Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

In the sunlight,

Jiang Ding sat cross-legged, with his eyes closed, cultivating.

The Eaglet Qi circulated back and forth between the twelve primary meridians and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, no longer confined to a single channel but simultaneously tempering 560 tiny meridians throughout his body.

Realm is the foundation of all martial arts techniques.

For years, dividing his Inner Energy into so many fractions had been an excellent exercise for him. In just over ten days, his precise control of firearms through the martial technique ”Thousand Threads Guide” had broken through from great mastery to perfection.

This was also the first martial technique he had cultivated to perfection.

Now that a portion of his Inner Energy could be divided into a thousand parts, the accuracy of anti-material sniper rifles would be significantly improved.

Despite his joy, there was also a sense of wistfulness.

He had been practicing the technique ”Thousand Threads Guide” since middle school, now six years, with progress sometimes fast and sometimes slow, but he always felt a bit of improvement.

But now, there was no room for advancement; no matter how he practiced or racked his brains, he could not make a breakthrough.

This martial technique had reached the limits envisioned by its creator.

Jiang Ding thought even further.

Now it was only a martial technique, but what if one day his fundamental cultivation method reached the creator’s limits? Would his cultivation base come to a permanent standstill?

”...What am I thinking about!”

Without dwelling on it, Jiang Ding laughed at himself.

A minor cultivator who hasn’t even reached the Qi cultivation stage, thinking about the limits of Xianmen’s Skill, was far too arrogant.

Besides ”Thousand Threads Guide,” the ”Diamond Seal” technique for maintaining firearms’ stability was also nearing perfection. With both techniques perfected, scoring the limit for a martial artist in the College Entrance Exam’s optional firearms course would not be a problem.

He routinely glanced at the Jindaoshan Mountain surveillance; everything was as usual.

Patriarch Jin Dao, Zhou Weitu, raged for a while after learning of his son Wei Xian’s death, frantically searching everywhere, naturally finding nothing, and now he spent most days inside Jindao School, rarely leaving.

From observation,

Jiang Ding noticed that it seemed as if everyone in Jindao School had been cast with some sort of mind-dazzling spell by the man in the black robe, making them oblivious to him but subconsciously doing things beneficial to the man, such as collecting living martial artists, Centennial Elixirs, Spiritual Materials, and other items, using very crafty methods.

Jiang Ding withdrew his gaze and looked at the small blue-gold tree in front of him.

The tree was entirely blue, with lush branches and leaves, as if cast from metal. In just over ten days, it had grown a bit taller, reaching over forty centimeters, with blue-gold roots resembling iron wires protruding from the drainage holes of the Spirit Gathering Flower Pot, reaching deep into the ground, seven to eight meters away.

Within a seven to eight meter radius, the sunlight was concentrated on its branches and trunk. The thin and elongated oval-shaped leaf edges were tinged with a slight red, resembling metal being forged in a furnace.

Indeed, with the noon sunlight concentrated in one area, the temperature easily rose above two thousand degrees, almost reaching the melting point of tungsten, hot enough to reduce bones to ashes.

Yet, the Cilan Spirit Tree, merged with a wooden sword, showed no unusual signs, and one could even hear the pleasant sound of a wind chime when the metallic leaves collided in the breeze.

”...The pot is a bit small...”

Jiang Ding’s gaze lingered on the mass of blue-gold roots that packed the drainage holes tightly, and he said with some headache.

Plans can’t keep up with changes; who would have thought that the wooden sword would continue to grow? The pot would soon be mismatched with the sword, bound to burst eventually. He needed to buy a new one soon.

The First-order Water Condensation Array that regulates humidity, the First-order Fire Gathering Array that controls temperature, and the First-order Spirit Gathering Array in the pot are all formation methods that greatly aid the growth of the sword.

The best option would be to purchase a premium Array Flag-type movable Formation Method, one that covers an entire area.

”The tree will grow taller and larger; the courtyard walls can conceal it for now, but they won’t manage if it grows any higher.”

