Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

In the room.

Jiang Ding gently stroked the over two-meter-long, heavy gun case, his nose seemingly detecting the scent of gun oil.

He opened it.

A pitch-black heavy machine gun with a metallic luster lay inside, its barrel’s array patterns faintly visible, emitting a silent deterrence.

Model 89 heavy machine gun.

Made of N2702 spell-breaking alloy, the barrel engraved with half magic tool runes, equipped with a Falcon-1 scope, caliber 12.5mm, total length 2140mm, total weight 125KG, theoretical rate of fire 600 rounds per minute, effective range 5 kilometers, capable of piercing the conventional shields of cultivators at the ninth level of Qi practicing at that distance.

Another ammunition box at his side was also opened, with six linked belts neatly stacked.

Tatata!

After arranging the linked belts, he pulled the bolt, the six belts crisscrossed over his chest and back, Jiang Ding hefted the heavy machine gun, and his figure disappeared from the room.

By the deep pool,

Jiang Ding stomped heavily on the ground, his figure soared up to the treetops, forcibly bending the branches into an arc, almost to the point of breaking.

”Adding nearly two hundred kilograms, not quite getting used to it.”

Jiang Ding moved through the treetops with his movement technique, his steps uneven, even the constantly maintained Great Achievement-Level Minor Convergence Technique seemed unstable.

After moving for over a dozen steps, he gradually returned to normal, his movement once again became graceful, only slower.

Looking back at the pool, all that could be seen was a stretch of mountainous jungle, indistinct from the surroundings.

”A decent escape route.”

Jiang Ding thought to himself.

His movement was extremely fast, and after dozens of minutes, he reached a secluded highland about four kilometers from Jindao School, set up the heavy machine gun, and meticulously camouflaged the barrel with branches and leaves.

The Art of Small Concealment fully deployed, optical camouflage activated, he lay prone on the ground.

Even from several meters away, nothing could be spotted.

Jiang Ding silently operated ”Diamond Seal” and ”Thousand Threads Guide,” his hand on the trigger, his right eye against the Falcon-1 scope, peering through to the Blood Pool beside Ancestor Temple at Jindaoshan Mountain.

A gaunt old man stood near the Blood Pool, occasionally standing up to look around.

Unaware of the targeting from four kilometers away.

How could he sense it, when the distance exceeded the range of his Divine Sense by more than four hundred times?

The crosshair of the scope aligned several times with the emaciated old man’s chest before shifting away.

”Wait a bit longer,”

Jiang Ding muttered to himself, his gaze resting in the direction of Yuejing.

”Should wait at least until the man in black and that old Daoist who had shown up near Qixuan Secret Cave start fighting and can’t return in short order to provide backup. That will be the safest approach.”

”There’s plenty of time; no need to rush.”

...

Yuejing.

Below the towering city walls, over a hundred trebuchets groaned, massive stones the size of millstones and pots of flammable oil continuously smashed against the walls. Each impact killed or maimed a dozen people at the site, their blood and flesh scattering, showcasing precision and lethality far beyond what regular craftspeople could achieve.

”Fire!”

On the city walls, sounds of trebuchets cutting the wooden ropes also emerged, the attacking soldiers falling into the pit of rocks and flames.

”Kill!”

