Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 723 The Yang Family of Lingxi
Yang Zhenghe was not angry; instead, he looked at Yang Zhengshan with a calm expression.

"Xiang Heng, why haven't you paid your respects to your great-uncle yet!"

A hoarse voice escaped his lips, calm and composed.

Let them take over the nest if they want!

With the Yang family of Lingxi fallen to this state, what is there to fear about others taking over their territory?
Those few acres of barren spiritual fields?

Or are these dozens of houses?

Although the person before him was of unknown origin and purpose, he could at least protect the Yang family of Lingxi.

As long as the Yang family of Lingxi can continue to exist in this beautiful sea, it would be worthwhile to give up the entire Yang family.

Yang Xiangheng was taken aback at first, but then he understood Yang Zhenghe's thoughts. Without any hesitation, he bowed and said, "Grand-nephew greets Grand-uncle!"

Neither the grandfather nor the grandson were fools; they both knew that they had no choice at the moment.

If Yang Zhengshan doesn't come, the Lingxi Yang family won't be able to hold out for long. They will soon lose Lingxi Mountain, and at that time, the Lingxi Yang family may face extermination.

Now that Yang Zhengshan has arrived, he has actually provided them with a way out, even if this way out seems strange, it has given them a choice.

From doubt to surprise, and then from surprise to hesitation, the grandfather and grandson made their decisions in just a quarter of an hour.

Yang Zhengshan looked at the two men with admiration in his eyes.

"Very good, Xiang Heng, is it alright for Uncle to be in charge of Lingxi Mountain from now on?"

Yang Xiangheng glanced at Yang Zhenghe beside him, and seeing that Yang Zhenghe had his head down and showed no intention of speaking, he gritted his teeth and said, "No problem!"

"Alright, please arrange a few courtyards for us to stay in first!" Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly.

This matter went more smoothly than he had imagined. He had thought that the Yang family of Lingxi would rather die than submit, but now it seemed that there were a few smart people in the Yang family of Lingxi.

Now that Yang Xiangheng had made his decision, he naturally wouldn't hesitate.

He quickly arranged accommodations for Yang Zhengshan and his group, and even gave his own main courtyard to Yang Zhengshan, which made Yang Zhengshan think more highly of him.

Yang Zhengshan naturally wouldn't care about a courtyard, but he was satisfied with Yang Xiangheng's cooperative attitude.

Thus, Yang Zhengshan found a foothold in this beautiful and spiritual sea.

Although this place to stay was terrible, it was still better than them staying in restaurants and inns.

The next morning.

Yang Xiangheng arrived at Yang Zhengshan's courtyard gate early in the morning and waited respectfully. He did not knock on the door, but waited quietly.

With a creak, the courtyard gate opened, and Li Chang stepped out.

The Yang family's courtyard was actually quite large, divided into a front courtyard, a middle courtyard, and a back courtyard. The front courtyard had a large hall, which served as the Yang family's meeting place, and the courtyard itself was very spacious.

The middle courtyard has more than thirty rooms, which is where the head of the household lives; the back courtyard has an ancestral hall, a study, a storeroom, etc.

Behind the backyard, a large area is enclosed by a wall; that is the spiritual field of Lingxi Mountain, about six or seven acres in size.

These spiritual fields are only poor, low-grade spiritual fields; if spiritual rice is planted in them, it will only ripen once every five years.

Within the spiritual field lies a spring, and it is this spring that gave birth to this spiritual field; it is no exaggeration to call it a spiritual spring.

Yang Zhengshan went to see it yesterday. The spring water was clear and sweet, and contained spiritual energy, but it was much inferior to the spiritual spring in the Spirit Source Land.

After cultivating the Green Wood Longevity Technique, Yang Zhengshan was able to sense the spiritual energy in the fields and understood that the spiritual springs in the Spirit Source Land also contained spiritual energy.

In essence, it is no different from the spiritual spring of Lingxi Mountain, except that the spiritual spring in Lingyuan Land contains much richer spiritual energy than the spiritual spring of Lingxi Mountain.

"Good morning!" Li Chang greeted Yang Xiangheng, who was waiting outside the door.

"Xiang Heng greets Senior!" Yang Xiangheng bowed respectfully.

Li Chang laughed heartily, "My name is Li Chang, and I'm a close attendant of the family head. Haha, you can call me Uncle Li from now on!"

Yang Xiangheng readily agreed, "Xiangheng greets Uncle Li!"

"Not bad, not bad, you're a smart man!" Li Chang laughed.

A smile appeared on Yang Xiangheng's face, and his smile today was much more genuine than yesterday's.

Yesterday's events happened suddenly, and although he made a decision quickly, he still felt uneasy. However, after yesterday's interaction and a night of reflection, he had completely sorted out his thoughts, understood the whole story, and his heart finally settled down.

The strength of Yang Zhengshan and his group was secondary; what reassured him was that they were not evil people.

Although Yang Zhengshan was very impolite and malicious at first, after spending half a day with them yesterday, he found that Yang Zhengshan and his group were actually quite kind to them.

