Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

A hidden post,

Tucked within the thick of the trees, a pair of eyes surveilled the vicinity from time to time.

A gust of breeze swept by, without attracting even the slightest bit of attention.

Jiang Ding's Art of Small Concealment was fully activated, along with the optical camouflage of his stealth suit, making him akin to a chameleon ready to shift its shape at any moment. In the day, faint traces of transparency and color shifts could be observed.

In the veil of night, all these traces were concealed.

Inside Jiang Ding, the Small Circle of Vital Energy circulated his Inner Qi, giving him a sensation of boundless energy for a short period. His toes pointed, he descended from the treetops, and began to slowly climb upwards along the cliff.

The protrusions on the sheer cliff face, and occasionally the cypress trees that grew on it, became his steps to ascend swiftly, avoiding areas with complex geography that might hide traps.

"There are capable folks within the Menghu Stockaded Village..."

Jiang Ding muttered to himself.

Even in such a place, elaborate arrangements were made, with more than a dozen hidden sentries scattered on both sides of the cliff, ever vigilant, never negligent.

If one were to startle them, signals would be sent out, and a besiegement of strong bows and crossbows would follow, with experts blocking the path. Even someone at the Internal Qi Perfection stage would meet rapid death.

However, under the thermal sensing of the drone, these hidden sentries were completely exposed.

In the clearing, a patch of soil was slightly indented.

Jiang Ding took a moment to catch his breath, finding a spot under the shadow of a tree, he sat down with his sword, closing his eyes to regulate his breath and restore the depleted Inner Energy within his body.

After a little over thirty minutes, his figure flashed and vanished from that spot.

With the aid of the drone in the sky and the ever-burning lights within the stockade, he effortlessly located the Juyi Hall.

The lights here were brighter, the guards more stringent.

The trees and weeds surrounding the courtyard walls had been thoroughly cleared, allowing the illuminating fires to reach every potential blind spot, with the guards able to oversee their vicinity at a glance.

"Such vigilance, this is definitely not just a group of ordinary bandits,"

Jiang Ding frowned.

Bandit organizations, held together by bonds of camaraderie and the philosophy of hefty eating and drinking, cannot be supervised this strictly – the men would all run away, strong leadership notwithstanding.

His gaze settled on an Inner Qi Realm Martial Artist standing guard in front of the Juyi Hall's main entrance.

The same goes for this one; if an Inner Qi Realm Martial Artist has stooped to becoming an outlaw, it is for wealth and indulgence, not to serve as a mere gatekeeper.

In an emergency situation, perhaps, they might endure it for a while, but this is clearly routine.

The guard seemed to sense something and looked towards a shadow near the eaves.

Jiang Ding's heart tensed, his gaze withdrawn. The Art of Small Concealment rapidly activated, making his presence almost as indistinct as a stone or withered wood. Simultaneously, his muscles tensed, ready to unleash a swift sword stroke if necessary.

The gatekeeping Inner Qi Realm Martial Artist, slightly puzzled, retracted his gaze, continuing to survey the other areas.

It must be an illusion; there's nowhere that could hide a person or thing, there couldn't be any issues.

"I've made a huge mistake!"

Jiang Ding's muscles relaxed slightly as he admonished himself internally.

"I actually looked directly at him, giving him a certain sense of my presence. This is an error not even the most ignorant of newcomers would make."

He shifted to using his peripheral vision to continue monitoring the entrance, and sure enough, the guard could no longer detect him.

Jiang Ding was extremely patient, waiting silently, even continuing to refine and nourish the minute branches of his twelve principal meridians after replenishing his full reserve of Inner Energy.

More than an hour later, the awaited opportunity finally came.

"Old Five, it's time to change shifts!"

The guard at the gate shouted towards a nearby barracks with a teasing tone. Soon after, a husky man with a heavy chinstrap beard, carrying a large stainless steel axe over his shoulder, stumbled out of the barracks, drowsy-eyed.

"Go to hell, you turtle!"

Their respective subordinates also began to replace each other in an orderly rotation.

Jiang Ding's mind stirred, recalling the information he had received from Dragon Three.

