Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

The Beast Spirit Immortal City was in the midst of welcoming distinguished guests, with everyone in high spirits and beaming with joy.

The collateral lineage Golden Pill cultivators of the Hei Clan were excited and joyful, their long-cherished wish of many years about to be fulfilled today.

Many Golden Pill Monks had tears in their eyes as they remembered the past.

In their youth, they paid the blood tax every year, their own children dying one by one, sent into the Blood Pool where their flesh and souls became nourishment for the direct lineage's aptitude, never allowing top-aptitude cultivators from the collateral lineages to emerge.

Whenever a cultivator with a Sky Spiritual Root or a different exemplary Spiritual Root emerged, they would immediately be sought after by the direct lineage with manic joy, becoming part of their achievements.

This was the hidden pain deep in the hearts of every collateral lineage cultivator.

Whether cultivating Qi, Foundation Building, or even at the revered status of Golden Pill Peak monks, between the ages of sixteen and thirty, they had to ceaselessly produce children and then personally send their infants into the Blood Pool to comply with the stringent clan rules set by their family.

If they failed to do so, death awaited them.

This was what teenagers went through, not the heart-hardened old cultivators of hundreds of years later.

These scars were destined not to be forgotten.

When the Great Sun Sect rose, a large number of collateral lineage families from the Northern Plains did not hesitate to defect and fight against the alliance of Righteous and Demonic paths, forming the main body of Great Sun Sect cultivators, and they were even more frenzied and fearless than the sect's own cultivators, with scenes of Golden Pill self-detonation not being uncommon, establishing indelible merits.

"Everything... has passed..."

A Female Cultivator at the Middle Jindan Stage wept uncontrollably.

She remembered her girlhood when her first child, just born and only a month old with a crescent-shaped birthmark on its face yet to fade, liked to curl up in the swaddling clothes.

Then, the family's envoys came knocking, snatching the child from her arms, heedless of her desperate pleas.

More than four hundred years had passed, and she thought she had forgotten, but now, recalling the scene, every detail was as vivid as before, without a single omission—even the envoys' appearance was still crystal clear in her memory.

"There won't be such things anymore."

"The ancestor said that, collateral or direct, we are all descendants of our forebears..."

The weeping quickly spread among the surrounding cultivators, sweeping through the entire Immortal City, as many cultivators were moved to tears, regardless of whether they were Qi Practitioners, Foundation Builders, or respected Golden Pill elders, unable to control the intense emotions that surged forth at this moment.

Sobs filled the city,

And moments later, were replaced by laughter of liberation.

"Mother..."

Hei Louxi looked toward the woman beside him and asked, "The major event, it should be achievable now, right?"

"It must be achievable."

Before waiting for an answer, she answered herself, "The Golden Pill Monks of the direct lineage have all but withered away, leaving only us from the Hei Clan. Even if the ancestor is not fond of us, he has no choice but to rely on us now, and he has publicly promised in front of everyone that there should be no accidents."

"The Hei Clan's prairies require Golden Pill Monks to guard them."

"It must be so! There is no other possibility."

Hei Chenghong also agreed.

Her eyes were slightly red, and at over five hundred years of age, she still couldn't forget the children she bore in her youth and maidenhood. Emotional uncontrollability created ripples in her Lake of Heart.

After all, they were cultivators in their dozens and hundreds of years.

The crying gradually subsided as all the cultivators reined in their emotions and wiped away their tears, their eyes filled with anticipation as they watched in the direction of the Hei Clan ancestral hall.

Following tradition, a cultivator from the Iron Family of Rule Mountain would witness the birth of the Hei Clan's young master, observe him inheriting the Nascent Soul legacy of the ancestor, and then wish the new Hei Clan young master to lead the family to even greater glory.

Hei Louxi and the many Golden Pill Monks all had their gaze fixed on the ancestral hall, full of anticipation.

It didn't take long for a person to appear.

It was the elite of the Righteous Dao, Guize Zi.

With handsome features and impeccable etiquette, he walked step by step, following the ancient traditions.

The crowd became somewhat restless.

This didn't seem to comply with etiquette.

According to usual practice, when it involved the continuation and birth of the clan's young master, it was always an Immortal of Nascent Soul from the Iron Family of Rule Mountain who presided over the succession ceremony, announcing the results in person.

Forgotten, perhaps?

"It's fine, it's the same thing."

A Golden Pill Cultivator reassured those around him, "Guize Zi is an elite of the Righteous Dao, a future ancestor of the Iron Family on Rule Mountain, whose identity actually stands higher than that of a common Immortal of Nascent Soul."

"This shows even greater regard from the Iron Family."

"Indeed, indeed... haha..."

