Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 1186: Chapter 790: Hidden Sword Mountain, Lingxiu Three Sects, Nether Prison Sect (Part 2)

"So that’s how it is, haha, the aptitude of the head of the Yang family really makes this old man envious!" Lu Fusheng said.

He was truly envious. Actually, Yang Zhenshan didn’t know that, in the Sea of Spirit, the status of Immortal Cultivators is far superior to that of Martial Artists.

On the surface, there are no Immortal Cultivators in the Sea of Spirit, but in reality, the Three Sects and the Twelve Families are all cultivating Immortal Cultivators.

As for why Immortal Cultivators are not well-known in the Sea of Spirit, it contributes to the fact that the vast majority of people are unaware of their existence.

Firstly, because there’s no noticeable difference between Immortal Cultivators and Martial Artists in appearance, someone who isn’t acquainted with Immortal Cultivators would just consider them as Martial Artists.

Secondly, because the Immortal Cultivators trained by the Three Sects and Twelve Families often focus on cultivating a hundred arts, such as Alchemy, Artifact Refining, Array, etc., where Immortal Cultivators have significant advantages. This has already been proven by Yang Zhenshan and Wang Mingzhe earlier.

There’s also a third reason, which is the difficulty of Immortal Cultivation, not only are their numbers fewer than Martial Artists, but even their realms do not match those of Martial Artists in the Sea of Spirit.

The Qi Refinement Realm is manageable, but progressing to the Foundation Establishment Stage is exceedingly difficult.

Over millennia, the Three Sects and Twelve Families have acquired many Immortal Dao Skills and inheritances from Ancient Relic Arrays, but Foundation Establishment Immortal Cultivators they’ve cultivated are few and far between.

Thus, outsiders are unaware of the presence of Immortal Cultivators within the Three Sects and Twelve Families, or that many high-level figures of the Three Sects and Twelve Family are Immortal Cultivators.

"Senior Lu, I have some questions I’d like to ask you, if that’s possible?"

It was a rare opportunity to meet a Martial God expert, and since this Martial God expert was willing to sit down and have tea with him, Yang Zhenshan naturally hoped to gain more information about the Immortal Path from his mouth.

"No problem, speak your mind!"

"Haha, I am life-and-death brothers with Lan Peng, so if you’re a friend of Lan Peng, you’re my friend too!"

Lu Fusheng said amiably.

His friendship with Lan Peng was genuine. To say that Lan Peng’s friends were also his friends, however, was not necessarily true.

He hadn’t mentioned it before, but upon confirming that Yang Zhenshan was an Immortal Cultivator, he brought it up, implying an unspoken meaning.

Yang Zhenshan being an Immortal Cultivator is what gave him the eligibility to be his friend.

"Thank you, Senior, for valuing me. As you know, I’ve just begun to cultivate the Immortal Path and lack understanding of it, so I wish to find like-minded people to exchange ideas. Is there any place for Immortal Cultivators to communicate in the Sea of Spirit?" Yang Zhenshan asked.

On the Immortal Path, he was currently a complete Loose Cultivator, but how could one cultivate without interaction?

Wealth, land, technique, and companions are the four necessary conditions for cultivation, and Yang Zhenshan currently lacked communication with peers the most.

Lu Fusheng shook his head slightly, "There are no Immortal Cultivation workshops in the Sea of Spirit. If the head of the Yang family seeks one, he may consider going to the Lotus Heart Valley in the north."

"Lotus Heart Valley?"

"Yes, it is located northeast of the Yunxiao Mountain Range, about four thousand miles from the Sea of Spirit!"

"Are there many Immortal Cultivation forces there?"

"Not many, but certainly more than in the Sea of Spirit, there are several Immortal Cultivation Families."

Immortal Cultivation Families and Martial Arts Families are entirely different concepts. The rise of a Martial Arts Family is easy, as long as one generation has a martial arts expert, a Martial Arts Family can be established.

Like the Lingxi Yang family, established because an ancestor reached the Heavenly Gang Stage, forming the Lingxi Yang Family, a Martial Arts Family.

However, the foundation of an Immortal Cultivation Family is not the possession of an Immortal Cultivator, but that each generation of the family must have stable births of Spiritual Acupoints, otherwise, the Immortal Cultivation Family cannot continue.

"Why is it that the Sea of Spirit does not have any Immortal Cultivation Families?" Yang Zhenshan inquired.

Lu Fusheng chuckled, "It’s not that there aren’t any, just very few. The Sea of Spirit has only two Immortal Cultivation Families, one is the Zhang family of the Xuanqing Sect, and the other is the Yue family of the Illusion Moon Sect."

"I see!" Yang Zhenshan suddenly realized.

It wasn’t that there are no Immortal Cultivation Families in the Sea of Spirit, they were just overshadowed by the Major Sects.

Yang Zhenshan pondered further and asked, "Is Hidden Sword Mountain an Immortal Dao Sect?"

