Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 831 What is this old guy up to?
The morning mist over Lingquan Mountain had not yet dissipated, and the dewdrops on the bluestone slabs shattered into gold foil in the morning light.

Yang Zhengshan, dressed in a loose Taoist robe, stood under a lush three-yellow plum tree.

The grayish-blue Taoist robe appears simple, but the fine pine pattern outlined by the needlework highlights the robe's exquisite craftsmanship. If one observes closely with spiritual vision, one can also discover the spiritual light of the runes hidden beneath the needlework.

The pine tree robe should not actually be called a Taoist robe, but rather a ritual robe. The pine tree pattern on it is only to cover up the talismans inside.

This is the robe that Yu Qingyi sewed for Yang Zhengshan. Yang Zhengshan liked it very much, especially the pine tree pattern on the front, which he found very charming. The outline was drawn with gold thread, while the needles were woven with nine different shades of dark green silk thread.

The needles are as fine as pine needles, and only upon close inspection can one see that each cluster of needles contains translucent fluorite fragments that gleam with a faint blue light in the dim light, resembling frost on pine needles before the morning mist dissipates.

The pine branches at the cuff meander to the back of the hand, and the scale-like bark is embroidered with silver thread, the raised texture perfectly matching the direction of the meridians.

Whenever the magic is activated, the pine branches glow with a shimmering green, and the three snow-white cranes perched among the branches flap their wings, their beaks holding golden tassels that sway gently.

This robe has a total of three arrays, including a protective array composed of twelve restrictions, a spirit-gathering array composed of eight restrictions, and a wind-controlling array composed of six restrictions.

It can protect you in battle, gather spiritual energy during cultivation, and help you ride the wind when traveling.

Such a robe is already considered a top-grade magical artifact.

Yang Zhengshan named this set of robes the Evergreen Robe, and according to his opinion, all immortal cultivators in the Spirit Source Land should be equipped with the Evergreen Robe.

Of course, Yu Qingyi didn't need to sew the other people's Evergreen Robes herself; Ma Qiuyan and Ning Yun could sew them for them.

In any case, there are only six immortal cultivators in the Spirit Source Land, including Yang Zhengshan and his disciples. Even if each of them has two items, there are only twelve items in total.

Wearing a long green robe, Yang Zhengshan looked even more ethereal and otherworldly, exuding the air of a reclusive sage.

He stood under the tree and waved his hand, and twelve green vines as thick as an arm sprouted from the ground in front of him.

The green vines pierced straight out, like a line of spears.

As his spiritual sense spread, the twelve green vines appeared completely in Yang Zhengshan's sea of ​​consciousness.

The next moment, with a thought, the twelve green vines charged forward like soldiers wielding spears.

The spear shot out like a dragon, flashing with lightning, its sharp tip carrying a whistling sound as it pierced the air, instantly embedding itself in the stone wall ahead.

The ten-foot-wide stone wall was pierced through, and in the next instant, all twelve green vines retracted.

Yang Zhengshan's eyes flashed as he stepped forward to examine the stone wall.

"Not bad, it already has a bit of the essence of the Solitary Spear Intent, but it needs more practice to fully imbue the Green Vine with the Solitary Spear Intent!"

He nodded with satisfaction.

Combining vine techniques with spear techniques, imbuing the green vines with a unique spear intent, has been his research goal during this period.

Currently, his spear-intent vine technique has already shown initial results.

This move is already enough to threaten Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Yang Zhengshan waved his sleeve, and the twelve green vines vanished like bubbles.

His spell training for the day was over; now it was time for him to nurture the Azure Thunder Pearl.

However, just as he was about to go to the quiet room to nurture the Azure Thunder Pearl, Qingxia suddenly came and said, "Master, the Secret Martial Guard has an urgent report!"

"Oh!"

Yang Zhengshan took the letter with surprise and opened it. When he finished reading the contents, a strange look flashed in his eyes.

"I can't believe that old guy is still alive!"

"And he's even siding up with the Soul-Severing Blade. What's that old guy up to?"

He murmured quietly.

