Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 717 Differences
The little incident ended quickly, and everyone went back to eating or resting.

Tian Hu picked up the child and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the child had only fainted.

Yang Zhengshan looked at the child, then took a bowl of rice porridge and handed it to Tian Hu, saying, "Feed him! If you're hungry, you can go and eat some too!"

Tian Hu immediately showed a grateful expression, "Thank you very much, senior!"

Afterward, he carefully fed the child rice water.

The child soon woke up, seemingly frightened, and hid in Tian Hu's arms, too afraid to come out, only occasionally glancing at Yang Zhengshan.

"It seems you are very loyal to your master!" Yang Zhengshan asked casually as he sat on a rock.

“I have been serving Your Highness for over forty years!” Tian Hu replied softly.

"Um, how old are you?"

"I am fifty-two years old this year!"

Yang Zhengshan suddenly realized that he was over fifty years old, but had been following Prince Ji for more than forty years. That didn't mean he had been following Prince Ji since he was a child.

That's true. If this person wasn't loyal enough, King Ji wouldn't have entrusted his son to him.

"What are your plans next?"

"Please grant me your protection, senior!" Tian Hu looked at Yang Zhengshan expectantly.

Yang Zhengshan smiled and said, "What benefit would this bring me?"

Tian Hu took a deep breath, looked at the child in his arms, and then at Yang Zhengshan, "This humble one is willing to offer all his wealth to the senior!"

Although Yang Zhengshan and his men had just displayed extremely ruthless methods, Tian Hu had already realized that this group was not as brutal as he had previously thought.

First, these people don't have the habit of cannibalism. Second, Yang Zhengshan spared him and even gave him a bowl of rice soup. Finally, and most importantly, they have no other support now.

With the royal family destroyed, they had nowhere to turn. As for hiding their identities and living as ordinary people, that was not an option, but life wasn't easy for ordinary people either, and they also had to face the pursuit of the Shaking Mountain Sect.

Besides that, he had probably already guessed the origins of Yang Zhengshan and his group.

From overseas, from the desolate lands of the western Storm Sea.

Many of the questions Yang Zhengshan asked were basic common sense, such as Tianque City. It's understandable that ordinary people wouldn't know about Tianque City, but it's clearly unreasonable that a Xiantian martial artist wouldn't know about it.

The so-called "spiritual wasteland" is actually a name for some regions with relatively few cultivation resources. In the eyes of the Great Zhao Dynasty, the area west of the Stormy Sea is a spiritual wasteland.

"Wealth? Heh, ordinary wealth won't impress me!" Yang Zhengshan looked at him with a smile.

Tian Hu showed a struggle on his face, but in the end he had no choice but to take out a palm-sized bag from his pocket, which seemed to be made of leather.

"I beg you, senior, to protect the young master and ensure his safe growth, for the sake of these things!" He solemnly handed the small bag to Yang Zhengshan.

Yang Zhengshan took the bag with some surprise.

What treasure is in this pocket that makes Tian Hu so certain he would be willing to protect a child for over a decade?

He looked the bag up and down a few times; it was a grayish-white bag with what appeared to be some patterns etched on it.

"Is this a rune?"

Seeing that Yang Zhengshan didn't recognize the item, Tian Hu explained, "This is a storage bag. Senior can use his inner sense to examine it!"

Inner perception is a special ability possessed by martial artists who are at least at the half-step innate level; it is the ability to see inside.

For a half-step innate martial artist to open up the meridians and circulate true qi, they need internal awareness.

As soon as Yang Zhengshan had a thought, he immediately discovered a space appearing in his heart, just like how he could see the meridians and true energy in his body through internal vision.

The space wasn't large, only about a meter square. Inside weren't gold or silver, but rather jade boxes, porcelain vases, and books.

Yang Zhengshan's heart skipped a beat, and then, with another thought, a jade box appeared in his hand.

He opened the jade box, inside which was a red fruit, radiating a soft glow.

"Is this a cassia seed?"

Yang Zhengshan said somewhat uncertainly.

Cassia fruit is mild in nature and has the effect of improving eyesight. After taking it, it can enhance vision and can also be refined into pills. It is said that many cultivation techniques for eye techniques require pills made from cassia fruit.

Yang Zhengshan had seen this thing in the Record of Spiritual Fruits and Treasures, but he had never seen the real thing.

"Yes, there are eighteen spiritual fruits, one hundred and eight kinds of spiritual herbs, thirty-eight spiritual pills, twelve cultivation techniques, and twenty-two spirit stones here," Tian Hu said softly, gazing at Yang Zhengshan.

Yang Zhengshan checked the items in the storage bag one by one.

The eighteen spiritual fruits are divided into four types, all of which are spiritual fruits that Yang Zhengshan does not possess.

Of the 108 kinds of spiritual herbs, which are also precious medicines, Yang Zhengshan has planted nearly half of them in the Spirit Source Land.

As for the elixir, Yang Zhengshan took out one and examined it closely.

This elixir is different from the elixir he refined.

