Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 746 Refining Elixirs and Forging Spiritual Weapons

As the saying goes, failure is the mother of success. After more than ten failures, Yang Zhengshan was not discouraged and the master and apprentice continued their experiment the next day.

Failure, failure, failure, and more failure.

For more than ten days in a row, the master and apprentice lost count of how many times they failed and how many medicinal herbs they wasted.

The master and apprentice were like spendthrifts, sparing no expense on medicinal herbs and conducting experiments with a frenzied and persistent attitude.

Fortunately, Yang Zhengshan had no shortage of medicinal herbs; otherwise, not to mention martial arts families, even aristocratic families would have been driven bankrupt by these two.

Of course, each failure is not without meaning.

The two became increasingly skilled at controlling the alchemy furnace and gained a deeper understanding of the process of refining elixirs.

In the blink of an eye, a month has passed.

Inside the alchemy room, Wang Mingzhe carefully controlled the True Fire Formation, while Yang Zhengshan stood beside the alchemy furnace, drawing a talisman in mid-air and striking it onto the furnace.

The next moment, Yang Zhengshan suddenly raised his hand and slammed it onto the stove lid.

With a bang, a faint white halo spread out from the furnace lid and then slowly disappeared into the inner furnace.

"All right!"

He shouted, and Wang Mingzhe quickly shut down the magic array.

Then, the two eagerly opened the furnace lid. A wave of heat rose from the inner furnace, and they saw dozens of round, milky-white pills at the bottom of the furnace.

It even faintly exudes an aura of icy coldness.

Despite the bubbling heat inside the alchemy furnace, the pills exuded an icy aura.

Yang Zhengshan's eyes lit up. He reached out and sent pills floating out of the furnace like water, landing in the porcelain plate beside him.

Thirty-two!

The master and apprentice each picked up one and examined it.

This looks very similar to the elixirs sold outside, with a shimmering sheen on the surface and faint rune patterns visible.

“Master, this should be the Ice Spirit Pill!” Wang Mingzhe said with certainty.

Ice Spirit Pill, also known as the lowest-grade low-level ice-attribute spirit pill, has no special features. Its function is to provide cultivators with ice-attribute spiritual power, which helps martial artists cultivate ice-attribute techniques.

Low-grade spiritual pills like these are mostly used by martial artists below the Innate Realm. Of course, Innate Realm martial artists can also use them, but the effect will be much weaker.

Yang Zhengshan took out an Ice Spirit Pill he had bought from outside and compared the two.

"It's missing one rune, the ice crystal rune!"

Afterward, he swallowed the two pills one after the other, carefully experiencing the difference between them.

"It's 30% less effective, and it seems to have something different in it, hmm..."

Yang Zhengshan sensed a wisp of heat within the icy aura, and a thought flashed through his mind: "Fire Poison!"

"It must be that the heat was too high during the refining process, leaving some fire poison in the pill!"

As he spoke, he waved his hand, expelling the wisp of fiery energy from his body.

He then smiled, patted Wang Mingzhe's shoulder forcefully, and laughed loudly, "Haha, we succeeded!"

Although this pill still has some problems, and it's not even as good as the lowest-grade low-level spiritual pill, it's undeniable that they actually managed to refine a batch of spiritual pills.

It doesn't matter if they are missing one rune. Since they can inscribe the first rune, they can naturally inscribe the second rune as well.

It doesn't matter if it contains a wisp of fire poison; you can simply adjust the size of the true fire during the alchemy process.

Wang Mingzhe's shoulder ached from the pat, but he still grinned from ear to ear.

"Master is truly amazing; he actually managed to refine this elixir successfully!"

Yang Zhengshan smiled and said, "Actually, this is mainly because we benefited from the Spirit Attachment Pill! I had guessed before that the Spirit Attachment Pill was a formula for a low-grade attribute spirit pill, and now it seems that guess was correct."

Don't be fooled by the fact that they finally succeeded after hundreds of failures; it may seem incredibly difficult.

But in reality, they also took a shortcut, because they already had the recipe for the Spirit-Attaching Pill. By constantly experimenting with the recipe, they were able to refine the pill.

If they didn't have the recipe for the Spirit-Attaching Pill, they might not be able to refine it even if they failed thousands of times.

However, as the saying goes, everything is difficult at the beginning. Taking that first step means that Yang Zhengshan can try to refine various elixirs.

High-grade elixirs might not work, but he could try to refine low-grade single-attribute elixirs.

In the following period, Yang Zhengshan continued to conduct experiments with Wang Mingzhe.

While they were researching alchemy, the others in the Spirit Source Land were not idle either.

