Chapter 93

"Did you just use the 'Earth Absorption Technique' to counter Junxian's Sandstorm Spell?"

As An Xia walked out of the old residence with Yang Junshan, he frowned and said, "You didn't make the 'Earth Absorption Technique' your life-bound spell, did you? This spell is quite useless in itself. The reason you were able to counter Junxian's Sandstorm Spell is that his spell wasn't fully mastered. If it's not too late, it would be better to abandon this spell."

An Xia was unaware that Yang Junshan had only recently advanced to the fourth level and hadn't had time to cultivate a life-bound spell, so he wasn't surprised by Yang Junshan's use of the spell in the conflict with Yang Junxian. He merely advised against cultivating the Earth Absorption Technique.

Yang Junshan responded with a "Hmm" and asked, "Uncle, have you had any interesting experiences during your travels these days?"

An Xia sighed and said, "No interesting experiences, but a lot of troublesome ones. Sigh, I won't go into details. I spent all the cultivation resources accumulated by the family over the years to break through to the second level of the Martial Realm. Fortunately, your father informed me to collect a batch of red rust ore, otherwise, my cultivation breakthrough would have been delayed by at least one to two years."

An Xia waved his sleeves and said sarcastically, "Now I, your uncle, am penniless. Junhao is about to start his cultivation, and I need to save up for him. That's why I hurried back upon receiving your father's message. It seems to be related to spirit grains?"

Yang Junshan, seeing that they had left the old residence, said, "Uncle, with your broad knowledge, you should know the current situation in the counties under Yu Prefecture. My father has accumulated a lot of spirit grains over the past two years. If we don't take advantage of this opportunity to strengthen ourselves, it would be a waste."

An Xia nodded in agreement and said, "That's true. The situation in the counties under Yu Prefecture, especially in Jinyu, Mengyu, and Chenyu, is not good. But how many spirit grains does your father have? Could it be that he now controls all the spirit grains in the entire Tuo Hill Village?"

Yang Junshan smiled and said, "That's impossible. Spirit grains are just a means. If it were just about transporting grain carts within Yu Prefecture, there would be no need to trouble you, Uncle."

An Xia looked deeply at Yang Junshan and said, "Could it be that your third uncle, ..."

Yang Junshan shook his head and said, "We just discovered a secret passage from Quwu Mountain to Lingzhang County in Zhang Prefecture. My uncle and mother will be responsible for Chenyu and Mengyu counties. Since you, Uncle, have extensive experience and high strength, my father might ask you to be in charge of the secret passage."

An Xia sighed and said, "I've seen similar things in Yu Prefecture recently. Many towns near the border use their own spirit materials and minerals to exchange for spirit grains at high prices from outside Yu Prefecture. Even some external forces have secretly entered the inland towns of Yu Prefecture to sell low-quality spirit grains at high prices. Despite knowing this, cultivators still flock to them. Yu Prefecture is like a sieve with leaks on all sides. The control of the Heaven-Shaking Sect over the lower levels has weakened to such an extent!"

"It's just everyone acting out of self-interest!"

Yang Junshan sneered and said, "My fourth uncle, though he is the deputy town guard of Qingshi Town, actually does the work of the town guard. After the Qingshu Village mine disaster, he took advantage of the death of the mine owner to appoint a new mine owner under the name of the Heaven-Shaking Sect, who is surnamed Wang. Many of the mine managers and foremen have been replaced with unfamiliar faces. If it were truly the means of the Heaven-Shaking Sect, how could their control over the lower levels be so lax? In the end, it's just using the banner of the Heaven-Shaking Sect to seek personal gain."

An Xia looked at Yang Junshan and said, "You know a lot, boy. How do you know your fourth uncle is seeking personal gain?"

Yang Junshan smiled but didn't speak. He wouldn't reveal Chu Chuang's existence. Recently, Chu Chuang successfully broke through to the fifth level of the Mortal Realm, and the number of miners under his command increased. With many informants, he learned many unknown things about the Qingshu Village mine.

By the next year, Yang Junshan would be fifteen. In the past few months in Qingshi Town, his cultivation had been advancing rapidly, especially after obtaining the Earth Stone from the Qingshu Village mine. With a sufficient supply of Earth Essence, the formation of his three immortal roots went exceptionally smoothly.

Moreover, the cultivation of the two life-bound spells, Stone Breaking and Earth Absorption, had also entered a stable phase. Stone Breaking was a life-bound spell Yang Junshan had cultivated in his previous life, so he was very familiar with it. The Earth Absorption Technique itself was not too difficult to cultivate; otherwise, Yang Junshan wouldn't have been able to force it out with an Earth Stone to counter Yang Junxian's life-bound spell under the cover of the Sandstorm Spell.

Now, the only thing lacking was the third life-bound spell, which Yang Junshan planned to acquire next!

However, Yang Junshan needed to visit his long-unseen elder uncle.

Since becoming an inner disciple of the Heaven-Shaking Sect, Yang Tanchen had been seen less and less in Qingshi Town. After Yang Junshan arrived in Qingshi Town, he heard that his elder uncle was either in the county or the prefecture. Yang Junshan himself had been focusing on cultivation for a while and hadn't visited his elder uncle.

