Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery
Chapter 773 - 754 The Deep-Seated Murderous Intent of the Tushan Maid

"War has, indeed, forced reforms, and the Nascent Soul Monks of the Liudao Sect have conceded..."

Jiang Ding muttered to himself.

In the subsequent events, the situation continued to develop, with the Six Dao Saint, Yin Dao, and the Joyous Union Holy Maiden blocking Blood Cloud's path.

On the eastern front, it was the Ice Snow Holy Maiden of collateral lineage who blocked the Tushan maiden group.

The name of the Ice Snow Holy Maiden spread through channels of female cultivators from many families with collateral lineage.

Mu Tiansnow.

She was the same person as the Ancestor of the Blood Butcher Palace from the Three Kingdoms region, the owner of the Blood Spirit Nine Lives Sacred Body, who would often transform into many palm-sized figures and flee for her life when killed—Mu Tiansnow.

Jiang Ding had personally slain one of her lives and performed Soul Searching on her, which was when the Blood Spirit Nine Lives Sacred Body was discovered.

This was a talent comparable to the Taiyin Dao Body and the Five Elements Dao Body, possessing an exceptionally outstanding survival ability. With nine split lives, as long as one life remained, the cultivator would not die.

Of course, as a Dao Body, Mu Tiansnow couldn't hold a candle to the Taiyin Swordsman and the Taoist of Five Elements, An Tuzi. She was still struggling for the Nascent Soul Realm and the Nascent Soul Cultivation Method, and advancing would require luck.

This was the tremendous difference brought about by postnatal education.

Currently, on the frontal battlefield in the east, the Tushan maiden group had taken the advantage, encircling the army of the Ice Snow Palace and the Liudao Sect, which was mobilized to further campaign, besieging them day and night.

However, outside the main battlefield, the Tushan maiden group was at a significant disadvantage.

Ice Snow Holy Maiden Mu Tiansnow keenly perceived her advantage. With the single combat power of a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, she did not confront the Tushan maiden group head-on but instead led hundreds of elite Golden Pill cultivators to wreak havoc behind enemy lines.

Today she assassinated a Golden Pill Cultivator, tomorrow she demolished a sect entrance; her persistent and sporadic tactics slowly eroded the Tushan maiden group's foundation of rule.

Against this, the Tushan maiden group was helpless.

If they brought numbers, Mu Tiansnow and her elite Golden Pill force would immediately flee. If faced with few, Mu Tiansnow would promptly turn and devour them, kill them. Several Golden Pill realm Tushan maids had already died at her hands.

Under such continuous assassination, the rear's governance was on the brink of collapse, and many forces that had already submitted began to secretly pledge allegiance to the Liudao Sect and the Ice Snow Palace, sending secret messages.

In such a situation, it was very possible that the Tushan maiden group's frontline might not have broken through before the governance in the rear completely crumbled, severing the supply routes.

Keep in mind, with over eighty thousand Foundation-building maids and more than a thousand Golden Pill Cultivators, the daily requirements for cultivation were extensive.

Once the supplies were cut off and the resources for cultivation depleted, the majority of the maids, who were there for benefits, might immediately collapse. Merely strict military discipline would not help.

Of course, it was also possible that before the collapse of governance, the Tushan maiden group would first break through the joint forces of the Liudao Sect and the Ice Snow Palace, and secure victory. They could then deploy a large force of elite Golden Pill cultivators to encircle and kill Mu Tiansnow, consuming nearly half of the Great Plains of the Righteous and Demonic Alliance.

In any case, the situation was such that it could swing either way.

Humming!

The Divine Soul Brand of the Chief Maiden of the Tushan maiden group, Chun Jian, vibrated, indicating a desire to communicate.

Upon checking the clone's records, over the past several years, she made multiple requests for communication, but the clone did not have the ability to communicate across such vast distances. Therefore, it ignored them.

Jiang Ding casually activated her Divine Sense Brand.

"My Lord,"

"You remain so young. Time hasn't altered you in the slightest."

In the image, a woman with a clear and lovely face smiled sweetly, pure and endearing, like the girl next door.

She was enough to melt hearts.

But deep within those crystal-clear eyes lay a saturated killing intent, nearly indissoluble.

Her Sword Intent was known as the Spring Sword Intent. When it unfolded across the battlefield strewn with bodies, countless seeds sprouted from the corpses' eye sockets and mouths, from tender shoots to green leaves, from grass to trees, eventually creating a vibrant field of blooming flowers, a beautiful and enchanting fairyland that could intoxicate anyone unknowingly.

'Her loyalty has dropped to thirty.' A thought like this crossed Jiang Ding's mind.

He likened it to a game from his youth, where sixty was the level for a common person, just acquainted and with an ordinary appearance, that was the level of fondness.

Seventy meant affection,

Eighty was trust.

Ninety was loyalty.

One hundred was devotion until death.

