Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

”You, for your own selfish desires, are instigating a war too soon, and it will lead to the downfall of the Xianmen Sect!”

”How can I bear this in my heart?”

Amongst the overwhelming murderous intent, in the gaze of countless aged Immortals of Nascent Soul, True Monarch Bo Ming bellowed.

Jiang Ding fell into deep thought.

True Monarch Bo Ming, too, was an elderly Nascent Soul, and he also desperately wished for the opportunity to achieve Divinity Transformation, a strong innate desire to cling to life.

But now, he was trying to prevent the premature outbreak of war.

”Bo Ming!”

”Stop your clever rhetoric and short-sightedness!”

Immortal Dinghai snorted coldly, ”All the reasons you’ve stated must have already been considered by our elders. Since they have approved the war, it indicates that now is the best time to start. It’s not the place for a mere Nascent Soul Monk to make noise!”

”Exactly, that’s right!”

”True Monarch Bo Ming has had too much contact with the Extra-terrestrial Immortal Sects, and thus has been unwittingly intimidated by them. How foolish?”

The surrounding Immortals all spoke up, from the relations between domains to the natural appeasement tendencies of the diplomatic corps, to disdain for the scholarly sects. Various arguments and rationales added up to a thorough academic critique.

”Don’t talk about these irrelevancies!”

”I just have one question, do any of you dare to answer?”

True Monarch Bo Ming, with eyebrows fiercely knitted, confronted the Nascent Soul Immortals clamoring below and snorted, ”If the Xianmen Sect is developing at a faster pace than the Eight Great Immortal Sects, then why not strive to delay the war in order to gain the greatest advantage?!”

Silence followed.

”The ways of the world don’t always conform to one’s wishes...”

”Long delays aren’t good either...”

Immortal Dinghai and the others evasively answered his question.

”Afraid to answer directly,”

True Monarch Bo Ming scoffed.

”You group of selfish cultivators... Ah!”

Just as he was about to say something, from below, an old man with a face full of wrinkles, resembling orange peel, flew up.

”What’s all this noise!”

”So annoying!”

The elder did not care at all; he grabbed the collar and swung his fist, beating in a frenzy, leaving True Monarch Bo Ming crying out miserably, unable to speak.

Guards flew in from afar, but upon seeing the situation, they hesitated and then retreated.

”Serves you right!”

Zhang Junsheng reveled in schadenfreude.

”This...”

Jiang Ding frowned slightly within his heart, displeased.

True Monarch Bo Ming must have the right to speak! This right was granted by the laws of the Xianmen Sect, to argue, to rally more people in opposition, to drown out his voice with more voices.

But this kind of violent silencing...

”Jiang Ding, it’s not what you think.”

”The guards haven’t been bribed by us.”

Immortal Dinghai understood his student and waved his hand, ”The one beating Bo Ming is True Monarch Pin Bo. He has made tremendous achievements in the application of water ripple magic and is considered one of the forefathers of the Xianmen Sect’s wave-class magic...

But that’s not important.

What’s important is, he’s Bo Ming’s father.”

”So that’s how it is!”

Jiang Ding suddenly realized.

What had just happened must have been Bo Ming stopping the guards from intervening, probably using the excuse of cultivators sparring, as it is common for high-level cultivators to spar every now and then.

To attack someone in the Military Assembly Hall of the Xianmen Sect is a serious crime!

But even so, one couldn’t possibly have their own father locked up for decades or centuries, right?

”You old thing, even if you do this... ah... I will not yield...”

”Ah...”

True Monarch Bo Ming’s cries of agony continued as he could not finish a sentence; but he was still speaking, if not with his mouth, then with his Divine Sense, spreading his views to the surrounding Nascent Soul Monks.

Slowly, many of the previously murderously inclined Nascent Soul Monks quieted down.

Even the three Immortals including Dinghai sighed secretly, pondering something.

Jiang Ding could tell at a glance that they were hesitating.

