Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather-Chapter 1260 - 823: Golden Thunder Bamboo, Robber Cultivators (2)
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Two days later, after attending the auction, Yang Zhenshan and Yu Qingyi were ready to return to the Sea of Spirit.
After relinquishing their cave residence, Yang Zhenshan and Yu Qingyi left Lotus Heart Valley.
They naturally wouldn’t return to the Sea of Spirit the same way, but planned to head directly to the Spirit Source Land once they were far away from Lotus Heart Valley.
After leaving Lotus Heart Valley, the two of them used Qinggong to swiftly fly through the mountains and forests.
About a hundred miles away from Lotus Heart Valley, just as Yang Zhenshan was planning to find a place to return to Spirit Source Land, he suddenly paused.
"What’s the matter?" Yu Qingyi asked in confusion when she saw him stop.
"Someone’s following us?" Yang Zhenshan frowned slightly.
Using his Spiritual Sense to scan the surrounding area just now, he unexpectedly discovered three people trailing behind them, all of whom he could sense were at the Foundation Establishment Stage.
"Let’s go!"
Yang Zhenshan grabbed Yu Qingyi’s arm, darted to the foot of a mountain, and then vanished from sight.
On Spiritual Spring Mountain Plateau, Yu Qingyi asked, "Who are they?"
"I don’t know!" Yang Zhenshan shook his head slightly.
"Could they be coincidentally headed in the same direction?" Yu Qingyi suggested.
Yang Zhenshan’s face was a bit grim, "No! They’re definitely tracking us!"
He could roughly guess why these people were following them.
Plunderers!
He had heard many stories about plunderers in Lotus Heart Valley, and they often appeared around its vicinity.
These plunderers would stop at nothing to obtain cultivation resources: murder, robbery, deceit, ambush—anything you can imagine, they’d do.
Even worse, they would hide among Immortal Cultivators in workshops, and you wouldn’t even know they’re plunderers, sometimes even considering them friends.
If you ever went out adventuring or hunting with one, you might become their target for ambush.
Sometimes, many Loose Cultivators would also transform into plunderers.
However, Yang Zhenshan truly hadn’t expected that someone would target him, let alone three Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
In the Qingli Dynasty, Foundation Establishment Cultivators were at the top of the food chain, with very few such cultivators existing outside the six major Families.
Getting three Foundation Establishment Cultivators to act simultaneously was no easy task.
Either someone inside the Qingli Dynasty was intentionally targeting him, or these three cultivators weren’t from the Qingli Dynasty but were outsiders.
Yang Zhenshan leaned more toward the latter because he hadn’t offended anyone in the Qingli Dynasty, nor was he worth such targeted action.
The only possibility was that foreign plunderers had long set their sights on the White Cloud Commerce auction, and he had unfortunately become their target.
"As the saying goes, wealth shouldn’t be flaunted; we’ve been a bit careless this time!" Yang Zhenshan said softly.
Though he had hidden in the Sea of Spirit over the years, subject to constraints everywhere, he hadn’t actually faced any crises, which brought about some slackness and carelessness in his mind, not as cautious as before.
"Hmm!" Yu Qingyi nodded in agreement.
They were indeed careless, or rather they hadn’t anticipated encountering trouble, so they hadn’t deliberately concealed their identities.
Meanwhile, beneath the mountain where Yang Zhenshan and Yu Qingyi had disappeared, three figures in black robes were suspended in mid-air. They wore black masks hiding their real appearances, but from their build, it was clear they were the sinister man, the alluring woman, and the burly man who initially targeted Yang Zhenshan.
"Boss, where are they?" The woman scanned the forest below and asked solemnly.
"No idea!" The sinister man shook his head slightly, a solemn look in his eyes.
Two living people had inexplicably vanished before their eyes, bringing a foreboding feeling to their hearts.
"Strange, how could they just disappear? Do they have some sort of Secret Technique or Magical Treasure for concealing their figures?" The burly man wondered aloud.
