Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 711 Setting Sail, Linfeng Island
In the secluded courtyard, Xuanzhen was dozing off under the shade of a tree.

Over the past few years, Xuanzhen has aged considerably, with a full head of white hair, deep wrinkles on his face, and a hunched back. Even his eyes have become much more cloudy.

"You finally came!"

Upon seeing Yang Zhengshan walk over with his hands behind his back, Xuanzhen Daoist revealed a faint smile.

Yang Zhengshan looked at Xuanzhen Daoist with some surprise. He did not expect Xuanzhen Daoist to be so old.

Seemingly noticing Yang Zhengshan's surprise, Xuanzhen laughed and said, "If you don't set off soon, this humble Taoist will soon grow old and die!"

Yang Zhengshan sat down next to him. "Why bother?"

"I will not be satisfied if I do not go and see!" Xuanzhen's expression became much more complicated.

“That’s right. If it were me, I wouldn’t be willing to accept it either!” Yang Zhengshan said, deeply agreeing.

As you hear the news, you can die in the evening.

Although the Great Zhao Dynasty cannot represent the Great Dao, one can find a higher realm of martial arts within it.

Yang Zhengshan went to Dazhao for two purposes: one was to find more spiritual roots, that is, the seeds of spiritual fruits, and the other was to find a way to break through to the Innate Realm.

In the vast ocean, one might find a way to enter the Dao, but one will absolutely not find a way to break through to the Innate Realm, that is, to enter the Martial God Realm.

If Yang Zhengshan wants to become a Martial God, he must go to the Great Zhao Dynasty across the Stormy Sea.

“Then let’s go. We’ll depart in three days!” Yang Zhengshan said.

“Alright!” Xuanzhen Daoist replied with a smile.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. A jet-black ship was moored in the port of Shenmu Island. The ship was not large, only about ten zhang long, far smaller than the large Fu ship, and it only had three masts, barely qualifying as a medium-sized warship.

The ship is relatively short and lacks facilities such as a superstructure; the only deck has two cabins at the stern.

This ship was specially built for traversing stormy seas. It is constructed entirely of heavy ironwood, making it quite heavy and deep-draft, giving it a strong ability to withstand wind and waves.

"The family is counting on you guys. I estimate it will be seven or eight years before I can come back!"

On the port platform, Yang Zhengshan spoke to Yang Mingzhi and Jiang He.

"Father, don't worry, I will protect Shenmu Island!" Yang Mingzhi said solemnly.

This time, Yang Zhengshan took away most of the Yang family's strength. The Yang family's focus has shifted to the Spirit Source Land. The strength left on Shenmu Island is not much, but it is not weak either.

Although Yang Mingzhi has not yet entered the Dao, his strength is already at the peak of the Innate Realm below the Dao stage. Many ancient beings who have not entered the Dao are probably no match for him.

Besides Yang Mingzhi, there are more than thirty Innate Realm martial artists and a thousand strong archers on Shenmu Island.

These thousand strong archers were not the same as the previous thousand. After the Yang family shifted their focus to the Spirit Source Land, Yang Zhengshan incorporated most of the strong archers into the Guardian Hall, leaving only two hundred for Yang Mingzhi.

The thousand archers on Shenmu Island are new recruits trained based on those two hundred men.

Meanwhile, the Guardian Hall of the Spirit Source Land also recruited two hundred more people, maintaining a strength of one thousand archers.

Yang Zhengshan nodded, then nodded to Jiang He, and boarded the boat.

Xuanzhen, Chen Zhongshu, and Lü Hua followed and boarded the ship. There were thirty sailors on board who were responsible for navigating the ship. In addition, Yang Zhengshan, Li Chang, and Wang Lei were also on board.

Yang Zhengshan brought this many people with him on this voyage.

The ship set sail under the watchful eyes of Yang Mingzhi, Jiang He, and others.

It slowly sailed away from the port and headed east.

There is still a long distance from Shenmu Island to the Storm Sea. It is necessary to first sail eastward for thousands of miles, bypass the Longdan Dynasty, and then enter the Ninghai Islands from the south of the Longdan Dynasty.

The Ninghai Islands are a dense chain of islands, with thousands of islands stretching more than 2,000 miles from east to west. The verdant islands are connected together, like a colorful ribbon inlaid on the vast sea.

These archipelagos do not have very large islands; the largest island is only slightly larger than Shenmu Island. However, there are many islands that are about the same size as Xingyue Island.

There are many forces on the Ninghai Islands, large and small, and the situation is far more chaotic than in the central and western parts of the vast sea.

However, none of this had much to do with Yang Zhengshan and his group. They were just passersby and wouldn't care about the fighting in the Ninghai Islands.

