Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 1149 Greetings, Your Excellency!

"Unfortunately, your service is of no value to me!" Yang Zhengshan said indifferently.

Baiyujing can accept Golden Core cultivators and demon kings from outside, but Baiyujing doesn't accept just anyone.

First of all, Baiyujing would definitely not accept members of the Wuchang Ghost Sect, because many people within Baiyujing have grudges against the Wuchang Ghost Sect.

Lin Qihe has a blood feud with the Wuchang Ghost Sect, which wiped out their entire clan. The Fox Clan and the Spirit Deer Clan were forced to relocate their clans by the Wuchang Ghost Sect, and many of their clansmen died at the hands of the Wuchang Ghost Sect's Yin Soldiers and Blood Puppets.

Secondly, the cultivation methods practiced by the Impermanent Ghost Sect are not compatible with those of Baiyujing. Although there are places with abundant Yin energy in the Spirit Source Land, very few people in the Spirit Source Land cultivate Yin-attribute techniques.

The Spirit Source Land is completely unsuitable for Yin-attribute cultivators, and similarly, Yin-attribute cultivators have no future in the Spirit Source Land.

Therefore, absorbing Yin-attribute cultivators will not only fail to enhance the strength of the Spirit Source Land, but may also affect the harmonious situation of the Spirit Source Land.

Finally, the fact that all members of the Impermanent Ghost Sect are villains is not because they are inherently evil, but because the sect's techniques and environment influence their character, making them act recklessly, without restraint, cruelly, and without moral constraints.

Yang Zhengshan was not a kind person either, but he didn't like to keep bad people around him.

Sensing Yang Zhengshan's displeasure, Li Shanghun panicked, "I... I know a lot about the Impermanent Ghost Sect, I—"

He wanted to demonstrate his value, but Yang Zhengshan interrupted him.

"No need!"

The rapidly spinning Yin-Yang diagram gradually slowed down, and a wisp of white energy drifted out from Li Shanghun's body, falling into the Yang attribute of the Yin-Yang diagram.

"No!"

Li Shanghun cried out in terror, his face aging at a visible rate.

His face already looked very old, but that old age didn't have an air of decay. Now, however, his old age was full of decay.

He wanted to run, but an invisible force was holding him tightly, making it difficult for him to break free and leave.

A few breaths later, Li Shanghun became a lifeless corpse.

With a wave of his hand, Yang Zhengshan collected Li Shanghun's remaining soul into the Seven Treasures Soul-Suppressing Pagoda, and then threw Li Shanghun's corpse into the Soul Hall.

The battle on Yang Zhengshan's side has ended, and the battles of the others are also coming to a close.

Kota, Hong Fuxiu, and Yu Qingyi ganged up on Xie Wushuang. Although Yu Qingyi's current strength was among the weakest of the many Golden Core cultivators, Hua Qingzhu provided her with a lot of help. Hundreds of tree people merged and transformed into a giant tree person. They were not afraid of pain and could recover quickly.

Even when facing Xie Wushuang's Soul Devouring Path, these treants were no longer afraid.

Tree-people possess spirituality and naturally also have divine souls. However, their divine souls are relatively weak, far inferior to those of cultivators. But when they merge together, their divine souls become several times stronger, no weaker than those of cultivators.

Yu Qingyi's tree-men are relatively few in number and of low quality, far inferior to Wan Hua Demon Emperor. Therefore, the giant tree-men she created cannot compare with Golden Core cultivators and can only provide some restraint to Xie Wushuang at most.

However, Yu Qingyi also had Kota and Hong Fuxiu by her side. With the three of them working together, plus Yang Zhengshan sealing off Taixu, Xie Wushuang was neither able to fight back nor escape. He could only be worn down to death by the three of them.

Among the group, Su Mei, the strongest among them, displayed formidable power. Her charm was enough to captivate enemies, and even women found it difficult to resist her allure.

