively safe."

Lin Yang's eyes narrowed: "Fellow Daoist Yu Qing, are you kidding? To evacuate to a relatively safe place, we need to be at least hundreds of prefectures away from here, right?!"

He was a little unsure what Yu Qing was up to.

According to the information compiled from the exchanged intelligence, the ancient ruins are almost non-existent in the inner palace region.

Xiwu City and Xizhou City belong to the Western Border Prefecture, the border area of ​​the human race.

Taking Xijing Prefecture as a reference point, it would probably have to span at least a hundred prefectures to be considered an inner prefecture region.

However, given the existence of the ancient ruins, retreating by hundreds of prefectures might not be very safe; in fact, it might require retreating by hundreds of prefectures.

Yu Qing, however, offered to sponsor him?

Regardless of whether Yu Qing has the financial means, even if he does, why would he help him?
Lin Yang did not hide his doubts as he scrutinized Yu Qing.

Yu Qing smiled faintly: "Fellow Daoist Lin Yang, my help to you is naturally conditional."

"What are the conditions?" Lin Yang's gaze was deep and unfathomable.

"Just do me a favor in the future!" Yu Qing said calmly.

Lin Yang frowned: "What kind of help? When do you need my help?"

"It's hard to say right now, but don't worry, it's definitely something you can do. If you can't, I won't force you," Yu Qing said.

Lin Yang looked at him for a moment and slowly said, "Fellow Daoist Yu Qing, you saved me in the ancient ruins last time, and I have always owed you a favor. If there is anything I can do to help you in the future, I will definitely not refuse. However, to be honest, the current conditions make me a little hesitant."

He still owed Yu Qing a favor.

If Yu Qing needs any help, he will definitely help; there's no need for him to go to such lengths.

But now that Yu Qing is saying it in this way, it really makes him uneasy.

Yu Qing laughed and said, "Don't worry, Fellow Daoist Lin Yang, I can swear an oath that I will not harm you, nor will I make you do anything beyond your capabilities."

"Of course, you also need to swear an oath to not reveal this matter to anyone, and at the same time, you must guarantee that you will not kill me to steal the treasure. As long as you agree, I will cover all the expenses for the evacuation."

Lin Yang's eyes flashed: "Fellow Daoist Yu Qing, what do you mean by what you said next? Why would I want to kill you and steal your treasure?"

Yu Qing forced a smile: "Your strength is greater than mine, and I am just a rogue cultivator. You must be curious about the amount of wealth I'm offering. Shouldn't I consider my own safety?"

Lin Yang was slightly taken aback, then said leisurely, "Fellow Daoist Yu Qing, you've made yourself so clear, aren't you afraid that I'll refuse your conditions now and then find an opportunity to kill you and steal your treasure?"

He looked at Yu Qing, genuinely curious as to why Yu Qing would so readily utter such words.

You should know that he didn't swear an oath.

Yu Qing had already revealed that she was carrying a huge sum of money.

That's a bit reckless.

Do you really trust him that much?

Yu Qing's smile remained unchanged: "Fellow Daoist Lin Yang, I believe you are not that kind of person. Of course, I also admit that there is an element of gambling involved."

Lin Yang stared at Yu Qing for a long time before speaking, "Fellow Daoist Yu Qing, you are indeed very interesting. In that case, I will not stand on ceremony and will agree to your conditions."

After saying that, he made his life oath as Yu Qing had just asked.

Lin Yang's decisive approach surprised Yu Qing, who couldn't help but say, "Fellow Daoist Lin Yang, aren't you going to ask if I have that much money first before swearing an oath? Aren't you afraid that I don't actually have that much money?"

Lin Yang smiled slightly: "Fellow Daoist Yu Qing, as I just said, I already owe you a favor. Regardless of whether you have the money to help me escape, I was going to repay that favor anyway. So, I don't really care whether you have the money or not. Consider it repayment for your help in the Ancient Ruins."

He was speaking from the heart.

Even if Yu Qing hadn't asked him for help in the future, he would still repay that favor.

As for the conditions Yu Qing proposed, it would be best if they were met, but he really didn't care if they weren't.

Upon hearing this, Yu Qing remained silent for a moment before saying, "Then, Fellow Daoist Lin Yang, from now on, we are close allies. You can go back and make preparations first. If the situation here changes, we will set off at any time."

After he finished speaking, he also made a vow.

Lin Yang nodded, left the restaurant, and returned to the Zhao family home.

After thinking it over, he found Zhao Hu and told him that he wanted to leave.

The Zhao family had helped him a lot, but he had also helped the Zhao family deal with the Bai family. Now that the Ancient Ruins were descending on a large scale, and since Yu Qing had provided an opportunity to leave, he didn't want to miss it, so he could only say goodbye to the Zhao family.

