Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 823 Protracted Struggle, Gains

At the same time, Yang Zhengshan made a hand seal and activated the Thorn Vine Technique.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh~~
Dozens of vines as thick as an arm shot out from the ground, piercing towards the burly man and the sinister-looking man like spears.

"You dare to show off your meager skills in front of me, even if it's just child's play!"

The sinister-looking man snorted coldly, and instantly, a blood-red phantom several dozen feet tall appeared behind him, towering into the sky and standing upright, its five fingers clasped together, and it suddenly threw out a punch!
Boom! !

With a single punch, the air vibrated, and the tough thorny vines shattered and vanished like phantoms.

Yang Zhengshan's pupils suddenly contracted.

What kind of move is this?
Spell?

Or is it a martial arts technique?
The terrifying phantom, over ten feet tall, exuded a terrifying aura; with just one punch, it brought him an intense sense of oppression.

"Die!" the sinister man roared again.

Without hesitation, Yang Zhengshan immediately hid in the Spirit Source Land.

However, he did not hide. Soon he emerged from the Spirit Source again, but he did not come out from the original place. Instead, he came out next to the woman lying on the ground in the forest.

This sudden disappearance and reappearance is no different from teleportation.

A powerful gust of wind swept across the mountain forest, but it had no effect on Yang Zhengshan. The moment he appeared, the Qingmang Sword pierced through again, directly piercing the woman's head.

He then dumped the woman's body on Green Wolf Mountain.

"Keep an eye on her, be careful she doesn't suddenly attack!" Yang Zhengshan said to the Blue Wolf King, then disappeared.

The Blue Wolf King stared blankly at the corpse in front of it, then reached out a paw and poked the woman's body.

Isn't it already completely dead?
How could it possibly suddenly erupt?

However, the next moment, it sensed danger, and its huge body suddenly leaped up, watching the corpse warily.

roar~~
The wolf howls shook the heavens, and violent wind blades rained down on the corpses, turning the once intact bodies into a bloody mess in an instant.

At the same time, a dark, phantom-like figure completely vanished under the onslaught of the wind blades.

Yang Zhengshan's concerns were valid. The soul of a Foundation Establishment cultivator is already very solid. Even if the physical body loses its vitality, the soul can still survive for a short time and can be used for possession or to cultivate the Ghost Path.

However, the souls of Foundation Establishment cultivators are also very fragile. Under the relentless bombardment of the Azure Wolf King, the woman's soul immediately crumbled.

The Blue Wolf King stopped bombarding and warily looked at the lump of minced meat. After confirming that the sense of danger had disappeared, it cautiously stepped forward and sniffed the pile of minced meat.

Then it swallowed the clumps of minced meat whole.

The bodies of cultivators are nourishment for mythical beasts. Humans regard mythical beasts as food, and mythical beasts also regard humans as food.

Whether they are martial artists or immortal cultivators, their bodies contain abundant spiritual energy, which is a rare tonic for exotic beasts.

The Azure Wolf King hadn't eaten a human in a long time, and it hadn't been very interested in eating humans in recent years. However, when faced with the flesh and blood of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it still felt an urge to devour him.

In a short while, it devoured the woman's flesh and blood, leaving only a few bloodstained magical artifacts and storage bags on the ground.

……

In the mountains and forests.

Yang Zhengshan, relying on his teleportation ability, was still trembling with the sinister man and the burly giant.

This sinister-looking man is likely a body cultivator, possessing the ability to manifest his qi and blood into a dharma form, combining offense and defense, making him truly difficult to deal with.

Yang Zhengshan repeatedly ambushed him with the Qingmang Sword, but the sword's attacks couldn't even break through his defenses.

There is a difference between body cultivators and martial artists. Body cultivators practice the way of blood and qi, unlike innate martial artists who focus on qi cultivation. However, in some aspects, the difference between body cultivators and martial artists is not that great. It is said that the way of martial artist cultivation evolved from body cultivators and also referenced the qi cultivation methods of immortal cultivators, thus evolving into the martial arts of today.

Compared to martial artists, body cultivators among immortal cultivators are undoubtedly easier to deal with. Their blood energy is like a protective shield of magic, making Yang Zhengshan feel like he has nowhere to start.

The Azure Sword is a top-grade magic weapon, a rare flying sword magic weapon in the Qi Refining stage, but it is somewhat useless at the Foundation Establishment stage.

It could neither break through the alluring woman's magical shield, nor the sinister man's blood and qi body, nor the burly man's protective magic treasure.

Yang Zhengshan was able to keep up with the two men using his teleportation ability, but he couldn't inflict any damage on them, which made him feel somewhat frustrated.

However, compared to his frustration, the sinister man and the burly giant were even more enraged.

"Don't try to dodge, take this!" The burly man was furious. He put his fingers together and pointed a sword-like finger, shooting a stream of metal sword energy toward Yang Zhengshan.

Without hesitation, Yang Zhengshan once again slipped into the Spirit Source Land.

This time he did not come out again, but instead observed the two people outside from the Spirit Source Land.

