Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

Jiang Ding flew past the accommodation area for Foundation-building cultivators, which was empty. He then continued to fly higher.

On his way up,

The colossal Heaven-Covering Banyan, huge as a mountain peak, rushed past his eyes with its leaves and branches.

The air became increasingly thin, and the temperature dropped steadily.

Eventually, when he arrived at the middle layer, the temperature had plummeted to tens of degrees below zero. No living beings could survive, yet the leaves of the banyan remained lush and green.

Without stopping, he passed through the middle layer and continued upward until he reached the warm stratosphere, also known as the ionosphere.

Here, solar radiation, especially ultraviolet and X-rays, directly bombarded the atmosphere, ionizing some of the neutral molecules and atoms into free electrons and positive ions.

This was the place where Foundation-building cultivators of Xianmen Sect underwent the Golden Pill Tribulation, and the Golden Platform was constructed here for that purpose.

Undergoing the tribulation on the Golden Platform could increase the likelihood of success by ten to twenty percent.

The conditions for use were quite stringent: One must have made significant contributions in battle, or achieved major scientific or educational results for the Xianmen Sect, or be credited with the accomplishments of one’s parents. Spirit Stones were useless.

Out of all the Foundation-building cultivators in Xianmen Sect, scarcely one in ten thousand could utilize it.

Even so, the standards had been slightly lowered after Xianmen Sect acquired the thirteenth Small World, Gang Han World.

The reason Jiang Ding had not used it back then was because his mana and Divine Sense had already been honed to the limit achievable by a Foundation-building cultivator, or at least to the limit recognized in the Immortal Path explorations of Xianmen Sect. No external force could be of any help.

He flew through the ionosphere.

As he delved deeper, he reached a point four hundred kilometers above the ground. Here, the sheer amount of solar radiation completely ionized the neutral molecules and atoms into free electrons and positive ions.

This was also known as the magnetosphere.

”This place...”

Jiang Ding suddenly felt a heart palpitation, a strong sense of familiarity blossoming in his heart.

He looked around at the ionized clouds.

Electromagnetism, Great Sun.

These two elements were the twin pillars of his Dao.

Electromagnetism had its origins in one of the Immortal Sect Nine Fairy Scriptures, the ”All-transforming Magnetic Origin Sutra”.

The Great Sun came from the Sword of Dao Foundation, the Taiqing Flying Sword.

And here, in this location, a certain fusion of these two key elements of the Dao occurred.

This heart palpitation came swiftly and vanished just as quickly, leaving no trace behind no matter how he tried to grasp it or think about it.

”Yet another direction not pursued by Xianmen Sect, the Electromagnetic Sword Dao and the Great Sun Sword Dao,” Jiang Ding cursed softly, unsurprised by this phenomenon.

Wishes for inspiration would be lucky to provide a direction, let alone specifics—that was asking for too much.

At times like this, he envied Zhong Guangzi and the others.

Walking on paths trodden by countless predecessors, encountering every conceivable challenge, they could find solutions simply by researching.

”After reaching the Nascent Soul, I must begin to explore this area,” Jiang Ding thought as he opened his notes to record this matter.

”Zhong Guangzi, huh, what’s so great about him,” he remembered how just a few months ago, he had been thoroughly outclassed by Zhong Guangzi during a lecture at the Great Sun Sword Pavilion, and it stung his heart slightly: ”Your limit is the limit of the Great Sun Sword Pavilion, but as I research and progress step by step, I have no limits. Difficulties and dead ends have honed me, and the future will be different.”

”Being first at the moment doesn’t mean being first for a lifetime.”

”You who take shortcuts will regret it eventually.”

As he mused, Jiang Ding flew through clusters of disorderly gathered ionized clouds. Suddenly, the leaves and branches of the banyan vanished, revealing a vast open space that stretched as far as the eye could see.

In the center, a dazzling, golden platform, more than thirty kilometers wide, floated motionlessly.

Made of an unknown golden alloy and covered with intricate runes, it emitted flashes of light from time to time, dispersing the surrounding ionized clouds to prevent them from disturbing the cultivator undergoing tribulation in the middle.

