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

Lin Yang nodded: "However, the entry point is different from last time. This time it starts when I am assigned to the secret room, and the task is also different from last time."

Yu Qing was even more surprised: "There's such a thing?"

The probability of being continuously drawn into the same ancient ruins world is almost non-existent.

He had not heard of what Lin Yang had encountered this time.

Lin Yang inquired about Yu Qing's situation again, and then asked, "What are your plans now, Fellow Daoist Yu Qing?"

Yu Qing did not answer immediately, but instead took out a communication jade slip and communicated for a while before saying:
"According to the latest information I have gathered, the speed at which the Ancient Ruins are invading cities has slowed down considerably, especially as they get closer to the Inner Palace. There are even signs that they may be coming to a halt. We can wait and see how things go. Perhaps this large-scale invasion of cities by the Ancient Ruins is about to end."

"So, once the fog dissipates, it will be safe again for a long time." Lin Yang breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Ancient ruins rarely invade cities, and after an invasion, the ancient ruins return to peace for a long time.

I learned this information from Yu Qing during our last exchange of information.

Yu Qing nodded, somewhat heavily, and said, "I hope so. This time, the Ancient Ruins invaded nearly two hundred prefectures of our human race, causing countless deaths and injuries."

Lin Yang remained silent.

Nearly two hundred prefectures were invaded by the ancient ruins. Judging from the mortality rate of this invasion, the number of people who died is probably countless.

Even though we are complete strangers, as fellow human beings, the thought of these horrific casualties is truly distressing.

Lin Yang also sent a message to Zhao Hu, but has not yet received a reply from Zhao Hu.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Fellow Daoist Yu Qing, now that the Ancient Ruins have stopped their invasion, should we continue heading towards the Inner Palace, or..."

Yu Qing's eyes flashed: "Return to Xiwu City!"

"Back to Xiwu City?" Lin Yang was somewhat surprised.

“Yes, we suffered heavy casualties this time, and the Ancient Void Clan must have suffered the same fate. Once the invasion of the Ancient Void is completely over, trade between the two clans will inevitably resume, and there will be business opportunities everywhere!” Yu Qing’s eyes gleamed with the light of making money.

Lin Yang raised an eyebrow and said, "Fellow Daoist Yu Qing doesn't seem like someone who's short of money, so why are you so keen on making money?"

"Haha, Fellow Daoist Lin Yang, is there anyone in this world who would complain about having too much money?" Yu Qing said with a smile.

Lin Yang chuckled, "That's true."

"Does Fellow Daoist Lin Yang have other plans?" Yu Qing asked in return.

Lin Yang shook his head: "Not for now."

“Then let’s return to Xiwu City together. Once the invasion of the Ancient Ruins is over, if we seize the opportunity, we can make a fortune and won’t have to worry about cultivation resources for a while,” Yu Qing said.

Lin Yang's heart stirred.

What he urgently needs now is to improve his cultivation level.

However, improving one's cultivation level requires a large amount of cultivation resources.

His current resources and savings are insufficient to support his long-term spiritual practice.

Returning to Xiwu City and taking the opportunity to make a fortune would be a good choice.

Furthermore, upon returning to Xiwu City, one can continue to allow the "realm" to absorb energy in the Cave Heaven Secret Realm.

As for the cost of returning to Xiwu City, Yu Qing also covered it.

In Yu Qing's words, the original plan was to get out of the invasion range of the Ancient Ruins, but the invasion speed of the Ancient Ruins was too fast. They had only run through a few dozen prefectures, and returning to Xiwu City was not far. Therefore, Lin Yang was not asked to pay out of his own pocket.

……

The ancient ruins invaded fiercely, but they also retreated quickly.

Three days after Lin Yang and Yu Qing left the ancient ruins, the thin fog in the city began to dissipate.

The two began their return to Xiwu City.

Halfway there, Lin Yang received a reply from Zhao Hu.

Zhao Hu said that the Zhao family was relatively lucky this time, as not many of their clansmen died in the ancient ruins.

When they learned that Lin Yang was already on his way back to Xiwu City, they were pleasantly surprised and invited Lin Yang to visit the Zhao family in Xiwu City.

Lin Yang chatted with him for a while and gained a general understanding of the situation in Xiwu City.

After this round of invasion by the ancient ruins, the landscape of Xiwu City has changed considerably.

Some families within the city had suffered heavy losses due to the deaths of too many members, leading to their decline and the vacancy of considerable resources and territory.

Currently, all the major families existing in Xiwu City are expanding and vying for territory and resources.

However, the five major families still hold considerable power, and Xiwu City is currently dominated by them.

The five major families have many members, and although many have died, as long as their patriarchs at the Yuanhe Realm level live, they remain like pillars of strength, making it easy for them to lead their families to revival.

