Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

Many Golden Pill Monks ascended the spinning stone staircase, a total of ninety-nine steps, with measured steps heading upwards.

Jiang Ding’s Divine Sense scanned the surroundings and, as expected, spotted traces of a now-defunct anti-flying formation method, which, after thousands of years of erosion, had long since lost its efficacy.

Thousands of years ago, from the Sect Master down to the newly joined mortal disciples, everyone was supposed to ascend step by step from here, filled with reverence and gratitude, in search of the inherited wisdom left by countless generations of predecessors from the Luoxu Clan, as a ladder for their own entry into the Immortal Path.

”Such an abundance of cultivation methods and texts, this is not something an ordinary sect could possess.”

”The Luoxu Clan’s reverence for cultivation methods and knowledge must be extraordinary.”

Jiang Ding silently thought, ”The birth of Shuoyang Heavenly Monarch, an invincible being in this realm, may not be a mere coincidence. The exploration of the Immortal Path by generations of sages from the Luoxu Clan has surely played a crucial role.”

Although the anti-flying formation was no longer active, everyone still solemnly ascended the stone stairs at a leisurely pace.

Better safe than sorry.

When not in a hurry, the patience of Golden Pill Monks is formidable, and they would not risk an unknown danger for a little convenience.

On the second floor, the sea of books was still seemingly endless, but the number was evidently less than on the first floor.

”These are all second-tier cultivation methods, magic, artifact-refining inheritances, alchemy inheritances, and the like.”

Jiang Ding casually seized a stone tablet, read it with his Divine Sense for a moment, and judged, ”This should be the place where Foundation-building cultivators of the Luoxu Clan came often ten thousand years ago. The inheritance is intricate and exquisite, and by making it the sect’s tradition, Foundation-building disciples could have a foundation as strong as that of the Liudao Sect, Iron Family of Rule Mountain, and other major powers.”

”Even, perhaps surpass them at the Foundation Building Stage.”

Casually comparing the Luoxu Clan’s Foundation-building inheritance and the inheritances of Hei Clan and Yin’s cultivators he had obtained before, Jiang Ding vaguely arrived at an almost unbelievable conclusion.

The development of cultivation techniques in the Northern Plains had not progressed over the course of ten thousand years, but instead had experienced a slight regression!

If this situation were to persist for tens of thousands, or a hundred thousand years more, any random Foundation-building cultivation method from this place could become so-called ancient cultivation methods--powerful, simple to cultivate with, fast, and with lower requirements—achieving feats that others could not.

If any lucky individual were to obtain it, they might well become an elite figure, like that of a main character in a story.

”This has really turned into archaeological cultivation.”

Jiang Ding commented in his mind, then turned and asked, ”Does anyone need to select a cultivation method? If not, I’m going to take them.”

Since he had promised, he would keep his word. He wouldn’t force anyone.

”As Lord Tushan says,”

Everyone bowed in unison.

Although some of these second-tier inheritances could be hugely beneficial to their sects or family traditions, they were inconsequential compared to the quest for the Nascent Soul Path.

However, Jiang Ding did not start collecting them but looked toward a fair-complexioned woman clad in a blue dress.

She was at the later stages of Golden Pill cultivation and, after whispering for a few moments with her senior sister--a cultivator at the peak of the Golden Pill realm--showed a hesitant expression, unlike others who had replied promptly.

”Lord Tushan, my name is Ou Yuling.”

The woman in the blue dress took a deep breath and bowed, ”I would like to find a second-tier inheritance called the ’Elixir Infant Miscellaneous Talks.’ Please forgive me for the imposition.”

”Granted,”

Jiang Ding did not ask why or where she had gotten the information from.

After confirming no one else had objections, he expanded his Divine Sense, sweeping across each bookshelf. After determining that the inheritance mentioned by the woman was not there, he collected the entire shelf of Spirit Wood books.

