Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

For ten consecutive days,

each day was spent like this: practicing the sword, drawing talismans, and studying the Art of Small Concealment.

Jiang Ding felt extremely content, with no shortage of resources, steady progress in learning, and no insurmountable problems; he could see his own improvement every day.

Sizzle~

With a touch of the pen, the densely packed array diagram on the table made a noise, followed by light blue smoke rising, its central part turning into charred black carbon.

"The Gathering Spirit Formation truly deserves to be one of the top-tier first-order formations; the difficulty of the Great Sun Gathering Spirit Formation is on another level. I've failed again..."

Jiang Ding sighed, put down the Talisman Pen, and slowly recalled all the details of the talisman drawing process, engraving them in his mind.

Fortunately, the Talisman Pen, Talisman Paper, and Spirit Ink are all specially made by the Xianmen Sect for post-lesson practice, producing a small reaction when successful, and not resulting in severe consequences if failed, being both cost-effective and recyclable.

Compared to Outer Realm Cultivators of lower ranks who would have to work for days or even months with each failed practice, the gap is at least dozens to hundreds of times.

All such foundational technologies are what make it possible for Xianmen Sects to have a wealth of technically skilled personnel such as Alchemists, Array Masters, and Refining Masters.

There have been Outer Realm Cultivators who wanted to imitate these techniques.

But they found that despite these technologies appearing inconspicuous and used only by low-rank Cultivators, they are extremely advanced, requiring the full effort of a large Sect, comparable to one of the Nine Great Immortal Sects, and even calling upon the Sect's elders and a large number of high-level Cultivators to have a chance at mastering them.

Yes, just a chance, because that's how research goes.

Who then, with the valor of a bear and the courage of a leopard, would dare do such a thing?

The Immortal Sects are the realms of the powerful Sect elders, not the other way around, where powerful figures must set aside their own Cultivation to serve you, a minor Cultivator.

Whoever dares to do so, even the most favored disciple, would be smacked to death.

Practice Talisman Paper, the educational system of elixirs, the Optical Formation Engraving Machine, the Soaring Eagle Sword Technique, Magic Arts-Breaking Steel... and so on and so forth—all seemingly unremarkable, present everywhere in daily life.

But aren't each of them the painstaking work of predecessors of the Immortal Sects over tens of thousands of years, not something that a genius could easily come up with on a whim?

It requires a vast and complex Cultivation industrial system, along with continuous accumulation of Cultivation talents and technologies.

Jiang Ding suddenly looked up, gazing into the distant sky.

...

At the city gate,

many soldiers clad in black armor were stunned and speechless, as crowds of people dispersed, not daring to block the way.

"The Sihai Business Association... they've been planted."

"Hiss~ Who would dare to strike? This is 'Dragon Spear' Long Zhengwu of the Sihai Business Association, a well-known expert with Internal Qi Perfection!"

Amidst the various discussions, Dragon Three clenched his teeth, tightly covering his arm from which blood occasionally seeped from the severed limb.

The others from the Sihai Business Association were in similar states, with limbs severed, lying atop carriages clinging to their last breaths, looking pitiful, the number having decreased by more than half since they left the city.

Even 'Dragon Spear' Long Zhengwu had a pale face, having sustained a serious injury.

"This grudge, our Sihai Business Association will not forget!"

Dragon Three enunciated each word, each one laden with towering hatred.

In this battle, more than half of the elite escort team suffered casualties, most of whom were from the Long clan, many of them his uncles and cousins, who had watched him grow up since childhood and had been his playmates for many years.

And one of them was his eldest son.

The partially gray-haired Long Zhengwu, leaning on an iron and gold spear, remained silent.

Passing by the streets, many onlookers wore expressions of schadenfreude.

The Sihai Business Association, by expanding, had encroached upon the benefits of many people.

And although extremely generous to valued clients, influential figures, and forces they wished to ally with, they weren't so kind to those beneath them and smaller forces—as Huang Deyou's friends and the likes of Xiaocui could attest.

Now, there was a sense of everyone pushing down the wall that's about to collapse.

Dragon Three's veins bulged, appearing as though he could bite someone, frightening the bystanders into scattering, but then he calmed down again.

