Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 721 The difference between cloud and mud
"Alas, it's a pity he's not me, and I'm not him. He's in heaven, and I'm on earth—the difference is truly vast!"

Yang Zhengshan's feelings were complex and difficult to express.

In the vast ocean, he was a figure who looked down upon all living beings, but in Shanggu County, his status and position plummeted. Standing among the crowd, he was as insignificant as an ant, unnoticed, let alone looked up to.

Since stepping into Shanggu County, I have seen a world of difference everywhere, as if I were a country bumpkin who had mistakenly entered the bustling capital.

"Haha, Lu Fusheng, I thought you were going to be a coward!"

"Stop your nonsense! I have no time to waste on you right now!"

"Oh? In that case, why don't we exchange a few blows first?"

Have you considered the consequences?

"What? Scared?"

Sun Qingrui seems to have been provoking Lu Fusheng all along.

Sun Qingrui's provocation was like a persistent, malignant infection. Lu Fusheng's face was ashen, but he could no longer restrain himself and charged straight at Sun Qingrui like a rainbow. The latter laughed loudly, and his heavy sword clattered across the air behind him.

Amidst the clang of metal on metal, the crimson spear light and the gilded sword energy collided violently. Sun Qingrui's heavy sword was a full six inches wide, and at this moment, it pulsed with golden light, its sharp edge soaring into the sky.

Even standing a hundred feet away, Yang Zhengshan still felt the heat wave hitting his face, and a sharp aura cutting through him like a knife. The heat was bearable, but the sharp aura pierced through his flesh and bones like a blade.

"Master!" Li Chang suddenly spoke up from his side. Yang Zhengshan glanced at him and saw that his face was deathly pale and his whole body was trembling like a leaf.

"Why?"

"I really can't hold on any longer." Fine beads of sweat had already seeped from Li Chang's forehead.

Yang Zhengshan was then startled to realize that the martial artists who had been watching the commotion on the street had already scattered and hidden in the shops along the street. Wherever the scorching, sharp energy passed, cracks appeared on the bluestone ground.

"Get out of the way immediately!"

Yang Zhengshan took a deep breath, feeling as if a thousand pounds were pressing down on his chest. Could this power be the Heavenly Gang Realm? Just the outward release of his inner energy was enough to send innate martial artists fleeing in panic!

Though he could barely stand, he knew that if he faced these two directly, he would only have a chance with a single spear thrust. If his Thunderclap Spear technique failed, defeat was inevitable. The difference in their martial arts, weapons, armor, and mounts was like heaven and earth. The most deadly of all was their ability to traverse the void—their opponents soared through the heavens, while he was trapped on the ground.

"Is it only possible to fly by drawing qi into the body?"

Yang Zhengshan looked up at the sky, where golden light and crimson flames intertwined and surged, with wisps of clouds rising from within. Let alone humans, even that Cloud Tiger Steed was likely stronger than himself.

The martial arts here are completely different from those west of the Stormy Sea. West of the Stormy Sea, the innate martial artists can only control their qi to form armor, while here they have the ability to burn the sky and boil the sea, and their sword qi can soar into the heavens.

The two fought higher and higher, soaring into the clouds. The sea of ​​clouds surged and rolled, sometimes turning the sky ablaze with fire, sometimes piercing the air with golden light, stirring up wind and clouds for more than ten miles.

After about half an hour, the strange phenomena in the sky gradually subsided. Only after the clouds and mist cleared did Yang Zhengshan exhale a heavy breath.

"Master!" Li Chang's face still showed lingering fear.

How do you feel?

“It’s like the might of Heaven!” Li Chang said bitterly.

He suffered a significant blow and is currently experiencing a mix of emotions.

Yang Zhengshan laughed, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "This is a good thing, it means we still have a lot of room for improvement!"

They used to be like frogs in a well, thinking that the world of martial arts was only as big as they could see. Now they realize that the world of martial arts is incredibly vast and the path ahead is unattainable.

This might make them seem insignificant and pull them down from their lofty positions, but it also gives them more opportunities and more possibilities.

Breaking free from the depression, a long-lost passion has returned.

Suddenly, Yang Zhengshan felt as if he had become younger and was filled with passion for martial arts again.

Yes!

When did I lose my passion for martial arts?
As Yang Zhengshan walked towards the restaurant, he thought to himself.

It seems like many years!

From the moment he comprehended the Dao of Thunder, his passion for martial arts seemed to gradually fade away.

Although he still cultivates every day, his cultivation seems to have become a habitual practice, no longer a wholehearted dedication.

Perhaps it was because his cultivation had stagnated for too long, or perhaps it was because of complacency; in any case, he had lost his passion for martial arts for many years.

He began to rely on spiritual springs, spiritual fruits, and the Daoist Lotus to improve his cultivation, forgetting that the foundation of martial arts lies in perseverance.

Lost in thought, I found myself back at Zuixianlou.

