Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 908 Researching the Way of Withering and Flourishing
After the rain comes sunshine.

The couple returned to the Spirit Fruit Tree Garden.

"You should try it!" Yu Qingyi's cheeks still held a blush of shyness.

With a smile on his lips, Yang Zhengshan found a Sanhuang plum tree.

The area has the most and oldest Sanhuang plum trees. Yang Zhengshan simply found a Sanhuang plum tree that was a foot thick, his eyes sparkling, and a faint Taoist aura emanated from it.

He reached out and placed his hand on the rough bark. A wisp of gray Daoist energy emerged from his sea of ​​consciousness, connecting with the vitality of the Three Yellow Plum Tree.

Instantly, he felt a pure life force flowing into his body from the Three Yellow Plum Tree.

The vibrant life force was refreshing and invigorating, making him feel incredibly comfortable.

But that's all.

Time slowly passed, and the pleasant feeling faded.

Yang Zhengshan began to examine his lifespan once again.

March 18, 232.

"It seems to have taken another day longer than before!"

"Only one more day?"

He frowned and turned his gaze back to the three-yellow plum tree in front of him.

He has already taken away a small portion of the life force from the Sanhuang plum tree, but this can only add one day to his lifespan.

He thought for a moment, then used the blue Daoist rhyme to connect the three yellow plum trees.

The vitality of the Sanhuang plum tree immediately increased significantly, but Yang Zhengshan's expression turned somewhat unpleasant, and he quickly severed his connection with the Sanhuang plum tree.

"Damn, this is a losing proposition!"

Trees also have a lifespan, but their lifespan is extremely long. Barring unforeseen circumstances, trees can live for hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years. The exact lifespan depends on the species of the tree.

Especially the spirit tree, it's normal for it to live for thousands of years, and it's not surprising if it lives for tens of thousands of years.

However, the lifespan of trees is different from that of humans. While it is difficult to change the lifespan of humans, the lifespan of trees can change with environmental changes.

Yang Zhengshan could tell that the three-yellow plum tree in front of him had three hundred years left to live, which was obviously wrong.

This is only its current lifespan; perhaps in a few more years, its remaining lifespan will increase by more than three hundred years.

Yang Zhengshan had just absorbed about a hundred years of lifespan from the Three Yellow Plum, but he himself only gained one day of lifespan.

After using the cyan Daoist aura, the Three Yellow Plum Tree gained a hundred years of lifespan, but he paid the price by sacrificing ten days of his own lifespan.

With this one in and one out, he actually lost nine days of his lifespan, while the lifespan of the Three Yellow Plum Tree remained almost unchanged.

Yang Zhengshan withdrew his Daoist aura, "It's feasible to seize the lifespan of spiritual plants, but the exchange rate is pitifully low! One hundred years can only be exchanged for one day!"

"If I disregard the consequences, the spirit fruit trees here will only extend my lifespan by a few years!"

He looked around at the spirit fruit trees. There were hundreds of spirit fruit trees on the Spirit Spring Mountain Plain. If he could seize all their vitality, Yang Zhengshan should be able to add five or six years to his lifespan.

"Try it on animals!"

Yang Zhengshan then tried various animals, exotic beasts, spiritual plants, and so on, but in the end he could only accept a cruel reality.

He can now steal the lifespan of other creatures, but the cost is high and the efficiency is low.

The Daoist essence of death, also known as the gray Daoist essence in the sea of ​​consciousness, currently consists of only eighteen strands. Each time it is seized, one strand is consumed, and the recovery of the Daoist essence is extremely slow, taking approximately three to four months to recover one strand.

As for the efficiency of seizing lifespan, the higher the target's rank, the more efficient the seizure. However, a wisp of Daoist essence can only seize up to one month's lifespan for him.

He gains one month of lifespan, while the target who is taken from him loses at least ten or even a hundred times more of his lifespan.

So extending lifespan through this method is not a problem; extending it by several decades is quite easy, it just requires more time and effort.