At the same time, Lin Yang also learned the latest news about the ominous ancient ruins in Baichi City.

This is very bad news.

Because that ancient site has expanded over the years.

And more than once.

After four expansions, only five cities in the Far East Prefecture remained untouched by ancient ruins.

However, with the fifth expansion of the ancient ruins, the remaining five cities of the Far East Prefecture were completely covered.

At first, people didn't pay much attention when they saw that the ancient ruins completely covered the entire prefecture.

Because other major ancient ruins at most cover only one prefecture.

Unfortunately, the ancient ruins underwent a sixth expansion not long after the fifth.

This expansion also encompassed several cities in neighboring prefectures of the Far East Prefecture.

This behavior breaks with previous patterns.

It makes people feel uneasy.

Therefore, neighboring prefectures have also begun to be on high alert, and some cities have started to relocate their populations.

No one knows how far that ancient site will eventually expand or when it will stop.

People are now filled with anxiety.

Lin Yang's expression was stern.

Ancient ruins are encroaching on the border prefectures, while ancient relics in the inner prefectures are also expanding in an irregular manner.

These are all very unusual situations.

Moreover, the impact and consequences of the expansion of ancient ruins that defies established patterns are likely to be even more severe than the invasion of ancient sites.

The invasion of the city by the ancient ruins has begun to end.

This at least proves that the invasion of the ancient ruins has an end.

However, once an ancient site expands, it will not shrink back down.

The occupied area will permanently become the territory of the ancient ruins.

If that ancient site continues to expand unabated, the consequences are unimaginable.

Lin Yang thought for a moment, then took out a communication jade slip, preparing to send a message to Xia Shuang and Li Liping.

The Far East Prefecture has now fallen, and the ancient ruins continue to expand.

He no longer needs to worry too much about being discovered.

Moreover, Lin Yang believed that Xia Shuang and Li Liping would definitely not leak his information.

He first sent a message to Xia Shuang.

After years of no contact, Xia Shuang was visibly stunned for a moment when she received Lin Yang's message, before her excited voice came through the communication jade slip:

"Brother Lin Yang, I knew you'd be alright! Where have you been all these years? Are you alright? I miss you so much!"

Her voice trembled and choked with sobs.

Lin Yang could tell that the girl was genuinely excited, and couldn't help but laugh:

"Xia Shuang, I had some accidents these past few years, so I haven't been able to contact you in time. I'm fine now, so don't worry. But you, I heard that the ancient ruins have been expanding to other prefectures. How are you doing now?"

Xia Shuang replied in a tone that clearly suppressed her emotions, "I'm fine. The Illusionary Sound Sect is quite far from the Far East Prefecture, so it's relatively safe for now. You don't need to worry about me!"

"That's good," Lin Yang said.

"Brother Lin Yang, where are you now? What happened in Baichi City back then? I heard that Baichi City was completely isolated by that ancient ruin. You escaped, but the price you paid must have been huge. Are you injured?" Xia Shuang asked in one breath, very worried about Lin Yang's safety.

Lin Yang smiled and said, "I'm fine. It's a long story about what happened back then, we'll talk about it when we have the chance. As for me now, I'm in a very far place and I won't be able to go back anytime soon. You don't need to worry about me, just take care of yourself."

Xia Shuang remained silent for a moment upon hearing this, clearly disappointed at not being able to see Lin Yang, before saying, "I understand, I'll take good care of myself!" "Okay, that's good."

Lin Yang chatted with Xia Shuang for a while longer, and finally told her not to mention her own affairs to others before ending the message with the little girl's reluctant tone.

Then he sent a message to Li Liping.

However, the guy didn't answer, so Lin Yang didn't send any more messages.

He sent a message to Li Liping, mainly to inquire about the guy's safety.

The fact that the message could be transmitted means that Li Liping is still alive.

He might be busy and will reply when he sees the missed message.

Put away the jade slip containing the message.

Lin Yang felt much more at ease.

Over the years, he refrained from contacting Xia Shuang and Li Liping, mainly because the Far East Prefecture was still in existence.

Now we can finally stop worrying too much about being exposed.

A weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

Next, he and Yu Qing teleported back to Xiwu City.

Because all the prefectures here have been invaded by the ancient ruins and countless people have died, taking the teleportation array is not as crowded as before. There is no need to queue or pay extra.

Therefore, the two returned to Xiwu City in a shorter time than when they were on the run.

Returning to Xiwu City once again, Lin Yang was filled with emotion.

This place can be considered his second hometown on the ancient continent of the Yuan Dynasty.

"Fellow Daoist Lin Yang, the situation in Xiwu City is complicated right now. I need to take care of some old matters first, so we'll part ways here for now. I'll contact you again after I've settled the trade matters."

After returning to Xiwu City, Yu Qing hurriedly took his leave.

