Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

”Hahaha... haha...”

”Haha...”

Within the Time River, a bizarre and terrifying scene unfolded.

Two kinds of laughter echoed here: one crisp and melodious like silver bells shaking, like pearls falling onto a jade plate, soft and enchanting; the other broad and resonant, filled with majesty and power.

The former made one think of peerless beauties of the Endless Starry Sky, charming beyond measure.

The latter made one’s heart conjure the image of a majestic, heavy, invincible powerhouse.

Yet the two emerged upon the same person.

Jiang Ding stood with his sword as his anchor, eyes slightly narrowed, gazing at the Nine-leaf Sword Emperor who was about to completely fade away, a twin-born monstrosity, a Yin Yang shared soul-body.

At this moment, this monster seemed to perceive the gaze of a contemporary Forbidden Area Ancient Emperor.

Upon the austere and dignified middle-aged Swordsman’s soul, faint traces of struggle appeared; the struggling emotions multiplied quickly, revealing fear, regret, despair, and all manner of emotions.

”Kill...”

”Kill me... kill...”

This half of the Nine-leaf Sword Emperor’s soul strained with all its might to utter such words.

”Heehee...”

”Husband, Your Majesty, do not leave me...”

The Nine-leaf Sword Emperor laughed coquettishly.

In this instant, myriad threads of Cause and Effect intertwined, many truths surfaced within the heart of this era’s Forbidden Area Ancient Emperor, and he understood many hidden matters from ages past.

Youlin Sword Emperor!

This aloof and imposing middle-aged Swordsman was the Youlin Sword Emperor, the last Human Race Emperor who dared to bear the title of Sword Emperor!

After him, in the Endless Starry Sky, Human Race Sword Cultivators would still from time to time prove the Dao and achieve the status of Human Emperor, yet never again would any Sword Cultivator call himself Sword Emperor, because the Youlin Sword Emperor had personally branded this endless shame upon the heads of all Human Race Sword Cultivators!

So long as the Nine-leaf Sword Emperor lived a single day, so long as the shame remained unwashed, Human Race Sword Cultivators dared not claim the title of Sword Emperor.

”Kill...”

”Kill me...”

The Youlin Sword Emperor begged, weak to the extreme.

”Trash.”

Jiang Ding spoke faintly.

A failure, a piece of trash, one who on the path toward becoming a Forbidden Area Ancient Emperor failed utterly, and was slain by the very opponent he had cultivated with his own hands—such a failure had no right to speak with him.

”Trash...”

The Youlin Sword Emperor’s gaze rapidly dimmed.

”I truly am trash...”

His voice grew faint, then inaudible, and together with the Nine-leaf Sword Emperor he slowly dissipated in the Endless Starry Sky, vanishing completely.

...

Present time.

Jiang Ding dragged out eight corpses woven from grass leaves and stalks from within the Time River, and with a calm expression he received the many Immortal Dynasty Cultivators, handed out rewards, yet offered no explanation.

The many Immortal Dynasty Cultivators likewise did not dare ask.

One after another, corpses radiating divine brilliance, naturally gathering the favor of the Great Dao, were casually thrown into the Supreme Great Sun Day Pivot. The contemporary Forbidden Area Ancient Emperor sat upright upon the Crystal Divine Throne. The palace was incomparably quiet, vast and desolate.

”The splendor and foundation of the Nine-leaf Immortal Dynasty—more than half has fallen into my hands...”

”Among the Forbidden Area Ancient Emperors, how many possess a foundation such as this Monarch’s?”

Jiang Ding murmured softly.

The Nine-leaf Sword Emperor’s eight sword-bodies had been severed; more than half of the Nine-leaf Forbidden Area’s accumulation had been cut down by the Taiqing Flying Sword, and before long would be devoured by the Great Sun Forbidden Area, further strengthening the foundation of the Great Sun Forbidden Area.

This meant that the foundations of the Supreme Great Sun Immortal Dynasty now at least far surpassed those of the Sun Immortal Dynasty and the Nine-leaf Immortal Dynasty, those two Forbidden Zone Immortal Dynasty eras.

This meant that Jiang Ding almost did not need to revive, and could easily wait for the Golden Era to arrive.