After a brief silence, the sinister man said, "Search, they must be here!"
Then, the three of them cautiously began searching the forest, meticulously inspecting every corner, occasionally scanning their surroundings with Spiritual Sense.
Inside Spirit Source Land, Yang Zhenshan quietly watched everything unfold.
Currently, his Spiritual Sense range extended to a thousand feet, allowing him to see everything within a thousand feet outside, and he could appear anywhere within this range at any moment.
"You should go back first; I’ll deal with them!" Yang Zhenshan said to Yu Qingyi as he observed the situation outside.
"Maybe we should just leave it be; who knows what methods they might have!" Yu Qingyi said, her voice tinged with concern.
Yang Zhenshan shook his head slightly, "Don’t worry, I’ll be careful, and if I’m unable to match them, I’ll immediately retreat!"
Fighting against Foundation Establishment Cultivators was inevitable, and Yang Zhenshan understood a fundamental truth: to face combat with confidence, one must be battle-hardened.
Though he was familiar with combat among Martial Artists, he had little knowledge of the means used in battles between Immortal Cultivators.
Without experiencing a few fights, how could he understand the methods of Immortal Cultivators?
Moreover, battles could expose him to his own weaknesses.
Outside, there were three Foundation Establishment Cultivators, with one even being Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, and Yang Zhenshan was certainly not their match.
However, with Spirit Source Land as his support, he could position himself to remain undefeated.
"Alright, be careful!" Yu Qingyi said with concern.
Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly, then his eyes flashed coldly.
Since they had set their sights on him, they shouldn’t blame him for being ruthless.
Currently, the three were separated, searching for his traces, providing the perfect opportunity for him to strike.
With his figure flashing, Yang Zhenshan stepped out from Spirit Source Land, appearing directly three feet behind the alluring woman.
Pick the softest target first; among the three, this woman’s cultivation was the lowest, seemingly the easiest to deal with.
Regardless of how she reacted, Yang Zhenshan directly summoned the Green Glow Sword, which transformed into a streak of light shooting toward the woman.
As Yang Zhenshan appeared, the woman immediately reacted.
A faint golden shield formed around her, enveloping her entirely.
With a clang.
The Green Glow Sword, which had always been unstoppable, was unable to advance an inch against the golden shield.
"Haha, found you!"
The woman laughed coquettishly as she turned around, her eyes behind the black mask brimming with mockery as she looked at Yang Zhenshan.
Seeing this, Yang Zhenshan’s gaze flickered. He then waved his hand, shooting out over a dozen talismans.
Soon, explosions thundered in the air.
First-order explosive talismans.
This was the only type of talisman Yang Zhenshan could currently craft; he hadn’t given up on talisman making but rather, since successfully establishing a foundation, he had devoted considerable energy and time to honing his talisman making skills.
However, all he could craft right now were these explosive talismans.
Though they posed a significant threat to Martial Artists at the Heavenly Gang Stage, they were almost useless against Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
The woman merely waved her hand to disperse the explosion’s impact, then a faint glow flickered in her eyes.
Yang Zhenshan’s vision caught the woman’s eyes amidst the explosive impact, and in the next moment, he felt a sudden dizziness in his head.
But this dizziness was fleeting, and he quickly regained clarity.
Conversely, blood started trickling from the woman’s eyes.
"How could this be?" The woman gasped.
The next moment, she unexpectedly couldn’t control her mana and began falling from the air.
Yang Zhenshan was somewhat surprised, not understanding what happened.
But it was no time for reflection, as the sinister man and the burly man were already flying toward him.
With a quick thought, Yang Zhenshan glanced at the woman who landed in the trees, and the Green Glow Sword swiftly shot toward her throat.
No matter her issue, she was evidently in trouble.
Strike while the iron is hot!
Without mana control, the golden shield around the woman turned incredibly thin; the Green Glow Sword pierced through the shield and entered her throat with a single thrust.