”The chance to become a Marquis from a commoner is today!”

```

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”Purge the traitors and secure the emperor’s side!”

As the trebuchets stopped firing for a brief moment, the heavily armored soldiers of the Zhendong army, shouldering ladders and following siege towers that resembled giant beasts, advanced toward the fortifications, their eyes a bloody red, like ghosts or beasts.

”Fire!”

A shout came from atop the city walls, and a hail of arrows was released. Many soldiers, despite their heavy armor, were pierced through and fell to the ground.

At the same time, expert archers among the soldiers at the bottom of the walls bent their bows and aimed to kill, and one by one the royal soldiers on the walls screamed and died, their lives withering away like grass and leaves.

Thud!

After a day and night of bloody battle, there were finally siege ladders and towers set against the city walls, escalading the siege to an even more horrific level as casualties soared.

”Charge up! Gold, silver, treasures, and beauties, everything you could want!”

”Decapitate any who retreat!”

Many officers from the Wolf God Cult, who also served as military leaders, bellowed and occasionally executed retreating soldiers with their swords, showing through action that the only chance for survival lay ahead, while retreat meant certain death!

In the midst of relentless slaughter, Masters of Great Achievement of Inner Qi began to ascend the city walls, cutting swathes through the defenders and creating spaces for the heavily armored soldiers to continue reaching the ramparts unceasingly.

Others circled around to assassinate officers or spread fires and chaos—the city walls soon descended into turmoil.

Atop a tall building by the city walls, there was deathly silence, and one’s breath could be heard.

”Zhendong Marquis and the Wolf God Cult, that’s all they have, the same old tactics.”

A muscular general clad in a kingly robe pointed at the city walls and laughed.

The wild Xiantian aura around him was so intense that it suffocated those nearby.

A royal Xiantian, ’King Chen’ Chen Xin!

Together with the old emperor and the deceased Mountain King Chen Wu, these three were the only known Xiantian in the royal family.

”Golden Armor Guard!”

”Present!”

Seven commanders of the Golden Armor Guard knelt on one knee, each at the peak of the Internal Qi Realm.

The Golden Armor Guard, the royal family’s personal troops comprising over seven hundred members, were all in the Internal Qi Realm, carefully selected from families of clear reputation and supported by the royal family’s exhaustive search for wealth throughout the land.

They were known as the strongest army in the world!

”Go, and slaughter all the traitors on the city walls,” ordered King Chen Chen Xin coldly.

”Yes, sir!”

The seven commanders of the Golden Armor Guard led their troops away.

Seven commanders, transforming into seven golden arrowheads, charged straight into the battlefield. Sweeping through everything in their path, the Zhendong soldiers and the Wolf God Cult disciples on the city walls were decimated, and a large area was cleared in no time.

After mere moments, the significant gains that the Zhendong army had achieved at the cost of tens of thousands of lives were wiped out, and no matter how the fleeing soldiers were cut down, their retreat could not be stopped.

The battlefield fell silent,

And everyone looked on in terror at the Golden Armor Guards, their bodies drenched in blood, yet themselves barely harmed.

”His ancestors were mere low-ranking generals under the Great Ancestor, and the Wolf God Cult is nothing but lowly heretics that can’t show their faces in public,” scoffed King Chen Chen Xin, everything within his expectations. He pointed at the great Zhendong banner and said, ”Does Tang Wang really think that the rabble he’s cobbled together from all corners could achieve anything? If not for the six major factions and the Green... Hmph!”

Below,

The Zhendong army camp was in chaos, with the soldiers’ morale plummeting. Many conscripted soldiers were already taking advantage of the turmoil to flee.

”How could this be possible? How?”

In the heart of the camp, surrounded by layers of guards, Tang Wang looked at the overwhelming golden figures, his hands and feet deathly cold.

He had thought that the three-hundred-year-old dynasty must have inevitably decayed; just a slight push at its gates, and the realm would change hands. Yet, he hadn’t expected it to retain such a formidable force.

```

If it were on the plains outside the city, aided by a Xiantian general and thousands of elite cavalry, breaking through an army of a hundred thousand would be a trifling matter!

Thinking about the consequences of failure, he couldn’t help but shiver all over.

”Immortal teacher...”

Tang Wang looked pleadingly towards the robed figure beside him but received no response.

Few noticed that under the city wall, strands of fresh blood were following along the base of the wall, flowing towards an unknown destination.

...

In the Imperial Palace.

”Immortal teacher, the real peril to my dynasty doesn’t come from below, but from above.”

The old emperor, dressed in a Nine Dragons Golden Robe, gave a formal bow to the amiable Daoist opposite him: ”As long as Qingniugong, Prajna Temple, and the six major factions don’t wantonly seize royal power or extort wealth violently, my dynasty will have at least a century’s lifespan. It is only after we old folks are gone that the dynasty will truly begin to decline.”

”Your Majesty jests. When it comes to extortion and harming the people, who can surpass the imperial relatives and the offspring of meritorious officials?”

A gaunt-looking old Daoist gently shook his head, disagreeing with the words of the old emperor.

He was none other than the number one master of the world below the heavens, Daoist Qing!

”Amitabha! The monks of Prajna Temple do not partake in worldly possessions!”

A frugal old monk chanted the Buddha’s name softly.

He was Master Ku Shi of Prajna Temple!

These two individuals were martial arts masters comparable to peak Qi cultivators at close range, the dream and goal that countless people in Jianghu strove for their whole lives.

