Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

Recovered a portion of mana and Divine Sense.

Jiang Ding opened his eyes and moved to the edge of the Heavenly Stars Big Dipper Formation, silently watching the battle where Sun Extinguisher Heavenly Monarch, Canghai Heavenly Monarch, and others were besieging Wang Zhongdao.

Sun Extinguisher Heavenly Monarch and ten others formed an Army Formation, continuously firing from a fortress’s giant cannon, a part of their Life Treasures. The shells hit the Fifth Grade Superior Heavenly Stars Big Dipper Formation and Wang Zhongdao, who was navigating the Starry Sky Fortress. He swayed left and right, his shield’s Spiritual Light splashed around, barely holding on as his mana was being continuously depleted.

”Not bad.”

”The elder is indeed steady.”

Jiang Ding watched for a while and had no intention of joining the battlefield, he exclaimed in admiration.

These elders have too much combat experience. In the absence of urgent military intelligence, they firmly and methodically deplete the enemy’s mana, Divine Sense, and Array Formation Spirit Stone reserves, unwilling to take any risk, with half of their formidable power used in defense.

Under these circumstances, Wang Zhongdao resembled a butterfly caught in a spider’s web, the more he struggled, the more exhausted he became.

Until his mana and Divine Sense were reduced to a limit.

Clearly, Wang Zhongdao also recognized this situation. He had once tried to burn his Essence Blood and fight desperately, but Canghai Heavenly Monarch and others steadfastly wore him down, pushed him back, and returned to this mutual depletion scenario.

Fight, can’t win.

Flee, can’t escape.

Desperately struggle, can’t threaten anything, or even pose any danger to others.

Wang Zhongdao was stuck in such an awkward situation.

”A laughing stock.”

”Making you, this youngster, laugh.”

Sun Extinguisher Heavenly Monarch laughed heartily, ”We can’t compare to you young people’s fiery passion. Being old bones, it’s better to slowly wear things down, we have plenty of time.”

”Going back to Xianmen would be boring anyway, might as well have some fun.”

This was a zero-risk plan, other than being slow, it had no disadvantages, and they had the battlefield’s pace firmly under control.

”Jiang Ding, do you want this one?”

Pingyang Heavenly Monarch interjected, ”But let’s get this straight, nephew, clear accounts need to be kept between relatives, this battle merit is ours, and this man won’t be able to escape.”

They had a deep understanding of the Dari Swordsman, knowing he needed opponents to grow.

”Thank you, Elder Pingyang, but no.”

Jiang Ding smiled and shook his head.

Whether a Sword Cultivator or a Demon Cultivator, although many Cultivators see no difference between the two, both being ruthless killers.

But there is indeed a difference.

Demon Cultivators need the souls, Primordial Spirits, and flesh of powerful Cultivators or Demon Beasts to refine various powerful Treasures, Elixirs, or Cultivation Methods.

For them, the process of battle is unimportant; the outcome is what matters most, obtaining rare Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure to refine treasures.

Sword Cultivators, however, need this process more.

They need to undergo transformation of Sword Intent, mana, willpower, creativity, and Dao Heart through the struggle against formidable enemies. The most important thing is their own transformation; whether the enemy dies or not is actually not that important.

Of course, this is a material world.

If the enemy does not die, the victory is not truly assured, and the goal of the Sword Dao is not truly achieved.

If detached from material and reality and relying on fantasies, so-called ’Realm’, ’Pattern’, ’Enlighten the Dao’ without true bloodshed, it is impossible to have a steadfast Sword Heart.

Thus, the complete death of the enemy is still very necessary.

Here, Wang Zhongdao, despite being a Mid-stage Nascent Soul Cultivator supported by a Formation, was attacked by a setting including a Late Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator from Xianmen, plus nine Early Stage Nascent Soul Cultivators, all proficient in combined Army Formations, with extremely high mastery.

Such a lineup attacking a Formation-supported Mid Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator really made Jiang Ding lack interest.

This was not battle, but rather a slaughter executed by the executioner on the execution ground.