Zhao Hu seemed unsurprised, as if he had expected it, and laughed:

"Brother Lin Yang, it's fine if you want to continue your evacuation. Our Zhao family has been here for generations, and we really can't afford to move the whole clan again. So I wish you a safe journey, Brother Lin Yang. If you have the opportunity to come back here in the future, you are welcome to visit my Zhao family again, as long as my Zhao family still exists."

Lin Yang sighed and said, "Then I'll trouble Brother Zhao Hu to tell the Zhao family head and the others later. I won't go over to say goodbye; parting is always painful."

“No problem.” Zhao Hu indicated that he understood Lin Yang’s thoughts.

After saying goodbye to Zhao Hu, Lin Yang also left the Zhao family.

At the same time, a light mist began to appear outside Xizhou City.

Lin Yang and Yu Qing reunited and carried out a second evacuation, leaving Xizhou City via a teleportation array.

As Xizhou City was also invaded by the ancient ruins, many people evacuated, causing neighboring cities to become overcrowded.

At Yu Qing's suggestion, the two teleported to other cities two or three more times, intending to settle down temporarily and see how things went.

However, just a few days later, new news came.

All the cities in the entire Western Region began to be shrouded in a thin mist.

Ancient Ruins has officially begun a full-scale invasion of cities, and the invasions begin simultaneously, rather than waiting to invade one city before invading the next.

As a result, the entire Western Border Prefecture could no longer remain.

Lin Yang and Yu Qing withdrew again.

After repeating this several times, they finally left the Western Border Prefecture.

But before the two could even breathe a sigh of relief, Yu Qing's expression turned serious:

“Fellow Daoist Lin Yang, things are not looking good. According to the latest news, it’s not just the Western Prefecture that has been completely invaded by the Ancient Ruins. All the prefectures in the west have been invaded by the Ancient Ruins. We can’t stay here any longer. We need to run straight to a place that hasn’t been invaded by the Ancient Ruins yet.”

Lin Yang also looked solemn.

If the invasion of the ancient ruins were gradual, it would be better, but now that it's a simultaneous and comprehensive invasion, their teleportation speed must be increased, otherwise a certain situation may occur.

That is, the road ahead has been cut off!

It's very likely that before they even left their current city, their destination city would have already been invaded by the ancient ruins.

"In the end, we still lacked experience. We should have realized this problem when Xiwu City was first invaded by the ancient ruins."

Yu Qing muttered to himself, then continued:
"From now on, we won't linger. Even if it costs more, we'll teleport away as soon as possible."

Lin Yang couldn't help but glance at him sideways.

Although he wouldn't have any ulterior motives towards Yu Qing's wealth, he was indeed curious as to where Yu Qing, a rogue cultivator, got so much money.
And if they were so wealthy, why did they engage in trade when they were in Xiwu City?

After all, trade also carries risks.

However, since this concerned Yu Qing's personal privacy, he couldn't ask.

Yu Qing was indeed very generous. Now everyone wanted to take the teleportation array to leave as soon as possible, and it was common for prices to be raised or even doubled.

When faced with this situation, Yu Qing never hesitates and usually pays a high price to obtain the qualification for immediate teleportation.

Lin Yang secretly estimated what would happen if this situation continued all the way.

The final transmission cost could be at least two to three times higher than normal.

Honestly, that price could easily buy their lives...

It's simply unbelievable that Yu Qing possesses such an astonishingly large sum of money.

……

Time passed. Before they knew it, Lin Yang and Yu Qing had already teleported across dozens of prefectures.

On this day, the two were forced to stop teleporting.

Because the worst-case scenario we had anticipated still happened.

Their path forward was cut off.

The invasion of the ancient ruins is happening much faster than anticipated.

There are no more cities left to evacuate from.

The city we are in now is mostly shrouded in a thin fog.

Of course, it's not impossible to continue teleporting.

Because the power of the ancient ruins will not have any effect on the teleportation array.

As long as you haven't been caught up in the ancient ruins, you can theoretically still use the teleportation array.

However, there's no need for that anymore.

Nearly a hundred prefectures in the western region have been invaded by the ancient ruins.

If the evacuation continues, it will take at least several dozen more prefectures to reach a place that has not yet been invaded by the ancient ruins.

But given the vast distance, it's almost certain that the ancient ruins will be drawn into the process.

Furthermore, while being teleported, the Ancient Ruins may continue to invade areas that have not yet been invaded.

Therefore, continuing to send the teleport is essentially pointless.