But if you're hoping to achieve immortality through this method, forget about it.

"If I want to live a long and healthy life, I still need to improve my cultivation! Although the Path of Withering and Flourishing can help me gain lifespan, it can only extend my life by a few decades!"

"However, this may be because my understanding is too shallow. If my understanding were deeper, perhaps I could rely on this path to achieve immortality!"

Yang Zhengshan sat opposite Yu Qingyi and said softly.

Yu Qingyi replied, "Cultivation is the foundation, while supernatural powers and techniques are merely supplementary. If you spend your time and energy on supernatural powers, you are putting the cart before the horse!"

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly; what he said was true.

Cultivation is fundamental. If he can condense a golden core, his lifespan will be three thousand years. Moreover, as his cultivation improves, he will also gain a deeper understanding of the Dao of Life and Death.

Therefore, the Dao of Withering and Flourishing can only serve as a supplement for him at present. If one day his cultivation stagnates and his lifespan is about to run out, he can rely on the Dao of Withering and Flourishing to continue to live for decades or even centuries.

Now is not the time for him to worry about his lifespan.

Of course, this is only from the perspective of his own lifespan. If we consider it from the perspective of combat, then the Dao of Withering and Flourishing is an absolutely terrifying existence.

The Dao of Death represents the passing and end of life. It can be used to plunder lifespan, meaning that Yang Zhengshan can deprive others of their lifespan and extract it from the essence of life.

The Dao of Vitality is the opposite of the Dao of Death, representing the birth, growth, and prosperity of life. Its core lies in endowing life force, extending the lifespan of other organisms, or repairing damaged life functions, making life more vigorous and powerful.

Simply put, vitality and vitality are the source of the continuation of life.

This means that Yang Zhengshan can control the life and death of others at the level of lifespan.

Of course, he can't do that yet; at most, he can only deprive others of a few decades of their lifespan.

A lifespan of several decades is enough to terrify countless cultivators.

After thoroughly understanding the power of decay and prosperity, Yang Zhengshan felt quite pleased.

Although this supernatural ability is not very useful now, its potential is enormous.

To be able to comprehend such terrifying supernatural powers is definitely a blessing from heaven.

Afterwards, Yang Zhengshan exchanged cultivation experiences with Yu Qingyi. Yang Zhengshan mainly told Yu Qingyi about his process of comprehending supernatural powers, hoping that Yu Qingyi could also comprehend the Dao of Life.

In the end, it's unclear whether Yu Qingyi gained anything, but after listening to his story, she went into seclusion.

Yang Zhengshan's seclusion was coming to an end, and just as he was preparing to go to the Pill Hall to refine a batch of Demon Essence Pills, Qingxia found him.

"Master, this is an invitation from Ziwei Tower!"

Qingxia handed an invitation to Yang Zhengshan, who opened it with some surprise and glanced at it.

"Zhang Xian of the Wuxiang Sect!"

"Has there been any change in the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty recently?"

Qingxia replied, "No major changes, everyone is just busy preparing congratulatory gifts for Mr. Zhang."

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly. A martial artist in the Divine Soul Realm is not a martial artist in the Golden Body Realm. Since Zhang Xian has advanced to the Divine Soul Realm, many forces in the Lingxiu Sea will naturally send a congratulatory gift to show their respect.

He looked down at the contents of the invitation again.

"The Martial Immortal Ceremony!"

It's not surprising that Zhang Xian wants to hold the Martial Immortal Ceremony. There's a custom in the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty that every newly promoted Divine Soul Realm martial artist will hold a Martial Immortal Ceremony, just like the Foundation Establishment Ceremony for immortal cultivators.

"Let Ziwei Tower handle this matter!" He returned the invitation to Qingxia.

"Isn't Master going himself?" Qingxia asked in confusion.

"What would I do at a grand gathering of martial artists?" Yang Zhengshan shook his head slightly and said. It's difficult for immortal cultivators and martial artists to get together, not only because of their status and position, but also because they can't communicate effectively.

