Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 737 Five Years, Breakthrough

"Just tell me how many spirit stones!" Yang Zhengshan said generously.

"Soft armor will cost seven spirit stones per set, while hard armor will cost approximately..." Qiu Jin pondered for a moment before saying, "Sixty spirit stones per set!"

Yang Zhengshan was also somewhat taken aback when he heard the price.

This set of snakeskins could probably sell for ten spirit stones. He wanted to use the snakeskins to make spirit armor, but it would cost him more than three hundred spirit stones.

Damn, is this reasonable?
"Isn't this snakeskin only worth ten spirit stones?"

Yang Zhengshan really wanted to ask, does it deserve it?
Qiu Jin coughed lightly and said, "If Brother Yang wants to sell snake skin, I can give you twelve spirit stones!"

"What do you mean?" Yang Zhengshan was a little confused.

Qiu Jin smiled wryly and said, "Brother Yang may not understand, but what we sell in this line of work is a skill!"

"..."

Yang Zhengshan was completely speechless.

It turned out to be the case.

That's a technological monopoly; they're selling technology, not creative materials.

It's that secret technique of runes.

Suddenly, Yang Zhengshan's desire for the secret techniques of runes reached a new level.

Damn, if he also possessed a complete set of rune techniques, wouldn't he be able to achieve a technological monopoly?
"Five sets of soft armor and five sets of hard armor will take me at least three months to complete. During these three months, I won't be able to take on any other work!"

"Brother Yang, please don't be offended. I'm just trying to make a living!"

Qiu Jindao.

What else could Yang Zhengshan say? Qiu Jin was already being honest; if it were the market in the county seat, the price would definitely be higher.

"Alright, we'll do it your way. I'll give you a deposit of one hundred spirit stones, and I'll come to pick up the spirit armor in three months!"

Upon hearing this, Qiu Jin's embarrassment vanished instantly, and he happily put away the snakeskin on the counter.

Shady businessmen, shady businessmen! Even an honest person who has done business all their life can become incredibly cunning.

The so-called embarrassment is just superficial.

As Yang Zhengshan walked out of the Spirit Flame Foundry, he pondered carefully. Suddenly, he turned his head to look at the Spirit Flame Foundry behind him.

Damn, this weapon-refining workshop must earn no less than a thousand spirit stones a year!

Even if business is slow, there should still be several hundred spirit stones.

In contrast, the Yang family of Lingquan used to earn less than twenty spirit stones a year.

No, that's not right. There shouldn't be that many. Crafting spirit armor and crafting spirit weapons are not the same thing. Crafting spirit armor is much more troublesome, so the price is naturally higher. But if it's just a spirit weapon, it's only a few spirit stones for the labor cost.

In this way, Qiu Jin should be able to earn at least two or three hundred spirit stones this year.

This order was roughly equivalent to Qiu Jin's annual income.

Farming really doesn't make money at all; having skills is much more profitable!
After reaching this conclusion, Yang Zhengshan immediately ran to the market stall area.

Technology is the primary productive force!
Science is irrelevant here; runes are the primary productive force!
Now he understands: anything related to runes is very expensive.

These runes are like words; each rune has a unique effect and ability, and combining several runes will produce different effects.

The question then arises: is it possible to understand the functions of various runes through research?
Studying symbols in the same way we study oracle bone script?
As you can imagine, this is an incredibly complex subject, but then again, there's no harm in studying it.

There are many learned and talented people in the Lingyuan Space, so it's a good opportunity to find them some work to do.

The main problem is that he currently has no way to obtain the rune inheritance, and he can't even get the Qiu Jin rune inheritance, so he can only resort to this clumsy method.

The reason he went to the stalls instead of the shops was because the stalls had a lot of messy and disorderly items.

Among them were some damaged spirit weapons and spirit armor.

Although these things are all useless junk, they still have some runes on them, which can be used to study various runes.

The key is that these things are cheap; even if you buy a lot of them, it won't cost more than a few spirit stones.

Yang Zhengshan found a stall and rummaged through a pile of garbage, selecting some fragments with relatively intact runes.

"How much do these cost?"

The stall owner was a man who looked very young, probably in his early twenties.

"Reporting to Senior, these twenty spirit crystals are enough!" the young man said.

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly, then took out twenty spirit crystals and handed them to the young man, casually asking, "Where did you pick these up from?"

"Near the ancient Yuanshan Mountain to the north!" The young man didn't hide anything and instead said very talkatively, "It is said that a great battle took place there a hundred years ago, leaving behind many fragments of weapons and armor."

Guyuan Mountain?
Yang Zhengshan thought about it and realized that there was indeed such a place, more than two hundred miles away from Nanxia County, roughly at the border between Shanggu County and Hangu County.

Actually, these fragments aren't entirely useless; they can be melted down and reforged, although it's quite laborious.

