Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

In the boundless radiance that enveloped the Sun Abyss,

Jiang Ding sat cross-legged under a tree.

With every breath, spiritual energy and Great Sun Essence from within a radius of twelve hundred kilometers surged towards him, pouring into his body and dispersing into his meridians and Elixir Field.

After layers of purification and transformation, it turned into minute droplets of mana, forging a Dao Foundation so profound that ordinary Nascent Soul Monks could hardly fathom, thus he had forsaken rapid advancements in his cultivation base.

If a Taoist disciple were to pursue cultivation speed with all his might, it would be tremendously terrifying.

In the blink of an eye, or the time of one seclusion, he could have progressed from your equal to a senior, and not just any senior, but a powerful one with a solid foundation.

However, no Taoist disciple would do so.

They lack neither resources, nor safety; their positions are extremely stable, facing no challenges that require desperate haste.

Every one of their gazes is eternally fixed on Refining Nothingness and what lies beyond it.

Their Dao Foundations are all constructed to this standard, fearing even the slightest deviation.

Who would dare let their Dao Foundation have any minor flaw? Even if it significantly advanced his cultivation, it would inevitably forge an unrelenting and deep-seated enmity.

Even the progeny of those in Refining Nothingness are no exceptions, they can only bury the hatred deep in their hearts.

Yet, no matter how profound the foundation or slow the cultivation speed, there will always be a limit.

At that moment, as the Spiritual Energy and Great Sun Essence surged and were transformed by the meridians of the Wan Hua Magnetic Element Scripture in the Nascent Soul Chapter, absorbed and finally became a thread of mana, infused with the essences of electromagnetic, searing, annihilating, sharp energy.

This single thread was enough to sever a mountain peak.

Drip!

The droplet of mana fell into the Elixir Field, rippling outwards in circles as if penetrating space, spreading far and wide.

A feeling of fullness pervaded Jiang Ding’s Elixir Field.

This was the bottleneck that all cultivators dreaded hearing about.

Every cultivator would encounter it more or less in their lifetime, because of various different factors such as innate talent, cultivation methods, resources, and luck.

”Finally, I’ve reached the limit of the early stages of the Nascent Soul...”

Jiang Ding opened his eyes, a flash of gilded color fleeting.

”Then let’s break through.”

Jiang Ding’s Divine Sense moved.

Clang!

The Sea of Consciousness in the Elixir Field like Mirror Lake stirred up waves, turning into a Bluegold Longsword, condensing an undying will of the Sword Dao. The radiance at the sword tip was dazzling, sharpness boundless, intimidating to behold.

This mana-formed longsword gently stabbed upwards, touching the bottleneck of the Elixir Field.

Crack!

The moment it touched, the transparent, invisible bottleneck centered around the sword tip showed dense, black cracks like a spider web.

Just like that, an extremely stubborn bottleneck, fused with the cultivator’s divine soul and mana, which even seizing rebirth could not rid of, shattered into dust, vanishing into thin air.

The Wan Hua Magnetic Primordial Power that filled one-third of the Elixir Field faced no more obstacles and tumbled into a higher realm.

Jiang Ding’s aura also climbed incrementally, suddenly skyrocketing for a long time before stabilizing, advancing to a brand-new realm.

Mid-stage of Nascent Soul,

Accomplished!

”Sixteen years old!”

”Mid-stage of Nascent Soul!”

Jiang Ding opened his eyes, exhilarated, ”Tell me, who in the world is stronger than this Heavenly Monarch?”

”No one! No more!”

”Even the True Immortal’s Child is like me, no, the True Immortal in his youth must have been like me!”

”Hahahaha!”

He laughed heartily without any care, his voice echoing for miles.

Yueling: ”...”

Is this really the Great Sun Swordsman?

Has something gone wrong?

The Great Sun Flying Sword didn’t, really make a mistake, did it?

Yueling checked the state of the Great Sun Flying Sword once more.

She suspected she had been deceived by some secret technique before, which caused the misunderstanding.

This wasn’t impossible, as the Eastern Devil School always had a way to produce strange magic.

”Now, it’s time to get to work!”

Jiang Ding’s laughter ceased, his eyes emitting strands of crimson light: ”Xi Ping’an, is that right?”

