Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

”Li Qingyun?”

Jiang Ding recalled for a moment and remembered this person.

”Indeed, it has been nearly a hundred years since I last saw him,” he said. ”Please let him in.”

This Sky Spiritual Root cultivator, who had come from the jianghu of Yue Country alongside him, although not exactly a close friend or someone he trusted, still had a genuine connection with him.

A moment later, a youth clad in a simple robe, with a handsome and stately appearance and a demeanor as gentle as jade, walked into the Demon Palace. He was still at a distance when he bowed deeply.

”Your disciple, Li Qingyun, pays his respects, Junior Uncle Master!”

”Brother Li, it has been a long time; you needn’t be so formal.”

Jiang Ding nodded with a smile.

Among cultivators, aside from blood relatives, direct disciples, or those who forged deep friendships in their youth, seniority and titles tended to fluctuate, changing with one’s strength.

Therefore, no matter how others addressed him, he would address them as fellow daoists.

A sweep of his Divine Sense revealed a hint of surprise.

The Magic-Level Technique aura that had been surrounding Li Qingyun was gone, replaced by a Classics-grade practice emitting a faint thunderous aura, his mana and Divine Sense both much more profound compared to his peers.

His cultivation base was at the peak of Foundation Building.

With the talent of a Sky Spiritual Root, establishing a foundation was almost guaranteed—this was an immense advantage in terms of innate ability.

However, Sky Spiritual Roots seemed to face tremendous difficulty when it came to the stage of Divinity Transformation, faring much worse than those with Tri or Quadruple Spiritual Roots.

”Junior Uncle Master, after many years of absence, my master often reminisces about you and has specifically commanded me to deliver this letter.”

Upon receiving permission, Li Qingyun stood up and presented a letter with both hands.

”Oh?”

Jiang Ding showed a hint of surprise.

Over the years, he had kept intermittent correspondence with the Qiyu Sect, maintaining the basic connection.

For them to be so formal was a first.

He opened the heavily sealed letter, ready to self-destruct, with his magical aura.

Jiang Ding closed his eyes to read it briefly, then opened them again.

He was lost in thought and did not speak.

Li Qingyun glanced briefly at the contents, then quickly lowered his head, appearing somewhat uneasy.

”Master has mentioned two things in the letter.”

”The first seems to be related to the Blood Cloud Eighteen Knights?”

Jiang Ding asked, looking downwards.

”Yes.”

Li Qingyun answered respectfully, ”Decades ago, the Golden Spear General, the eighth of the Blood Cloud Eighteen Knights, visited Qiyushan Mountain and invited my master to join the Blood Cloud Eighteen Knights as a Guest Knight Blood Rider.”

”That’s a bit insulting,” Jiang Ding commented.

The so-called Blood Cloud Eighteen Knights consist of Golden Pill late-stage cultivators only up to the ninth knight. Not to mention that Immortal Baimei, a local powerhouse, controls the sect’s foundation accumulated over three thousand years. In terms of importance and strength, he surpasses some individual Post-golden Alchemists.

Despite coming from a lesser-known place, they are not weak among their peers, which is an advantage passed down from their ancestors.

”Yes, Golden Spear General thought so as well,” Li Qingyun clarified. ”The General put forward two conditions: first, the Guest Knight Blood Rider may choose to obey orders from the leader Blood Cloud, and if one chooses to oblige, there will undoubtedly be rewards; second, the Blood Cloud Eighteen Knights offered a Thunder Technique Nascent Soul inheritance with clearly defined merits, not something vague or illusory.”

”The great hero of the Northern Plains, Blood Cloud, has once sworn to heaven that if someone’s merits were sufficient and he could not present the corresponding Nascent Soul inheritance, he would be willing to take his own life.”

”That’s quite commendable,” Jiang Ding nodded slightly.

If an average person made such a vow, a Golden Pill Monk would only sneer and pay no heed, and even if a Daoist Pact was signed, there would be grave concerns.

But Blood Cloud had built up a lot of reputations over the past few centuries, and many would believe him, especially since a Nascent Soul inheritance can be granted more than once and isn’t something that would make others go through unnecessary troubles to avoid.

”Master has been contemplating for decades and has decided to travel to the Northern Plains in pursuit of his path of cultivation. Uncle Master Zhou’s only child died in the Foundation Establishment tribulation three years ago, and his heart has turned to ash; he has since entered closed-door cultivation.”

