Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

”What if after fifteen years, there’s still nothing?”

The cultivator at the early stage of foundation building with a sharp chin and monkey cheeks still sat uneasy and anxiously said, ”That Qiyu swordsman, he might stay within the sect without taking a step outside for fifteen years, so why couldn’t he just stay put for another fifteen years?”

”If there’s nothing, then there’s nothing.”

”All it means is we’ll have to go to another place and cultivate bitterly for another twenty or so years. Haven’t the sect given us spirit stones?”

The shadowy old man said indifferently, ”Junior Brother Liu, are you implying that our ancestor has made a mistake?”

”You can speak plainly, no need to hide your thoughts.”

”I wouldn’t dare, Junior Brother has no such thoughts!”

The sharp-chinned, monkey-cheeked, early-stage foundation building cultivator shuddered and dared not speak another word—even the matters concerning his own clan were indeed a matter of life and death.

Seeing this, the other foundation-building cultivators from Hua Xue Palace sighed slightly, steadied their hearts, and continued their cultivation.

...

”One at the peak of foundation building, five at the mid-stage, and fifteen at the early stage.”

”A quasi-third-order formation, there might be a Gold Pill Level killing move.”

”If the standoff continues, a late Golden Core cultivator might appear on the battlefield.”

Jiang Ding used his Divine Sense and Sword Intent to probe every place within a hundred miles countless times, but found nothing out of the ordinary.

At the same time, he ruled out the possibility of any power above the Golden Pill or any extraordinary forces appearing.

If there truly were, the enemy wouldn’t need to resort to schemes and plots—they could simply kill their way into the Qiyu Sect and capture him with ease instead of setting up traps and ambushes, wasting years in the process.

”In light of the intelligence gathered, we can fight, and we should eliminate any possibility of encountering remnants of the Great Sun as early as possible.”

Jiang Ding decided, a flicker of killing intent passing through his eyes.

He didn’t act immediately, but instead returned to the Xianmen Sect. It was only after more than ten days that he appeared again, this time with three talismans in his hand, which had cost over four million low-grade spirit stones and the sale of some Empty Mysterious Crystal Copper to accumulate.

[Tracking Talisman]

[Grade: Third-Order Superior Quality]

[Effect: Trace back all events that have occurred within a ten-mile radius over the past twenty years.]

[Note: Unable to trace persons and objects at the Nascent Soul Stage and above, or Golden Pill monks who are proficient in Tianji Magic, as well.]

This one is the most expensive, costing over two million low-grade spirit stones.

A mere talisman, worth nearly more than two artifacts when valued in low-grade spirit stones alone, not considering other factors.

[Heaven-Disturbing Talisman]

[Grade: Third-Order Superior Quality]

[Effect: Disrupt the orderly causal connections of a place, significantly increasing the difficulty of tracing back events.]

Sold for more than one and a half million low-grade spirit stones.

These Tianji, causal, and the like are all very expensive.

The cheapest of the talismans was the third one, called the Third-order Soul-Searching Talisman.

It seems that even a Second-Order Soul-Searching Talisman might have worked and would have been much cheaper, but he didn’t skimp in this area.

He concealed his form.

After spending several more days confirming that there were no anomalies within a hundred miles,

”If that’s the case, then...”

Jiang Ding muttered to himself.

”Die.”

The word,

accompanied by the gentle sound of a sword cry, reached the ears of the twenty-one foundation-building cultivators of Xuetu Hall.

”Sword Intent?”

All the foundation-building cultivators were suddenly baffled; even their mana came to a halt.

”The Qiyu swordsman! He’s here...”

In the center of the Golden Knife Mountain formation, the shadowy old man at the peak of foundation building erupted with immense mana, struggling desperately, even burning his essence blood.

Only then did he barely manage to open his eyes, revealing a pair of eyes filled with utmost terror.

His Divine Sense wavered, struggling to reach for the scarlet red talisman always at hand.

Clang!

