Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery
Chapter 985 - 956 Great Sun Heavenly Pond Descends onto Xu Jiezhong

At the summit of Heavenly Realm Mountain.

An old man with a face full of misery sat opposite a calm-faced, black-haired young man with starry eyes, both facing a chessboard.

On the chessboard, the Eight Great Immortal Sects, Xianmen Sect, each force, Taoist Soldiers, armies, and domains were interlocked in an intricate pattern, confrontations were countless, conflicts overlapped, where war should have erupted instantly, or at least, small-scale conflicts should erupt continuously.

Yet, there were none.

Over the past decade, the peace between domains was alarmingly tranquil; the borders saw no conflicts, and all potential minor skirmishes were quickly smoothed over by an unknown force.

Such was the case with the Eastern Devil School, which was expected given its strict military discipline.

The same was true for the Eight Great Immortal Sects; it must have been that some troublemaking cultivators were secretly executed, finally resulting in this absolute calm.

"Something must have happened…

"…Something must have happened…"

The black-haired, star-eyed young man, Xu Yan, muttered to himself.

"Among the Nine Great Immortal Sects, a sort of intense tacit understanding has formed, so strong that it even made the usually chaotic cultivators of the Eight Great Immortal Sects sacrifice some of their own interests."

"It's impossible!"

"…Utterly altruistic… Focusing on the bigger picture..."

"Heh, can such terms really appear among the Eight Great Immortal Sects?"

His voice was full of mockery.

Around them, silence prevailed; the miserable old man, Wang Zhongdao, remained silent.

Violent winds howled at the summit, lifting clouds and clearing the sky as sunlight poured down in golden rays, changing with the sunrise and the sunset.

Such scenes had persisted for decades.

Ever since the Eastern Devil School achieved a major victory in the Domain and defeated the Eight Sects Allied Army, expanding its territory nearly twofold, the domains of Xu and King Xu were blockaded by the Starry Sky Fleet.

Since then, the miserable old man, Wang Zhongdao, together with his people, had come to the Xu Jiezhong, not daring to act alone.

They had tried to break through with their relatives.

But each time, they were discovered by the blockading fleet of the Eastern Devil School, who politely but coldly informed them that this area was under military training, and passage was temporarily suspended.

The two Spirit Transformation Heavenly Monarchs remained silent, not daring to overstep their bounds, and retreated back to the Small World.

Every time, it was the same.

The contract they signed two thousand years ago did not include a clause for them to provoke or attack the Eastern Devil School and still ensure their safety.

Such an unfair treaty was impossible unless they annihilated the nation of the Eastern Devil School.

The two were merely relying on the prestige of the eight Great Experts to intimidate and enforce a temporary compromise from Xianmen Sect, biding their time in dignity to seek an opportunity for development.

What virtues or abilities did they have that made the Eastern Devil School sign such an extraordinarily unbalanced contract?

Anyone who dared to act was met with immediate death.

There would be no other consequences.

The army of the Domain Overlord was not something two minor domain Loose Cultivator Divinity Transformations could provoke—a flick of a finger could annihilate them.

"Ha-ha!"

"Xu Yan, have you ever regretted it?"

The miserable old man Wang Zhongdao's voice was hoarse, and he chuckled, "I saw the intelligence report from the last Domain War, back when the Eight Great Immortal Sects hadn't yet mysteriously disappeared, it mentioned that Canghai had already advanced to the Late Truth-Transforming Stage and was leading a Star Sky Army, commanding a Refinement Void Level battlefield."

"Two thousand years ago, he was but a junior, now he's an unimaginable big shot in the domain."

"I remember he was the first Ph.D. student you took in?"

"The Eldest Disciple from the founding generation."

"I remember, back then, you cursed him in front of me countless times, calling him a blockhead incapable of adapting, lacking research spirituality, with inevitably limited future achievements."

"I vividly recall those times."

"Now, it seems you were wrong."

He mocked.

"I was not wrong."

Xu Yan looked at him coldly and replied, "Canghai has always been by the book, indeed lacking in research spirituality, his current achievements are merely because of the platform.

"With the aid of high-level warships, with the help of surrounding Spirit Transformation Heavenly Monarchs, with the aid of Eastern Devil School's high-quality officers, soldiers, doctoral and master students."

"If we were to discuss him alone, advancing to Divinity Transformation would be extremely difficult."

"Is that so?"

Wang Zhongdao stopped mocking and sighed, "That's Canghai for you, possessing strong resource integration and organizational abilities."

"That's the role of a platform!"

"Canghai, a man without research spirituality, after years of experience, commanding a Refinement Void Army, long exposures to the top Immortal Research achievements of the domain."

"His final vision, Immortal foundation, power, and even the creativity in Immortal Path, as well as the research spirituality we pride ourselves on, are all far inferior to his."

"If encountered in the Immortal Sects, one must address him as a senior."

"Why did I, in a moment of obsession back then, so decisively leave the power of the Domain Overlord to follow you, a classmate, and become a Loose Cultivator?"

"If I were still in the Xianmen Sect, I would definitely have reached the Late Truth-Transforming Stage by now. With collective wisdom and effort, Refining Nothingness wouldn't have been an impossible dream!"

