Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 747: Martial arts, immortality!
Seeing that Yang Zhengshan remained silent, Lan Peng continued, "The method I told you about obtaining the Golden Body Technique is actually the method given by the three major sects!"

"Enter the ancient formation to search for cultivation techniques and spiritual items!"

Yang Zhengshan was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, somewhat confused about his meaning.

Lan Peng explained, "The history of the Lingxiu Sea can be traced back to ten thousand years ago. Since then, there have been sects and aristocratic families in the Lingxiu Sea. Although the sects and aristocratic families have changed, the Lingxiu Sea has always existed."

"Therefore, this history of ten thousand years is called the recent ancient period! The history before ten thousand years ago is called the ancient period, and the history of one hundred thousand years ago is called the distant ancient period!"

"Many ancient legends can no longer be verified, and even the three major sects only have a superficial understanding of them."

"However, the Three Sects and Twelve Schools all have some knowledge of ancient history."

"The so-called ancient remnant array is a large array left behind by a sect from ten thousand years ago!"

You know the Southern Wilderness, right?

Lan Peng suddenly asked.

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly, "I've heard of it. It's said to be three thousand miles to the south!"

"Yes, that should be an ancient battlefield. In the northern part of the Southern Wilderness, a thousand miles south of the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty, an area of ​​about three hundred miles in radius is covered by a large array. This is the ancient array!"

"It is said that this great formation was originally the headquarters of a sect, and the Southern Wilderness may be the place where this sect fought a great battle with other forces!"

Lan Peng chuckled.

Yang Zhengshan stared at him with his mouth slightly open, his face full of astonishment.

"So the three major sects sent us to search for treasures in that ancient formation?"

Lan Peng gave him an approving look and said, "That's right. The ancient remnant array opens once every ten years, which is Jiazi, Jiaxu, Jiashen, Jiawu, Jiachen, and Jiayin. According to the three major sects, every six years, the outer protective array of the ancient remnant array will have a one-month period of weakening. The three major sects can use secret methods to send one hundred and twenty people into the remnant array."

"The ancient array contains not only ancient cultivation techniques and magical artifacts, but also many spiritual fruits and herbs! Of course, there are also many exotic beasts among them!"

Upon hearing this, a sharp glint suddenly appeared in Yang Zhengshan's eyes, "A magic weapon?"

Lan Peng nodded slightly, "That's right, not a spirit weapon or spirit artifact, but a magic weapon!"

"Ancient cultivators did not cultivate martial arts, but rather the path to immortality. Martial arts focuses more on the self, while the path to immortality emphasizes following the natural way. I don't know much about the specifics, but I do know that ancient cultivators could fly and escape into the earth, living for tens of thousands of years!"

Yang Zhengshan narrowed his eyes slightly, "Live for ten thousand years? Then why are there no ancient cultivators now?"

"Who told you there are no ancient cultivators anymore?" Lan Peng looked at Yang Zhengshan with a half-smile.

Yang Zhengshan was taken aback and looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Could there be more? The three major sects!"

Lan Peng smiled and shook his head, "It's Hidden Sword Mountain!"

Hidden Sword Mountain!
Lan Peng had mentioned it to him before, but only briefly and without going into details.

Yang Zhengshan looked thoughtful.

Lan Peng continued, "Actually, Hidden Sword Mountain isn't entirely a cultivation sect. Around ten thousand years ago, the immortal path began to decline, while the martial path began to rise. Although there are still some immortal methods left, most of them are no longer cultivable!"

"It is said that Hidden Sword Mountain possesses the inheritance of ancient immortal cultivation, but now Hidden Sword Mountain is mainly focused on martial arts!"

Yang Zhengshan murmured, "The immortal path is declining, while the martial path is rising!"

This information struck him as incredible, far beyond his comprehension.

"In fact, the current martial arts evolved from the immortal arts, and the sect ruins in that ancient array are in the process of evolving from the immortal arts to the martial arts. Therefore, there are not only immortal arts techniques, but also martial arts techniques!" Lan Peng dropped another bombshell on Yang Zhengshan.

"Is it better to cultivate immortality or martial arts?" Yang Zhengshan asked, somewhat confused.

Lan Peng smiled, "Martial arts!"

"The path to immortality can grant eternal life!" Yang Zhengshan exclaimed, gazing at him.

“But the path of immortality has declined! Although I don’t know why the path of immortality has declined, it means that the path of immortality is more difficult than the path of martial arts!” Lan Peng said seriously.

Yang Zhengshan nodded, agreeing that what he said was probably correct.

But it's about cultivating immortality!
The thought of cultivating immortality stirred a restless feeling within Yang Zhengshan.

What a temptation!

Lan Peng didn't continue. In fact, his understanding of the Immortal Path was also very limited; he had only heard about it.

He only showed off in front of Yang Zhengshan; he wouldn't have the chance to do so in front of other scions of prominent families.

