Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

A sword flies from Jinlingshan Mountain, out of the heavens,

and in the full view of the public, it beheads Zhou Lingwu of Huomai’s foundation building cultivators!

As the news spread, the entire Xianmen Sect was shaken with fear.

Almost a decade later, many people once again recalled the scene of the Nine Heavens Relics, where the corpses of the disciples from Xuetu Hall lay scattered on the battlefield, lifeless.

And now, this terror had extended from Qi cultivation to foundation building.

Because that person had already reached foundation building!

In an instant, Jinlingshan Mountain once again became the object of many disciples’ envy, and they sought connections everywhere in hopes of finding a way to join Jinlingshan Mountain.

Unfortunately,

Jinlingshan Mountain never recruited disciples externally. Over the years, the mountain had been home to no more than fourteen people, and now they were down to thirteen, much to the disappointment of many disciples.

Huomai, Huoyan Peak.

”Junior brother has reached foundation building,”

”and in front of everyone, he beheaded a Zhou surnamed cultivator at foundation building.”

A middle-aged cultivator with a wild temperament, Zhou Sanyan, came out of seclusion and took some time to clearly understand the ins and outs of the situation, frowning slightly.

There was an instinctive displeasure in his heart.

Just at foundation building, and already meddling in the dispute over Third-Order Spirit Mines.

Although there were no strict rules, everyone knew that within Qiyu Sect, all Third-Order items belonged to the two Golden Pill Monks.

The sudden appearance of a new beneficiary, sharing in the spoils, pleased no one.

As for the deceased Zhou Lingwu, it mattered little.

Although he bore the Zhou surname, he had long been removed from kinship and was no different from a stranger.

”Father, this person has no regard for our Zhou family at all!”

A plump old man beside him expressed indignantly, ”Our Zhou family has made great contributions to the sect, risking life and limb; a mere foundation building cultivator dares to kill a member of our clan in broad daylight.”

”If we don’t punish him severely, how can we make our family’s elders and juniors respect us in the future?”

Zhou Sanyan looked at him strangely and didn’t speak for a long time.

”What’s wrong, Father? Am I not right?”

The plump old man was confused.

Smack!

A slap sent him tumbling several times, plunging into the dirt with a face full of dust; it took him a while to climb out, complaining grievously, ”Father, why did you hit me again?”

”You, you’re one hundred and seventy-six years old this year, right...”

Zhou Sanyan said a bit helplessly, ”Why do you view things like a twenty or thirty-year-old child? Maybe I really should let you experience more, and if you encounter danger and die... you die.”

”But what I said is right!”

The plump old man wiped the dust off his head and protested with grievance.

”Let me ask you,”

Zhou Sanyan’s forehead veins bulged, as he forcefully suppressed his anger and asked, ”What difference is there for our family, between Junior Brother reaching Foundation Establishment and Zhou Kunlong reaching Foundation Establishment?”

”Naturally, it’s our own people...”

The plump old man replied instinctively, then paused, not daring to lie in front of his father. He thought carefully once more.

Zhou Kunlong’s Foundation Establishment was beneficial because he was a kinsman, sharing the same surname and some degree of affection on a daily basis.

The downside was his relatively poor talent, and his character was also mediocre. They could benefit from his status, but to rely on him completely was not feasible; most of the time, they had to depend on themselves.

As for that Junior Uncle, the downside was the lack of any relationship on a daily basis, but the upside was that his talent far surpassed Zhou Kunlong’s, and the potential benefits from his Foundation Establishment were much larger; additionally, his personal character was better than Zhou Kunlong’s.

Likewise, they could take advantage of his position, but could not fully rely on him – due to the difference in talent, the possibilities for the latter to offer returns were greater.

”There is no difference.”

The plump old man suddenly understood.

”Since there is no difference, why should we get involved in their struggle for the Nine Apertures Golden Fruit? We might gain favor from one side, but how long can such favor last?”

Zhou Sanyan, frustrated, said, ”Stop harping on about ’our clan, our clan.’ You’ve been led astray by the younger generation. If I were gone, you’d be nothing more than a pitiful clan leader, and you’d be lucky to even get some leftovers.”

”Senior Brother Zhou could leave me those leftovers, and there’s a good chance he’ll leave me more than Zhou Kunlong — that’s my experienced judgment.”

”It’s this Third-order Poisoning Silver Mine...”

A pained expression crossed his face.

After hesitating for a long time, he let out a long sigh.

”Forget it, this is the first time the junior brother has asked me for something. Let him have it... Since we are doing favors, might as well go all the way and give him the entire Lanshan Spirit Mine.”

”The Lanshan Spirit Mine!”

The chubby elder leapt up, exclaiming, ”Father, this spirit mine has been mined by our sect for hundreds of years without exhaustion. It earns at least a hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones annually and produces third-order spirit copper every eight or nine years!”

”Have you gone senile?!”

”Unfilial son! Your father has not gone senile.”

Zhou Sanyan slapped his head again, feeling the pain for a moment before recovering his composure, and spoke in a deep voice, ”Given the current situation, it’s hard to say how long we can mine Lanshan Spirit Mine. Besides, I have prepared the Nine Apertures Golden Fruit and various supportive elixirs for you. You must attempt to reach the Golden Pill stage before you turn two hundred.”

”If you fail, I only hope that the junior brother will remember our past and look after you and your equally good-for-nothing children in the future.”

He sighed again.

...

Jinlingshan Mountain.

Several days later, Jiang Ding received two letters.

One was from Huoyan Peak, where Zhou Sanyan first rebuked him for killing a foundation-building cultivator of the sect in public, telling him to inform his senior brother next time, so the senior could handle it.

Then, he handed over all rights to Lanshan Spirit Mine, including the disciples and slave miners working there, to him.

”Senior Brother Zhou, you have indeed given me a surprise,” Jiang Ding remarked as he put away the letter, surprised.

This was beyond his expectations.

In his preliminary thoughts, obtaining the mining rights to a second-order poisonous silver mine was already good enough; a third-order one could be sacrificed if necessary.

Unexpectedly, he was given a huge gift, a favor.

But just a favor,

not one that required risking his life.

The value of a third-order spirit mine could drive many foundation-building cultivators to risk their lives and give their all, but not him.

This was precisely why Zhou Sanyan was willing to give him the spirit mine.

The second letter was from a late-stage Golden Pill monk, the supreme elder of Tianleifeng Peak.

It also started with the usual scolding for his public execution of Zhou Lingwu before moving on to another matter.

”... Junior brother, in these perilous times, the sect has decided to form an alliance with Tushan Monster Country in the Ten Directions Jungle, adhering to the principle of mutual reliance in times of crisis and seeking their help...”

”... These members of the demon race, with their scales and armors, possess unclear divine souls and relish human hearts and livers. I, too, detest them deeply; however, what can I do? The legacy of our Ancestor Masters absolutely cannot be destroyed in my hands.”

”... Despite the greater good of the human race, if the people of Yue Country were to fall into the hands of the bloodthirsty demons, becoming prey for them and turning into zombies and ghosts, we would have to choose the lesser of two evils and hope for the junior brother’s tolerance should you encounter such demon kin, especially those of noble standing and bloodline, until the future...”

”The demon race?”

Jiang Ding’s brow furrowed.

In the assorted books of Qiyu Sect that he had collected, there was a record of such intelligent beings, quite different from humans, often born from enlightened monsters.

They frequently prey on humans.

Immortal sects and extra-terrestrial immortal sects exist too, but without this habit, able to coexist peacefully with humans.

”Forget it, I can do nothing about it.”

He set down the letter and resumed his cultivation with his eyes closed.