The Secret Guard's urgent report contained only one thing: they had discovered an acquaintance.

Xuanzhen the Old Taoist!

It is said that more than 20 years ago, after Yang Zhengshan and Xuanzhen separated, Xuanzhen seemed to have vanished into thin air, and no trace of him could be found.

Yang Zhengshan originally thought that the old guy had already passed away, but he didn't expect that the old guy would reappear now.

In fact, Yang Zhengshan had previously sent the Secret Martial Guards to find Xuanzhen, and even sent Yang Qinting to inquire about Xuanzhen's whereabouts in the Xuanqing Sect, since he had gone to the Xuanqing Sect under Yang Zhengshan's influence.

Xuanzhen naturally did not join the Xuanqing Sect, as the Xuanqing Sect would never accept him.

However, this guy seems to have incorporated the Soul-Severing Blade!

According to the investigation by the Secret Martial Guard, Xuanzhen is currently inside the stronghold of the Soul-Severing Blade in Yushan Town, and he does not appear to be nearing the end of his life.

"Could it be that after realizing he couldn't join the Xuanqing Sect, this guy went and joined the Soul-Severing Blade Sect? But how did he get involved with the Soul-Severing Blade Sect?"

Yang Zhengshan was very puzzled.

The Soul-Severing Blade has always been elusive, and even the three sects of Lingxiu have been unable to uncover it. The Secret Martial Guards have only recently located several strongholds of the Soul-Severing Blade around the Lingxiu Sea.

Logically speaking, Xuanzhen shouldn't have any connection with the Soul-Severing Blade, but now that he's appeared at the Soul-Severing Blade's stronghold in Yushan Town, it's clear that he may have already joined the Soul-Severing Blade.

"The Soul-Severing Blade~~" Yang Zhengshan frowned.

He had dealt with the Soul-Severing Blade many times, but to be honest, he still knew very little about it.

The Soul-Severing Blade acts very strangely. Yang Zhengshan thwarted their plans time and again, yet the Soul-Severing Blade never retaliated. It wouldn't be that Yang Zhengshan was so well hidden that the Soul-Severing Blade couldn't discover him; Yang Zhengshan's previous concealment was riddled with flaws and couldn't possibly fool an underground force like the Soul-Severing Blade.

Yang Zhengshan felt that the Soul-Severing Blade didn't care about what he had done before, such as helping the Lu family destroy the evil spirits. If the Soul-Severing Blade really cared, it wouldn't have disappeared after the matter was over.

Let's put the matter of the Soul-Severing Blade aside for now. In any case, neither the Soul-Severing Blade nor the Netherworld Sect has much to do with them; those are matters for the Three Sects of Lingxiu.

Yang Zhengshan was still more interested in Xuanzhen.

"Should we contact this old friend?"

The Soul-Severing Blade was too evil, and Yang Zhengshan didn't want to have any contact with it. However, Xuanzhen was his old friend, and now that he had found Xuanzhen's whereabouts, he naturally wanted to contact him and catch up.

"It wouldn't hurt to go to Yushan Town!"

Yang Zhengshan made up his mind and returned the letter to Qingxia, saying, "I know about this matter. Tell them not to worry about it and just keep an eye on the Soul-Severing Blade's stronghold!"

Yang Zhengshan did not want to be enemies with the Soul-Severing Blade, but he would not ignore it either.

The Soul-Severing Blade is not a small force, and since the Spirit Source Land wants to develop in the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty, it naturally needs to pay attention to the movements of various forces.

Therefore, the stronghold of the Soul-Severing Blade still needs to be kept in mind, lest the Soul-Severing Blade cause any trouble and catch Yang Zhengshan off guard.

Back in his study, Yang Zhengshan's mind stirred, and his consciousness instantly shifted to the soul crow outside.

Outside Lianjia Town, a black crow suddenly flew out from a bird's nest in a dense old locust tree.

The crow cawed twice, then spread its wings and flew eastward.

This is Yang Zhengshan's hidden Soul Crow outside Lianjia Town.

Soul Raven is both Yang Zhengshan's divine soul clone and a soul entity created by Yang Zhengshan.