Yang Zhengshan pondered for a long time before shifting the topic to the ancient ruins, "Why would the three major sects allow outsiders like us to enter the ancient ruins? I don't believe they would have such good intentions!"

Lan Peng said calmly, "Because the inside of the ancient formation is very dangerous. Many formations still remain in the ruins inside. Taking a wrong step could cost you your life!"

"Also, as I just mentioned, there are strange beasts inside, many powerful ones."

"Every time the ancient array is activated, only one-third of those who enter can return!"

"Furthermore, whatever you gain inside, you must give half to the three major sects. You can copy the cultivation techniques, but you must hand over the magic weapons to the three major sects, who will reward you. You can keep half of the spiritual herbs and fruits!"

Yang Zhengshan sneered, "As expected, there's no such thing as a free lunch! We go in and risk our lives, while the three major sects sit outside and reap the rewards. What a clever scheme!"

Lan Peng picked up his teacup, savored it slowly, and said calmly, "There is a Transmission Hall in the ruins. Anyone who enters can obtain a cultivation technique, the worst of which is the Golden Body Technique for condensing a golden body. Do you want to go?"

Yang Zhengshan gritted his teeth and said, "Go, we have to go!"

Can he not go?
This is the most likely way for him to obtain the Golden Body Technique.

Besides this method, he probably only has one other option left: robbery.

However, forcibly taking this path is no easier than venturing into the ancient ruins.

"Haha, I'll go too. I went in once ten years ago and obtained a Golden Body Technique with Metal Attribute. This time I'm going in again to find the spiritual object to condense a Golden Body!" Lan Peng laughed.

He was pleased that Yang Zhengshan was willing to risk entering the ancient ruins.

Because he felt that Yang Zhengshan was like him, daring to fight, daring to take risks, and daring to give his life for the path of martial arts.

"When are we going?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

“I’ve already spoken with the city lord in March next year, and the Lu family will give you a spot to enter. Hmm, one thousand spirit stones!” Lan Peng said.

"..."

Yang Zhengshan was speechless for a moment.

It's one thing for the three major sects to reap the benefits without lifting a finger, but even the Lu family wants to extract a sum of spirit stones from him. It's truly frustrating.

"I understand, I will prepare the spirit stones then!" Yang Zhengshan said.

Lan Peng looked at Yang Zhengshan with a smile, his eyes seeming to see right through him.

He has known Yang Zhengshan for six years and has a fairly good understanding of him.

He had investigated Yang Zhengshan's background, and even suspected that Yang Zhengshan wasn't a member of the Lingxi Yang family at all. Yang Zhengshan's flying slave eagle was a sea eagle, and Yang Zhengshan had bought many things over the years, while the Lingxi Yang family didn't have many ways to earn spirit stones.

Now, when asked to produce a thousand spirit stones, Yang Zhengshan agreed without hesitation.

No matter how well Yang Zhengshan hid it, in Lan Peng's eyes, Yang Zhengshan had exposed a lot of things.

However, Lan Peng did not intend to delve deeper. Although he was very curious about Yang Zhengshan's secret, he did not want to get to the bottom of it.

He understood that if he investigated Yang Zhengshan's secrets, his friendship with Yang Zhengshan would be over.

Lan Peng preferred being friends with Yang Zhengshan to those secrets.

"By the way, make sure you're well-prepared. Once inside, humans are in far greater danger than the monsters!" Lan Peng reminded him.

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly, "I understand!"

The beasts are ferocious, and the human heart is unpredictable. In such a vicious environment, without any laws or moral constraints, the evil of human nature will be fully revealed.

Murder and robbery would be commonplace for them.

Yang Zhengshan is no naive newcomer; how could he not know these things?
……

After returning from Nanqingshan, Yang Zhengshan had to put aside alchemy and devote all his energy and time to cultivation.

Lan Peng explained that they would enter the ancient ruins in March of next year, which means there are still four months left.

Four months is definitely not enough time to improve one's cultivation level, but Yang Zhengshan can use it to improve his spear technique, movement technique, and the Wood Transformation Body Nourishing Technique.

In addition, we need to purchase some spiritual weapons and elixirs.

Entering the ancient ruins is truly a life-or-death situation, so being well-prepared is never a bad idea.

He also had to give the Lu family a thousand spirit stones as payment for the spot to enter the ancient ruins array.

A thousand spirit stones is no small sum, and Yang Zhengshan naturally couldn't afford that much right now.

Therefore, he had to sell another batch of spirit fruits.

Yang Zhengshan simply sent Zhou Tianci, An Yuxing, Liang Shengze, and Qu Changkong out to sell a batch of spirit fruits, while he himself went to the county town to sell some spirit fruits and spirit herbs, and then bought two high-grade spirit weapon-level spears.

There was no other way; Qiu Jin could no longer meet his needs, so he could only buy a spear from the weapon-refining workshop in the county town.

