Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

Atop a peak in the Qixuan Secret Cave.

Master Heshan held a gold ball the size of an ostrich egg in his hands, his expression filled with hesitation.

”Master, is this really a Foundation Building Pill? You didn’t pick up a piece of Spiritual Gold, did you?”

The young Taoist asked, clearly incredulous.

”It is the Golden Stone Foundation Building Pill!”

The old Taoist’s expression became firmer, ”I saw it in an ancient text, hard as iron and gold, immune to swords and spears, it can last for a thousand years... This one we found by chance seems to have exceeded a thousand years; I wonder how much of its efficacy remains?”

”The two of us, master and disciple, have always had good luck,” the young Taoist said discontentedly, ”but you were only concerned with retrieving your Golden Stone Foundation Building Pill and forgot about your disciple’s Flying Sword Charm and Empty Mysterious Crystal Copper.”

”Mischievous disciple! One must not exploit everything!”

The old Taoist’s face changed, and he chided sternly, ”Having found the Golden Stone Foundation Building Pill and used it, no one can find evidence, therefore it’s hard to make any accusations, and you and I, master and disciple, have backers within the sect.”

”But if all three treasures were found, do you know what happens to those who desecrate the Ancestor Master’s tomb?”

He said with a cold tone:

”Extract the divine soul, place it in the Nether Refining Fire Lamp, scorch and torment it, let it wail in agony for a thousand years. The souls shall scatter, and they shall never reincarnate. This fate will befall their families and their descendants—no one is spared from such an outcome.”

”Master, your disciple knows his mistake.”

The young Taoist shivered and dared not jest anymore.

”If you understand, that’s good. The person who desecrated Ancestor Zhongxing’s tomb is his descendant, unrelated to us. Even if a Golden Pill Monk were to conduct a Soul Search, it would be the same,” said the old Taoist, his expression softer, as he led his disciple away from the place.

A whisper, almost imperceptible, barely carried through the air:

”The Golden Stone requires reactivation to be consumed. Where could one find such abundant fresh life force...”

...

Jiang Ding, adopting the guise of a mature young man, walked on the road back to Sword Casting Manor.

The death of Patriarch Jin Dao, Wei Tu, indeed did not succeed in drawing the man in the black robe down the mountain.

At the moment of his death, the man in the black robe was jolted from his cultivation, pondered momentarily, looked in the direction of Yuejing Palace, let out a sneer, and once again entered a state of closed-eyes cultivation.

”Have you heard? Many experts from both righteous and diabolic paths have died in the Qixuan Secret Cave this time!”

A week had passed since the Qixuan Secret Cave was unearthed, and many people from the Jianghu began to flow back. Yuejing was in chaos again, but there was no more widespread enmity and slaughter between the righteous and the diabolic as seen before, from an aerial drone’s perspective.

”Not only did a lot of experts die, but there were also three or four Xiantians!”

A short man with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks proclaimed.

”Hisss~”

A chorus of gasps ensued, and Jiang Ding stopped in his tracks, entered a tea house frequented by Jianghu folk, ordered a cup of clear tea, and rested with his eyes closed.

”My friend saw with his own eyes, two great Xiantian experts of Qingniugong, ’Myriad Transformations Divine Palm’ Elder Fifth Initiation, ’Storm Thunder Finger’ Senior Merchant Xiu, and a Xiantian expert from the Wolf God Cult, the senior figures like Golden Knife Patriarch of Jindao School, all vying over a fortunate young lad.”

Everyone knew that his ’friend’ was a fourth- or fifth-hand source, but they couldn’t help but listen with widened eyes.

”Do you know who this young lad is, that so many seniors were scrambling for him?”

The sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked man grinned smugly, pausing for effect.

Relying on the news he’d heard, he’d been freeloading off various taverns while the topic was not yet universally known. This time, he figured, he would make a fortune again.

”Why is that?”

Immediately, a well-off patron waved his hand, instructing the waiter to bring wine and meat for the storyteller, looking on eagerly.

”This young lad is none other than the number ninety-two of the Dragon and Phoenix List from Qixuan School, ’Qingyun Sword’ Han Lin,” announced the sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked man as he sipped his wine, grabbed a peanut and slice of beef, and contentedly sighed.

