Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 961 Divine General Chessboard, Rune Array

"Senior, inject the essence!" Yang Jizhen reminded him again.

Xuanzhen no longer felt regret and focused on pouring his golden magical power into the chessboard.

Instantly, the chessboard emitted a dazzling golden light, coating everything around it with a layer of gold dust.

The time lasted for a quarter of an hour, until Xuanzhen felt that his magical power was about to be exhausted. Yang Jizhen said to Ma Qiuyan again: "Seal the formation!"

Ma Qiuyan repeatedly cast talismanic seals, sealing all the golden magical power on the chessboard.

A moment later, Yang Jizhen let out a heavy sigh.

"It's done! Haha~~ Senior, a top-grade magic weapon, congratulations!"

He smiled and looked at Xuanzhen, who took the chessboard and examined it carefully, unable to stop smiling.

"Haha, thank you for your hard work!"

"I'm glad you're satisfied, senior!" Yang Jizhen said with a sigh of relief.

To be honest, crafting a natal magic weapon for someone else is really exhausting.

If he were to refine ordinary magic weapons, he could refine them however he wanted, and even if he ruined them, he wouldn't be afraid; it would just be a waste of some materials.

The process of refining a natal magic weapon is different. A natal magic weapon is custom-made and must be refined according to the owner's wishes. Moreover, the materials used in a natal magic weapon are relatively precious, and usually include one or two third-tier spiritual materials.

If this is ruined during the refining process, Yang Jizhen really can't afford to pay for it.

Fortunately, his weapon-refining skills are quite good now, and he has successfully refined four natal magic weapons without any problems.

He forged two items for Yang Zhengshan, a flying sword for Yunxiao, and now he has forged a Divine General Chessboard for Xuanzhen.

Although he had to endure considerable pressure each time, it greatly benefited his improvement in weapon crafting skills.

Xuanzhen picked up a chess piece from the chessboard, infused it with magic, and tossed it casually. Immediately, an eight-foot-tall soldier, dressed in black armor and wielding a weapon, appeared in front of him.

"This humble general greets Your Majesty!"

The god knelt and bowed.

Xuanzhen looked at him and nodded in satisfaction. "What's your name?"

"This humble general has no name; please bestow one upon me, my lord!" the divine general said.

When a spirit becomes a ghost, it loses its previous memories, retaining only a few fragments of its thoughts. However, a ghost that becomes a wandering spirit retains its original memories.

These ghosts were originally evil spirits imprisoned by the Ten Thousand Ghost Banner. They spent most of their time in a state of ignorance and brutality, so naturally they did not form any memories.

Xuanzhen thought for a moment and said, "From now on, you will be called Xuanjia!"

Okay, he's terrible at naming things too. He just randomly used the Heavenly Stems to name the deity. After using up the Heavenly Stems, there are still the Earthly Branches. And after using up the Earthly Branches, you can combine the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches together.

"Thank you for bestowing this name upon me, my lord!" A smile seemed to radiate from the god's somewhat blurred face.

Even if a wandering spirit transforms into a divine general, it remains a wandering spirit. It can still transform into a ghost without a physical form. Of course, it can also possess a physical form, but whether it has a physical form or not depends on its control over its own power.

At this time, the divine general had just been created and was still somewhat weak. He had not yet mastered the control of his own power, so his body was not solid.

However, all twelve divine generals were transformed from ghost generals, meaning they possessed the strength of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

It is roughly equivalent to the weakest among Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Even so, Xuanzhen was very satisfied.

Because the strength of a divine general can also be improved. As long as he is willing to spend time and effort, a divine general can also grow to the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage. If one day he can become a Golden Core cultivator, then the divine general will also have the opportunity to become a Golden Core level combatant.

In terms of growth potential, his Divine General Chessboard is even superior to Yang Zhengshan's Divine Wood Cauldron and Azure Wood Purple Lightning Sword.

The difficulty of upgrading the Divine General Chessboard is far greater than that of the Divine Wood Cauldron and the Azure Wood Purple Lightning Sword.

In any case, after acquiring the Divine Chessboard, Xuanzhen's strength increased significantly.

……

Xuanzhen forged his first natal magic weapon, while Cui Yang also forged his first set of talisman array magic weapons.

Ling Shu Peak, on the cliff outside Fu Guang Zhai.

A circular array plate floated in front of Cui Yang. It was an inch thick and a foot wide, covered with dense runes and inlaid with three shiny high-grade spirit stones.

Around him floated more than a dozen crimson jade talismans, each burning with intense flames.

"Rune Array, Vermilion Bird's Departing Flame!"

He made a hand seal and uttered six words heavily.

The next moment, more than a dozen crimson jade talismans flew to a distance of more than ten feet in front of him, forming a very special magic array.