The elixirs he refined were actually pills. He would boil various medicinal herbs, precious medicines, and spiritual fruits in a clay pot, and then shape the remaining medicinal paste into pills.

Although the pills were different colors, their surfaces were all grayish and rather dull.

But the elixir before them radiated a crystal-clear light, its surface smooth and flawless, shimmering with iridescent light, and faintly swirling with mysterious dark patterns.

"Is this a magic pill?" Yang Zhengshan asked a very stupid question, just like an ignorant country bumpkin.

Tian Hu had already guessed Yang Zhengshan's origins and knew that there were almost no true elixirs in the Spirit Wasteland, so he explained, "This is a Bone Tempering Pill, a pill refined using a secret rune technique!"

"The secret method of talisman inscription involves using one's own true energy to draw talisman inscriptions and attach them to the elixir. This method has the effects of enhancing the medicinal power, removing impurities, isolating the inside from the outside, and stabilizing the spiritual energy!"

"Senior may not know, but pills are divided into four levels: mortal, spiritual, divine, and immortal. Martial artists below the Innate Realm can only refine mortal pills. Only those who have reached the Innate Realm and can use their own true energy to draw runes can refine spiritual pills!"

“The spiritual pills are divided into three grades. Of these thirty-eight spiritual pills, twenty-two are of low grade, twelve are of medium grade, and four are of high grade.”

After listening, Yang Zhengshan thought for a moment and took out a Spirit-Attaching Pill that he had refined himself.

"Is this considered a magic pill?"

Tian Hu stared at the grayish-brown elixir, first taken aback, then almost burst out laughing.

"Senior, this should be a pill made from attribute-specific spiritual fruits. Although the herbs and fruits used can be refined into a spiritual pill, it is obvious that no rune secret techniques were used!"

"This method of alchemy is somewhat... well, somewhat..."

Before he could finish speaking, Yang Zhengshan understood what he meant: "It's a waste of resources!"

"Uh, yes!" Tian Hu shrank his neck.

"Do you know any rune techniques?" Yang Zhengshan asked, ignoring Tian Hu's sarcastic remark.

Tian Hu gave a wry smile. "Senior, you may not know this, but the secret techniques of talismans are closely guarded secrets of the major families. How could I possibly know such a thing?"

"A prominent family?"

"Yes, a noble family refers to a family whose ancestors produced a Martial God Realm expert. My Great Zhao royal family is a noble family!"

Yang Zhengshan nodded, roughly understanding what he meant.

Rune techniques and Martial God Realm cultivation methods are extremely precious. Let alone ordinary martial artists, even innate martial artists rarely have access to them; only those born into aristocratic families have the opportunity. And the things Tian Hu gave him were no ordinary items either; they were likely the accumulated wealth of that Prince Ji.

The royal palace of the Great Zhao Dynasty is equivalent to a branch of a noble family, and its wealth may even exceed that of a sect like the Mountain Shaking Sect.

Although Tian Hu was just a guard, he was the guard of Prince Ji, so he knew many things that even the Hanshan Sect did not know, and he could also produce many treasures that even the Hanshan Sect coveted.

The reason why the Shaking Mountain Sect is pursuing him so aggressively is not only because of the child, but also possibly because of the storage bag in his possession.

"Do you know my background?" Yang Zhengshan asked casually.

"I'm a scoundrel, I'm a scoundrel~" Tian Hu hesitated, unsure whether he should tell the truth.

"It's alright, so be it. From now on, he'll stay by my side. I'll take care of raising this kid. As for these things, consider them my reward!"

Without batting an eye, Yang Zhengshan took everything in the storage bag for himself.

Those spiritual fruits and herbs were very useful to him. The spiritual fruits could be planted directly in the spiritual source land, and in a few years, he would be able to use four more types of spiritual fruits at will.

Some medicinal herbs can be cultivated, while others have been processed and cannot be cultivated.

"Is this a spirit stone?" Yang Zhengshan took out a crystal-clear stone the size of a fingernail from his storage bag.

He had seen this thing before; he had seen it at the Zhu family's place on Earthfire Island.

The Zhu family on Dihuo Island has eight such stones, which are said to have been found during a volcanic eruption.

This stone is as smooth and lustrous as jade. When you hold it in your hand, you can feel a warm and gentle energy seeping into your body, which is very beneficial for cultivation.

"Yes, spirit stones contain spiritual energy and are the most commonly used resources for cultivation, alchemy, weapon crafting, and setting up magic arrays!"

"The secret method of talisman inscription that I mentioned before is actually about drawing out talisman inscriptions by drawing out the spiritual energy within spirit stones. Whether it's alchemy or weapon crafting, spirit stones are indispensable!"

Tian Hu explained.

Yang Zhengshan rubbed the spirit stone, carefully sensing its essence.

As his mind stirred, that warm and gentle energy entered his body, flowing into his meridians and acupoints, and slowly transforming into true qi.

That's it!

A sudden realization dawned on him.

He finally understood why there were no rune inheritances in the region west of the Storm Sea.