Yang Tanchen's busy schedule was something Yang Junshan could guess. To become an inner disciple of the Heaven-Shaking Sect, Yang Tanchen had gone to great lengths, spending a large amount of cultivation resources to smooth relationships. He had to mend relations with the Wang family, and his wife had secretly visited the Wang family many times, saying many good words, even giving up the position of town guard to the nephew of the Wang family, in exchange for the support of Wang Zhen, the father of the Wang family.

Now, Yang Tanchen was planning to break through to the fourth level of the Martial Realm. His already depleted resources could not support this breakthrough, so he had to seek help from all directions, owing many favors and debts, some in his own name and some in the name of the Yang family.

"Big Brother, Third Brother!" Yang Junshan greeted the two young men at his elder uncle's house from a distance.

"Shanzi is here, come, come, come over!" Yang Junlu stood at the door and waved to Yang Junshan, but he and Yang Junkai didn't move.

"Big Brother, Third Brother, it's been a long time!"

Yang Junlu smiled and said, "I and Third Brother have been with your elder uncle in the county recently. You returned to Qingshi Town, so we couldn't see you. Besides, you and Third Uncle went to such a remote village in Mengyu County, so far away, even if we wanted to see you, we couldn't."

Yang Junkai also smiled and said, "That's true. Third Uncle really insisted on going to such a remote place to be a village chief. Staying in Qingshi Town would have been better. At least, he should have left you and your siblings here. Look, now that you're back in Qingshi Town, you don't want to go back to that rural area, even spending the New Year at your uncle's house. This Qingshi Town is a town guard post. If you go to the county, which is a bustling place, you'll be overwhelmed by the sights."

Yang Junshan forced a smile, but he was not pleased.

"Alright, alright, we'll take Shanzi to the county to see it. Let's go home first; Father is already waiting." Yang Junlu patted Yang Junshan's shoulder, and the three of them walked towards the house.

Yang Tanchen was a tall and slender middle-aged man, not as rugged and robust as Yang Tangan. Yang Junshan had heard from Han Xiumei that Yang Tanchen looked like his grandmother, whom Yang Junshan had never met, while Yang Tangan looked like his father, Yang Lie.

Seeing Yang Junshan visit, Yang Tanchen was very warm and welcoming. After inviting Yang Junshan to sit down, he said, "I heard your father is cultivating spirit fields in Tuo Hill Village and got lucky with a moderate-quality spirit field. How is the Red Flame Grass seed I gave you growing? It should be ripe this year, right?"

The Red Flame Grass seed Yang Tanchen provided would require Yang Tangan to return one-third of the harvest to him. Yang Junshan chuckled and said, "It's doing well, growing nicely!"

Yang Tanchen laughed and said, "My third brother may not be good at other things, but he's a great farmer. Giving him the Red Flame Grass seed is just right. It's worth all the effort I put into getting the seed from the Heaven-Shaking Sect."

"Your father has three moderate-quality spirit fields. Besides the Red Flame Grass, what other spirit herbs is he growing, and how are they doing?" This was asked by his aunt, Gu Shurong.

Yang Junshan avoided the previous question and directly answered, "They're all doing well and should be ripe this year!"

Gu Shurong and Yang Tanchen exchanged a glance that didn't escape Yang Junshan's notice. Gu Shurong smiled and said, "Your third brother is truly capable. He's doing well even in such a remote place. Shanzi, go back and tell your father that when the spirit herbs are ripe, he can send them to your elder uncle. As an inner disciple of the Heaven-Shaking Sect, your elder uncle has connections and can get a good price. We're all family, so don't be shy."

Gu Shurong said what Yang Tanchen wanted to say. Yang Tanchen immediately smiled and said, "Alright, let's not talk about family matters. Shanzi, we know your father sent you to Qingshi Town. Before the cultivators of the Yang family break through to the Martial Realm, they must prepare the spirit materials for their magical tools themselves. This is a rule set by your grandfather. Your father asked me to find a toolmaker for you. Although it took a lot of effort in the county, I finally got Master Fei's agreement. As long as you prepare all the spirit materials, Master Fei will forge the tool. In a few days, you'll go to the county with your big brother and third brother, and you can also visit the branch of the Heaven-Shaking Sect to see the grandeur of a major sect!"

"This is only possible because your elder uncle is an inner disciple of the Heaven-Shaking Sect. Otherwise, there would be no such opportunity!"

Gu Shurong added, "Shanzi, you don't know. Master Fei has successfully forged moderate-quality magical tools. Your elder uncle went to great lengths to persuade Master Fei, spending a lot of jade coins and spirit materials. Your elder uncle is about to break through to the fourth level of the Martial Realm and hasn't prepared his own cultivation resources. If it were anyone else, your elder uncle wouldn't have put in so much effort."

"Why are you telling the child these things?"

Yang Tanchen glared at Gu Shurong and then sighed to Yang Junshan, "Your elder uncle is preparing to enter a closed cultivation period soon. I won't be able to take care of you then. Once I break through to the fourth level of the Martial Realm, the Yang family won't be under the control of the Wang family alone. When your father returns to help, the future of the Yang family will be even more prosperous than when your grandfather was around!"

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I had to go out for something in the afternoon and came back late, so the update for this chapter was delayed. Sorry!