Ling Baishuang is the head of the Soul Refining Hall's Soul Suppression Division. Her cultivation has reached the late stage of the Golden Core stage, and she is about to reach the peak of the Golden Core stage.

In terms of both cultivation and strength, she was superior to Yue Yao, but she was facing Su Mei.

Her eyes were as alluring as autumn water, her smile as lovely as spring flowers. Her delicate body, draped in a light veil, made her seem like the most beautiful woman in the world. Every frown and smile seemed to have a hook. Even though Ling Baishuang was well-versed in the ways of the soul, she could not resist such a seductive charm.

Su Mei's allure is not the kind between men and women, nor is it the allure of lust, but rather a kind of seductive temptation that attracts people's hearts.

She can effortlessly win people's favor, and they will be captivated by her and become her servants without even realizing it.

Simple allure is insufficient to describe her abilities; her abilities are more like the devil's temptation. Beauty is merely the surface; her true power lies in captivating and seducing.

The two exchanged blows for only a few breaths before Ling Baishuang felt herself becoming uncontrollable. Her mind, body, and even the magic power within her body all slipped out of her control at that moment. If it weren't for her true spirit still being intact, she might have completely lost herself.

She was like a puppet on a string, manipulated and controlled by Su Mei, who made her attack her subordinates and companions.

Su Mei stood there, a faint smile on her delicate face, her narrow eyes filled with tender affection, but Ling Baishuang's fear was beyond measure.

Under Su Mei's control, Ling Baishuang fought against Ye Zhongxing. No matter what Ye Zhongxing did, he could not stop Ling Baishuang from killing him.

Ye Zhongxing died at the hands of Ling Baishuang, and Xie Wushuang died in the siege of Kota, Hong Fuxiu, and Yu Qingyi.
But the most unfortunate ones were Gui Linglong and Qi Heiyun. They were the deputy hall masters of the Soul Refining Hall and both had the cultivation level of the late Golden Core stage. Among the many Golden Core cultivators, they were strong enough to be called experts.

However, they faced too many opponents: Yueyao, Su Qingfu, Su Jiangxue, Xuanzhen, Yunxiao, Lin Qihe, and Qingniu, seven people besieging two people.

Yueyao's strength is no weaker than theirs.

Needless to say, they ultimately succumbed to the onslaught of the crowd.

Yang Zhengshan flew over unhurriedly, looked at the fallen Gui Linglong, and nodded slightly.

This time they achieved a resounding victory.

He lured out the Golden Core cultivators of the Soul Refining Hall and annihilated them all in one fell swoop, perfectly completing his previously formulated plan.

"Greetings, Your Excellency!" After finishing their battle, the group bowed to Yang Zhengshan.

They had all been watching the battle on Yang Zhengshan's side. Seeing that Yang Zhengshan not only blocked Chang Zaibu, the sect leader of the Wuchang Ghost Sect, but also seemed to have made Chang Zaibu suffer a great loss, everyone's attitude towards Yang Zhengshan became more and more respectful, especially Su Mei, Yue Yao, Su Qingfu and Su Jiangxue. Only now did they truly understand Yang Zhengshan's strength.

Yang Zhengshan was very satisfied with everyone's attitude and said with a smile, "Let's go, we should go back too. I wonder how the battle at the outpost is going?"

Afterwards, everyone left the void and returned to the real world.

The fighting at the outpost was much more difficult than theirs.

Millions of ghostly soldiers and blood puppets, along with hundreds of skeletal flying boats, launched an attack on the outpost. Although the terrain limited the scale of the attack, the soldiers at the outpost still faced immense pressure.

Even the Loess Thick Spirit Array has been on the verge of collapse many times. If the Spirit Source Land had not prepared a large amount of loess stones and spirit stones in advance, the Loess Thick Spirit Array would have collapsed long ago.

However, since Yang Zhengshan and the others had already returned, the situation of the battle naturally changed. Yang Zhengshan didn't even need to personally intervene; just the actions of Xuanzhen, Yunxiao, Kou Ta, Hong Fuxiu, and Yu Qingyi were enough to immediately turn the tide of the battle.