”Heh heh!”

All the old emperor did was sneer.

”So you’re saying Yuejing won’t be breached?”

The amiable old Daoist asked, uninterested in their dispute.

”Impregnable like a golden soup!”

The old emperor stated emphatically.

”As long as the masters from Qingniugong and the six major factions don’t intervene, the imperial army can sweep the world!”

”Rest assured on that matter.”

The amiable old Daoist smiled slightly: ”I’ve promised them each a Longevity Pill for mortals and the chance to test for a Spiritual Root thirty times, with the opportunity to join my Qiyu Sect. I’ve also imposed a restraint on them that is fail-proof. Even if the Wolf God Cult and the Southern Eighteenth Demon Sect’s Xiantian masters take action, it will be to no avail.”

”With that, I thank the immortal teacher!”

The old emperor and Daoist Qing both showed delight, clearly promised even more for their aid.

At night.

Having won the battle and rewarded the troops, the city was filled with joy and high morale, which was even evident within the military camps. King Chen Chen Wang, having received the news from the palace, was overjoyed and broke his usual restraint by drinking a little wine and hosting a banquet for his trusted generals.

”Gentlemen, after this battle, I will surely bestow great honors on heroes. Do not blame me, your king, for not fighting for your merits if you slack off during the battle.”

”Haha, Your Highness Prince Chen, rest assured, we will surely...”

A rugged military general laughed heartily.

”Who’s there! Halt!”

”Ah!”

Just then, a series of continuous screams came from outside the tent, causing the faces of everyone present to change. They each grabbed their weapons and rushed outside.

”You...”

Kin Chen, Chen Xin, felt a sinking feeling when he saw who had come.

’Ten Flower Sword Fairy’ Wan Qianyu!

Following her were the sect leaders of the four major factions, the White Bone Blade Evil, and four other great heroes from among the eight famed martial experts, plus five Xiantian protectors of the teachings from the Wolf God Cult and the Southern Eighteenth Demon Sect.

Fourteen Xiantians!

All to slay him alone—it was quite the honor!

”It’s fine if you don’t want the five Longevity Pills, but aren’t you afraid of Master Li’s restraint? Surrender now, and I can testify on your behalf to the immortal teacher that this was all a ploy to lure the enemy!”

Chen Xin looked to Wan Qianyu and the leaders of the other five sects with one last flicker of hope.

Only they, with influence throughout the royal court and disciples among the civil and military officials, could bring people here silently and strike without alerting the army beforehand.

”Qingyi Building killed my son.”

Wan Qianyu slowly drew her longsword, her murderous intent chilling: ”Qiyu Sect, with Qingyi and Tianji buildings, manipulates the world. I wish to take one or two heads of their disciples to comfort my son in the netherworld, so he won’t be lonely!”

”And the four of you...”

Chen Xin then looked to the leaders of the four major sects.

”Accept your fate, why say so much!”

The White Bone Blade Evil, one of the eight great heroes, had no patience for such delay, striking with his blade and igniting black flames along its edge.

Fourteen Xiantian blades and sword Qi descended in unison.

...

In the military camp,

The robed figure showed a hint of a smile.

”Order the army to attack the city.”

”What?”

Tang Wang was stunned, he knew the ways of war and hesitated: ”Immortal teacher, it’s the dead of night, the enemy...”

”Attack the city.”

The robed figure glanced at him again.

Tang Wang felt as though he had fallen into an icy abyss, a chill running through him.

He had no doubt that if he spoke out of turn again, he would be beheaded immediately. To this person, his status as a lord, even the future emperor, was no different from that of a street dog.

”Order the attack on the city!”

Tang Wang bellowed.

The Zhendong army soldiers reluctantly set out to assault the city, grumbling as they went, but to their surprise, they encountered almost no resistance and easily slaughtered their way into the city, their morale skyrocketing.

”Kill!”

One by one, the soldiers and officers went on a mad rush into the city, blood flowing like rivers.

The robed figure walked alone in the city.

The battling soldiers on both sides seemed not to see him, until he stopped a benevolent old Daoist outside the Imperial Palace and revealed a trace of killing intent.

”Hand over the Golden Stone Foundation Building Pill.”

...

Bang!

Several kilometers away from Jindaoshan Mountain, Jiang Ding pulled the trigger, launching the first Half Magic Tool machine gun bullet.