Of course, there is never a shortage of people in this world who will willingly walk into danger. It would be unreasonable to try to cross the chaotic Ninghai Islands without encountering a few robberies.

Yang Zhengshan and his crew's boat was small and a lone vessel, so naturally some people would try to stop them and rob them.

Needless to say, along the way, Yang Zhengshan and his men threw thousands of people into the sea to feed the fish.

They were simply unlucky to run into Yang Zhengshan and his group.

After sailing for more than a month, Yang Zhengshan and his group arrived at Linfeng Island, the easternmost island of the Ninghai Archipelago.

An island located on the edge of a stormy sea, the island is neither large nor prosperous.

Places like Linfeng Island are practically backwaters; aside from those who want to venture into stormy seas, nobody wants to come to this remote corner.

However, you shouldn't underestimate Linfeng Island because of this.

Those who dare to venture into the stormy seas must be innate martial artists, and even more powerful ones at that.

Ordinary innate martial artists would not dare to easily enter the stormy sea area.

Therefore, many powerful innate martial artists are mixed in with this Linfeng Island.

They were either preparing to enter the storm area or hesitating about whether to enter it.

The ship slowly docked at the pier of Linfeng Island. Yang Zhengshan looked at the small town behind the pier, his expression slightly changing.

"Can you feel it?" he asked softly.

"Hmm, it seems there are quite a few powerful martial artists!" Xuanzhen Daoist said calmly.

Yang Zhengshan smiled and said, "Let's go, let's go and meet these powerful figures!"

After saying that, he led everyone off the ship.

Every place has its own unique characteristics, and the unique characteristic of Linfeng Island is that it has many innate martial artists from all over the world.

According to the information Yang Zhengshan had previously gathered, any innate powerhouse within the vast sea area who wanted to enter the Stormy Sea would first arrive at Linfeng Island and stay for a while.

Firstly, it's for resupplying supplies, as there are no resupply points within the Stormy Seas, making Linfeng Island the last resupply point through the Stormy Seas.

Secondly, it is to wait for the calm period in the storm-prone sea area. The so-called calm period does not mean that there is no wind or the wind is relatively small, but rather that it is slightly milder than the storm and waves.

The storm-prone sea area experiences a calm period of about two months each year, roughly between July and October. The exact timing may vary, but it generally falls between July and October.

It's slightly safer to enter the stormy seas during the calm season, so every year around July, some innate experts who want to cross the stormy seas come to Linfeng Island to wait for the calm season to arrive.

It was early July, and Yang Zhengshan was calculating the days until the day he set sail.

As soon as Yang Zhengshan stepped off the boat, a middle-aged man in a gray short-sleeved shirt came up to him, bowing and scraping.

"Senior, please feel free to ask me anything. I am very familiar with everything on the island!" The middle-aged man was probably around forty years old and should be a martial artist who had acquired his skills, but he looked more like a shop assistant.

In fact, he was a middleman, or a hanger-on, broker, etc.

Their job is to run errands for strangers coming to the island, give directions, and introduce them to businesses.

Yang Zhengshan looked up at the clear sky, then glanced at the undulating sea to the east, before asking the middle-aged man in front of him, "What's your name?"

"My surname is Zhang, and my given name is Hanshan," Zhang Hanshan replied hastily with a fawning expression. "Hmm, are there any courtyards available for rent on this island?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

He had just sensed that the wind and waves here would not decrease in the next ten days, and the calm period should begin after ten days.

In other words, they would have to wait on Linfeng Island for ten days.

"Yes, may I ask how big a courtyard you would like to rent, senior?" Zhang Hanshan replied.

Yang Zhengshan looked up at the town behind the dock. The town was not big, but it was not small either. There should be some shops and courtyards there.

Although this place isn't exactly bustling, those who come here are all big spenders, people who aren't short of money.

"It'll be fine as long as it can accommodate more than thirty people!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Hanshan's fawning expression deepened. "Senior, please follow me. I have a large courtyard here, which should be suitable for you to stay for a while!"

Afterwards, Yang Zhengshan followed Zhang Hanshan into the small town behind the dock.

The town has a main street lined with shops on both sides, mostly selling goods for sea voyages.

Such as grains, tea, fruits and vegetables, alcohol, meat, etc.

They have everything: dried meat, dried vegetables, tea, and more.

Of course, the majority of vendors sell fresh water.

As Yang Zhengshan walked, he observed the pedestrians he encountered and actually saw quite a few innate martial artists.

Meanwhile, many people were observing their group, some even with ill intentions.

Feeling those gazes, Yang Zhengshan's lips curled up slightly.

This is not a peaceful place. Linfeng Island should be owned by someone. On the island, everyone should give the host some face. But once you leave the island, things may not be so simple.

As for the owner of this place, Yang Zhengshan had also heard of him.