Yang Zhengshan and Wang Mingzhe were in charge of researching alchemy, while Yang Chengze led the others from the Secret Arts Pavilion to verify the functions of various runes, and Liang Jinyan and Yang Chengzhen were in charge of researching weapon crafting.

Just one month after Yang Zhengshan and Wang Mingzhe successfully refined the Ice Spirit Pill, Liang Jinyan and Yang Chengzhen found Yang Zhengshan with a long sword.

"Father, look at this knife!"

The two men, their faces full of anticipation, handed a gleaming longsword to Yang Zhengshan.

Yang Zhengshan picked up the long knife and examined it carefully.

The style of the longsword is not the point; the runes on it are.

The blade of this long sword has very faint rune markings, which are not visible unless you look closely.

Yang Zhengshan brandished his longsword a few times, thought for a moment, and said, "How many runes are on this?"

“Three times!” Liang Jinyan replied quickly.

“Something seems off,” Yang Zhengshan said, stroking his beard.

He had a lot of dealings with Qiu Jin and had even commissioned many spirit weapons and spirit armor from him, so he had a fairly good understanding of spirit weapons.

The longsword in front of me does indeed have runes, which make it harder and sharper, but it is still not quite the same as a true spiritual weapon.

"Although it can't be considered a spirit weapon yet, this is still a significant improvement!" Yang Zhengshan looked at the two approvingly.

Just like alchemy, once you take this first step, the rest will be much easier.

Moreover, weapon crafting is different from alchemy. Compared to alchemy, weapon crafting is easier, especially for low-grade spiritual weapons, which are far less difficult to craft than alchemy.

This can be seen from the small markets outside. Each small market will have a weapon-refining workshop, but not necessarily a pill-refining workshop.

The number of independent weapon-cultivating masters far exceeds the number of independent alchemy masters.

It is evident that training a weapon refiner is much easier than training an alchemist.

"It seems we still have a lot to improve!" Liang Jinyan said, not disappointed, as he sheathed his longsword. "Well, don't rush, take it slow, train more young people, and accumulate experience for a future breakthrough!" Yang Zhengshan laughed.

He wasn't afraid that the Spirit Origin Land would be slow to develop in terms of rune techniques, as long as everyone could focus on their research. He believed that the Spirit Origin Land would eventually surpass the Twelve Families and the Three Great Sects in rune techniques.

Of course, if the Land of Spiritual Origin wants to make greater progress in alchemy and weapon crafting, it still needs to continuously absorb the secret techniques of runes from the outside world.

Although they have taken the first step, the secrets of rune inscription become increasingly difficult as they progress.

This clumsy method works for him now, but it won't work once the rune techniques in the Spirit Source Land reach a certain level.

We should not underestimate ourselves, but we also should not be overly ambitious.

Yang Zhengshan had a good attitude towards the secret techniques of runes: he believed in taking things step by step and slowly.

Before they knew it, winter had arrived again. Yang Zhengshan, who had been researching elixirs for half a year, rarely came out of the Spirit Source Land.

However, the weather was rather bad today. Heavy snow fell from the sky, like a stampede of horses. The snowflakes swept across the mountains, turning them into a vast expanse of white.

The towering rocks in the mountains, covered in snow, appeared even more majestic. A fierce wind, carrying snowflakes, howled through the valleys.

The entire Yunxiao Mountain Range was shrouded in snow, making the majestic mountains appear hazy and indistinct.

Despite the heavy snow, Yang Zhengshan still had to go out.

Because he had already made an appointment with Lan Peng a few days ago to meet him in Nanqingshan.

Lan Peng had stayed in the county town for a few months because of Lu Fusheng's breakthrough. He had only been back for a few days when he sent someone to invite Yang Zhengshan to Nanqingshan for a chat.

This invitation is very important to Yang Zhengshan. If Yang Zhengshan is not mistaken, Lan Peng invited him over because it is about the Golden Body Technique.

Lan Peng had said before that if Lu Fusheng broke through, he would tell him a way to obtain the Golden Body Technique.

Even the blizzard couldn't dampen Yang Zhengshan's enthusiasm for the Golden Body Method.

Upon arriving at Nanqingshan, several Chiyan Army soldiers who were on duty in the wind and snow greeted him and immediately saluted respectfully.

Yang Zhengshan nodded kindly, but didn't say much. The wind and snow were too heavy, and it wasn't good to talk outside.

Soon, he was led by a soldier to Lan Peng's tea room.

Although Lan Peng has a rugged appearance, he is very strict in disciplining his troops and also has very strict requirements for his own daily life.