”It’s best to have optical concealment, Divine Sense shielding, and, yes, the ones that help concentrate sunlight as well...”

Jiang Ding shook his head first upon hearing a series of demands.

”No money, no spirit coins.”

”Such a highly demanded custom formation method requires at least a thousand spirit coins. It’s simply unaffordable now. First, get the light-obscuring formation method and then talk about reserving an external formation interface.”

As Jiang Ding remembered the trade agreement with Chen Xi, he immediately became more cautious.

Even during his retreat for cultivation, he did not cut off all contact with the outside world. After restoring the wooden sword, he would occasionally conceal his presence and stroll outside, keeping abreast of the happenings in the Jianghu.

’Meteor Electric Sword’ Zhou Weitu, supported by various Xiantian masters, sent people frantically searching every mountain and cave hundreds of miles southeast of Yuejing. Guided by treasure maps, they inched closer and closer to the true location of the Qixuan Secret Cave.

One could imagine that if the Qixuan Secret Cave was truly discovered, major sects and Xiantian experts would inevitably erupt in a fierce and bloody struggle, drastically altering the landscape of the Jianghu and Yue Country.

”...However, this has nothing to do with me; neither the righteous nor the Demon Schools are good entities…” Jiang Ding gestured with his hand, and the blue-golden small tree stopped photosynthesizing. Its roots retracted, its crown and leaves shrank, and it transformed into a flying sword that flew into his sleeve. His figure flashed and disappeared without a trace.

...

Four o’clock in the afternoon.

New Year’s Eve.

Lights twinkled outside the windows, even the street lamps were adorned with lanterns featuring the Chinese character for ”blessing.” The air was filled with the scent of incense.

”Dingding, come here and deal with the pig’s head fur.”

Lin Wanqiu was busily preparing offerings like incense, fruits, candies, vintage wine, meat soup, and vegetable porridge in the kitchen, bustling about so much so that Jiang Yuan was even co-opted to help pick vegetables, neglecting the cartoons that were playing.

For New Year’s Eve, they were to visit her grandparents and join her uncle Lin Yong’s family, but only after offering sacrifices to the ancestors and setting off firecrackers at home could they leave.

There was a race against time, as they would need to busy themselves with the New Year’s Eve dinner once they arrived at her grandparents’ house.

”Okay, Mom.”

Jiang Ding responded and went to the kitchen, where indeed he saw an entire pig’s head in the sink, looking completely unprocessed.

He placed his hand on the pig’s head, and the slightly darker Inner Energy of the Eaglet Large Circle of Vital Energy flowed in through his fingertips.

Thin strands of Inner Energy, divided into thousands of parts, sharp as could be, instantly removed all the hair and dead skin from the pig’s head, leaving it clean and tender. The threads of Inner Energy then moved to the corners of the pig’s mouth, entering the teeth and tongue area, as well as deep inside the pig’s ears, performing a deep cleaning.

”Done, Mom. Should I scorch the skin?”

Jiang Ding asked uncertainly.

Although already clean, scorching the skin could make a difference in flavor. Perhaps the ancestors preferred the taste of the previous years.

”Ah, it’s done?”

Lin Wanqiu turned her head in surprise, only to see that the pig’s head’s skin was clean and fresh, its teeth white as if it had been ultrasonically cleaned.

Hadn’t he just come in for less than two seconds?

”Uh, I suppose so. That’s how Grandma taught me.”

”Okay.”

Jiang Ding then set up the blowtorch, ignited it, and scorched the pig’s skin until it was somewhat charred. He stopped, tapped with his finger, his Inner Energy surged out, and he scraped off the charred surface to reveal the toasted golden skin beneath. He then rinsed the skin with water and placed it in the large pot.

Next came chopping onions, green chili peppers, slaughtering chickens, and ducks, and plucking feathers. Whatever task he undertook, he could complete it with just a flick of his finger, with great efficiency.

”...so amazing...”

Jiang Yuan watched, astounded.