Around him, some Golden Pill Monks had forced expressions on their faces, their bodies trembling without realizing it, yet they were laughing.

"At this extraordinary time, there are extraordinary events, and rituals cannot be entirely based on the past. Making some changes is only right."

"It's a sign of greater importance."

"Yes, yes, exactly..."

A group of cultivators from the collateral lineages of the Hei Clan, all Golden Pill Monks, were laughing—a mirthful laugh, filled with joy and excitement to the extreme.

But their faces were deathly pale, resentful, and cold.

The contrast was so eerie that it sent chills down one's spine.

Hei Louxi was also laughing—a hearty, cheerful laugh—as the pitch-black wings unfurled behind him, stretching to a hundred zhang in size, and obscuring the light from the sky above.

"Mother..."

"The Hei Clan... I've said it long ago, just like my brother; there should be no attachment to this place."

Hei Chenghong's hands and feet were ice-cold, and he stood dazed without any reaction.

"The heavens have the sun and moon, the earth has yin and yang."

"The rivers flow, the seasons revolve, heaven and earth eternally endure, without beginning or end."

"Why is this so?"

Iron Rule recited the eulogy in a chanting tone, invoking a prayer while questioning the cultivators in all directions about the profound principle of why the heavens and earth eternally endure.

"It is all due to the established order, with a clear hierarchy!"

He swiftly gave his answer.

"Without order, without hierarchy, the heavens will rage, and humanity will lament, the seasons will blur, chaos will reign, and the earth will collapse, the Great Dao will ultimately perish."

"Today, Hei Xue of the Hei Clan, Hei Chenghong, Hei Louxi, Hei... and others, have violated the natural order, shown ignorance of their superiors and inferiors, rebelled against the direct lineage, disregarding human relations, committing deeds most ferocious and wicked,"

"Should,"

"Be executed!"

With each word Iron Rule spoke, another Golden Pill from the Iron Family appeared behind him—ten more with a single phrase, and by the end, there were over a hundred Golden Pill Monks surrounding them.

"Execute!"

"Execute! Execute!"

"Those who defy the superiors, slay! Slay! Slay! Slay!"

The Golden Pill Monks of the Iron Family shouted angrily, with a chilling intent to kill, each holding weapons and treasures, searching and slaughtering by the names on the list, accepting no surrender.

In an instant, slaughter and carnage ensued.

Not just Golden Pill Monks, but a vast number of Qi Practitioners and Foundation Builders continually perished.

"You!"

"You bastards of the Iron Family!"

The Golden Pill Monks from the Hei Clan's collateral lineages roared with fury, no more laughter on their faces as they rushed towards the skies, only to be reduced to countless pieces of flesh and blood moments later.

The others let out a grim laugh, each making their own choice.

Some, feeling utterly devoid of the will to live, charged straight towards the Golden Pill Monks of the Iron Family, using neither magic nor treasures, detonating their Golden Pill to bring down several Iron Family cultivators alongside them.

This was not an isolated incident; many Golden Pill Monks made the same choice, and in a flash, even the imposing Golden Pill Monks of the Iron Family began to suffer heavy casualties and chaos ensued; some were filled with fear and shrunk back, no longer cold and ruthless.

Others turned and fled into the distance.

Hei Louxi glanced once at Iron Rule charging straight towards him, said nothing, and with a flap of his wings behind him, escaped into the distance.

"Think you can escape?"

Iron Rule let out a light laugh.

An obscure Golden Pill Monk at his peak was naturally not a concern for the Elite of the Righteous Dao.

Just as he was about to act, not far away, Hei Chenghong was burning her Essence Blood, Mana, and Life Energy, wielding an embroidered needle treasure to intercept from afar.

Her expression was indifferent, as if the burning substance was unrelated to her.

Then, she detonated her Golden Pill.

Iron Rule's expression changed slightly, and his figure flickered away from the location multiple times.

Boom!

Amidst countless black needle treasures scattering in all directions, a huge pit was blasted into the Immortal City, and Iron Rule emerged from the explosion with slightly curled hair, no longer composed.

"Wretched wench!"

Overflowing with murderous intent, Iron Rule's pupils flashed as he locked onto the distant Hei Louxi using his clan's tracking secret technique, and his speed surged as he pursued.

The distance between them was closing fast.

There was a vast difference in strength.

After a few breaths, Iron Rule stopped, his face dark as he gazed ahead.

Six or seven Golden Pill Monks of the Hei Clan's collateral lineage emerged from a corner, looking at him with bitterness, silently detonating their Golden Pill. The thunderous sound of explosions once again reverberated in all directions, blocking the path ahead.

As he struggled to break free, he found that he had completely lost sight of the person before him.