Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 1442 - 909: Researching the Path of Life and Death (2)

This meant that Yang Zhenshan could control the life and death of others from the level of Lifespan itself.

Of course, he still couldn’t do that yet. At present, at most he could only strip away a few decades of someone’s Lifespan.

Even a few decades of Lifespan was enough to throw countless Cultivators into extreme terror.

After figuring out the Withered and Flourishing Divine Power, Yang Zhenshan was actually quite happy.

This Divine Skill might not be of much use for now, but its potential was immense.

Being able to comprehend such a terrifying Divine Skill was definitely Heaven’s favor.

After that, Yang Zhenshan exchanged some Cultivation Insights with Yu Qingyi. Mainly, he recounted to Yu Qingyi the process by which he comprehended the Divine Skill, hoping Yu Qingyi could also comprehend the Path of Life and Death.

In the end, he had no idea whether Yu Qingyi gained anything, but after listening to him, Yu Qingyi went into seclusion as well.

Yang Zhenshan’s own seclusion had come to an end. Just as he was preparing to go to the Pill Hall to refine a batch of Demon Essence Pills, Qingxia came looking for him.

"Master, this is an invitation from Ziwei Tower!"

Qingxia handed an invitation to Yang Zhenshan. Yang Zhenshan opened it with some surprise and glanced over it.

"Zhang Xian of the Wuxiang Sect!"

"Has there been any change in the Sea of Spirit lately?"

Qingxia replied, "No major changes. It’s just that everyone’s busy preparing congratulatory gifts for Zhang Xian."

Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly. Divine Soul Realm Martial Artists were not Golden Body Realm Martial Artists. With Zhang Xian advancing to the Divine Soul Realm, all the powers in the Sea of Spirit naturally had to send gifts to show their respect.

He lowered his head and looked again at the contents of the invitation.

"Martial Immortal Ceremony!"

Zhang Xian was going to hold a Martial Immortal Ceremony. This wasn’t unexpected. The Sea of Spirit had such a custom: every newly advanced Divine Soul Realm Martial Artist would hold a Martial Immortal Ceremony, just like the Foundation Establishment ceremony for an Immortal Cultivator.

"Leave this matter to Ziwei Tower to handle." He handed the invitation back to Qingxia.

"Master isn’t going in person?" Qingxia asked doubtfully.

"A bunch of Martial Artists having a big gathering—what would an old man like me go there for?" Yang Zhenshan shook his head slightly and said.

Immortal Cultivators and Martial Artists were hard to put together, not only because of status, but because the two paths simply couldn’t be discussed on the same footing.

Yang Zhenshan had once been a Martial Artist, but now he could no longer guide Golden Body Realm Martial Artists in their cultivation, because he had never experienced the Golden Body Realm cultivation process himself.

By the same token, Martial Artists were even less able to guide Immortal Cultivators.

The Paths being different, there was no point plotting together. Immortal Path and Martial Arts might share many similarities, but their differences were also huge, making it difficult to draw on each other or to communicate deeply.

If it were a gathering of Immortal Cultivators, he wouldn’t mind going to take a look. He might even be able to exchange Cultivation Insights with fellow Daoists.

But for a Martial Artists’ gathering, he really didn’t want to waste the time.

"Then who should go? Does Master have anyone in mind?" Qingxia asked.

These weren’t questions she wanted to ask; they were from Ziwei Tower.

Since this involved a Divine Soul Realm Martial Artist, Ziwei Tower naturally attached great importance to it. Aside from Yang Zhenshan personally making the decision, it was hard for anyone else to decide.

Yang Zhenshan pondered for a moment. "Have Ming Cheng and Ding Qiu make a trip."

After all, this concerned a Divine Soul Realm Martial Artist. He could afford not to care, but the Yang family could not be seen as indifferent.

Yang Mingcheng was the Yang Family’s eldest son and also a Golden Body Realm Martial Artist; he could fully represent the Yang family.

"Yes!"

Qingxia acknowledged and then took her leave.

Yang Zhenshan, with a flicker of his figure, arrived at the Pill Hall on Flame Mountain.

Inside the Pill Hall, Zhang Hexuan and Yang Zongyuan were in the middle of Alchemy.

"Master!"

"Forefather!"

When the two saw Yang Zhenshan, they hurriedly stood up and saluted.

Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly, swept his Spiritual Sense over the Pill Furnace, and asked, "Why have you come back?"

Zhang Hexuan grinned. "This Disciple has made great progress in Alchemy lately, so I came back to try refining Gathering Spirit Pills."

He had been staying in Qingli Immortal City these years, but he would occasionally return to the Spirit Source Land, either to consult Yang Zhenshan or to use the Furnace of Eight Trigrams in the Pill Hall to test his Alchemy level.

The reason he needed the Furnace of Eight Trigrams for testing was because the Furnace of Eight Trigrams had Golden Crow Fire Control, allowing him to fully concentrate on other aspects without worrying about Fire Control, thereby enhancing his understanding of other facets.

Yang Zhenshan stepped forward to observe the changes in medicinal properties inside the Pill Furnace and lightly shook his head. "Your control over the medicinal properties is still a bit off. This batch of Gathering Spirit Pills has failed."

The Gathering Spirit Pill was a Second-Order Pill. Although it was one of the relatively easier Second-Order Pills to refine, its difficulty was still far above that of any First-order Pill.

