Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 1763: Chapter 1072: The Great Battle Begins

Within the flowing, resplendent portal, a hazy phantom emerged, seemingly endless mountain ranges. Before the crowd could see clearly the scenery inside the portal, a golden Flying Boat flew out from within.

Vermilion Bird Cloud Boat, a large Flying Boat—this was nothing special; White Cloud Immortal City also had its own large Flying Boats, and even had two of them.

One Flying Boat after another continuously flew out. In the span of a moment, beyond the Pocket World Gate, four Vermilion Bird Cloud Boats and twenty-four Flame Sun Golden Boats lined up in formation.

These had been prepared long beforehand. Since Yang Zhenshan had long known that the Unpredictable Ghost Sect was going to attack True Yang Immortal City, he had naturally made ready his support for True Yang Immortal City well in advance.

Four Vermilion Bird Cloud Boats and twenty-four Flame Sun Flying Boats—this was practically the entirety of the Spirit Source Land’s strength.

Even Ding Qiu and Yu Qingyi had come.

Aside from Qing Niu and Lin Qihe, Yang Zhenshan had almost mobilized all usable forces of the Life Realm Immortal Palace.

Over a thousand Golden Body Realm Martial Artists, more than a dozen Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and one Molten Rock Divine General.

White Cloud True Monarch saw all this and nodded slightly.

The strength of the Spirit Source Land did not surprise him; compared to White Cloud Immortal City, this little bit of power from the Spirit Source Land was nothing at all.

However, there was still something that astonished him—that was the more than a thousand Golden Body Realm Martial Artists.

Golden Body Realm Martial Artists were not something that could be cultivated casually. Although Spirit Base Casting was much easier than Foundation Establishment for Immortal Cultivators, Golden Body Realm Martial Artists were still relatively rare existences.

In all the surrounding Yunxiao Mountain Range, there were only a bit over a thousand Golden Body Realm Martial Artists in total, yet the Yang family alone could field more than a thousand Golden Body Realm Martial Artists. This truly was somewhat shocking.

Of course, what made White Cloud True Monarch even more astonished was that these thousand Golden Body Realm Martial Artists actually formed an army.

To use Golden Body Realm Martial Artists as soldiers, the Spirit Source Land could be considered a kind of extravagant anomaly.

In truth, White Cloud True Monarch was still underestimating this army of the Spirit Source Land.

In his eyes, no matter how many Golden Body Realm Martial Artists there were, it was nothing. But how could the army of the Spirit Source Land be comparable to the mundane?

Flying Boats, Golden Body Realm Martial Artists, supplemented further by a portion of Cultivators—this was the new army of the Spirit Source Land.

By now, the three Jade Capital Guards had already become mere decoration. The new Jade Capital Guard would take Golden Body Realm Martial Artists as its core, Cultivators as support, and be equipped with medium and large Flying Boats.

Today was the first time the newly reformed Jade Capital Guard was going out to execute a mission.

Compared to the Flying Boat fleet, White Cloud True Monarch was more curious about the Pocket World Gate, or rather, he was filled with interest toward the Grotto Heaven within the gate.

But once the Flying Boats sailed out of the gate, Yang Zhenshan casually shut the Pocket World Gate.

The existence of the Grotto Heaven could be revealed, but he absolutely could not allow White Cloud True Monarch and the others to probe the situation inside the Grotto Heaven.

And just as Yang Zhenshan closed the Pocket World Gate, several dozen figures flew out from the halls below, and in an instant, a dense Sword Intent surged up to the heavens.

Teleportation Arrays were nothing rare; the Sky Cloud Sword Sect had several Teleportation Arrays, and one of them was specifically used to connect to Hidden Sword Mountain.

However, the frequency of Teleportation Array usage was not high, for a simple reason: if the distance was short, there was no need to use a Teleportation Array; if the distance was too great, the cost of using a Teleportation Array was enormous.

Thus, in the Wanhua Domain, apart from a few top-tier powers, other forces did not commonly make use of Teleportation Arrays.

The Sky Cloud Sword Sect had built several Teleportation Arrays, but there were very few occasions when they were actually used. It was rare that this time Hidden Sword Mountain had actually come via Teleportation Array.

Yet these several dozen figures all carried extraordinary momentum. Although most among them were Cultivators at the Peak of Qi Refinement, the sharp edge they released was something no one dared to underestimate.

Especially the two decrepit old men at the head—they hung in midair, their bodies trembling as though they might fall from the sky at any time, yet their presence could not be ignored.

Yang Zhenshan glanced at those two elders, then quickly withdrew his gaze.

Heaven River Sword Array—this should be one of Hidden Sword’s foundations.

He just didn’t know what its might would be.

”The Unpredictable Ghost Sect has attacked True Yang Immortal City, seeking to seize our sect’s Dao property and sever our Dao path. Such conduct marks them as a mortal enemy of our sect, with whom we must fight to the death, without rest until extinction.”

”Depart!”