In terms of cultivation level, he was about the same as the burly man, both at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. However, in terms of combat power, he was far inferior to the burly man, mainly because he lacked powerful attack methods.

Whether it's magic or magical artifacts, he can't compare to the two outside.

As for the woman from earlier, Yang Zhengshan didn't know what happened. It was the woman who inexplicably lost her magic power, and her protective hair shield dissipated on its own, which allowed him to successfully launch a sneak attack.

Of course, Yang Zhengshan also had the Qinghua Thunder Pearl, but it was his last trump card, and he was reluctant to use it on these two people.

There's no point in continuing to argue with these two. He now clearly understands his own shortcomings and there's no need to get entangled with them.

In the mountains and forests, the sinister-looking man and the burly giant watched their surroundings with extreme vigilance.

"Boss, where is that bastard! Damn it, he killed An Qing!" the burly man roared angrily.

The sinister-looking man's eyes darkened. "Shut up."

At this moment, he was also burning with anger. They originally thought that they could easily defeat a cultivator in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, but they did not expect that not only did the three of them not gain any advantage, but they also lost a companion.

They were the Three Blood Soul Demons, who had dominated many markets in the Cloud Sky Mountains for decades, and had never suffered such a great loss.

"What kind of spell is that? A minor teleportation spell?"

"Not only is there the Minor Teleportation Technique, but what is this method of concealing one's aura? Why can't we find a trace of it?"

The sinister-looking man was already considering retreating.

Although Yang Zhengshan was not very strong, his ability to teleport and disappear instantly left them helpless.

"Let's go!" the sinister-looking man said in a deep voice.

The burly man wanted to say something more, but he was silenced by a glare from him.

The two remained vigilant as they retreated from the forest, their aura and protective magical artifacts never concealed, preventing Yang Zhengshan from finding an opportunity to launch a sneak attack. He could only watch them leave.

As he watched them leave his spiritual awareness range, Yang Zhengshan stroked his beard and fell into deep thought.

"Magic artifacts are already quite useless for Foundation Establishment cultivators; we must get a set of magic treasures."

"Moreover, my mastery of magic is far inferior. That burly man's Gengjin sword energy is only the most basic magic, but its power is enough to threaten a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator."

"After all, I'm only a beginner in Foundation Establishment, and I'm still far behind these veteran Foundation Establishment practitioners!"

Yang Zhengshan summarized the battle.

Over the years, he has been focusing all his efforts on building his foundation, putting aside his magical cultivation. Now, all he has left is the Azure Thunder Pearl, but the Azure Thunder Pearl has too many limitations; it can only be used once, and after use, it needs to be nurtured for several years to recover.

Fortunately, he had the ability to teleport, which allowed him to hold his own against the other party; otherwise, he would have been powerless against these veteran Foundation Establishment cultivators.

After summarizing the experience of this battle, Yang Zhengshan first went to let Yu Qingyi know that he was safe before coming to Qinglang Mountain.

"What about people?"

Looking at the bloodstains on the ground and the blood-stained storage bags and magical artifacts, Yang Zhengshan stared in astonishment at the Green Wolf King.

The Blue Wolf King howled and grinned, revealing two rows of sharp teeth.

"You ate her!" Yang Zhengshan's lips twitched slightly.

The Blue Wolf King raised its head and howled, as if to say that the person was delicious.

Yang Zhengshan didn't know what to say. To suggest that the Blue Wolf King stop eating people was really going too far.

Sheep eat grass, wolves eat sheep, humans eat meat, and wolves also eat meat.

Is there a difference between wolves eating people and wolves eating sheep?
There is no difference to wolves.

"You cannot eat people from the Land of Spiritual Origin!" Yang Zhengshan finally gave a stern warning.

"Woo woo~~" The Blue Wolf King gave a look that said, 'Do I look like an idiot to you?'

Well, since arriving in the Land of Spiritual Origin, the Blue Wolf King has been very well-behaved and friendly to everyone.

Not only Yang Zhengshan, but also other people from the Spirit Source Land who came to Green Wolf Mountain, did not show any ferocity.

There were other blue wolves, but none of them attacked people.

However, many wild beasts from the Spirit Source Land often attack villages, only to be killed by the villagers.

Yang Zhengshan said, "You should focus on your cultivation. I'm leaving now!"

He then picked up the storage bag and magic weapon from the ground and returned to Lingquan Mountain in a flash.

The woman possessed three magical treasures: a small golden bell, a seven-foot-long golden ribbon, and a black nail.

Refining magical artifacts is much more difficult than refining magical tools, especially magical artifacts that already have an owner, as they inevitably contain the original owner's divine soul power.

To refine it, the original owner's divine soul power must be erased.

Similarly, a cultivator's storage bag also possesses spiritual power. To take it for oneself, one might need to erase the original owner's spiritual power.

Furthermore, some Foundation Establishment cultivators will set certain restrictions on their storage bags. If someone forcibly takes possession of the storage bag, the restrictions will be triggered.