Zhang Hexuan had indeed improved in Alchemy, but he was still some distance from becoming a Second-rank Alchemist.

"This Disciple sensed that as well," Zhang Hexuan said.

Yang Zhenshan turned his gaze on him. "No need to rush Alchemy. Your cultivation has been at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer for a few years now. It’s time to prepare for Foundation Establishment."

Cultivation was the foundation; everything else came after it.

The progress of his seven Disciples’ cultivation was all step-by-step. They could almost all reach Great Perfection of the Qi Refining Ninth Layer around the age of fifty.

Yang Jizhen, Ma Qiuyan, and Cui Yang had already successfully established their Foundations. Ning Yun had also begun preparing for Foundation Establishment and, barring accidents, would attempt it next year.

Zhang Hexuan was now forty-five. He’d reached the Qi Refining Ninth Layer three years ago. After polishing his cultivation for a few more years, he would be able to attempt Foundation Establishment.

"This Disciple understands." Zhang Hexuan responded happily.

Just then, a dull bang sounded from within the Pill Furnace—the Qi Gathering Pill had clearly failed.

"Clean out the Pill Furnace. I’m going to refine Demon Essence Pills."

Yang Zhenshan gave a brief instruction, and Zhang Hexuan and Yang Zongyuan immediately got busy.

One took charge of cleaning the Pill Furnace, the other prepared medicinal ingredients. In less than an hour, everything was ready.

...

Several days later.

Yang Mingcheng and Ding Qiu arrived together at the Wuxiang Sect.

The mountain gate of the Wuxiang Sect was not as grand and ethereal as that of the Xuanqing Sect, nor as peaceful and harmonious as the Illusion Moon Sect. The Wuxiang Sect looked more like a massive temple complex.

Within the Sect, there were dozens of pagodas, more than ten temples, as well as halls, pavilions, and waterside buildings.

The Wuxiang Sect had pagodas and temples that enshrined Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, but the Wuxiang Sect was not a Buddhist Sect. Buddhist belief was confined to the Precepts Hall.

The reason for this traced back to when Heavenly Sword True Monarch founded the Wuxiang Sect and appointed its first Sect Master—a Buddhist cultivator.

Heavenly Sword True Monarch needed a Martial Arts Sect, but the Sect Master was a Buddhist cultivator. Thus, this Buddhist cultivator did not turn the Wuxiang Sect into a Buddhist Sect; he only left the Buddhist inheritance in the Wuxiang Sect’s Precepts Hall.

The Wuxiang Sect was especially lively today. Not only had Sects and Families of the Sea of Spirit sent people, but powers from all surrounding regions had also sent representatives to attend Zhang Xian’s Martial Immortal Ceremony.

Yang Mingcheng and Ding Qiu were led by a Disciple of the Wuxiang Sect to a plaza in front of a palace.

The plaza was filled with tables, each laid with fruits and tea.

The seats assigned to Yang Mingcheng and Ding Qiu were fairly close to the front; they weren’t placed in the back rows.

Moreover, seated to their left was none other than Lu Fusheng.

"Junior Yang Mingcheng greets Uncle Lu!" Upon seeing Lu Fusheng, Yang Mingcheng hurried forward and bowed.

The Yang family and the Lu family had been on friendly terms for many years. Although Yang Zhenshan had rarely shown himself in the Sea of Spirit in recent years, there had been plenty of cooperation between the Yang family and the Lu family.

Yang Mingcheng recognized Lu Fusheng at a glance and felt an unusual sense of closeness.

Because Lu Fusheng’s appearance was very similar to the former Yang Zhenshan—tall and straight, with a majestic bearing and flowing beard. If one only swept by in a hurry, one might even mistake Lu Fusheng for the old Yang Zhenshan.

However, Lu Fusheng did not recognize Yang Mingcheng. As the Yang Family’s eldest son, Yang Mingcheng had almost never appeared in the Sea of Spirit. This was his first public appearance in this region.

"You are?" Lu Fusheng looked at him in puzzlement.

"Junior Yang Mingcheng. My father is Yang Zhenshan," Yang Mingcheng said straightforwardly.

Lu Fusheng’s expression grew serious. "So it’s the eldest young master of the Yang family!"

"Uncle, please don’t overpraise this junior. Just call me Ming Cheng." Yang Mingcheng showed his trademark honest smile.

It was no secret in the Sea of Spirit that the Yang family had four young masters. It was just that everyone was very unfamiliar with them, because they rarely appeared in the Sea of Spirit.

So people only knew the Yang family had four young masters, but few had actually met them.

Lu Fusheng had only met Yang Mingzhi before.

"Hahaha, it’s rare to see you, talented nephew!" Lu Fusheng laughed.

Times were different now. Back then, the Yang family was just the inconspicuous Lingxi Yang Family, whereas now the Yang family was the Lingxiu Yang family. More importantly, "Lingxiu Yang family" was just a label. The Yang family had long since stepped out of the Sea of Spirit, not only entering Qingli Immortal City but also White Cloud Immortal City.

And the strength the Yang family had displayed was not to be underestimated.

Now the Yang family was already the strongest among the twelve Families of Lingxiu.

This was an acknowledged fact, one that even the three great Sects recognized.