Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

Tushan Central Court’s influence has started spreading throughout various parts of the West Desert.

The priority has naturally been the construction of First, Second, and Third Level teleportation Formations that depend on the Spiritual Veins in different areas.

Third Level teleportation Formations are short-distance formations meant for within a thousand kilometers and are generally used by low to mid-ranking Cultivators.

Second Level teleportation Formations encompass ranges from three thousand kilometers to thirty thousand kilometers.

First Level teleportation Formations are Cross-Domain Teleportation Arrays that enable personnel transfer from the West Desert to the Northern Plains. These can only be established with the support of a Fifth Order Spiritual Vein and demand high usage fees as well as strict approvals - generally, only Nascent Soul Monks and above can use these.

Currently, Tushan Central Court is constructing Second and Third Level teleportation Formations. As for the First Level Formation, Jiang Ding personally takes charge, using the Formation instruments pre-made by the Xianmen Sect, and sets them up at the Great Snow Mountain Sacred Land.

The cost of building these teleportation Formations across different locations is extravagant, requiring over fifty years’ worth of tax revenue from the entire Northern Plains.

But this is necessary.

It represents Tushan Central Court’s tangible control over the West Desert.

Without these teleportation Formations, it would take a Cultivator army from the Northern Plains to the West Desert decades just to march, not to mention the decades more required to search and track down enemies. By the time they returned, a century might well have passed.

By then, the opportunity would have long been lost.

Under such circumstances, so-called rule is out of the question, and the only feasible action is to enact a substantive enfeoffment, appointing Nascent Soul Monks to manage various regions in a system where they merely need to submit their taxes, and enforcing Tushan Law only perfunctorily.

Jiang Ding naturally could not accept this.

Poor transport not only makes governance challenging but also hinders the exchange of goods and technology. Though both the Northern Plains and the West Desert are nominally under Tushan Central Court’s administration, geographical constraints have effectively made them two independent economies, unable to capitalize on the advantages of Immortal Tao industry.

This would substantially reduce his fortune.

Even the feudal sects of the Immortal Path, brutal as they are in their extortion, couldn’t squeeze out much profit, and since he is a benevolent and kind person, he gains even less.

Thus, it is essential to establish an Immortal Tao Industry in this Small World, even if it’s just initially relying on the basic processing industries under the Immortal Path system.

Otherwise, there’s no point in discussing any grand blueprints or plans.

”Set!”

Jiang Ding stood atop the Great Snow Mountain, on a bird’s nest as large as a mountain, constructed and woven from various mysterious ice with spiritual properties.

Manipulating the magic techniques in his hands, Formation instruments like large cauldrons and copper nails flew in all directions - stabilizing the earth’s veins, organizing the Spiritual Energy, and dividing yin and yang.

There weren’t many Formation instruments - just tens of thousands, a far cry from the several millions of various orders that the Liudao Sect used when setting up formations.

This was because Jiang Ding’s requirements were not high.

Over several months, Jiang Ding had meticulously studied the Mountain Suppressing Ice Soul Divine Light Formation of the Western Desert Demon Race Dynasty and found it rather straightforward. Thus, he modified it a bit, ordered a batch of Formation instruments from the Xianmen Sect, and got to work building it himself, now approaching the final steps.

Buzz!

As the last Ice Crystal cauldron fell into place, the Spiritual Energy and earth veins across tens of thousands of kilometers stabilized, and intricate Array Patterns spread in all directions.

”Fifth Grade Low-Tier, Ice Soul Divine Light Sword Formation!”

”Uh, it’s a bit unconventional; it seems worse than the original Ice Soul Divine Light Formation of the Western Desert Demon Race Dynasty...”

With his Divine Sense and Sword Intent scanning all around, Jiang Ding scrutinized carefully, his face flushing slightly.

He had previously mocked the formation heritage of the Ice Phoenix Clan, calling it clumsy and laughable, typical of the ignorant and barbaric Demon Race, only suitable for Body Refinement, incapable of such delicate work.

Unexpectedly, his own hands-on attempt turned out even worse!

”This absolutely isn’t a problem with my Formation Dao skills!”

Jiang Ding’s face flushed briefly before quickly disappearing, as he asserted confidently, ”This plan is the most cost-effective, just over a billion Low-grade Spirit Stones, and we have a usable Fifth Grade Low-Tier Formation.”

”Such thriftiness, such frugality, it’s simply genius design!”

”This Formation excels in cost control. Common people might misunderstand, but I can’t be bothered to argue with them…”

Jiang Ding rambled on, uttering phrases that were difficult to comprehend.

After handling the affairs, Jiang Ding looked around and tossed out a Jade Sword, which landed in the core of the formation.