Li Qingyun felt a chill in his heart as he spoke.

In a short time, two of the Qiyu Sect’s Golden Pill masters, one had departed and the other had entered seclusion, giving the impression that they intended to pass the sect on to him. He wanted to say something, but he knew it would be fruitless.

His master’s life expectancy was at most just over a hundred years, without any attachments left.

At such a time, the Dao path was his only obsession. Who would dare to obstruct it?

”I understand your intentions now,”

Jiang Ding said with a wry smile.

It meant taking the Qiyu Sect under his protection, not as a mere Cultivator at the Peak of Foundation Building, but as a Tushan Sword Cultivator, with the hope that in times of crisis, he could lend a hand.

”In that case, it can be done. If I have the time, Tushan Immortal City will offer some help,”

Pretending to consult for a moment, Jiang Ding replied.

”Thank you, Uncle Master!”

Li Qingyun was ecstatic, repeatedly bowing in thanks, his heart much lighter.

The Tushan Sword Cultivator, who had slain four Golden Pill Monks in recent years, was exceptionally renowned and could be considered invincible in this region. With just a word from him, the Qiyu Sect would be as stable as Mount Tai.

”Regarding the second matter, my master has also agreed,”

From the depths of the Demon Palace, a terrifying pressure descended, scorching hot and sharp, engulfing Li Qingyun’s body, rendering his mana and flesh completely immobile. He couldn’t even flicker an eyelid, his face showing panic.

After a long while, the pressure dissipated.

”The Lung Channel of Taiyin here needs more refinement. Your Divine Sense has reached the necessary level of condensation, but you can still improve in this aspect...”

Jiang Ding tossed a jade slip to him.

The second favor Immortal Baimei had earnestly requested naturally concerned Li Qingyun’s Foundation Establishment. He had procured a Classics-grade practice method, possibly from the Nine Heavens Relics.

In any case, the Foundation Establishment experiences of the Qiyu Sect suddenly seemed somewhat mismatched. Thus, they turned their favor towards the Tushan Sword Cultivator, hoping for guidance.

Having the strength of a Post-golden Alchemist during the early Golden Pill stage indicated that the cultivation method practiced was extraordinary.

”Thank you, Uncle Master, and thank you, Ancestor Tushan,”

Li Qingyun, trembling with awe, was nearly ready to fall to his knees in respect and took quite some time to recover before he bid farewell and departed.

The Demon Palace returned to tranquility.

Jiang Ding closed his eyes, about to enter a state of cultivation, when a thought crossed his mind, and he looked towards a certain place.

...

Outside the Demon Palace.

A young man with an extremely ordinary appearance crept sneakily to the entrance. As a Cultivator at the Peak of the Foundation Building stage, he first offered a respectful greeting to Chun Jian, the First Maid of Spring, who was clenching her sword, meditating by the doorway.

”Miss, my name is Han Lin, and I seek an audience with Uncle Master?”

”Han Lin?”

Chun Jian opened her eyes in confusion, sweeping him with her Divine Sense, confirming three times she didn’t recognize him. His cultivation base was not significant enough to warrant attention. She offered a polite, formulaic smile, ”Fellow Daoist, the young master is in closed-door cultivation and is not seeing visitors.”

Tushan Immortal City has stood here for many years, and disciples of the Qiyu Sect, Loose Cultivators, Golden Pill Monks, and others have attempted to visit each year.

None have ever succeeded.

Even the Golden Pill Monks merely left their visiting cards politely.

”This... I am...”

Han Lin’s expression froze.

Opening his mouth to speak, he was at a loss for words.

After many years away from home, out of the vast sea of people, there were practically none who knew him, except for a very few.

”Come in,”

A voice arose, reaching the ears of both individuals.

”Please, esteemed guest,”

Chun Jian was momentarily stunned but quickly stepped aside to clear the path.

With reverence on his face, Han Lin quickly stepped into the palace and soon, beneath the ceiling as wide as the heavens, he saw a young man in green clothes.

Just like in the past, without any change.

He couldn’t help but be taken aback momentarily.

He faintly remembered meeting in a broken temple in Dongling City more than a hundred years ago, their first encounter, exactly the same.

”After all these years, you’ve finally returned home,”

Jiang Ding asked casually.

”How are the sights and sounds of the Northern Plains? Have you been well these years?”