Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

It seems there is little danger in the land of the Three Kingdoms.

It’s too remote for an Immortal of Nascent Soul to linger, and the resources of the second and third order are nearly useless to them; not every power has the immortal industry to synthesize high-level resources.

However, it’s best not to take risks if they can be avoided.

Jiang Ding’s true body continued flying into the depths of the Soulless Desert, randomly looking for a place to then delve deep underground, where even the Spirit Transformation Heavenly Monarch would struggle to find him.

Communication with the outside world was maintained through an encrypted teleportation Formation.

This is not the end.

After some years, he will leave this place, and those who wish to ambush him are destined to be disappointed.

Another Jiang Ding is a handsome young man in green robes, a longsword hanging at his waist, not concealing anything, walking step by step towards Tushan Immortal City.

Before long.

”Long time no see.”

Jiang Ding looked at the Immortal City before him, his expression one of absent-mindedness.

There are many cities of Xianmen Sects, and many in the Northern Plains, many of which are more magnificent than this one, but when it comes to emotional attachment, none is deeper than here.

Every blade of grass and brick in this place came into being under his watchful eye.

After crossing more than ten kilometers, he arrived beneath the Immortal City.

Cultivators bustled around, both Foundation-building cultivators and Qi Practitioners present; occasionally some would look at this new young face with greedy eyes akin to looking at a plump sheep, hesitating for long but eventually not taking action, instead looking for other targets that seemed easier to exploit.

The elderly, children, the disabled, wandering alone through the wilderness.

In the eyes of many seasoned cultivators, this signals danger.

Jiang Ding ignored the greed of the cultivators around him, his Divine Sense sweeping tens of kilometers around to simply make an assessment.

”The public order has deteriorated sharply; even within a ten-kilometer radius of the Immortal City, murder for treasure is not uncommon.”

”There are many Demon Cultivators; devouring souls and refining treasures in broad daylight, manufacturing Magic Tools from cultivators’ flesh and blood are common sights, with bystanders indifferent... This is a city very friendly to Demon Cultivators.”

Jiang Ding thought.

Decades have passed, and almost all the Qi Practitioners around have changed; not one from his memory remains.

Foundation-building cultivators, on the other hand, some are familiar and recorded in the database of his Sea of Consciousness, while others are entirely new, probably coming from abroad or newly advanced from Qi Practitioners.

However, no one, whether familiar or not, reacted to his presence; in the past, they didn’t know him, having only appeared within the scope of his Divine Sense.

Decades have passed, and the city no longer resembles its past self; much has changed, and no one would remember someone inconsequential to their daily lives.

He followed along, queuing with Foundation-building cultivators and Qi Practitioners to enter the city.

On the city walls hung various heads, belonging to cultivators of Qi Practicing, Foundation Building, and Golden Pill alike, each with a grimace and faces smeared with blood—these were cultivators who violated the laws of Hei Clan’s Tushan Immortal City, executed and displayed as a warning to all.

Jiang Ding lingered on a face for a moment, sinking into memories.

This head, could it be Li Mingda?

At the Peak of Foundation Building, he had once led him from the Jianghu of Yue Country into the Qiyu Sect, and they had guarded Spirit Mines together, sharing some camaraderie.

Considering his age, he must have been close to the two-hundred-and-fifty-year limit, a time to reflect on life and enjoy his twilight years.

Now, however, he’s been killed and hung on the city wall, his Divine Soul trapped within, tortured day and night by Demon Fire until, decades later, his soul dissipates entirely.

Jiang Ding sighed.

”There are great rewards for those who capture or kill the remnants of Qiyu Sect and Xuetu Hall, including the award of a VIP order for Tushan Immortal City!”

”For those who are remnants of both sects and surrender themselves, their crimes will be pardoned, and they will be employed by the Immortal City.”

At the city gate,

a bearded Foundation-building cultivator shouted loudly, eyeing the passing cultivators with a fierce gaze.

Those caught by his stare shuddered, promptly showing respectful, ingratiating expressions, bowing their heads, not daring to show the slightest defiance.

”It seems something has happened recently that has the city’s authorities on edge.”

With a sweep of his Divine Sense, Jiang Ding gathered information from the transmissions of many cultivators.

”The Old Demon Qingyu has attacked the city’s Third-order Spirit Mine again.”

