Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 1064 Conservation of Spiritual Energy, Zhongli Xiayi Forms Core

In the Yuxiao Palace.

Just as Yang Zhengshan handed the storage bag containing the pills to True Monarch Baiyun, True Monarch Baiyun took out a jade slip and a storage bag and handed them to Yang Zhengshan.

"Haha, look at this!" True Monarch Baiyun laughed loudly.

Yang Zhengshan examined the jade slip and storage bag, a look of "I knew it" appearing in his eyes.

"As expected of the Yokoyama Sect, this is another big deal!"

This time the quantity is much larger than last time, and not just a little bit more, but a full three times more.

There are more types of elixirs now, and their quantities have also increased.

True Monarch Baiyun said, "You may not know, but Wanbaohang has been selling far fewer pills lately!"

"It's gotten less?" Yang Zhengshan was slightly surprised.

"Yes, not only has the quantity decreased, but the price has also increased significantly!" said True Monarch Baiyun.

Yang Zhengshan immediately understood what was going on.

As one of the top forces in the Wanhua Domain, Wanbaohang's business is generally unaffected by changes in the situation.

However, this change in the situation came from a top-tier power, affecting almost the entire Wanhua Domain.

Even if Wanbaohang is incredibly powerful, it's impossible for it to remain unaffected.

Wanbaohang, also known as Wanbaozong, has its own alchemists, weapon refiners, and talisman masters, but most of their goods come from guest retainers.

Guest advisors are just that—guest advisors. They will provide Wanbaohang with various supplies, but they have a great deal of autonomy, and Wanbaohang cannot force them to do so.

Take Yang Zhengshan for example. He is still a guest of Wanbaohang, but in recent years he has been providing Wanbaohang with fewer and fewer pills.

Especially in the last two years, he has been busy refining pills for Hengshan Sect and has not provided a single pill for Wanbaoxing.

Yang Zhengshan is definitely not an exception. Most of Wanbaohang's retainers are probably like Yang Zhengshan, busy refining pills for others and have no time to supply goods to Wanbaohang.

With Wanbaohang's supply of goods decreasing, the number of goods for sale will naturally decrease, which will naturally lead to higher prices.

Not only elixirs, but also magical artifacts and talismans have certainly increased in price.

This is actually a good thing for the Spirit Source Land, because the Spirit Source Land is a production-oriented force. From the most basic cultivation of spiritual herbs and fruits and mining, to the refining of magical artifacts and pills, as well as the drawing of talismans, the construction of formations, and so on, the Spirit Source Land is a force that exports resources to the outside world.

On the contrary, the Hengshan Sect is a resource-consuming force. They use their accumulated resources from thousands of years to purchase various resources from other forces and use them in the war against the South China Sea demons.

This is what is known as profiting from war.

However, Yang Zhengshan thought of a deeper problem, which was the consumption of spiritual energy.

All resources come from spiritual energy.

Spiritual springs, spiritual herbs, spiritual fruits, spiritual minerals, and all other resources originate from the nurturing of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Aura is both conserved and not conserved.

From the perspective of a realm, spiritual energy is not conserved.

However, from the perspective of realms and the void, spiritual energy is conserved.

Because spiritual energy will overflow from the realm into the void during the circulation process.

This problem was discovered when Yang Zhengshan took control of the Immortal Palace of Living Beings.

The spiritual energy of the Immortal Palace of Life is constantly dissipating into the void. Although the dissipation is slow, the Immortal Palace of Life is constantly losing spiritual energy.

Similarly, the same applies to the Wanhua Domain.

Furthermore, the more frequently spiritual energy circulates, the faster it will be lost.

What is Reiki circulation?

The growth of spiritual plants, the refining of elixirs, the forging of magical artifacts, the drawing of talismans, the consumption of elixirs, the improvement of cultivation, the casting of spells, and so on, all involve the circulation of spiritual energy.

When these things are done, spiritual energy will flow into the void.

If it's just a simple refining of a pill, the loss of spiritual energy is negligible.

However, if tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of pills are refined, the amount of spiritual energy lost could be equivalent to hundreds or thousands of low-grade spirit stones.

It doesn't seem like much from this perspective!
But what about the battle?
The amount of spiritual energy lost during a single spellcasting is negligible, but what about after ten thousand spellcastings?
It's probably only a few dozen low-grade spirit stones. Compared to the spiritual energy contained in the entire realm, this loss is nothing.

But here's the question: what about a war? What about a protracted war?
It's not just about casting spells tens or hundreds of thousands of times. There's also the consumption of pills, damage to magic weapons, and the death of cultivators. These are all part of the circulation of spiritual energy, and they will all cause spiritual energy to leak into the void.

There are also battles between Golden Core cultivators. You should know that Golden Core cultivators often fight in the Great Void. The spiritual energy consumed by a single spell of a Golden Core cultivator may be hundreds of thousands of spirit stones. These spirit stones are equivalent to being directly thrown into the Great Void.

