Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 715 The Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty
The most anxious person right now is naturally Master Xuanzhen. He is over 160 years old. Although he is not yet old enough to be about to die, he is not far off.

At most, twenty years!

Twenty years is a long time for ordinary people, but it is really not long for Xuanzhen.

Even if he obtained the method to break through to the Innate Realm, it would still take time to cultivate. Putting aside whether he could cultivate it successfully, the time required for cultivation alone would definitely not be something that could be achieved in three to five years.

Yang Zhengshan looked at Xuanzhen and said, "Senior, it's best not to be impatient right now. I estimate that the cultivation techniques for the Martial God Realm are definitely not easy to obtain. This matter may be more troublesome than we imagine!"

He wasn't just making things up; it was a well-founded speculation.

West of the Stormy Sea, there are no martial god realm techniques, let alone any techniques at the Dao entry level. Innate martial artists who want to enter the Dao can only rely on their own exploration.

This may involve reasons that are difficult to explain, but surely there must be some cultivation techniques at all?
Besides the martial god realm techniques, there is also the way of runes.

The Way of Runes is so wondrous, yet there is absolutely no inheritance in the vast ocean. Not to mention inheritance, there isn't even a single item with runes.

Because of the stormy sea area, the connection between the vast sea area and the Great Zhao Dynasty is inconvenient, which may affect the flow of cultivation techniques and items. However, no matter how inconvenient the connection is, there have always been some connections over the past thousands of years. For example, Zhou Tianci once came to the Great Zhao Dynasty and returned safely to Darong.

But he still didn't get anything about the Way of Runes.

He had heard of the way of runes, but had never come into contact with it.

All of this proves one thing: the inheritance of Martial God Realm techniques and rune arts is extremely precious here and very difficult to obtain.

"How about this, let's go to the county seat first. We're sure to get more information from the big city than from the county seat!"

"If the Shaking Mountain Sect possesses a Martial God Realm inheritance, then we'll try to find a way. If not, then we'll have to go somewhere else!"

Yang Zhengshan said.

Xuanzhen nodded, "Then let's do it this way. It's good for us to gather more information!"

The Great Zhao Dynasty had thirty-six prefectures, and its territory was roughly twice the size of present-day Da'an, spanning over ten thousand li from east to west and eight thousand li from north to south.

The martial arts power of the Great Zhao Dynasty was generally strong in the east and weak in the west, meaning that the martial arts power of the twelve western prefectures was relatively weak, while the martial arts power of the eight eastern prefectures was relatively strong.

The reason for this situation is that the eastern part of the Great Zhao Dynasty is adjacent to the Lingxiu Sea.

It is said that there are many powerful forces around the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty, including some that have Martial God Realm experts.

There are three sects and twelve families surrounding the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty, all of which are extremely powerful forces.

Although the Great Zhao Dynasty was a vast dynasty, the Wei clan of the Great Zhao royal family was actually just one of the twelve families of the three clans in the Lingxiu Sea.

Within the Great Zhao Dynasty, the royal family could refer to themselves as the royal family, but outside the Great Zhao Dynasty, they had to refer to themselves as the Wei Clan of the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty.

The world east of the Stormy Seas has different rules than the world west of the Stormy Seas.

In the world west of the Stormy Sea, ordinary people and martial artists alike revere many things besides strength, such as the throne and power.

But in the world west of the Stormy Seas, power and thrones are nothing but fleeting clouds; everything will be based on strength.

Strength is the only truth, and justice lies in the mind of the strong.

Yang Zhengshan and his group embarked on a journey to find the inheritance of the Martial God Realm. Just as Yang Zhengshan had predicted, the inheritance of the Martial God Realm was far more difficult to obtain than they had imagined.

They first stayed in Guan County for several days, then used the money to buy some carriages and horses, disguised themselves as a caravan, and headed east to Lushan County.

Along the way, they saw many sights they had never seen before.

The roadside was overgrown with weeds, and you could often walk all day without seeing any signs of human habitation. Instead, there were many white bones scattered among the weeds. Occasionally, you would come across a village, but it was a long-abandoned village, devoid of any inhabitants.

In other words, some towns still have some inhabitants, but these towns are also the de facto territories of martial arts forces.

Chaos, desolation, and barrenness unfolded before Yang Zhengshan and his group, making them feel extremely heavy-hearted.

