My family tree hollow connects to the modern era : Chapter 26

No wonder the author of the painting of the lady, the ancestor of the Tang family, left such a saying before his death. He said that if his descendants came to worship when they reached a dead end, they could make a comeback. Even if his descendants were ordinary people with no cultivators among them, as long as they entered and discovered this gold mountain, there would be no need to make a comeback at all; they could just sit back and be filthy rich.

Although the gold mountain was highly attractive, the mountain was right here and would not run away. For this secret realm, there were bound to be more things worth exploring inside. A secret realm capable of nurturing a giant python as large as a small hill might yield even more spiritual items.

While the three men and the fox were exploring the secrets inside, pressure from the outside world arrived, albeit late.

According to past practice, whichever country discovered an energy field had ownership over it.

Years ago when these mysterious spaces first appeared, each country kept them hidden in secret, wanting to explore them on their own to monopolize the benefits. However, cultivators were limited, and the ferocious beasts in the energy fields were numerous. Ordinary firearms were sometimes very difficult to deal with, leaving them with no choice but to risk their lives.

After suffering heavy casualties, they learned their lesson. Consequently, whenever a discovery was made later on, they would give up slots and allow cultivators from other countries to enter and explore together. Although the benefits might be shared, it could also dilute the danger. Overall, the pros outweighed the cons, and this model gradually became a tacit understanding among various nations.

The only things contested each time were the number of entering personnel and what resources would be used to exchange for those slots.

The United States had many satellite countries, and eighty percent of the resources in the currently existing energy fields were in their hands. Every time China wanted to enter those energy fields, their country had to trade resources for entry qualifications. This also caused their country’s cultivation resources to always be very tight, leaving them with no choice but to do their best to nurture those with more talent.

On the other hand, the United States held many resources and could nurture more awakened individuals. Even if those awakened individuals could not match their country’s cultivators in terms of elite strength, their sheer numbers completely crushed the cultivators.

Therefore, even though He’er and his group’s cultivation was not considered top-tier, he could still act arrogant on Chinese soil. This was the confidence brought by a powerful nation.

Regarding the energy field opened this time, He’er and his group clearly knew much more than China did. Before the Chinese cultivators discovered the energy field, they had even researched how to open it, needing only the trigger of that painting.

They never expected that at the very last moment, they would be beaten to it. Hearing that the altar of the energy field had been discovered, He’er violently smashed the wine glass in his hand: “They were the ones who stole the painting of the lady!”

Not only did they steal it, but they also burned a fake one right in front of him, making him believe the painting was destroyed and causing him to waste time investigating who burned his painting. How devious and cunning these Chinese people were!

Ike was somewhat puzzled: “How did they pull it off? If they knew the painting of the lady was the key to opening the energy field, how could they let the painting be put up for auction? Most importantly, they shouldn’t have known your schedule, so it’s impossible for them to have tampered with things in advance.”

After arriving in China, they spent every day eating, drinking, and having fun, keeping a very high profile. All their itineraries were decided on the spur of the moment. Even if bidding on the painting was a long-planned affair, no one except him and He’er knew their plans. Even their plant hidden here was only notified at the last minute to accompany them and arrange the plane tickets to leave.

According to the plan, the entire process might not have been seamless, but they should have at least completed the task one step ahead of the Chinese cultivators. By the time they realized it, He’er would have already boarded the plane back home with the painting. Bringing the painting back then would have been perfectly justifiable.

Yet, a blunder had to happen right there.

He’er said: “The process doesn’t matter, I only care about the results right in front of me!”

He’er was so angry that he could not control the arcs of lightning surging around his body, and Ike also felt the wound on his face throb with pain: “What do we do now?”

He’er replied: “What else can we do? Of course, we go and see how far they have opened the energy field. Also, announce the discovery of the energy field by China to the public, and let other countries get ready.”

Having lost the initiative, they could only finalize the slots as quickly as possible.

Originally, this sovereignty should have been in their hands. Even if the home turf was in China, Chinese cultivators who wanted to go in would have to trade things with them for slots. Just thinking about missing such a great opportunity to deliver a heavy slap to their faces, He’er could not help but throw another tantrum, smashing a whole bunch of things.

He was furious, absolutely furious!

According to past practice, when this kind of unknown energy field was discovered, various countries would first conduct negotiations to finalize the number of people entering, and then increase or decrease personnel based on the actual situation of the energy field.

So He’er and his group never expected that those Chinese cultivators would go straight in after discovering that the energy field was opened.

Xu Mo, who was guarding the outside, had already had people block the news, and no one except core personnel was allowed to approach.

Upon learning of this, the director could not help but curse: “You guys are simply acting wild! No one knows what kind of place it is inside, and they just rushed in headlong like that?!”

The ones who went in were still those three, Jiang Lin, Xiao Yu, and Ren Dao’an. No matter which one it was, they were all talents that the bureau could not afford to lose!

Yue Yanting said in a small voice: “Bai Zhizhi went in too.”

The director was startled upon hearing this: “That little fox?”