In the hearts of many Immortals, the survival of the Xianmen Sect is as crucial as their own life and death. Don’t be fooled by the murderous look on their faces; they might have already given up in their hearts or even have been persuaded by Bo Ming to start opposing the war.

In response to this, Jiang Ding, though his heart bristled with murderous intent and concern for his Taoist disciples, said nothing.

He walked into the Military Assembly Hall, found his seat, and closed his eyes to rest.

His life was too short, only sixteen years old, there was so much he didn’t know, was unclear about, and found it difficult to make the right judgment in the face of Domain-Level forces.

Three days passed quickly.

Jiang Ding opened his eyes, looking around. Thousands of Nascent Soul Immortals and nearly a hundred Spirit Transformation Heavenly Monarchs had arrived and were sitting in their respective seats.

With so many powerful beings assembled in this small space, an unintentional oppressive aura pervaded the hall, almost solidifying the air. Golden Pill and Foundation-building cultivators could hardly speak or think in such an environment.

”...The military conference shall now officially commence.”

The chair of the military conference began, ”The Immortal Sect Military Committee appoints Divine Mechanism Heavenly Monarch as the supreme commander of this campaign, in charge of all matters concerning the war...”

”I object!”

”I oppose this campaign!”

”Senior Yuan, it’s still not too late to call it off!”

A voice emerged, and all eyes turned to see.

As expected, it was True Monarch Bo Ming.

His face was swollen and blue, his injuries laced with magic and unhealable, he looked a sorry sight, but his voice was firm, even in the face of the Divinity Transformation Cultivators.

”Following procedure, I, as the yet unresigned Minister of Foreign Affairs, request a re-vote on whether to execute this campaign!”

Yuan was taken aback.

Countless gazes turned his way, including those of many surprised Spirit Transformation Heavenly Monarchs.

”I’ve always believed that the timing is not yet ripe!”

True Monarch Bo Ming shouted, ”Fellow Daoists, fellow cultivators, why can we not continue to wait? A hasty war could bring about the annihilation of our Xianmen Sect!”

Many Immortals of Nascent Soul clenched their fists, staring at him intently.

The Spirit Transformation Heavenly Monarchs remained expressionless.

”Reason?”

Far from being angry, someone asked.

”The growth rate of Xianmen Sect is faster than that of the Eight Great Immortal Sects. The more time passes, the more advantageous our position becomes. In several thousand years, once the Dari Swordsman fully matures, our war would begin with victory!”

”Why can we not wait?”

”What is a moment of humiliation, a moment of waiting in comparison?”

True Monarch Bo Ming roared.

Murderous intent arose in Immortal Dinghai’s heart.

A moment of waiting?

This ’moment’ was his entire lifetime, where all chances to achieve Divinity Transformation would be wasted, aging to death in idle hope.

”True Monarch Bo Ming, your considerations make sense to some extent, but,”

Far looked to Divine Mechanism Heavenly Monarch, the commander-in-chief of the battlefield, signaling him to speak.

”But, it is too one-sided!”

The Divine Mechanism Heavenly Monarch took over the conversation, slowly saying, ”We cannot look at the Eight Great Immortal Sects as if they were large forces, but instead, we should consider how the eight Masters of Refining Nothingness are.”

”The likes and dislikes, the joys and sorrows of the Masters of Refining Nothingness, any one of these emotions can affect the life and death of countless beings.”

”The Masters of Refining Nothingness are the Immortal Sects.”

”What does this have to do with the matter at hand?”

True Monarch Bo Ming furiously retorted, giving no face.

He believed that just like the Immortals of Nascent Soul before, this was another avoidance of the main point, an unwillingness to directly answer his question, with not a trace of subtlety.

”You just said,”

The Divine Mechanism Heavenly Monarch raised an eyebrow, continuing to speak.

”Xianmen Sect is growing faster, and if we continue to wait, our strength will surpass the Eight Great Immortal Sects.’

