Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery
Chapter 724 - 705: In Blood and Fire, the Maiden Becomes an Immortal

Jiang Ding put aside the official duties of Tushan Immortal City.

Doing business in the cultivation world was naturally not so easy, with bandit cultivators and bandits everywhere.

But for now, it was still fine, as many Golden Pill Monks were willing to give face to Immortal Tushan.

Even those who weren't willing would be persuaded by the Tushan maiden group, along with a multitude of Golden Pill Monks bound by considerable benefits and a touch of sentiment, to understand whether they should give face or not.

Having done all this,

Jiang Ding looked towards the starry sea within his Divine Soul that represented the Northern Plains maidens.

It had doubled again.

"Hiss... They are so good at expanding."

Jiang Ding was somewhat speechless, "I dare to bet that they definitely recruited a large number of ready-made Qi Practitioners and Foundation-building cultivators, even Golden Pill Monks. This seems to be playing at the edge with me."

Over the years, the number of Tushan maidens had astonishingly increased to over ten thousand!

Twinling root was right, being female was also not wrong.

But beyond that, there were no thresholds left at all. It was as if anyone would do, like a warlord expanding his armed forces recklessly.

"Should I punish them?"

Jiang Ding hesitated.

According to his thinking, it was best to cultivate Taoist Soldiers from a young age, as adult cultivators had too many and too mixed thoughts.

If left unchecked, he might have to slaughter a large number of maidens by hand in the future, which he found difficult to bear.

As for all being female, there were some considerations on the path as well.

Taoist Soldiers are, after all, just Taoist Soldiers.

Characterized by rapid development, mainly focused on group combat, uniform and lacking individuality.

If the whole world were like this, it would be too dull, a stagnant pool, with no new clashes and creation of Immortal Wisdom, to the detriment of the Great Path.

Everything has a limit, and too much is as bad as not enough.

The same goes for Taoist Soldiers.

Just as Jiang Ding was pondering, the starry sea before him, representing the Northern Plains maidens, shook, and a group of stars trembled incessantly.

A moment later,

The Spiritual Light gradually dimmed, the aura significantly plummeted, and a small clump of stars extinguished completely.

The thoroughly extinguished stars numbered over a thousand.

Jiang Ding was stunned.

After a long while,

"Sigh,"

"This day was destined to come."

Jiang Ding sighed quietly.

Many years ago, when Chun Jian, Shanggong, Shangyun, and even Gong Caiyu and Dong Cang said resolutely in front of him that they wanted to compete in the Northern Plains for the Immortal Path, and would regret nothing even in death, he knew this day would inevitably arrive.

Today, it truly did.

His gaze fixated on a star, and after a moment, the perspective sank from within the starry sea, sinking, continually sinking.

Through the haze, his vision fell into a blood-red prairie littered with corpses, rivers of blood, with the flags of the Liudao Sect fleeing in defeat, the blood-red flags in disarray, retreating, with bodies falling now and then.

...

Black Snow Prairie.

"Run!"

"Quick, run!"

Blood Cloud and the Blood Cloud Cavalry were in frantic escape, in disarray, the once eighteen riders now missing more than ten without a trace, the dominant presence that once reigned over the entire Black Snow Prairie was gone, replaced by desolation.

Around them, Hei Louxi, Chun Jian, Shanggong, and other female cultivators were also escaping, barely maintaining army formation order.

The main reason they could run until now was that as the army commander, Blood Cloud was in the midst of the troops and had not sustained all the damage. In addition, the Liudao Sect's army formation moved slowly, with only a few strong men pursuing and killing.

But it seemed they couldn't last much longer.

The Six Dao Saint, Yin Dao, was no weakling, and he was chasing with a small but elite force of Golden Pill Monks.

If this continued, most would die.

"Woe is me!"

"The heavens want to doom us!"

Blood Cloud wept bitterly, tears trickling down.

The Grand Dao was within sight, major progress had already been made, yet about to be lost again—even iron men would despair at this.

"My comrades!"

With a face full of regret, he sobbed:

"It's my incompetence, clearly seeing our brothers indulging in pleasures day and night, endlessly fighting for Spirit Stones and Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasures, creating emotional rifts, yet I failed to stop it."

