239: Chapter 239 The Rise of the Sun Family!

Five years is not long, nor is it short.

For a Cultivator, five years is but a snap of the fingers.

However, for White Cloud Temple, the changes over these five years were enough to make one's eyes light up, and the greatest change of all was in the Sun Clan lineage.

After Sun Chengzhu achieved Core Formation, the first thing he did was to secure benefits for the Sun Clan; he allocated most of the congratulatory gifts sent by various parties during the Core Formation Ceremony to the Sun Clan's ancestral house.

He also took a large sum of Spirit Stones separately from the portion allocated by the Sect, and Daoist Yun Du approved it for Sun Chengzhu, a full 200,000.

With money and various cultivation resources, Sun Chengzhu used his privileges to exchange for five foundation establishment pills from within the Sect at cost price, making many Disciples envious.

Although the foundation establishment pill is not some Heaven-Defying Spirit Medicine, for Disciples at the Peak of Qi Refining, it is an Immortal Pill that brings about a Heaven-Defying change!

With a foundation establishment pill, the probability of a Breakthrough increases by at least 20-30%.

Five Medicinal Pills could definitely add three to five Foundation Establishment Cultivator to the Sun Clan; the level of support was truly significant!

"Old Ancestor Chengzu is really planning to prop up the Sun Clan again."

"Nonsense, if you had achieved Golden Core, wouldn't you invest in your own Family?"

"But Old Ancestor Chengzu didn't need to take five at once, what will the other lineages think?"

The Disciples below discussed it heatedly, but discussion was all it was; no one dared to say anything to his face.

For a Golden Core Master to support his own descendants is only natural and right.

Ultimately, it is just the privilege possessed by a Core Formation Cultivator; a small whim of authority is the destination that ordinary Cultivators seek in vain for a lifetime.

Sun Chengzhu distributed the foundation establishment pills.

Among the qi generation, Sun Qiming, Sun Qinian, and Sun Qihe had the highest cultivation levels, all having lingered at the Peak of Qi Refining for many years.

Their Foundation was solid, and they were only a step away from the finish line.

But what was truly critical was not their cultivation level, but the fact that they were among the first batch of people to support Sun Chengzhu.

They were promoted by Sun Chengzhu, and now that Sun Chengzhu has risen to power, these people naturally rode his coattails to success, receiving their due rewards; their investment had undoubtedly paid off.

The remaining two pills were reserved for two Disciples among the younger generation with better talent.

They were told to continue honing themselves and take them when the time was ripe.

Within five years, Sun Qiming made the first Breakthrough, achieving Foundation Establishment in one go...

Three months later, Sun Qinian followed closely behind.

Half a year later, Sun Qihe also successfully broke through to the next realm.

With the three of them successfully achieving Foundation Establishment one after another, the morale of the entire Sun Clan was greatly boosted, which could be considered as returning the Sun Clan lineage to its former Peak.

Although there were still deficiencies, three Foundation Establishment Cultivator were enough to support the current situation of the Sun Clan...

Compared to the half-dead state of previous years, it was a complete renewal.

However, Sun Chengzhu's methods did not stop there.

He knew deeply that relying solely on Bloodline clansmen could not support a School, let alone a great war that was about to come.

Therefore, he began to widely recruit talent within the Sect.

His goal was to invest in those Qi Refining Disciples within the Sect who had potential; the Sun Clan provided resources, provided Cultivation Techniques, provided cultivation guidance, and even provided Spiritual Vein Immortal Caves.

The conditions were simple: after achieving Foundation Establishment in the future, they would need to serve the Sun Clan for thirty years, or pay a ransom in equivalent resources.

To put it bluntly, this model was betting in advance.

If the bet was right, the Sun Clan would gain a Foundation Establishment retainer for nothing.

If the bet was wrong, at worst, they would just lose some Spirit Stones.

Sun Chengzhu had an extremely sharp eye for picking people; in less than three years, he had selected over ten promising candidates, four of whom had already successfully achieved Foundation Establishment with his funding.

Several other small Families, seeing that the Sun Clan's momentum was at its Peak, took the initiative to defect, whether through marriage or signing cooperation contracts, seeking protection.

"Getting whatever they want." This was the current evaluation of the Sun Clan lineage within White Cloud Temple.

However, having said that, a tall tree attracts the wind.

With the Sun Clan expanding like this, the Disciples within the clan inevitably became a bit arrogant.

After all, everyone remembered the days when they were suppressed by the Yun Clan until they couldn't breathe; now that they had turned the tables, it was inevitable that some wanted to throw their weight around.

But fortunately, just as this unhealthy trend started, it was suppressed by Sun Chengzhu.

He even went so far as to cripple several clansmen, or even execute them for it!

Under such a beating, the Disciples in the clan gradually recalled the formidable and ruthless prestige of Sun Chengzhu when he purged the Family back in the day.

Standing before them was not just the Golden Core of the Sun Clan; it was their Old Ancestor!