His tea room is simple yet grand; although it lacks any ornate decorations, it exudes a comfortable style.

When Yang Zhengshan entered the tea room, the stove was burning brightly, and Lan Xuanyu was preparing tea.

"Senior Yang, please have a seat!"

"Well, where is Brother Lan?" Yang Zhengshan asked without any ceremony, sitting down directly at the tea table.

As Lan Xuanyu poured him tea, he said, "I have already sent someone to invite my grandfather. He should be here soon!"

Just then, Lan Peng's signature laughter rang out from outside.

"Haha, I knew Brother Yang wouldn't break his promise!"

Today, Lan Peng, wearing a crimson cloak, strode confidently into the tea room.

Yang Zhengshan laughed and said, "There's nothing I can do, I've been waiting for Brother Lan for almost half a year!"

He didn't mind revealing his eagerness for the Golden Body Method.

There's really no point in hiding it. Every martial artist in the Heavenly Gang stage wants to obtain the Golden Body Technique. If he were to keep it hidden, it would only make him seem petty.

Lan Peng sat opposite Yang Zhengshan and first picked up his teacup and drank it.

"Hehe, I only sent someone to invite Brother Yang after I received accurate information!"

"What exactly happened?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

Lan Peng smoothed his disheveled beard and said, "This is a long story. Let's first talk about the attitudes of the three major sects towards the Golden Body Technique!"

"Actually, the three major sects don't care about the Golden Body Technique being leaked out, but the twelve great families do, because every additional Martial God Realm expert could affect the twelve great families' standing in the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty!"

"There's another issue involved here, which is cultivation resources."

"For every additional martial artist who cultivates the Golden Body Technique, there is one more martial artist vying for spiritual objects that can aid in the cultivation of the Golden Body Technique."

"The three major sects have a long history and profound foundation. Over the centuries, they have accumulated a large number of high-grade spiritual objects, so they are not lacking in spiritual objects for cultivating the Golden Body Technique!"

"In comparison, the Twelve Families are different. They lack resources, and every high-grade spiritual item is extremely precious to them. Naturally, they do not want more people competing with them for it. Therefore, they absolutely do not want anyone else to compete with them for spiritual items or share the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty in order to cultivate the Golden Body Technique!"

"The three major sects refrained from selling the Golden Body Technique extensively in the martial arts market because of the twelve great families!"

Yang Zhengshan suddenly realized that he could understand these things.

Although people say that the power of the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty is divided into three sects and twelve families, in reality, the three sects and twelve families are not on the same level.

The power of the three major sects far surpasses that of the twelve great families.

Each of the twelve great families possesses at least one Martial God Realm expert and at most three Martial God Realm experts.

The three major sects possess experts at the Martial Immortal realm. A difference of one major realm cannot be made up for by sheer numbers.

Moreover, the three major sects have more Martial God Realm experts; each of the three sects has no fewer than six Martial God Realm experts.

Therefore, it is not important to the three major sects how many aristocratic families the Lingxiu Sea has, because no matter how many aristocratic families they have, it will not affect their morning court sessions.

As for why the three major sects do not monopolize the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty, the reason is simple: the three major sects need outsiders to provide them with more cultivation resources and living supplies.

A sect is not a dynasty. A dynasty can form an independent economic system and be completely self-sufficient.

However, sects cannot do this. Sect disciples need food, clothing, shelter, and various low-level cultivation resources. If sects had to provide all of these, they would need to support hundreds of thousands or even millions of people.

The three major sects naturally didn't want to bother supporting so many people, so they let the twelve aristocratic families do it.

Ultimately, the millions of people around the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty are actually serving the three major sects.

Take the Lingxi Yang family as an example. On the surface, the Lingxi Yang family has no connection with the three major sects, but in reality, the Lingxi Yang family has always been paying tribute to the three major sects.

The spirit stones Yang Zhengshan spent all came from the three major sects, who controlled the currency of the Spirit Sea.

The cultivation techniques, elixirs, and spiritual weapons that Yang Zhengshan bought were all inextricably linked to the three major sects.

Take spiritual weapons, for example. Yang Zhengshan had them forged from Qiu Jin's Spirit Flame Forging Workshop. But the problem is that Qiu Jin has to pay taxes to the Lu family, and the Lu family also has to pay tribute to the three major sects. In addition, most of the ores used by Qiu Jin also come from the three major sects.

Therefore, as long as one cultivates in the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty, one cannot escape the three major sects.

The three major sects don't care how many aristocratic families the Lingxiu Sea has; they only need the Lingxiu Sea to have enough low-level martial artists.

(End of this chapter)