The front of Zuixianlou was a restaurant, and the back was a guesthouse. Yang Zhengshan rented a small courtyard here as a temporary place to stay.

"Senior!" Tian Hu greeted Yang Zhengshan as soon as he returned, along with Wei Qianye.

At first, Wei Qianye was afraid of Yang Zhengshan and his group, but after three months of getting to know them, the child became familiar with them and was no longer so afraid of them.

"Okay, do as you please, don't worry about me!"

Yang Zhengshan entered the bedroom, and in the blink of an eye, he arrived at the Spirit Source. On the Spirit Spring Mountain Plain, Yu Qingyi was training a flying eagle. After several months, the fledgling eagle had spread its wingspan to over ten feet, showing signs of becoming a strange beast.

"How is it?" The woman in green didn't raise her eyes, her fair hand gently stroking the eagle's feathers.

"Troublesome, but also interesting." Yang Zhengshan sat down, lifting his robe, and sighed.

Yu Qingyi looked up at him, then smiled and said, "I think it's great! Didn't you say there were many mysterious things there? Isn't this a good thing?"

Yang Zhengshan also looked at her, and their eyes met. Feeling the gentleness in her eyes, Yang Zhengshan's chaotic thoughts immediately calmed down.

Now that we see a new sky, why worry about the road ahead?
"That's true, that's a good thing. But we need to change our style of doing things from now on. We can't be as relaxed and carefree as before!"

"No rush, take your time!" Yu Qingyi fed the Flying Slave Eagle a Wind Spirit Fruit, then patted its head. The Flying Slave Eagle immediately spread its wings and flew away with a few flaps.

Yang Zhengshan reached out and took out the Green Wood Longevity Technique. "You should practice this technique first!"

Yu Qingyi took the cultivation manual and examined it closely.

"Qingmu Longevity Technique" is a wood-attribute qi-guiding technique. Its cultivation involves guiding pure and spiritual wood qi into the body, emphasizing the nourishment of life force. Practicing this technique can make true qi mellow and long-lasting, and has significant effects on healing injuries and prolonging life.

What is this Qingling Wood Qi?

It's very simple; it's just the spiritual energy of plants.

Where vegetation is lush, there is a spiritual energy.

This is a relatively easy cultivation technique, almost anyone can practice it. However, this does not mean that everyone can master it. Although Pure Spirit Wood Qi is very common, it is extremely dispersed. How much Pure Spirit Wood Qi can ordinary plants contain?

To efficiently absorb the pure spirit wood energy, the pure spirit wood energy produced by ordinary plants is far from enough; you also need the pure spirit wood energy nurtured by spirit plants.

After Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi carefully studied the Green Wood Longevity Technique, they had to admit that this technique was the most suitable for the Yang family.

Pure spiritual wood energy is probably the most abundant element in the Spirit Source Land.

“We can all cultivate this technique!” Yu Qingyi said.

"But I still want the Thunder Spirit Qi Induction Technique!" Yang Zhengshan said, distressed.

Yu Qingyi advised, "The most important thing now is to improve your cultivation, not to dwell on these things!"

"Moreover, this Qi-inducing technique isn't limited to just one type. Doesn't it say here that as long as the spiritual energy attributes don't counteract each other, you can also cultivate other spiritual energy types!"

The essence of the Qi-guiding method is to guide external spiritual energy into the body, transforming one's own true energy into true energy with attributes, or further enhancing the attribute characteristics of one's own true energy.

Before drawing qi into the body, the true qi cultivated by martial artists comes from within themselves, not from the outside, and therefore does not have any inherent attributes.

The innate true qi possessed by people like Yang Zhengshan has no inherent attributes.

However, this is not absolute. The profound characteristics they had previously comprehended were transforming into true qi and spirituality, but it was just not so obvious.

The cultivation techniques here come with attributes from the Body Tempering stage onwards. These attributes do not come from the cultivator themselves, but from the pills.

Just like the cultivation techniques that Tian Hu gave to Yang Zhengshan, they required many kinds of fire-attribute pills to be used in conjunction with cultivation.

Before reaching the Innate Realm, it is elixirs that endow martial artists with attributes, not the spirituality that martial artists cultivate themselves.

The fact that people like Yang Zhengshan, Yu Qingyi, An Yuxing, and Xuanzhen were able to comprehend spirituality on their own is also in accordance with this principle.

Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi were able to introduce elemental spiritual energy into their bodies because they consumed the lotus seeds of the Dao Yi Sacred Lotus.

An Yuxing's understanding of the water attribute spirituality was also the result of him unintentionally introducing spiritual energy into his body.

Xuanzhen's understanding is even more obvious. He comprehended the Dao of Wind in a storm at sea, and its essence is to introduce wind-attribute spiritual energy into his body.

However, the spiritual energy they introduced before was not specifically categorized; they simply introduced spiritual energy arbitrarily, so the true energy they possess now is extremely mixed.

