Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

The contract for the refining of the Top-grade Talisman Robe was signed, and the Shadow Orb was sent to the other party via express delivery.

”Five million Low-grade Spirit Stones... I really don’t have that.”

Jiang Ding searched for a long time in his Storage Jade Pendant and counted out over eight hundred thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones, which was still a significant shortfall.

However, he had quite a few other things.

Empty Mysterious Crystal Copper had already been commissioned for refining through the shops. After deducting the amount used for the crafting of the Air-Space Warplane and the portion sold, there were still over two hundred kilograms remaining, enough to craft an Artifact.

Third-order Electromagnetic Magical Gold, around ten tons of it, all were refined over the years from Gray Iron Stones tasked to the Xianmen Sect, then purified and fused with other materials to create man-made Spiritual Gold.

This was useful.

After the Golden Core stage, the electromagnetic main gun on the forehead needed to be refined from a Supreme Magic Tool to an Artifact. It required the addition of Third-order Electromagnetic Magical Gold. To refine it from a Lower-grade Magical Treasure to a Top-grade Magical Treasure would take at least several hundred tons of Third-order Electromagnetic Magical Gold and many centuries.

The Empty Mysterious Crystal Copper was also useful, needed for the coating of warships. It was easy to sell but hard to buy back.

The Poisonous Liquid Silver Mine was still too small in quantity. Even if there were more, it couldn’t be sold as it was considered a strategic mineral.

Other spoils of war like Supreme Magic Tools were not worth considering, as their value was too low.

”This is the only thing left.”

Jiang Ding took out a roughly one-foot-long flying sword of cloud-colored glazed glass with an evident nick and damaged array patterns.

A medium-quality Artifact, the Liyun Sword, from a rebellious Cultivator of the Liyun Sect called Immortal Li Hai.

”A Life Treasure, its effectiveness will decrease if used by others, equivalent to a Lower-grade Magical Treasure... it’s better to melt it down, reclaim the materials. Originally it could be worth more than ten million Low-grade Spirit Stones, but now it’s equivalent to rare materials worth around three to four million Low-grade Spirit Stones.”

”Forget it, I need the money, I’ll sell it.”

After some thought, Jiang Ding decided not to fuss over the difference between rare materials and Spirit Stones and went ahead with the sale, which should fetch around seven million Low-grade Spirit Stones or so.

After paying for the robe’s cost, there would still be a little left.

”I am so poor...”

Jiang Ding sighed in lament.

He had initially planned to follow Immortal Li Hai’s example and set up several dozen teleportation formations as emergency escape routes. Now, he could only... wait a while longer, save enough money and then see.

The Blue-gold Large Tree shone brilliantly.

Jiang Ding slowly closed his eyes and absorbed the Spiritual Energy from ten kilometers of Heaven and Earth, entering a state of cultivation.

”Ding!”

”The Canghai Military Court case involving you has been concluded. Would you like to view the details?”

The voice of the Array Spirit came through.

”View.”

Jiang Ding opened his eyes.

”Xu Qiwu, a Late Golden Core Cultivator, ID number..., was sentenced to death by the Canghai Military Court for crimes against the Xianmen Sect and massacre of civilians on September 20, 11145. He was stripped of all political rights for life and was executed immediately.”

”Xu ZhengLiu, a Mid-stage Golden Core Cultivator... sentenced to death for crimes against the Xianmen Sect and massacre of civilians.”

”Wang YuanPeng, a Mid-stage Golden Core Cultivator... sentenced to death.”

”Liu Jian, a Golden Pill Monk... sentenced to death.”

”Li DengGao, a Late Foundation Establishment Cultivator, participated in assisting Xuandi Palace Cultivators in smuggling into the Canghai Small World, with minor involvement... sentenced to thirty years of fixed-term imprisonment...”

A stack of names were updated from the email.

In total, eight Golden Pill Monks were executed, including three from the Xu family, two from the Wang family, and three from other families, all deeply involved in the incident.

Most of the others were sentenced to fixed-term imprisonments ranging from ten to one hundred and twenty years.

”Xu Jianian, a Mid-stage Foundation Building Cultivator, ID number..., upon review, was not deeply involved and was sentenced to five years of fixed-term imprisonment.”