The five Golden Core cultivators were like tigers among sheep. Wherever they went, whether it was Yin soldiers and blood puppets or disciples of the Impermanent Ghost Sect, none of them could stand against them and could only be slaughtered by the five of them.

Xuanzhen, in particular, chanted a purification mantra, and any Yin soldiers and blood puppets that approached him instantly turned into dried corpses. The dense blood evil energy in their bodies dissipated instantly, turning into pure spiritual energy, which either dissipated into the world or merged into his body.

Fighting against the Impermanent Ghost Sect was like consuming a highly nourishing food; with each Yin Soldier Blood Puppet he purified, his reserves would increase by one point.

Although this one point is very small and almost negligible, the sheer number of them makes up for it.

One is nothing, ten or a hundred is nothing, but tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands, that's quite considerable.

Therefore, Xuanzhen was the most proactive in fighting against the Wuchang Ghost Sect, as were his disciples, because it was a good opportunity for them to improve their cultivation.

At the same time, Xuanzhen was also the one whose cultivation improved the fastest among them. He formed his core more than 20 years later than Yunxiao, but his cultivation had already surpassed Yunxiao's by a lot, and he was not far from the middle stage of core formation.

As the battle drew to a close, Su Mei stood behind Yang Zhengshan, looking down at the battlefield, and asked, "What do we need to do next?"

This time, they thwarted the Wuchang Ghost Sect's plan to occupy the entire Wanhua Mountain Range and almost destroyed the Wuchang Ghost Sect's Soul Refining Hall. Next, they may face the Wuchang Ghost Sect's revenge.

Yang Zhengshan shook his head slightly, "You don't need to do anything, just wait here! I want to see if he dares to come when he's not here!"

Baiyujing's foundation is weak, and it cannot compete with the Wuchang Ghost Sect in terms of attrition. Once they abandon defense and turn to offense, they will surely be trapped in the endless Yin soldiers.

Therefore, their best course of action is to do nothing and simply wait for the Impermanent Ghost Sect to come knocking.

However, the reaction of the Impermanent Ghost Sect was beyond Yang Zhengshan's expectations. Chang Buzai did not come to retaliate, nor did he send the Yin Army to besiege the outpost again. Instead, he contracted the Yin Army's defensive line, abandoned the central area of ​​the Wanhua Mountains, and returned to the northern area they had previously defended.

Yang Zhengshan waited for more than a month but did not see the Impermanent Ghost Sect. Only then did he send Lin Qihe to investigate the situation. The news that Lin Qihe brought back was that the Impermanent Ghost Sect had retreated to the northern region.

Inside the outpost.

Yang Zhengshan was filled with doubt. "Strange, why did the Impermanent Ghost Sect retreat?"

Su Mei and Yue Yao, who were standing next to him, were also very puzzled.

In fact, it was not surprising that Chang Bu was retreating to the northern region. What Yang Zhengshan and the others did not know was that the strength of the Wuchang Ghost Sect was already very weak at this time.

When the Impermanent Ghost Sect first attacked the Wanhua Mountain Range, the sect had more than thirty Golden Core cultivators and Ghost Kings. Now, the Impermanent Ghost Sect has less than fifteen Golden Core cultivators and Ghost Kings left.

Initially, the Impermanent Ghost Sect possessed hundreds of millions of Yin Soldiers and Blood Puppets, but after the great battle with the Myriad Flower Demon Emperor, the Impermanent Ghost Sect had less than thirty million Yin Soldiers and Blood Puppets.

Yang Zhengshan and the others only knew that the Yin army of the Wuchang Ghost Sect had suffered heavy losses, but they did not know that the Golden Core cultivators of the Wuchang Ghost Sect had also suffered many casualties.

Starting with Xing Nan, as many as eight Golden Core cultivators from the Wuchang Ghost Sect died at the hands of Bai Yujing, almost wiping out all the Golden Core cultivators in the Soul Refining Hall.

