Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

Xiandu Library.

The gigantic and grand structure of silvery light, located at the foot of the Heaven-Covering Banyan, is the most core location of the Xianmen Sect, without any equals.

Even when facing the brink of national annihilation and extinction, the first consideration would be the relocation of Xiandu Library, then the safety of the people.

As long as Xiandu Library remains, within a span no more than the lifespan of one generation of Nascent Soul Monks, Xianmen could be rebuilt once again.

At noon, a time of bustling activity.

Elderly with graying hair and difficulties walking, dignified middle-aged folks, high-spirited youths, and elementary school students wearing uniforms of nearby schools moved through the library, occasionally picking up a book, treading lightly, and speaking in hushed tones.

As for those who were Inner Qi Realm Martial Artists or Cultivators, they often chose to communicate through transmitted voice and Divine Sense.

At the library entrance,

an amiable old man dressed in a plain green robe without any imposing aura often stood in a daze, like a puppet, walking a few steps and stopping for a while, as if he was constantly pondering something.

If someone familiar with him saw this, they would surely open their mouths wide in astonishment.

Yuan!

This green-robed elder was none other than the governing leader of Xianmen, Yuan, in person.

He had unexpectedly left his seclusion, an extremely unusual event, as this figure who had not appeared before the public for at least two thousand years.

Even the avatars of him at Qingfeng University and Beidou University were firmly seated in their respective classrooms, hardly moving except to teach classes.

The last time he stepped out, Immortal Dinghai, the principal of Qingfeng University, probably wasn't even an embryo yet.

Yuan took a few steps and paused, pondering certain matters, while also dividing some of his attention to listen to the Divine Sense discussions of the surrounding Cultivators.

"The wages have been cut again…"

"Alas, what's happening? We teachers are already leading modest lives with low salaries, and now they've been reduced further…"

A middle-aged Female Cultivator with glasses in the Foundation Establishment stage complained to her friend with considerable dissatisfaction, "They say it's because of a decrease in this year's fiscal revenues. The basic salary remains the same, but the previous bonuses and performance incentives have diminished. How will my son's Cultivation continue like this?"

"It's the same with our bank."

"My daughter works for an official Xianmen enterprise, and I heard they've had cuts too…"

A group of people chattered away, all sharing similar experiences.

"Could it be that war is brewing?" someone uttered worryingly.

"Unlikely, unlikely, it's been three thousand years of peace, it's not like our generation is going to face trouble…"

Others around comforted him.

"My daughter works in the military, she said their wages haven't been cut, nor have they been raised; probably not, right? And the lower-income groups, their salaries weren't cut either."

"Nor have private enterprises had wage cuts," someone added.

"They are certainly fast approaching," other respondents disagreed, "Official Xianmen enterprises are too large, any move they make can affect all industries. In a month or two, they will be just like us."

"What exactly is going on?"

"It seems to be related to the emergency citizens' assembly convened last year, something about investing in the revitalization of Immortal Technique research and industry…"

The crowd buzzed with all sorts of rumors and speculations they had heard.

…

Yuan watched for a while, then continued through the crowd toward the deeper parts of the library.

The further in he went, the sparser the crowd became.

Eventually, there were so few people that one might wonder if the library had closed.

However, Xiandu Library operates twenty-four hours a day.

This brings us to the 'provided one has the ability to read' clause of the first law of Xianmen.

Many Immortal Path knowledges inherently carry extreme dangers, not to mention higher level techniques. Even a Qi Practitioner recklessly reading a Golden Pill Cultivation Method might risk damaging their Sea of Consciousness and deviating into madness.

Furthermore, there were unspeakable security protocols in place to raise the bar for accessing the readings.

They served to avoid the potential that one day, Xianmen Sect citizens' Divine Souls might seek shelter, preventing the leakage of knowledge due to any loopholes in the Xianmen Oath and thus avert further losses.

Yuan strolled forward slowly.

The patience of those who had attained immortality was terrifyingly strong—for a mere distance to the library of just a few thousand meters, he had walked for a full month without feeling anything amiss.

No matter how long the journey, by proceeding slowly, without giving up or becoming disheartened, one would eventually reach the end.

Yuan looked up.

Compared to when he had last visited this place two thousand years ago, it had not changed much.

Many of the buildings were ones he had personally refined, inscribing the Formation Method into them, and the books were placed by his own hands—they were very familiar to him.

Only in the center, there was a new palace that shone with a mix of silver and golden hues, with three characters inscribed above it.

Golden Palace.

The Golden Palace, the second sequence of Xiandu Library's collection.

"Those old folks should all be here, right?"

"It has indeed been many years since I've met them in person; I miss them somewhat."

Yuan muttered to himself.

With a single step, he entered the palace, and immediately the scene within came into view.

Yuan's face showed a dazed expression.

"Hey, hey, don't step on me!"

"Make some space, make some space, you're crowding me!"

"Are you blind…"

A vast sea of people, at least tens of thousands, all Nascent Soul Monks or above, were squeezed together, crowding the already not overly spacious Golden Palace until there was no room to move.

Because of the prohibition laws in place here, a multitude of Nascent Soul Monks typically unaccustomed to being so close to others found themselves squeezed together. Elbows rubbing against each other, occasionally stepping on someone's foot or pulling someone's hair, and then fierce quarreling would erupt, followed by spitting and a mess of feathers on the ground.

As peers, none of the Nascent Soul Monks were afraid of each other, nor did they put on airs; they simply rolled up their sleeves, ready to brawl.

However, despite the commotion, not a single Nascent Soul Monk seemed to wish to leave; they all gathered around the Divinity Transformation Cultivators, looking on eagerly with various methods on display.

"Old Commander!"

Immortal Luling blocked the path of the rotund Canghai Heavenly Monarch, hugging his thigh, tears streaming down his cyclopean face: "I lost my parents a thousand years ago, and it was you who watched over my growth. Now I have only one request, please let me have just a glance at the Immortal Technique…"

"Mind your own snot," replied Canghai Heavenly Monarch with a look of disgust, kicking him several meters away, his mouth twitching.

"Old Commander!"

Before Immortal Luling could crawl back, several other Nascent Soul Monks pounced on Canghai, each grabbing onto his clothes hem, trouser leg, and arms, encircling him tightly.

"Old Commander, do you remember the times in the Huangtong Small World? You personally praised my brave fighting and astute command…"

"Old Commander, within the last thousand years, the fiercest commander of Nascent Soul has been me, just look…"

"Old Commander…"

A group of people showed off their muscles one moment, pleaded with tears the next, and spouted a variety of reasons, turning the Golden Palace into a noisy marketplace with not a single trace of the solemnity and reverence fitting for a library.

Not only Canghai Heavenly Monarch was in this situation; the old monsters from the Xianmen Science Institute had emerged from seclusion after thousands of years as well. Divine Mechanism Heavenly Monarch was continuously pestered by Nascent Soul Monks like Immortal Shuling, who begged non-stop, driving him to annoyance.

In other areas, many Heavenly Monarchs had also arrived and were entangled by a large group of Nascent Soul Monks each closely connected to them, like monkeys clinging stubbornly.

Some went even further, rolling on the ground, wailing loudly, utterly shameless.

"Teacher Yuan!"

Suddenly, someone shouted.

Many eyes swiftly turned in that direction.

The next moment, an enormous crowd of Nascent Soul Monks swarmed over, blocking the entrance completely.