Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 727 The Lu Family's Announcement

Yang Zhengshan looked at the jade, wood, and bronze piece and asked, "I wonder how much it would cost to forge a spear from this jade, wood, and bronze?"

"Twenty-eight! This piece of jade, wood, and bronze will cost eighteen spirit stones, but it's not enough to forge a spear. I need to add other materials!" the old man said.

Twenty-eight spirit stones!

Low-grade spiritual soldiers!

This price is really not cheap.

However, Yang Zhengshan knew that the old man was not asking for an exorbitant price and that the price he offered was reasonable.

He inquired in the market of the county town and found that a low-grade spiritual weapon would cost at least thirty spirit stones, and that was for weapons like swords and sabers. Long weapons like spears would cost at least fifty spirit stones.

Yang Zhengshan thought for a moment, then took out his Xuan Tie Heavy Spear from his storage bag. "I wonder if my spear can be modified?"

The old man took the spear, first weighed it, then tapped the shaft, before looking at Yang Zhengshan with a look of astonishment.

"Is this made of Xuanjin Heavy Iron?"

Yang Zhengshan had no idea what Xuanjin Heavy Iron was, but he knew that the spear was made of Xuan Iron; it must be a different name for the ore.

"It should be!" he replied vaguely.

"Then it cannot be modified. This Xuanjin Heavy Iron is a metal spirit ore, which is incompatible with wood spirit!"

As the old man spoke, he continued to examine the Xuan Tie Heavy Spear. "The quality of this Xuan Tie Heavy Spear is rather poor, with very low spiritual energy. However, the forging technique is quite good. But why are there no runes inscribed on it?"

"Without inscriptions, it's just an ordinary weapon; once inscribed, it becomes a spiritual weapon!"

The area west of the Stormy Sea is called the Spirit Wasteland because there are very few spiritual things there, not only spiritual herbs and fruits, but also very few minerals with spiritual properties.

Yang Zhengshan's expression shifted slightly, and he said to Li Chang behind him, "Let the old man see your knife!"

Li Chang immediately took out his long sword and handed it to the old man.

The old man did not refuse and took the long sword to examine it.

"What materials is this made of?" he asked.

"I don't know!" Yang Zhengshan said.

Li Chang's longsword was forged by the Zhu family of Earthfire Island using Earthfire Steel. However, the Zhu family's Earthfire Steel was not a single material, but rather a fusion of multiple materials after being tempered by volcanic lava.

So even if you tell the old man that it is made of earth fire steel, he probably wouldn't know what earth fire steel is.

"The techniques are exactly the same, and the materials have no spiritual energy whatsoever. It's a decent ordinary weapon," the old man commented.

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly. It seems that the Zhu family's weapon-making skills are quite good. It's just that the Zhu family doesn't know any rune techniques and doesn't have that many spiritual ores to use, so the Zhu family can only make ordinary weapons.

"Could we forge a wood-attribute spiritual weapon based on the style and weight of this spear?"

The old man pondered for a moment and said, "It's not impossible. I have a piece of yellow earth spirit crystal here, which can increase the weight of the spear and can also be smelted well with jade, wood, and bronze!"

"The price may need to be increased; it will have to be forty-three spirit stones!"

Yang Zhengshan didn't mind the spirit stones; he still had a hundred spirit stones he had exchanged for spirit fruits, enough to forge a handy weapon.

"Then build me one. How long will it take?"

"Please come and collect it in half a month, sir! Oh, and the deposit is ten spirit stones!" the old man said with a smile.

Yang Zhengshan took out ten spirit stones and put the Xuan Tie Heavy Spear back into his storage bag. "I haven't yet asked your name, sir!"

"Hehe, my name is Qiu Jin. You can call me Old Man Qiu. My family has been running this shop since my grandfather's time, for two hundred years!" Qiu Jin said familiarly.

Yang Zhengshan cupped his hands in greeting, "Then I'll have to trouble Mr. Qiu!"

After leaving the Spirit Flame Forging Workshop, Yang Zhengshan went into the adjacent Transmission of Dharma Spirit Hall, which was the largest and most magnificent shop in the martial arts market of Nanxia County.

The Wanfa Pavilion in the county town is owned by the Huanyue Sect, while the Chuanfa Lingdian here is owned by the Sun family, one of the twelve great families, namely Sun Qingrui's Sun family.

The cultivation techniques of a prestigious family are naturally inferior to those of the Illusion Moon Sect, one of the three major sects, but for Yang Zhengshan, the Sun family's techniques were sufficient.

He can only buy some ordinary cultivation techniques to practice now; he is not qualified to collect those divine and secret techniques.

Upon entering the Hall of Transmission of Dharma, a waiter immediately came to greet us.

"This humble servant warmly welcomes you, senior!" the waiter said eagerly.

This guy was probably in his thirties, and his cultivation level hadn't reached the Innate Realm yet; he was just an Acquired Realm martial artist.