“I have prepared the meal. Uncle, may we have breakfast now?” Yang Xiangheng asked.

Li Chang glanced towards the main room and said, "Bring the food over!"

Yang Zhengshan had already gotten up. In fact, he hadn't slept at all that night and had been cultivating on Lingquan Mountain.

Today, Yang Zhengshan was dressed in an exquisite blue brocade robe, which looked both neat and luxurious. Unfortunately, it was not made of spirit silkworm silk; its luxury was only superficial.

Of course, the Sea of ​​Spirits is not so luxurious that everyone can wear clothing made of spirit objects.

Even a small family like the Yang family of Lingxi doesn't have many spiritual items.

Yang Xiangheng put a lot of thought into the meal, preparing a large pot of spirit rice and eight delicious dishes. Yang Zhengshan and the others ate with great enjoyment.

"How much spirit rice do you have left at home?" Yang Zhengshan asked while picking at his rice.

This spirit rice is indeed delicious, even better than the rice produced in the Spirit Source. After eating it, you can clearly feel the warm and moist spiritual energy emanating from your stomach and intestines, nourishing your internal organs.

Although the rice produced in Lingyuan has some of the effects of the spiritual spring water, it is not spiritual rice after all.

"Reporting to Grand Uncle, there are still less than thirty catties left!" Yang Xiangheng stood obediently to the side.

"Where are the spirit stones?"

"There are still 121 spirit crystals left." Yang Xiangheng looked at Yang Zhengshan somewhat awkwardly.

"I see. So how did you earn spirit stones before?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

For the martial arts families surrounding the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty, silver is merely a mundane commodity, easily earned; spirit stones and spirit crystals are the true symbols of wealth.

A family must have a way to earn spirit stones and spirit crystals, otherwise it will be difficult to continue.

"Previously, my family owned thirty-six mu of spirit fields, where we could earn about ten spirit stones a year by growing spirit rice. In addition, we used to have a general store in Nanxia Market, which could also earn seven or eight spirit stones a year!" Yang Xiangheng said. Nanxia Market is located twenty li west of Lingxi Mountain and is a martial arts market within Nanxia County.

Owning a shop in the martial arts market indicates that the Yang family of Lingxi was once wealthy.

"What about now? What other ways does our family have to earn spirit stones?" Yang Zhengshan asked, looking up.

The past is the past; Yang Zhengshan is more concerned with the present.

“Right now, all we have is six and eight-tenths acres of poor land in the backyard. The rice planted there will be ready for harvest next year, and we can probably exchange it for six or seven spirit stones!” Yang Xiangheng said somewhat embarrassedly.

His grandfather had only been gone for three years when he squandered the family fortune, which made him feel both distressed and powerless.

Yang Zhengshan was not surprised by this; it was something he had expected.

He stroked his beard, thought for a moment, then stood up and said, "Let's go. We'll go check out the library and storeroom first. Later, you can gather all the clansmen over so I can get to know them!"

"Yes!" Yang Xiangheng breathed a sigh of relief, and then led Yang Zhengshan to the back courtyard.

They first went to the ancestral hall, which was filled with countless memorial tablets. At the very top was Yang Feng, the ancestor who founded the Lingxi Yang family, who was also the ancestor of the Lingxi Yang family during the Tiangang stage.

The Yang family of Lingxi has a very clear lineage, originating from Leping County, north of Shanggu County. Their ancestor, Yang Feng, was originally a farmer's son who, by chance, saved an outer sect steward of the Xuanqing Sect and was taken in as a disciple, thus becoming an outer sect disciple of the Xuanqing Sect.

Then Yang Feng embarked on the path of martial arts. At first, under the care of his master, Yang Feng lived a relatively comfortable life in the Xuanqing Sect. Unfortunately, this did not last long. In the eighth year after Yang Feng joined the Xuanqing Sect, his master was attacked while on a mission and died.

Without his master's care, Yang Feng lost the support of resources, and his cultivation progress slowed down. He did not enter the Innate Realm until he was forty years old.

The Xuanqing Sect has a rule that outer disciples who are not allowed to enter the Innate Realm before the age of forty will be immediately expelled from the sect.

Yang Feng has excellent aptitude, otherwise he wouldn't have been valued by that outer sect steward. However, without the support of resources, even with his talent, he will become mediocre.

Although Yang Feng left the Xuanqing Sect, he had spent more than 20 years there and had accumulated a considerable network of connections.

He established the Lingxi Yang family in Lingxi Mountain by leveraging his connections within the Xuanqing Sect. With the family's assistance, he gradually gained access to more resources, and his cultivation level steadily reached the Heavenly Gang stage.

Unfortunately, after his death, the Yang family of Lingxi began to decline. The descendants were all useless and unambitious. By the time Yang Zhenghai took over the family, the decline of the Yang family of Lingxi was already irreversible.

Many individuals and families have set their sights on the Yang family of Lingxi and have begun to gradually divide up the Yang family's assets.

