Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 1031: Chapter 716: Sea of Spirit (Part 2)

Xuanzhen put away his horsetail whisk, dressed in a gray and white short outfit, holding a cane, and sat on the edge of the carriage. Li Shangyuan sat beside him, holding a whip and driving the cart.

Chen Zhongshu sat among the goods on the carriage, nodding off as he swayed.

Lv Hua wrapped his face tightly with a gray cloth, riding a horse at the back of the group.

At this moment, they were passing through a village, an empty village.

At a glance, aside from broken walls, there wasn’t a single complete house in sight.

Villages like these had been abandoned for at least twenty or thirty years.

”Ah, what kind of forsaken place is this?” Li Chang couldn’t help but sigh as he followed behind Yang Zhenshan.

After a journey of seven or eight days, witnessing so many desolate scenes, everyone felt somewhat uncomfortable.

They had crossed the Stormy Sea Area with the longing for Dazhao, yet upon arrival, they were met with such desolate scenes.

This gave them a feeling of shattered dreams.

Yang Zhenshan was also quite depressed; along the way, they had learned a lot about the situation here.

Lushan County was a lawless, chaotic place. Although the Shaking Mountain Sect occupied Lushan County, they were unwilling to manage the livelihood of its people, only interested in plundering their wealth.

The martial forces within Lushan County were nothing but lapdogs of the Shaking Mountain Sect, assisting in oppressing and exploiting the common folk.

The commoners couldn’t survive, so they abandoned their homes and fled into the deep mountains and forests. The mountain people Yang Zhenshan encountered earlier were those who had escaped from their homes.

They’d rather hide in the mountains like savages than return to farm their lands.

It’s not that they didn’t want a better life, but returning meant facing certain demise.

This was different from the chaos in Da Rong back then; despite the chaos, there were laws and principles, only disrupted by some, causing disorder in the world.

But here, there was no law or principle; common folk were as lambs, while the Martial Artists were like bandits, wantonly plundering the common folk, resulting in a desolate world.

”Let’s stay here for the night,”

Yang Zhenshan said, glancing ahead, seeing only barren weeds, before he spoke.

Upon hearing this, everyone started moving, gathering firewood to cook.

Wang Lei led a few people into the village to see if they could find anything useful or any information.

Yang Zhenshan let the horses loose to graze on the grassland nearby.

”How much longer until we reach Lushan County?” Xuanzhen asked, leaning on his cane as he approached Yang Zhenshan.

Yang Zhenshan thought for a moment and said, ”About three days.”

”What a hassle, why don’t we just head directly to the Shaking Mountain Sect? Is it necessary to do this?” Xuanzhen said impatiently.

Yang Zhenshan waved his hand, ”What’s the point of going to the Shaking Mountain Sect? We’ve already confirmed there’s no Martial God Realm inheritance there!”

”But we can’t just keep wandering like this!” Xuanzhen protested.

”These paths we must take!” Yang Zhenshan replied.

To obtain a Martial God Realm inheritance, they needed to go at least to the Capital City of Dazhao, and the best destination was the Sea of Spirit.

The Three Sects and Twelve Houses in the Sea of Spirit all have their own Martial God Realm inheritance.

And the Shaking Mountain Sect is just a marginal small sect, of no real value to them.

Upon learning about the Sea of Spirit, Yang Zhenshan felt it was starkly separate from the ordinary martial forces.

It was as if one was celestial, the other mortal, one lofty, the other groveling on the ground.

This feeling was accurate; the Sea of Spirit and the western region of Dazhao were entirely different worlds, much like the difference between the Ten Thousand Miles Sea Domain and the Sea of Spirit.

A sort of invisible barrier seemed to exist between them.

The root cause of this situation was the gap between Martial Artists and ordinary people.

West of the Stormy Sea Area, there was a world of difference between Innate Martial Artists and ordinary people, but because of the Dynasty, Innate Martial Artists were still bound to the mortal realm.

However, in the Sea of Spirit, the existence of Martial God Realm has already completely transcended the mortal world, truly extraordinary.

The laws of the Dynasty and the principles of the world are nothing but fragile paper before a Martial God Realm powerhouse.

Before a Martial God Realm powerhouse, laws and principles cannot bind them.

And to a Martial God Realm powerhouse, ordinary people are likely no different from pigs and sheep.

Those forces in the Sea of Spirit, because of the existence of Martial God Realm, are high above, overlooking the masses, treating them like lambs ready for slaughter.

They are like humans to ants; would humans care about the ants’ lives and deaths?

Even if they do care, it’s out of amusement, not sympathy or compassion.

In such an environment, in such a world, if a Martial God Realm powerhouse harbors compassion for all the people, they would be considered an outlier instead.

The separation comes from the vast individual strength disparity, the divide from the arrogance of the strong and the insignificance of the ordinary.

This is not a gap between people; it’s the difference between celestial and mortal.

Yang Zhenshan thought about many things and came to understand a lot.

They are heading to a new world, and the pressing task is not to seek Martial God Realm inheritance but to adapt to the new world’s rules.

The rule of the strong being revered, power being supreme.

Aside from strength, everything else is but minor matters.

As the sun set, the sunset spread like ink, its colors so rich they seemed about to flow down, adding a touch of splendor to the desolate land.

While everyone was busy eating, Yang Zhenshan suddenly stood up, looking towards the northern wilderness.

”What’s wrong?” Xuanzhen asked lazily, leaning against a broken stone.

”Someone’s coming, on horseback, hmm, there should be over a hundred of them!” Yang Zhenshan said lightly.

”Are they horse bandits? Whoever they are, if they don’t know what’s good for them, just kill them,” Xuanzhen said sharply.

Along the journey, they had already encountered several groups of bandits, each pouncing towards them like a hungry wolf to meat.

To such senseless beings, Xuanzhen would always kill without hesitation.

Yang Zhenshan, however, learned a lot of information from these bandits.

For instance, he learned about the Sea of Spirit from a bandit leader.

”This time it’s different, hmm, they’re chasing a few people!” Yang Zhenshan leapt up to a nearby treetop, looking out.

Soon he saw, in the dim light, a person riding towards them, followed by a hundred riding Martial Artists.

Li Chang and Wang Lei also saw this, and asked, ”Family Head, should we make a move?”

”No rush!” Yang Zhenshan said calmly.

The lead rider was now less than a hundred yards from them, and they could see it was a man around fifty, seemingly holding a child in his arms.

The man also noticed the presence of Yang Zhenshan and his group, who hadn’t hidden themselves, but were resting openly by the roadside, not entering the ruined village.

Seeing them, the man’s eyes lit up, and he immediately shouted, ”Mr. Li, I’ve led them to you, aren’t you going to make a move?”

Yang Zhenshan and the others were taken aback, Mr. Li?

Who?

Li Shangyuan!

Yang Zhenshan looked to Li Shangyuan beside him, who quickly shook his head, ”Not me, I don’t know them!”

”That guy wants to use us as a shield!” Li Chang said angrily.

Yang Zhenshan grinned, ”Dares to plot against us, hehe, seize him first!”

Li Chang grinned, revealing a cruel smile.

Damn it, they’ve suffered too much these days.

Traveling was not so hard, not tiring them out, but seeing those ruined villages, harassed by bandits, it was truly irritating.

And now someone dares to use them as a shield, darn it, do they really think they are a bunch of pushovers?