”That is correct, though we are poorer.”

”As for waiting for Dari Swordsman to grow up... that is very difficult. The current estimate for the Great Sun Nascent Soul Art is one thousand nine hundred and twenty-seven years.

The future Divinity Transformation secret techniques are unpredictable.”

Jiang Ding remained silent.

”But Bo Ming, you have overlooked one thing!”

Suddenly, the pressure from Divine Mechanism Heavenly Monarch subtly radiated out. The horrors of seas of blood and sweeping wars across domains that the older cultivators had experienced flashed by, causing many Immortals of Nascent Soul to suffocate, their mana congealing.

”You have not considered the lifespan of Masters of Refining Nothingness!”

”Do you know how much lifespan the Refining Nothingness Cultivators of the Eight Great Immortal Sects still have?”

The Divine Mechanism Heavenly Monarch said coldly, ”The Xianmen Sect’s estimate is that it is between six thousand to eight thousand years. The lifespan of Masters of Refining Nothingness from each Immortal Sect varies, but generally, it is within this range.”

”Do you think we don’t want to wait?”

”The Masters of Refining Nothingness are not immortals, not gods; this is an indisputable truth.”

”They have a strong desire to live. Under normal circumstances, the Masters of Refining Nothingness would definitely not disregard danger and engage in a fight to the death, sacrificing themselves for the Sect or for a greater cause, nor does anyone dare to demand such a thing of them.”

”You want to wait for several thousand more years?”

The Divine Mechanism Heavenly Monarch’s voice was stern.

”Do you know that for every year that passes, as the lifespan of a Master of Refining Nothingness decreases by one more year, their potential danger increases by that much more? With each millennium, their danger increases significantly. Several thousand years?”

”After several thousand years,”

”We will see eight Masters of Refining Nothingness whose lives are nearing their end!”

”In such a situation,”

”Who can stand against it? Who will stand against it?”

”Who can withstand it?!”

”Therefore, now is the ideal war machine!”

The Divine Mechanism Heavenly Monarch slightly calmed his emotions, slowly saying, ”The Masters of Refining Nothingness are entering their twilight years, but they still have a long time to live.

The older a person is, the more precious their life becomes to them. They are unlike the youth or prime-aged who might recklessly throw away tens of thousands of years of life without a second thought, without even a frown.”

”This rare opportunity is the best time for Xianmen Sect to start a war, to liberate the many Small Worlds brutally ruled by Xuanwu Tiangong.”

”Once this strategic window is missed, it will no longer exist.”

”Previously, due to various considerations, we haven’t communicated with you, the younger generation, which indeed was our fault. We ask for your forgiveness.”

The Divine Mechanism Heavenly Monarch bowed slightly.

”Senior speaks too seriously.”

Jiang Ding and many Immortals of Nascent Soul hurriedly got up, stumbling over themselves to return the gesture.

”Do you still have any doubts?”

The Divine Mechanism Heavenly Monarch looked at True Monarch Bo Ming.

”No, no more.”

True Monarch Bo Ming’s face turned crimson, wishing he could find a hole to crawl into.

”Haha!”

”Bo Ming, there’s no need for this.”

Far laughed heartily, praising, ”What is there to be embarrassed about? If you don’t understand, ask about it; it is only right.

Even if you are a Nascent Soul Cultivator, so what?

This is what makes a good son or daughter of our Xianmen Sect. The grandeur and coercion of our seniors cannot change us.”

”’When three walk together, my teacher is among them.’”

Far’s voice rose slightly.

”Everyone should learn from True Monarch Bo Ming.”

”Yes!”

”What Far Senior says is right!”

Jiang Ding and a group of Immortals of Nascent Soul immediately stood up, sincerely bowing to True Monarch Bo Ming, ”True Monarch Bo Ming, we salute you and thank you for your teachings. We have gained much from them and are deeply grateful.”