Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

Jiang Ding once again concealed his form, closed his eyes, and began to observe the Sea of Consciousness from the perspective of a Sword Master.

In a corner of the Sea of Consciousness, more than two hundred faint Heaven Light Dao Troops Flying Swords were scattered.

Clearly, the development of the Tushan maiden group had been impacted over the years, but it was still expanding like a secretive sect.

Most of the auras were from cultivators in the latter stages and at the peak of Foundation Building.

Only a few were at the early and middle stages of Foundation Building, replacements for the maids who had fallen.

There were quite a few at the peak of Foundation Building, roughly forty to fifty maids.

This was normal; even the least gifted among them possessed Dual Spiritual Roots and Three Spiritual Roots with outstanding perception, and they were practicing cultivation methods like the "Heaven Light Shining Sun Sword Canon." Second-tier resources were hardly scarce. After more than a hundred years, it wasn't surprising that they had reached their current realm.

Not to mention, the earliest group of one hundred and forty-four maids were personally taught by Tushan sword cultivators, who passed on knowledge of cultivation.

While there were many maids at the peak of Foundation Building, there were still distinctions in strength.

The strongest among them were the three swords carrying the will of spring, summer, and fall, each friendly with thirty-six Heaven Light Dao Troops Flying Swords, their auras blending perfectly.

At the moment, the brightness of the three swords flickered uncertainly. Sometimes their auras would drop, even weaker than those at the early stages of Foundation Building; at other times, their auras would surge, comparable to a weaker Golden Pill, constantly fluctuating.

"Are they in the process of Foundation Establishment?" Jiang Ding mused to himself and delved deeper into the presences of these three sword shadows.

Everything in front of him blurred.

In the blink of an eye, his view cleared to reveal a lush green prairie and a low hill surrounded by vibrant Spiritual Energy, clearly a Third-tier Spiritual Vein.

The presence of more than a hundred Heaven Light Swords lingered around.

Sensing the aura of a Heavenly Tribulation, Jiang Ding chose not to enter the perspectives of the three strongest individuals but instead picked a maid at random, pouring more attention into her.

...

Horse Hoof Mountain.

This place lay on the edge of Hei's Black Snow Prairie, neighboring the prairie of the Great Sun Sword Sect.

Of course, it was only a remote neighbor to the lesser territories.

The major powers' conflicts mainly occurred at the heart of the Northern Plains, around the King's Court, which was a center for Spiritual Veins of the Northern Plains. Many Earth Dragons intersected there, fostering an abundance of third-tier medium-quality, third-tier high-quality, and even third-tier top-quality Spiritual Veins.

Since ancient times, the heroes who dominated the fate of the Northern Plains were born in the King's Court.

Horse Hoof Mountain, on the other hand, was on the edge of the Black Snow Prairie, with a third-tier medium-quality Spiritual Vein. The direct lineage Golden Pill Monks of the Hei Clan were designated to this area, overseeing the locality.

This practice had continued for thousands of years and was referred to by the surrounding cultivators as the Hei of Horse Hoof.

This routine and order were initially very stable.

Direct lineage Golden Pill Monks overseeing various regions found stability in practice. When not cultivating, they ruled an area, collecting Spirit Stones, harvesting Elixirs, and mining Spirit Mines. They kept thirty percent for themselves and contributed seventy percent to their clan, living a life so tranquil it had not a single ripple.

It was rather like a pastoral idyll of working at sunrise and resting at sunset.

Of course, this applied to the direct lineage monks.

Such idyllic and tranquil lives were often depicted in the literary and artistic works created by the direct lineage monks of the Northern Plains.

Occasionally, members of the direct lineage who lost power in internal political struggles and were exiled to remote areas, having no way to advance, would devote themselves to the mountains and waters, and they created many splendid artistic achievements.

Works like "Holding Chrysanthemums," "Clear Spring," and other widely celebrated poems, along with Gui Mozhi known as the Sage of Calligraphy, Yin Tiancong the Sage of Painting... even their adversaries had to acknowledge their talent.