He was the ruthless god in the Sun Clan who was most merciless when killing his own people. He was a magnanimous Old Ancestor and the Foundation of the Sun Clan's comeback.

At the same time, he was also a strict Old Ancestor; anyone who violated his rules and bottom line could be executed or crippled by him at any time...

It was precisely because of Sun Chengzhu's iron-fisted constraints that although the Sun Clan Disciples became increasingly arrogant within the Sect, they always maintained an appropriate level of respect for the various Yao Beast lineages.

When they saw Elder Rat, they would respectfully call out "Old Ancestor Rat."

If they met Shuang Yu on the road, they would give way from afar.

Even during festivals, the Sun Clan would take the initiative to send a large batch of Spirit Fruits and Spirit Medicine to the various Yao Beasts in the Northern Mountain Range to express their sincerity.

They let the young clansmen know who Shi Jian was.

They let them know that without Shi Jian, there would be no White Cloud Temple today, and no Sun Clan possessing everything it has now.

Those who knew this lived very well.

Those who didn't know, those who forgot their roots, were no longer in White Cloud Temple.

And the cooperation between the Sun Clan and the Rat race reached an unprecedented height during these five years.

Elder Rat had always had a deep connection with the Sun Clan.

It could be said that he witnessed the rise and fall of the Sun Clan for two hundred years, and also witnessed the arduous journey of several generations of the Sun Clan.

Now that Sun Chengzhu had achieved Core Formation, Elder Rat also benefited, so he was naturally happy to renew their old friendship; he wouldn't be at a disadvantage anyway!

Thanks to the Sun Clan's continuous increase in investment, the Wind Rat lineage had developed extremely well in recent years, whether it was the prototype of the Wind Path Blessed Land or the number of newborn clans, both had improved.

And Elder Rat himself had gained a lot over these years.

He had already reached the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, but it was a pity that he had not yet found new qi of the wind dao, otherwise he would have started to impact Core Formation.

Zixiao Peak.

Shi Jian poked half his head out of the Thunder Pool, with purple-gold lightning arcs dancing on the tip of his nose.

After five years of bitter cultivation, his aura was a bit deeper than before, and although there was still a distance to the Late Golden Core Stage, his Foundation was becoming increasingly thick and solid.

Elder Rat's voice came from the side of the pool: "Old Ancestor, all parties are prepared."

"The Sun Clan has added three Foundation Establishment Cultivator in these years. This time, two should be dispatched. Their Foundation is too thin; they shouldn't send a large number of personnel."

"On the Zhao Clan's side, Zhao Yanshan is going with five Foundation Establishment Cultivator from his Family, totaling six Foundation Establishment Cultivator and over a hundred Zhao Family Disciples."

"It looks like they want to gain more from this trip."

"Now that the Sun Clan has Sun Chengzhu, pressing the Zhao Clan down, they definitely won't be reconciled to this; they likely want to take this Opportunity to fight for some heaven and earth qi."

"As for the Yun Clan lineage, Daoist Yun Du has not made any major moves, still preserving his strength, and has only dispatched a few Foundation Establishment clansmen."

"The main force is still the outside-surname Elders and Disciples within the Sect, as well as the manpower gathered from various vassal Families. Counting it up, the total number of Foundation Establishment Cultivator setting out for the Evil Water Marsh this time is fifty-three."

"There are also over two thousand Qi Refining Disciples, three warships, and all supplies have been loaded."

Shi Jian closed his eyes and finished listening to the entire report.

A moment later, he spoke, his voice low like thunder:

"What about the Yao Race side?"

"Lineage Master Kuang Dou leads six Molten Black Hound, Shuang Yu brings three Foundation Establishment Ice Bears, and the Wind Rat lineage has dispatched three hundred Wind Rats as advance scouts."

"In addition..." Elder Rat lowered his voice: "This subordinate will accompany you personally."

Shi Jian opened one eye and looked at him.

"What are you going for?"

"Of course, to accompany Old Ancestor by your side."

Elder Rat chuckled: "Those wild Yao in the Evil Water Marsh who don't submit to Old Ancestor, I'll go help you deal with them when the time comes."

"You are quite thoughtful."

Shi Jian smiled lightly and then sank back into the thunder liquid...

Evil Water Marsh.

In that barbaric land, who knows how many Yao Beasts, how many Spiritual Veins, and how many Opportunities are hidden in that ghostly place...

And who knows how many wild Yao creatures can be subdued this time.

If he could obtain this place, it would become the most important piece of the puzzle on his Yao Race territory map, becoming his new Foundation!

And his cultivation had also settled for a long, long time.

Perhaps it was time to stimulate it; who knows, he might make a Breakthrough.

Three days later.

Outside the South Gate of White Cloud Immortal City, three hundred-foot-long warships slowly rose into the sky.

Sword light soared into the sky, and beast roars shook the wilderness.

The army, set sail!