Generally, skilled weapon refiners wouldn't do this kind of work, while unskilled weapon refiners can only forge ordinary weapons and armor, and they also find these things rare.

“If you find any fragments with complete runes in the future, you can come to Lingxi Mountain to find me. One spirit crystal for each fragment, I’ll take as many as you have!” Yang Zhengshan said.

"Really?" The young man's face lit up with surprise.

"Yes, it's true. Lingxi Mountain is twenty miles to the north. I am Yang Zhengshan, the head of the Yang family of Lingxi!"

"Junior Geng Zhuang pays respects to Senior Yang!" Geng Zhuang was both surprised and delighted.

Yang Zhengshan smiled and said, "Just come find me when you have it!"

This young man seems quite capable. His cultivation level isn't high, only around the third or fourth level of the acquired realm, but the fact that he can travel two hundred miles to Nanxia County to sell this junk shows that he has some skill.

Yang Zhengshan then tried to exchange some fragments with runes at other stalls, hoping to find a bargain, but he was wrong.

There's absolutely nothing to be found here!
They were just ordinary junk. Or perhaps his eyesight wasn't good enough, but he didn't find anything special.

After selling a large amount of junk, Yang Zhengshan returned to Lingxi Mountain and then to the Lingyuan Land. He handed over the fragments with runes to Yang Chengmao, asking Yang Chengmao to organize people to study these runes.

Regardless of the purpose or usability of these runes, the first thing to do is to record their patterns.

In fact, Yang Zhengshan did have something related to the inheritance of runes. Don't forget that he also had the "Six Chapters of Alchemy Runes" passed down from the Yang family of Lingxi.

However, this "Six Chapters on Alchemy and Talismans" is incomplete and incomplete, so no one can practice it. But at least it can provide Yang Zhengshan with some basic knowledge of talismans.

In fact, what Yang Zhengshan lacks most right now is not those profound rune techniques, but the most basic ones. Unfortunately, even the most basic ones are something he can't get his hands on, which makes him feel very helpless.

……

Just as Lan Peng said, he and the Crimson Flame Army indeed set up camp at the foot of Nanqing Mountain, and at the same time, the spiritual fields left by the Nanqing Xiang family also fell into Lan Peng's hands.

In the days that followed, Lan Peng often brought Jin Yu and Fei Yun to visit Yang Zhengshan for drinks.

This person's personality is actually very similar to Yang Zhengshan's: generous and magnanimous, but also ruthless and vicious. Once he takes action, blood will flow like a river.

Perhaps because they got along well, Lan Peng often came to Lingxi Mountain to find Yang Zhengshan, and Yang Zhengshan also wanted to befriend him, so the two became friends over time.

A month later, Gengzhuang sent Yang Zhengshan a hundred fragments with runes. The young man was clever; instead of digging for these fragments himself in Guyuan Mountain, he directly became a middleman and bought them in Nanxia County.

Yang Zhengshan naturally wouldn't mind these things; on the contrary, he was happy to let him help collect these scraps.

Three months later, Yang Zhengshan retrieved the armor that Qiu Jin had made.

Five sets of dark blue scale armor and five sets of white soft armor.

Yang Zhengshan kept a set of scale armor and soft armor for himself, and gave a set of soft armor to Chen Zhongshu, Lü Hua and Yang Chengxian. They were not suitable to use scale armor when they were out and about, and it was more convenient to wear soft armor close to their skin.

They also gave Wang Lei and Li Chang a set of scale armor. Since they were soldiers in the army, they were more used to wearing armor.

As for the rest, Yang Zhengshan kept them for the time being, intending to give them to others later.

Time passed slowly, and five years went by in the blink of an eye, bringing us to the thirty-fourth year of Lingyuan.

In this land of spiritual origin, the soft morning sunlight falls on the lush green plum trees, and a layer of fine, dappled light shines through the branches and leaves onto the ground.

Under the tree, Yang Zhengshan sat cross-legged, concentrating intently on practicing the breathing techniques.

Not far away, Yu Qingyi was quietly practicing with a long sword, the emerald green blade swaying and occasionally flashing with emerald light.

A short while later, Yang Zhengshan let out a long breath, opened his eyes, and looked at Yu Qingyi beside him with a smile.

Time seems to have been exceptionally kind to Yu Qingyi. Decades have passed, yet it has left almost no trace on her. Her face remains round, her eyes are still bright, and her figure is still as dashing as ever. She still looks to be around thirty years old.

Of course, this is thanks to the Jade Bone Ice Heart Pill and the Ice Attribute Spirit Attachment Pill. It is probably because the ice attribute pills have a special anti-aging effect that Yu Qingyi not only does not look old, but looks younger and younger.

