Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 917 Old Friend Li Shangyuan

A day later, a male and a female Foundation Establishment cultivator arrived at Yang Zhengshan's cave.

"Ninth-rank guest elder Hong Fuxiu greets Master Yang Dan!"

Hong Fuxiu, true to her name, was dressed in red with long, silken sleeves. She had a charming face, a graceful figure, and eyes like burning rosy clouds, bright and dazzling yet not vulgar. One glance from her was enough to make one feel as if their soul was being melted by her vibrant beauty.

Such a beautiful female cultivator was a rare sight, and Yang Zhengshan couldn't help but take a second look.

"Ninth-rank guest elder Kota pays respects to Master Yang Dan!"

Kota looked to be in his forties, with an extremely burly build, two heads taller than Yang Zhengshan. He stood before Yang Zhengshan like a ferocious beast, exuding a chilling and oppressive aura.

The retainers of Wanbaohang can be divided into two types: one is responsible for production, such as alchemy, artifact crafting, and talisman arrays, and the other is responsible for combat.

Compared to alchemists, weapon refiners, talisman masters, and array masters, the status of the guest elders who are responsible for combat is slightly lower.

This isn't just true at Wanbaohang; it's true everywhere.

As long as one has expertise in alchemy, artifact crafting, talisman formations, or other related fields, one will be highly regarded wherever one goes.

However, any Foundation Establishment cultivator who can be recruited as a guest elder by Wanbaohang must have their own unique skills.

The two people in front of me are both at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. Although they are only ninth-rank guest elders, their strength should not be underestimated.

"Hehe, I, Yang Zhengshan, greet you two fellow Daoists!"

"Please come in, both of you!"

Yang Zhengshan politely returned the greeting and then welcomed the two into the main hall.

He didn't recognize these two people; they looked completely unfamiliar and must have joined Wanbaoge in recent years.

After the two men sat down, Yang Zhengshan smiled and said, "Since you two have accepted the mission, you must be clear about your responsibilities for this mission."

“We already know the details of the mission!” Hong Fuxiu said.

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly, but still explained the specific situation: "The Lingxiu Sea has not been very peaceful recently. My Yang family has many properties in the Lingxiu Sea, and we need some manpower to guard various places."

"The reason we invited you two here this time is to have you oversee Yangjia Town."

"You two don't need to do anything. Just stay in Yangjia Town. Under normal circumstances, you two won't need to take action. Only when Foundation Establishment cultivators or Divine Soul Realm martial artists invade Yangjia Town will you need to step in and delay them for a while!"

Upon hearing this, Hong Fuxiu smiled brightly and said, "Please rest assured, Master Yang, with the two of us here, we will definitely not allow outsiders to invade Yang Family Town!"

"That's right, if anyone dares to cause trouble in Yangjia Town, I'll make them pay!" Kota's voice was extremely loud, and as he spoke, the fat on his face trembled, making him look incredibly fierce.

However, his attitude towards Yang Zhengshan was very kind, even somewhat ingratiating.

"Haha, with two fellow Daoists here, I'm relieved! Without further ado, let's set off for the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty!" Yang Zhengshan said with a smile.

"no problem!"

The two readily agreed.

Afterwards, Yang Zhengshan packed up briefly and left Baiyun Immortal City with the two of them.

They traveled by airship, chatting as they went.

After chatting all the way, Yang Zhengshan finally learned the identities of the two men.

Kota and Hong Fuxiu were a couple who supported each other for nearly a hundred years, from the Qi Refining stage to the Foundation Establishment stage, relying on and helping each other.

However, they were not cultivators from Baiyun Immortal City, but cultivators from Wanhua Mountain Range.

Deep within the Wanhua Mountains lies a great city called Qinglin Immortal City.

The Azure Scale Immortal City is located on the banks of the Water Dragon River, which is named after a third-tier dragon that lives in the river. It is said that the first city lord of the Azure Scale Immortal City was a friend of the third-tier dragon. With the dragon's consent, the city was established on the riverbank.

However, this is just a legend, and the exact time when Qinglin Immortal City was established can no longer be verified.

Whether there are actually dragons in the Water Dragon River remains unknown.

The Azure Scale Immortal City is a relatively large settlement of immortal cultivators deep in the Wanhua Mountains, and Wanbaohang also has a branch in Azure Scale Immortal City, just like Wanbaohang in White Cloud Immortal City.

Kota and Hong Fuxiu are guest retainers of Wanbaohang in Qinglin Immortal City. They arrived in Baiyun Immortal City a year ago.

As for why they came to Baiyun Immortal City instead of staying in Qinglin Immortal City, Yang Zhengshan asked them, but the two of them were vague in their answers, only saying that they had offended someone.

Yang Zhengshan guessed that they had offended the managers within Wanbaohang, otherwise they would not have traveled so far to Baiyun Xiancheng.

However, this was their own business, and Yang Zhengshan didn't want to pry.