Yang Zhenghai's son died a violent death, and Yang Zhenghai himself was attacked and seriously injured during an outing three years ago and died from his injuries.

In the end, the Yang family of Lingxi ended up in this desperate situation.

Inside the ancestral hall, Yang Xiangheng spoke with slightly red eyes, while Yang Zhengshan listened calmly.

"Was it done by the Xiang family of Nanqing?"

Yang Zhengshan asked.

The man who led the way for them yesterday mentioned the Xiang family of Nanqing.

Yang Xiangheng's eyes flashed with hatred. "It was them!"

"How strong is the Xiang family of Nanqing?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

Yang Xiangheng lowered his eyes slightly, "The ancestor of the Nanqing Xiang family was already a Di Sha stage martial artist fifty years ago!"

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly. He should be able to handle a mere Earthly Fiend stage martial artist.

If it were a martial artist at the Heavenly Gang stage, he might have packed his bags and run away.

He looked at Yang Feng's memorial tablet at the top, thought for a moment, and then offered three sticks of incense to this senior.

Afterwards, the two went to the storeroom and the library. There was nothing of value left in the storeroom; Yang Xiangheng had exchanged the valuable items for money and used them to bribe people.

Yang Xiangheng had made efforts to protect the Yang family before, but all his efforts were in vain.

Lingxi Mountain is located in the eastern part of Nanxia County, Shanggu Prefecture, on the border of the Great Zhao Dynasty. The Yang family of Lingxi were subjects of the Great Zhao Dynasty and were under the jurisdiction of Nanxia County.

Previously, Shanggu County was managed by the royal family of the Great Zhao Dynasty. From the prefect to the county magistrate, all were members of the royal family.

After Yang Zhenghai passed away, Yang Xiangheng used most of his family fortune to bribe the magistrate of Nanxia County in order to protect the Yang family. The magistrate was a greedy man, but seeing that Yang Xiangheng was so sensible, he was willing to protect the Yang family.

However, the Great Zhao Dynasty fell, and the royal family of Shanggu County were either killed or fled Shanggu County incognito.

The county magistrate was killed by the Lu family of Tianque a year ago, so most of Yang Xiangheng's wealth that he had given away was lost.

Now, the only thing left in the Yang family's warehouse that can be exchanged for spirit crystals is less than thirty catties of spirit rice.

Looking at the barren warehouse, Yang Zhengshan shook his head and then turned to go to the bookstore next door.

The library was a two-story building. The first floor contained some ordinary books, while the second floor contained the martial arts manuals of the Yang family of Lingxi. Yang Zhenghe and a young man were guarding the second floor.

The greatest wealth of the Yang family in Lingxi today is the cultivation techniques on the second floor of the library.

"Brother!" Yang Zhenghe stood up shakily and bowed respectfully when he saw Yang Zhengshan arrive.

This old man has finally figured things out; he's not embarrassed at all when he calls his elder brother.

In fact, Yang Zhengshan is several years younger than him. Yang Zhengshan is 87 years old this year, while Yang Zhenghe is already 93 years old.

However, since Yang Zhengshan didn't say, they didn't know exactly how old he was.

"May I take a look at these techniques?" Yang Zhengshan nodded and asked.

A faint smile appeared on Yang Zhenghe's aged face. "From now on, the Yang family will be managed by your elder brother, and you can freely dispose of everything in the Yang family!"

If Yang Xiangheng could understand it, Yang Zhenghe naturally understood it even better.

If Yang Zhengshan wanted to leave now, Yang Zhenghe would probably cling to his leg and stop him from leaving.

Yang Zhengshan didn't stand on ceremony and went straight up to browse the cultivation techniques on the bookshelf.

There aren't many cultivation techniques here, only about a hundred. Most of them are below the Innate level, and there are only three Qi-inducing techniques above the Innate level, all of which are Qi-inducing techniques for the Earthly Fiend stage.

These are "The Spring Qi-Guiding Method in the Cave", "The Snow Qi-Guiding Method on the Mountain", and "The Qi-Refining Exercise in the Rivers".

Even a broken boat has three pounds of nails; the Yang family of Lingxi may be in decline, but they were still a martial arts family.

Yang Zhengshan read through the three Qi-inducing methods. They were all very ordinary Qi-inducing methods. Among them, the "River Qi Refining Technique" should have subsequent techniques, but here there was only the technique for the Earthly Fiend stage.

Yang Zhengshan has now roughly figured out the rules for naming cultivation methods. Those called "Qi-Inducing Methods" are all methods for inducing spiritual energy, belonging to the Earthly Fiend or Heavenly Gang stages as separate cultivation methods. However, if it is called "Cultivation Method," then it is a set of cultivation methods that includes cultivation methods at both the Earthly Fiend and Heavenly Gang stages, and may even include cultivation methods before the Innate stage.

Just like the "Green Wood Longevity Technique," there are techniques for the Heavenly Gang stage later on, and there may be techniques for the pre-innate stage before that.

(End of this chapter)