Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

The train arrived at Xianduxi Station and slowly came to a halt.

As his cultivation base grew deeper, Jiang Ding became akin to a ghost; except for the ticket inspector at the checkpoint, nobody along the way even glanced at him, all subconsciously overlooking his presence.

”The right to life is supreme above all else!”

On the television screen at the station, a figure was making an impassioned speech, swinging his arms vigorously. He wore gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, a very familiar sight.

Jiang Ding paused in his steps.

Liu Zhiyuan, Professor of the Social Sciences Department at Qingfeng University.

”Why does the death penalty, a barbaric law, still exist in this century? Such suffocatingly backward practices!”

He spoke with fervor and immense anger in his chest as a circle of young students gathered around him.

”The loss of a citizen in Xianmen is already a tremendous loss, so why must we lose the life of another citizen again!”

”If there is a mistake, one can be educated, transformed through love. No one is born a criminal; it is society’s lack of love and care for them that can be corrected.”

”But a citizen’s life, once gone, is gone forever.”

”Once there are wrongful convictions, there’s no way to reverse them!”

”I advocate for the complete abolition of the death penalty! Let the civilization of Lanying Planet enter a new stage of progress!”

Liu Zhiyuan raised his hands high.

”We collectively advocate, abolish the death penalty for citizens!”

Below the stage, a group of students held up banners, shouting together, emotions fiery with anticipation.

A circle of travelers who stopped to watch had gathered around.

”Abolitionists, huh?”

A scruffy-bearded uncle exclaimed with a full face of nostalgia, ”I recall the debate when I was young, and I didn’t think it would still be happening now. How I miss those days.”

”Professor Liu of Qingfeng University is right; the death penalty for citizens is indeed too barbaric. It’s time for a change.”

A young and beautiful woman agreed.

”Change what?!”

”Scum deserves to die; don’t talk to me about reform.”

Immediately, someone retorted, also drawing a chorus of agreement, mostly from older travelers.

”I can’t believe you all are so heartless...”

Both sides started arguing there, each holding firm to their opinions, the argument growing quite fierce.

Jiang Ding didn’t linger to watch any longer and headed towards Qingfeng University.

The Divine Tree of Heaven engulfing the skies once again filled the entire view, with its branches reaching into the starry heavens, massive amounts of Heavenly Earth Spiritual Qi breathing in and circulating throughout the planet, with numerous floating continents resting upon the branches and trunks.

A pale blue light, merely a dot, flew into a floating island with a hundred-mile radius, where ninety-nine rivers crisscrossed and formed waterfalls at the edges, and landed within it.

He was right on schedule again.

It was time for the Chinese class, and various lights of escape gathered from all directions.

”Good morning, Dari Swordsman.”

”Good morning.”

He was greeted continuously along the way.

Jiang Ding searched for a moment before joining the escape lights of Jin Lingfeng and An Siyan.

”Jiang Ding, you’ve taken leave too often this year.”

An Siyan expressed her concern, ”Just because you’ve successfully switched cultivation methods doesn’t mean you’re completely worry-free. The ’Scripture’ level techniques of the Foundation Establishment Stage are still very difficult, and after graduation, it will be hard to find such a generous educational environment where Nascent Soul Immortals are always available to guide one’s cultivation.”

”You should take this opportunity to accumulate as much foundation as possible, so the inevitable solitary cultivation in the future won’t be so difficult.”

Indeed,

There are only twelve months in a year, and he had already taken nine months off, which was indeed a bit excessive.

”Could it be that you were so repressed in the first eight years that you’ve relaxed too much all at once?”

Jin Lingfeng asked curiously.

”There were indeed some matters at home, but they’ve been settled now.”

Jiang Ding thanked them for their concern and then talked about what he had encountered at the station.

If even such a reclusive cultivator like him could encounter it, it showed that it had already made a certain impact within Xianmen.

”Abolitionists, that’s nothing new,”

An Siyan commented nonchalantly, ”It’s not just this; there’s also the Extreme Equality Faction, advocating for equal pay for cultivators and mortals, the suppression of cultivators,

the Human Rights Faction, advocating for equal treatment of the Small World of Xianmen and Lanying Planet, that all natives should be considered as Fairy Gate Citizens of the Great Unity Faction,”

”The Retro Faction, yearning for the system of the Nine Great Immortal Sects, the separation of immortal and mortal... and so on, it’s quite a heated argument.”

”In terms of public opinion, the Immortal Sect is quite tolerant; everything exists here. Aside from the extreme egalitarian faction and the traditionalists, other factions can’t be said to be entirely without reason—they have their own coherent theories.”

