Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

In the depths of the mine.

It was indeed quite spacious, easily accommodating four galloping horses with room to spare.

Pitch-dark, devoid of any light.

However, foundation-building cultivators possessed night vision, so it didn’t affect them much, although the air was filled with a pungent odor, slightly depleting their mana.

”It is extremely poisonous to ordinary humans, and Qi practitioners cannot stay here for long.”

”The cost of mining is quite high.”

Jiang Ding looked at the skeletons by the roadside.

Human and various spirit beasts’, piled together, exuding a ghostly aura—there likely had been some yin attribute specters here not long before.

”Don’t worry, Junior Martial Uncle!”

Accompanying him, Wu Makong quickly added, ”Disciple has already asked the refining masters within the sect to design poison prevention items that ordinary people and Qi practitioners can use, ensuring not too many casualties among the mortal warriors and Qi mining workers.”

He didn’t dare to be too certain in his words.

”There’s no need.”

Jiang Ding opened his storage gold medal, and a hazy light spread out, from which Spider mining-3 model automatons emerged one after another, their six sharp legs moving, rustling as they dispersed in all directions.

One after another,

A total of two hundred spider-shaped mining puppets.

The other eight hundred had been distributed among eight other third-order spirit mines in the Demon Country, conducting various environmental tests to mine different metals, gathering data for the manufacturers to improve, before mass producing them completely.

The sudden appearance of these intricate puppets caught the attention of all the cultivators present.

Their six legs were agile; the two forelimbs were slightly shorter and could transform into different shapes, switching between a hammer, a pickaxe, and a drill bit, forcefully burrowing into the mine walls, as magic glyphs flashed by.

The wall, several steps in size, collapsed, revealing the semi-liquid, dark gray poisonous liquid silver ore within, which was collected by another claw, with efficiency far surpassing that of ordinary warriors and Qi practitioners.

”Could this be the puppet that the old ancestor brought from the Northern Plains Immortal Cultivation World?”

Wu Makong exclaimed in shock, ”With this device, it seems that those mortal warriors and Qi mine workers are no longer needed.”

”Perhaps so.”

Jiang Ding was noncommittal and handed him a sphere, ”This item is the control core for such puppets. You don’t need to do anything, just replace the spirit stone once a month. If there are no accidents, in at most a year, more puppets will be delivered here.”

”I will later set up a second-order superior formation here for protection. If you encounter an irresistible powerful enemy, just take note and run. If you don’t encounter a strong enemy, then...”

Jiang Ding paused in his speech.

It was okay for now, but as thousands or tens of thousands of puppets were delivered here, if they were lost, he would be truly heartbroken, at least having trouble sleeping for several months.

Although others couldn’t use them, as they required the owner to unlock them.

”Don’t worry, Junior Martial Uncle!”

Wu Makong spoke with solemnity, ”If this place is lost without encountering a strong enemy, disciple will come to you with his head in hand!”

”Then that’s settled.”

Jiang Ding nodded, ”Do well in this task, and while I cannot promise you any Golden Pill opportunities, your path in foundation-building cultivation should be smooth.”

”Here, I will also set up a Triple Grade Superior Gathering Spirit Formation for you. If you need a stage-breaking pill, serve me for thirty years. However, this will consume your potential, you should be aware of that.”

”Disciple understands!”

Wu Makong’s eyes shone with fervor.

Foundation-building stage-breaking elixirs!

In the Qiyu Sect, only a few highly ranked foundation-building cultivators could possibly obtain them. Now, he merely needed to guard this place for thirty years, which seemed all too easy.

”Let it be so.”

Jiang Ding’s Divine Sense swept through the mine one last time, checking for any oversights, and then he left.

After spending another seven or eight days, he had set up a second-order superior formation and a Triple Grade Superior Gathering Spirit Formation in the area, which would operate with the investment of spirit stones.

Then, under the respectful gazes of Wu Makong and others, he disappeared without a trace.

...

On the way back, taking a big detour, he slayed the Foundation-building cultivators and loose cultivators from Qiyu Sect who had discovered Demon Generals of the Latter Stage of Foundation Building or above, rearranging the environment within the Demon Country as much as possible to make it suitable for human habitation.

Invisible Escape Light flew over the boundless jungle, pausing for a moment.

Below, a small town several miles in length and width was built against the mountain, constructed mostly of wood, stone, and earth. With a population of just over ten thousand, it was the only human settlement within a hundred li.

Within the town, someone wielding a bronze gong was running through the streets, shouting loudly.