"Uncle-grandfather, this is my fault for thinking we could take all the profits." Tears trickled from the corners of his eyes: "After this matter is resolved, I will go to the family's Luojin Hall and accept my punishment!"

"Bastard!"

Long Zhengwu seethed with anger, "Why remove responsibility from me? My son is trapped at a bottleneck, and it was I who ordered this!"

They looked at each other and silently shed tears.

"Oh dear, Dragon Three, how have you been injured?"

A slightly sharp voice came from not too far away, "I said so, didn't I? Donglingshan Mountain is high and its waters deep, you are not accustomed to walking it, yet you would not listen. Now, look what has happened."

Dragon Three and Long Zhengwu suddenly looked up, glaring intently ahead.

A tall and hefty fat man dressed in an embroidered toad robe, rolling two ox-eye-sized iron balls in his hands, surrounded by a swarm of servants, spoke in a leisurely tone, "Poor my nephew Dragon Yuyue, young and already in the Inner Qi Realm, might have even hoped for Xiantian in the future. Now, because of his father, he dies here."

As soon as this man appeared,

the street immediately grew much quieter, so much so that a pin drop could be heard.

If the Sihai Business Association, though cruel in its dealings, still maintained a trace of a great trading company's dignity, and always had a plausible reason for their actions, this 'Spring Wind Hand' did not care for such niceties.

His 'spring wind' was only given to those friends on the Jianghu road who were useful to him.

"Alas! And that nephew Master Long, he is also such a pity..."

Ding Feng wore a face of compassion for the world as he sighed in grief.

Unexpected to him, even though he thus incited, the two people across from him still remained calm despite their blood-red eyes, and in moments, they threw down several of the younger nieces and nephews who rushed at them.

"Manager Ding's chess moves are superior, this time the Sihai Business Association has lost,"

Long Zhengwu cupped his hands together and smiled, "No matter, the Sihai Business Association has businesses all over Yue Country. We can recover the loss elsewhere. We shall meet again."

Having said that, ignoring Ding Feng's provocation, he led his people away.

Ding Feng's sorrowful expression tightened, his face cloudy and uncertain.

In the distance, a group of black-clothed constables who arrived at some point, seeing nothing further for them to do, quietly left.

Lanban Street, sundry shop.

A teenager in a green shirt came out to greet his guests a kilometer away, standing with his hand on his sword.

An invisible aura spread, and passersby automatically made way, forming a large empty circle around him.

"Young Master Jiang."

Unable to suppress his emotions, Dragon Three's tears fell heavily, "Our Sihai Business Association is incompetent, ignorant of the vast sky and the broad earth, overestimating our capabilities, please forgive us."

"The accumulation of Blue Luminous Butterflies over the past ten days has all been lost, snatched away by the bandits of Fierce Tiger Village."

Although he had already anticipated it, Jiang Ding still involuntarily tensed, a hint of murderous intent escaping.

"Shopkeeper Long, this is a small matter; what matters is that you recover from your injuries,"

Jiang Ding consoled, leading everyone towards the inside of the shop.

In the backyard, the three of them sat opposite each other, and Jiang Ding slowly learned the detailed information about the incident.

"Ultimately, it is my own greed that is to blame, forgetting the ancestral teaching of sharing profits with others," Dragon Three said bitterly, "Even though I distributed some gold, silver, old medicine, and old ginseng, how could those people ever be satisfied?"

"All the signs before were just to lull us."

Jiang Ding furrowed his brows, "Are you saying that various forces within the city are involved in this matter?"

"It must be so,"

'Sky Dragon Lance' Long Zhengwu sneered, "Even if they disguised themselves and didn't use their famous skills, whence would the small Dongling City produce three martial artists with Internal Qi Perfection, and so many in the Internal Qi Realm?"

"Young Master, rest assured," Dragon Three said solemnly. "With much effort, these people have snatched away the butterflies; they surely won't let them come to any harm, and the butterfly harvesting in Donglingshan Mountain won't stop."

"Soon, someone should make contact with the Young Master."

"As for this matter, the Sihai Business Association will stop here."

He gave a cold smile.

"There will be plenty of time in the future!"