Yue Yanting nodded. The director paused for a moment and then roared again: “That is still no reason for them to take such a risk together!”

Although he had received Jiang Lin’s preliminary assessment of the little fox, indicating that he was kind-hearted and held no hostility toward humans, who knew if the small fox demon would still remain kind-hearted and free of hostility when fighting over spiritual treasures inside. This bunch of young rascals was simply too impulsive.

Xu Mo said from the side: “The key that allowed them to enter actually belongs to Bai Zhizhi.”

The director paused yet again upon hearing this: “His? How does he have the key?”

Xu Mo shook his head: “We are not very clear about the specific details, but Captain Jiang did say that the key belongs to Bai Zhizhi, and the spiritual energy that activated and opened this sealing array was also provided by Bai Zhizhi.”

The director let out an “oh”: “So that’s how it is.”

After a moment of silence, the director asked in a low voice: “Did the little fox make any demands?” Otherwise, getting it for free always made people want to suspect a conspiracy, which felt a bit unsettling.

Xu Mo gestured a three: “A seventy-thirty split of what we obtain from inside.”

The director asked: “We get thirty?”

Xu Mo clarified: “We get seventy.”

The director breathed a sigh of relief: “Now that sounds right.”

Only when there were demands could they feel at ease. Moreover, Jiang Lin was not an impulsive person either. As someone who had emerged from one bloody battle after another, he certainly had his calculations for everything he did. The director still trusted Jiang Lin very much.

Xu Mo added: “Right now, only we know that Captain Jiang and Captain Xiao went inside, and it’s still uncertain when they will come out. With He’er around, the news has likely spread to other countries. Director, can you try to win them a bit more time? It would be best if they can come out before the foreign cultivators are confirmed to enter, so we can obtain more useful information.”

The director said: “I will do my best to stall. Keep a close watch here, and I will have Jiang Feng and Chen Yunli come over to help.”

Jiang Feng, the captain of the Nanchuan Brigade, was a sword cultivator just like Jiang Lin. Although his cultivation was not as high as Jiang Lin’s, he was highly capable in combat. Chen Yunli, the captain of the Qiugang Brigade, was best at array formations. Having her guard here to keep an eye on the array would prevent any unexpected changes.

The director looked up at the massive array hovering in the sky, which was still overflowing with spiritual energy, and confirmed once more: “The spiritual energy inside the key was provided with the help of the little fox?”

Xu Mo and Yue Yanting nodded together: “That is what Captain Jiang said. Also, there’s the Tang family.”

The director knew about He’er making a big scene at the Royal Court Club earlier, and the fuss was indeed over a painting from the Tang family’s ancestors. Hearing them mention the Tang family now, he said without a second thought: “The Tang family from whom He’er bought the painting? What happened to them?”

Yue Yanting replied: “Captain Jiang said the Tang family also provided some of the information regarding the energy field, saying that the burned painting was indeed related to it. He’er and his group were clearly prepared. Fearing they would cause trouble for the Tang family, Captain Jiang has already sent people to keep watch. Now that the energy field has been opened successfully, should we offer some reassurance to the Tang family?”

The energy field was naturally formed. The Tang family ancestor had likely stumbled into it by accident, obtained some opportunity to master the method of entering repeatedly, and then passed the information down from generation to generation.

This was originally an ownerless item, so whoever got the key would have ownership. However, the Tang family was quite cooperative, so if this place truly was a stable and sustainably developable energy field, they should give them some benefits.

That was what Jiang Ge meant. He only asked to mention it when meeting the director, and whatever the higher-ups decided to arrange would have nothing to do with them.

The director said: “I understand, you guys keep a good watch.”

Upon hearing that another energy field had appeared, cultivators from various countries were very excited. A new energy field meant new resources and opportunities, which were beneficial both to their countries and their own cultivation. When contacting China’s diplomatic department, every single one of them was terrified of being a step slower than others.

Among these countries, only the United States was extremely angry. They clearly held much more information than China did, so how did they still manage to miss the energy field?

Energy fields were ever-changing and uncontrollable; no one knew when they would pop up, where they would pop up, or when they would suddenly disappear.

According to many years of experience, those energy fields that popped up suddenly were relatively unstable and could disappear at any moment. However, an energy field that was locked by a gate and required a certain item or ritual to open was relatively much more stable.

Russia had an energy field guarded by a gate. The ferocious beasts inside had a hard time coming out, and entry was also restricted. Yet, it had remained stable for over a hundred years. Every few years, Russia would send people inside to explore. This single energy field alone was enough to sustain all of Russia’s cultivators.

Now, another energy field with a gate had appeared, and its history could be traced back even further than Russia’s. If the key were held in the hands of the United States, they would be able to order China around even if the home turf was in China.

Over these years, China had simply developed too fast. If they did not find a way to place some constraints on them, sooner or later, China would ride roughshod over them.

With this thought, the director of the US Awakened Individuals Bureau smashed an ornament on his desk in anger. That fellow He’er was useless at succeeding but more than capable of spoiling things!