After spending several days preparing the spiritual weapons and pills, Yang Zhengshan finally settled down to cultivate.

Currently, he is focusing his cultivation on the Wood Transformation Body Nourishing Technique, which is very powerful and can enhance the recovery of true essence and the speed of injury healing.

Yang Zhengshan couldn't master it in a short time, but thanks to the spiritual fruits produced in the Spirit Source Land, his progress in cultivating this health-preserving method was rapid.

Based on his current pace of cultivating the "Wood Transformation Body Nourishing Method," Yang Zhengshan estimates that he will be able to complete the third stage, Body Merging with Wood Spirit, in two or three years. As for the fourth stage...

Currently, the Jade Spirit Peach in the Spirit Source Land has begun large-scale planting. In another two or three years, he will have a large orchard of Jade Spirit Peach to support his cultivation of the "Wood Transformation Body Nourishing Method".

Overall, Yang Zhengshan's prospects for cultivating the "Wood Transformation Body Cultivation Method" are very promising, with no obstacles other than the need for time to cultivate slowly.

As for spear techniques and footwork, Yang Zhengshan no longer adheres to one method, but rather integrates various spear techniques and footwork.

Time always flies by too quickly during cultivation, and before you know it, it's another year.

February 20th, 35th year of Lingyuan.

Yang Zhengshan and Lan Peng arrived at the Lu family's mansion in Shanggu County.

The Lu family, one of the newly emerging aristocratic families, now possesses the grandeur of a prestigious clan.

The Lu family mansion had a towering gate with cold, metallic rings.

Stepping inside the mansion, the carvings on the screen wall are exquisite and lifelike. In the courtyard, ancient trees reach for the sky, their dense foliage blocking out the sun. Winding covered walkways connect the various rooms. Pavilions are built over the water, and waterside terraces stand along the bank.

Later, the multi-story buildings were arranged in a staggered and orderly manner, and the blue bricks and gray tiles gleamed with an ancient luster under the sunlight.

The original Lu family residence was in Tianque City, but three years ago, the Lu family moved to Shanggu County.

Although Tianque City is not far from the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty, it is not within the area of ​​the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty.

The city of Shanggu became even more prosperous and bustling after the Lu family moved in.

Yang Zhengshan followed Lan Peng through the covered walkways and waterside pavilions of the Lu residence and arrived at a side hall. Before they even stepped into the hall, Lan Peng's laughter rang out.

"Haha, Second Master, Old Lan is here! Aren't you going to come out and greet me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, three figures walked out of the hall. The one in front was a middle-aged man with a refined and scholarly demeanor, dressed in a moon-white robe.

His face had soft features, a lean and pale complexion with a hint of illness. His long, narrow eyes were full of gentle smiles, and although there were faint lines at the corners of his eyes, they added to his approachability.

The two people behind him were an elderly man with white hair and beard, and a handsome middle-aged man.

"Haha, Brother Lan, I've been waiting for you for ages!"

Lu Youning, Lu Fusheng's second son, the second master of the Lu family, may look like he's only in his forties, but he's actually over eighty years old and is a martial artist at the Innate Realm, Heavenly Gang stage.

On the way here, Lan Peng had told Yang Zhengshan about the people the Lu family had sent to the ancient ruins.

There are 120 slots available to enter the ancient ruins. All three sects and twelve families have slots, with each of the three sects having 20 slots and each of the twelve families having 5 slots.

As a newly emerging aristocratic family, the Lu family naturally also has five slots.

As an elder who had entered the ancient formation once, Lan Peng was chosen to lead the Lu family's team this time.

The other three are Lu Youning, the second master of the Lu family; Bai Mingyue, Lu Fusheng's adopted son; and An Botong, the patriarch of the An family.

The old man behind Lu Youning was An Botong, the patriarch of the An family, while the handsome middle-aged man was Bai Mingyue.

Like Yang Zhengshan, An Botong obtained his spot from the Lu family by exchanging spirit stones. However, the An family and the Lu family are related by marriage and have a long-standing friendship.

In contrast, the Yang family were complete outsiders here, with only a slight connection to Lan Peng.

"Brother Yang, this is Second Master Lu, I've told you about him before!" Lan Peng introduced.

Yang Zhengshan clasped his hands in a salute, "Yang Zhengshan of the Yang family of Lingxi greets Second Master!"

"Haha, Brother Yang, you're too kind. Since you're Brother Lan's friend, you're a friend of the Lu family. Please come in!" Lu Youning had a refined and elegant demeanor, and his words were extremely pleasant, making it easy for people to feel good about him.

"This is Senior An Botong from the An family, and this is Brother Bai!" Lan Peng continued.

Yang Zhengshan greeted him again, "Greetings, Senior An, and Brother Bai!"

"Hehe, greetings, Brother Yang!" An Tongbo returned the greeting with a smile.

Bai Mingyue smiled and returned the greeting with a cupped hand.

(End of this chapter)