They were not immune to the chaos of war. In the late years of the Great Rong Dynasty, the world was in turmoil, and the people suffered greatly, especially in the three provinces of Gansu, which were devastated.

But that was caused by natural disasters and man-made calamities, while this place is a fertile field, and those abandoned fields can be turned into good farmland with just a little cultivation.

There are no natural disasters here, only man-made ones.

The sky was vast and the wilderness boundless. The official road, pale as a snake's shed skin, meandered across the desolate landscape. The wheels of the carriages creaked and groaned as they rolled over the potholes, startling flocks of unknown birds from the grass.

Yang Zhengshan rode a brown-red horse at the front of the procession.

At this moment, he was dressed in a black outfit, with a long sword at his waist, and his face looked weathered, making him look no different from an ordinary martial arts practitioner.

He was followed by a dozen mule carts and several guards dressed similarly to him.

Everyone changed into ordinary clothes. Although they all carried weapons, they were all ordinary items. Their own weapons were hidden among the goods on the mule carts.

Xuanzhen put away his whisk, dressed in a gray-white short outfit, and sat on the edge of the carriage with a cane in his hand. Li Shangyuan sat next to him, holding a whip and driving the carriage.

Chen Zhongshu sat among the goods in the truck, swaying and dozing off.

Lu Hua covered his face completely with a gray cloth and lagged behind the rest of the group on horseback.

At that moment, they passed through a village, an empty village.

At first glance, apart from the ruins and broken walls, there wasn't a single intact house in sight.

Villages like this have been abandoned for at least twenty or thirty years.

"Ugh, what a terrible place this is!" Li Chang sighed as he followed behind Yang Zhengshan.

After traveling for seven or eight days and seeing so many desolate scenes, everyone felt somewhat uneasy.

They had crossed the stormy seas with longing for the Great Zhao Kingdom, but what they found upon arriving was this desolate landscape.

This made them feel like their dreams had been shattered.

Yang Zhengshan was also quite frustrated, as they had learned a lot about the situation here along the way.

Lushan County was a chaotic place without laws or justice. Although the Hanshan Sect occupied Lushan County, they were unwilling to manage the people's livelihood. They only knew how to plunder the people's property.

The martial arts forces within Lushan County are all lackeys of the Hanshan Sect, helping the sect to oppress and exploit the people.

The people could no longer survive, so they abandoned their homes and fled to the deep mountains and forests. The mountain people that Yang Zhengshan met in the mountains were people who had fled their hometowns.

They would rather hide in the mountains and live like wild men than return to their hometown to farm.

It's not that they don't want a better life, but that if they come back, they'll only be forced to their deaths.

This is different from the chaotic times of the Great Rong Dynasty. Although Great Rong was chaotic back then, it still had laws and principles. It was only because some people destroyed the laws and principles that the world became chaotic.

But there is no law or justice here anymore. Ordinary people are lambs to the slaughter, and martial artists are a bunch of bandits who only know how to plunder ordinary people at will. As a result, the people are suffering and the world is in ruins.

"Let's spend the night here!" Yang Zhengshan glanced ahead and saw nothing but desolate weeds before speaking.

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately sprang into action, gathering firewood and setting up cooking pots.

Wang Lei led a few people into the village to see if they could find anything useful or information.

Yang Zhengshan released the horse, letting it graze on the grass beside it.

"How much longer until we reach Lushan County?" Xuanzhen asked as he approached Yang Zhengshan, leaning on his cane.

Yang Zhengshan thought for a moment and said, "Three days."

"This is such a hassle. Why don't we just go to the Shaking Mountain Sect directly? Is it really necessary to go through all this trouble?" Xuanzhen said somewhat impatiently.

Yang Zhengshan waved his hand, "What's the point of going to the Hanshan Sect? We've already confirmed that the Hanshan Sect has no Martial God Realm inheritor!"

“But we can’t keep going like this forever!” Xuanzhen said.

“We have to take these roads!” Yang Zhengshan said.

If they want to obtain the inheritance of the Martial God Realm, they must at least go to the capital of the Great Zhao Dynasty, and the best place to go is the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty.

The three sects and twelve families of the Lingxiu Sea all have their own Martial God Realm inheritance.

The Mountain Shaking Sect was just a small, peripheral sect, and it wasn't of much use to them.