As Yang Zhengshan's understanding of the Soul Raven Divide Technique deepens, the Soul Raven will become more and more like a real crow.

Now the Soul Raven can act independently. As long as Yang Zhengshan gives an order, it will carry out Yang Zhengshan's orders just like a real crow.

Of course, it can't execute some complex commands, but it's fine for tracking and surveillance.

Yang Zhengshan withdrew his consciousness, and the Soul Raven flew towards Yushan Town on its own.

At the speed of the Soul Crow, it would take at least three hours to fly to Yushan Town, so Yang Zhengshan was not in a hurry. He continued to cultivate and draw talismans as needed.

He first spent an hour nurturing the Azure Thunder Technique, then had lunch with Yu Qingyi, and then practiced controlling his magic weapon for an hour.

The Soul-Capturing Bell and the Soul-Breaking Cone are the two main magical treasures that Yang Zhengshan cultivates. He doesn't have any other magical treasures, and he's too lazy to buy them or find someone to forge them.

Because he had already planned that once his cultivation reached the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, he would begin refining his natal magic weapon.

Both the Divine Wood Cauldron and the Azure Wood Purple Lightning Sword need to be forged.

Therefore, he no longer needs to spend time and energy preparing magical artifacts for himself.

After practicing with the magic weapon for a while, Yang Zhengshan returned to his study to draw talismans.

The Cloud-Soaring Talisman allows cultivators to fly on clouds; the more mana injected during activation, the faster the flight speed.

In Lotus Heart Valley, a low-grade Cloud Soaring Talisman costs around a thousand low-grade spirit stones.

Don't underestimate the low-grade Cloud Soaring Talisman. For Foundation Establishment cultivators, the Cloud Soaring Talisman isn't very useful, but for Qi Refining cultivators, it's a lifesaver.

In critical moments, the Cloud Soaring Talisman can save lives, which is why it is highly sought after by Qi Refining stage cultivators in Lotus Heart Valley.

As long as they can afford it, no Qi Refining stage cultivator would mind having a Cloud Soaring Talisman.

Yang Zhengshan drew a lot of cloud-riding talismans during this period, probably more than a hundred, which he gave to his apprentices.

His current talisman-drawing skills are actually quite poor. His success rate in drawing cloud-riding talismans is only 30%, and he can only draw low-grade cloud-riding talismans, barely managing to get close to becoming a second-tier talisman master.

Just as Yang Zhengshan finished drawing a cloud-riding talisman, the Soul Crow sent him a message that it had arrived in Yushan Town.

Yang Zhengshan put away the talisman brush, and with a thought, his consciousness descended upon the Soul Crow once more.

The soul crow that landed outside Yushan Town turned its head slightly, a thoughtful look flashing in its dark eyes.

Previously, Yushan Town was the logistics base for the battle between the Lingxiu Three Sects and the Youyu Sect. However, since the two sides ceased hostilities, Yushan Town has become an ordinary small town.

Yang Zhengshan controlled the Soul Crow to fly into Yushan Town.

The stronghold of the Soul-Severing Blade is located in a villa on the south side of the town. Although Yushan Town is just a small town, it is the eastern terminus of the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty.

Although further east lies the territory controlled by the Netherworld Prison, this place is actually quite far from the Netherworld Prison. The Netherworld Prison's control over this area is extremely loose, so many martial arts families from the east come to the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty to make purchases.

As a result, Yushan Town became an important trade hub, with countless caravans coming and going.

This place also has markets, and they are quite prosperous.

However, Yang Zhengshan's target was the stronghold of the Soul-Severing Blade, so he went directly to the courtyard where the Soul-Severing Blade was hiding in the town.

He controlled the raven to fly into the courtyard, and then it plunged headfirst into a lush banyan tree.

Through the gaps in the branches and leaves, he observed everything in the courtyard, searching for Xuanzhen's figure.

The Soul Crow can also project its spiritual sense, but the range is relatively small, only a dozen feet, and it cannot be sustained for too long, mainly because Yang Zhengshan did not store much soul power for the Soul Crow.

(End of this chapter)