No matter how angry the United States was, it could not affect China. Knowing that Jiang Lin and his group had already gone in, the director naturally had to win them some time, and so the discussions regarding the resources to be exchanged for slots went on and on.

In fact, this kind of exchange was rarely done entirely with cultivation materials. A small amount of cultivation materials, combined with resource concessions—such as commercial resources, agricultural trade resources, or non-renewable energy resources—was the best way to ensure both a contribution and a win-win situation.

This had always been the customary model in the past. As long as they were not countries openly at war, no matter how they fought in private, they maintained a harmonious facade. As long as the superficial courtesies were upheld, they would not do anything shameless to make things difficult for others.

They originally thought this time would be similar to before. They did not expect that at the summit of the heads of various cultivation bureaus, the director of China’s bureau would say: “The situation this time is somewhat special. Regarding the resources exchanged for slots, we need to transfer a portion of them to an individual, because the energy consumed to open the energy field this time was provided solely by that party.”

Hearing this, some people were rather confused: “An individual, provided solely?”

The Chinese bureau director brought up the live video: “This is the sealing array of the energy field’s gate. The item continuously providing spiritual energy from the center is the key to opening the gate. The key, as well as the spiritual energy contained within it, are the personal property of an individual. Therefore, the entry resources this time will consist mainly of cultivation materials.”

The resource lists of various countries were sent back for renegotiation, and the same went for the United States. The brief video of the array from the video conference also circulated privately. When it reached He’er’s hands, he was completely stunned.

It actually was not the painting. How could it not be the painting? Could it be that his painting really was not destroyed by the Chinese cultivators? But how could things be so coincidental?

While the various countries were negotiating, Jiang Lin, who had entered the secret realm several days ago, came out with Bai Zhizhi and the others.

Seeing that every one of them was perfectly fine without missing any arms or legs, the people guarding outside let out a sigh of relief.

Xu Mo had the medical staff specially trained by the bureau step forward to check them over: “How is the situation inside? Are any of you injured?”

Xiao Yu said: “There are ferocious beasts inside, quite a few of them actually. Since we had fewer people, we basically avoided them in advance and didn’t have any head-on conflicts. There are also quite a few spiritual items inside, with water spirit crystals covering the entire lakebed.”

Fortunately, they had Bai Zhizhi, who smelled the scent of the ferocious beasts in advance and warned them. These ferocious beasts were not very ferocious either; as long as you did not cross them directly, you could avoid a lot of danger by steering clear from a distance.

Everyone gasped upon hearing this. A lakebed covered in water spirit crystals; even if they were not cultivators of the water element, they could still use these items filled with spiritual energy. Naturally, the more of such things, the better.

Yue Yanting could not help but ask: “Did you guys sweep through them in advance?”

Otherwise, once the cultivators from various countries arrived and entered, they would have to compete with others.

Xiao Yu said: “It is very hard to sweep through them, because that lake is the habitat of the envy fish.”

Back then, even catching a single envy fish took the loss of two awakened individuals. With an entire lake of envy fish, they would probably be torn to shreds the moment they went down.

From this, they could also confirm that the envy fish in the creek here had indeed come out of the secret realm. It was likely that the spiritual energy of the array had dissipated and become unstable, allowing the things inside to slip out.

Hearing this, everyone hissed quietly again. A lake full of envy fish meant that getting the water spirit crystals below would be no easy task.

Without asking more about the situation inside, Xu Mo also briefly explained the situation outside: “The director knows that the key was provided by Bai Zhizhi. The resources exchanged this time have been focused specifically on cultivation resources, and a portion will be given to Bai Zhizhi when the time comes.”

Saying this, he looked at Bai Zhizhi: “These are items outside of the agreed thirty percent. The director said to thank you for providing the key, and you can have first pick of the exchanged resources when the time comes.”

Bai Zhizhi was not polite either: “Alright.”

Whether there was anything he would actually fancy among the items here was another matter, but he was very satisfied with their attitude.

Yue Yanting said: “I heard that the United States has offered a large amount of spiritual soil to exchange for slots this time. Zhizhi, if there is spiritual soil, you should take some. You can plant some of the spiritual herbs you need in your small courtyard.”

Jiang Lin said: “Zhizhi can take whatever he likes. If you don’t know how to farm, taking spiritual soil is useless anyway.”

It was better left to professionals. If Bai Zhizhi ever needed anything, he could just trade the items he had no use for directly with the research institute for spiritual herbs.

Bai Zhizhi was initially a bit dismissive upon hearing about the spiritual soil, but at the thought of the eighty million painting, he swallowed his dismissiveness. Forget it, forget it. Anyway, there were plenty of ferocious beasts inside, and whatever those people could obtain after entering would depend entirely on their own abilities.

Bai Zhizhi had turned the page on his conflict with He’er; as long as He’er did not come to provoke him, he would no longer hold a grudge over He’er offending him in the past.

However, even if he did not hold a grudge, someone else held a massive one.