This leisurely, calm, and monotonous lifestyle had continued for nearly ten thousand years.

Starting two hundred years ago, it began to be disrupted.

To this day, after enduring two hundred years of war, tranquility had become a luxury.

It was still orderly around the central area of the Immortal City of Beast Spirit near the heart of the Black Snow Prairie.

However, on the fringes of the prairie, direct lineage and collateral lineage Golden Pill Monks were dying under mysterious circumstances, and it often took a long time for the news to reach the Immortal City of Beast Spirit.

The same was true here.

Horse Hoof Mountain was strewn with blood and bodies, with collapsed houses and shattered grounds. Plumes of smoke occasionally rose, the residue of fires not yet extinguished.

Above and below the mountain, there was an eerie silence save for the rustling wind that couldn't carry away the stench of blood, confined to this place, cut off from the outside world.

A stringent lockdown concealed the inside from the outside.

The focus drew in once again.

One hundred and eight foundation-building female cultivators, each with longswords at their waists, stood silently.

Dressed in blue Taoist robes with veils covering their faces, their appearances were indiscernible. They each stood on nodes of spiritual veins, their bodily auras faintly interlinked, exuding a formidable collective presence.

Standing motionless like proud pines, they completely ignored the corpses and the stench of blood around them.

Suddenly,

A tall foundation-building female cultivator closed her eyes.

After a moment,

She opened her eyes, her gaze calm as a lake, and her aura underwent a tremendous change, becoming sharp, icy cold, and even carrying a faint hint of spirit-breaking and law-destroying power.

"Tao'er, you..."

The surrounding foundation-building female cultivators trembled in unison, instinctively turning their gaze towards the tall female cultivator's position.

"We greet you, Master!"

After a moment of confirmation, the foundation-building female cultivators knelt on one knee, their blue Taoist robes spreading over the ground. Their voices, like a chorus of songbirds, merged into one and echoed in the spiritual vein of Horse Hoof Mountain, where no other living being survived.

Jiang Ding did not respond to them.

Divine Sense unfurled, observing the corpses nearby, the spiritual veins, and the lingering scent of blood in the air.

Through the resonance of Sword Heart,

The former affection and admiration from numerous maids had now largely dissipated, replaced by reverence, respect, and a vague sense of fear and reluctance.

Time, the interval of decades, can change many things.

In the long river of time, nothing remains unchanged.

"Rise."

Jiang Ding said indifferently.

"Yes!"

The many blue-robed maids stood up, watching the tall female at the center with tense faces.

Many of the foundation-building female cultivators who joined later were somewhat curious. They stole glances with sidelong looks at this legendary master they had never seen before and quickly averted their eyes.

"Tell me about the situation here."

Jiang Ding asked.

The troops here had moved abnormally and had not received his approval.

Of course, it was also related to his being within the Falling Void Sect at that time, unable to receive messages.

However, the emergence of independent, warlord-like tendencies was undeniable.

So was the killing.

The habit of regarding ordinary people and low-ranking cultivators as ants and expanding the scope of slaughter was approaching.

"Master..."

The female cultivators looked at each other, their hearts in chaos. After a brief moment, three cultivators braced themselves and stepped forward.

"First Maid of Spring, Chun Jian, First Maid of Autumn, Shanggong, and First Maid of Summer, Shangyun, are on the verge of advancing to Golden Pill and need spiritual lands.

Hence, we chose a suitable location, gathered together, and used the Taoist Soldiers in an army formation to suppress the unjust of the Hei Clan, to let brightness descend upon this prairie."

"The original people here..."

The three female cultivators stealthily glanced upwards.

"The two early-stage Golden Pill cultivators from the Hei Clan of Horse Hoof Mountain and several dozen foundation-building cultivators...stubbornly refused to cleanse themselves and start anew as cultivators."

"Hence, we performed a bit of, cleansing here."