"It can be considered as such, but not completely!" Lu Fusheng explained. "Hidden Sword Mountain is quite unique; they primarily focus on the Immortal Path, with a supplementary focus on Martial Arts. Moreover, the Immortals of Hidden Sword Mountain are all Sword Cultivators, which are quite powerful among Immortal Cultivators."

"What is the relationship between Hidden Sword Mountain and the Three Major Sects?"

"Hehe, the Three Major Sects are affiliates of Hidden Sword Mountain!"

Yang Zhenshan was taken aback, "What?"

Lu Fusheng seemed delighted to see Yang Zhenshan’s shocked expression and laughed heartily, "Most people believe the Sea of Spirit belongs to the Three Major Sects, but in reality, the Sea of Spirit and half of the Yunxiao Mountain Range belong to Hidden Sword Mountain!"

"Hidden Sword Mountain is the true master of the Sea of Spirit!"

Yang Zhenshan was truly shocked. He had speculated about the relationship between the Three Major Sects and Hidden Sword Mountain, thinking Hidden Sword Mountain had a close relationship with the Three Major Sects but never imagined they were affiliates.

"But Lan Peng told me that the relationship between Hidden Sword Mountain and the Three Major Sects isn’t very good!"

Lu Fusheng raised a tea cup and sipped, "That’s not inaccurate to say!"

"While the Three Major Sects are affiliates of Hidden Sword Mountain, no sect wishes to remain a subordinate forever, especially when three of them have Martial Immortal experts!"

"Martial Immortals can’t compare to Golden Core Cultivators, but their strength is certainly above that of Foundation Establishment Cultivators."

"Three hundred years ago, the last Golden Core Cultivator of Hidden Sword Mountain ascended!"

He lowered his voice as he spoke.

Upon hearing his final words, Yang Zhenshan immediately understood the situation.

Currently, Hidden Sword Mountain no longer has Golden Core Cultivators, and thus can no longer suppress the Three Major Sects. Naturally, the Three Major Sects want to break free of Hidden Sword Mountain’s control, perhaps even wanting to replace it.

Hence, Hidden Sword Mountain remained withdrawn, disappearing from public view.

As for why the Three Major Sects don’t destroy Hidden Sword Mountain, it’s probably because they can’t.

No matter what, Hidden Sword Mountain is an Immortal Dao Sect; even without Golden Core Cultivators, they aren’t easily manipulated.

Sect like Hidden Sword Mountain surely have formidable Mountain Protection Arrays.

It’s likely that even Martial Immortal experts would find it difficult to break Hidden Sword Mountain’s Mountain Protection Array.

Unable to destroy Hidden Sword Mountain and wanting to break free from its control, the Three Major Sects maintain a tepid relationship with it.

They don’t dare completely sever ties with Hidden Sword Mountain because they fear that if Hidden Sword Mountain produces another Golden Core Cultivator in the future, they will settle accounts with them.

Yang Zhenshan immediately grasped the nuances of this relationship.

He also understood why Hidden Sword Mountain only exists in legend, why they are uninterested amidst treasures like Ancient Relic Arrays, and why the Nether Prison Sect dares to wage war against the Three Major Sects.

"Is there an Immortal Dao Sect behind the Nether Prison Sect?" Yang Zhenshan’s eyes shone.

Lu Fusheng looked at Yang Zhenshan with appreciation, "No, but the Nether Prison Sect is transitioning toward becoming an Immortal Dao Sect, and they just need a Golden Core Cultivator to become one."

Yang Zhenshan fully understood that the Nether Prison Sect wasn’t challenging the Three Major Sects, but Hidden Sword Mountain.

With Hidden Sword Mountain secluded, the Three Major Sects naturally became the Nether Prison Sect’s focus, and their motivations couldn’t be clearer—they wanted the Sea of Spirit and the Ancient Relic Arrays.

"Will Hidden Sword Mountain intervene?"

Lu Fusheng shook his head slightly, "I really don’t know, I don’t know much about Hidden Sword Mountain either."

Yang Zhenshan pondered whether Hidden Sword Mountain would help the Three Major Sects.

They probably would!

Though the Three Major Sects wanted to detach from Hidden Sword Mountain, they have deep connections, and there may be opportunities to reclaim them.

However, if the Nether Prison Sect annihilates the Three Major Sects, staking a claim over the Sea of Spirit and Ancient Relic Arrays, it would not be easy for Hidden Sword Mountain to reclaim them in the future.

Having clarified the relationships between the Nether Prison Sect, the Three Major Sects, and Hidden Sword Mountain, Yang Zhenshan felt much clearer, no longer as uncertain as before.

Thereafter, Yang Zhenshan consulted Lu Fusheng on some cultivation matters, and Lu Fusheng honestly and freely shared his knowledge.

Though Lu Fusheng was not an Immortal Cultivator, his understanding surpassed Yang Zhenshan’s.

Apart from the Immortal Path, there was also Martial Arts.

With Lu Fusheng’s insights, Yang Zhenshan not only learned a lot of common knowledge about the Immortal Path but also gained some understanding of the Martial God Realm.