Atop the Golden Platform sat Jin Lingfeng, cross-legged with a serene expression on her small face, her silver hair draped over her shoulders.

An Siyan, on the other hand, sat on another Golden Platform far away, separated by a distance of over forty kilometers and protected by tight Formation Methods to prevent the outside world from affecting her Foundation Establishment.

Jiang Ding let his Divine Sense sweep across the area.

There were quite a few people, around a hundred and ten, mostly Peak of Foundation Building cultivators, who had applied through the official Xianmen Sect website, gathering experience for their future Foundation Establishment.

It was the norm, the right and duty of every citizen.

Some were relatives as well.

Among them were a few Golden Pill Monks, several Nascent Soul Monks, and the most striking was a young girl dressed in pure white palace attire, with a Nascent Soul Peak cultivation base. She stood beside the Taiyin Swordsman Yu Qianqian, talking in a low voice about something from time to time.

Immortal Yueling.

From her appearance, it was known that she had started building her foundation quite early, and in her youth, she must have been a character much like an elite as well.

The circle of Nascent Soul and Golden Pill Cultivators around her mostly consisted of her students and relatives.

”Greetings to all the seniors.”

Jiang Ding stepped forward to greet them one by one.

”Great Sun Swordsman.”

With a gentle voice and a smile, exuding grace and elegance, Immortal Yueling casually asked, ”When are you marrying my daughter?”

”I am still young.”

”I prioritize the Immortal Path and am not considering starting a family for the time being.”

Jiang Ding, without a hint of panic, bowed respectfully.

That was the truth.

Given the lifespan of a Taoist disciple, he was still very young, like a three or four-year-old child, and for the time being, he hadn’t thought much about weighty matters like marriage, childbearing, and carrying on his lineage.

”Quibbling.”

Immortal Yueling softly rebuked and said no more.

Jiang Ding bowed once again, then turned to leave and went over to An Siyan to meticulously check the Formation Method in the area and politely greet her parents.

He also met her sister An Sinuo, a woman with a rather pleasing appearance, whom he had briefly encountered during the college entrance examination years before.

She was now in the Latter Stage of Foundation Building with an aura of a Magic-Level Technique, not good nor bad, and she might have a ten to twenty percent chance of reaching the Golden Pill opportunity in the future.

”Jiang Ding.”

An Sinuo expressed her concerns with some anxiety, ”From our year of the college entrance examination, you’re probably the first to establish the Foundation. Do you think my sister will be successful?”

The Golden Pill.

Swallowing one Golden Pill, one becomes an immortal among humans, extending their life by six hundred years and vastly surpassing the qualitative difference from ordinary cultivators.

”The probability is very high.”

Jiang Ding did not conclude but gave his own judgment.

An Sinuo felt somewhat relieved.

In the sky, the wind began to surge, and Spiritual Energy gathered, with dark clouds converging from afar.

It was Jin Lingfeng’s side that began first.

Jiang Ding apologized briefly, then turned and left. His Azure Escape Light flashed, and in the blink of an eye, he arrived at the site of the tribulation, silently watching the silver-haired girl on the Golden Platform.

The area of Spiritual Energy convergence gradually expanded, ten kilometers, twenty kilometers...

In the blink of an eye,

a funnel-shaped vortex of Spiritual Energy formed, connecting to the clouds above and the Golden Platform below, a magnificent sight to behold.

In the center of the vortex, Spiritual Energy was being furiously compressed, forcing the Mana within the Elixir Field to transform from liquid to solid state, taking on the initial form of a Golden Pill.

The tribulation clouds continued to expand, swelling over the course of about a month’s time, thirty kilometers, forty kilometers... ninety kilometers!

Jiang Ding’s heart relaxed.

This Foundation Establishment celestial phenomenon undoubtedly indicated an exceptional Golden Pill, even exceeding the standard of fifty kilometers by quite a lot.

What came next were Jin Lingfeng’s Internal Demon Tribulation and Heavenly Tribulation.

Boom!

Before long, the dark clouds accumulated enough thunderous force and sent down a thick bolt of lightning, striking the silver-haired girl on the Golden Platform.