Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

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All Treasures, all Magic, vanished into thin air.

Rule Axe True Monarch and the others stared intensely at the ants below. Moments later, with no lingering attachment, they turned and left.

Their ancestor from ten thousand years ago was their common faith. They had a deep-seated awe for his strength, his wisdom, his techniques—far surpassing that of others; they wouldn't dare to test it with their lives, no matter what.

In the howling gale, many Immortals stood in silence, murderous intent overflowing.

"It was him!"

"Divine Crow, it was Divine Crow's doing."

Moments later, Rule Axe True Monarch, from the Iron Family of Rule Mountain, who was well-versed in the various secret techniques of the Northern Plains, said coldly, "Divine Crow has injected the last of Hei Clan's Dragon Qi into this altar!"

"Thus, the ancestral ritual responded prematurely!"

"How dare he?!"

"What?!"

He was incensed beyond measure, wishing he could find the body of Divine Crow Immortal, grind his bones to dust, and scatter them to vent the hatred in his heart.

This hatred even surpassed that for Immortal Tushan, an outsider.

"This must have been a setup he prepared earlier, right? Why would he do this?"

"What's in it for him?"

Someone asked, frowning.

Nascent Soul Monks have lived many years; they always prefer to prepare for all eventualities, to think of defeat before victory, and they enjoy setting up contingencies. This was not strange.

But why this kind of contingency?

Everyone looked at each other, all unable to understand.

"I just took a glance,"

After a long while, Joyous Union True Monarch spoke up, his voice ethereal, "Among the Blood Cloud Eighteen Knights, there are two people, seemingly named Hei Louxi and Hei Loucheng, his own grandchildren. Their mother, Hei Chenghong, is a daughter born of Divine Crow's concubine, and the two of them have talent surpassing this generation of Hei Clan, perhaps even several generations... but they are not from the Direct Lineage."

"I see."

The surrounding Immortals suddenly understood.

In the eyes of Divine Crow Immortal, only the continuation of his own family was most important, with the Direct Lineage being the first and foremost. If that wasn't feasible, the blood of the Collateral Lineage would also do.

As it turned out, things went as he had anticipated.

Although through the help of Rule Mountain's Iron Family, the Hei Clan's Direct Lineage would survive, advancing to Nascent Soul was... everyone knew it was unlikely, just a verbal consolation.

Each family was too busy cultivating their own people, incessant conflicts and strife, schemes and machinations emerging one after another—how could there be resources left to cultivate someone from the Hei Clan?

At this time, the two individuals with the most exceptional talent among the Hei Clan's Collateral Lineage became the hope of Divine Crow Immortal's family.

These two might hate him, wishing to tear him to pieces, grind his bones to dust, but Divine Crow Immortal didn't care as, for him, their mere existence was enough; he required no more.

"Disregarding the big picture! Unmindful of the overall situation!"

"You deserve such an end!"

Rule Axe True Monarch cursed in anger, unbothered by the respect due to the deceased, his deep disgust and hatred apparent, wishing he could resurrect Divine Crow Immortal only to kill him again in cold blood.

"Ah, for the continuation of the family line..."

The surrounding Immortals sighed, a sense of empathy within their hearts.

The Heaven Transformation Immortal of the Liudao Sect and others had shimmering eyes, while Joyous Union True Monarch of the Joyous Union Sect and the Ice Rain Immortal of the Ice Snow Palace exchanged glances, feeling the shared sentiment, recalling the recent reforms and struggles within the Alliance of Good and Evil.

Aside from the Iron Family of Rule Mountain, everyone had carefully pondered the possibility of reform.

But the interests involved were too vast, the people affected too numerous, even to the point where the Nascent Soul Immortals themselves were expected to cut their own flesh to initiate reforms.

Moreover, even if the Immortals were willing to make sacrifices, the outcome was not certain. It was very likely that newly cultivated Collateral Lineage Nascent Souls would usurp authority immediately, causing even more dreadful internal strife.

Therefore, some preferred to wait and watch, to let others take the lead.

Notable among these was Yin's of the Liudao Sect, who themselves had an Elite Golden Pill like the Six Dao Saint. They were in need of reform but not to the point of life or death yet, holding on to the hope that external forces might be insufficient and thus the internal drive for reform was lacking.