Fighting in the void, yet unable to replenish mana there, one can only rely on elixirs or return to the realm to slowly absorb spiritual energy.

The more frequently spiritual energy circulates, the faster it is lost. For a Golden Core cultivator to fight in the Great Void is like pouring spirit stones into the Great Void.

Therefore, war became an accelerator for the loss of spiritual energy in the realm.

One or two wars may not have much impact, but if there are ten or a hundred, it will affect the concentration of spiritual energy in the entire realm.

The struggle for power is a war that affects the entire realm.

Is the struggle for power an accelerator for the loss of spiritual energy in the realm?

The once-in-ten-thousand-years power struggle is like a poison, causing the concentration of spiritual energy in the realm to decrease more and more.

Why are there so many powerful divine beasts in the ancient world of Wanhua Domain?

Why can we only find some descendants of mythical beasts now, but no real mythical beasts can be found anymore?

It is probably because the Wanhua Domain has experienced one power struggle after another that the concentration of spiritual energy has become lower and lower, causing the spiritual source land to no longer be able to nurture powerful divine beasts.

And those desolate lands, perhaps 100,000 years ago, were also treasure lands rich in spiritual energy. It was precisely because of the loss of spiritual energy that large areas of the land became desolate lands.

So what’s the problem?
What exactly is the struggle for power?
Is it a law derived from the natural world?
Yang Zhengshan shook his head, pulling his wandering thoughts back, and looked up at Baiyun Zhenjun, saying, "Since war hasn't befallen us yet, let's first earn some resources during the war!"

"We definitely can't lose such a big client as Hengshan Sect. I'll have to trouble you, Senior Brother, to put in some extra effort!"

Baiyun Zhenjun laughed heartily, "Junior brother thinks the same way as me. As long as the Wuchang Ghost Sect doesn't attack Zhenyang Immortal City, we won't actively participate in the war."

"As for the Hengshan Sect, Junior Brother, don't worry, my relationship with the Hengshan Sect is still quite good!"

Both understood that the involvement of the Tianyun Sword Sect in the war was unavoidable, but they shared the same thought: to delay their involvement as much as possible.

The Heavenly Cloud Sword Sect's foundation is too shallow; it needs more time to prepare.

After the two finished talking, Yang Zhengshan walked out of the Jade Night Palace and was about to return to the Immortal Palace of Life when he was surprised to find that there seemed to be a large patch of dark clouds in the southeast sky.

It's normal to have dark clouds, but what's abnormal is that these dark clouds are releasing streaks of dazzling lightning.

"What is that?" As Baiyun Zhenjun walked out of the main hall, he also noticed the dark clouds in the distance.

“It should be a tribulation of lightning!” Yang Zhengshan said. “Judging from the distance, it’s probably more than three thousand miles. I wonder which side’s people formed their core at this time!” Baiyun Zhenjun said.

More than three thousand miles?

Hmm, the distance should be about right. Although Golden Core cultivators don't have clairvoyance, the scale of the tribulation clouds is quite large, and they are constantly flashing with lightning, so they can still see them.

"More than three thousand miles away, could it be Taoyuan Mountain?" Yang Zhengshan asked, a thought suddenly occurring to him.

"Peach Blossom Mountain? Is someone on Peach Blossom Mountain in seclusion to form their Golden Core?" True Monarch Baiyun asked in confusion.

“Yes, Fellow Daoist Xiayi is at Peach Abyss Mountain!” Yang Zhengshan said.

True Monarch Baiyun revealed a look of sudden realization, "Then it really could be her!"

He naturally recognized Zhongli Xiayi, after all, he was also a guest of Wanbaohang and had had a lot of contact with Wanbaohang in the past.

"I'll go take a look!" Yang Zhengshan said with a smile.

“Very well, if it is Fellow Daoist Xia Yi, then you can represent our Tianyun Sword Sect to present a congratulatory gift!” said True Monarch Baiyun.

We couldn't refuse Wanbaohang's request, and the Zhongli family's request was also involved.

The Zhongli family is a very powerful immortal clan within the Wanbao Sect. It is said that the ancestor of the Zhongli family was a powerful figure at the peak of the Golden Core stage.

Both Baiyun Zhenjun and Yang Zhengshan are guests of Wanbaohang, so naturally they need to maintain a good relationship with Wanbaohang.

If Zhongli Xia successfully forms her golden core, a congratulatory gift is inevitable.

After bidding farewell to True Lord Baiyun, Yang Zhengshan entered the Great Void and sped off towards Peach Abyss Mountain.

Before they even reached Peach Abyss Mountain, the dark clouds of the lightning tribulation had already dissipated, but he was certain that the dark clouds were indeed at Peach Abyss Mountain.

If no one else on Peach Blossom Mountain is in seclusion to form their core, then the person undergoing this tribulation must be Zhongli Xiayi.

Arriving near Taoyuan Mountain, Yang Zhengshan looked up at the dissipating dark clouds in the sky.

"Success!"