"I've heard that Baiyun Immortal City has been in conflict with a certain demon clan in the Wanhua Mountains for years. I wonder if this is true or not?"

On the jade-green cloud boat, Yang Zhengshan, having nothing better to do, casually asked a question.

This matter has been circulating for several years, and Baiyun Immortal City has indeed mobilized a lot of forces to penetrate deep into the Wanhua Mountains, but Yang Zhengshan is not very clear about the specifics.

Hong Fuxiu nodded slightly, "Actually, this is not a secret. It's common knowledge in the northern part of the Wanhua Mountains. It's just that people in Baiyun Immortal City are not very clear about it."

"The conflict with Baiyun Immortal City was caused by the Earthshaking Tiger Clan. It is said that someone initially hunted and killed a cub of the Earthshaking Tiger Clan, which led to the Earthshaking Tigers attacking a market town outside Baiyun Immortal City!"

"Later, the conflict between the two sides escalated, and now it has become an uncontrollable situation."

"The two sides fought many battles deep in the Wanhua Mountains, but Baiyun Immortal City always maintained the upper hand and did not suffer too many losses!"

Yang Zhengshan looked enlightened and asked, "Are there many demons deep in the Wanhua Mountains?"

“There are many. It is said that there are thirty-six demon kings in the Wanhua Mountains, but only four demon kings in the northern mountains. One of them is from the Earthshaking Tiger clan!” Kota said.

Yang Zhengshan was secretly alarmed. Thirty-six demon kings? That was equivalent to thirty-six Golden Core cultivators.

Fortunately, these demon races cannot unite, otherwise, where would human cultivators have any space to survive in the Wanhua Mountains?

The three chatted as they traveled, and Yang Zhengshan learned a lot about the Wanhua Mountains from the two men. Two days later, they arrived at Yangjia Town.

Yang Zhengshan arranged for the two of them to stay in Yangjia Town, and then he found Bai Xiaoyun and asked her to stay in Shanggu County with Xuanzhen.

Of course, the Lu family paid 200,000 low-grade spirit stones for this, and that was only for one year's expenses.

Even so, Lu Fusheng still thanked Yang Zhengshan for a long time.

……

Just as Yang Zhengshan was arranging for personnel to be stationed there, a large group of independent cultivators gathered in an unnamed valley south of Yangjia Town.

Fang Shou, Li Shangyuan, and others were among them, and there were also two Foundation Establishment cultivators present.

Li Shangyuan stood in the crowd, looking at the two Foundation Establishment cultivators who were surrounded by everyone like stars around the moon, and a strange meaning flashed in his eyes.

The two Foundation Establishment cultivators are Fang Ze and Zhang Baishan. Fang Ze is an elder of the Fang family of Cuihu, while Zhang Baishan is an elder of the Zhang family of Nanhuang.

Only then did Li Shangyuan realize that their raid on the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty was orchestrated behind the scenes by the Fang family of Cuihu and the Zhang family of Nanhuang. Li Shangyuan looked around; there were about thirty cultivators at the late stage of Qi Refining. The leaders were core disciples of the two families, while the rest were rogue cultivators wandering around the Nanhuang market.

They all came here with the children of two families to make money, and it seems they have made a considerable fortune recently.

"Hehe, my dear friends, the reason I've gathered you all here today is to lead you on a big heist. I wonder if any of you are interested?"

Fang Ze stroked his gray beard and chuckled.

"Of course I'm interested!"

"It is our blessing that a true person is willing to take care of us!"

"That's right, we are willing to follow the two masters!"

Everyone enthusiastically echoed this.

Clearly, they had become pawns for both sides.

Fang Ze and Zhang Baishan exchanged a glance, their smiles widening even further. "Since you young friends are all willing, then I will tell you about our next goal!"

"The elegant Yang family!"

"The Yang family of Lingxiu is the only immortal cultivation family in the Lingxiu Sea, and it is also an extremely young immortal cultivation family, having been established for only forty years!"

"However, the Yang family of Lingxiu has amassed a fortune in the Lingxiu Sea over the past forty years. It is said that the Yang family of Lingxiu has trade relations with the Huanyue Sect and the Lu family of Shanggu, earning hundreds of thousands of spirit stones every year!"

"Hehe, the Yang family of Lingxiu has plenty of spirit stones waiting for us to collect!"

Fang Ze chuckled, his eyes filled with greed.

The others around them were even more eager, wishing they could fly to Yangjia Town right now and rob it all.

Zhang Baishan also spoke up, saying, "As for the strength of the Lingxiu Yang family, there is no need to worry. As far as we know, the Lingxiu Yang family only has one Foundation Establishment cultivator, namely the Yang family patriarch Yang Zhengshan. We will deal with this person ourselves!"

"As for Qi Refining stage cultivators, hehe, a cultivation family that has only been established for forty years probably doesn't have many cultivators."

