Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery
Chapter 757 - 738: The Court Maid Central Yard and the Nine Great Maids

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The battlefield was quickly cleared.

The direct lineage cultivators who hadn't surrendered or defected to earn merits despite their defeat were shown little mercy.

"Behead!"

Accompanied by a crisp, girlish shout, a large number of Liudao Sect direct lineage cultivators knelt on the ground, each beheaded by a female cultivator in blue, with their heads rolling to the ground, necks spurting blood like fountains, filling the air with the stench of gore.

The entire scene was gruesome and horrifying, sending chills down the spines of many captives.

The Blue-Robed Witch.

This was a special title among Tushan maidens, distinct from ordinary female cultivators, typically signifying the position of a deputy commander.

Characterized by a solid foundation in cultivation methods and magic, adept at training soldiers, concerned for their well-being, responsible for rewards and promotions, and... executing criminals on the battlefield.

These criminals could be from within or from outside.

Defined as anyone detrimental to the Tushan maiden group or to Immortal Tushan's great cause, often filled by maidens from Tushan Immortal City, with a few promoted from ordinary maidens, but requiring a high Dao heart, needing to have certain similarities.

Such Blue-Robed Witches, once captured by Liudao Sect cultivators, would immediately be subjected to the most terrible tortures before execution, with no chance of becoming a vassal.

Under the shadow of fear, many captives started to worry for their own lives.

"Fellow Daoists, you are free to leave,"

But before long, a new order came, in the gentle voice of a female cultivator.

According to the order, captives could keep their last magic tool, ten spirit stones for the Qi Practicing Phase, one hundred spirit stones for the Foundation Building Period, and ten thousand spirit stones for the Golden Core Period, then they were to disperse on the spot, free to go wherever they wished.

Women, those with twinling root, exceptional understanding of the Three Spiritual Roots, or unparalleled comprehension of the Quadruple Spiritual Root, who were interested in joining the Tushan maiden group, were welcome to apply.

If they passed the scrutiny, they could become one of them.

However, the freedom of the captives to come and go was not in question.

"Are they... really letting us go?"

Many captives were stunned.

This was the first time in their military careers that they'd genuinely seen someone uphold a promise to release powerless enemies.

"Thank you, my lord!"

"Such a great kindness..."

Suddenly, many captives snapped out of their reverie, reluctantly dropped their storage pouches under the watchful eyes of sword-bearing maidens, allowed their bodies to be scanned by Divine Sense Scanning, and then hurriedly fled, distancing themselves from the place, fearful of any change of heart.

As the multitude of captives dispersed, the crowd quickly diminished.

Occasionally, unpleasant incidents occurred, with some captives trying to hide more of their wealth, leading to droves of Xun Wind Sword-light descending upon them without entertaining any notion of single combat, surrounding the violators.

"You have no honor, brothers, follow me and fight..."

The violators tried to incite those around them to resist, but it drew no one's gaze; instead, bystanders quickened their pace to leave the area.

Before long, seven to eight thousand captives vanished like snow under the scorching sun, scattering in all directions, with hardly anyone choosing to stay.

The Tushan maidens cleaning up the battlefield were unfazed by this.

They sorted the spoils of war from pile after pile of storage pouches meticulously, tallied the numbers, and then announced the totals to the entire army.

Three-tenths of which were to be submitted to Immortal Tushan.

Out of the remaining seven-tenths, three-tenths were to be reserved for the maiden group, and the other four-tenths distributed to those who had participated in the battle, based on merit and rank.

There were detailed standards for each person's share, exact to a single spirit stone.

"The Xun Wind Section's fifth squad, second middle squad, seventh small team has a discrepancy; our merits are twenty-seven points short, for the following reasons..."

As the cleanup of the battlefield went on, a Blue-Robed Witch passionately pointed at scene after scene of the fight, expressing her dissatisfaction.

"Xun Wind Section's second big squad..."

"Third big squad..."

More Blue-Robed Witches joined the discussion, fighting for their squads' interests with various reasons, to be judged by the Deputy Chief Maiden.

If one did not accept the decision of the Deputy Chief Maiden, they could request the involvement of more Deputy Chief Maidens for a resolution which, in general, sufficed to conclude the matter.

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All was proceeding in an orderly fashion, and the distribution of the spoils of war had been completed.

"I've seen the Chief Maiden, Xun Wind."

Gong Caiyu, at the peak of Foundation Building, and faintly exuding the aura of advancing to the Golden Core Realm, came before Hei Louxi, bowing respectfully.

