Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 1366: Chapter 874: It’s Not Me, It’s Not Me!

Zhang Yan gently caressed the sword box, hesitating whether to open it.

He was a disciple of Hidden Sword Mountain, where the most core sword cultivation technique is the Nine Hidden Sword Techniques.

Concealing the edge within the heart, breaking the edge within the intent, hiding the edge is not weakness, but great skill disguised as clumsiness; hiding the light is not cowardice, but biding time for a decisive blow.

Refining the sword with the box, nurturing the box with the sword.

The sword box and the sword inside it were as fundamental to his Sword Dao foundation as the roots of his cultivation. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he would never break open the sword box.

Now that his Sword Dao had yet to take form, breaking open the sword box at this time would be equivalent to destroying years of painstaking cultivation of his sword foundation.

Just as he hesitated about breaking open the sword box, three vines suddenly shot up from the ground.

The vines, like spears, instantly pierced through a black-robed cultivator’s protective magical treasure, impaling the chest.

“Ah!”

The black-robed cultivator could only let out a scream before his body was torn in two by the vines.

The sudden turn of events sent the remaining three black-robed cultivators into shock, causing them to retreat hastily, their eyes wary of their surroundings.

Zhang Yan’s expression also changed; he controlled the six flying swords to return to his side, one hand holding the sword box, the other pressing on it.

But before he could figure out what was happening, over a dozen vines shot up from the ground. Only one of the three black-robed cultivators reacted quickly enough to dodge the vine’s attack, while the other two were impaled by the vines.

The quick-reacting black-robed cultivator managed to dodge the vine’s attack once but as he tried to escape into the air, the vines followed him as if they had eyes.

The resilient vines, sharp as spears, impaled his body from below.

“Ah~”

A wail echoed, as dark red blood splattered through the air.

On the ground, Zhang Yan’s pupils constricted sharply as he looked at the vine.

He actually saw a realm within the vine!

It wasn’t Sword Intent, but a realm extremely similar to Sword Intent.

“What is this?”

He murmured softly.

At this moment, the vine that had just wreaked havoc silently disappeared, leaving only four blood-soaked corpses on the ground.

Zhang Yan snapped back to reality, wary as he glanced around, noticing that many vines were still slaughtering the black-robed cultivators in the distance.

It was at this moment he finally understood—a Foundation Establishment cultivator had intervened.

Such a divine Vine Skill was definitely not something that could be achieved at the Qi Refinement stage.

He gazed upward and saw through the billowing black smoke a figure in a cyan vestment robe, performing spells and overlooking the scene below.

The figure was like a beacon under the dark sky—not for what he was doing, but because of his presence.

Even though the pervasive black smoke obscured his view of the figure’s face, he could still feel that pure, natural aura full of vitality.

“Who is he?”

A question arose in Zhang Yan’s heart.

Hidden Sword Mountain, though reclusive within the Yunxiao Mountain Range, was not isolated from the world, nor ignorant of external forces. On the contrary, it was well-informed about the Sea of Spirit and the Qingli Dynasty.

They knew exactly how many Foundation Establishment cultivators were in the Qingli Dynasty and what each of them specialized in. They even had numerous collaborations with the six families of Qingli.

After all, for an Immortal Sect to carry on its legacy, various cultivation resources were needed. Although Hidden Sword Mountain had deep foundations, they couldn’t be self-sufficient and needed to acquire resources externally.

They simply acted low-key, giving the impression that they seldom ventured out.

Zhang Yan did not know who Yang Zhenshan was, yet another, who was both unfamiliar and familiar with Yang Zhenshan, did.

The moment Yang Zhenshan appeared, the ghost woman noticed him.

When the ghost woman saw him, she felt his aura was both familiar and unfamiliar.

Hidden among the collapsed ruins, the ghost woman watched Yang Zhenshan with dark eyes, noticing the strands around him, and soon found one that connected to her.

After exploring the meaning of the strand, a look of terror appeared in her eyes.

“It’s him!”

Yang Zhenshan had made a deep impression on the ghost woman, so deep that even to this day, she had vivid memories of him.

However, the ghost woman’s feelings towards Yang Zhenshan were conflicted—fear mixed with a touch of gratitude.

The fear stemmed from when Yang Zhenshan mystery-shroudedly threw her into an Ancient Relic Array. Such was a method she couldn’t understand even now.

The gratitude came from receiving great opportunities after entering the ancient array, gaining a cultivation technique that suited her, and breaking free from Mo Xuanyu’s control.

Yet, in the ghost woman’s heart, fear definitely outweighed gratitude.

Yet, subsequently, the ghost woman discovered something new on that thread—something which elevated her fear of Yang Zhenshan.

She found the initial intersection between herself and Yang Zhenshan, when she unleashed malevolent spirits through an array in the ancient county city years ago.

Back then, Yang Zhenshan had obliterated her specters with a Qinghua Thunder Pearl.

To this day, she still remembered that terrifying thunderbolt.

“So it was him who did that too!”

The ghost woman’s face revealed a look of dread.

Then, Yang Zhenshan suddenly looked in her direction.

Many focused on Yang Zhenshan at this moment, but few could catch his attention, and the ghost woman was one of them.

This was because Yang Zhenshan keenly recognized that the ghost woman was a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Yang Zhenshan’s eyes shone with golden light, and his deep eyes seemed to pierce through to the ghost woman’s soul.