After learning about the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty, Yang Zhengshan felt that there was a serious disconnect between the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty and ordinary martial arts forces.

It's like one is a celestial being and the other is a mortal; one is high above and the other can only crawl on the ground.

This feeling is actually correct. The Lingxiu Sea and the western region of Dazhao are completely two different worlds. The difference between them is just like the difference between the vast sea and the Lingxiu Sea.

There seemed to be an invisible barrier between the two.

The fundamental reason for this situation is the gap between martial artists and ordinary people.

West of the Stormy Sea, innate martial artists are vastly different from ordinary people, but because of the existence of dynasties and dynasties, innate martial artists are still bound to the mortal world.

However, in the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty, the beings of the Martial God Realm have completely transcended the mortal world, and can be described as extraordinary and otherworldly.

The laws of the dynasty and the principles of justice in the world are nothing but fragile paper in the face of a Martial God Realm expert.

When facing a Martial God Realm expert, it is impossible to restrain them with laws and principles.

For a Martial God Realm expert, ordinary mortals are probably no different from pigs and sheep.

Because of the existence of Martial God Realm beings, the forces in the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty are high above, looking down on all living beings and regarding them as lambs to be slaughtered at will.

Just like the relationship between humans and ants, would a human care whether an ant lives or dies?

Even if they do care, it's only because it's fun or interesting, not out of sympathy or pity.

In such an environment, in such a world, if a Martial God Realm expert has compassion for all the people under heaven, then he will become an anomaly.

The divide stems from the vast disparity in individual strength, while the estrangement arises from the arrogance of the strong and the humility of the ordinary.

This is not a difference between people, it is a difference between immortals and mortals.

Yang Zhengshan thought a lot and came to understand many things.

They were heading to a new world, and their immediate priority was not to find the inheritance of the Martial God Realm, but to adapt to the rules of this new world.

The rule is that the strong are respected and strength reigns supreme.

Aside from strength, everything else is just a minor detail.

As the sun sets, the evening glow spreads out like splashed ink, its rich colors seemingly about to flow down, adding a touch of splendor to this desolate land.

Just as everyone was busy eating, Yang Zhengshan suddenly stood up and looked towards the northern wilderness.

"What's wrong?" Xuanzhen asked lazily, leaning against a broken rock.

“Someone’s coming, on horseback, hmm, there should be over a hundred of them!” Yang Zhengshan said calmly.

"Are they bandits? Who cares who they are? If they're blind, just kill them!" Xuanzhen was filled with malice.

Because they had already encountered several groups of bandits along the way, each of them pounced on them as if they were hungry wolves seeing meat.

Xuanzhen always killed such fools.

Yang Zhengshan, on the other hand, obtained a lot of information from these bandits.

The information about the Lingxiu Sea was obtained from a bandit leader.

“This time they’re different. Hmm, they’re chasing a few people!” Yang Zhengshan leaped onto a nearby treetop and peered out.

Soon he saw a man riding a horse approaching in the dim light, followed by hundreds of mounted warriors.

Li Chang, Wang Lei, and the others also saw it and asked, "Patriarch, should we make a move?"

"No rush!" Yang Zhengshan said calmly.

The person running in front was less than a hundred feet away from them. They could see that he was a man who looked to be about fifty years old, and he seemed to be holding a child in his arms.

At this moment, the man also noticed Yang Zhengshan and his group. Since Yang Zhengshan and his group did not hide themselves, they rested casually by the roadside without entering the dilapidated village.

Upon seeing Yang Zhengshan and the others, the man's eyes lit up, and he immediately shouted, "Brother Li, I've brought them here, hurry up and make your move!"

Yang Zhengshan and the others were taken aback. Brother Li?

Who is it?

Li Shangyuan!
Yang Zhengshan looked at Li Shangyuan beside him, and Li Shangyuan quickly shook his head, "It wasn't me, I don't know them!"

"This guy wants us to take the fall for him!" Li Chang said, somewhat annoyed.

Yang Zhengshan grinned, "Dare to scheme against us? Heh, let's take him down first!"

Li Chang grinned, revealing a cruel smile.

Damn, they've been having such a hard time these days.

The journey itself was secondary; they weren't tired from traveling. But seeing those dilapidated villages, harassed by groups of bandits, was incredibly frustrating.

Now someone actually dares to use them as a shield. Damn, do they really think they're pushovers?

(End of this chapter)