He was a powerful innate expert known as the Tyrant of the East Sea.

Just by looking at this title, you can tell that this person is not someone you can easily get along with.

Yang Zhengshan ignored the stares of those people and followed Zhang Hanshan to a courtyard.

To be honest, the courtyard recommended by Zhang Hanshan was quite nice. Although it wasn't exactly exquisite or luxurious, it was still quiet and elegant.

There are enough houses to accommodate forty or fifty people without any problem.

This is normal. Most people who come to Linfeng Island bring some followers. They don't stay for long and don't have high requirements for their accommodations. But since they are innate martial artists, their accommodations can't be too bad.

So it's neither too high nor too low, just about right.

Everyone felt comfortable and could make do with the accommodations without feeling dissatisfied.

"How much does it cost to rent for ten days?" Yang Zhengshan looked at the courtyard and nodded before asking about the price.

"In reply to your question, senior, if you are only renting a courtyard, it will only cost one tael of silver per day. If you need meals, there is our owner's restaurant next door. You can order food there!" Zhang Hanshan said with a somewhat embarrassed smile.

Yang Zhengshan raised an eyebrow upon hearing his words.

One tael of silver a day?
That's it?

Even Yang Zhengshan felt that this was ripping off customers.

Even in the capital city of Da'an, a courtyard like this would only cost one or two taels of silver a month in rent.

If it were placed on Shenmu Island, the price would be even cheaper.

But then I think about this place, and guess that's how they make their money.

"What do you mean by 'meals'?"

"The best meals are two ounces per person per day, the medium meals are one ounce, and the worst meals are five qian. I wonder what you would like, senior?" Zhang Hanshan cautiously looked at the people behind him.

He probably felt the price was outrageous, but there was nothing he could do about it, as he hadn't set the price himself.

Yang Zhengshan stroked his beard and looked at the restaurant next door with a smile. Hmm, this is no restaurant, it's a treasure trove!

Let alone the best quality, even the worst quality, if each person pays five coins a day, then thirty people would pay fifteen taels a day, and ten days would pay one hundred and fifty taels.

But isn't it humiliating to make a martial artist with innate talent eat inferior food?
The followers of a Xiantian martial artist are not ordinary people either; they are at least a group of Houtian martial artists, or even martial artists at or above the fifth level of Houtian.

For example, the sailors that Yang Zhengshan brought this time were all martial artists at the seventh or eighth level of the Acquired Realm.

How could you have the nerve to feed them substandard food?
If everyone eats the best meals, each person would earn two taels of silver a day. With more than thirty people, that would be seventy taels a day, and seven hundred taels in ten days.

From this perspective, the rent is actually quite cheap.

In addition to rent and food, they also need to replenish various supplies.

Just by looking at the rent and food prices, you can tell that the prices of supplies on Linfeng Island must be quite high.

It seems they won't be able to leave Linfeng Island unless they throw down several thousand taels of silver.

You don't need many people to come in a year. Just twenty or thirty groups of people like Yang Zhengshan can bring in tens of thousands of taels of silver.

Is Linfeng Island a large island?

No!

Linfeng Island is just an ordinary little island.

However, its annual income is comparable to, or even exceeds, that of the Yang family's Guiyun Island.

Guiyun Island, belonging to the Yang family, is an important supply point on several shipping routes; however, Guiyun Island's annual income is only a few hundred thousand taels of silver.

Moreover, the number of people visiting Linfeng Island each year is far more than twenty or thirty groups; it could easily double.

This is not a remote and impoverished place; it is a source of endless wealth.

Yang Zhengshan had an urge to take over this place, but it was just a thought. It was too far from Shenmu Island, and it wasn't worth the Yang family traveling thousands of miles to take over such an enclave.

Yang Zhengshan gave Zhang Hanshan a deep look, then winked at Li Chang. Li Chang immediately understood and took out ten gold ingots from his bundle.

"Half a month, top-quality food, no problem, right?" Li Chang asked.

Ten gold ingots equal one hundred taels of gold, which is equivalent to one thousand taels of silver. This is more than enough to cover ten days' rent and food expenses.

Zhang Hanshan hurriedly caught the gleaming gold ingot, a fawning smile spreading across his face. "No problem, no problem, thank you for your generous gift, senior!"

The extra money naturally came from his errand fees; at this moment, in his eyes, Yang Zhengshan and his group were incredibly wealthy.

"You'll stay here and await orders for the next ten days!" Yang Zhengshan glanced at him and said indifferently.

"Yes, yes! I obey!" What else could Zhang Hanshan say?

The rent and food expenses totaled less than eight hundred taels of silver, so the extra two hundred taels were his. He could easily afford it for ten days, or even a hundred days.

And so, Yang Zhengshan and his group settled down on Linfeng Island.

(End of this chapter)