Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

Chapter 1317: Chapter 1285: One Hundred and Fifty-Five Minor Thousand Worlds of the Horned Ming Realm

The great battle finally reached its conclusion.

“If one day I encounter the Taoists of the true Immortal Sects from the Upper Realm, the Taoists of Near Immortal-level forces, the only way to survive might be to flee to the Heavenly Sword Sword Son…”

Jiang Ding whispered to himself.

This is not to say that the Heavenly Sword Sword Son is weak; in fact, he might be one of the strongest Near Immortal-level Taoists.

Rather, the Magic Cultivator Taoists are utterly shameless!

Once they realize they can’t defeat you, they regard neither dignity nor shame, and won’t feel embarrassed because someone has seen them fail to beat a Lower Realm Practitioner. They immediately summon the elders of their sect to suppress you.

No matter if you are the Domain Pride, it is of no use. They crush you with super-level dominance.

In contrast, purely Sword Dao sects are far simpler.

If you kill their Sword Son, they may escort you out courteously, and if they’re as wild as the Great Sun Sword Pavilion, they might even reward you generously and encourage you to continue doing so while seriously considering making you their Great Sun Swordsman.

Of course, this applies only to purely Sword Dao sects.

Similar to the ideal moral utopia of restraint and propriety in the hearts of countless living beings, these sects are exceedingly rare.

Even among Sword Dao sects, such purity is rare.

Humans find it hard to be selfless, to uphold such pure Sword Dao beliefs and pride, and to not feel anger or grief over the death of their own children or direct disciples whom they’ve spent years nurturing.

In most cases, killing the other sect’s Sword Son leads to paying with your life or even extermination of your clan.

Whether the Upper Realm Immortal Sect’s Thunder Sun Heavenly Sword Realm has such magnanimity is unknown, but at least it’s possible—not certain death like in the Dharma Cultivation Immortal Sect.

At worst, there might still be an opportunity for a duel with the Heavenly Sword Sword Son of the same rank; the elders of his sect would never interfere.

This is the destined fate of a Sword Cultivator—to grow through battles of blood with equals and stronger rivals.

To obstruct such battles would be akin to directly severing and destroying a Sword Cultivator’s path. Someone afraid of dueling at the same rank should not walk this road at all.

After the Nine Great Daoists fled, the starry sky gradually quieted down.

The shattered space healed, fractured laws restored, and order returned to the Human World. Everything was once again determined by cause and effect, no longer chaotic and disordered.

Just like cultivators—although they briefly transcend time and mortal limits—they ultimately face death, unable to fully transcend.

On a much longer timescale, the final outcome seems to remain unchanged.

The world of the Six Dao Reincarnations also gradually vanished; the vast interstellar civilization dissipated, hundreds of billions of intelligent beings vanished one by one, revealing a thousand-strong Conscripted Army and countless Ten Thousand Clans prisoner-cultivators in its place.

Confusion filled their eyes, and it took a long while for clarity to return.

“Greetings, Great Sun Celestial Lord!”

“Greetings, Vice Marshal!”

Hua Teng, Huo Baosan, Blood River King, and others approached the green-clothed youth, bowing deeply before saluting militarily.

“Greetings to all of you.”

“Your valor in the recent battle is commendable. The Xianmen Sect will not forget your contributions.”

Jiang Ding nodded slightly and returned the courtesy.

Enlisting them into the Human World’s reincarnation was not an act of aggression but rather an attempt at protection and forming a Formation Method for attacks. Even in the depths of madness or irrationality, he would not vent his wrath upon a group of weaklings.

“You’re too kind.”

Hua Teng, Huo Baosan, and the others looked sheepish, not daring to take credit.

Witnessing the fierce battles among Taoists, their prior skirmishes seemed juvenile and insignificant, yet it was the Great Sun Celestial Lord’s benevolence that allowed them to accumulate merit and obtain Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to advance their paths even slightly.

“Too kind?”

“No, your contributions aren’t trivial. Your efforts in the battle were critical.”

