Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

Luofeng Slope,

On a not-so-high cliff, an elder with a wine-stained nose stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance.

”Reporting to Master Uncle Li, all the Ascend Immortal Posts have been sent out to the immortal successors on the Dragon and Phoenix List. Those who couldn’t be found in time have also been passed on to the substitute immortal successors,”

a young Taoist said respectfully.

”How did this batch of immortal successors fare? Were there any losses?”

”Because of the direct descendant of the Hua Xue Yu faction from Xuetu Hall, the war caused chaos, resulting in heavy losses for Tianji and Qingyi Building; thus, there were some minor losses among the immortal successors…”

Facing the increasingly cold gaze of the elder, the young Taoist swallowed nervously, not daring to continue.

”The secret cave prepared by Ancestor Zhongxing for future generations has been stolen.”

”Qingyi Building dared to assassinate the immortal successor ranked eleventh.”

The elder with the wine-stained nose let out a cold, mocking laugh, ”Zhou Kun, you are very smart; your master is also very smart, smart enough to think that others can’t see through his little tricks.”

Thud!

”Master Uncle, spare my life!”

Zhou Kun fell to his knees, sweat pouring coldly; he could neither deny nor dare to argue.

”Spare you for what? You and your master are from Uncle Master Zhou’s family line. You even dared to covet the tomb of Ancestor Zhongxing’s clothes. What could I possibly do to you?”

The elder with the wine-stained nose said coldly, flinging him away with a wave of his hand.

Zhou Kun slammed against a huge boulder, his protective shield shattered, blood spurting from his mouth as he knelt trembling on the ground.

”Li Ping, from now on, you will take over the guarding of Yue Country. Speak,”

the elder with the wine-stained nose turned to a plainly dressed Taoist whose cultivation was at the peak of Qi Practicing.

”Master Uncle Li, I’m afraid we may lose more than half of the immortal successors this time,”

the plainly dressed Taoist Li Ping said: ”Among the top ten immortal successors, the ones ranked ninth, ’Green God Sword’ Song Qing, eighth, ’Broken Bone’ Shen Tukuang, and seventh, ’Sea Splitting Saber’ Wei Xian have all died, and so has the eleventh-ranked Wan You, who even died at the hands of Qingyi Building, which is under our sect’s control.”

”More of those ranked behind the top ten have died; compared to the top ten, their ability to protect themselves is far worse, and a bit of uncontrollable turmoil leads to a massacre of them.”

”I have already started purging Qingyi Building and Tianjilou; within a decade, we should be able to recover.”

”Is this what you call ’minor losses’?”

Looking at Zhou Kun kneeling on the ground, the elder with the wine-stained nose sighed and said, ”In this battle, although the ancestor seriously injured the master of Xuetu Hall, Hua Xue, he himself was also gravely wounded. Uncle Master Liu of the Earth Pulse unfortunately entered the cycle of reincarnation, and Uncle Master Zhou of the Huomai was also seriously injured. The sect is now in peril.”

The plainly dressed Taoist and the surrounding Qiyu Sect disciples showed sorrow, remembering their brothers and sisters who had died in the recent war.

”Alright, it’s not like our sect has never faced such a situation before, and we’ve overcome it each time,”

the elder with the wine-stained nose said, waving his hand to interrupt their grief: ”Are there any immortal successors worthy of attention? During this crisis for our sect, if there are any talents, cultivating them well might help alleviate the decline of the sect.”

”The top four on the Dragon and Phoenix List are worthy of attention,”

the plainly dressed Taoist respectfully said: ”Fortunately for our sect, these four individuals all control the power of ’momentum’. Their divine souls are much stronger than ordinary people; at the very least, they are all top Three Spiritual Roots individuals, with a high possibility of being Dual Spiritual Roots, especially the top two, ’Banished Immortal’ Li Qingyun and ’Dream Eating Sword Demon’ Jiang Ding, who are likely top-level Dual Spiritual Roots.”

”However... there may be some problems with the first-ranked ’Dream Eating Sword Demon’ Jiang Ding. Without anyone reminding him, he has broken through to Xiantian.”

”What is Tianjilou doing!”

The elder with the wine-stained nose snorted coldly and then sighed: ”Well, that means there might be three with Dual Spiritual Roots; that’s not bad. There are more top immortal successors than in previous years.”

Soon after, the distinguished individuals who received the Ascend Immortal Posts arrived one by one and entered this place.

Jiang Ding, the monk, and Wu Makong stood quietly and hidden, waiting until most of the people had gone inside, and nothing had happened yet.

