Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery
Chapter 723 - 704: Tushan Immortal City Makes a Killing from War

Several tens of thousands of miles away from Great Sun Sword City, there was a bleak expanse of grassland.

The spiritual energy here was so faint that not even a first-order Spiritual Vein existed. A third-order high-quality Concealment Formation had been set up, with Spirit Stones as the driving force, which suited the methods of a powerfully skilled Loose Cultivator.

"Scorching Sun Copper..."

Jiang Ding took out the composite Sword Refining Material he had purchased from the underground auction and examined it closely.

It was the size of a palm, a shiny yellow, and within it, there was a faint sound of swords clashing, as if it contained endless mysteries of the Sword Dao. Merely looking at it would bring forth an inexplicable comprehension of the sword's ultimate truths in one's heart.

"A very strong Sword Intent; it has an erosive and incendiary nature. For low-ranking Cultivators without Sword Intent, it's practically an overwhelming force, as it unconsciously corrodes the meditator into the shape of Sword Intent that the person behind the scenes desires.

If swallowed, it could be used to its greatest extent without wasting much. Even better, if utilized adeptly, it could add a precious quality to one's own Sword Intent..."

Jiang Ding gently stroked the Scorching Sun Copper, a look of immersion flashing across his eyes.

In his heart, he thought coldly and indifferently.

"Such a method is a shortcut; it has risks but they are relatively minor. There's no need to enter the deadly battles of orthodox sword cultivation, which is too dangerous and even poses a threat to Immortals of Nascent Soul."

Jiang Ding had read through many of the Cultivation Methods and secret techniques of the Great Sun Sword Pavilion.

They held a terrifying belief that it was best for all Golden Pill Monks, Nascent Soul Monks, and Nascent Soul Cultivators to battle and fight without fear of powerful enemies.

Even if in the end, only one Immortal of Nascent Soul and one Nascent Soul Cultivator remained, and all others were dead, the power of the Sect would not only remain intact but would actually increase significantly.

In the Great Sun Sword Pavilion, nearly all Cultivation Methods were encouraging Sword Cultivators to do just that.

Any Sword Cultivator who stepped onto that path would command the respect of all, and there might even be occasions where Nascent Soul Cultivators saluted Nascent Soul Monks as a sign of admiration.

Of course, such blood battles were not mandatory, because without genuine conviction, they were pointless.

"... I'll just wait patiently. Such arrangements can't be rushed; I have plenty of time."

"If you really push me to the brink, waiting until several generations of Nascent Soul Monks die of old age is no big deal. That's how confident I am."

...

In a certain area of the Soulless Desert, a place never seen in the books and the Jade Slip.

"Does he seem to have developed a bit of his own self-awareness?"

Jiang Ding's gaze shifted away from the clone of the Great Sun Sword Sect, puzzlingly remarking, "I'm only sixteen too, why is he calling me 'Old Man'? There's no need to bully me like this."

"Should I thrash him?"

"Forget it, he still has work to do. We'll talk about it later."

Jiang Ding shook his head and then turned his attention towards Tushan Immortal City.

If the clone from the Great Sun Sword Sect enjoyed muttering curses in the dark and complaining, then the one from Tushan Immortal City was pure laziness.

He'd only move if prodded.

Without prodding, he'd rather wait forever than move an inch, not Cultivating at all, just idling away the days.

Without the imminent threat of Tushan Immortal City's demise, he couldn't be bothered to take even a glance outside.

It was baffling that the same clones displayed completely different personalities, with significant differences between them.

"It's a bit like they are twins."

"Different experiences, different memories shape two identical people into distinct individuals. This is the influence of the environment."

Jiang Ding recalled the research materials on clones from the Xianmen Sect and made a silent comparison.

This was what many articles in the Xianmen Sect had said about the necessity to periodically assimilate the memories of the clones; they are also him, but after having lived independently, they too developed their own self-awareness.

"Quite interesting, indeed."

Jiang Ding didn't mind much and continued to check on the situation in Tushan Immortal City.

Feather White, the Rabbit Demon, Bai Hualing of the Three-tailed fox tribe, and Kong Yu Ling of the Five-colored peacock, along with other human and demon race maids, had received several years of maid training in Tushan.