Yang Zhengshan used to be a martial artist, but now he is unable to guide the cultivation of Golden Body Realm martial artists because he has never personally experienced the cultivation process of Golden Body Realm martial artists.

Similarly, martial artists are even less capable of guiding immortal cultivators.

People with different paths cannot work together. The path of immortality and the path of martial arts may have many things in common, but there are also great differences between them, making it difficult for them to learn from each other or exchange ideas.

If it's a gathering of immortal cultivators, he wouldn't mind going to take a look; he might even be able to exchange cultivation experiences with other fellow cultivators.

He decided not to waste his time on a gathering of martial artists.

"Then who should go? Does Master have someone in mind?" Qingxia asked.

These weren't the questions she wanted to ask; they were the questions the Ziwei Tower wanted to ask.

When it comes to martial artists at the Divine Soul Realm, Ziwei Tower will naturally take it seriously. Apart from Yang Zhengshan making the decision himself, it's difficult for anyone else to make such a decision.

Yang Zhengshan thought for a moment, "Let Mingcheng and Ding Qiu go there!"

After all, he was a martial artist at the Divine Soul Realm. He could disregard it, but the Yang family could not afford to ignore it.

Yang Mingcheng is the eldest son of the Yang family and a Golden Body Realm martial artist, so he can fully represent the Yang family.

"Yes!"

Qingxia responded and then left.

Yang Zhengshan then flashed into the Pill Hall of Flaming Mountain.

Inside the Pill Hall, Zhang Hexuan and Yang Zongyuan were refining pills.

"Master!"

"Ancestor!"

Upon seeing Yang Zhengshan arrive, the two men quickly stood up and bowed.

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly, his spiritual sense sweeping over the alchemy furnace, and asked, "Why are you back?"

Zhang Hexuan grinned and said, "My disciple's alchemy skills have improved greatly recently, so I came back to try refining the Spirit Gathering Pill."

He has been in Qingli Immortal City for many years, but he will occasionally return to the Spirit Source Land, either to consult Yang Zhengshan or to use the Eight Trigrams Furnace in the Pill Hall to refine pills and test his alchemy skills.

The reason for using the Bagua Furnace for verification is that the Bagua Furnace has the Golden Crow controlling the fire, which allows him to focus on other aspects without having to worry about fire control, thus improving his understanding of other areas.

Yang Zhengshan stepped forward to observe the changes in the medicinal properties within the alchemy furnace, and gently shook his head. "The control of the medicinal properties is still lacking; this batch of Spirit Gathering Pills has failed!"

The Spirit Gathering Pill is a second-tier pill. Although it is relatively easy to refine, its difficulty in refining is still incomparable to that of first-tier pills.

Zhang Hexuan's alchemy skills have improved somewhat, but there is still a considerable gap between him and a second-level alchemist.

“I sensed it too,” Zhang Hexuan said.

Yang Zhengshan turned to look at him, "Don't rush into alchemy. You've been at the ninth level of Qi Refining for several years now. It's time to prepare for Foundation Establishment!"

Cultivation is fundamental; everything else must come after cultivation.

His seven disciples all progressed gradually in their cultivation, and they were all able to reach the Great Perfection of the Ninth Level of Qi Refining around the age of fifty.

Yang Jizhen, Ma Qiuyan, and Cui Yang have already successfully established their foundations. Ning Yun is also preparing for foundation establishment, and if nothing unexpected happens, she will attempt it next year.

Zhang Hexuan is now 45 years old. Three years ago, his cultivation level reached the ninth level of Qi Refining. After a few more years of honing his skills, he will be able to reach the Foundation Establishment stage.

"Disciple understands," Zhang Hexuan replied happily.

Just then, a dull thud sounded from inside the alchemy furnace, clearly indicating that the Qi Gathering Pill had failed to be refined.

"Clean up the alchemy furnace; your master needs to refine the Demon Essence Pill!"