Of course, Jiang Ding thought that a hundred points of fondness was unlikely to exist in the real world; humans were too fickle, and under the passage of time, all emotions would decay.

Thirty points of fondness, well, loyalty.

This meant that this individual before him had started to harbor hostility towards Jiang Ding; no, hostility was too mild a term. It was more accurate to say a faint killing intent.

'Somewhat unexpected,'

'So the girl raised and educated from childhood also turns out this way...' Jiang Ding mused.

In the world of cultivation, it was common for high-level cultivators to be cold and heartless towards their subordinates and juniors, killing them on a whim. It was originally thought to be innate malice or perversion.

Reflecting on it now, there was also a part of it that was about self-protection.

As long as you don't invest emotions,

you will never be betrayed, never be saddened, and never be bound by anything that could form a weakness.

"Mmm."

Jiang Ding nodded slightly.

As for murderous intent, as for hostility, he didn't care.

If they dared to make a move, they would die, just like that, without any mixed feelings.

Of course, it wasn't to say that all of Tushan's maiden group had gone bad.

He could feel that the loyalty of most of the maids trained by Tushan Immortal City was above seventy, with many at eighty and some even at ninety-five, like Gong Caiyu, who was already a Golden Pill Monk.

Overall, Tushan's maiden group was still reliable.

For example, now, at one command, most of the Tushan maids would obey, and it was the same with surrounding and killing the Chief Maiden Chun Jian—they could be obliterated in the blink of an eye.

But what was helpless was that among the thirteen maids who had comprehended Sword Intent, apart from Gong Caiyu, all had a loyalty of below fifty.

The stronger the capability, the higher the status, the lower the loyalty?

The lowest among them, Hei Louxi from the Nine maids, had a loyalty below ten. It seems she regarded Jiang Ding as an obstacle on the great path to Nascent Soul, like a foe on the road.

In front of the female cultivator, the youth in green responded lightly with a "Mmm," without asking or caring about anything, letting the river of time flow by.

Chun Jian felt a surge in her heart.

All the resentment and apprehension in her heart instinctively restrained themselves and became deeply hidden, as she continuously hypnotized herself and recalled the times she experienced as a young girl.

Back then, the Immortal of Nascent Soul had taught her meticulously, a rare honor unheard of, and never before had an Immortal of Nascent Soul done such a thing, not even to their own children...

Gradually, her mindset began to change.

Jiang Ding felt a slight surprise in his heart.

The female cultivator before him was increasing in loyalty, from thirty to forty-one, then it stopped.

This was his estimate after data analysis.

'Humans truly are complex beings...'

"My lord,"

Chun Jian's voice was gentle and melodious as she said, "Could I ask you to pen a letter, inviting the senior Qing Yunzi to come out of seclusion to lend us a hand, to help restrain the assassination by the Ice Snow Holy Maiden?"

"Qing Yunzi, the senior?"

Jiang Ding was startled.

Who was this?

After pondering for a while, he found a clue in his Sea of Consciousness.

"Han Lin, is it?"

"Yes, it's Senior Han."

Chun Jian said respectfully, "Senior Han was able to escape from the Six Dao Saint Yin Dao back in the early days of the Golden Pellet Realm, and now that he is at the Golden Pill Peak, he surely has the ability to restrain the Ice Snow Holy Maiden, allowing us to lead troops to surround and kill her."

"But, Senior Han doesn't trust my promise."

As she said this, a hint of annoyance appeared on her face.

In the current Northern Plains, Chief Maiden Chun Jian of Tushan's maiden group was considered a figure with a great reputation, comparable to the 'Blood King' Blood Cloud, Immortal Da'ai, and other heroes whose word was as good as gold.

Yet, in the eyes of that ordinary-looking youth, she was not at all trustworthy; her proposal was rejected right away, even though she herself was very eager for the Nascent Soul Opportunity of the Court's Blessed Land.

He made such a condition.

"It is possible."

Jiang Ding wrote a letter with his Divine Sense, a conveyance of Divine Intent.

Tushan's maiden group currently provided him with an annual tribute of six hundred million Low-grade Spirit Stones; therefore, he was willing to provide them with convenience.

The content of the Divine Intent transmission was nothing extravagant, simply promising that if Han Lin achieved the corresponding standards of military prowess, he would certainly receive a Royal Court Command Token related to the opportunity for achieving the Nascent Soul upon Tushan's maiden group securing victory in the Court's Blessed Land.

And then, that was it.

The implicit meaning was clear without saying, if anyone obstructed, blinded by greed, breaking the promise, Jiang Ding would personally execute them.

Yes, if it wasn't for this promise, the likelihood of Tushan's maids betraying each other right now was quite high.

After all, what's conscience in the face of an opportunity to ascend to the Nascent Soul Stage?

"My lord, this servant asks leave to depart."

Chun Jian carefully held the Divine Sense letter, bowed, and retreated to leave.