Compared to the first floor, the quality of materials such as jade slips, beast hides, and talisman scriptures, used as carriers for the inheritance on this floor, was much better, and most had remained intact over thousands of years. They did not risk disintegrating at the mere forceful reading by Divine Sense, as could happen with the cultivation methods on the first floor.

As he acted, the woman in the blue dress, as well as her senior sister and a few other Golden Pill Monks who had been promised something, also began searching. Their Divine Senses constantly swept over the shelves of the second floor, occasionally taking out a jade slip inheritance to check.

Many Golden Pill Monks around showed signs of irritation, thinking the woman was wasting time, yet there were some whose eyes lit up, joining the search with interest.

Searching, leafing through, time flew by swiftly.

```

Several days passed,

more than ten days passed,

the entire second layer of space became quiet, with the sound of flipping pages occasionally emerging, returning it to its original state.

”This ’Magnetic Light Heavenly Thunder Method’ is useless, completely unoriginal. The research done by Xianmen Sect has far surpassed this; it’s completely outdated…”

”This ’Three Fire Spirit Method’ is worth referencing, it could be worth some library points…”

With time to spare, Jiang Ding even had the leisure to pull out some cultivation method books for a bit of study, repairing damaged jade slips, and engaging in his own professional expertise, often achieving new insights.

Many of the ideas in the cultivation methods were unheard of, unconventional, simply not something a normal person would conceive.

But the predecessors of the Luoxu Clan actually made them, and made them work, providing him with quite a bit of enlightenment.

”No wonder…”

Jiang Ding had a realization, ”Xianmen Sect is so tirelessly pursuing new knowledge of the Immortal Path, these seemingly low-level things, when utilized properly, are incredibly valuable.”

From then on, he became much more serious, with a more solemn expression, skimming through the cultivation methods one by one, not seeking to understand them fully—there were too many and not enough time.

He was simply trying to get an impression, so he would know where to find them when necessary in the future.

”This one, causality?”

After flipping through more than two hundred thousand volumes, Jiang Ding let out a light exclamation, his gaze landing on a jade slip: ”Cause and Effect Guiding Skills.”

”Causality?”

”Is the Luoxu Clan so lax in their studies? Even foundation-building cultivators dare boast of touching on causality; this is sheer arrogance.”

”They probably haven’t even figured out their own Divine Sense.”

Jiang Ding sneered, feeling somewhat disappointed.

As expected, he wasn’t proved wrong upon a casual glance; it was a mix of layman superstitions, shamanistic mumbling, and some cultivator family relations and entanglement, claiming to be able to purify the heart, eliminate desires, sever causality, thus smoothing the path of cultivation, greatly reducing bottlenecks.

”After all, the Luoxu Clan is an ancient sect; it’s normal for them to be negligent in this respect,” Jiang Ding consoled himself.

If they really were a sect that constantly spoke of vague things such as the Dao and causality, then the value of their exploration of the Immortal Path would be much less.

He continued collecting and organizing the cultivation methods books.

”Cause and Effect Miscellaneous Talks,” ”Golden Causality,” ”Wood Causality”… ”The Cause and Effect of Five Elements,” ”My Causality,” ”The Cause and Effect of Humanity,” ”The Cause and Effect of Heaven and Earth”…

The more he read, the more frequently the words ’cause and effect’ appeared.

”…Causality…”

Jiang Ding went from initial dislike, irritation, and concern, to an increasingly serious expression.

”The majority of these are utter nonsense, but, in a few, what is said overlaps with Xianmen Sect’s research on causality…

No, that’s not right. The Way of Cause and Effect is too esoteric.

These people might not necessarily be spouting nonsense; I don’t understand it, so I can’t judge.”

”What kind of weird sect is this?”

”They start researching this at the very Foundation Building Stage and have truly come up with something. This is against common sense; there must be something defying common sense influencing this.”

Jiang Ding’s eyes sparkled slightly.

Abnormalities, things that defy common sense, are exactly what he has been searching for.