Chapter 1303: The Romantic Human Devil

Jiang Ding's vision blurred.

He appeared in a mortal royal capital called Liu Guo, where streets bustled with passersby, the cries of vendors hawking their wares, the sounds of opera and street performances, and the shouts of soldiers on an eight-hundred-li urgent dispatch… all vividly lifelike.

The surrounding world was incomparably vast, as if boundless and endless.

"Spring Breeze Tower,"

"The name is tacky, but the ambition is not small…"

Jiang Ding said, surprised.

This was an enormous illusion array, manifesting hundreds of thousands of people and dozens of li of the royal capital.

Among them, tens of thousands of mortals and several thousand cultivators were real; the remaining people, though conjured by illusion, appeared utterly lifelike even to Foundation Establishment cultivators, indistinguishable from true persons, and even Jin Dan cultivators could not see through them so easily.

Among these several thousand cultivators, there were those at Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment alike, all with beautiful or handsome faces, their identities being Emperor, palace consorts, ministers and military generals, loyal and upright remonstrating officials, or else treacherous ministers, relatives of the imperial consort, escorting bodyguards entering the capital, spies from enemy nations, top courtesans…

And so on, each one different.

They played their roles with exquisite verisimilitude; aside from being too outstanding in appearance, they perfectly fit their identities.

"Report…"

"Three hundred thousand iron cavalry of Liang Guo have launched a major invasion of the border…"

At this moment, a great event was unfolding here—an enemy nation's massive invasion, the plot had advanced to this stage, sparking widespread panic.

"Impressive,"

"Truly loving one's craft."

Jiang Ding watched for a while and sighed in admiration.

It was true that every profession had its specialists.

Someone like him, if dropped into this trade, would probably be ground to dust by these people in an instant, unworthy of being their opponent.

"Honored guest, you must be laughing at us."

By the roadside, a vendor selling flatbreads suddenly came to life, stepped before Jiang Ding, and bowed with hands clasped: "Our humble establishment is merely a third-tier array. If Senior wishes to enjoy yourself, you must wear a 'Spirit-Disrupving Talisman' to have full fun—otherwise it simply won't be perfect."

"Please rest assured, Spring Breeze Tower's reputation is as solid as true gold; the Spirit-Disrupving Talisman can be removed at any time and will pose no threat to you whatsoever."

The vendor said solemnly.

He was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet before a Jin Dan cultivator he was not so very restrained.

"Tell me about the ways to play here."

Jiang Ding neither agreed nor disagreed.

"Senior,"

"Our establishment offers three tiers of play—Heaven, Earth, and Man—and three categories of identity to choose from."

The vendor bowed and explained: "The Man tier lets you choose identities like an escorting bodyguard or a low-ranking civil or military official; the women you encounter… forgive the bold question, Senior, do you prefer women? Or do you like both men and women?"

"Women."

"Ah, Senior, then if you choose the Man tier, the women you encounter will all be family members of escorting bodyguards, low-ranking civil and military officials, and the like—Qi Refining female cultivators and such."

"Similarly, the Earth tier involves mid-ranking civil officials and generals and the like."

"The Heaven tier involves palace consorts, noble ladies of princes and dukes—mostly Foundation Establishment female cultivators, with Jin Dan cultivators being extremely rare, and they only appear when special circumstances are triggered."

"That's the general outline; for details, please look here."

The vendor respectfully presented a jade slip.

The two conversed in voices neither too loud nor too soft, yet it did not disturb the people around them going about their business—still some hawked their wares, carried loads on shoulder poles, patrolled, and so on, as if inhabiting two separate worlds.

"Not bad."

"However, I am a gentleman of upright character."

Jiang Ding nodded slightly.

He handed over a small pile of spirit stones, the amount for the Earth tier—enough to bankrupt a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"Understood,"

"I'll arrange it for you right away."

The vendor accepted the spirit stones, bowed once more, and vanished.

