Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

Jiang Ding concealed his form and lay in wait patiently near the Liudao Sect, his Divine Sense divided into hundreds of thousands of exceedingly fine strands to probe each Formation Method node, the flow of the Earth Vein, as well as the degree of connection between the Formation Method and the Yin Yang Magneto Mountain.

These were Formation-breaking Techniques from the Xianmen Sect.

He was confident that even if there was a Fifth Order Array Master coupled with a Nascent Soul Cultivator inside, he could escape even if his attempt to break the Formation failed, which is why he had come here.

”Yin Yang Magneto Spiritless Mountain... Was this place called that in ancient times?”

Jiang Ding pondered.

The moment his fine Divine Sense reached out, the thousand-zhang mountain seemed to tremble ever so lightly.

The mountain possessed Spirituality.

It was not the kind belonging to a land deity but rather the natural Spirituality that can spontaneously arise in mountains and rivers under highly spiritual environments.

Sealed by the Ancestor Master of the Liudao Sect for tens of thousands of years, the mountain’s Primordial Magnetism Force could not bloom; it yearned to break free, to shine once again between heaven and earth, freely casting its Yuan Magnetic Divine Light in all directions.

Now, acting on instinct, it detected something that felt familiar, like seeing one of its own, sending out faint emotions of joy, its natural spirituality attracted.

But that was all.

With an exceedingly slight Spirituality, and not being a living creature, it could do nothing.

Jiang Ding’s subtle Divine Sense delved deeper, scouting everything inside the Liudao Sect, especially the Cultivators, as it related to his own safety, and the intelligence from the Ice Phoenix Heavenly Monarch couldn’t be completely trusted.

If there was a Divinity Transformation Cultivator standing guard, such as the Iron Family’s Heavenly Monarch Wan Zhu of the Northern Plains Families cultivating here and not at Guishan Tie Family’s location, then he wouldn’t break the Formation.

Instead, he would head to Guishan Tie Family.

”The density of Spiritual Energy here exceeds that of Fourth Grade Supreme, yet hasn’t reached the Fifth Order; it would be considered a Quasi-Fifth Order Spiritual Vein...”

As Jiang Ding’s fine Divine Sense touched upon them bit by bit, sweeping over the grounds of the Liudao Sect, the data that could be gathered flew about his Sea of Consciousness for rapid calculation, bringing him a moment of relief.

”There’s no Fifth Order Spiritual Vein.”

”Good, this greatly reduces the likelihood that Heavenly Monarch Wan Zhu would cultivate here.”

This was to be expected.

To ordinary Cultivators, Spiritual Veins are a mighty force of nature, enduring through the ages without any influence from the birth or death of countless Cultivators.

But to a Spirit Transformation Heavenly Monarch, Spiritual Veins can be manipulated and altered.

In the days of the Taoist Sect Ancestor Masters, there might have been Fifth Order Spiritual Veins here, but now they’ve been led away by subsequent Heavenly Monarchs to gather the Spiritual Veins of the entire Northern Plains to nourish themselves.

This was unsurprising, for Jiang Ding himself would do the same when he could suppress the entire Northern Plains one day.

Moreover, he’d be more efficient than Heavenly Monarch Wan Zhu.

”There are quite a number of Nascent Soul Monks in the Liudao Sect... thirteen of them, with one at Nascent Soul Peak, a withered and skinny old man. This person must be the Iron Family’s strongest Nascent Soul Monk in the Northern Plains and a Diabolism practitioner, the Six-Fingered Heavenly Monarch himself.”

”This guy actually has six fingers...”

Jiang Ding meticulously searched every Cultivator within the Liudao Sect with his fine Divine Sense, including Qi Training Foundation-Building Cultivators, attempting to rule out the possibility of hidden Divinity Transformation Cultivators.

It would be dangerous if, while he was attacking the Formation, suddenly a Sutra Pavilion janitor turned out to be an undercover old freak of Divinity Transformation, launching a sneak attack.

”The chances are slim; what riffraff the Northern Plains Families are to have such a powerhouse not motivated by fame or profit.”

”Such a figure is more likely to be found in a Sect with a strong atmosphere of Buddhist or Taoist teachings.”

Jiang Ding mumbled to himself, not taking any chances as his subtle Divine Sense swept through every last place.