Prior to this, the Soul Control Hall of the Impermanent Ghost Sect had also suffered heavy damage. An Wusheng, Yu Yuan, and others were attacked by the Heavenly Sword True Monarch at Hidden Sword Mountain, who shattered their Dao bodies and souls with a single sword strike. They have not yet recovered.

In addition, the Wuchang Ghost Sect has lost nearly twenty Golden Core cultivators since the start of its attack on the Wanhua Mountain Range.

Currently, the only remaining forces of the Impermanent Ghost Sect are the Soul Control Hall and Ghost Island. The Soul Control Hall has seven Golden Core cultivators, Ghost Island has six Ghost Kings, and there are also two or three Golden Core cultivators who have recently advanced in the last hundred years.

It can be said that the strength of the Impermanent Ghost Sect is now basically on par with that of Bai Yujing.

Faced with this situation, Chang Buzai had no choice but to abandon his plan to occupy the Wanhua Mountains and instead shrink his defenses to await further developments.

Yang Zhengshan was unaware of these things, so he did not dare to act rashly and simply stayed at the outpost.

As the Wuchang Ghost Sect contracted, several forces in the Western Regions of Wanhua noticed this, as the number of Yin soldiers and blood puppets in the Yunxiao Mountains had clearly decreased significantly.

Hidden Sword Mountain, Hidden Sword Hall.

Tianjian Zhenjun lay lazily on a spacious chair, while Que Lingyu reported to him: "For some reason, the Wuchang Ghost Sect has withdrawn a lot of Yin soldiers and blood puppets!"

"Oh! How many were withdrawn?" Heavenly Sword True Monarch asked casually.

“Originally there were 300,000 Yin soldiers and blood puppets east of Cangyu Mountain, but now there are less than 100,000 left!” Que Lingyu said.

After suffering a major defeat at the foot of Hidden Sword Mountain, the Impermanent Ghost Sect set up its defenses east of Cangyu Mountain and left behind 300,000 Yin soldiers and blood puppets to guard against an attack from Hidden Sword Mountain.

In the eyes of the Impermanent Ghost Sect, there was no need for them to compete with Hidden Sword Mountain. Hidden Sword Mountain was just a remote corner of the world. Although the blessed land it was located in had a third-order spiritual vein, compared to the vast Cloud Sky Mountain Range, that corner of the world was not worth striving for.

As for taking revenge on Hidden Sword Mountain, that's even more impossible.

Chang Zai was not a magnanimous person, but he was also not someone who would risk his life for his subordinates.

After learning that An Wusheng and his group had suffered heavy losses at Cangjian Mountain, he not only abandoned An Wusheng and his group, but also gave up targeting Cangjian Mountain.

After all, Chang Buzai's target was the entire Wanhua Mountain Range, not just the mere Cangjian Mountain.

Heavenly Sword True Monarch stood up, his expression becoming much more serious, and asked, "Have they withdrawn?"

“It should be. They didn’t move to another place; it seems they retreated eastward!” Que Lingyu replied.

Heavenly Sword True Monarch thought for a moment, "It seems someone is blocking the Impermanent Ghost Sect!"

Que Lingyu was somewhat puzzled, "Did it block the Impermanent Ghost Sect?"

"Yes, Chang's goal is simple: the Wanhua Mountains. After the Wanhua Demon Emperor disappeared, it seems that no one can stop them from taking over the Wanhua Mountains!"

"Logically speaking, they had no need to withdraw their army of ghost soldiers from here! Since they did, it means they encountered trouble in the Wanhua Mountains!"

"Immediately send someone to the Wanhua Mountains to find out what's going on!"

Heavenly Sword True Lord gave the order.

The Skylark clan is the best at flying, and their flying speed is extremely fast. It is difficult for both demonic beasts and immortal cultivators of the same level to catch up with them. Therefore, they are the best scouts and can go deep into the Wanhua Mountains to investigate the situation.

(End of this chapter)