With a single command from White Cloud True Monarch, countless streams of light linked into a single sheet, rolling like multicolored clouds across the sky.

The Flying Boats set sail, cleaving through the firmament in grand, sweeping majesty.

At the same time, enormous numbers of Tunneling Lights converged from all directions, their momentum quite astonishing.

Though it was merely astonishing in momentum.

The Sky Cloud Sword Sect possessed considerable strength. Under the decree of a True Monarch, the gathered Cultivators numbered over several thousand.

Yet most of these Cultivators were scattered, undisciplined elements, far inferior to the Ghost Soldiers army of the Unpredictable Ghost Sect.

They were fewer in number, and inferior in strength as well.

The spectacle looked grand, but as for how strong it truly was, that would depend on the battle to come.

At the instant the army advanced, White Cloud True Monarch and the others entered the Void, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived above True Yang Immortal City.

Above the clouds, Yang Zhenshan immediately saw True Yang Immortal City below, shrouded by Evil black clouds, and also took note of An Wusheng and the others opposite.

The two sides were separated by nearly a hundred li, yet could still sense each other.

An Wusheng’s lips curled into a cold smile.

”That bunch of fools who don’t know the immensity of heaven and earth—I knew they would come!”

Ji Wusi was itching for action. ”Hall Master, let me go teach them a lesson!”

”No hurry. Your opponents are not them,” An Wusheng said.

Though he wore an air of indifference toward the Sky Cloud Sword Sect on the surface, in his heart he still took the Sky Cloud Sword Sect very seriously. After all, the Sky Cloud Sword Sect had five Golden Core Cultivators.

Jian Changhe, Yang Zhenshan, and Yun Xiao—these three Cultivators at the Golden Core Early Stage were one thing, but White Cloud True Monarch and Que Lingyu were not nameless nobodies.

On the other side, White Cloud True Monarch’s expression was somewhat unpleasant; he had also noticed An Wusheng and his group.

”Those are Demon King Yin Soldiers.” His voice was low.

”Mm, it seems the Unpredictable Ghost Sect must have been preparing this thing during this period of time,” Yang Zhenshan said as he spoke, while crushing the Communication Talisman in his hand.

Spiritual light flickered and vanished between his fingers.

Jian Changhe noticed his movement and found it somewhat strange, but he did not inquire.

Yang Zhenshan had no intention of explaining anything. He just tossed down a sentence, then leapt up, his figure rising into the air before lightly landing atop the head of the newly arrived Molten Rock Divine General.

This Molten Rock Divine General had been given to him by Chi Xia True Monarch. Although he had refined the Molten Rock Divine General long ago, he had never actually used it before.

A Third order Puppet was completely different from a Second-Order Puppet.

A Second-Order Puppet needed to be controlled by a Puppet Master, while a Third order Puppet possessed its own Artifact Spirit. Like a Spiritual Artifact, it had its own intelligence.

Moreover, a Third order Puppet had its own energy core. It could not use Spiritual Energy provided by Spirit Stones; instead, it could absorb Spiritual Energy on its own and store Spiritual Power by itself.

Strictly speaking, a Third order Puppet was more like a Spiritual Treasure, possessing its own soul and the ability to fight autonomously.

The only difference was that a Third order Puppet was far weaker than a Spiritual Treasure.

”True Monarch above, Molten Rock awaiting orders!”

A rumbling voice resounded, rolling out like the roar of a giant.

The Molten Rock Divine General stood forty-eight zhang tall, with Red Flame Crystal Stone as its bones, earthfire magma as its flesh and blood, and Black Radiance Stone as its armor. Its energy core was a complete Fire Attribute source stone, that is, a Fire Attribute top-grade Spirit Stone.

A top-grade Spirit Stone was also called a source stone and was a Third-stage Spiritual Object.

A single complete Fire Attribute source stone was equivalent to one hundred Top-grade Spirit Stone, ten thousand Mid-grade Spirit Stone, and a million Low-grade Spirit Stones.

This only meant that the Spiritual Energy it contained was equivalent to that many Spirit Stones; it did not refer to its monetary value.

Judging solely by the Spiritual Energy contained, the value of a top-grade Spirit Stone was not considered high, but it belonged to Third-stage Spiritual Objects, containing not only Spiritual Energy but also Dao Rhyme and Heaven and Earth Dao Intent.

The value of a single top-grade Spirit Stone far exceeded that of most Third-stage Spiritual Objects.

And the greatest use of a top-grade Spirit Stone was to serve as the core of Arrays and Puppets.

Because a top-grade Spirit Stone could be repeatedly used, repeatedly releasing and absorbing Spiritual Energy.

After being refined with Artifact Refining methods, a top-grade Spirit Stone could perfectly merge into an Array Plate and the energy core of a Puppet, becoming a part of a Spiritual Artifact.

Simply put, a top-grade Spirit Stone was a material for refining Spiritual Artifacts. Array Plates and energy cores refined with it were almost equivalent to Spiritual Artifacts.

