Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery
Chapter 857 - 836 Good

As for Han Lin's departure, Chun Jian and her fellow maids seethed with hatred but were powerless to do anything about it.

They had personally promised to give the opponent the Court's Blessed Land Command Token, and if anyone wanted to go back on their word, they would have to face the consequences alone. No one dared to be the first to suggest it.

And so the standoff continued.

Day and night, Blood Cloud, Scorching Sun Swordsman, Six Dao Saint, and others entangled and attacked without rest, quickly reducing the Tu Shan Maid Corps' range of activity.

The moment the army arrived, they would immediately flee.

Once the army left, they would immediately latch on again, sticky as taffy.

Eventually, the Tushan Maid Corps simply stopped paying attention and found a treasure site where seventeen Third-tier Spiritual Veins converged. They set up a Gathering Spirits Formation, took out Spirit Stones they had prepared for many years, and dedicated themselves to cultivation, indifferent to the outside world's turmoil.

No matter how the various forces tried to lure them or even destroyed their rear, they remained unconcerned.

A hundred thousand and eighty Taoist Soldiers, the weakest among them at the Foundation Establishment level, were not afraid of a siege at a place abundant with Spiritual Energy, especially with a large reserve of captured Spirit Stones for replenishment.

No, it was not a siege.

The Golden Pill Elites of the Northern Plains would flee upon seeing them, not daring to engage in direct combat. They could go wherever they wanted, only unable to disperse to control the various Spiritual Veins.

The stalemate between the two sides persisted, neither able to gain the upper hand over the other.

After ten or so more years, thirty years before the opening of the Northern Plains King's Court's Blessed Land, the Tu Shan Maid Corps, with their advantage in numbers and being invincible on the frontline, secured half of the King's Court's Blessed Land Command Tokens.

The Golden Pill Elites of the Northern Plains had the advantage in mobility and captured the other half.

What followed was strife within the King's Court's Blessed Land.

The Tushan Maids eligible for the Royal Court Command Tokens were all at the peak of the Golden Pill Stage, with their Taoist Soldier cultivation methods designed for rapid progress and having experienced much slaughter, they even grasped Sword Intent. Their strength was just below that of the Golden Pill Elites. Unified and undaunted, they were unafraid of the likes of Blood Cloud and Six Dao Saint.

These individuals were family cultivators, Loose Cultivators, members of the Great Sun Sword Sect, the Great Sun Dharma Sect, with complex origins and a variety of backgrounds. With the Nascent Soul Opportunity just ahead, it was impossible for them to truly unite and fight to the death. In reality, they were not as strong as imagined, even when the Tushan Maids were outside of the Army Formation.

After some struggle, the King's Court Blessed Land closed, and everyone was teleported out.

At this time, twenty years remained before the disappearance of Shuoyang Heavenly Monarch's Causal Skill and the final end of the Court War, when numerous family and sect Nascent Soul Monks would no longer have concerns about intervening.

Without needing any command, title-bearing maids like Chun Jian and Hei Louxi understood the urgency of the situation.

They immediately disbanded the Tu Shan Maid Corps, distributing exceedingly rich spoils amongst themselves. Utilizing the lingering influence of Shuoyang Heavenly Monarch's Causal Skill and the teleportation formations they had secretly established beforehand, they vanished from the Northern Plains in an instant.

One hundred thousand and eighty individuals, in comparison to the billions of living beings and the vast endless expanse of the Northern Plains, were merely a drop in the ocean.

The orders given to the Tushan Maids were to

lie low, lie low, and then lie even lower!

Stay well-hidden, without contacting anyone, until contacted by their direct superior among the maids. Otherwise, they would assume completely different identities: Loose Cultivators, disciples of minor sects, merchants, mortals, collateral family branches, and so on.

In this regard, the Tushan Maids had long been prepared.

As the Court War raged on bitterly, all Tushan Maids used secret techniques and Magical Artifacts to conceal their faces, figures, and auras. They kept their true identities secret from everyone, including the comrades with whom they shared their days and nights.

Anyone attempting to uncover their true identities, no matter who they were, would be put to death immediately!