In this situation, their cultivation progress will become increasingly difficult, and they will find it increasingly difficult to find direction.

There are mutual generation and restraint among spiritual energies, as well as the distinction between yin and yang.

The so-called Earthly Fiend Qi and Heavenly Gang Qi are actually Yin and Yang Qi of the same attribute.

As long as the attributes are not mutually exclusive, it is actually possible to cultivate multiple spiritualities simultaneously.

Of course, practicing multiple spiritualities means spreading out time and energy, and practicing multiple spiritualities may not necessarily be beneficial for forming a golden body, so few people practice multiple spiritualities.

Yang Zhengshan really wanted to cultivate the Thunder Spirit, but he couldn't find the method to guide the Thunder Spirit's Qi.

Moreover, Lei Ling's method of condensing a golden body is even rarer. Without a subsequent method for creating a golden body, his current practice of Lei Ling's Qi-inducing method is a waste of time and energy.

In comparison, Wood Spirit techniques are more common. All three sects of the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty possess the Wood Spirit Golden Body Technique, and two out of the twelve families also practice it.

In the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty, obtaining the Wood Spirit Golden Body Technique is undoubtedly much easier.

After pondering for a moment, Yang Zhengshan finally decided to cultivate the Green Wood Longevity Technique.

This is actually a choice made without a choice; for them, cultivating more common spiritualities is more beneficial than cultivating rare ones.

Moreover, Yang Zhengshan has a spiritual source land with a large number of spiritual plants, and there will be even more spiritual plants in the future. This Green Wood Longevity Technique is the most suitable technique for Yang Zhengshan and the Yang family.

After making the decision, Yang Zhengshan did not hesitate any longer and then began to cultivate with Yu Qingyi.

Without a good teacher to guide them, the two could only discuss things with each other.

Fortunately, they were all experienced martial artists. Although they had never practiced Qi-inducing techniques before, they were still able to understand them after reading the manual.

The two discussed and experimented together, and soon settled into a seated position.

Yang Zhengshan sat cross-legged in the courtyard, his eyes slightly closed, his inner vision expanding, and he soon sensed the spiritual energy surrounding his body.

Then, as if enveloped in a layer of light, he closed his eyes and focused his mind, slowly breathing in and out, circulating the Qi-guiding technique. The surrounding flowers, grasses, branches and leaves trembled slightly, and the pure spiritual wood energy seemed to be summoned, surging and gathering from all directions, transforming into wisps of blue air that rushed wildly into his body through his mouth, nose and pores.

Within the dantian, the innate true qi transforms into a vortex, and streams of green wood true qi spread along the meridians throughout the body, before returning to the dantian, in a continuous cycle.

About two hours later, Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi opened their eyes almost simultaneously.

The two looked at each other, both of them stunned.

"Why does it feel so easy to me?" Yu Qingyi said, somewhat puzzled.

Yang Zhengshan carefully sensed the changes within his body; his original Yi Wood True Qi had been completely transformed into Qing Wood True Qi.

"It's probably because the Yi Wood Everlasting Spring Technique and the Green Wood Longevity Technique are quite compatible!"

This was indeed somewhat unexpected for them, as they thought it would take at least several months to transform their original true energy into green wood true energy.

But surprisingly, they completed the transformation in just two hours.

This is not surprising, firstly because the Yi Mu Chang Chun Gong and the Qing Mu Chang Sheng Gong are quite compatible, and secondly because the place where they practiced was excellent.

With hundreds of spiritual fruit trees around them, providing so much pure spiritual energy, their cultivation would naturally be twice as effective.

There is a third reason: their cultivation is profound enough. Although the true qi they cultivated before was somewhat impure, their cultivation has reached the limit of the Qi Sea stage.

In terms of the sheer amount of true qi in the Qi Sea stage of the Innate Realm, it is estimated that no one in the entire Lingxiu Sea can surpass Yang Zhengshan, or even Yu Qingyi.

Yang Zhengshan took out the cultivation manual again and looked at it, saying, "Under these circumstances, it seems we will soon reach the peak of the Earthly Fiend stage!"

The cultivation method of Earthly Fiend Qi is divided into three steps. The first step is to draw Qi into the body and transform it into true Qi. At this time, the two have completed the first step.

The second step, condensing Qi into Yuan, involves transforming true Qi into true Yuan. This process takes the longest and requires a long period of accumulation to complete.

The third step is to separate Yin and Yang in the Dantian. Once this step is completed, you can draw Heavenly Qi into your body.

The so-called peak of the Earthly Fiend stage is actually the completion of the second step, accumulating true essence to an incomparably powerful level.

The process of breaking through to the dantian (lower abdomen) is the process of dividing into yin and yang.

The cultivation process of the Earthly Fiend stage is not complicated; it only requires accumulation.

(End of this chapter)