Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 948 Luo Cheng Visits
"If you can refine a top-grade Demon Essence Pill, I can help you exchange it for the Dew of Oblivion!" Zhongli Xiayi said with a half-smile.

Yang Zhengshan was completely speechless.

He wanted to refine a top-grade demon essence pill, but he couldn't do it!

With his current alchemy skills, refining a high-grade demon essence pill is not difficult. As long as he has a high-grade demon core, he is 40% confident that he can refine a high-grade demon essence pill.

As for the top-grade demon essence pill, he probably won't be able to refine it in a short time.

Zhong Lixia took a sip of tea and said, "You don't want the Dew of Oblivion, do you?"

“Yes, it’s Hidden Sword Mountain that wants it!” Yang Zhengshan said.

There is nothing to hide.

What benefits did he give you?

“Two third-tier demon cores!” Yang Zhengshan added.

Zhongli Xiayi shook her head, "It's not enough. A demon core is just a demon core. If you want a Core Formation Spiritual Object, you have to exchange it for a Core Formation Spiritual Object. Even a third-tier demon core won't do!"

"Perhaps you could try refining a top-grade demon essence pill using a third-tier demon core!"

She made a very good suggestion, but Yang Zhengshan thought it was a bit of nonsense.

The value of a third-tier demon core is not much less than that of a Core Formation spiritual item.

One third-tier demon core can be exchanged for ten second-tier high-grade demon cores. If Yang Zhengshan were to waste one of them, he would be at a huge loss.

Even though he is very wealthy now, he is not so extravagant as to use a third-tier demon core for practice.

"Forget it, I think my alchemy skills still need improvement!" Yang Zhengshan shook his head.

A hint of disappointment flashed in Zhong Lixia's eyes, but she still nodded and said, "For alchemists, collecting Core Formation materials is much easier. As long as they can refine the corresponding pills, they can exchange them for enough Core Formation materials!"

"Therefore, you should now focus your energy on improving your cultivation and alchemy skills, rather than those other miscellaneous things."

She had high hopes for Yang Zhengshan and was eager for him to refine a top-grade Demon Essence Pill, or other pills that were useful for Core Formation. However, she also understood that with Yang Zhengshan's current cultivation level and alchemy skills, he was not yet capable of achieving what she expected.

“I understand, but improving one’s alchemy skills is not something that can be achieved overnight!” Yang Zhengshan said, his eyes slightly lowered.

Refining top-grade demon essence pills was undoubtedly a very important matter for him.

However, if he could actually refine the Demon Essence Pill, he wouldn't reveal it.

Any kind of Core Formation spiritual object can potentially bring a lot of trouble, and an alchemist who can refine top-grade Demon Essence Pills will be even more deeply involved in the center of trouble.

Therefore, Yang Zhengshan could only turn a blind eye to Zhong Lixia's expectations.

……

After returning to his courtyard from Zhong Lixia's place, Yang Zhengshan made some simple plans for his time at Wanbaohang.

His cultivation could not be delayed. He had just broken through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment and needed a long time to accumulate more cultivation.

The Azure Wood Purple Lightning Sword needs to be forged, but this is not a difficult task for him. After a while, he can exchange some third-tier spiritual materials from Wanbaohang's treasury and then hand them over to Yang Jizhen for forging.

Finally, one must collect spiritual items for Core Formation to prepare for future Core Formation.

However, before that, refining a top-grade demon essence pill became the primary condition.

Without top-grade demon essence pills, he wouldn't even qualify to exchange for Core Formation spiritual items.

To avoid trouble, he could choose not to collect Core Formation Spiritual Items in White Cloud Immortal City, but instead collect them elsewhere. However, no matter where he goes, he must have an item that can be exchanged for Core Formation Spiritual Items.

"Top-grade Demon Essence Pill, Clarity Pill, Thunder Tribulation Pill, Dew of Oblivion, Spring of Life! These are all pill-type spiritual materials for Core Formation! I can try to refine them all!"

Yang Zhengshan felt that there was no need for him to obsess over obtaining top-grade demon core pills, since high-grade demon core pills were not easy resources to obtain.

He had previously acquired a considerable number of demon cores from Cangyu Mountain, but over the years, Cangyu Mountain's reserves of demon cores were probably running low.

Especially when it comes to high-grade demon cores, Que Lingfei is becoming increasingly stingy.

"The Enlightenment Pill and the Thunder Tribulation Pill are third-tier pills, and they are not easy to refine."

"The Dew of Oblivion requires the Mandrake of Oblivion, which has extremely demanding requirements for its growing environment and is very rare!"

"Finally, there is the fountain of life!"

Yang Zhengshan sat in the quiet room, stroking his beard as he fell into deep thought.

The Fountain of Life is not a spring of water, but a elixir made using liquid alchemy techniques. Its greatest effect is that it possesses powerful life force, which can quickly restore vitality and heal injuries.

The first three stages of the Golden Core Tribulation, involving body tempering, can cause significant damage to the body. After passing through these three stages, one still needs to undergo the baptism of the next six stages. Therefore, at this time, a powerful restorative spiritual item is needed to restore the body to its peak condition.

