Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery
Chapter 1020 - 989: The Outer Realm Scout Cultivator Lurking in the Shadow Demon Abyss

While Jiang Ding was holding a meeting, his alter ego, Professor Jiang from the Adult Sword Dao Department, was also in a meeting hosted by a distant alter ego, a dedicated conference of the education sector where all university presidents of the Cultivation Department were present.

"The Xianmen Sect and the Eight Great Immortal Sects have once again reached an agreement to mutually send exchange students."

The distant ego spoke confidently at the meeting.

"After returning, pre-select some exchange students through voluntary registration. They can go to study at the Eight Great Immortal Sects and enjoy the treatment of their core disciples, and we will do the same for them."

"Exchange students going out must be chosen for their humility, eagerness to learn, and strong political qualities. They must be at least eighteen years old, with mature and stable values."

"Each of the Eight Great Immortal Sects has its strengths, many of which are ahead of us. The spiritual plant cultivation techniques of the Green Wood Immortal Sect, the calculation techniques of Heavenly Mechanism Immortal Palace, the Incense Divine Dao techniques of Xuanwu Heavenly Palace, the Stealth and Infiltration Techniques of Shadow Demon Abyss... all of these and more are worthwhile for us to learn. We must not be arrogant or complacent, or have a narrow perspective..."

"This first batch of exchange students from the Eight Great Immortal Sects, led by Shadow Demon Abyss Daozi, will also include Peak Divine Transformation Cultivators who carry the Great Power Directive from the Shadow Demon Abyss. The Xianmen Sect will engage in collaborative research with them on Concealment and Anti-Concealment Spells and Treasures. This project has the joint support of the Eight Great Immortal Sects, and the Xianmen Sect is also highly supportive..."

Yuan glanced at Jiang Ding.

Jiang Ding's gaze remained usual.

This meeting was only to communicate the results to the Immortals of Nascent Soul; the reasons were not disclosed due to confidentiality.

The first batch of cultivators headed to the Horned Ming Realm for investigation will likely be from the Shadow Demon Abyss, primarily Nascent Soul and Golden Pill cultivators, because the more powerful the cultivator, the larger the disturbance they cause when passing through spatial passages.

Before the outbreak of a full-scale war, Nascent Soul Golden Core cultivators, whose Tianji and aura are personally concealed by the Master of Refining Nothingness, will take on the task of investigation outside the realm.

In this regard, the Shadow Demon Abyss cultivators, who have the strongest Concealment and Infiltration abilities in this Domain, will be responsible.

Coincidentally, the Xianmen Sect possesses the most advanced investigation and detection technologies in this Domain. The Shadow Demon Abyss cultivators, including Shadow Demon Daozi, will undergo specialized training at the Xianmen Sect and develop new equipment suitable for the Horned Ming Realm.

These specially trained Shadow Demon Abyss cultivators will only be deployed into the Horned Ming Realm for infiltration and investigation after receiving collective recognition and approval from the Nine Great Immortal Sects.

This includes Shadow Demon Daozi.

Yes, Shadow Demon Abyss Daozi will personally risk danger and go for outside-realm investigations.

It is unknown how the other Immortal Sects persuaded the great expert of Shadow Demon Abyss and what benefits they promised, but this unlucky fellow was decided upon without any of the prestige a Dao child possesses and sent to a foreign domain.

However, it may not be coercion.

Just like the tradition of the Dari Swordsman to elevate by slaying nine Dao children, the Shadow Demon Abyss also has its own Dao Child-level trials. Once the Outer Realm infiltration trial is completed, the foundation of Shadow Demon Daozi will instantly thicken considerably.

Because it has proven its own path through facts, the future will be different.

"Jiang Ding, don't set your sights on Shadow Demon Daozi now."

Yuan's secretive voice came through, earnestly saying: "You wait a moment, wait until the Xianmen Sect and the Shadow Demon Abyss fall out before doing so. It shouldn't take long; at most a few thousand years before Xianmen Sect and the Eight Great Immortal Sects will inevitably have a battle."

"We will not allow them to break through above Refining Nothingness, and they do not wish for us to make the breakthrough either."

"As soon as an imbalance of power occurs between both sides, the decisive battle will immediately commence."

"Teacher, rest assured."

Jiang Ding immediately replied: "Just a Golden Pill cultivator, I..."

