Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

Hei Louxi meandered across the battlefield, her feathered armor chilling to behold, her figure enchantingly lithe. Behind her, a pair of massive black wings occasionally pulsed, each motion bringing with it a great deal of death.

In just a short time, several more Golden Pill Peak cultivators from the Hei Clan perished, and countless bodies of surrounding Golden Pill Monks crashed to the ground.

"Demons..."

The direct lineage Golden Pill cultivators of the Hei Clan looked upon the battlefield in terror.

Centuries of experience and battle wisdom told them that to flee was to die, that the greatest casualties on the battlefield didn't occur in the front lines but in the process of pursuit after a rout.

But, another voice, likewise stemming from centuries of experience and battle wisdom, stated that relentless resistance would lead to complete annihilation, leaving none alive.

In the world of cultivation, morale was important, but not that important.

The fear spurred by the desire to survive, the yearning for life, rational thought – all these mixed together, leaving many Golden Pill cultivators in disarray. Their army formation momentarily failed to respond, accelerating the rate of death and injury among the Golden Pill Monks.

While Hei Louxi was unleashing her divine power, no one knew that an invisible shadow was slowly approaching.

"The essence of Magic Intention..."

Jiang Ding's eyes flashed, revealing a look of anticipation.

Pretty as she may be, suitable as she may be, Jiang Ding would still be very happy to see Hei Louxi dead.

After all, beautiful things withering away before him, blood and death blossoming like the blooming of a flower, and yet having nothing to do with him.

What a wonderful scene that would be.

An iron ruler silently approached, biding its time for long before smashing toward the nape of the feather-armored lady.

This was clearly an Ancient Treasure of Earth Evil Perfection, and while it appeared to be only a foot in length, it actually weighed at least one hundred thousand pounds. It wasn't just flesh and blood that it could smash to dust – even an iron mountain could be crushed outright.

"Who?"

Hei Louxi sliced a post-Golden Alchemist in twain with her wings, the army formation of the direct lineage Golden Pill cultivators on the verge of collapse, her heart unwittingly relaxing, but her pupils then contracted, struck by a sudden shock.

The black ruler descended, touching the back of her head.

Bang!

In the first moment of contact, the pitch-black shield shattered, the Spiritual Light dissipated.

In the second moment of contact, starting from the point of contact, the feathered armor also spread with cracks like a spider's web, then crumbled into dust. Revealed was a tall, charming woman with a seductive beauty spot at the corner of her mouth.

"Black Jade Tray!"

Hei Louxi's pretty face paled as she yelled out.

Through the hazy tumult, an ancient, mysterious black jade disc emerged at the back of her head, radiating an ancient aura. At the critical moment, it positioned itself in front of the iron ruler.

This was an Ancient Treasure she had stumbled upon by chance. Its composition was unknown, always exceptionally durable and innately spirited, able to defend its master automatically, saving her life countless times.

Boom!

It was like two iron mountains colliding, sparks flying, sharp sound waves nearly piercing the eardrums, cutting the ground into shambles.

The sudden dramatic change drew everyone's attention.

Only to see, a middle-aged man in a green robe had appeared behind Hei Louxi at some unknown time. He held an iron ruler in his hand, stroked his handsome beard, his face the picture of integrity, the very image of a righteous hero.

"Pfft!"

Hei Louxi spat out blood and staggered back, the originally beautifully curved back of her head now collapsed in a large chunk, with white marrow and blood seeping out.

Looking at her face, blood spouted from her nose and mouth, her pretty face now covered with clotted blood, looking ghastly and horrifying. Her aura plummeted as if falling off a cliff, a stark contrast to her previously awe-inspiring presence.

"There are many heroes in this world... No matter how strong you are, once you lose the initiative, it's all in vain,"

Jiang Ding quietly admired this scene of a beauty deteriorating, not without a sigh.

At this moment, the appearance of the righteous middle-aged man was seen by everyone.

"Immortal Guichi!"

"We have seen the Immortal, thank you for your help!"

