Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

A letter flew in from outside the Demon Palace,

landing amid the vast expanse of Molten Gold Vines.

”Zhou Sanyan, Senior Brother Zhou, it has indeed been a long time since we last met.”

Jiang Ding saw the aura and the words on the envelope and couldn’t help but show a wistful expression, recalling the scene from over fifty years ago when he first joined the Qiyu Sect.

Back then, their relationship as sect brothers was purely one of calculation and interest, a basic and fragile bond.

Fortunately, no matter how fragile, it ultimately did not break.

Over the years, their association had been passable, with some feelings of camaraderie forming.

He opened it.

”Junior Brother, seeing this letter is as good as seeing you. How have you been these years? Has your cultivation base improved significantly...”

A long paragraph of polite greetings and nostalgic words about the old days followed, with a hinting sentence at the end, ”The pursuit of cultivation should not be focused solely on arduous practice; a combination of activity and stillness is more auspicious. If Junior Brother has some leisure time of late, it might be good to go out for a visit or two.”

”A warning?”

”My Second Brother must be warning me.”

Jiang Ding thought for a moment: ”Because of the Spirit Treasure Auction, he should be in Tushan Immortal City right now, yet he is unwilling to meet in person and instead sends a letter. Has he encountered some trouble?”

”Matters at the Golden Pill level, the intelligence network of Tushan Immortal City is powerless.”

”I should thank Senior Brother Zhou, though.”

He replied with thanks but did not say what he would do.

”Danger?”

Jiang Ding considered carefully the events he had experienced over the years: ”It couldn’t be the Great Sun Sect. The news about the Grest Sun Swordsman and Xianmen Sect is enough to drive them mad. The mobilization of a group of Nascent Souls is just the beginning; it’s not impossible for a Divinity Transformation Cultivator to appear.”

”All that’s left is the Liudao Sect.”

”It shouldn’t be a Nascent Soul Monk; such cultivators do not show this kind of apprehension. It must be part of the plan to let Zhou Sanyan, a mid-Jindan stage cultivator, in on it.”

”Then there’s no problem, at least I can still run away.”

Jiang Ding’s face regained its calmness.

As long as they were not Nascent Soul Monks, he would not give up the Tushan Monster Country he had managed to build with difficulty.

The continuous supply of Spirit Stones and Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure provided here was crucial for the construction of his super warships and the Dyson Mirror Sword-shaped Drones. Without facing significant danger, he would not give up.

...

Vajra Tuduo and the Peach Blossom Gentleman concealed their cultivation bases, transforming into two ordinary-looking Foundation-building cultivators as they registered with the guards and stepped into the Immortal City walls.

The many cultivators passing by, whether cultivating Qi or Foundation-building, couldn’t help but pause and look up as they passed the city wall.

On the wall,

a golden blade broken into three pieces and roughly put back together and a tattered treasure garment fluttering in the wind, looked like two suspended corpses.

Two Golden Pill Monks lay buried here!

The crowd showed a look of reverence, lining up obediently without daring to overstep.

Vajra Tuduo looked especially long before someone behind him urged him on, and he hurriedly moved away.

Wandering through the city, the pair eventually came to an unremarkable house without any signs.

”Brother Peach Blossom, once we go in and see the other Dao friends, avoid trying to show off. We only need a quiet place for our practice.”

Vajra Tuduo spoke through a low voice transmission.

”I understand.”

The Peach Blossom Gentleman smiled casually: ”Brother, in all these years, have you ever seen me...”

Suddenly, his speech stopped abruptly, his pupils contracting.

Nearby, the space became hazy, and the pedestrians on the street, along with the surrounding shops, all vanished, leaving only a rough and imposing palace with a thick demonic architectural style.

On the palace walls and the surrounding hillsides, Molten Gold Vines of deep blackish-green glimmered; some not yet mature with fruit still sealed, others ripe and cracked open, revealing lava-like flesh.

A young man picked a ripe fruit and turned around.

”The Tushan City Lord!”

”A spatial transfer formation!”

The Peach Blossom Gentleman’s face changed, speaking with difficulty, ”Why have you transferred us here? Since entering the city, we have abided by the rules, and have never violated the laws of Tushan Immortal City.”

Vajra Tuduo’s face was also ashen.

They had entered the Immortal City with confidence because they had investigated in advance and knew that the city’s lord was very rule-abiding, encouraging trade, and even individuals like Yellow Leopard only acted in self-defense after being attacked or provoked.

”It’s nothing, just a bit curious.”

Jiang Ding smiled and placed the mature Molten Gold Fruit into his Storage Jade Pendant: ”Where were you two heading, and what important matters were you planning to attend to?”

He wouldn’t be so foolish as to let these strange Golden Pill cultivators in the city go about their secretive schemes when he was well aware of the approaching danger.

So, he randomly selected a couple of ’lucky ones’ to inquire.

”What does it have to do with you?!”

The Peach Blossom Gentleman retorted with a flick of his sleeve, displeased, ”Are you saying that this Immortal City restricts our freedom as fellow Daoists? Release the formation immediately; otherwise, don’t blame us for being discourteous.”

”Oh?”

Jiang Ding’s smile faded.

A slowly spreading Sword Intent of Destruction sealed off all directions.

Both men felt a surge of panic.