One could only say that the elder indeed possessed stability, a stability so dull and boring to the point of lacking any sense of war’s aesthetic, never considering such things.

Jiang Ding stood in the air, stunned and dazed.

He continued to ponder his Great Sun Transformative Mystique, occasionally using the Divine Sense network to communicate with the Sword Dao Laboratory within the Xianmen Sect and handle various technological research matters.

The project for the Transformative Mystique had been initiated the moment he ascended to the Nascent Soul Stage, with help from a large number of Nascent Soul Cultivators within the sect including Divine Mechanism Heavenly Monarch, Heavenly Monarch Wanji, Yuan, and others, and it was currently making orderly progress.

It was foreseeable that this would be a project spanning thousands to tens of thousands of years, possibly consuming the lifespans of hundreds of generations of cultivators before finally emerging into the world.

It would be long and difficult.

But no matter how prolonged or difficult, it must be done.

Currently, there were three possibilities that might lead to significant advances in the Great Sun Transformative Mystique.

The first was the emergence of a Refining Nothingness Cultivator within the Xianmen Sect, such as Yuan making a breakthrough in Refining Nothingness, which would result in a significant increase in strength and a substantial increase in Divine Soul Computational Power, naturally driving the transformative project forward.

When one person achieves the Dao, all associated thrive just as this instance.

This possibility was certain, as in the Moon Exploration Expedition Laboratory, eight Great Experts together with Yuan and others were hastening the derivation of the Horned Demon Imperial Clan Territory coordinates while the pace of the sect’s Refining Nothingness Project was also rapidly advancing, both of which were interconnected.

Furthermore, there existed a chance of seizing the Refining Nothingness Legacy from the Horned Demon Imperial Clan Territory.

The second was through war and diplomatic means to obtain the Transformative Mystique inheritance from one of the Eight Great Immortal Sects, which also held certain possibilities.

The third was the Northern Plains, where there was a definite chance that there existed a Transformative Inheritance within the Great Sun Sword Pavilion.

Jiang Ding’s plan was to pursue all three paths simultaneously.

Time passed unknowingly.

Boom!

From a distance, a thunderous explosion resounded, collapsing the Xu Family’s grand formation, the Fifth-Grade Superior Heavenly Stars Big Dipper Formation, breaking Heavenly Realm Mountain into rubble.

Everything, under the step-by-step, firm and solid attacks of ten Nascent Soul Cultivators, had finally reached its limit and could no longer hold out by even a shred.

”I am not willing!”

”I was supposed to have hope in Refining Nothingness, hope!”

Wang Zhongdao vomited blood in large mouthfuls as he howled pitifully.

Boom!

Suddenly, the heavens and earth brightened.

Ten fortress giant cannons formed a cannon array that blasted over, pulverizing his body into a cloud of dust.

Whoosh!

A translucent and hazy Primordial Spirit, roughly the size of Wang Zhongdao and company, attempted to flee, but was caught by a dark blue net, which gradually tightened, landing in the palm of Sun Extinguisher Heavenly Monarch.

Within the fist-sized black net, a Primordial Spirit struggled fiercely, but was unable to deform the net in the slightest.

Fifth Grade Superior, God-Binding Net!

Xianmen Sect’s Treasure refining industry was incredibly strong; being Magic Cultivators, they employed various means—Banishment Breaking Talismans, God-Binding Nets, and numerous other backups. Their wealth was incredibly imposing, far surpassing that of Loose Nascent Soul Cultivators.

Even without the Starry Sky Fortress, with similar strength, hardly any Loose Cultivator could stand against a Xianmen Sect cultivator of the same level thanks to numerous external objects.

”Ha ha ha!”

”Finally caught you, you damned mongrel!”

Sun Extinguisher Heavenly Monarch closely admired the black net in his hand, his face breaking into a joyful smile, ”Bring this old scoundrel back to the Xianmen Sect, hold a public trial, then execute him with extreme penalty, to comfort the many brethren who died in the civil war two thousand years ago, letting them rest easy in the netherworld.”

”Our development now is quite fine, everything is flourishing, don’t worry about anything.”