Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

"So extremely small."

"Almost an impossible matter."

"Yet it has happened to this old man."

Within Huomaishan Mountain,

a red-haired elder closed his eyes, then suddenly opened them, with the aura of the Peak of Foundation Building spreading without any restraint.

"Fortunately, even so, this old man was prepared."

"Brother Chengye, may your journey be smooth."

His gaze revealed a cold sharpness.

"So what if he has the Xiantian Sword Body?"

"A dead genius is no longer a genius!"

"And this old man, in this critical moment of dire peril for Xuetu Hall's towering ambition, is the most likely person in the sect to form a Golden Pill. Without solid evidence, could the ancestors really kill me?"

"Even if I were to be killed, this old man would have no regrets!"

Zhou Kunlong showed a determined look.

"Without the Nine Apertures Golden Fruit seventeen years from now, my chances of forming a Golden Pill are less than 10%. It's just a matter of dying sooner rather than later!"

Suddenly,

a streak of blue light flashed and disappeared on the Magic Mirror.

"Impossible!"

"This is Foundation Building, Foundation Building!"

"Foundation Building!"

Zhou Kunlong lost his composure and roared loudly, his steadfast path of cultivation shattered to pieces.

…

An Azure Flying Sword,

slowly flew out from the point between Jiang Ding's eyebrows.

The moment it appeared, within a radius of a thousand meters, a terrifying Sword Intent descended, like an azure sun falling upon everyone's heart, burning away all Divine Sense Probes, leaving their Divine Souls blank, rooted to the spot and immobile.

"What is this?!"

"You're clearly only at the Seventh Level of Qi Practicing!"

The grey-robed elder screamed in fear, sensing something ominous.

Whoosh!

With magnetic patterns enhancing it, the Azure Flying Sword moved at an unbelievable speed, almost vanishing from the range of Divine Sense.

In an instant, it landed on the head of the fire dragon, which the grey-robed elder had condensed with all his Mana and Essence Blood.

It pierced through the dragon's head.

The fire dragon paused for a moment, its Spiritual Light collapsing and dissipating; a Supreme Magic Tool in the shape of a crescent moon fire dragon grew dim and fell, a gaping hole through its center, clearly visible, utterly ruined.

In the next instant, it appeared at the head of the grey-robed elder, who was about to cast another spell, with bits of brain matter piercing through.

The Foundation Building shield was utterly useless.

"Zhou... You caused the death of my offspring!"

The grey-robed elder with a large hole in his head fell down powerlessly, his eyes brimming with tears, filled with the color of regret, as if he foresaw the fate of his son who had just obtained a Foundation Building Pill and was about to consume it.

Bang!

His corpse hit the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"This…"

Li Qingyun's eyes showed a look of terror.

"Is there anyone else?"

Jiang Ding stood up, flew dozens of meters into the air, and looked off into the distance toward the area of Huomai, seemingly discerning the figure of a red-haired elder there.

For a long time, no one answered.

All the disciples, including Li Qingyun, bowed their heads.

Whoosh!

The Taiqing Flying Sword swooped down, cutting through the necks of more than twenty inner and outer disciples filled with fear and resentment, severing heads from bodies, with blood spraying out like a fountain, a grand and imposing sight.

The surrounding disciples were splattered with blood and trembled uncontrollably, yet none dared to stand up.

Shaking off the blood, the sword was withdrawn into Jiang Ding's forehead.

Jiang Ding transformed into a beam of Escape Light and flew back to the top of Jinlingshan Mountain.

"Show the guests out."

"Yes!"

"Farewell, Junior Great-Uncle Master."

Liu SanQi bowed respectfully, glancing at the surviving disciples around him and the personally transmitted disciples of the supreme elder, such as Li Qingyun and others.

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief and scattered like birds and beasts.

...

"I've been too petty," reflected the elder Cultivator Baimei on Tianleifeng Peak, after a long silence.

He hadn't been the instigator of these events, but he knew about them and hadn't stepped in to stop them right away.

At the time, he couldn't deny the chagrin he felt at being played by a mere mortal.