”You call yourself Peach Blossom Gentleman?”

Jiang Ding asked indifferently.

”So what if it is?”

The Peach Blossom Gentleman said coldly, ”If there’s any further delay, don’t blame us for informing our fellow Daoists that your Immortal City is nothing but a den of demons, attacking us without distinction. From now on, you can forget about carrying on business here.”

Clang!

A sword’s hum,

followed by the appearance of an Azure Flying Sword, like a stretch of the Milky Way descending from the horizon. In a mere instant, it fell under the terrifying lock of Sword Intent of Destruction.

”You dare!”

The Peach Blossom Gentleman roared in rage, unfurling his fan and summoning an illusory shadow of Peach Blossom Forest. The shadows turned solid, a pink, pestilential mist spreading to obstruct, shielded before him.

”The City Lord of Tushan is committing murder!”

At the same time, he bellowed in all directions, his Divine Sense broadcasting randomly far and wide.

The Azure Flying Sword struck into the pestilent Peach Blossom Forest. Under its Sword-light, layers of Peach Blossom Pestilent Qi shattered, bamboo groves snapped, Spiritual Light collapsed, and the fan, a low-grade treasure, cracked with a snap, revealing its smooth, broken ribs.

Boom!

The Peach Blossom Gentleman was sent flying hundreds of meters by a single strike, spitting out a mouthful of blood mid-air, his protective shields shattered layer by layer, with a sunken chest.

One stroke had left him gravely injured, at death’s door!

”My lord, mercy...”

The Peach Blossom Gentleman was in utter terror, his handsome face filled with fright, no longer radiating his earlier arrogance.

”Peach Blossom Gentleman, early Golden Pill stage cultivator.”

Jiang Ding said softly, ”The notorious criminal wanted by the Great Sun Sect from the Northern Plains, known for his Escape Technique and for collecting blossoms to forge his power. He had once caused the death of a Golden Pill female cultivator from the Yin’s of the Liudao Sect, thereby making the wanted list of the alliance between the righteous and demonic paths.”

”What makes you think I am so easily bullied?”

Indeed, he had his suspicions, though they were only suspicions.

Wrong; it was a chance to eliminate demons and defend the path of righteousness along the way.

”It was my mistake!”

”I was blinded by a demon’s trickery, please forgive me!”

The Peach Blossom Gentleman kowtowed again and again, his head bobbing like a ramming pestle, devoid of any dignity or grace befitting a Golden Pill cultivator.

”Let’s hear it?”

”What mistake did you make?”

Jiang Ding repeated.

”It was him!”

Without hesitation, the Peach Blossom Gentleman betrayed Vajra Tuduo, pointing at him and saying, ”This man told me that several late Golden Pill cultivators were planning to join forces in an attempt to hunt down your head in exchange for favors from Blood Cloud of the Northern Plains bigwigs.”

”Late Golden Pill cultivators wouldn’t normally linger in such a remote place as the Tushan Demon Country; they would leave the remaining grounds available for us to divide.”

”Interesting.”

Jiang Ding showed a genuinely amused smile, ”It seems I really guessed right; my luck must be quite good.”

His gaze turned toward the ragged-robed Vajra Tuduo, holding his bath utensils.

”Fellow Daoist came to Tushan Immortal City after a while since Yellow Leopard’s death, right?” Jiang Ding sighed, ”Why treat me this way? Have I offended you before?”

”Amitabha.”

”My benefactor, how can one believe the words of a thieving flower-picking scoundrel?”

Vajra Tuduo joined his palms together, still speaking calmly.

”You have a point.”

Jiang Ding nodded in agreement.

With a casual flick.

The Taiqing Flying Sword shattered the void and went forth.

”Damn it!”

”This has nothing to do with me!”

The Peach Blossom Gentleman cursed angrily, expelling a mouthful of Essence Blood. Instantly, his figure multiplied, each one emanating the aura of the early Golden Pill stage. Even late Golden Pill cultivators would struggle to distinguish the real from the copies in a short time. He fled rapidly in all directions using his swift Escape Technique, on the verge of disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

Whoosh!

An Azure Flying Sword pierced through the forehead of one of the figures, brains splattering everywhere.

”How did you find out...”

The Peach Blossom Gentleman stared wide-eyed in disbelief, his body faltering as he fell, void of any sign of life.

The Azure Flying Sword rolled back, returning with a Golden Pill and a weakened Divine Soul.

A pale blue Talisman adhered to the Divine Soul.

Vajra Tuduo’s eyelids twitched.

Prior to this, he had judged that this city lord was a person of the Righteous Dao, someone who would certainly abide by rules he set; Yellow Leopard, though his heart sided with his own brothers, also knew it was he who acted first in a bid to seize the other’s foundation.

Now, it seemed, there were many discrepancies.

”He actually didn’t lie.”

”Our lovable flower thief, the Peach Blossom Gentleman, turned out to be quite honest, preying only on the Golden Pills of the Liudao Sect. This is being a chivalrous hero, without any wrongdoing,”

Jiang Ding read through the memories with some regret, ”However, I saw that he often attacked innocent girls, so it doesn’t count as a wrongful death.”

”Is that not so?”

”Master Vajra Tuduo, who conceals his late Golden Pill stage Cultivation Base.”

Vajra Tuduo’s expression truly changed.