”Huh?”

”Why does this Qi Practitioner look somewhat familiar?”

Jiang Ding was taken aback for a moment.

This was a man in his thirties with a square face, at Qi Practicing Level 8. Judging by his attire and waist token, he seemed to be of the Yin’s Direct Lineage, which was not strange, as members of the Yin’s Direct Lineage were everywhere within the Liudao Sect’s premises.

”He is an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.”

”There’s something familiar about his aura...”

Jiang Ding pondered.

This man was one of the thirteen Nascent Soul Immortals he had scouted within the Liudao Sect; the Concealment Spells were useless against him. What he didn’t expect was for this Nascent Soul cultivator to have disguised himself as a Qi Practitioner. That was outrageous.

...

Meanwhile, in the square-faced man’s Cave Mansion.

”Han, how much longer?”

The square-faced man sat cross-legged in cultivation, everything as usual, but an aged voice scolded in his head, ”Can’t you stop doing this? Every time you see danger, you rush toward it.”

”This time, you even ran straight into the mountain gate of a Divinity Transformation Sect!”

”Do you want to die? Can’t you leave me out of it?!”

The aged voice sounded like it wanted to burst into tears.

”Senior, it’s not that I have an innate death wish.”

As the square-faced man continued his cultivation as usual, he responded helplessly in his mind, ”My aptitude is low, and there have been too many bottlenecks in my cultivation. It’s like there’s a bottleneck at every step!”

”Now, I have been trapped by the early-stage bottleneck of Nascent Soul for over a hundred years!”

”If I do not find an opportunity soon, I will be stuck at the early stage of Nascent Soul for the rest of my life, just like many other Loose Cultivators who have reached their end.”

”I must obtain the Magneto Spiritual Liquid from the Liudao Sect!”

Han Lin asserted.

This situation was very common among Loose Nascent Soul Cultivators.

Loose Cultivators lack complete inheritances and have no one to guide them. They split single spirit stones in half to make ends meet, practice cultivation inconsistently, and from time to time, they have to escape from being hunted, never having a moment of peace.

In such circumstances, becoming a Nascent Soul Cultivator is a tremendous stroke of luck, let alone talking about a strong foundation.

”Furthermore,”

Han Lin shook his head, ”I have already found a body with a Sky Spiritual Root as promised. It’s just that you yourself are unwilling to take it. There’s nothing else I can do.”

”There... there are some reasons for that...”

The aged voice didn’t complain any further.

”Are you here?”

”What a coincidence.”

At that moment, another voice abruptly interjected.

”Who’s there?”

Startled inside, Han Lin’s expression didn’t change on the surface, displaying a look of confusion and fear. He looked around, feigning the demeanor of a small Qi Practicing Level 8 cultivator who understood nothing.

”...”

A thousand miles away, Jiang Dingyi was speechless.

”Han Lin,”

”There’s a deal for you to consider. It’s dangerous, but the reward is quite substantial.”

Jiang Dingyi paused, ”Place nine Sword Talismans in these locations—right where these marks on the map are. It’s best if the placement is precise.

If it’s absolutely impossible, nearby will suffice as well. These talismans can conceal themselves, so you don’t need to worry about anything. Just place them and that’s all.”

He sent over a map manifesting a faint Divine Sense.

”Senior,”

”No matter who you are, I will never betray my family!”

Han Lin rejected the proposal outright, speaking with conviction, swearing to the heavens, ”My loyalty to the Yin family is evident to the world. If I betray them, may I be struck by heavenly lightning, eradicated from existence, never to be reincarnated!”

”Betraying the family is absolutely impossible!”

He emphasized again.

”...”

Jiang Dingyi was taken aback.

”Stop shouting.”

”It’s true, no one is impersonating.”

The aged voice spoke again, ”I’ve told you before, this ’Soul-Switching Bone-Easy Skill’ you’ve fortuitously acquired is nothing in front of a Divinity Transformation Cultivator. It’s a trivial technique that can be easily seen through at a glance, and yet you persist in your luck and keep courting death.”

”However, you’re indeed lucky, lad, having not died to date, which is something I truly admire.”

”Divinity Transformation?”

Han Lin’s breath caught sharply, his mind going blank.