Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

”This lazy rabbit...”

”I recall her talent was only slightly better than that of a Sky Spiritual Root, and her resources seemed to just barely meet the standard, possessing the weakest opportunity for Divinity Transformation.”

Jiang Ding fell into reminiscence: ”She was also able to ascend to the Divinity Transformation Stage; this truly defies all reason. Who knows how many elites of our generation are going to be shaken by this, finding it unbelievable.”

The surrounding maids stood up straight, outwardly disinterested, showing great respect to the Heavenly Monarch.

In reality, all their ears perked up, eagerly listening to the gossip about Moon Night Heavenly Monarch, their Divine Souls getting excited.

”The remaining Lou Xi Heavenly Monarch, Lieyang Heavenly Monarch of the Great Sun Sword Sect, and Yin Dao Six Paths Heavenly Monarch of the Six Paths Sect Yin Family, these three are outstanding figures of the era, so their ascension is not surprising.”

”Qingyun Heavenly Monarch, Great Love Heavenly Monarch... these two are very special.”

Jiang Ding reflected on the past and pondered: ”I always had a vague premonition that these two would inevitably ascend to the Divinity Transformation Stage, and now it has indeed become reality.”

However, he did not explain why they were special.

The surrounding maids were enlightened.

They listened with relish, feeling that they had heard more secrets about Heavenly Monarchs today than in the past thousand years combined.

”Just these ten people.”

Jiang Ding continued to inquire: ”They all seem like old friends from the past. In these thousand years, have there been no new elites ascending to the Divinity Transformation Stage?”

Logically speaking, this shouldn’t be the case.

As for Sword Cultivators, one might as well forget about them; without war, they are like being in a weakened state, unable to grow robustly.

The same goes for Magic Cultivators; it truly doesn’t make sense.

You must understand that after Tushan Central Court unified everything, the world’s talents, resources, cultivation environments, and Cultivation Method inheritances have all risen several levels, providing a very favorable condition for the birth and growth of heavenly talents.

”No, my lord.”

The Six-tailed Fox Tribe maid said sadly: ”We junior cultivator’s talents are dull, and opportunities are lacking, hence we cannot cross the chasm to ascend to Divinity Transformation.”

”Is that so?”

Jiang Ding was noncommittal.

However, the issue of resources is indeed an important factor.

The quantity of Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasures a world can produce is finite; if consumed by Nascent Soul Cultivators, many cultivators below them will have none left, drastically reducing the opportunity for Divinity Transformation. These opportunities, along with the growth and birth of Divine Transformation-phase Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasures, also need time.

In the past, the Northern Plains would typically produce a Nascent Soul Cultivator only once in over ten thousand years; this is why – the opportunities for Divinity Transformation are limited, growing only once every ten thousand years.

After Jiang Ding introduced more advanced Spiritual Plants cultivation techniques and Alchemy techniques, this problem was alleviated, but there are still limits.

After he collects the surplus of taxes, it is already difficult to sustain ten existing Nascent Soul Cultivators. To then create opportunities for Divinity Transformation is to be stretched very thin.

Unless it is a peerless elite who does not need the opportunity for Divinity Transformation at all, the birth of both the Divinity Transformation opportunity and Nascent Soul Cultivators are closely related.

And unspeakably, the immense desire for resources from those who have already ascended to the Divinity Transformation Stage has led to many issues. One issue is that the Spirit Transformation Heavenly Monarchs have formed a sort of tacit suppression to prevent the birth of new Nascent Soul Cultivators.

”I am already, somewhat impatient to meet these old friends...”

Jiang Ding’s gaze turned toward the East Sea.

...

East Sea, Blood Demon Abyss.

Within the dense, brilliantly luminous grand Formation Method, ten heavily atmospheric Spirit Transformation Heavenly Monarchs sit in meditation at various strategic points, quietly cultivating and discussing the mystic Dao for over two hundred years.

To Nascent Soul Cultivators, this length of time is not long.

Aside from a certain rabbit who is very restless due to being unable to wander around, the other Heavenly Monarchs are as calm as mountains.