Since the energy core of the Molten Rock Divine General was at Spiritual Artifact Level, its overall quality far surpassed that of ordinary Spiritual Artifacts.

Yang Zhenshan stood atop the gigantic head of the Molten Rock Divine General. The Divine Wood Treasure Cauldron floated above his head, sprinkling down strands of green spiritual light, while the Green Wood Purple Lightning Sword and the Thunder Fire Spear slowly rotated around him.

”No rush.”

He replied softly.

The Molten Rock Divine General stood obediently in midair.

Such a massive thing hovering in the sky was quite intimidating.

Back in the Sun Cave Heaven, even while standing dozens of li away from this giant, Yang Zhenshan had almost been obliterated by a casual strike from it. It showed just how terrifying this thing’s strength was.

The Molten Rock Divine General was a product of the Sun True Sect and had been nourished for tens of thousands of years in the Fire Vein of the Sun Cave Heaven. Its strength far surpassed that of ordinary Third order Puppet and was not much inferior to a true Golden Core Cultivator.

Seeing Yang Zhenshan’s current state, White Cloud True Monarch and the others all showed expressions of surprise.

Three Spiritual Artifacts and one Third order Puppet—regardless of grade, the sheer number alone was already considerable.

However, their astonishment did not last long, because the Ghost Soldiers army below actually charged toward them.

Rolling Evil clouds surged forward, countless Ghost Soldiers beneath the cover of the dark clouds casting one sinister Spell after another.

Upon seeing this, Yun Xiao drew the Light Splitting Sword from his hand in an instant.

Sword light as fine as silk poured downward, turning into a torrential rain that crashed into the Evil clouds with a roar.

The whistling sound of sword light piercing through the air tore through the rolling Evil clouds, perforating countless Ghost Soldiers’ bodies. In the blink of an eye, hundreds and thousands of Ghost Soldiers fell from the sky.

”Hmph, you go—take them down!” Upon seeing this, An Wusheng snorted coldly, waved his hand, and the eight Demon King Yin Soldiers behind him let out a series of roars.

”They’re coming!” White Cloud True Monarch looked at the charging Demon King Yin Soldiers, his expression incomparably grave.

Demon King Yin Soldiers also belonged to Third order Puppet; in essence, there was not much difference between them and the Molten Rock Divine General.

The only difference was that Demon King Yin Soldiers were refined using the bodies and Divine Soul of Demon Kings, whereas the Molten Rock Divine General was refined from various Third-stage Spirit Ore.

The strength of the Molten Rock Divine General depended on the quality of the refining materials and the length of time it had been nurtured.

The strength of Demon King Yin Soldiers likewise depended on the quality of the refining materials and the length of time they had been nurtured.

The eight Demon King Yin Soldiers before them had all been refined from Demon Kings in the Wanhua Mountain Range. Among them, two were Late-stage Demon King, four were mid-stage Demon King, and the remaining two were Early-stage Demon King, each possessing considerable strength.

After being refined into Ghost Soldiers, these Demon Kings could only exert about fifty percent of their original strength.

On the Sky Cloud Sword Sect’s side there were four Golden Core Cultivators, one Demon King, and one Third order Puppet. The difference in strength between the two sides was not large; in fact, the Sky Cloud Sword Sect side was slightly stronger.

As the great battle began, Yang Zhenshan commanded the Molten Rock Divine General to meet two of the Demon King Yin Soldiers head-on.

He had originally thought he could easily take care of these Demon King Yin Soldiers, but once he engaged them, he realized that the Demon King Yin Soldiers of the Unpredictable Ghost Sect were not as simple as he had imagined.

”Breaking Void Spear!”

The spear light shot forth like a rainbow, piercing through the chest of the Violent Bear Demon King opposite him. Just when Yang Zhenshan thought this spear would heavily injure the Violent Bear Demon King, that Demon King suddenly sucked in a vicious breath. Its chest swelled, and in the blink of an eye, the gaping hole pierced through by the spear actually healed over.

Yang Zhenshan’s eyes widened slightly as he stared blankly at the Violent Bear Demon King’s chest.

This was the Breaking Void Spear—its damage was not ordinary physical damage but was imbued with Spear Intent, enough to pierce even the barriers of the world.

Yet in just an instant, the wound on the Violent Bear Demon King had healed. This was simply unbelievable.

”Evil Qi!”

Yang Zhenshan’s gaze sharpened. His Spiritual Sense swept across the surroundings, and he immediately understood what was going on.

The heavens and earth around them were filled with dense Evil Qi. This Evil Qi not only enhanced the combat power of the Ghost Soldiers, it also provided them with energy support and could even heal their injuries.

The Ghost Soldiers that Yun Xiao had just cut down had all actually come back to life.

In other words, as long as there was enough Evil Qi, these Ghost Soldiers were existences that could not be killed?

No, that was not quite right—those Ghost Soldiers whose bodies had been torn to pieces had not recovered.