The restriction may destroy the items in the storage bag, or it may have offensive capabilities, attacking the person occupying the storage bag.

Yang Zhengshan is no longer a novice in cultivation. He has stayed in Lotus Heart Valley for several months and has gained a lot of common knowledge about cultivation.

Yang Zhengshan used his spiritual sense to examine the female cultivator's storage bag and indeed found a restriction inside, which should be some kind of restriction that could destroy the storage bag.

This restriction was easy for Yang Zhengshan to break.

Although he hadn't made any significant achievements in the art of formations, he had at least some understanding of restrictions and formations.

Besides, that female cultivator wasn't a formation master either; her skill in creating restrictions was inferior to Yang Zhengshan's.

Yang Zhengshan spent half a month refining the storage bag and the three magic treasures, and obtained all of the female cultivator's belongings.

"With less than 30,000 spirit stones, this guy is a pauper!"

As Yang Zhengshan inventoried the contents of the storage bag, he couldn't help but complain.

"What kind of pill is this? It doesn't look like a proper pill." Yang Zhengshan took out a black pill and smelled it.

Yang Zhengshan would definitely not take this kind of pill of unknown origin.

However, he did not destroy it, planning to sell it to Danxuan Pavilion when he returned to Lianxin Valley.

The Danxuan Pavilion has specialized pill appraisers who can identify pills of unknown origin.

Compared to the elixirs, Yang Zhengshan was more interested in the talismans in the storage bag.

"The Cloud Soaring Talisman, the Swift Travel Talisman, and the Golden Light Talisman are all second-tier low-grade talismans, but unfortunately there are only three!" Yang Zhengshan put these three talismans into his warehouse.

His storage bag was just for show. In the courtyard, he had three warehouses: one for storing miscellaneous items, one for storing spirit stones, and one for storing various combat supplies such as talismans, pills, and magical artifacts.

The medicinal herbs were kept in the pharmacy in the alchemy hall.

Compared to storage bags, it's much more convenient for him to grab things directly from the Spirit Source Land.

Finally, Yang Zhengshan found more than a dozen jade slips among a pile of miscellaneous items, but most of them contained records of some evil cultivation techniques, so Yang Zhengshan destroyed them after taking a look.

He has never liked this kind of evil technique, and he would never leave it in the Spirit Source Land.

In the end, Yang Zhengshan left behind only two jade slips. One contained a weapon-refining inheritance, a proper weapon-refining inheritance. Although it was only at the second level, it could add a foundation to the weapon-refining path of the Spirit Source Land.

Unfortunately, there is not a single true immortal weapon refiner in the Spirit Source Land yet, only martial weapon refiners.

The other jade slip records three kinds of divine soul spells.

Soul-stealing technique, soul-capturing technique, soul-searching technique!

After seeing these three spells, Yang Zhengshan finally understood why the female cultivator had suddenly lost her magic power during their battle.

The female cultivator must have used a soul-capturing technique on him, but Yang Zhengshan's soul was far stronger than hers, so she suffered a backlash and fell into a state of soul chaos.

"Are these three soul-binding spells all suitable for me?" Yang Zhengshan wondered as he browsed the contents of the jade slip.

He cultivated the "Void Refining Nerve Technique," so his spiritual strength should far exceed that of others of the same level.

This can be seen from the fact that his spiritual sense can cover a range of a thousand feet. The spiritual sense of an ordinary early Foundation Establishment cultivator can only cover a range of five or six hundred feet at most, while his can cover a range of a thousand feet. In terms of spiritual sense alone, he is several times stronger than an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Therefore, after the female cultivator used the Soul-Seizing Technique on him, she immediately suffered a backlash to her soul.

Since that female cultivator dared to use the Soul-Capturing Technique, it shows that she was very confident in her own spiritual power. Unfortunately, she encountered Yang Zhengshan.

However, this also served as a reminder to Yang Zhengshan that the power of the soul must be used with utmost caution.

Finally, Yang Zhengshan took out the three magical treasures left behind by the female cultivator.

The Soul-Swaying Bell is a magical artifact that attacks the soul. It can emit sonic attacks that directly shake the enemy's soul, causing them to fall into states of weakness, dizziness, and disorientation, thereby weakening their combat power.

The Golden Cloud Silk is a protective magic treasure. When wrapped around the body, it can resist various magical attacks, like an inextinguishable golden light, protecting the safety of cultivators.

The Soul-Breaking Cone is also a magic weapon that attacks the soul. It can ignore protective magic weapons and spells and directly attack the enemy's soul.

After Yang Zhengshan learned about the functions of the Soul-Breaking Cone and the Soul-Sweeping Bell, he couldn't help but feel a little scared.

Fortunately, the female cultivator used the Soul-Capturing Technique from the start, instead of the Soul-Shattering Bell and the Soul-Breaking Cone, otherwise he might not have been able to escape unscathed.

This female cultivator clearly focuses on cultivating her soul; her techniques and magical treasures are all geared towards the soul.

(End of this chapter)