Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

Fulin Community entrance.

”I’ll visit the family again after the seventh day of the new year,”

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, after a sumptuous lunch, Lin Wanqiu saw off Lin Yong’s family along with her grandparents, instructing them.

From the first day of the new year, everyone was to successively receive friends, colleagues, and relatives, fearing that they would be busy for a while.

A few kilometers outside the community, a sense of inexplicable relief washed over Lin Yong’s family.

”Ah! It hurts so much...”

Lin Yuanwang screamed miserably, feeling intense pain in his viscera and Divine Sense. He collapsed to the ground, gasping for air, unable to even speak.

”Xiaowang, what’s wrong with you? You’re a cultivator in the later stages of Qi refining; who could harm you?”

The complexion of Lin Yong and his wife changed.

”What’s wrong with me? It seems like...”

Lin Yuanwang’s eyes showed intense struggle as if something was trying to surface from the depths of his mind, followed by a terrifying premonition settling in his heart.

Instinctively, he didn’t dare to remember any more, and his eyes gradually became vacant.

”It’s nothing.”

After thinking hard for a long time without recalling anything, he forced himself to say, ”Mom, dad, don’t worry. It might be a problem with my cultivation. Let’s go to the hospital and see what the doctor says.”

”Right, right, to the hospital.”

Lin Yong calmed down as well, persuading his wife and parents to go home while he accompanied his son on the emergency helicopter that had flown over, carefully looking after him.

”By the way, wasn’t there something I needed to do before coming to my sister’s place?”

He suddenly recalled something, then instantly forgot it again, ”Never mind, I can’t think about it now. Xiaowang’s injury is more important.”

...

After the guests had gone, Jiang Ding, along with his mother and sister, cleaned up the house—washing dishes, wiping the table, sweeping the floor—everything was done by hand, sweating profusely.

”Is there an easier way to do this?”

Jiang Ding thought to himself, then took the mop from Jiang Yuan’s hand and began mopping the floor.

After the family’s busy work was over, they gathered to watch television, still watching melodramatic soap operas. Jiang Ding watched for a while and then fell into a deep sleep.

...

Cooking for the family, sweeping the floor, taking relatives to school, watching TV with family members, going for walks, meeting new neighbors, attending the funerals of old neighbors.

Then, falling into a deep sleep in the room.

Days passed by, one after another, and half a year flew by.

Everything was normal.

No casualties, no abnormalities, no security incidents, nor did anyone feel that anything was amiss.

Until, three years later, on this day.

Two streams of Escape Light flew from the sky, one starry, and the other a mix of black and white, moving much faster than Foundation-building cultivators of the same level.

”Jiang Ding has been away too long; I’m somewhat uneasy,”

An Siyan adjusted her black-framed glasses on the bridge of her nose and reconfirmed the location of the community on the map, ”Although he has complete paperwork for each year’s leave, he has never taken such a long leave before, and he didn’t return for the start of the graduate school semester. Even if there’s an emergency at home, this seems too far-fetched.”

”You feel the same premonition, don’t you?”

”Yes, the same,”

Jin Lingfeng’s young face was serious, her silver hair swaying slightly, ”This is too abnormal. I suspect that the Late Golden Core assassin from Xuanwu tiangong might have left some unfinished business, or even, that Divinity Transformation...”

The Escape Light of the Foundation-building cultivators was fast, and soon, the two women arrived at the entrance of Fulin Community. Entering the community and observing for a moment, they approached two old men playing chess.

”Hello, grandpa,”

Jin Lingfeng gave a sweet smile, easily capturing the old men’s favor, and asked, ”Do you know where Jiang Ding’s house is...?”

Clang!

A faint sound of a sword’s chime suddenly appeared near her ear.

In a daze, she saw ancient trees rising from the ground, reaching into the sky, with the Azure Great Sun descending from above, settling amidst the tree shade, terrifying Breaking Law and Elimination Method intentions spreading, with a faint Killing intent descending.

The Azure Great Sun manifested within the Divine Soul, scorching, destroying, and even faint whiffs of moon-white misty breath infiltrating the Divine Soul, intending to change something.

”Pfft!”

Jin Lingfeng spat out a mouthful of fresh blood as if struck by lightning, her face as pale as paper.

”Go!”

”He’s gone mad, I’m going to die!”

She transformed into a stream of star-colored Escape Light, frantically fleeing towards the outside of the community.

An Siyan’s expression changed, her Divine Sense resting on the alarm button of the Array Spirit, not daring to say a word. She followed behind, unfurling her own Escape Light and shielding against potential attacks that might appear around them.

”What kind of person was that just now?”

The two elderly men playing chess looked around in confusion, disregarding the blood as if it were nothing, and continued to focus on their game of chess.

Clack!

”Check!”

Outside the community, two streams of Escape Light retreated over ten kilometers before finally coming to a stop.

”Jiang Ding, something’s wrong with his state!”

Jin Lingfeng spoke in a rushed tone, ”I don’t know what triggered it, but his Sword Intent attacked me, and there’s a power, a power invading my Divine Soul... Divine Soul...”

Her words paused as confusion clouded her face.

”...Divine Soul...”

”...What was I saying just now?”

Jin Lingfeng asked.

An Siyan felt a chill in her heart.

”Divine Soul, just now you were talking about a power invading your Divine Soul.”

”Right! That Divine Sense power!”

Jin Lingfeng suddenly understood, ”It wants to alter my cognition, make me... me... why am I here? We should be in class at the university right now.”

Once again, her expression turned blank, her instincts urging her to flee from the place.

”Jiang Ding...”

An Siyan took a deep breath, hesitated no more, and pressed the emergency call button on her phone with her Divine Sense. It was the highest level alert, aimed at the Central Array Spirit Computer, a statement of life-threatening danger.

”You are reporting an emergency based on a threat to life, please note...”

The voice of the Central Array Spirit Computer sounded, instantly connecting the call, foregoing the usual procedures.

”...”

Silence.

”What’s wrong?”

An Siyan’s eyes widened, suspecting a problem with her phone; the Central Array Spirit Computer shouldn’t be silent, it should be promptly addressing her emergency.

”...Internal Demon...”

”...The Internal Demon Tribulation of the sword cultivator prodigy... no external enemy invasion detected, no protocol found in the database... unable to breakout independently... has been reported to Immortal Dinghai at Qingfeng University... please wait...”

After a while, the Central Array Spirit Computer’s voice finally sounded.

”Internal Demon?”

An Siyan was taken aback.

To Qi practicing and foundation-building cultivators, it was a rare occurrence, almost impossible to encounter as their Divine Souls are too weak to manifest it.

Oftentimes, it arises during the transition from foundation building to Golden Pill.

Dozens of breaths later, the space became hazy, and a refined elderly man appeared before the two women. His Divine Sense swept the area, and the details of everyone and everything within nearly a hundred kilometers appeared vividly in his mind.

Immortal Dinghai was taken aback.

After a long time, he sighed deeply.

”...The Internal Demon Tribulation of homesickness, foolish child, every cultivator has to face the continuous departure of parents and loved ones. This is our destined fate as cultivators, inescapable, a tribulation that will sooner or later come.”

”You are too young, and your Divine Soul is too powerful, you’ve encountered these inevitabilities too soon.”