"The spoils have been distributed. The Central Court of the maiden group has commanded us to converge on Mountain Yuluo and participate in the major battle to annihilate Liudao Sect."

The Central Court of the maiden group.

Officially known as the Central Court of the Tushan maiden group, it is the decision-making body of the Tushan maiden group, composed of the Chief Maiden, the Deputy Chief Maidens, along with the nine main madens and nine deputy maidens, plus eighteen green-skirted maidens with the highest reputation and merit.

The so-called nine main maidens stem from the foundational Cultivation Method "Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, Wind, Cloud, Rain, Thunder, Lightning, Sun Nine Parts Dao Canon."

The nine main maidens, each in charge of a Taoist Soldier Troop.

Hei Louxi, serving as the maiden chief of the wind section, officially titled as the Chief Maiden, Xun Wind, held command over the Xun Wind Section during war.

In this system of organization, there were fifty-six members in the Central Court, with forty-nine of them being green-skirted maidens from Tushan Immortal City, holding an absolute dominant position.

"I've seen the Deputy Chief Maiden, Xun Wind."

Hei Louxi's heart held more displeasure, yet her face showed not a trace of it. She reciprocated the greeting to a Cultivator at the Peak of Foundation Building with a friendly smile, saying, "Once we've integrated the new blood, we can set out immediately."

As per military law, she was obliged to do so, a Golden Pill Peak Cultivator returning a salute to a Cultivator at the Peak of Foundation Building.

If one were to repeatedly violate military regulations,

Without grave consequences, they would be ordered to surrender their Life-Bound Magic Tool and be forced to retire, expunged from the Tushan maiden group.

The maiden group had no need for such obstinate female cultivators, no matter how capable. The Taoist Soldier Troop didn't need individuals with too much personality either.

If there were grave consequences, such as killing a direct commanding officer, with utterances like "Below Golden Pill, all are but ants, how would our ancestors kill them?

Then one would have to pay with their life.

Not long ago, one of the foreign Golden Pill Monks had met death for this very reason.

The rest were those who, on the battlefield, shrank back in fear of the enemy, hesitating and delaying the war machine, or even hoping to watch allies die first while they themselves fled from combat.

This was the instinct of a Loose Cultivator, regardless of gender, 'a fellow Daoist might die, but not me,' often subconsciously making extreme decisions of self-preservation without regard for external circumstances.

Their outcome was always being encircled and killed by their own troops, their expressions of shock and disbelief prior to death.

They seemed not to understand why their always-docile and loyal subordinates, who would brave fire and water at a command, would suddenly turn on them without any delay or hesitation, with no regard for past favors.

Hei Louxi considered herself to be a strong one among the Golden Pill Peak Cultivators, but she did not possess the near-Nascent Soul battle power of an Elite.

Should such a situation arise within the army, her chances of escape would be nearly zero.

Therefore, her smile was warm and friendly and she did not exhibit any condescension toward low-ranking cultivators, regarding them as ants, contemptuously refraining from speech, and so on.

"Yes!"

The Deputy Chief Maiden, Gong Caiyu, replied respectfully, showing reverence to her superior officer and setting an example.

This too was part of military law, misunderstanding that one's status as a green-skirted maiden allowed for arrogance or bullying towards Golden Pill Monks would be a grave mistake.

The military law of Tushan was the same as that of Tushan Immortal City, making no distinctions and treating all equally.

Even for high-ranking veterans nearly two hundred years old, under military law, one who must die, will die.

The crowd waited for a moment, and in the distance, over a hundred stealthy female cultivators concealed their forms and approached reverently bowing, "We wish to join Tushan maidens and seek the approval of our seniors."

This was routine.

Many female cultivators wanted to find a future for themselves but did not wish to implicate their families, so this was what they did.

After all, on the battlefield, swords and spears have no eyes, and death is common. As long as one wasn't discovered, that was fine. Tushan maidens had magic to alter appearance and aura, and being in the army, cut off from outside information, there was some assurance of safety.

Restrictions and the like could also be removed.

Some Foundation-building cultivators wouldn't have any complex restrictions on them. Even if they did, neutralizing the Golden Pill Monk who had set the restriction would be impractical, given the sheer number of people.

"Sisters, welcome."

Some green-skirted maidens stood up and greeted them warmly, conducting a welcome ceremony to quickly eliminate any barriers between them.

Not long afterward, a massive turquoise cloud rose up, carrying more than two thousand female cultivators who concealed their forms and auras, swiftly flying off into the distance and disappearing from sight.