Wang Zhongdao sighed deeply.

"Looking back now, the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that I squandered without a second thought, the beauties of a realm I took as I pleased, the prosperity of my descendants—it was all just trivial, like tiny sesame seeds on the ground, insignificant."

He said with regret.

"To have been able to take and demand the realm's top beauties, they were just lumps of rotten flesh."

"The so-called squandering of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures was merely the estate of a rural tycoon, with granaries full of white flour buns, the real top-notch Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures we never even got to touch; those things were all held within the Xianmen Sect and the Eight Great Immortal Sects, hardly ever circulating outside."

"My descendants thriving and prospering, ha!"

"It was a complete joke!"

"My brother, my children have been dead for who knows how many years; these people who call me 'Old Ancestor,' I only share a sliver of bloodline with them, no different from strangers, no emotional connection at all."

"Why did I ever do such things?"

Wang Zhongdao appeared somewhat disheartened.

"Zhongdao, why adopt such a weak stance!"

Seeing this, Xu Yan chided, "You and I, we both pursued the Dao. Back then, the Eastern Devil School indeed declined, and the Eight Great Immortal Sects were watching like tigers, ready to pounce at any moment."

"Even to say, had the conflicts among the Eight Great Immortal Sects been slightly fewer, the outbreak of civil war postponed a little, the relationship among the eight masters soothed somewhat, the Eastern Devil School could very well have been annihilated."

"To have survived, there was a significant element of luck."

"Moreover, Xuanwu had promised Refinement Void Scriptures, the Path of Refining Nothingness, under oath of the great Dao... clearly..."

Xu Yan's voice trailed off slowly.

He was duped.

The so-called oaths of the Great Dao were just worthless paper, not even causing Xuanwu, a master of the Heavenly Palace, minor injuries, as trivial as a breeze caressing one's face.

The Central Array Spirit Computer could discern the authenticity of such Daoist oaths and make agreements, but that didn't mean he could.

The so-called Refinement Void Scriptures and Refining Nothingness Path appeared utterly credible, beyond recognition by those of Divinity Transformation, and were imbued with a potent aura of the Dao.

They could even vaguely reveal the Divine Abilities of Refining Nothingness, making one believe they were of exceptional talent, close to Enlightenment and breakthrough, yet they forcibly contained their delight, pretending indifference.

In the end, they were also just worthless paper.

"Heh, back then, under the protection of the Central Array Spirit Computer, we were far too arrogant."

"To think that we had the right to deal with a Master of Refining Nothingness!"

Wang Zhongdao scoffed at himself, yet refrained from making any more critical remarks.

He knew, it was the enormous pressure within him, somewhat uncontrolled given the signs, his Dao Heart, honed over thousands of years, unable to stay calm, thus venting.

Even knowing, such actions would only lead to worse outcomes.

"There's still a chance."

"Brother Zhongdao."

Xu Yan also calmed down, speaking evenly, "I don't know what tacit agreement or major event has occurred between the Eastern Devil School and the Eight Great Immortal Sects."

"But I absolutely do not believe that these Nine Great Foes can truly be close without reservation!"

"Among the Eight Great Immortal Sects, and between the Eastern Devil School and the Eight Great Immortal Sects, there must be stringent guards, unwilling to relax even slightly, and whether many people within the Eastern Devil School want to quickly kill you and me, it doesn't change this situation."

"With most of their army guarding the borders, they definitely can't spare too many to deal with us."

"Therefore,"

"If we just hold on, there will be a way!"

Xu Yan sternly said, "As long as we defeat and kill a certain number of the Eastern Devil School's Divinity Transformation cultivators, or lure them out from the Starry Sky Fortress, the Eight Great Immortal Sects will surely be tempted, and absolutely will not miss such a golden opportunity to weaken the Eastern Devil School's Divinity Transformation cultivators, regardless of whatever pact they might have."

"You know, the number of Divinity Transformation cultivators in the Eastern Devil School directly affects the fighting power of their Void Refining Army Formation!"

"That is our chance!"

"A chance!"

"If we go further, and the Eastern Devil School and the Eight Great Immortal Sects are annihilated together, the order of the domain completely lost, you and I, leveraging the situation, emerging timely, with heaven and earth aligning, perhaps can recreate an Immortal Sect, advance to Refining Nothingness..."

Xu Yan aspired.

Even now, he had never given up the philosophy of the Dao in his heart, never thought of giving up.

"A chance, there really is one."

"Yes, indeed, it exists."

Wang Zhongdao muttered to himself, ignoring his further words, the sorrow gradually disappearing from his face, revealing a cold killing intent in his eyes.

"If war breaks out, the Great Sun Swordsman is certainly a crucial factor, only by killing him can we..."

His speech abruptly stopped.

"They're here!"

Both Xu Yan and Wang Zhongdao suddenly looked up towards the sky.

In the dark expanse of the Domain Starry Sky, a brilliant sun, majestic and unhurried, approached.

Its light illuminated the domain, radiating annihilation, a scorching aura, supremely noble, like a true king of the domain inspecting his territory.