"Shadow Demon Abyss Daozi has reached the Nascent Soul Stage."

Yuan warned, "The situation of the battle required him to use some methods that were akin to helping the shoots grow by pulling them up, but the adverse effects are not significant. This is because including the Xianmen Sect, the Nine Great Immortal Sects will jointly compensate him. Now the Shadow Demon Abyss Daozi is at the Early Stage of Nascent Soul."

"That is...the same."

"Don't worry about it."

Jiang Ding reassured repeatedly.

"That's good to hear."

Yuan felt somewhat relieved.

The specialized conference in the education sector went on for several months, assigning each their respective tasks.

Even Jiang Ding had tasks to perform. He would welcome Sword Cultivators from the Eight Great Immortal Sects who came to study, and he would also select outstanding students from the Adult Sword Dao Department to study at the Sword Dao lineage of the Eight Great Immortal Sects. They would absorb the excellent Immortal Tao achievements of the Sects' Sword Dao, facilitating mutual exchange and promotion.

Such prosperity and fellowship between the Nine Great Immortal Sects—mutually beneficial, open, and inclusive—only existed under the threats from the outside world and the allure of rich Star Domains.

...

Jiang Ding walked out of the Martial Soul Research Institute with an exhausted face, flew up through the atmosphere, and returned to the Thirty-Third Heavenly Gang Orbit.

The entire year of 11698, he and his avatar were spent in various conferences.

In addition to the education sector conference and the meetings at the Martial Soul Research Institute, there were various other mandatory meetings.

Among them was the industrial meeting for the Great Sun Refining Factory. With Xianmen Sect recruiting some factories, being their legal representative, he had to attend the coordination meetings.

There were also military meetings concerning various war preparedness works and the organization of the Great Sun Conglomerate Army;

Then, there was support needed for the Sword Dao direction by the Array Spirit Research Institute, development of the Golden Causality project, and advancements in research and development of the Wan Hua Magnetic Element Scripture and the Supreme True Hole-Spinning Gold Scripture under the influence of Golden Causality...

All these endless meetings proceeded at a rapid pace, leaving no time to catch one's breath. Fortunately, today marked the end; now things were settling down, and it was time to get down to work.

Jiang Ding returned to the Great Sun Heavenly Pond, closed his eyes to rest, and began entering the state of cultivation and refining flying swords.

Part of his Divine Sense swept through the Great Sun Heavenly Pond.

A century had passed, and many changes had occurred to the Great Sun Heavenly Pond. Beside the River of Sun Flame, clumps of Flame Bamboo grew in abundance, producing a large quantity of third and fourth order Flame Bamboo Spiritual Materials every year, excellent materials for Sword Refining, considered Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasures.

Many students from the Adult Sword Dao Department liked to use the various bamboo from within the Great Sun Heavenly Pond to forge their Life Flying Swords, as they were inexpensive yet of good quality, with added subsidies.

Apart from using them for Flying Swords, these bamboo could also be crafted into recyclable missiles for warships and Air-Space Motherships used by Xianmen Sect's fleet, or they could serve as a minor component in the massive composite industrial chains of fifth and sixth order materials, contributing to the Immortal Tao Industry of Xianmen Sect.

All these were part of the meticulous designs before planting the bamboo, ensuring the most efficient use of roots, stems, and leaves.

Just as it was by the River of Sun Flame, it was similar by Moon Creek River. The abundance of Iron Sword Trees and other Spiritual Plants enriched the ecosystem of the Great Sun Heavenly Pond, also producing various high-quality third and fourth order Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasures, bringing in a substantial amount of wealth every year.

The Sun Abyss remained the same, the Great Sun Moss unable to survive, dying off every few years under the destructive power of the Great Sun's Sword Intent.

As for the fifth order Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasures, they were still reliant on the natural output of the Heavenly Pond. Given the long growth cycle of fifth order Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasures, even in the excellent environment of the Great Sun Heavenly Pond, it was projected that it would take another three to four hundred years to see a change and achieve a bumper harvest.

All these summed up, after a century of development by Xianmen Sect, the Great Sun Heavenly Pond could produce over eighty billion Low-grade Spirit Stones a year. Jiang Ding would receive over forty billion Low-grade Spirit Stones a year, barely covering the consumption of Sword Refining.

After years of cultivation, Jiang Ding thought of Northern Plains and his figure disappeared from sight.