"Mainly, it's been eight years; who could have expected a mortal to not leave the mountain for eight years, never showing even the slightest sign of cultivating Qi, always just looking like a Xiantian martial artist?"

"Indeed, a Xiantian Sword Body is a Xiantian Sword Body. Even if it's incomplete and the path ahead is unclear, it's still possible to cultivate Qi and reverse slash through to the Seventh Level of Qi Practicing," Zhou Sanyan said with a sigh.

"But no matter the excuse, Elder Brother, you can't escape the fact you've been petty and short-sighted, with an inability to recognize people's true nature."

"Just a Second-Order Top-Grade Spiritual Vein—less than twenty thousand Spirit Stones produced in eight or nine years—if it's lost, it's lost. Consider it a lesson bought for the sake of your own discernment. What else can you do?"

"I'm just speaking cold words. I only mentioned it once before, and seeing that you didn't agree, Brother, I didn't bother to say more. Clearly, I'm not someone with far-sighted vision or someone generous and magnanimous either," Zhou Sanyan sighed again.

"Brother, when we first joined the Sect we resorted to scheming once, and now again with this incident, the identity of this Xiantian Sword Body with the Sect has been compromised even more... Sigh."

"Even if he is ignorant now, once he grows up and gains experience, he will come to know everything."

"You mean..." Cultivator Baimei hesitated.

"Elder Brother, don't overthink it, I meant nothing by it," Zhou Sanyan stated earnestly.

"Ultimately, we haven't burned all our bridges, there's still a little bit of affection left. In the future, if the Sect faces difficulties, unless it's something extremely challenging, would he really stand by and do nothing?"

"As for sacrificing his life and fighting with all his might to save the Sect, let's not entertain that thought any longer."

"Sigh, it's done. If we had chosen from the beginning..."

Cultivator Baimei's expression showed regret but quickly shifted to a stern countenance: "Chu FengXi, the Head of the Jinmai, has rashly attempted to harm an elder of our Sect and shall be executed immediately!"

"Zhou Kunlong..."

He hesitated, looking at the burly man before him.

"I need to think, give me some time, Brother," Zhou Sanyan said, also struggling.

He was a genius within the clan, at the Peak of Foundation Building, with a fifty percent chance of achieving the Golden Pill, and a recorded disciple naturally inclined towards his clan.

Even if his talents didn't match those of a Xiantian Sword Body, the emotional bonds were not to be taken lightly.

"As the Sect faces a life-or-death crisis, having an additional fifty percent chance of another Golden Pill might be good..."

Zhou Sanyan spoke hesitantly.

Cultivator Baimei's lips quivered for a moment but said nothing.

His junior brother, from their youth, had lived through countless bloody battles for the Sect, survived many covert attacks within, always standing firmly beside him.

How could he bear to destroy by his own hand the possibility for his junior brother to continue his family's wealth and prosperity?

Furthermore, he indeed had seen this youngster grow up from a child.

"If he is capable of killing, let him do so when he grows up; we won't object," Cultivator Baimei sighed.

"Zhou Kunlong, for his lax discipline of the clan's youth, is sentenced to sixteen years of reflection at Siguo Cliff. Anyone leaving Siguo Cliff without permission will be executed!"

His voice suddenly turned ice-cold: "Zhou Chengye, execute his entire family. Zhou Kun, execute his entire family. All inner and outer Sect disciples involved in this matter, their entire families executed."

"Compensate Junior Nephew, one million Low-grade Spirit Stones."

A talisman exuding a thick scent of blood flew down from the mountain peak and landed squarely in the center of Punishment Hall.

A Late Foundation Establishment Cultivator sitting cross-legged jolted, confirming the authenticity of the talisman before sending several dozens of them flying in all directions.

Moments later,

Over twenty Foundation-building cultivators gathered without any delay, storming into the Jinmai Main Peak. The sounds of angry curses, scoldings, and pleas for mercy were unending. The surge of Mana from the Foundation-building confrontations exploded fiercely.

Afterward, silence ensued.

The beautiful, dignified head of a woman was carried down from the mountain.