Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

The wind whistled as swathes of grassland swept by beneath.

Jiang Ding’s Divine Sense swept across all directions, continuously collecting and recording the various landscapes, languages, and customs of the Northern Plains, comparing and verifying them with the memories of Immortal Tiankuang, Ms. Thousand Snakes, and others.

Across the grassland, tribes and felt tents appeared intermittently, with people herding cattle and sheep, settling wherever there was water and grass.

Occasionally, a small mountain could be seen on the horizon.

This often represented a strategic location that surrounding tribes would fight over at great cost; its wood could be used as fuel, to construct the frames of tents, to make bows and arrows, and its bark could be turned into rope. The uses were endless and vital to survival.

As Jiang Ding’s Divine Sense swept over, he discovered that these odd, stand-alone small mountains seemed to gather spiritual energy, with a concentration higher than in other places, which allowed the flora and fauna there to flourish.

This natural phenomenon of Gathering Spirits could potentially give birth to a Spiritual Vein.

Without hurrying on his journey, Jiang Ding silently travelled through the skies for more than ten days. Then, the land rose to reveal a majestic mountain city on the horizon.

It was constructed entirely of massive stones, rustic and towering, over thirty meters high, almost beyond the limits of ordinary human capability.

An abrupt presence towering over the grassland.

Black Mountain Holy City!

This was the sacred place in the hearts of all the nomads and priests on the vast grasslands around, sung about from generation to generation; even in death, they would pray towards this direction, seeking riches in the afterlife from Longevity Heaven.

Around the Holy City, there were densely distributed fields where wheat, millet, and other crops were planted. The land was fertile, partially restoring the farming lifestyle, and the crops grew vigorously, contrasting with the barren grassland.

”A Spiritual Vein Lower Class of Second-Order...”

As Jiang Ding’s Divine Sense swept over, he found the source of it all.

”There are a few Foundation-building cultivators who have not fled and still remain in their lair. It seems what Han Lin said about the collapse of the righteous and demonic alliance is not true.”

...

”Drink up!”

”Brother Heng, let’s not stop until we’re drunk today!”

In the most splendid palace of the royal residence, the reigning Hei Khan carefully accompanied the others, toasting with caution, his face flushed and swaying with a hint of nausea after a bit of drink.

”You may leave.”

A Foundation-building cultivator with a bare chest frowned, swept his sleeve, and flung the Khan out of the room, leaving only the beauties from all over the grassland and two other Foundation-building cultivators to continue drinking.

”It’s my fault.”

Hei Khan continued to smile apologetically, feeling a sigh of relief in his heart as he backed away step by step from the great hall, taking a long while before turning to leave.

The sounds of strings and drums, along with the laughter of the beauties, continued to resonate from the grand hall, interspersed with giggles and gasps.

After a long time, the panting quieted down somewhat.

”Brother Heng, although this Khan is a mortal, he is of the direct lineage. Won’t there be consequences for treating him so lightly?”

A beardless white-faced man pushed several beauties off his body, voicing his concerns.

”Even if it is the direct lineage, he is still merely a mortal. No one will care about that.”

Before the burly Foundation-building cultivator could reply, another lean cultivator discarded the notion with an almost imperceptible cold sneer, ”Moreover, who knows when the Great Sun Sect will attack, and we are all doomed. What does it matter whether it’s the direct lineage or the collateral line?”

”Direct lineage, heh heh.”

”Stop talking about that.”

The white-faced cultivator furrowed his brow, flicked his fingers with a Mana Technique, and small ant-like Runes flew from his hands into the foreheads of the surrounding beauties.

Some were confused, others terrified, realizing what was happening.

”Let’s drink!”

”Our paths have led us here, with no hope for Golden Pill. Why worry about such things?”

The man known as Brother Heng didn’t respond to their words but gulped down his alcohol, grabbing several beauties, eliciting screams.

Suddenly, within the palace, the three Foundation-building cultivators and numerous beauties’ movements stiffened, their eyes blank.