His statement was not without basis.

The exact strength of the Yang family remains a mystery in the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty.

Not to mention outsiders like them, even the Three Sects and Twelve Families didn't have a concrete concept of it.

Among those in the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty, Yunxiao knew the most about the Yang family's strength, having met Xuanzhen, Bai Xiaoyun, Yang Jizhen, and others.

As for the other forces, most of them only know that Yang Zhengshan is a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and that the Yang family also has many Golden Body Realm warriors and second-tier exotic beasts.

Moreover, their understanding of the Yang family's strength came from the time when Qingli Immortal City was established twenty years ago. At that time, Yang Zhengshan originally wanted to show everyone the strength of the Yang family, but the Youyu Sect and Cangyu Mountain stole the limelight.

Both the Zhang and Fang families had already investigated the Yang family's situation beforehand and obtained a lot of dubious intelligence.

In fact, many of these seemingly plausible pieces of information are true.

For example, some people say that the Yang family has at least three Foundation Establishment cultivators.

However, Zhang Baishan and Fang Ze simply could not believe such information. First of all, where did these three Foundation Establishment cultivators come from, what were their names, where were they now, and what kind of cultivation level did they have, etc.

Without any accurate information, they claim that the Yang family has at least three Foundation Establishment cultivators. Isn't that nonsense?

In fact, Zhang Baishan and Fang Ze made a common-sense mistake. They considered the Lingxiu Sea from the perspective of the Southern Wilderness Immortal Cultivation World, but they overlooked the fact that the Lingxiu Sea is a region dominated by martial artists, and much information about immortal cultivators is hidden in the shadows.

This led them to make the wrong judgment, believing that the Yang family was just an ordinary family of immortal cultivators.

As for the fact that Yang Zhengshan was a guest retainer of Wanbaohang, they knew even less about it.

The Southern Wilderness is four or five thousand miles away from the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty, and more than ten thousand miles away from the White Cloud Immortal City.

If they didn't have accurate information, they wouldn't have bothered to investigate Yang Zhengshan's connections in Baiyun Immortal City.

"Since no one has any objections, let's set off in two days and launch a night raid on Yangjia Town!"

Fang Zedao.

"it is good!"

"no problem!"

"Haha~"

Everyone was eager to try their best.

Li Shangyuan stood in the crowd, head bowed and eyebrows lowered, silent.

At this moment, he was filled with conflicting emotions.

They were torn about whether or not to pass on this message to the Yang family.

Because he had some connection with the Yang family, or more precisely, with Yang Zhengshan.

Li Shangyuan comes from the Tianfeng Sea, west of the Stormy Sea, and is the lord of Qinglan Island.

That's right, he is Li Shangyuan, who crossed the stormy sea area with Yang Zhengshan back then.

After arriving at the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty, Xuanzhen and Li Shangyuan parted ways with Yang Zhengshan one after the other. Xuanzhen went to the Xuanqing Sect, while Li Shangyuan went to the Southern Wilderness.

The reason he followed Yang Zhengshan across the Stormy Sea was because there was a legend about the Immortal Clan on Qinglan Island. It was said that the Li family of Qinglan Island came from the Immortal Clan Li family east of the Stormy Sea, and that Qinglan Island also had the inheritance of the Immortal Dao.

Back then, Li Shangyuan had already cultivated immortal techniques, but the spiritual energy west of the Stormy Sea was so thin that it was almost non-existent. He had cultivated for decades without making any progress, which is why he thought of crossing the Stormy Sea to find the legendary immortal clan, the Li family.

He followed Yang Zhengshan all the way to the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty, and then followed the information passed down from his ancestors to find the Southern Wilderness.

In the Southern Wilderness, immortal cultivators are not found everywhere, and the Southern Wilderness is vast, making it extremely difficult to find traces of them.

It took him more than twenty years of wandering and twists and turns before he finally came into contact with the circle of immortal cultivators and entered the Southern Wilderness Market.

However, after he learned about the cultivation world in the Southern Wilderness, he was shocked to discover that the immortal race he was looking for had been extinct for many years.

The so-called Immortal Clan Li Clan is actually the Immortal Cultivation Family Li Clan. However, the Li Clan was wiped out more than 300 years ago, and there is no Li Clan among the current Seven Families of the Southern Wilderness.

Thus, Li Shangyuan's hope of entering the Li family of the Immortal Clan was shattered, but his pursuit of the Immortal Path remained.

So he stayed in the Southern Wilderness Market and became a miserable rogue cultivator.

At first, he was full of hope for the future, but as time went by and he encountered more and more hardships, his hope turned into despair.

He discovered that no matter how hard he tried, he could only remain at the bottom of the cultivation level and could not obtain more cultivation resources.

In fact, Li Shangyuan experienced the same problems that every independent cultivator would encounter.

That is, no matter how hard you try, you can't get enough resources to cultivate.

(End of this chapter)