"Is it still impossible to avoid it?" Yu Qing was somewhat unwilling.

Lin Yang remained relatively calm: "The speed of the ancient ruins' invasion is too fast; there's nothing we can do about it."

Yu Qing remained silent.

Lin Yang then asked directly, "Fellow Daoist Yu Qing, you are so wealthy, why didn't you go to the Inner Palace sooner? I already experienced being involved in the Ancient Ruins once in Xiwu City. If I were that rich, I would definitely go to live in the Inner Palace."

He was also quite curious about this question.

Given his immense wealth, why would Yu Qing still choose to live in Xiwu City?
Yu Qing looked at him with a complicated expression and slowly said, "Some things are too long to explain now, I'll tell you later."

"Okay." Lin Yang shrugged and didn't ask any more questions.

Yu Qing clearly has some unspeakable secret or difficulty.

It would be rude to ask again.

At that moment, mist also appeared all around.

"It seems there's no way to avoid it. Hopefully, I'll be lucky and not get caught up in a dangerous projection world," Lin Yang sighed.

Yu Qing suddenly said, "If you get caught up in the Ancient Ruins, stay in a relatively safe projection world as long as possible. Don't rush to come out, otherwise it will be even more troublesome if you get caught up in a dangerous projection world again after you come out."

Lin Yang's heart skipped a beat: "You mean, we can stay in the ancient ruins and not come out?"

“Yes, as long as we are sure that the danger level of the projected world we are in is tolerable, we can try to stall for time. Maybe if we are lucky, the invasion of the ancient ruins will be over by the time we get out.” Yu Qing nodded.

"I didn't expect it could be done like that." Lin Yang was a little surprised.

Yu Qing said, “Generally speaking, when people are caught up in the ancient ruins, they will think about getting out as soon as possible. In fact, they can try to delay as long as possible. As for how long they can delay, it depends on the specific situation. Sometimes, delaying for too long can also cause some changes, so you have to be flexible.”

"I understand." Lin Yang nodded slightly.

As the two talked, a thin mist enveloped them.

However, neither of them was immediately drawn into the ancient ruins.

"They didn't get caught up in it?"

Lin Yang and Yu Qing exchanged a glance, but neither of them relaxed.

The rules governing how the Ancient Ruins can draw people in are unclear. As long as one remains within the power of the Ancient Ruins, one could be drawn in at any time.

There are also many people in this city who were not involved.

But everyone was just as nervous.

There was even some fear.

After all, sometimes waiting for death is more agonizing than dying directly.

Panic is spreading.

The whole city was eerily quiet.

It's like a dead city.

Only a thin mist drifted by, enveloping the entire city.

Although the fog was thin, it possessed a mysterious power that obstructed people's vision and spiritual senses, making it difficult to even see the surrounding objects clearly.

suddenly.

An invisible wave swept past.

Lin Yang's consciousness sank.

……

"Junior brother, from now on you must stay in this secret chamber. No matter what happens outside, just focus on your cultivation here until I come to get you, or until you are able to leave on your own..."

"..."

The moment Lin Yang opened his eyes, he heard a rather familiar voice.

A look of confusion appeared in his eyes.

But it quickly returned to normal.

"We've been caught up in the ancient ruins?"

Lin Yang realized his current situation almost immediately.

He was mentally prepared and vigilant before being drawn into the ancient ruins, and was also empowered by the strange object Zhao Hu had given him.

This immediately brought Lin Yang back to his senses, making him realize that he had once again entered the Ancient Ruins World.

The reason he didn't regain consciousness last time was because he had no idea of ​​the existence of the ancient ruins before being swept into them, so he was caught off guard.

But this time it's different.

and……

"It's still at the Holy Spirit Sect, in the same projection world as last time, and the person speaking in front of me is none other than Senior Brother Xiao Yichen..."

Lin Yang was startled.

He was unexpectedly drawn back into the ancient ruins world from before.

However, the timing of this appearance seems to be the same as when Xiao Yichen pulled him into the secret room last time.

This……

Lin Yang was quite shocked.

Because it is very rare for someone to be continuously drawn into the same projected world after being trapped in the ancient ruins.

His luck is truly unparalleled.

However, Lin Yang was more surprised than shocked.

He had experienced this projected world before and left perfectly.

If we just follow the same approach as last time, wouldn't we be able to leave smoothly again?

However, Lin Yang had a vague feeling that this time it might not be so simple.

"Junior Brother? Did you hear what I said?" Xiao Yichen's already serious expression became even more solemn when he saw Lin Yang suddenly lose focus.

"Uh... Senior brother, I'm listening, please continue..."

Lin Yang quickly snapped out of his daze and responded. (End of Chapter)