”That guy seems innocent, caught up in this?”

Jiang Ding’s face showed a strange expression, then he quickly realized.

This sort of dirty and tiring work is not meant for the third generation direct descendants of Nascent Soul Cultivators from the Xu’s.

It seems that the assassin from the Yingsha Palace of the Xuanwu Heavenly Palace must have been desperately seeking a cure, invading directly into his storage ring.

As for why a collapsing Golden Pill and Divine Soul could penetrate the storage ring sealed by layers of Divine Sense Brands, this depends on the level of cooperation between the Xu’s and the Xuanwu Heavenly Palace.

That is also why he is guilty.

”After all these people have died, the Xu and Wang families should be able to rest for a few hundred years.”

Jiang Ding muttered to himself.

Golden Pill Monks are not cabbages in the field that die and can grow back; if those hidden Nascent Souls were unwilling to take risks, there weren’t many people left to use.

He closed his eyes and entered a state of cultivation.

Several days later, Jiang Ding stood up, the branches, leaves, and roots of the blue-gold large tree shrank, transforming into a one-foot Flying Sword that he tucked into his sleeve. The silver-white great bird hidden among the tree shadows vanished into the half-space layer.

A grey-blue Escaping Light flew across the sky, soon gathering with other lights emerging from every direction, converging and landing on the empty ground of the Thought and Morality classroom, each holding a printed test paper in their hands.

”How many points did you score on the final exam?”

”109 points...”

Everyone’s Divine Sense wandered erratically, glancing at their own and then at others’, like a nearly forty-year-old big kid.

”How much did you get?”

Jin Lingfeng asked curiously.

Divine Sense scanned over Jiang Ding’s test paper, exclaiming in astonishment, ”One hundred forty-one points! That’s not right, you spent your time at the Liyun Sect fighting and cultivating, how could you score higher than ours?!”

”Is there a shady deal?”

An Siyan also leaned in, picked up Jiang Ding’s test paper, and examined it closely.

”I see.”

After a while, she understood, ”You got the cultivators from the three sects to supervise and restore the Liyun Sect’s civil livelihood, you didn’t do anything, and then you scored high marks, even higher than us who toiled and sweated.”

She looked discontented.

Organizing the cultivators from the three sects to work was something they were doing too, but not as meticulously, and the cultivators’ implementation wasn’t as thorough, so many of the restoration projects were just passable, scoring only sixty or seventy points.

”I spent money.”

Jiang Ding smiled and took back his own test paper.

That was the truth; to motivate the cultivators from the three sects and build better permanent water conservancy projects, as well as establishing a relatively efficient mortal administrative bureaucracy for the Li Country, he had sunk tens of thousands of Low-grade Spirit Stones into the effort, and it wasn’t just mere lip-service or strict laws.

Jiang Ding looked up towards a spot in the sky.

In the distance, seven or eight kilometers away, a fiery red Escape Light flew by, carrying the presence of an Early Golden Pill Stage, clothed in a blue robe, donning gold-rimmed glasses, his demeanor scholarly and profound.

His body suddenly tensed.

After a long while, he recovered, erupted mana like a rabbit escaping in the opposite direction.

”Liu Zhiyuan?”

Jiang Ding frowned, projecting his image in front of the two, asking, ”That mortal citizen from the Li Country, Gu Shixiong, he was his graduate student, wasn’t he? He’s not in any trouble, is he?”

”No.”

”He has nothing to do with it, this guy is too familiar with Xianmen Sect’s laws.”

Jin Lingfeng sneered.

”In Gu Shixiong’s Divine Soul, who died almost a month ago, there was nothing of value, and memories related to Liu Zhiyuan were filled with impartial heated debates, ambiguous stuff. It’s the same situation in the Canghai Small World; then Gu Shixiong thought there’s some enormous opportunity here and eagerly came over, even fabricated a lie about the Equality Association interfering and fooled Liyun Sect in circles, gaining many benefits in return.”

”These were his own outstanding performances.”

”The Canghai Military Court investigated time and again and couldn’t find anything to convict Liu Zhiyuan.”

Jin Lingfeng reined in her mockery, expressing some admiration.