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'Splitting Tiger' Zhou Kuang and 'Gold-touching Tiger' Zhou Sheng were brothers. Both had achieved Minor Completion of Internal Qi and were experts at coordination, known as the fifth and sixth respectively among the 'Seven Tigers'.

Taking advantage of the minor chaos during the shift change, Jiang Ding lightly stepped onto the courtyard wall and then onto the rooftop, making his way towards the center of Juyi Hall.

At that moment, the hall was brightly lit, and from time to time, the sound of strings and woodwind instruments could be heard. 'Dragon of Dongshan' Lu Jingtian was likely still awake.

Under the direct light of a lamp, creating a shadow by the window, there unexpectedly appeared slight undulating transparent ripples, which disappeared in a flash.

Despite the brightness, there was not a trace of smoke, coupled with a faint exotic fragrance—it was none other than whale oil, valued as highly as an equivalent weight in silver!

Elegant maids in lavish attire danced gracefully, accompanied by the harmony of a zither player's strings.

Even deep in the mountains, it was not much different from the opulence of princes and nobles.

None of this, however, attracted the attention of the three people seated.

"The message has been relayed."

'Dragon of Dongshan' Lu Jingtian, seven feet tall with a robust build. Though his temples were flecked with white, it did not diminish his might; every move he made was like a fierce tiger lying in wait, compelling one to hold their breath and listen attentively.

He casually released a grey homing pigeon and said indifferently, "That youngster refuses to agree to our price, leaving no room for negotiation. He bluntly states that if the goods aren't delivered to our door in three days at the Sihai Business Association's price, the deal will be void."

"He's that inflexible?"

A dignified middle-aged man frowned.

"Could it be that we were mistaken in our guess that the Blue Luminous Butterfly isn't as important to him or the people in his clan?"

Jiang Ding's expression turned cold.

Yiqi Gang leader, 'Righteousness Over Clouds' Yang Dongsheng!

This was also a significant figure; in Dongling City, only the master of Longhu Martial Arts Hall and the Zheng Clan's Head could compare to him.

"How nice... not the most troublesome one."

He muttered to himself.

The fact that Yang Dongsheng was able to establish such a substantial foundation in Dongling City meant he must have had excellent relations with the upper echelons and had close business ties with them. But after all, he was not a true member of the noble Tang family.

If he died, it was unlikely that the army would be mobilized.

"Impossible!"

An old man in a black robe said decisively, "You don't understand; you only need to know that the materials a power goes through great lengths to collect in order to refine a Breakthrough Pill are extremely precious, and their value far exceeds that of the pill itself."

"Why is that?"

Yang Dongsheng and Lu Jingtian exchanged glances; they seemed to have a lot of trust in the black-robed old man and offered no objection.

'I don't recognize him, a stranger who is an Internal Qi Perfection martial artist...'

Jiang Ding searched through his memories for any information, but found none.

Internal Qi Perfection martial artists were not common—there was no way one would hide their skill for years without good reason. This man must be an outsider.

"Probably just a bluff."

The old man in black scoffed coldly.

"That's better... I'm just worried that a power capable of refining Breakthrough Pills is no weak force and there's much to dread if we wait too long," Lu Jingtian sighed, "Us old folks are all the same, with no one accomplished among our progeny. When our generation passes, the successors can only fade into the crowd."

"That's still an optimistic view."

The black-robed old man sneered, "Considering the number of people we've offended, nine out of ten times our death would coincide with our clan's downfall. Believe it or not, remember the heads of the underworld from our youth and where their families are now?"

"Surely it's not that bad. We've done considerable work for those above us, accumulated feats of valor. Brother Chou, you come from a great teaching, surely you haven't neglected to secure your retreat?"

Yang Dongsheng furrowed his brow. Unlike the other two, he had extensive family property in the city, over ten wives and concubines, and scores of children.

"Feats of valor? Worthless!"

Lu Jingtian mocked, "You fancy yourself as having toiled hard, but in their eyes, you're just a piece of toilet paper, a stain they can't wait to flush away. There's no affection."

"As for the great teaching, it's no sanctuary either."

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