The surrounding illusion array shifted, hazy and indistinct; after several breaths, Jiang Ding appeared inside a room with gray tiles, and a voice spoke in his ear: Yang Ning, son of Vice Minister of Works, elder sister… concubine… childhood sweetheart… in three days, your father will host a banquet at the residence for the family of Vice Minister of Revenue Wu Qinglin, whose wife, née Li, is renowned for her beauty…

"Truly professional…"

Jiang Ding shook his head slightly, casting aside his many distracting thoughts, paying no heed to the clamor of the outside world.

When he opened his eyes again, he looked toward a pink-robed maidservant who had appeared at the door, her footsteps hurried, her breath coming in gasps.

"Young Master, the Lady has erupted in fury—she discovered you didn't do your homework yesterday…"

This pink-robed maidservant had a pure, innocent face, yet an extremely curvaceous figure, and she spoke with worry.

Every one of her movements was exquisitely calculated; though she did nothing the least bit flirtatious, she stirred the imagination and left one's mouth dry… and one had to remember, this was only the opening appetizer.

Jiang Ding, however, did not answer, merely stared at her.

"Young Master…"

The pink-robed maidservant said, puzzled.

"Why are you called the Romantic Human Devil?"

Jiang Ding asked.

"Young Master, has reading addled your brain?"

The pink-robed maidservant was taken aback.

"Because you delight in killing husbands and taking their wives and daughters, then training them to become utterly wanton, and afterward releasing them—throughout the Cultivation Worlds of more than ten nearby nations, there are many traces left behind by you."

"Hence the name."

"Therefore, you deserve death ten thousand times over."

Jiang Ding stated.

He was not one who slaughtered the innocent; the person before him deserved death, so he killed them — this aligned with his Dao heart.

"Young Master…"

The worry vanished from the pink-skirted maidservant's face, turning icy: "I thought I'd be lucky today, to chance upon a fifth-grade upper-quality Peach Blossom Green Stone from a Jin Dan junior's storage bag."

"

"As expected, another fellow cultivator set up the trap."

"But do you think Laozi has idled his way to today on what?"

He revealed a mocking, ridiculing expression.

But he never expected the young cultivator before him to not look at him at all, instead reaching out a grab and yanking from the void a handsome cultivator who had long fled tens of thousands of kilometers away — a late-stage Soul Transformation cultivator.

"Main body!"

The pink-skirted maidservant cried out in disbelief and terror.

"Senior, spare my life…"

That handsome cultivator was terrified beyond measure, kowtowing and begging for mercy, his heart collapsing in an instant.

Before he could even kneel, a palm gently pressed onto his brow.

Afterward, Jiang Ding rose.

He turned and left, walking toward the outside of Spring Breeze Tower.

Behind him, the handsome cultivator's entire body crumbled into a ball of spiritual light, nothing left, and the same for his various clones scattered across the land.

Spring Breeze Tower continued operating normally, without any change.

Naturally, a Soul Transformation cultivator like the Romantic Human Demon would not work in a third-grade market like this; he had merely been lurking here, and his disappearance would not cause any impact on the place.

……

Tens of thousands of kilometers away.

Jiang Ding flew through the sky, silently reviewing the memories of this late-stage Soul Transformation cultivator.

Compared to many mid- and low-level cultivators, the memories of this wandering loose-cultivator demonic-path Soul Transformation cultivator were indeed broader, and his understanding of the political situation of the Thunder Flame Domain was also clearer.

"Several thousand years ago, the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder True Sect's ancestor suddenly perished, leaving a massive gap in strength."

"Yet for some unknown reason, Blood Lake Corpse Bone Mountain did not launch an attack, but instead held firm behind their mountain gates and did not come out. It was not until over a thousand years ago that the Blood Lake ancestor emerged from seclusion and launched an attack against the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder True Sect. The Nine Heavens Divine Thunder True Sect suffered defeat after defeat, losing cities and territory, having already lost two-thirds of their lands to this day."

"Blood Lake Corpse Bone Mountain shows a trend of unifying this domain…"

Jiang Ding was not interested in the Romantic Human Demon's various Gong Fa secret arts and private dealings, focusing only on the political situation of this land.