Hei Tianlan and other direct lineage Golden Pill Monks were ecstatic.

One after another, they ignored the dangers of the battlefield, bending their bodies to pay respects, with manners and postures all impeccable, as if carved from the same mold, clearly having received specialized instruction.

"Guichi!"

By contrast, the collateral lineage Golden Pill Cultivators looked as though they were mourning their ancestors, full of astonishment and fear.

Leader of the Northern Plains' Righteous Dao, Iron Family of Rule Mountain, Immortal Guichi!

Jiang Ding's gaze flashed, as he recalled information about this person.

An entity who had understood the existence of Magic Intention, he shone splendidly on the battlefield against the Great Sun Sect, his name known throughout the world; yet more infamous than his power was his combat style, often using Concealment to bash in the back of someone's head until it broke.

"Very interesting."

However, Jiang Ding gave more attention to why the Iron Family of Rule Mountain and Immortal Guichi would take action.

Rule Mountain Iron Family.

Why call it Rule Mountain? And why were they honored as the head of the Northern Plains family's Righteous Dao?

Because they lived by the rules!

The Northern Plains families, with their distinctions between direct and collateral, maintained orderly traditions of inheritance!

Just as the Hei Clan's Beast Spirit Immortal City engaged in the Peeling Method for business, trading their specialty for the needed Elixirs and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, and the Shang Clan did business for profit, the Iron Family of Rule Mountain also had their own field to rely on for survival.

That is, rules.

Every year, for marriages, funerals, and weddings among the direct lineage Cultivators across the Northern Plains, as well as for position and family inheritance, someone from the Iron Family of Rule Mountain would be asked to witness.

To verify adherence to the Northern Plains families' rules, whether the heir was of direct lineage blood, whether they fit the order of succession, whether they had the permission of higher-ranking elders... and so on.

Ordinarily, marriages, funerals, and weddings of direct lineage Cultivators would not be recognized by other families without the testimony of a peer from the Iron Family of Rule Mountain.

In return, the direct lineage Cultivators involved in these events would naturally offer a large sum of Spirit Stones and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to the Iron Family Monks in gratitude for their hard work.

Even when there were no such events, they would still make significant offerings.

And the Iron Family of Rule Mountain, in turn, had to respond.

They were obliged to maintain the orderly succession and pure bloodlines among the direct lineages in the Northern Plains, and whenever an incident such as rebellions, escaped slaves killing their masters, or foreign Nascent Souls disrupting the order occurred, they were duty-bound to handle it, even at the cost of their own lives.

This was the condition under which they received their yearly offerings.

Of course, since the emergence of the Great Sun Sect, maintaining order had become increasingly difficult. Foreign Nascent Souls not only appeared but nearly annihilated them all. Brigands like Blood Cloud arose one after another, no longer as simple as it was a thousand years before.

But even so,

A change in the status of the entire family's direct lineage, something that violated the baseline and disrupted all decency and order, was still not allowed!

For thousands of years, the offerings made by many direct lineage Cultivators to the Iron Family, what were they for?

It was to ensure their own positions!

If such actions weren't taken, the very foundation of the Iron Family would be finished.

"You... despicable!"

Hei Louxi stared fiercely at the seemingly respectable middle-aged Cultivator opposite her, her heart filled with regret.

In terms of individual strength, she was inferior.

But after taking control of the Army Formation, this person was no match for her, and even joining forces with Hei Tianlan's Army Formation was the same; none were her match, they could only escape at best.

If she had been more cautious and not so arrogant and complacent after revealing all her strength the first time, not having lost her vigilance, she would never have fallen to such a state.

"To execute those who do not understand kinship, who rebel from below, and who do not recognize the ranks, from where comes the question of being despicable?"

Immortal Guichi smiled gently, unconcerned.

With a summoning gesture, the iron ruler expanded into a massive pillar dozens of feet long, casting a vast shadow and sending out heavy ripples as it mercilessly crashed down upon the woman on the ground.