As the magic array is activated, dark red fiery patterns will appear on the ground, like molten lava surging underground. Nine pillars of fire will soar into the sky, condensing into a phantom of a Vermilion Bird in the air. Wherever its tail feathers sweep, the void will ripple with distortion.

The terrifying and fiery phantom of the Vermilion Bird seemed to ignite everything around it.

"It's done!" Cui Yang stared intently at the phantom of the Vermilion Bird, his face beaming with joy.

Since Yang Zhengshan proposed using jade talismans to refine combined array artifacts, Cui Yang has been researching this. Setting up an array with jade talismans sounds simple, but it is actually very difficult to do.

First, the techniques of talismans and formations need to be combined. Although Cui Yang knew some basic knowledge of formations, his expertise in formations was not great. Therefore, he consulted Ning Yun many times, and sometimes even asked Ning Yun to help him design formations.

Secondly, talismans are unstable, while formations require stability. There are many difficulties to overcome in setting up a stable formation using unstable talismans.

Finally, there's the issue of talismans. Which talismans are suitable for setting up formations, and which formations they are compatible with? Also, is Cui Yang skilled in drawing talismans and making jade talismans?

There were many difficulties, but Cui Yang overcame them all and completed his first set of talisman arrays today.

Moreover, this set of talisman arrays is also compatible with his cultivation method. He cultivates the True Scripture of Separating Fire, and his forte is the use of the art of separating fire.

With his own cultivation techniques combined with the Vermilion Bird Fire Formation, Cui Yang's strength could be increased several times over.

Although his Vermilion Bird Fire Formation still has many flaws, everything is difficult at the beginning. He has overcome the most difficult problem, and now he only needs to continue to improve the Vermilion Bird Fire Formation.

After putting away the array plate and jade talisman, Cui Yang happily checked the damage to the Fire Separation Talisman.

The drawback of the talisman array is obvious: it consumes a lot of jade talismans. Each time it is used, it will damage the jade talismans. If the battle lasts too long, the array will collapse on its own.

However, the advantages of the talisman array are also obvious. It is very simple to set up, and the array can be set up with just a few spells. Moreover, its power is stronger than that of ordinary spells and magic weapons.

The drawbacks are easy to solve. At worst, you can prepare more substitute jade talismans, or even refine more sets of talisman arrays. You can just take them out and use them when needed. It just costs more spiritual materials.

……

The land of spiritual energy is peaceful, and everyone is busy cultivating or improving their own strength.

The atmosphere in Baiyun Immortal City was extremely tense.

In the council hall of the Luo family mansion, most of the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Luo family were gathered.

Luo Cheng sat in the main seat, looking at the six younger generation members in the hall, his aged face showing a solemn expression. The Luo family was definitely a top-tier immortal cultivation family in Baiyun Immortal City. At its peak, the Luo family had as many as eighteen Foundation Establishment cultivators, but now there were only ten.

In the last three months alone, three Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Luo family have perished.

They were all intercepted and killed after leaving the city.

The successive losses of high-ranking members of the family have fostered a sense of shared anger and indignation throughout the Luo family.

"Ancestor, we can't back down any longer. If we do, our Luo family will be destroyed by them sooner or later!" A young and impetuous member of the Luo family stepped forward and said angrily.

"Yes, it's not a question of whether we want to fight or not, it's that they're forcing us to take action!"

"We can't run away anymore. If we keep running away, they'll only think the Luo family is weak and easily bullied!"

"Especially the Wen family, they not only intercepted and killed two of our teams, but also seized our assets in Emerald Valley. We must take those assets back!"

Everyone was filled with righteous indignation, and even Luo Fengxia had a solemn expression.

The main problem is that the Luo family has suffered too many losses during this period. In fact, the Luo family has no intention of taking control of Baiyun Immortal City, but other forces do not think so.

Many forces believe that the Luo family might step forward to take control of Baiyun Immortal City, especially several immortal cultivation families whose strength is similar to that of the Luo family, who directly regard the Luo family as a competitor.

"Alright, stop arguing!" Luo Cheng shouted sternly.

The atmosphere in the hall fell silent, and everyone's eyes turned to him.

Luo Cheng took a deep breath. "I know you are angry and resentful for the unjustly killed members of your clan, but you should understand that it is not advisable for us to act rashly now!"

"Ancestor!" someone tried to persuade him.

Luo Cheng waved his hand to interrupt him, "The Wen family, the Kuang family, the Shen family, and the Mu family all seem to be targeting us. If we want revenge, who should we turn to?"

"Naturally, it's the Wen family!"

Luo Cheng shook his head. "If we seek revenge against the Wen family, we'll be falling into their trap!"

"What does the Ancestor mean by this?" the crowd asked, puzzled.