Under such strict measures, even if some maids' identities were exposed and captured by family cultivators and sects, it was only a handful and did not affect the overall situation.

What's more, whether it be the Great Sun Sword Sect, the Great Sun Dharma Sect, or the Righteous-Demonic Alliance, their control over their territories was mediocre at best.

They had not established a household registration system, nor had they made detailed records to know all the details about the cultivators within their domains, resulting in a rather rough method of governance.

Add to this the war that had engulfed the entire Northern Plains, with cultivators constantly on the move, and finding a large number of Tushan Maids proved extremely challenging.

And then suddenly, the formidable Tu Shan Maid Corps, that once struck terror in the heart of the Northern Plains, vanished without a trace, astonishing everyone. It was like a fleeting dream, an unreal sensation.

The only clue left behind was the remote Tushan Immortal City, far from the center of the Northern Plains.

Immortal Tushan was here.

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Regrettably, just like his cunning maid, it was not his real body either.

If anyone dared to destroy it, they would have to wait for an immortal at least at the Mid-stage of Nascent Soul, unbridled in their actions, to do the same to their own sect, to annihilate opposing forces, which was all too simple, something anyone could do.

With such fears in their hearts, a stalemate ensued temporarily.

However, it was only temporary.

In their fury, many immortals of Nascent Soul from the Righteous-Demonic Alliance were just facing the prospect of the Nascent Soul's massive armies from the Great Sun Sword Sect and Great Sun Dharma Sect. Once the situation eased even slightly, they wouldn't hesitate to make their move and slaughter the Tushan Immortal City.

If Immortal Tushan sought revenge in turn, that would be more than welcome, an opportunity to lure him out and exterminate him in one fell swoop.

The Tushan maids did not waste this short but rare opportunity.

In fact, facing the Nascent Soul Opportunity at hand and the Nascent Soul Cultivation Method they had already exchanged for with their military exploits, many maids could not wait. After finding a safe place, they immediately entered seclusion to prepare for a breakthrough into the Nascent Soul Realm.

No matter the risks or the difficulties, they were all disregarded by them at this time.

Thirty years later.

It was only in the recent years that maids who had obtained the Nascent Soul Opportunity from the Court's Blessed Land began to emerge from seclusion one after another.

Some died during the breakthrough, some to the Internal Demon Tribulation, some to the Heavenly Tribulation; some were successful and ascended to Nascent Soul, gaining a lifespan of twelve hundred years and were called immortals.

The final result was that now there were nine Tushan maids who had ascended to the early stage of Nascent Soul.

"Truly impressive,"

Jiang Ding could not help but praise.

So many had died, and after so many bloody battles, they had survived. Many were originally from Hei Clan's collateral lineage like Hei Louxi, Golden Pill Peak Cultivators who, possessing a Nascent Soul Cultivation Method and a Nascent Opportunity, rose to the Nascent Soul Stage as a matter of course.

After ascension to Nascent Soul, many maids began to grow restless.

Immortal of Nascent Soul.

This rank was already equivalent to a sect leader, and many were no longer content with the status of maid and began to yearn for the lordship of Taoist Soldiers, to obtain higher-level legacies and more opportunities.

Theoretically, they could be exchanged, provided one had the necessary military merits.

But obviously, none of the maids believed it.

They placed more trust in the swords they wielded.

"My lord,"

A voice emanated from the Star River in the Sea of Consciousness, marked with eighty thousand Taoist Soldier sword patterns, respectful and melodiously pleasant.

Jiang Ding's gaze turned in that direction.

It was Chun Jian, the First Maid of Spring, the Chief Maiden of the Tushan Maiden Corps.

He had nurtured her from her girlhood, from her infancy as a cultivator.

"My lord,"

"The maids long to see you once more, to listen to your teachings."

The respectful voice of Chun Jian echoed through this small expanse of the Star River.

This was not the first time such a request had been made. Since the Nine Great Maids had ascended to Nascent Soul years ago, they had made the request multiple times, but it had always gone unanswered.

Just like all the greetings and reports of the past decades, they seemed to vanish without a trace.

"Okay."

At this moment, a calm and familiar voice sounded.

Chun Jian's gaze imperceptibly sharpened before revealing a look of joy.

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