Yu Qingyi wasn't a stunning beauty, but her oval face was very pleasing to the eye. Yang Zhengshan had been looking at her for fifty years and still hadn't gotten tired of it.

After Yu Qingyi finished performing her "Azure Shadow Flying Flower Sword" routine, she sheathed her sword, stood up, looked at Yang Zhengshan, and revealed her gentle and bright smile.

"How's it going? Did you break through?"

The Azure Shadow Flying Flower Sword is a wood-attribute sword technique. When the sword moves are executed, the sword will glow with an emerald green light, like blooming flowers. The flying sword flowers contain powerful destructive force.

This sword technique is agile and elegant, emphasizing the continuity and rhythm of the sword moves. Each sword strike is stronger than the last. Although it is not as powerful as Yang Zhengshan's spear technique, the sword movements are light and graceful, like flying flowers chasing the moon, aiming at the opponent's vital points. The sword speed is extremely fast and difficult to predict. At the same time, the flashing sword flowers can also confuse the opponent's vision, making it most suitable for one-on-one combat.

Yang Zhengshan stood up, brushed the fallen leaves and dust off his clothes, stroked his beard, and smiled, "I've broken through!"

It took him more than five years to hone his cultivation to the Heavenly Gang stage.

This speed sounds fast, but it's much slower than Yang Zhengshan expected.

Cultivating the Pure Spirit Wood Qi Induction Technique in the Spirit Source Land is an exceptionally advantageous position. The Spirit Source Land has a large number of spirit fruit trees and a large number of plants irrigated by spirit spring water, making the Pure Spirit Wood Qi extremely concentrated.

Practicing the Pure Spirit Wood Qi Guiding Technique in the Spirit Source Land is definitely twice as effective with half the effort.

Even so, Yang Zhengshan still consumed a large amount of cultivation resources.

There's no need to elaborate on the spiritual spring water and spiritual fruits. Although the two wood-attribute spiritual fruits, the Wood Spirit Fruit and the Jade Spirit Peach, are only now being cultivated on a large scale and cannot yet satisfy Yang Zhengshan's need for them at will, Yang Zhengshan eats other spiritual fruits every day.

Even if the effects of consuming so many spiritual fruits are not specifically aimed at improving cultivation, they will still greatly benefit cultivation.

There is also the Dao Intent Sacred Lotus. The effect of the Dao Intent Sacred Lotus is to increase one's understanding of natural attributes. In the past, Yang Zhengshan had always focused on the lightning attribute, and all the lotus seeds he used were spent on the lightning attribute. However, since he started cultivating the Green Wood Longevity Technique, he has begun to understand the Dao Intent of the wood attribute.

Previously, Yang Zhengshan was not clear about the difference between attribute Dao intent and attribute spiritual energy. He once thought that the lotus seed enhanced his spiritual energy, which enabled him to control the power of thunder.

However, after the Dao Intent Sacred Lotus matured again, Yang Zhengshan discovered after using the lotus petals and seeds multiple times that the Dao Intent Sacred Lotus did not enhance spiritual energy, but rather the true attribute Dao intent, which is the so-called natural Dao intent.

The enhancement of one's Dao intent allows one to better control one's own spiritual power, and also allows one to draw upon the spiritual energy between heaven and earth.

Although it cannot directly improve cultivation level, it can increase Yang Zhengshan's cultivation speed.

Even with the assistance of the Dao Intent Sacred Lotus, Yang Zhengshan still spent five years and finally used the Evergreen Nourishing Yuan Pill given to him by Lan Peng to break through and enter the threshold of the Heavenly Gang stage.

"How do you feel?" Yu Qingyi asked curiously.

Yang Zhengshan laughed and waved his hand. A vine sprouted from the ground and spread for more than ten feet in the blink of an eye, but it soon withered.

Yu Qingyi was taken aback, and her eyes suddenly lit up.

"Yin and Yang, withering and flourishing?"

"That's right. After entering the Heavenly Gang stage, the true essence in the body undergoes changes of Yin and Yang. When Yang is strong, Yin is weak, and when Yin is strong, Yang is weak. This can harmonize the Yin and Yang in the body and bring the body to a more perfect state."

After considering it for a moment, Yang Zhengshan said, "It can prolong life, but the increase in lifespan is not very significant; it can probably extend life by more than ten years."

Lifespan has always been a concern for Yang Zhengshan, because Zhou Tianci, An Yuxing, Liang Shengze and others don't have much time left to live.

Because of his special cultivation method, Xuanzhen Daoist can live to be 170 or 180 years old. However, Zhou Tianci has become increasingly old in the past two years. If there is no other way to prolong his life, he will probably die of old age in a few more years.

Now that they know that breaking through to the Heavenly Gang stage can extend one's lifespan, it can be considered as giving Zhou Tianci an opportunity.

(End of this chapter)