Yang Zhengshan glanced at the shop's furnishings and said, "I need some Wood Spirit cultivation techniques. May I have the opportunity to choose one or two?"

The shop had a dozen or so antique bookshelves, which seemed to have more cultivation techniques than Wanfa Pavilion, but the quality of these techniques was naturally not comparable to that of Wanfa Pavilion.

"Of course, please, sir!" the waiter quickly replied.

We open our doors to do business, and every customer who comes to our door is a customer.

Although the Three Sects and Twelve Families are high and mighty in the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty, they are still quite disciplined in doing business. At the very least, they are enthusiastic in welcoming customers and do not look down on others.

As the shop assistant led Yang Zhengshan into the store, he asked, "What kind of martial arts technique does Senior want?"

"I want to see all the wood spirit techniques above the innate level!" Yang Zhengshan said.

"I see! Then senior, please take a look at the cultivation techniques over here." The shopkeeper led Yang Zhengshan to a bookshelf and said with a smile, "I dare not say about other things, but our Transmission Spirit Hall has many Wood Spirit cultivation techniques, including some profound secret techniques, which are no less than those of the Myriad Laws Pavilion in the county city."

This is not boasting. The Sun family has inherited the Wood Spirit Technique, and since the Transmission Hall is a property of the Sun family, it naturally has the most Wood Spirit Techniques.

Among the many categories of cultivation techniques in the shop, the Wood Spirit Techniques above the Innate level alone occupy an entire bookshelf, with as many as two or three hundred different techniques. This shows that what the shopkeeper said was true.

Yang Zhengshan first looked at the Qi-guiding method and indeed saw the Green Wood Longevity Technique. It seemed that this was indeed an extremely common technique.

His gaze swept past the Qi-inducing method and landed on the various techniques below.

Wood Spirit techniques are mostly about recovery and healing, with relatively few offensive techniques.

However, Yang Zhengshan still managed to find several decent techniques among them.

"Jiamu Piercing Cloud Spear"

Jia represents pure Yang wood, which is inherently strong, towering, and extremely majestic.

Judging from the name, this should be a powerful marksmanship, rather than a flexible and versatile one.

Yang Zhengshan's previous marksmanship focused on sharp and powerful techniques, and he disliked those fancy moves.

This technique should be very suitable for him.

The Method of Tracing Roots from Fallen Leaves

Leaves fall without leaving a trace, but their roots leave a mark. This is a movement technique that emphasizes agility and change, naturally including the art of flight.

Yang Zhengshan didn't know the specifics of this technique, but judging from its name and description, he thought it must be quite good.

Aoki's Spirit Eyes

It can dispel illusions and probe spirituality; it is a rather unique eye technique.

Yang Zhengshan picked up the bamboo tube containing "Azure Wood Spirit Eyes," and exclaimed, "It even has eye techniques?"

He is no longer the novice who first came to the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty. He naturally knows the merits and scarcity of cultivation techniques. Techniques like the Eye Technique should be extremely rare.

"Reporting to Senior, I dare not deceive you. Although the Azure Wood Spirit Eye is extraordinary, it is extremely difficult to cultivate. Hehe, it is not something that ordinary people can cultivate. However, once you succeed in cultivating it, it will be incredibly extraordinary, with the ability to detect spiritual objects in the world!"

The waiter smiled warmly.

Yang Zhengshan's heart stirred, and he began to investigate the spiritual objects of heaven and earth!

Such abilities are rare.

The so-called spiritual objects of heaven and earth naturally refer to things that contain spiritual energy, such as spiritual medicines, spiritual fruits, minerals, earth veins, and even the spiritual energy that permeates the air. All of these can be considered spiritual objects.

If you can detect the spiritual objects of heaven and earth, wouldn't that be like having X-ray vision? Not only could you use it to find treasures, but it would also have many other wonderful uses.

This eye technique sounds impressive, but the guy also says it's extremely difficult to master.

Hehe, I guess it's not that it's extremely difficult, but rather that it's impossible to cultivate successfully. Otherwise, why would the Sun family put such a useful pupil technique out for sale?

Yang Zhengshan stroked his beard and thought for a moment, and finally decided to buy the pupil technique.

Whether I can master it or not, let's study it first.

With a marksmanship technique, a movement technique, and a pupil technique, Yang Zhengshan also chose a body-refining technique called "Wood Transformation Body Nourishing Method".

The body is the foundation of a martial artist; regardless of their level of cultivation, a martial artist's body is the most important thing.

Although the "Wood Transformation Body Cultivation Method" is only a body-refining technique for the Body Tempering Realm, it is placed among the innate cultivation techniques, which clearly indicates that it should be a good body-refining technique.

Of the four cultivation techniques, the spear technique, body technique, and body refining technique were relatively ordinary, costing only thirty-two spirit stones in total. However, this pupil technique cost Yang Zhengshan twenty-two spirit stones, which was even more expensive than the Qi-inducing technique for the Earthly Fiend stage.