As soon as he appeared, Zhongli Yue came to his side.

"So it's Fellow Daoist Yang!" Zhongli Yue said with a gentle smile.

"Brother Zhongli, has Fellow Daoist Xiayi achieved Core Formation?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

"That's right, I just completed my tribulation and am currently comprehending my supernatural powers!" Zhongli Yue's smile widened even further.

Yang Zhengshan laughed heartily, "Congratulations!"

With three members of the Zhongli family reaching the Golden Core stage, the Zhongli family can be considered one of the top immortal clans.

Moreover, Zhongli Yue and Zhongli Xiayi are still young, both siblings are not yet four hundred years old.

With these two siblings around, the Zhongli family will prosper for at least another two thousand years.

Yang Zhengshan was extremely envious of this.

Although the Immortal Palace of the Living Realm has three Golden Core cultivators—Yang Zhengshan, Yunxiao, and the Green Ox Demon King—they can be considered as three Golden Core cultivators.

However, neither Yunxiao nor the Green Ox Demon King were members of the Yang family; they were merely guest retainers of the Yang family.

Yang Zhengshan had always wanted to cultivate a Golden Core cultivator for the Yang family.

However, this is quite difficult.

Among the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Yang family, Yang Jizhen has the highest cultivation level, but he is only at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, and there is still a gap between him and the late-stage of Foundation Establishment.

Yang Zongyuan has the best talent, but whether he can form his core on his own is still an unknown.

Yang Qingyu's talent is also quite good, but she has only recently established her foundation and it's not time for her to consider forming her core yet.

"Hehe, Fellow Daoist Yang, would you like to come in and have a seat?" Zhongli Yue asked.

Yang Zhengshan looked around and at the same time scanned the void with his spiritual sense.

He witnessed quite a few interesting events along the way. Peach Blossom Mountain is located in the northern part of the Wanhua Mountain Range, but it is close to the central part of the Wanhua Mountain Range. This area is where the battles between the Wuchang Ghost Sect and the Wanhua Demon Court are most frequent.

When he arrived, he saw two increasingly large-scale battles taking place in the mountains and forests.

Although no one returned to provoke Wanbaohang at this time, Zhongli Xiayi's tribulation attracted a lot of attention.

Several hidden auras were present in the void, and there were also many Foundation Establishment cultivators around.

"No need, I'll just wait in the Great Void. I'll come to visit again after Fellow Daoist Xia Yi emerges from seclusion!" Yang Zhengshan smiled and then entered the Great Void.

Although Zhongli Xiayi has completed her tribulation, this is also the most crucial time for her to comprehend the divine power.

There may not be many people who dare to cause trouble in Taoyuan Mountain, but it's not impossible.

Yang Zhengshan waited inside the Great Void, partly because he didn't want to be disliked, and partly because he wanted to protect Zhongli Xiayi.

He had a good relationship with Zhongli Yue and Zhongli Xiayi, but it was not appropriate for him to enter the formation at this time.

If he accepted Zhongli Yue's invitation, it would seem rather tactless.

He did not conceal his aura in the void, but instead revealed his withering and flourishing divine power.

The Yin-Yang Diagram of Withering and Flourishing unfolded, forming a Yin-Yang domain within the void, almost completely enveloping the Qi around Peach Abyss Mountain.

Anyone who tries to approach Peach Abyss Mountain from Taixu cannot escape his perception.

Concealing one's aura can deceive his spiritual sense, but it cannot deceive his withering and flourishing supernatural powers.

Within the Yin-Yang Diagram of Decline and Flourishing, the lifespan of all living beings and the dead will be revealed to Yang Zhengshan, rendering any concealment methods useless.

A dozen days later, Zhongli Xiayi emerged from seclusion, and Yang Zhengshan entered Taoyuan Mountain.

Looking at the elegant and graceful Zhongli Xiayi, Yang Zhengshan couldn't help but smile broadly, "Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Xiayi, on achieving the Golden Core! May you live a long and healthy life!"

Zhong Lixia was dressed in a purple palace gown, which made her look even more beautiful and elegant. "I didn't expect Fellow Daoist Yang to arrive so quickly!"

"Haha, Fellow Daoist Xia Yi has achieved Core Formation! Of course, I came to congratulate you as soon as possible!" Yang Zhengshan laughed loudly.

Zhong Lixia covered her mouth and chuckled, "Fellow Daoist Yang, please come in!"

As she spoke, she led Yang Zhengshan into the tea room.

The two sat down and began exchanging their cultivation experiences while sipping tea.

Of course, it was mainly Yang Zhengshan who was giving Zhongli Xiayi pointers. After all, Yang Zhengshan had been in the Core Formation stage for over forty years, so he could still give Zhongli Xiayi some pointers.

Of course, Zhongli Xiayi probably doesn't need some basic knowledge about the Golden Core stage, since she has an older brother who is also at the Golden Core stage.

So Yang Zhengshan talked about his insights into the divine way and the Great Void.

(End of this chapter)