Therefore, the Fountain of Life was classified as a spiritual object for Core Formation.

The Fountain of Life is not a regular elixir. It is the liquefaction of life force. Simply put, it is the purification of life force from a large amount of spiritual herbs and fruits, and then the compression and condensation of it into the Fountain of Life.

There are two main difficulties in refining the Fountain of Life. First, it requires a massive amount of spiritual herbs and fruits—a truly staggering amount, potentially requiring a million spiritual fruits. Of course, if the spiritual fruits are of higher quality or contain a higher concentration of life force, the required quantity will be much less.

However, refining the Fountain of Life is not something that ordinary forces can do; it requires strong financial resources and a solid foundation.

The second difficulty is compression and condensation, which is a problem for alchemists. Just imagine how difficult it is to condense a huge amount of life force into a single drop of water.

However, these two problems were not particularly difficult for Yang Zhengshan.

Now that the Spirit Source Land has enough low-grade spiritual herbs and fruits for him to squander, the first difficulty is only a matter of time for him.

Given enough time, the land of spiritual energy can gather enough spiritual herbs and fruits to refine the Fountain of Life.

Moreover, this timeframe doesn't need to be too long; a few years or a decade or more will suffice.

As for condensing the power of life force, that was not difficult for him either.

He has already glimpsed the way of life, death, decay, and prosperity, and has a strong control over the power of life. Moreover, he also has the Water of Life Transformation, which greatly assists him in controlling the power of life.

With the addition of the Golden Crow Eight Trigrams Furnace, a spiritual artifact, refining the Fountain of Life seemed even easier for him than refining the Supreme Demon Essence Pill.

Thinking of this, Yang Zhengshan's eyes lit up immediately.

"We can give it a try, but it will require a lot of manpower and resources!"

"Which spiritual fruits contain the most vitality?"

"Wood Spirit Fruit, Jade Spirit Peach, Green Vine Jade Fruit, these can all be planted in large quantities!"

"The Five Elements Spirit Tree, if it could bear wood-attribute spiritual fruits, it would save a lot of trouble. However, the Five Elements Spirit Fruits only ripen once every hundred years, and I can't wait that long!" Yang Zhengshan pondered for a while and felt that he could try to refine the Fountain of Life. So he returned to the Spirit Source Land and explained the matter to Yang Chengmao.

Wood Spirit Fruit, Jade Spirit Peach, and Green Vine Jade Fruit are all widely cultivated in the Spirit Source Land. Although these cannot meet the needs of refining the Fountain of Life, even if cultivation begins now, the Spirit Source Land will be able to produce countless spirit fruits in at most a dozen years.

Therefore, this is not a difficult task for the land of spiritual origin.

After giving this order, Yang Zhengshan sent a letter to Jian Qingxiao, explaining the matter of exchanging the Dew of Oblivion.

The Dew of Oblivion requires a Core Formation spiritual item to exchange for, so he definitely couldn't help Jian Changhe exchange for the Dew of Oblivion. Anyway, he had already asked, and he could explain it to Jian Changhe.

After dealing with these miscellaneous matters, Yang Zhengshan returned to Wanbaohang.

He had just returned when Luo Fengxia arrived with Luo Cheng.

In the small courtyard, under the lush sycamore trees, Yang Zhengshan set up a tea table under the covered corridor and sat opposite Luo Cheng.

Luo Cheng wore a moon-white Taoist robe, the lapel embroidered with green bamboo patterns and edged with indigo. Her silver hair was tied up with a mutton-fat jade hairpin, carved with cloud and thunder patterns, and adorned with osmanthus flowers, their fragrance lingering.

His face was covered with wrinkles of varying depths, his skin was wheat-colored, his eyes drooped slightly like warm jade, and the shallow lines on his eyebrows revealed his wisdom.

"Thank you very much, Fellow Daoist Yang. If it weren't for your help, I, as a junior, would surely have been doomed!" Luo Cheng said calmly.

Yang Zhengshan smiled faintly and poured a cup of tea for him and Luo Fengxia.

"You flatter me, senior. It was just a small favor, nothing to mention!"

"Besides, didn't the senior bring a gift of thanks? There's no need to keep thinking about it!"

As he spoke, he looked at the gift boxes placed to the side.

Luo Cheng's gift of gratitude was quite substantial, consisting of two sets of second-tier high-grade artifact arrays. Although artifact arrays are not as good as earth arrays or comprehensive arrays, their value far exceeds that of ordinary magic treasures.

The artifact array is readily available and easy to set up. Even a complete novice in array formations can quickly set up an array by familiarizing themselves with the placement of the array plates and artifacts.

Generally speaking, the price of a set of artifact arrays is about two to three times that of a magic weapon of the same grade.

Using two sets of weapon arrays as a thank-you gift, Luo Cheng's gesture is definitely extravagant!

Luo Cheng understood the meaning behind Yang Zhengshan's words and realized that Yang Zhengshan was not the kind of person who would take advantage of someone's kindness. This made him even more fond of Yang Zhengshan.

"Xia'er, you must remember Fellow Daoist Yang's kindness. Come visit Fellow Daoist Yang more often in the future, and if there is anything you can do to help, be sure to do your best!" He then turned to Luo Fengxia and said.

