The ancient return was exposed by his sister's live stream.

[Ying Wenjie: Yao Yao Yao Yao! Look! We've successfully entered the core ruins of Laoshan! This place is even more eerie than the Xuantan Hall of Shushan! Look at these mosquitoes the size of a human head, one bite and you get a welt, and this giant python over ten meters long almost swept us away yesterday!]

[Ying Wenjie: [Video 1][Video 2][Video 3] This is the ruins of the ancient Lao Kingdom, completely overturning historical records. Exclusive material online; I haven't even dared to post it online yet, I'm showing it to you first!]

After a while, Chen Siyao replied: "What kind of ruins are these?" He replied: "The ruins of the ancient Lao Kingdom."

"Laoshan is dangerous; there have been casualties before. Be careful." That was all.

He eagerly awaited Chen Siyao's reply, "I'll go check it out," but after five minutes, there were no new messages in the chat. Ying Wenjie was somewhat disappointed and scratched his head.

In fact, Ying Wenjie didn't know that Chen Siyao didn't not want to come, but couldn't come. The address of the Shushan Xuantan Hall she visited last time was exposed by netizens, and overnight the Xuantan Hall became a top-tier internet celebrity hotspot.

Tens of thousands of netizens flock to the site every day. Even though the authorities set up cordons and sent police to block the crowds, they still couldn't stop the crowds from gathering. Some people even climbed over the walls and broke into the temple, almost causing an accident.

The internet is abuzz with rumors that "Superman Da Ge received the God of Wealth's inheritance at the Xuantan Temple and achieved a meteoric rise overnight," which has led countless people to dream of instant success and have made the Xuantan Temple extremely crowded.

Finally, the authorities had to issue an emergency announcement to finalize the phased opening schedule for the Xuantan Hall, which barely managed to quell the farce.

Nowadays, a trend of "everyone practicing martial arts and seeking out immortal traces" has swept the internet, with eight out of the top ten trending topics related to Xuantan Hall, ancient martial arts, and mysterious inheritance.

If Chen Siyao came to Laoshan, even if she didn't do a live stream or post any updates, given her popularity, she would be recognized by passersby in no time.

At that time, netizens will inevitably follow suit and go to the mountain. Laoshan is already fraught with danger, and if there are large-scale casualties, no one can bear the responsibility.

"Found it! The professors have found the underground entrance! It's right in the middle of the square!" A member of the Special Affairs Bureau shouted in the middle of the square, attracting everyone's attention.

Ying Wenjie sighed, silently stuffed his phone back into his pocket. It seemed the deity wasn't coming. He could only follow Qin Xiaoyu dejectedly towards the line in the center of the square.

At this moment, the center of the ruins square was already crowded with people.

The professors used professional tools to pry open a huge slab of stone on the originally flat bluestone ground, revealing a dark tunnel entrance to everyone's eyes.

The tunnel entrance is square, about three meters wide, and is surrounded by smooth bluestone blocks. The stone walls are covered with blurry ancient Lao characters.

Below the cave entrance are steep stone steps, seemingly bottomless. The wind blowing out is cold and biting, carrying a rotten, dusty smell and a faint, almost imperceptible stench of blood, making one's hair stand on end.

Several intelligence agents, fully equipped, were exploring down the stone steps. The group was now waiting for their report at the cave entrance.

Around the cave entrance, professors surrounded geological instruments, constantly recording data, their faces filled with excitement and trepidation.

Professor Li had several rubbings of text from the ruins wall spread out in front of him, and several thick ancient books beside him, which he was comparing word by word.

Ying Wenjie asked curiously, "Professor Li, have you made any discoveries?"

Hearing Ying Wenjie's question, he turned around, his face still showing shock. He pushed up his glasses and spoke in a low voice. People around him gathered around and listened quietly.

Professor Li took off his glasses, wiped them, and put them back on. "Judging from the written records on the ruins, this is the birthplace of the ancient Lao Kingdom."

He pointed to a line of text on the rubbing, "Although it was not the capital, its status was similar to the ancestral temple of the Central Plains dynasties. Every generation of ancient Lao Kingdom rulers would come here to worship their ancestors on national anniversaries, grand ceremonies, and during wartime."

Ying Wenjie looked at the crooked and ancient characters and asked them who their ancestors were.

Professor Li's finger moved slowly across the rubbing: "According to the inscriptions here, the ancestor of the ancient Lao Kingdom was named Jiulong. Legend has it that he was a son of a dragon, who could communicate with heaven and earth, and move even ghosts and gods to tears. He was said to be immortal and eternal! Every ruler of the ancient Lao Kingdom firmly believed this."

Professor Li continued, "Whenever the country faced national crisis, people would come here to seek refuge. Strangely enough, the ancient Lao State was on the verge of extinction many times in history, but each time it managed to escape danger. The last time was during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, when it was almost destroyed by the State of Qi and retreated to Laoshan, right here—"

Professor Li tapped the rubbing heavily. "They escaped annihilation. The ancient Lao Kingdom was finally destroyed during the Eastern Han Dynasty. But the ancient Lao people did not disappear; they occupied the southwest region and even established a state that you all know during the Tang Dynasty."

Ying Wenjie was taken aback for a moment and asked, "What country?"

"The Nanzhao Kingdom." Professor Li's voice was calm, but Ying Wenjie felt a tickle on his back.

The Nanzhao Kingdom, a powerful state in southwestern China during the Tang Dynasty, fought against the Tang Dynasty for over a decade, with mixed results. Ying Wenjie had learned about it in his history textbook, but never imagined it would be related to the ancient Lao people.

Ying Wenjie was stunned, his mind filled with questions. He couldn't help but ask again, "Wait a minute, Professor Li, the Nanzhao Kingdom also collapsed later, so there's no such ethnic group as the ancient Lao people now. Where did they go? There's no record of them in historical materials at all!"

This question perfectly voiced the doubts in everyone's mind.

How could a powerful race capable of establishing two ancient kingdoms disappear silently into the river of history without leaving a trace?

Professor Li remained silent for a moment. He also wanted to know the answer: after the ancient Lao people established the Nanzhao Kingdom during the Tang Dynasty, did their lineage continue?

Where are they? Why does this name no longer appear in current history textbooks?

"I don't know." Professor Li shook his head. "The records all show that this clan was very powerful, and they continued until the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. They still occupied Laoshan Mountain and guarded the Imperial Ancestral Temple for generations. Every generation of clansmen adhered to their faith in Jiulong."

He paused, then continued, "But they seem to have mysteriously disappeared in a very short time. Just like the ancient kingdoms of Loulan and Jingjue."

His voice lowered, "And the ancient Lao tribe disappeared even more quickly. According to local records, they were preparing for ancestral worship the day before, and the next day everyone had vanished."

Ying Wenjie got goosebumps. Qin Xiaoyu had also come over at some point, and when she heard the words "everyone disappeared within a day," she frowned.

She looked at the gray sky outside the tent, then at the dark entrance deep within the ruins, and had a bad feeling about it.

"We're up! We're up!"

The two Secret Service agents who were scouting ahead climbed up the stone steps.