”Xu Yan, is that right?”

”Xu Jianian, is that right?”

”Back when this Heavenly Monarch was naive, innocent, adorable, kind-hearted, and magnanimous, you took advantage to bully me. Now—”

”The time for retribution has arrived!”

”My magnanimity as a Heavenly Monarch is well known across domains.”

”This is not a personal vendetta, but a quest for peace between domains, a mission carried out on heaven’s behalf!”

Indeed.

This was the Dari Swordsman.

Yueling stopped the repetitive checking of the Great Sun Flying Sword, no longer inspecting it, feeling a deeply familiar, déjà vu-like sensation in her heart.

”Who first?”

”To secure the outside, you must first secure the inside, you first, Xu Yan.”

”Time for a tour of Xu Jiezhong!”

Jiang Ding’s eyes, previously glowing red, gradually dimmed to his usual adorable appearance. He took out his phone to call the Sun Extinguisher Heavenly Monarch.

”...beep...beep...”

He waited a moment.

”...beep beep beep... beep beep beep...”

”What’s going on? Why isn’t the Sun Extinguisher Heavenly Monarch answering the phone?”

Jiang Ding showed a puzzled expression and called again.

He dialed several times in a row, all with the same result: no answer.

”Is he in seclusion or something?”

After a few more unsuccessful tries, Jiang Ding switched numbers and called the Canghai Heavenly Monarch.

”Jiang Ding, what’s the matter?”

This time the call connected smoothly after a few rings.

”Elder Canghai, weren’t we supposed to go on a tour of Xu Jiezhong? Why didn’t anyone tell me? Did you go without me?”

Jiang Ding expressed his dissatisfaction.

”Oh!”

”I forgot!”

The Canghai Heavenly Monarch suddenly realized, smacked his thigh, and said, ”This matter is being handled by my elder brother. He’s been coordinating people for years, involving Yuan, seizing this opportunity amidst much competition. We’ve all been waiting for his word.”

”But recently, my elder brother...”

”Ahem!”

The Canghai Heavenly Monarch coughed, slightly embarrassed.

After pondering a moment, and considering the call was between familiar people, he felt less awkward: ”Recently, my brother got into a fight and ended up incarcerated; it’ll be two years before he can get out.”

”If you want to see him, you can only do so at the end of the month, on the thirtieth, or over the phone then too.”

”In February, it would be on the twenty-seventh or twenty-eighth, and there might be an extra visitation opportunity during the national holidays.”

The Canghai Heavenly Monarch seemed familiar with the routine.

”The Senior Mieri is incarcerated again?”

”Alright then, two years it is.”

Jiang Ding, somewhat disappointed, chatted a bit more with the Canghai Heavenly Monarch then hung up the phone.

Then,

he sealed the peeking Yueling away.

The next moment, harnessing the power of the Heavenly Pond, he left behind a crystal shell at his original location, and both the Great Sun Heavenly Pond and Jiang Ding disappeared from the tracks.

...

In a certain part of the Soulless Desert.

A young man in blue apparel appeared out of thin air, instantly concealed himself, and swept the surrounding space and ground with a Divine Sense far greater than that of many Nascent Soul Cultivators, meticulously checking every inch.

”No traces left behind.”

”No creatures have been here in a hundred years.”

”Xi Ping’an, you too, have failed! Not even finding this place, I am quite disappointed.”

Jiang Ding hummed lightly.

He delved his Divine Sense into his Sea of Consciousness to check on the changes within the Tu Shan Maiden Corps over the past seventy years.

In the Sea of Consciousness, scattered dots spread across, of the original one hundred and eighty thousand maids, only about eighty thousand remained, with more than twenty thousand gone.

Maybe their lifespan had ended, as most were Foundation-building Cultivators and seventy years was a long time; others might have died in skirmishes and battles, given that the Northern Plains Immortal Cultivation World was far from peaceful.

The number of Nascent Soul maids was nineteen.

”Oh?”

Jiang Ding was somewhat surprised.

It seemed that the Tu Shan Maiden Corps had strictly adhered to their orders to stay hidden.

Furthermore, Xi Ping’an must not have expended much effort attacking the Tu Shan Maidens, or else the number of Nascent Soul Cultivators wouldn’t be so high.