”What’s so special about number ninety-two on the Dragon and Phoenix List? Why would so many Xiantian masters want to snatch him?”

The impatient guest couldn’t help but ask.

Indeed, for those who were Xiantian, the rankings at the bottom half of the Dragon and Phoenix List were insignificant and weren’t given a second glance.

”He obtained the Flying Sword Charm granted by Master Qixuan a thousand years ago!”

The man quickly threw out an answer amid the unfriendly gazes of the many wealthy patrons, with envy in his tone, ”That’s right, it’s the Hundred Step Flying Sword that allowed Master Qixuan to dominate Jianghu unrivaled and made the reigning emperor bow in greeting!”

”Not just my friend, many people saw it with their own eyes, it couldn’t be faked!”

For a moment, the whole tea house grew silent, then erupted in noise.

”This luck is too good! Why don’t I have such luck?”

”Skyrocketing to success in one fell swoop!”

Many in Jianghu envied and were jealous, wishing they could take his place, while others scoffed with a cold laugh.

”Those seniors are not to be trifled with, not to mention both the Righteous and Diabolical paths’ Xiantian masters are there; this person must be dead already.”

”That’s true, even if the seniors from the Righteous Path mind their reputation, the Xiantian of Diabolism won’t be polite.”

”He won’t survive.”

Most people in Jianghu agreed and felt a bit better.

”But this guy guessed wrong.”

The man with a sharp chin and monkey cheeks gulped down a mouthful of wine, saying, ”At that time, Han Lin had a sword-shaped charm that flashed with a gray light in his hands. After absorbing Essence Blood, it soared into the sky. The sword was incredibly fast and in an instant, wound around the necks of the closest Xiantian experts; heads fell and Xiantian blood sprayed.”

”Without any power to resist, two great Xiantian experts of Qingniugong, the elder in the fifth phase of ’Myriad Transformation Divine Palm’, and Prefect Shang Xiu of ’Wind Thunder Finger’, along with one Xiantian master from the Wolf God Cult, three powerful beings died clean off.”

”The surviving Xiantian were terrified, not daring to move rashly for the moment.”

”Seizing the opportunity, ’Qingyun Sword’ Han Lin escaped with his life.”

In his eyes showed envy and yearning; an ordinary man, having obtained a treasured charm, rose to power, chilling the hearts of Xiantian masters.

The people in the tea house were all dumbfounded for a moment.

Many didn’t believe it; it was not much different from tales of ghosts and gods.

”Gentlemen can wait a few days. The death of so many Xiantian will not be concealed for long, and it will be known sooner or later.”

The man with the sharp chin and monkey cheeks added.

”Besides, I heard a small piece of news that there have been royal Xiantian who perished in the ensuing battles.”

...

Within the excited and agitated discussions of the tea guests, Jiang Ding paid for his tea and stood up to leave.

”If it’s true, with four great Xiantian of Qingniugong gone, no, if Song Lingyun also met with an accident, then three are gone, and there will be a huge imbalance in the powers of the Righteous and Diabolical paths. The Wolf God Cult will crush others at the level of Xiantian and will lead to greater turmoil in Yue Country’s situation!”

”Flying Sword Charm, very powerful.”

Jiang Ding thought to himself in silence.

As for envy and jealousy, they were nowhere to be found.

He would discard at first sight anything that dared to draw his own Essence Blood, lest it affect his cultivation of the Dao Body Embryo.

Upon returning to the Sword Casting Manor, the Flying Sword flew out from his sleeve and shot into the Spirit Gathering Flower Pot, where strands of blue-gold filaments grew and lengthened, turning into roots, branches, and leaves.

Within an instant, a small metallic tree, over forty centimeters tall, appeared and began to grow by absorbing the Great Sun Essence and the Heavenly Earth Spiritual Qi.

Jiang Ding, as usual, carefully checked around the Sword Casting Manor for any potential dangers.

The guard skilled in concealed cultivation methods and Internal Qi Perfection had not returned; Zhang Zihou stood gazing at the sky, his face ashen with defeat, his clan’s venture into the Qixuan Secret Cave apparently not going well.

Jiang Ding took a Ginseng Essence Qi-transforming Elixir and closed his eyes, continuing to temper and nurture the tiny meridians within his Twelve Regular Meridians and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians.