Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 930: Chapter 663: What a Boast! (Part 2)

Xuanzhen looks much older than before; the few strands of black hair he had are now all silver-white.

However, his state is still very good, with a rosy complexion, clear eyes, and a clean face with only slight shallow wrinkles, looking as if he has the demeanor of a mystical sage.

Calculating his age, Xuanzhen is about one hundred and fifty years old, only a few years younger than Zhang Ye, who passed away over a decade ago, yet he seems as if he might live much longer.

This is normal, as the lifespan of Innate Martial Artists is around one hundred and fifty years, a topic worth discussing.

Generally, the lifespan of Innate Martial Artists does not exceed one hundred and fifty years, but there are many special cases, such as some cultivation techniques that can extend life, Treasure Medicine, Spirit Fruits, and Spirit Pills all have life-extending effects.

The cultivation technique of Wuzhen Taoist Palace likely has a life-extending effect, perhaps similar to the Yimu Chang Chun Skill cultivated by Yang Zhenshan.

The two sat together without discussing the world’s situation, let alone imperial power and nobility; naturally, they talked about Dao Intent in Martial Arts.

Xuanzhen looked Yang Zhenshan up and down, “To be honest, your cultivation greatly surprises me!”

“Is that so?” Yang Zhenshan looked at himself, “Is there something amiss?”

Xuanzhen half-leaned on a stone bench, laughing heartily, “How about a little comparison between us?”

“Ah! How shall we compare?” asked Yang Zhenshan.

Without saying much, Xuanzhen suddenly took a deep breath and blew outward toward the cliff, instantly the swirling mist was swept away by the raging wind, drifting and rolling, clearing a space several hundred zhang.

Yang Zhenshan stared dumbfounded at the scene.

Indeed, that was quite a breath!

“Please!” Xuanzhen smiled warmly at Yang Zhenshan.

Yang Zhenshan thoughtfully, as he expected, Xuanzhen had long entered the Dao, and he had a profound understanding of the Wind Attribute Dao Intent.

It seemed he had only simply blown a breath, yet in reality, he conjured wind out of thin air, wind rose and clouds surged.

Yang Zhenshan recalled when they had campaigned against the Star Moon Sect, Xuanzhen could only borrow the wind at the time, now he can create and command the wind, a substantial improvement in his progress.

Of course, Xuanzhen demonstrated not only the creation of wind from thin air, but primarily the wind-driven cloud surge.

He gazed at the swept-up mist, like mountains and ridges, clearly ethereal mist yet shaped into solid mountains.

This indicated that Xuanzhen’s control over his Dao Intent had reached an extremely subtle level.

In the subtlety lies the profound mystery!

Alas, Yang Zhenshan’s understanding of Dao Intent differs from his.

Yang Zhenshan slowly raised his hand and abruptly waved it forward.

Crack~

Thunder roared, brilliant lightning instantly sliced through the lingering mist.

Xuanzhen’s eyes shone brightly as he watched.

“Interesting, interesting, haha, just as I expected, your understanding of Dao Intent surpasses mine!”

Yang Zhenshan shook his head slightly, “The junior is still not as good as the elder; the fierce thunder is far less gentle than the subtle wind!”

“That’s merely a difference in Dao Intent.” Xuanzhen replied.

Xuanzhen’s Dao Intent manifests in subtlety, while Yang Zhenshan’s thunder Dao Intent focuses on ferocity, Xuanzhen seeks subtle control over Dao Intent, Yang Zhenshan has always pursued the mighty power of thunder.

Their Dao Intent differs not only in attributes but also in direction.

Thunder need not be violent, it can also develop towards subtlety, but Yang Zhenshan hasn’t meticulously pondered the subtleties of thunder.

“Elder, would you kindly give me some pointers?” Yu Qingyi, standing nearby, couldn’t help but interject.

“Oh!” Xuanzhen was slightly startled and looked at Yu Qingyi in surprise.

Yu Qingyi didn’t explain further, with her hands together, in an instant, a verdant vine grew from her palms, the vine became thicker and longer, extending toward the cliffside, and merely within a breath, the robust vine had formed a bridge hundreds of zhang long, laid across the mountain created from the mist.

Even Xuanzhen was dumbfounded by this skill.

He couldn’t help but get up from the ground, running to the vine’s front, reaching out to poke the vine.

“Is this the Azure Dragon Vine? Is it truly real?”

Yu Qingyi’s lips slightly curled up, smiling, “It can be true, or it can be false!”

“However, if it becomes true, it will hang below the cliff!”

Xuanzhen said: “Please, Mrs. Yu, make it real!”

Yu Qingyi did not refuse, she waved her hand, and the vine immediately fell to the ground, but she still held a vine.

Immediately, the vine took root on the cliff at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Crackling sounds echoed as the hard rocks split under the growing roots.

The vine, originally like an arch bridge, slowly clung to the cliff, taking root and growing. In just a short moment, the thick vine transformed into a mass of vines clinging to the cliff, indistinguishable from naturally grown vines.

“This~~” Xuanzhen was dumbfounded.

Controlling plant growth, is this still Martial Arts? Shouldn’t it be Immortal Law?

Fine, actually calling it Immortal Law is not entirely wrong.

When cultivation reaches the level of Dao Intent, it is no longer the martial of weapons, but the martial of heaven and earth, the martial of mind, the martial of intent.

Be it wind or thunder, or even plant growth, in essence, they’re just the evolution of heaven and earth’s nature.

Therefore, the combat methods of Innate Martial Artists at the Dao level become diverse and wondrous.

The principle of the vine transformed by Yu Qingyi is to use her unique Innate True Qi to catalyze the seed. Yes, when she clasped her hands, there was a seed of the Azure Dragon Vine in her palm.

The Azure Dragon Vine that grows out is false if it doesn’t take root, and if Yu Qingyi stops maintaining the True Qi supply, it will disappear.

If Yu Qingyi maintains the True Qi supply to let the Azure Dragon Vine root and sprout, then it is real, no different from a naturally growing Azure Dragon Vine.

Even though Xuanzhen has already entered the Dao, he had never seen such a magical ability.

Yang Zhenshan’s thunder techniques were not surprising to him, but Yu Qingyi’s ability opened his eyes.

“Mrs. Yu’s methods are truly magical!” Xuanzhen studied for a long time and couldn’t help but exclaim.

Yu Qingyi’s methods are indeed magical, but this kind of method doesn’t significantly enhance combat; the vines may grow quickly, but for Innate Martial Artists, they pose no attack threat.

In contrast, controlling some slender grass vines can be used as ropes.

Because grass vines grow faster, but they are also more fragile.

So, although Yu Qingyi’s methods are magical, they are of little use in combat.

Of course, this might be because Yu Qingyi is still too weak now, and maybe when her cultivation advances further, she will show different results.

Later, the three had an exchange to confirm their understanding regarding Dao Intent. Yang Zhenshan and Yu Qingyi stayed on the mountain top for three days, exchanging insights with Xuanzhen.

During these three days, all three gained some insights.

Although the Dao Intent attributes they cultivated were different, there were always some commonalities, and many aspects that could be mutually verified.

When Yang Zhenshan and Yu Qingyi left the mountain of the Taoist Palace, Wuzhen Taoist Palace had announced the closure of its mountain gate, retreating from the world for ten years.

Actually, Yang Zhenshan wanted to pull Xuanzhen into his fold, but that old fellow had a bit of a quirky temperament. Not only did he dislike those messy affairs, but he also detested being forced by others.

Back when Zhang Ye was still around, he could suppress him somewhat, but since Zhang Ye has long passed away, there is no one in the world who can force him anymore.

Zhang Ye could suppress him to a certain extent not because Zhang Ye was stronger, but because he had helped him significantly in the past.

What Xuanzhen feared was not Zhang Ye’s cultivation and strength, but the personal debts owed to Zhang Ye.

Yang Zhenshan considered himself stronger in strength and cultivation, but he couldn’t force Xuanzhen to do anything because if he tried to, that old man might just turn against him.

After leaving the mountain of the Taoist Palace, Yang Zhenshan and Yu Qingyi rode towards the Capital City.

Yang Zhenshan planned to meet with Liang Chu and ask about his plans.

Meanwhile, as he left the mountain of the Taoist Palace, Chen Hengchang’s army had already entered the territory of Jiangnan.

As Yang Zhenshan expected, after Chen Hengchang’s rebel army entered Jiangnan, it did not encounter strong resistance. The local gentry they encountered along the way simply shut their doors and did not prevent the rebel army from besieging and plundering the cities.

At the same time, King Da Liang of Han Zhong Prefecture also started expanding, but he didn’t continue to expand towards the Capital City, instead he moved north to conquer the counties of Longnan.

The drought in the three provinces of Longyuan had ended, and last year the three provinces experienced favorable weather.

With the natural disasters over, the displaced population finally had a chance to recuperate, but after experiencing three years of drought and the devastation of wars and bandits, the population of the three provinces of Longyuan had sharply decreased by 70%.

The three provinces of Longyuan, originally densely populated, are now vast but sparsely populated.

However, the sparse population has its benefits: once the land is occupied, the people can proliferate, and it only takes a year to be able to pay taxes.

King Da Liang saw this alignment and thus began the conquest of the land of Longnan.