A few breaths later, they returned to normal.

Gasps and giggles were incessant, as they continued to indulge in a hedonistic life.

...

”Located Beast Spirit Immortal City.”

”Those three, they don’t know much.”

Jiang Ding skimmed through the memories in the Divine Souls of the three He Clan’s collateral lineage, ”In their hearts, this war has been going on for nearly two hundred years, with cultivators from the Great Sun Sect occasionally infiltrating, causing destruction and murder. The Foundation-building cultivators guarding Black Mountain Holy City die once every few years.”

”These recent years, there hasn’t been much difference.”

”Their rank is too low, even if some major change occurs, they wouldn’t know.”

After traveling for another five or six days, the concentration of the Heavenly Earth Spiritual Qi around suddenly rose, and cultivators began to appear, with Foundation-building Qi Practitioners encountered from time to time.

The public security was quite chaotic.

Interceptions, ambushes, murders for treasure, these things happened often. The infighting among the Loose Cultivators, the strife between big and small families, and the struggles between the He Clan’s collateral and direct lineages—revealing one’s identity didn’t work anymore. The war had gone on for too long, and everything was showing signs of collapse and loss of control.

Desolate Spirit Fields and Spirit Tree gardens could be seen occasionally, with the basic production of the cultivation world nearly grinding to a halt.

At such times, farming was like making bridal clothes for others, turning oneself into fat prey in the eyes of many Bandit Cultivators, with any stray effects of a mana battle potentially washing away all effort.

Struggles, death.

Flesh and Divine Souls were collected into the Diabolism Magic Tools, nothing wasted.

Jiang Ding quietly observed all this, concealing his form.

No one saw him, no one interacted with him, causing no causal relations or troubles, just a passerby.

After another seven or eight days, the concentration of Heavenly Earth Spiritual Qi around rose another level, barely reaching the level of a miniature Spiritual Vein. It was like this everywhere.

”This concentration of Spiritual Energy...”

Jiang Ding calculated, ”If the He Clan doesn’t have a method like the Xianmen Sect to influence and regulate the Heavenly Earth Spiritual Qi over a vast area, then at every node of the Spiritual Veins, there must be many Second and Third-tier Spiritual Veins, and the chance for Fourth-tier Spiritual Veins is quite high.”

”Give me three or four days, and I should be able to calculate the possible locations of the Fourth-tier Spiritual Veins.”

”Of course, it’s not that troublesome, just asking someone would do.”

After three or four days, Golden Pill Monks began to appear from time to time.

Along the way, Third-tier Spiritual Veins were encountered five or six times, with a very high density.

The order that had nearly collapsed was beginning to recover nearby, the cultivators of the He Clan once again becoming the sincerely respected individuals, whom no one dared to provoke. Production activities such as farming, mining, Spiritual Lakes, and so on, were still maintained.

”Cultivators do have this going for them.”

Jiang Ding praised, ”The Northern Plains families have ruled for almost ten thousand years, right? Yet, they can’t enslave them mentally like mortals, to act cowardly when they should but immediately turn into hungry wolves when an opportunity presents itself.”

”The existence of people like Blood Cloud makes sense.”

In the distance, an ominous black city appeared on the horizon. Even separated by hundreds of kilometers, one could faintly feel the pressure that leaked out between its presence and absence, making even Golden Pill Monks tremble in their hearts at the sight.

”Beast Spirit Immortal City, this is the place.”

Jiang Ding paused in his step.

”A place operated by the He Clan for thousands of years, reliant on a Fourth-tier Spiritual Vein, who knows how many protective Formation Methods and traps have been laid within the Immortal City. Inside, Divine Crow Immortal could possibly fight beyond his rank.”

”Find a place, and wait.”

Jiang Ding muttered to himself.

”Several years, even decades, in this tumultuous era, he cannot remain indoors indefinitely.”

”The super warship can monitor within a thousand kilometers. If he steps out, he’ll be killed.”