Just then, a middle-aged clansman came to Luo Cheng's side and whispered, "Ancestor, the people have arrived!"

Luo Cheng nodded calmly, "Please come over!"

"Here!"

Everyone watched this scene with a sense of confusion and bewilderment.

A moment later, a figure wearing a straw hat entered the main hall through the back door.

The newcomer removed her bamboo hat, revealing a face that wasn't particularly beautiful. She was a female cultivator, and judging from her appearance, she seemed to be around fifty years old. However, one cannot judge a cultivator's age solely by their face.

The Luo family members were very familiar with this face. After seeing the person's face clearly, they all stood up nervously.

"Brother Luo, it's been a long time!" The female cultivator ignored the reactions of the Luo family members and calmly bowed to Luo Cheng.

"Sister Wen, you've made a fool of yourselves! A bunch of good-for-nothings, why don't you invite Patriarch Wen to take a seat!" Luo Cheng said.

The visitor was none other than Wen Yu, the patriarch of the Wen family, one of the five great immortal cultivation families of the Yunye Alliance.

Wen Yu had a pair of sharp eyes. Her gaze swept over the Luo family members, who all lowered their heads to avoid her gaze.

In Baiyun Immortal City, Wen Yu is considered an extraordinary woman.

Putting aside everything else, there isn't a single cultivator who can reach the peak of Foundation Establishment who is simple—no, it should be said that there isn't a single cultivator who can even reach the Foundation Establishment stage who is simple.

To cultivate to the peak of Foundation Establishment and take charge of a large family is a legend.

The Luo family members had just been clamoring for revenge against the Wen family, but a single glance from Wen Yu filled them with fear.

"Wen, don't bother with a bunch of juniors, have a seat!" Luo Cheng said.

Wen Yu withdrew his sharp gaze and calmly sat down at the lower seat.

"Brother Luo, since you invited me here today, you must have noticed some problems!" Her voice lacked the gentleness of a woman's, sounding exceptionally crisp and clear.

"Hmm, is someone trying to sow discord between us?" Luo Cheng asked.

"It's not just us; they've been stirring up trouble with all the forces within White Cloud Immortal City!" A sharp glint flashed in Wen Yu's eyes once more. "My Wen family has never laid a hand on the Luo family!"

Luo Cheng nodded slightly, "My Luo family has never attacked any other families!"

Their eyes met, the meaning of which was self-evident.

Since neither side made a move, who was the person who attacked them?
Luo Cheng hesitated for a moment, then asked, "What about the other families?"

"What does Brother Luo mean?" Wen Yu asked.

“To achieve this level, it’s impossible to do it with just outsiders. There must be someone within the Cloud Wilderness Alliance who has betrayed us!” Luo Cheng said with absolute certainty.

"The Kuang family, the Shen family, the Mu family—which one?"

Luo Cheng lowered his eyes slightly, "It shouldn't be Shen Ming. You and I both know his personality. He's not the kind of person who likes to act in the shadows!"

Wen Yu nodded, "Then it's just Kuang Fu and Mu Xuan left!"

The five of them were all elders of the Cloud Wilderness Alliance, belonging to the same generation in White Cloud Immortal City, and naturally knew each other very well.

They knew perfectly well who had a bad temper and who was arrogant.

It was precisely because of this understanding that Luo Cheng invited Wen Yu over, and similarly, Wen Yu dared to accept the invitation alone.

“The current situation is likely related to the previous changes in the situation!” Luo Cheng said.

"What do you mean?" Wen Yu asked.

Luo Cheng said, "From the moment the Baiyun Daoist forces were attacked by demonic beasts outside the city, the situation gradually spiraled out of control. Now, with the disappearance of True Monarch Baiyun, the disbandment of the Baiyun Daoist lineage, and our five major families fighting each other, it is very likely that all of this is orchestrated by a single force!"

He had suspected something was wrong a long time ago, but he couldn't find any evidence or catch the people who were causing trouble in the shadows.

Wen Yu's pupils suddenly contracted. "You mean?"

"That should be right. This is all orchestrated by someone behind the scenes. Their goal is to throw Baiyun Immortal City into chaos!"

"But how is this possible?"

"What's impossible?"

"This..." Wen Yu's face was extremely ugly. "This is not only a matter for our White Cloud Immortal City, but also involves the demon race. Could they possibly manipulate the demon race?"

"It's not just the demon race. Didn't you notice that Wanbaohang was also included in their scheme?" Luo Cheng said.

The relationships between demons are also very complex. Getting demons to attack White Cloud Immortal City seems simple, but it is actually very troublesome to carry out.

In particular, two demon kings were involved in the battle. Those were demon kings; how could they be driven by ordinary forces?

(End of this chapter)