Currently, the three women were all at the fifth or sixth layers of Qi cultivation, and they had made considerable progress in just a few years.

They indeed possessed Earthly Quality Bloodlines that were comparable to humans with Sky Spiritual Roots.

It was estimated that in no more than twenty years, they would be able to establish their foundations.

Without bottlenecks, they could continue advancing all the way to the Golden Core Period, or what is known as the Demon King realm.

In terms of the development of Tushan Immortal City, the agriculture sector was growing well.

With the Nine Elements Spiritual Ginseng as an advisor in the cultivation of spiritual plants, elixirs, and spirit fruits, many spiritual plants were quickly diagnosed for diseases or identified for lacking certain nutrients or preferring certain environments—this was almost an instinct for him; he could tell at a glance.

Not to mention, the Nine Elements Spiritual Ginseng also possessed magic that could turn decay into wonder.

The debt-ridden Nine Elements Spiritual Ginseng was working day and night to trade its services for Spiritual Fertilizer to pay off its debts.

With its help, the agricultural output of Tushan Immortal City had been increasing year after year. The increase wasn't much annually, but the cumulative growth was significant.

Regarding the Immortal Path industries,

Besides reaching an agreement with Shang's Lingbao Commerce Association, deals had also been made with Blood Cloud and many Golden Pill powers.

After the Hei Clan's order collapsed, wars frequently broke out, and production in all areas suffered tremendous damage, resulting in a great demand for magic tools, elixirs, and talismans.

Over these years, the trade volume of Tushan Immortal City had grown extremely quickly, almost doubling each year, and there was still no sign of a slowdown.

In all professions, Refining Masters, Alchemists, and Talisman Masters, thanks to the vast opportunities for practice, coupled with abundant inheritances and not being locked down, their skills were progressing swiftly.

In recent years, one hundred sixty-seven second-order professionals and two third-order professionals—an Artifact Refining Master and an Alchemist—had emerged; both were once cultivators at their peak who had broken through.

Each year, immortal boats continuously traveled between Beast Spirit Immortal City and Tushan Immortal City, bringing in raw materials like spirit mines and elixirs, and taking back finished products like magic tools and spirit elixirs, creating a trade route flowing with spirit stones.

At the same time, amid the chaos of war, cultivators from industries such as alchemy and artifact refining in the Northern Plains, seeking safety and the generous treatment, inheritance, and reputation that Tushan sword cultivators held in the Northern Plains, traveled thousands of miles to settle in Tushan Immortal City, which further enhanced the technology reserves of the city.

Tushan was remote and located in a secluded area.

This was originally a disadvantage.

But in an era of upheaval and frequent city massacres, it had become a paradise-like safe harbor, siphoning resources and technical talent from all around.

In just a few years, the proportion of tax revenue from trade in Tushan Immortal City that accounted for less than ten percent of the total has surged and now reaches twenty-five percent.

Each year, it provides twenty-five percent of the tax surplus for Tushan Immortal City, and it continues to grow year by year.

In this year's financial report,

The tax surplus totaled seventy-five million low-grade spirit stones!

"It seems, exceeding a hundred million in annual tax surplus will take just a little over ten years?"

"Hisss, the wealth from war is formidable!"

"No wonder so many nations established their wealth through warfare and earned fortunes."

Jiang Ding calculated for a moment and took a deep breath.

After carefully reviewing the intelligence on Tushan Immortal City, Jiang Ding directed:

"We should further expand Tushan Immortal City's technological advantage. The inheritances for Alchemists, Artifact Refining Masters, Talisman Masters, and Formation Method Masters can lower the barriers to entry, but we shouldn't use the Xianmen Sect's technology, not even purchasing those below the canonical level; we can instead utilize the captivated technology from the Hei Clan and other enemies."

"Also, pay attention to attracting top technical talents, employing both material rewards and respect."

"Striving to make Tushan Immortal City the centre and sacred land for technical talent in the Northern Plains within a century, even if we cannot do so for the top-tier fourth-order professionals, we must ensure our first, second, and third-order professionals dominate the Northern Plains."

"We aim to surpass our competitors by a whole grade in product quality, efficiency, and service to create a distinctive brand."