”Such heresies! Where is the reason in that!”

Jin Lingfeng was extremely displeased and retorted, ”Take the Datong faction, for example. The Immortal Sects were created by our forebears through a struggle to the death, step by step, in a sea of blood. Why should we share citizenship with the natives just because of their laughable Spiritual Root talent?”

”What’s it to us?”

”You’re right.”

An Siyan did not argue, but with a shrug, he gestured to Jiang Ding.

The example was right before their eyes.

Jiang Ding nodded.

After flying for a while, the three of them arrived at the classroom. Immortal Dinghai’s clone had been waiting for some time already. As the bell signaling the beginning of class rang, he slowly began:

”Today, we will discuss the operation of the Elixir Field and the ’Qi Sea’ magical power...”

...

Jinlingshan Mountain.

Three months had passed, and the Spirit Wheat sprouted from the soil, lush and luxuriant, spreading over the mountaintop. When the breeze blew, waves of green rolled across the landscape, carrying the faint, refreshing fragrance of plants.

Under a metallic blue-gold large tree, Jiang Ding took out a jade bottle, within which one could vaguely see the scalding liquid gold.

[Gold Melt Fruit Sword Tempering Liquid]

[Effect: Made primarily from Second Order Gold Melt Fruit, this sword-tempering spirit liquid can make a Spirit Sword sharper through long-term tempering. It should be noted that this substance is highly corrosive and should not be kept within reach of children and low-level cultivators. Using too much on a low-grade Spirit Sword may cause damage.]

This was what he had ordered from an Elixir Pharmacy online three months ago, and it had arrived today.

”Go!”

With a thought, Jiang Ding withdrew a drop of the scalding pure gold liquid and controlled it to fall onto a leaf of the blue-gold large tree.

The moment the pure gold liquid touched the leaf, it rapidly spread out, instantly covering every part of the tree, each leaf, each piece of bark, adding a thin golden film to it.

Sizzling...

At the same time, the sound of metal corroding was heard, and his Divine Soul experienced a stabbing pain.

Naturally, it wasn’t the Taiqing Flying Sword that was being corroded, but rather the Sword Light that was constantly present on it was being corrupted. The two were contending against each other, refining.

Jiang Ding focused his mind.

He sensed every battleground of refinement, directing the same amount of Sword Light to clash against the Gold Melt Spirit Liquid, maximizing its effect.

Several hours later, all of the Gold Melt Spirit Liquid was neutralized.

”Today’s work is done.”

Jiang Ding let out a sigh of relief, feeling a sense of depletion in his Divine Soul.

After resting for a moment, he pulled over a metallic blue branch and inspected it closely.

The edges of the leaves had gained a faint layer of golden aura at some point, so faint that it seemed to disappear if one wasn’t paying attention, but it was indeed there.

Jiang Ding had obtained a piece of First-order spirit iron ore.

It was sent up by Han Lin and others every month, transferred to the mountaintop through a formation. Besides that, there were also various lower-grade Spiritual Plants, Spirit Beasts, Spirit Insects, and so on.

Of course, most abundant were the countless ordinary plants, beasts, insects, and various non-spiritual ores, with practically the entire force of Yue Country’s ordinary society mobilized to participate in this matter.

The collected specimens piled up into mountains, requiring several Storage Bags to carry off.

These items brought Jiang Ding tens of thousands of library credits every month!

And it seemed that it could continue for a while, until most of the easily collectable specimens were gathered, and then the speed of gaining library credits would suddenly slow down.

Jiang Ding estimated,

All the unknown flora and fauna of Yue Country combined would likely add several million library credits to his account!

This was the charisma of exploring other worlds!

He placed the First-order spirit iron ore at the edge of the leaf.

Hiss!

The blue leaf rotated slightly, cutting a deep gap into the spirit iron ore without actually touching the leaf itself, but purely through the thin layer of golden Sword Light on its surface.

”Not bad.”

Jiang Ding nodded in satisfaction.

With this batch of Gold Melt Fruit used up, he should be able to add a layer of Second Order sharpness to the Taiqing Flying Sword, enhancing his strength just a bit more.

”And there’s this...”

He picked up another jade bottle, covered in runes and sealed tightly. Inside was a drop of gray metallic liquid, clearly visible, emitting strands of the heavy aura of Primordial Magnet.

It was none other than the Fourth Order material, the Fusion Magnetic Crystal Core, extracted from the heartblood magic tool of true disciples of Xuanwu Heavenly Palace!

An Artifact Refiner of Nascent Soul stage had set to work, and after nine years, he had finally succeeded.