Noticing their dejection, Jiang Ding earnestly said, “The boundless expanse of time and space is enough to humble even the strongest, rendering them powerless. Moreover, I am but an ant in the Endless Starry Sky, unworthy of being called strong.”

“If not for you forcing Steel Bone King and others to gather, I would still be running ragged, quelling uprisings in various Minor Thousand Worlds, and perhaps even now failing to settle one-fifth of the issues.”

“This is the significant contribution all of you have made to the Xianmen Sect.”

“This is not flattery but fact—do you understand?”

Jiang Ding looked sincerely into the eyes of the warriors who had bathed in blood for the Xianmen Sect and emerged victorious.

“Understood!”

Hua Teng, Huo Baosan, and the others felt invigorated, standing upright and shouting loud affirmations.

A lightness filled their bodies.

“In the Xianmen Sect, everyone is vital.”

Jiang Ding smiled faintly, “The next phase for you will be to sweep across the realms, clear the remaining worlds under the Xianmen Sect’s banner, judge the guilty, build the Super Transmission Array, restore production, establish the Xianmen Sect’s order, and claim the meritorious rewards you deserve.”

“Furthermore, the Xianmen Sect’s domains must expand—the Eight Great Immortal Sects will pay a price…”

Jiang Ding’s gaze turned icy.

Before him, an indistinct and vast Horned Ming Realm Star Map emerged, marking the one hundred Minor Thousand Worlds belonging to the Xianmen Sect with a faint blue hue, surrounded by territories belonging to sects like Xuanwu tiangong, Five Elements Heavenly Sect, and Green Wood Immortal Sect.

“Pay a price,”

Jiang Ding lightly tapped the Horned Ming Realm Star Map. His finger landed on Xuanwu tiangong’s territory and said, “Xuanwu tiangong has over forty Minor Thousand Worlds within the Horned Ming Realm, bordering the Xianmen Sect’s lands… Xianmen needs half—twenty.”

His finger traced a circle on the map. Twenty Minor Thousand Worlds of Xuanwu tiangong were sectioned off, marked with a faint blue electromagnetic hue, flashing intermittently to show they weren’t fully under control yet.

But this was far from over.

Jiang Ding’s hand repeatedly tapped across the neighboring starry skies, systematically harvesting and demarcating territorial order.

Nearby Heavenly Monarchs and Nascent Soul Monks held their breath, watching intently.

The remaining Seven Immortal Sects suffered losses as well—each forfeiting five Minor Thousand Worlds, totaling thirty-five. Adding Xuanwu tiangong’s twenty, the grand tally amounted to fifty-five Minor Thousand Worlds.

This was the spoils of war that Xianmen sought to acquire.

“And so it shall be.”

“Share this map with each army commander and Divinity Transformation cultivator.”

Jiang Ding transmitted the star map to the Front Army General Staff, lamenting, “This is the best we can accomplish. We cannot drive the Eight Great Immortal Sects to desperation by taking all their Minor Thousand Worlds, as their Great Experts are still alive… Should circumstances change, Xianmen might form deeper alliances with a few of these sects, making it unwise to act too ruthlessly.”

The “change in circumstances,” of course, referred to the emergence of Harmonization cultivators and their influence on domain politics.

“Understood, Vice Marshal!”

The surrounding Heavenly Monarchs answered loudly and resolutely.

They harbored no doubt that this mission would pose any difficulty.

The Taoists from the Eight Great Immortal Sects had already been defeated!

With the absence of Refining Nothingness, the Eight Great Immortal Sects had no leverage to resist. They could only acquiesce to Xianmen’s arrangements—to flee or to perish, with no other options.

The thousand-strong Xianmen Conscripted Army dispersed once again under orders, deploying via Super Transmission Arrays, launching expeditions into the realms to capture territory and execute expansion.

They recruited even larger armies, spreading out like fractals into the vast domain, ceasing only once every directive from their commander had been fulfilled.