"This is my fault."

"Comrades, let us part ways; we should each flee separately. Yin Dao will always pursue me, perhaps this way there might still be a sliver of hope for survival."

Iron Bone Vajra, Blood Spear General Hei Loucheng, Hei Louxi, Shanggong Shangyun, and the others looked at him with complicated expressions, hearts filled with reluctance.

Clearly, the numbers of the Blood King Army's Golden Pill Monks, Foundation-building cultivators, and even Qi Practitioners were five to six times greater than those of the Liudao Sect, and Blood Cloud's own power was not much weaker than Yin Dao's.

His command over the Army Formation was also not inferior.

But why the defeat?

It was a lack of unity.

The speed at which each Golden Pill Monk became corrupt and degraded was beyond imagination, with a large number of them surrendering to the Liudao Sect and being accepted as vassal families, turning away no one.

On the battlefield, at the slightest setback, they raced to abandon their allies and flee first.

Finally, those who had fought against each other in the past, each of them decisive and ruthless, would fight desperately against their enemies even in defeat, willing to explode themselves if necessary.

None of the Golden Pill Monks of loose cultivator origins were cowards; all were fierce killers who had fought their way up.

But as an army, as a group, they were so fragile!

When the Liudao Sect's great army arrived, even without the forces of the Ice Snow Palace and the Joyous Union Sect, just the Liudao Sect's own troops, at the initial encounter, the Blood King Army melted away as swiftly as snow under the scorching sun.

"...Commander, take care!"

"Since ancient times, all heroes of the Cultivation world had to endure hardships and failures before attaining the Dao. If we manage to escape today, there might still be a day for a comeback."

"Take care of yourself!"

Without any dilly-dallying or demurring, Iron Bone Vajra, Blood Hand Demon Li Tu, Blood Spear General Hei Loucheng, Hei Louxi, and the others made a fist salute, then each dissipated into Escape Light in different directions, flying away at high speeds, leaving their fate to the heavens.

"Kill Blood Cloud!"

"There will be great rewards for killing him!"

The Six Dao Saint, Yin Dao, showed no hesitation, leading a section of Golden Pill Monks, ample to form an overwhelming advantage, to continue the pursuit.

With no thought of individual combat, even though unafraid.

The remaining Golden Pill Monks of the Liudao Sect sneered as they chased down the others, leaving none alive.

Wails and screams.

Every now and then, a Golden Pill Monk fell.

In such a battlefield, Golden Pill Monks were even in greater danger than Foundation-building cultivators, for at least no one would focus on a Foundation-building practitioner; as long as one could run fast and had good Concealment Spells, there was a chance of escape.

Jiang Ding, through the perspective of the Dao Troops, silently watched the battlefield.

The number one maiden of autumn, the maiden sister of the Shang Clan's collateral lineage, Shangyun, had already died.

She died on the battlefield, where no individual could defy the collapsing tide.

At this moment, Chun Jian, Shanggong, and Hei Louxi, using the three talents formation of the Heaven Light Dao Troops, were fleeing for their lives. Because they were all Golden Pill Monks with considerable skills in the Formation Dao, their speed far exceeded that of peak Golden Pill Cultivators.

They were gradually escaping the battlefield and slowly coming to safety.

"Hei Clan's outstanding collateral member, Hei Louxi..."

Jiang Ding looked toward the stunning woman whose flapping wings stirred up a fierce wind.

Within her, there was a Heaven Light Dao Troops Flying Sword that had been refined to the level of a lower-grade Treasure, showing signs of replacing her own black-winged Life Treasure.

Clearly,

she had joined the grand expansion of the Tushan maidens in the Northern Plains.

At this moment, an inexplicable sentiment arose in his heart, and Jiang Ding no longer opposed or restrained anything.

"Young maidens,"

"Fight, and kill."

Jiang Ding said to himself, "This is the destiny of Sword Dao Cultivators, of Sword Dao Soldiers. To advance further and achieve the Nascent Soul, this is the path they must take."

"No one can avoid it, including those like Burning Bone who seek shortcuts; they must eventually engage in battle."

"Amidst blood and fire, among the deaths of comrades and enemies, you will forge your place as true Immortals."