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Not everyone can easily give up the benefits in front of them, even if they are Immortals of Nascent Soul.

Some people, on the other hand, have a pressing desire for reform.

Their direct lineage lacks outstanding individuals, and the future of the family looks bleak, but this is not an era where one can afford to relax and be at ease. The absence of an Immortal of Nascent Soul at the helm means the announcement of family extinction, and they are desperate to make changes.

Even more splendid is the fact that those with exceptional talents in the collateral lineage are also their own offspring, and no matter how much they fight, they cannot deny the fact that they are the children of their grandfathers and grandmothers.

With that, the motivation for reform is very strong.

Typical examples are the likes of Divine Crow Immortal, Joyous Union True Monarch, Ice Rain Immortal, and these people are eager to reform. After all, in this generation, it is at least their own descendants who will benefit. As for the damaged interests of the direct lineage within the family, anger and despair can only be ignored.

Unfortunately, the reform pushed by Divine Crow Immortal was hard interrupted under the pressure of a powerful external force.

The strength of the Hei Clan was relatively weak, and the Iron Family keenly noticed the breakthrough point and struck like lightning, suppressing it in one fell swoop, greatly deterring the internal factions and inspiring the cultivators of the direct lineage of the major families.

"Rule Axe brother,"

"If, when that old thief Tushan was attacking the Formation Method, there were still a large number of collateral Golden Pill cultivators and collateral Foundation-building cultivators present, the formation would not have been broken so quickly. It should have been enough to hold out until we came to the rescue."

"What does this imply?"

Ice Rain Immortal gazed at Rule Axe True Monarch and slowly spoke.

"There's no need for an explanation."

"The status of the direct lineage bloodline cannot be shaken."

Rule Axe True Monarch, without any guilt, calmly said, "Don't forget, most of you people are Three Spiritual Roots. Do you have what you have today because you are naturally talented and exceptionally gifted?"

"Ask yourselves, how do you compare to a Loose Cultivator of Nascent Soul who fought their way up from the very bottom?"

"Not to mention, compared to the old thief Tushan?"

"Would you dare to claim so?"

Ice Rain Immortal and Joyous Union True Monarch fell silent.

This was an ironclad fact.

Without their identity as the direct lineage, they would already be a pile of bones at this time, instead of enjoying a lifespan of one thousand two hundred years, being called Immortals, and constantly affecting and manipulating the ever-changing situation in the Northern Plains.

Buzz!

At this moment, one after another, messaging talismans flew out from the Storage Treasures of the six Nascent Soul Monks, some sooner, some later.

With a light contact of their Divine Sense, everyone's expressions instantly turned exceedingly cold.

"Great Sun Sect! Great Sun Sword Sect!"

Ice Rain Immortal said with a murderous intent, "In thirty-seven locations across the Northern Plains, taking advantage of the great loss of Golden Pill strength and the chaos created by the inability of family powers to extend their reach, nearly simultaneous Heaven Reaching Rituals appeared on our territories, some successful, some failed."

"If we can't wipe them all out within a month, this battle for King's Court is going to be a lively one."

The other Immortals of Nascent Soul turned pale with rage, no longer hesitating, and each flew in different directions.

With so many Heaven Reaching Rituals,

If they are not dealt with swiftly and eradicated, a large number of Chaos Thieves will be recognized by the Dragon Qi, and the difficulty of eradicating them will skyrocket.

Compared to these soon-to-be far-reaching Chaos Thieves, the old thief Tushan is indeed hateful, but for the moment, he can no longer be concerned about.

...

Unconcerned by the outside world's turmoil,

An invisible figure had been fleeing continuously for over a year in the Soulless Desert, glancing at the desolate desert surrounding him.

"Time to go back and teach classes."

"Yu Qianzi..."

Jiang Ding pulled out a small notebook, crossing off the names of Divine Crow Immortal and Shang Sanwu, his gaze pausing on the third name: "I am going to beat her to a pulp, the kind that leaves her unrecognizable. Even if she doesn't come out, making the excuse that she's in seclusion—six years and it's still not over—I will find a way to drag her out."

"There's always a reason to be found."