With over a hundred spirit stones spent on these cultivation manuals and the deposit for the custom-made spear, half of the spirit stones were gone.

Before Yang Zhengshan could even feel sorry for himself, he started strolling around the market again.

He bought several kinds of spiritual fruits that he didn't have, ten wood spirit pills, and spent more than a dozen spirit stones.

This Wood Spirit Pill is the most common and ordinary attribute-based elixir. Its function is to increase a martial artist's wood-attribute spiritual energy, which is effective for cultivation and replenishing true essence.

There are also pills like the Wood Spirit Pill, the Fire Spirit Pill, and the Water Spirit Pill, which are simply attribute-specific pills.

This kind of pill is an alternative form of the Spirit-Attaching Pill; you could even say it's an enhanced version of the Spirit-Attaching Pill.

If the spirit-enhancing pills refined by Yang Zhengshan were imbued with runes, they would most likely be simple attribute-enhancing pills.

Having spent most of his spirit stones, and still needing to pay the remaining balance for the spear, Yang Zhengshan only had two or three spirit stones left.

As Yang Zhengshan left Nanxia County, he couldn't help but sigh at how precious the spiritual stone was.

However, earning spirit stones is extremely difficult.

Previously, the Yang family of Lingxi earned less than twenty spirit stones a year, but the spirit stones he spent today were equivalent to five or six years' worth of income for the Yang family of Lingxi in the past.

Fortunately, he had a large amount of spiritual fruits, otherwise he really wouldn't know how to make a breakthrough.

He will need spirit stones for many more things in the future.

A single spear costs forty-three spirit stones. Yang Zhengshan didn't even dare to imagine the expense of equipping his family with a spirit weapon.

He used to think that there were already plenty of spiritual fruits in the Spirit Source Land, but now it seems that more need to be planted.

However, today's harvest was still quite plentiful. The spiritual weapons and cultivation techniques were secondary; the main thing was that Yang Zhengshan bought four kinds of attribute spiritual fruits: Wood Element Fruit, Flame Fruit, Golden Crystal Fruit, and Water Element Fruit.

He has collected all the spiritual fruits of the five elements, and he also has the Wind Spirit Fruit, Ice Heart Fruit, Nether Light Fruit, and Dragon Bone Fruit.

In other words, he already possesses nine different attribute-based spirit fruits.

However, it will take more than ten years before I can achieve true freedom in obtaining these four spiritual fruits.

Although the effects of spiritual fruits are not as good as those of spiritual pills, if you eat enough of them, they can be as effective as some spiritual pills.

Before the two returned to Lingxi Mountain, a biting wind howled, and heavy snow fell like cotton wool from the leaden sky.

When they returned to Lingxi Mountain, the rolling hills were covered with a thick white blanket.

In the courtyard, Yang Xiangheng seemed to have been waiting for Yang Zhengshan for a long time. When he saw Yang Zhengshan return, he quickly got up to greet him.

"Grand Uncle, a messenger has come to the door today."

"A constable?" Yang Zhengshan was surprised at first, then realized, "A constable from Nanxia County?"

The Great Zhao Dynasty had been destroyed for several months, and the Lu family had taken over Shanggu County. Naturally, Nanxia County was now the Lu family's territory, and the Yang family of Lingxi had become subjects under the Lu family's rule.

"Yes, this was delivered by the constable!" Yang Xiangheng handed a notice to Yang Zhengshan.

The proclamation contained a lot of information, but its main points were only three: first, it explained the Tianque Lu family's rule over Shanggu County; second, it stated that the amount of tribute paid by martial arts families in Shanggu County would remain unchanged and would continue to be paid according to the previous tribute amount of the Great Zhao Dynasty.

Third, martial arts families are prohibited from annexing spirit fields for five years, including through various means such as seizure and acquisition.

In Shanggu County, martial arts families are essentially like minor lords, possessing not only their own spiritual fields but also their own territories, typically including several villages.

The county seat and market towns were controlled by the government, but the villages were controlled by martial arts families.

The government would not collect taxes from ordinary people; they would only collect offerings from martial arts families.

The specific amount of offerings, depending on the grade of the spiritual field, is roughly half of the spiritual field's output.

Take this less than seven acres of low-grade spirit land on Lingxi Mountain, for example. It costs about one spirit stone plus a dozen spirit crystals to pay for it every year.

The situation around the entire Lingxiu Sea was pretty much the same, and Yang Zhengshan didn't care about the offerings. What he cared about was that the Lu family had actually banned martial arts families from annexing spirit fields for five years.

Is this good or bad for the Yang family of Lingxi?

It only says that the annexation of sacred fields is prohibited, but it doesn't say that fighting is prohibited!

Does the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty have any laws or regulations?
Have!
The three major sects have established many rules, but they have not made any restrictions on the struggles between martial arts families.

Simply put, if you are strong enough, you can steal things from your neighbor.

Of course, if your neighbor has connections and hires people from three clans and twelve families to kill you, then you deserve it.

(End of this chapter)