Foundation-building cultivators communicated with their companions through Divine Sense, expressing their terror, ”Above and below the spirit mine, all the Hei Clan cultivators and those assigned by the Immortal City to guard it have been burned to ashes.”

”Alas, ever since the two old city lords left, the Immortal City has become much more chaotic, and the remnants of the two sects have become active again.”

”When will it ever end, huh? No matter which side gains power, it’s always us Loose Cultivators who die...”

”This Ghost-headed Xu San, acting all high and mighty, just wait until the Hei Clan’s old masters tire of you, I’ll definitely...”

The whispering voices of many cultivators were as clear as idle chatter in the streets.

”Old Green Flame Demon...”

Jiang Ding mumbled to himself.

This world was never lacking in extraordinary individuals.

Given fertile soil and the passage of time, a continuous stream of high-level cultivators would be born, seeking out their prey like fierce beasts, especially after the Hei Clan had withdrawn a large number of cultivators from Tushan Immortal City to partake in the struggle for power and succession.

Among the many cultivators with bowed heads, a calm young man in green clothes was particularly conspicuous.

Many of the lowered-head cultivators looked at him with schadenfreude, secretly pondering where to hide in case of a conflict to avoid getting blood on themselves.

”Who are you?”

”Could you be one of Qiyu Sect’s remnants? Get me...”

The Foundation-building cultivator with a goatee, known as Ghost-headed Xu San, glared coldly at the young man in green, about to order his subordinates to capture him and casually throw him into the dungeons on trumped-up charges. But all of a sudden, he felt an intense jolt in his heart, cold as ice.

It was like a rabbit facing a tiger, his body and Divine Soul became instinctively stiff, and he was overcome with chilling paralysis, unable to move the slightest bit.

This instinct was so intense that it even overrode his reason.

”Take him down!”

Ghost-headed Xu San recovered, bellowed out, and with two pairs of iron-arm-like ghastly hands stretching out, he grabbed a Qi Practitioner at the First Level right in front of the young man, and said fiercely, ”Are you one of the Qiyu Sect’s remnants?”

This Qi Practitioner looked to be in his twenties or thirties, dressed like a chivalrous man, clearly someone who had obtained a Cultivation Method from the Jianghu and had come in search of an Immortal fate.

”Immortal Master,”

The chivalrous man’s face was pale as he stuttered, ”I... I’m not a remnant of the Qiyu Sect, truly not...”

Under the pressure of the Foundation-building cultivator, his mind went blank. The heroic ambitions he had and the battles he fought in the Jianghu were completely forgotten, his body shaking uncontrollably, with faint urine stains on his trousers.

”Not one?”

”Good, good.”

Ghost-headed Xu San’s face softened, speaking comforting words, ”Since you’re not, then I owe you an apology. This is compensation for you, and I hope you’ll forgive me.”

He handed out a storage bag, placing it into the young chivalrous man’s embrace.

The dozen or so subordinates around him who were about to apprehend the thief stood frozen in place.

The Loose Cultivators waiting to enter the city were just as stunned, suspecting they were hallucinating. How could Ghost-headed Xu San have become such a good person, not only apologizing but also offering Spirit Stones?

”Esteemed sir,”

Soon, it was Jiang Ding’s turn in line. Ghost-headed Xu San knelt on the ground, saying with utmost respect, ”Is this your first time to Tushan Immortal City? May I ask for your name? What brings you here?”

Without waiting for a response, he continued to explain with a smile.

”There’s no need for your real name, any name will do, and whatever you’re here for, say anything you want—it’s just so my men have something to write down. Once we record your aura, you can enter the city, with no entry fee. You can stay as long as you like.”

”If it bothers you, my men can write it down for you.”

The eyes of the cultivators around bulged in disbelief.

Each of them frantically wondered in their Sea of Consciousness who this distinguished descendant was, causing such abject groveling.

Gradually, the Qi Practitioners were still fine, but some of the older Foundation-building cultivators trembled with fear, their scalp numb and their bodies beginning to shake. They wished they could instantly sprout eight legs to quickly flee from this place.

”Hello, I’m not a sir.”

”I’m only sixteen this year.”

Jiang Ding, following procedure, registered himself softly, ”My name is Tushan.”

”The reason I’m here is to kill all the Hei Clan’s Golden Pill Monks and all the Demon Cultivators who use humans as cultivation materials.”

”That’s all, nothing more.”