He saw, amidst the deafening sound of sonic booms, an Azure Flying Sword appear, its speed terrifyingly fast. Merely seeing it meant it had already reached his neck, and his Divine Sense hadn’t even had time to react.

In agony, his vision darkened, losing all consciousness.

A scarlet red talisman drifted powerlessly from his hand.

In his last sight, the shadowy elder saw the image of twenty strands of light blue sword qi piercing the heads of twenty brother disciples, shattering their skulls within the destroyed sword intent.

From beginning to end, the quasi-third rank formation of Jindaoshan Mountain had not been disturbed.

”The battle plan is proceeding normally, with no unexpected factors.”

Jiang Ding stated indifferently.

Whoosh!

The Taiqing Flying Sword, carrying the head of the shadowy elder, flew back and landed in a jade box, which was sealed layer by layer.

Divine Sense spread unchecked, with electromagnetic mana’s magnetic virtual lines extending in a six-kilometer radius, not sparing any metallic sensation.

Whoosh whoosh!

Two small figures broke through the earth, the vaguely deformed bullet head clearly visible, followed by over a dozen Magic Arts-Breaking Steel fragments ranging from the size of a needle’s tip to that of an ant.

Then, there was no more.

”Only three!”

”Still short by thirty-four!”

”Who took them?!”

Jiang Ding roared in a low voice, his cold murderous intent spreading in all directions, instantly freezing the divine souls of Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

However, his movements did not delay for a moment; the pre-empowered stealth tracking talisman activated as soon as it left his hand, flying towards the sky.

In an instant,

Invisible light flared up, illuminating a ten-mile radius around Jindaoshan Mountain, shining over every creature, every small stone, every grain of sand, imprinting their traces.

From the kill to the activation of the talisman, it took the time of one breath.

”Go!”

Jiang Ding collected the third-order stealth tracking talisman and took twenty-one storage bags, including that of the shadowy elder, into the Spirit Sealing Box without a second glance at the scarlet red talisman, turning into invisible escape light and disappearing.

Twenty-three breaths later.

In a deafening roar of terrifying air-piercing howls, a swath of scarlet clouds appeared on the horizon, arriving instantaneously and settling on the mountaintop, transforming into a white-skinned girl in a white dress.

”It really is him.”

Her beautiful eyebrows deeply furrowed.

With just one glance, amidst the headless corpses all around, the faint residue of sword intent reminded her of memories left by a split soul at the Nine Heavens Relics.

”Twenty Foundation Builders, including one at the peak of Foundation Building, and a quasi-third rank formation.”

”Killed instantly, without even the chance to send out a distress or locking talisman.”

”If he advances to Golden Pill...”

Mu Tiansnow picked up the scarlet red talisman from the ground, an involuntary chill rising in her heart.

”He must be killed immediately!”

A fierce coldness flashed in her eyes as she took the headless body left behind by the shadowy elder, and with blood flowing, the flesh dissolved, transforming into a drop of deep red blood.

Her red lips muttered incantations.

The howling wind carried sand and stones, and faint ghostly wails echoed, as a pitch-black vortex appeared in front of her, cold and silent, as though connecting to the netherworld.

”Seek!”

Mu Tiansnow pointed, and the blood light transformed from the shadowy elder’s remains flew into it.

This was the Blood Ghost Soul Chasing Technique passed down from a great Diabolism clan, even vaguely touching upon the rudiments of causal techniques.

Performed at a great cost by a Post-golden Alchemist!

Boom!

The deep red droplet exploded, turning to dust.

”Damn that sword intent.”

Mu Tiansnow’s face turned ashen.

The blood light of the Blood Ghost Soul Chasing Technique that entered the netherworld hadn’t even started to function before it crashed into an abruptly appearing Azure Great Sun, and within the disintegrating, end-of-times sword-light, it evaporated into nothing.

”I refuse to believe you could have escaped anywhere in these few breaths!”

Her murderous intent was violent and icy cold; the blood-colored escape light randomly chose a direction and vanished into the horizon.