This was a Fourth Grade Spirit Sword imbued with a strand of his Divine Sense, containing essential memories. It was meant to oversee the Great Snow Mountain Sacred Land and control the Great Snow Mountain Formation when necessary, much like how the previous generation’s Great Sun Sword Disciple Mingguangzi had left a strand of Divine Sense in the Great Sun Sword Sect.

With this strand of Divine Sense in the Jade Sword coupled with the Fifth Grade Low-Tier Ice Soul Sword Formation, it could reasonably handle an Early Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator, at least without being defeated.

This was sufficient.

Raising the standard further wasn’t impossible but would result in losses, violating the principle of prioritizing economic construction in the Immortal Dao.

”This mountain peak’s core contains a Fifth-Order Spiritual Vein. It can’t be wasted; we need to establish a Fifth Grade Spiritual Medicine Garden, Spirit Beast Garden, and the like…”

Jiang Ding, having suffered through hard times, was very thrifty.

He issued an order to the Agriculture Sect to handle it.

Speaking of which, following the conquest of the Western Desert Demon Race Dynasty, Tushan Central Court had gathered quite a few Spirit Plant Demonic Beasts such as Tree Demons, Flower Demons, Ginseng Demons, and Grass Demons.

Those that ate humans were naturally executed; those that didn’t were mostly integrated into the Agriculture Sect, under the Nine Elements Spiritual Ginseng doll, the master of the Agriculture Sect. They were quite skilled in cultivating Spiritual Plants.

The Agriculture Sect Master Chun San Wa confidently told Jiang Ding that with these elite reinforcements, the agricultural output of the Northern Plains would increase by at least twenty percent next year, and with the cultivation of Agriculture Sect’s Mana Techniques by these Spirit Plant Demonic Beasts, the yield would increase even more.

These Spirit Plant Demonic Beasts had a special knack in this area.

Not neglecting the tax fundamentals of agriculture, Jiang Ding pulled out relevant intelligence for detailed study.

Currently, most Spirit Plant Demonic Beasts were loyal to Tushan Central Court, with no need to wait generations for a clean slate.

In the Western Desert Demon Race Dynasty, the ruling clans were the Ice Phoenix Clan and the Six Great Royal Clans, with numerous Spirit Plant Demonic Beasts relegated to the peripheries.

Being on the margins in such a survival-of-the-fittest power like the Western Desert Demon Race Dynasty was terrifying.

Many demon royal families didn’t care whether you were a member of the Demon Race or not. In their eyes, the numerous Spirit Plant Demonic Beasts were no different from the Human Race, mere blood and flesh slaves and sometimes even more delicious. Being eaten alive was common.

’Demon Race,’ this racial identity was truly too illusory.

No royal demon would consider weak demons like Pig Demons and Grass Demons as their kind, or part of the same race; they were just food on the plate, nothing more.

The racial contradictions within the Demon Race were immense, not much less than those among the Human Race.

Now, these Spirit Plant Demonic Beasts had joined Tushan Central Court and enjoyed the same treatment as cultivators, believing they had arrived in paradise.

”Take note,”

”The Agriculture Sect must pay attention to the cultivation of Human Race agricultural cultivators, ensuring that at least fifty percent of agricultural talents are from the Human Race.”

Jiang Ding issued this directive.

This wasn’t racial discrimination—well, it was.

Tushan Central Court had to ensure that the Human Race wasn’t controlled by others in all areas like agriculture and Artifact Refining; other races’ cultivators could only gild the lily. This was a principle.

Moreover, just as with combat talents, humans were weak at the outset in agricultural mana techniques compared to Spirit Plant Demonic Beasts, but with learning, as talents emerged and techniques improved, they could surpass the limits of Spirit Plant Demonic Beasts.

As long as cultivators emerged as agricultural elites, the human agricultural technique’s upper limits would be much higher than those of these demon beasts.

Of course, should powerful beings like Phoenixes or Azure Dragons with Demonic Divine Beast bloodlines emerge, it would be different.

Their heights might only be matched by the top elites of humanity born in the Endless World. It was nearly impossible for a human elite to reach such heights in one world.

Jiang Ding busied himself, spending some time handling the political affairs of the Western Desert.

Once he confirmed that the rule of Tushan in the Western Desert had initially stabilized, he stepped into the Ice Soul Sword Formation’s center onto the Cross-Domain Teleportation Array, choosing the direction of the East Sea. No corresponding formation was set up, so it was a random teleportation.

”East Sea,”

”Xi Ping’an, this is my East Sea…”

Jiang Ding muttered to himself as he disappeared in the teleportation light.