”The Beast Tide is coming!”

”Doctor Lin Shi has ordered that all able-bodied men take up arms! All women must also come out and work!”

Soon, numerous sturdy soldiers armed with long spears and sharpened wooden stakes climbed the city walls, their expressions tense as they stared at dense, rushing shadows outside the city.

As they drew closer, they turned out to be fierce beasts, rhinoceroses, monkeys, and various other Demon Beasts—most of them ordinary animals, but there were also several Qi Practitioner level Demon Beasts.

This was a common phenomenon in the wild lands abundant with beasts and the Demon Country: once humans gathered in large numbers and there was no deterrence from the aura of Demon Generals, it would provoke the innate hostility of the wild beasts in the forest, leading to the formation of a Beast Tide. Such events could easily cause the death or injury of thousands, even tens of thousands, until they destroyed the human city.

”Immortal Master, look...”

Doctor Lin Shi was a strong and muscular man with a Xiantian Realm cultivation. He looked at the three Taoist priests with a respectful expression.

”Tushan Dojo has decreed that unless it’s a situation where we cannot avoid acting, we won’t leave. You, a mere mortal, needn’t worry about anything,”

an old Taoist said lightly, stroking his beard.

”The Immortal Master is right,”

Doctor Lin Shi’s face turned white.

He knew very well, but looking at the situation outside the city, it was far too dangerous.

He wanted to earnestly request that the other party take him along when they left, but now, that seemed impossible.

He felt some regret in his heart.

He had been doing well as a gang leader in Dongling City in Yue Country, so why did he let greed cloud his judgment, accepting the pioneering order from Tushan, for a territory that could support his descendants for three hundred years, leading his associates to this wild jungle where they were constantly at risk of dying in the bellies of myriad beasts?

However, regretting now was futile.

Three hundred years of wealth and honor was not so easy to obtain.

...

”This somewhat resembles the ancient system where the Hua nationality was greatly enfeoffed,”

Jiang Ding said, taking out a Jade Slip Li Qingyun had handed over at some point. Divine Sense surged into it, instantly understanding the situation below.

In the Demon Country, the population was too sparse.

With vast lands and a scant population, constantly facing the threat of Demon Beasts and wild animals, the centralized feudal monarchy system of Yue Country was difficult to apply to the current situation in Tushan.

For this reason, Li Qingyun, taking inspiration from history, initiated a large-scale enfeoffment, gathering the nobles and powerhouses from all over Yue Country, including the Martial Arts Schools, and throwing them into various human gathering places. They gathered the humans previously farmed by the Demon Country to procreate, increase their numbers, and expand their territory.

At Tushan’s imperial court, there was only the Tushan ruler in charge of rituals and enfeoffment, and who commanded the Six Masters. Their power was greatly restricted.

”Li Qingyun is indeed talented, capable of handling any situation well. If he had been born in a better environment, reaching the Nascent Soul would have been hopeful,”

said the old Taoist, before continuing with a note of pity,

”It’s just a pity...”

Jiang Ding shook his head, waved his hand, and sent down a hundred silver Sword Qi, slaying most of the Demon Beasts and wild animals in the Beast Tide. He did not pay heed to the worship of the cultivators and mortals below, his Escape Light moving far away from there.

Days later, he returned to Tushan Dojo.

In the Triple Grade Superior Spiritual Vein, he planted the ’Melting Gold Vine Seeds’ of the third order that he had found from Xianmen Sect, cultivating them with water and fertilizer right at the site of the Spiritual Vein.

Under the nourishment of the robust spiritual energy of the Triple Grade Superior Spiritual Vein, these Melting Gold Vine seeds would ripen once every ten years. The third-order Melted Gold Fruits formed could be used to temper Spirit Swords, forging third-order Gang Qi, upgrading the second-order Gang Qi that had already become merely decorative.

Time passed, day after day.

Three years later, various Spirit Mines, Spiritual Medicine Gardens, Spirit Wood Forests, Spirit Beast Gardens, and Spiritual Fish Lakes throughout the Demon Country were initially completed and began to produce various first, second, and third-order resources gradually.

Afterward, various Spirit Mines and Elixirs, among others, entered full production, with output climbing continuously. Every year saw a massive influx of resources into Tushan Dojo.

All the resources of an entire nation were collected by one person, and aside from the remuneration for cultivators in different regions, there was no need to cultivate any disciples, nor was there any class feeding off the fruits of others’ labor.

Before he knew it, fifteen years had passed.