At the same time, the majestic Immortal Dao Civilization of the Nine-leaf Immortal Dynasty was likewise being drawn into the Supreme Great Sun Immortal Dynasty. This Forbidden Area–level Sword Dao Immortal Dao Civilization was highly compatible with the civilization of the Supreme Great Sun Immortal Dynasty; many Immortal Dao Technology concepts and Sword Dao Immortal Skill doctrines were being rapidly absorbed, bit by bit enhancing the foundation of the Supreme Great Sun Sword Dao.

Jiang Ding gently closed his eyes, healing his injuries, digesting and assimilating the Nine-leaf Sword Emperor’s path.

Time, to him, no longer held much meaning.

The Supreme Great Sun Day Pivot returned once more to silence, sealed in dust by time. This generation of Immortal Dynasty Cultivators would never again catch a glimpse of the Ancient Emperor. The living beings of the Endless Starry Sky rose and fell with each dawn and dusk, coming and going, yet did not affect the Supreme Sword Dao Monarch of the Endless Starry Sky in the least. Only one research project after another was continually established, continually completed.

Only the occasional Immortal Path research directives, and the terrifying fluctuations of Divine Soul computational power, let the world know that the Ancient Emperor still existed.

The Immortal Dao Research Institutes of the present Supreme Great Sun Immortal Dynasty almost no longer involved themselves in research into the essence of the Immortal Path, and instead focused more on the ’Skill’ and application layers of Immortal Path research, promoting the progress of the Supreme Great Sun Immortal Dao Civilization in this manner.

The speed of Immortal Dao Civilization’s advance had slowed considerably, yet it still advanced.

...

Time flowed on.

Eight million years slipped by unnoticed.

The Ancient Emperor had been seated upon the Crystal Divine Throne for eight million years, never once leaving.

This span of time was somewhat long even for the Ancient Sun Emperor of the Supreme Great Sun, and on this day, he finally moved slightly, gazing into the depths of the Endless Starry Sky for a long time. Unknowingly, the aura upon his body increased by a measure.

”The civilizations of the Sun Immortal Dynasty and the Nine-leaf Immortal Dynasty have been fully absorbed.”

”My path has grown.”

In Jiang Ding’s voice, a rare trace of joy appeared: ”If I once again faced the Ancient Emperor of the Sun and the Nine-leaf Sword Emperor, this Monarch would have far greater chances of cutting them down.”

”Greater... chances...”

By the end, a faint gloom crossed the Ancient Emperor’s face.

Devouring the paths of two Forbidden Area Ancient Emperors had indeed advanced his Great Dao, yet it merely meant he possessed more Immortal Path knowledge and Immortal Path data reserves, achieving great strides on the level of ’Skill.’

However, on the level of ’Dao’ and essence, there had been no change at all.

This heaven and earth, this era, harbored a terrifying suppressive force. Every Eight-character Immortal Scripture experiment required a despair-inducing consumption of matter and energy, leaving not the slightest possibility.

This truly made one inexplicably irritable; even after devouring and absorbing the foundations of two Forbidden Area Ancient Emperors, he could not alter this fact.

Can man truly not defy heaven?

Does the possibility of becoming an Immortal exist only within the Golden Era?

”If, when the Golden Era arrives, the timing of heaven and earth is fitting, at a particular cosmic cycle, the cost of Eight-character Immortal Scripture experiments will drop to an inconceivable level, perhaps even requiring far less consumption than Nine Character Immortal Scripture experiments; the external experimental conditions will be suitable, naturally present... that is when the timing of heaven, the terrain, and human accord are all complete.”

”That is the environment an Immortal Dao Civilization ought to possess...”

A look of yearning surfaced on Jiang Ding’s face.

At this moment, he longed so intensely for the Golden Era, longed for that destined-to-be-splendid future.

”The Immortal Dao Civilizations of the Nine-leaf Immortal Dynasty and the Sun Immortal Dynasty are of immense use—fundamentally immense. This victory will lay the cornerstone for the future.”

”Only, their use lies within the Golden Era.”

Jiang Ding slowly closed his eyes: ”Once the timing of heaven appears, this Monarch will certainly be the first among the Forbidden Area Ancient Emperors to advance in the Eight-character Immortal Scripture, seizing the first-mover advantage.”

”This Monarch’s preparations are more abundant, more complete.”

”The splendor of the Golden Era is destined to belong to this Monarch.”