”Shall we go?”

Wu Makong inquired.

In his view, these two people were excellent human shields. Should any mishap occur, they might at least attract some pursuers, especially the one ranked first.

Jiang Ding remained silent, his figure flashed, and he crossed through the woods to enter the ordinary Luofeng Slope.

At that moment, heaven and earth transformed.

The ordinary low hill disappeared, and a stream flowed by, flowers bloomed, white mist swirled, rendering a scene of thriving life and fragrant nature.

Yet, outside it was clearly autumn!

”A scene of immortal splendor!”

”Truly the methods of immortals are unfathomable like gods and ghosts!”

Monk Fa Zheng and Wu Makong also walked in, exclaiming in amazement, their eyes burning with an unmatched fervor, void of the hesitation that had been there before.

’A First Order Constant Temperature Formation, a First-order Optical Illusion Formation, a First-order Water Condensation Array...’

’Of course, the most important is the presence of a first-order medium grade Spiritual Vein and a First-order Spirit Gathering Array.’

Jiang Ding walked among the chirping birds and fragrant flowers.

At every step, a different view, with each placement of rock and blossom containing a mystery, a sight to behold that was very comfortable, in harmony with heavens and man.

After a few steps, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a spacious grassland.

People were already here, nearly a hundred.

Some were anxious, pacing back and forth, while others sat cross-legged in calm confidence, absorbed in cultivation - each one unique.

All were seventeen or eighteen years old, at most twenty, yet all had reached the Minor Completion of Internal Qi Realm or higher, with Great Achievement of Inner Qi and completion not uncommon.

They were confident and proud, gathered in groups of threes and fours, whispering conversations, far from the clamor of ordinary people.

But when the three of them walked in together, nearly everyone’s gaze turned towards them.

”First on the Dragon and Phoenix List, the Dream Eating Sword Demon!”

”And there’s number three and four, Wu Makong and Fa Zheng!”

Some cried out in surprise, converging towards them, while others merely glanced before losing interest.

Jiang Ding put on a ’do not disturb’ look, politely declining conversation and finding a rock beside a man-made hill to sit and gather his spirit.

The other two did similarly; despite their lively demeanor in front of Jiang Ding, they too were not particularly talkative.

”Brother Ding!”

”My lord!”

Two voices emerged almost simultaneously, causing Jiang Ding to open his eyes.

Chen Xi wore a magnificent purple gown, regal and splendid, radiant beyond measure, while Gong Caiyu donned a pure white dress with a round face, full of a charming embarrassment.

”Miss Chen, Lady Gong.”

Jiang Ding nodded slightly then closed his eyes again, continuing his cultivation.

Both women had grown accustomed to his ways and exchanged a slightly hostile glance before sitting down beside him.

”Brother Ding, Xi er just encountered a Qi Practitioner related to the imperial family and learned some information,” Chen Xi said softly.

”Qiyu Sect consists of seven branches: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, and Thunder. The Thunder branch is under the Sect Leader’s direct control and is ranked first. Brother Ding, it would be best if you could strive to enter the Thunder branch.”

”The next best is the Fire branch, which also has an Immortal Jin Dan in charge. The others are mostly similar.”

”Newly recruited disciples are often sent to Dizifeng Peak, waiting to break through the Qi Practicing Realm before they can choose one peak to enter as an outer sect disciple. Reaching the Late-stage Qi Practicing Realm qualifies one to become an inner sect disciple.”

”There are exceptions, too. Many with excellent talents are taken as disciples by those at the foundation building stage or even by Immortal Jin Dan, which allows them to skip ranks and directly become inner sect disciples or even one of the seven true disciples.”

”Brother Ding, you could consider this path.”

Chen Xi was full of confidence, evidently seeing it as a certainty.

Jiang Ding did not respond to her words.

...

Boom!

The deep sound of the bell woke all those meditating, and everyone stood up, showing respect toward an elderly man with a rosacea nose.

He appeared no different from an ordinary man, yet there seemed to be an invisible pressure emanating from him, causing everyone to feel uneasy.

”I am Li Mingda, a Cultivator of the Qiyu Sect,” the rosacea-nosed man said slowly. ”This is the Qiyu Sect’s Ascending Immortal Conference. Those with fate can join our Sect and be taught the immortal laws, with the prospect of eternal life. Those without fate will forget all about this place and have no further connection.”

With a wave of his hand,

To the astonishment of the many youths, the ground began to tremble incessantly, and a stone platform several zhang in size slowly rose from the ground.