Logically speaking, even if the vast sea area is separated from the Great Zhao by the Storm Sea, the vast sea area should not be so devoid of any rune inheritance.

The reason lies in this spirit stone.

Spirit stones are the foundation of rune techniques. Without spirit stones as support, auxiliary professions such as alchemists, weapon refiners, and formation masters cannot use rune techniques.

At the very least, this should be the case for those at the Innate Realm. Perhaps those at the Martial God Realm can use rune techniques without the support of spirit stones.

In the region west of the Stormy Sea, spirit stones are extremely rare and hard to come by. Even if one has inherited rune techniques, it's all for naught. Can unusable techniques still be passed down?

"Is this thing easy to get?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

Tian Hu shook his head. "It's not easy. My Great Zhao has no spirit stone mines. The Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty does have spirit stone mines, but they are all controlled by the three major sects. If others want to obtain spirit stones, they can only exchange other resources with the three major sects!"

Yang Zhengshan nodded. "Looks like your master is quite wealthy!"

These are both elixirs and spirit stones, which should be extremely rare items, yet Prince Ji possesses so many, clearly indicating that he has a wealth of resources.

In fact, Yang Zhengshan did not know that the Ji Prince's Mansion was not an ordinary mansion. The Great Zhao Dynasty had been passed down for eight hundred years, and the Ji Prince's Mansion had inherited the throne for six hundred years. In the entire western part of the Great Zhao Dynasty, the wealth accumulated by the Ji Prince's Mansion over the centuries was absolutely second to none.

Unfortunately, in the last hundred years, the strength of the Zhao royal family has been declining, and the strength of the Ji Prince's Mansion has also declined.

The wealth accumulated over hundreds of years could not cultivate a few outstanding disciples, and in the end, the Mountain Shaking Sect wiped them all out.

What Yang Zhengshan possessed was only a small portion of the Ji Prince's Mansion's wealth accumulated over hundreds of years.

Before his death, King Ji sent all his descendants out of the palace, and each of them had some resources.

However, the child in front of him is the eldest grandson of Prince Ji, so Tian Hu has the most resources.

These resources have all benefited Yang Zhengshan. No, that's not quite right. It's too early to say who has benefited.

If this child can stay with Yang Zhengshan, he will have more opportunities in the future.

Actually, the most precious things in the storage bag are not elixirs and spirit stones, but the cultivation techniques.

After learning about elixirs and spirit stones, Yang Zhengshan took out the cultivation techniques to study.

He discovered the difference in the first manual he had just flipped through.

Mystic Flame Glazed Body!
This is a body-refining exercise.

The emphasis on using fire to train the body does not refer to burning one's own body with fire, but rather to using fire-attribute elixirs and spiritual objects to assist in cultivation.

When trained to the extreme, the body becomes as hard as black iron, impervious to fire, and even possesses the ability to control fire.

This technique is incredibly magical, far more so than any technique Yang Zhengshan had ever seen before.

However, such a technique was impossible for Da Rong to cultivate in the past.

Because its cultivation process requires a large number of elixirs, and Da Rong has no elixirs at all, how could he possibly cultivate such a technique?

Even if one could barely cultivate, the progress would likely be slow, making it less efficient than practicing ordinary cultivation techniques.

Yang Zhengshan then rummaged through the storage bag and roughly understood the differences between the cultivation methods here and those in the vast sea area.

Simply put, the cultivation methods here place more emphasis on using elixirs as an aid; almost every method requires several elixirs to be used in conjunction with cultivation.

Spiritual fruits and medicines can be used instead of elixirs, but the cultivation effect is far inferior to that of taking elixirs.

Due to the scarcity of resources, these cultivation techniques are very difficult to master even in regions west of the Stormy Sea.

In addition, these techniques have other connections.

Mysterious Fire Glazed Body, Crimson Flame Refining Technique, Blazing Flame Qi Control Technique, Flaming Blade Technique, Blazing Flame Palm, Crimson Flame Rainbow Transformation Technique, and so on.

"Is the Martial God Realm cultivation technique of your Great Zhao royal family fire-attribute?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

"Hmm! It's said to be the Blazing Earth Fire Golden Body Technique!"

Yang Zhengshan narrowed his eyes slightly, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"Blazing Sun, Earthly Fire, Heavenly Qi, Earthly Fiend Qi, it seems this technique draws the Qi of Blazing Sun and Earthly Fire into the body?"

Tian Hu was taken aback, then shook his head, "This is not something a lowly person like me could know!"

Yang Zhengshan wasn't surprised; the Blazing Earth Fire was clearly a fire-attribute technique.

It's not surprising that he could guess these things, after all, the name of this technique is too obvious.

However, he could not cultivate because he did not know how to draw the blazing yang energy and the earth fire energy into his body, nor did he know how to circulate the energy after it was drawn into his body.

This isn't something you can cultivate just by talking about it; you need the correct cultivation method.

Otherwise, you might be burned alive.

(End of this chapter)