Lin Yang thought to himself, "It seems that Yu Qing has quite a few connections in Xiwu City."

He glanced at the now noticeably quieter Xiwu City and walked towards the Zhao family's original residence.

In Xiwu City, he was quite familiar with and trusted the Zhao family.

Now that we're back, we'll naturally stay at the Zhao family's place again.

After all, he is still a guest elder of the Zhao family.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with going back to the Zhao family.

The Zhao family naturally welcomed his return with great enthusiasm.

Zhao Yuan personally greeted them.

The situation in Xiwu City is currently turbulent, and the city is in a period of competition for resource points. The Zhao family would be more than happy to have a powerful figure like Lin Yang arrive.

Lin Yang didn't stand on ceremony and immediately told Zhao Yuan that he could continue to serve as a guest elder of the Zhao family, and was also willing to contribute to the Zhao family's current efforts to compete for resources.

Of course, it wasn't a wasted effort.

He needs a share of it.

He might not have done this in the past, but things are different now.

He needs resources, the more the better.

The ghost had its eyes on him, which made him feel very insecure.

He must become strong as soon as possible.

We should also try to acquire as many resources as possible.

The current situation in Xiwu City is such that the five major families are unshakeable.

He is fully committed to helping the Zhao family, which will definitely help them advance further. Asking for some resources is not unreasonable.

After all, if he didn't help, the Zhao family would probably still be a second-rate family, at most a little better than before.

With his full support, the Zhao family was able to rise to the ranks of first-class families, and the resources they could obtain more than doubled.

He took a portion of it, and the Zhao family made a pure profit from the rest.

Of course, this also depends on the Zhao family's attitude.

However, Lin Yang believed that the Zhao family would not refuse.

This is a win-win situation.

The Zhao family now only has Zhao Yuan, who is at the Yuanhe Realm. Without his strong support, they cannot become a first-class family.

He himself is just one person, so cooperation would benefit both sides.

This is also why he sought cooperation with the Zhao family.

He alone couldn't gain much advantage over the many families in Xiwu City.

But adding Zhao Yuan changes everything.

Together, the two of them are enough to get a share of the pie in Xiwu City today.

Zhao Yuan's decision did not surprise Lin Yang.

I agreed very readily.

Subsequently, both parties reached an agreement and discussed a specific resource allocation plan.

Once everything was settled, Zhao Yuan smiled and said, "Guest Elder Lin, I wish us a pleasant cooperation!"

"It's a pleasure to cooperate with you!" Lin Yang said with a smile.

in the next period of time.

As agreed, Lin Yang and Zhao Yuan together acquired a considerable amount of resource-rich territory.

As Lin Yang made his move, his strength and reputation began to spread rapidly throughout Xiwu City.

Despite having the cultivation level of the Nirvana Peak, he possesses the combat strength of the Yuanhe Realm!

Lin Yang's reputation soared overnight.

The Zhao family naturally became a first-class family in Xiwu City.

Moreover, they are the most elite, top-tier families!
The most direct manifestation of this is that the Zhao family's treasure lands in the cave realm have not only been upgraded from Grade C to Grade B, but the number of them has also doubled from three.

Moreover, there are two more decent mineral deposits.

The improvements made just within the secret realm are quite remarkable.

Lin Yang naturally entered the secret realm again.

The mist dissipated too quickly, and the "realm" didn't absorb much of it. Now, returning to the secret realm is precisely to allow the "realm" to reabsorb it.

Knowing how slow the "boundary" was to absorb energy, Lin Yang didn't sit idle this time either.

They have prepared a large amount of resources in preparation for their attempt to break through to the Yuanhe Realm.

As for where those abundant resources came from…

This naturally comes from the cooperation with the Zhao family.

Actually, once you've just secured a resource-rich area, you won't see any returns so quickly.

But he wanted to break through as soon as possible, so Zhao Yuan gave him a portion of the funds in advance.

The faster his strength increases, the greater the benefits the Zhao family can gain.

Therefore, the Zhao family initially provided a large amount of resources for this breakthrough to the Yuanhe Realm.

Lin Yang sat cross-legged in the secluded cultivation room in the central area of ​​the cave heaven secret realm, no longer focusing on absorbing the "realm" and concentrating on breaking through to a higher realm.

I do not know how long it has been.

A chilling energy suddenly emanated from the secluded chamber, causing the temperature to plummet.

Lin Yang suddenly opened his eyes.

His gaze was more solemn than ever before.

Because his premonition had indeed come true.

It seems that the ghost can find him without him having to set up a spirit communication array.

This chilling power is the most direct manifestation of the opponent attempting to break through some kind of limitation and descend!
He sensed the chilling power emanating from it, somewhat surprised that the ghostly spirit had already achieved this so quickly. (End of Chapter)