"Yes!" Luo Fengxia replied with a smile.

Having already expressed his gratitude enough, there was no point in saying more. Luo Cheng changed the subject and started chatting with Yang Zhengshan.

They were all guests of Wanbaohang, so they had a lot to talk about.

“Last year, our Wanbao Bank gained another guest elder. If Fellow Daoist Yang encounters this guest elder, it would be best to avoid him!” Luo Cheng suddenly said.

"Uh, is there a problem with this guest elder?" Yang Zhengshan asked, somewhat surprised.

It is quite normal for Wanbaohang to recruit new retainers; they recruit a new retainer roughly every ten to eight years.

He didn't understand why he should avoid this new guest.

Luo Cheng lowered his voice and said, "This new guest elder is also an alchemist, and he can refine high-grade demon essence pills! However, he is domineering and arrogant. He has only been with Wanbaoxing for a little over a year, and he has already aroused the dissatisfaction of many fellow Daoists!"

He was reminding Yang Zhengshan so that Yang Zhengshan wouldn't be unaware of the situation and might have some conflict or involvement with this new guest.

"I see! I understand!" Yang Zhengshan nodded thoughtfully.

An alchemist capable of refining high-grade demon essence pills is quite attractive to Wanbaoxing, so it's normal for Wanbaoxing to recruit him.

As for his domineering personality and arrogant behavior, as long as you don't mess with him, it's none of his business.

"White Cloud Immortal City is currently in a turbulent period, so Fellow Daoist Yang would be best to make some preparations in advance!" Luo Cheng added.

Upon hearing this, Yang Zhengshan felt something was amiss.

What does it mean?
"A turbulent time? Is there any unrest in White Cloud Immortal City?"

Luo Cheng nodded slightly, "It's mainly about the Earth-Shaking Tiger Clan in the Wanhua Mountains. Some time ago, the True Monarch fought a great battle with the Demon King of the Earth-Shaking Tiger Clan. Although the True Monarch defeated the Demon King of the Earth-Shaking Tiger Clan, the problem of the Dali Mountain Market has not yet been resolved!"

Yang Zhengshan frowned. "The demon race shouldn't pose a threat to White Cloud Immortal City!"

Although the demon race in the Wanhua Mountains is powerful, the struggles between demons are even more brutal. Unless Baiyun Immortal City incurs the wrath of many, it will be difficult for them to unite against Baiyun Immortal City.

However, given the strength of the Earthshaking Tiger Clan, they are not yet capable of threatening White Cloud Immortal City.

"The Earthshaking Tiger can't threaten White Cloud Immortal City, but I'm afraid someone might take advantage of the situation!" Luo Cheng said meaningfully.

"What do you mean, senior?" Yang Zhengshan looked at Luo Fengxia.

Luo Cheng shook his head slightly, "The attack on Xia'er was at most a test. Since the other party used unfamiliar cultivators, it means that they do not have any intention of starting a war with Baiyun Immortal City at the moment!"

Yang Zhengshan nodded. He had been thinking, "What force dared to attack the Luo family? It turns out they were targeting Baiyun Immortal City."

"Does the senior have anyone he suspects?"

“There are a few, but we can’t be sure,” Luo Cheng said.

The western side of the Wanhua Mountains is known as the Western Region of Wanhua Domain. How many Golden Core level forces are there in the Western Region of Wanhua Domain?

Actually, there aren't many, only four: White Cloud Immortal City, Azure Feather Mountain, Yellow Spring Palace, and Dark Sea Mysterious Palace.

Baiyun Immortal City and Cangyu Mountain need no further introduction, while Huangquan Palace is a ghost cultivation force. Its Huangquan Ancestor is a Ghost King powerhouse, whose strength is said to have reached the peak of the Ghost King realm, which is equivalent to the peak of the Golden Core realm.

However, the Yellow Springs Palace is located at the southernmost tip of the Western Regions, more than 20,000 miles away from the Cloud Mountain Range. Moreover, ghost cultivators have never been favored by human cultivators. Therefore, although the Yellow Springs Palace is not weak, it can only occupy a remote corner.

The Minghai Xuan Palace is an aquatic force located in the North Sea. It is mainly composed of the Jiaoxiao tribe and commands many aquatic monsters. Although it is a North Sea monster tribe, it is also regarded as a force of the Western Regions because it is close to the coast of the Western Regions.

Neither the Yellow Springs Palace nor the Dark Sea Mystic Palace are legitimate forces in the Western Regions. They each have their own territory and, under normal circumstances, would not target White Cloud Immortal City.

Besides the forces in the Western Regions, there are also forces in the Wanhua Mountains that will target Baiyun Immortal City.

There are many forces in the Wanhua Mountains, with the demon race being the mainstream. Besides the demon race, there are also many human forces.

For example, the Azure Scale Immortal City, although it is said to be an immortal city established with the support of a dragon, is actually a human force, not a demon force.

The Wanhua Mountains are vast and contain countless hidden forces.

It's understandable that some of these forces might covet Baiyun Immortal City.

(End of this chapter)