”Hey!”

”Can you all give me your holidays? After all, you don’t go out anyway.”

Ye Yue Heavenly Monarch is a fluffy rabbit who normally dislikes taking human form, shouting loudly.

No one paid attention to her.

This made her quite discouraged. This kind of life, where she has to keep watch over the formation and can’t even sleep peacefully, was making her lose interest in the future, feeling as if she were going to mold.

”Ye Yue,”

Hei Louxi chuckled softly, ”Give me your Divinity Transformation Merit, just one portion, and I’ll grant you all of your vacation for the next thousand years.”

”All of the vacation!”

The Moonlight Rabbit’s eyes lit up.

Then, they dimmed immediately.

”Sly woman, no can do.”

The Moonlight Rabbit said dejectedly, ”It takes me five hundred years to earn a single Divinity Transformation Merit, and even maintaining my cultivation is tough. I’m still at the early stage of God Transformation, a bit away from the mid-stage. I can’t give my Divinity Transformation Merit to you.”

The merit system.

This is a system that operates within the Tushan Central Court; the merits corresponding to a specific rank are closely linked with corresponding Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure, Elixir, Talisman and cultivation spirit land.

Divinity Transformation Merit, for a Nascent Soul Cultivator, signifies the speed of cultivation, it is the future of the Dao path.

Five hundred years for one Divinity Transformation Merit.

This is the merit available from suppressing the Blood Demon Abyss; normally, it would take six to seven hundred years to obtain Divinity Transformation Merit through cultivation activities like nurturing Spiritual Plants, Alchemy, and Formation Methods.

Yes.

Even for a Spirit Transformation Heavenly Monarch, work is necessary to earn their salary.

There is no such thing as natural entitlement to a salary.

Indeed, there is only a meager one, but as the number of Nascent Soul Cultivators continues to grow, it has become a mere symbolic thing.

If one were to search throughout the history of cultivation in the world, it would be hard to find a Heavenly Monarch more impoverished and in difficult straits than they are.

There is one extremely important reason for this.

All of the world’s tax surplus has been siphoned off and does not belong to them.

What they can allocate is only from the ’administrative expenses’ line in the budget.

Clearly, the funds from this line are far from sufficient.

Not only are they insufficient, but work must also be done—managing tasks like dealing with Spiritual Plants, Alchemy, husbandry, and administration for the Divine Machine phase—to distribute what little there is.

All expenditures must have a clear justification; for example, the salaries for the chaos caused by the Blood Demons have increased significantly because of it.

”How vexing!”

”Can we really consider ourselves Heavenly Monarchs?”

Hundred Poison Celestial Monarch is a big man with emerald green forehead and a dragn-whisker-like mustache, his tone somewhat chilly: ”To wear the crown, one must bear its weight. After so many years of harvesting heavenly materials and treasures, during this chaos of the Blood Demons, he is nowhere to be seen. In my opinion, he must have been seriously injured back then... a grave injury indeed...”

His implication was clear.

Clang!

Colorful Jade Heavenly Monarch unsheathed her sword and gazed coldly at the mustached big man.

”Colorful Jade Heavenly Monarch, you need not look at me like that.”

Unconcerned, Hundred Poison Celestial Monarch continued, ”Even if Tushan is still alive, he never cared about what I said or did to me in the past.

Moreover, considering how powerful the Thunder Department Heavenly Soldiers and Generals from the Upper Realm are, if he could annihilate those fearsome beings, the injuries he suffered are likely not something that can be healed just by treatment.”

”In my view, Tushan has long been dead.”

”In this situation, could it be that someone is assuming Tushan’s name to amass wealth?”

He said with a cold laugh.

The surrounding Heavenly Monarchs remained indifferent to such a dispute, with impassive expressions.

In the depths of their hearts, however, many thoughts were stirring.

Many probes, many desires, having accumulated over more than a thousand years, are nearly at the brink of breaking free.

The Heavenly Dao is unjust!

How can the world belong to one person?

How could this be possible?