Yang Zhengshan gave an order, and Zhang Hexuan and Yang Zongyuan immediately got to work.

One person was responsible for cleaning the alchemy furnace, and the other was responsible for preparing the medicinal herbs. In less than half an hour, everything was ready.

……

A few days later.

Yang Mingcheng and Ding Qiu arrived at the Wuxiang Sect together.

The Wuxiang Sect's mountain gate is not as majestic and ethereal as the Xuanqing Sect's, nor as peaceful and serene as the Huanyue Sect's. The Wuxiang Sect is more like a huge temple.

The sect has dozens of pagodas, more than ten temples, as well as halls, pavilions, waterside pavilions and other buildings.

The Wuxiang sect has pagodas and temples dedicated to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, but it is not a Buddhist sect in general; its Buddhist beliefs are limited to the monastic discipline hall.

The reason for this is that when Tianjian Zhenjun established the Wuxiang Sect, the first sect leader he appointed was a Buddhist monk.

What Heavenly Sword True Lord needed was a martial arts sect, but the sect leader was a Buddhist cultivator. Therefore, this Buddhist cultivator did not turn the Formless Sect into a Buddhist sect, but only left the Buddhist tradition in the Discipline Hall of the Formless Sect.

Today, the Wuxiang Sect is exceptionally lively. Not only have sects and families from the Lingxiu Sea sent people, but also various surrounding forces have sent people to participate in Zhang Xian's Martial Immortal Ceremony.

Yang Mingcheng and Ding Qiu were led by a disciple of the Wuxiang Sect to a square in front of a palace.

The square was filled with tables, on which fruits and tea were laid out.

Yang Mingcheng and Ding Qiu were positioned relatively close to the front, not at the back.

Moreover, the person to their left was none other than Lu Fusheng.

"Junior Yang Mingcheng greets Uncle Lu!" Upon seeing Lu Fusheng, Yang Mingcheng quickly stepped forward to pay his respects.

The Yang family and the Lu family have been on good terms for many years. Although Yang Zhengshan has rarely appeared in the Lingxiu Sea in recent years, the Yang family and the Lu family have cooperated quite a bit.

Yang Mingcheng recognized Lu Fusheng at a glance, and he felt a special sense of kinship with him.

Because Lu Fusheng's appearance is very similar to that of Yang Zhengshan in the past, with a tall and upright posture, imposing manner, and flowing beard, if one only glances at him in a hurry, one might even mistake Lu Fusheng for Yang Zhengshan in the past.

However, Lu Fusheng did not recognize Yang Mingcheng. Yang Mingcheng, the eldest son of the Yang family, had almost never appeared in the Lingxiu Sea before. This was the first time he had appeared in public in the Lingxiu Sea.

"Who are you?" Lu Fusheng looked at him in confusion.

"My name is Yang Mingcheng, and my father is Yang Zhengshan!" Yang Mingcheng said frankly.

Lu Fusheng's expression turned serious. "So it's Master Yang!"

"Uncle, please don't flatter me. Just call me Mingcheng." Yang Mingcheng revealed his signature simple and honest smile.

It's no secret that the Yang family has four elders in the Lingxiu Sea, but everyone is very unfamiliar with these four elders because they rarely appear in the Lingxiu Sea.

So everyone knows that the Yang family has four grandfathers, but very few people actually know these four grandfathers.

Lu Fusheng had only met Yang Mingzhi.

"Haha, it's a rare treat to see my nephew!" Lu Fusheng laughed.

Things are different now. Back then, the Yang family was just an insignificant Lingxi Yang family, but now the Yang family is the Lingxiu Yang family. The key is that the Lingxiu Yang family is just a name. The Yang family has long since left the Lingxiu Sea and not only ventured into Qingli Immortal City, but also entered Baiyun Immortal City.

The strength displayed by the Yang family is not to be underestimated.

The Yang family is now the strongest among the twelve Lingxiu families.

This is a universally acknowledged fact, even among the three major sects.

(End of this chapter)