Chapter 315: Barbarians Fear Power But Do Not Cherish Virtue

"Sword, Sword Disciple..."

Princess Chi Yuan, struggling to regain her composure in fear, forced a smile: "Black Panther was merely joking with you, Your Excellency. Was your strike not a bit too severe?"

"Human, I am a dignified Demon Nation!"

General Brother Brother Moyu roared in anger, wanting to say something.

He met a pair of cold eyes, forced his words back down his throat, and felt a chill spread through his heart.

"Then shall I play a joke on you as well?"

Jiang Ding smiled, a wisp of pale blue sword light hovering near his fingers.

"Little Junior Uncle, please calm your anger!"

Li Li Qingyun's expression changed, revealing panic as he blocked the path before Princess Chi Yuan: "The Demon Nation is a close friend of the Sect. Princess Chi Yuan is a distinguished guest; we cannot allow any mishap!"

Jiang Ding did not answer him, his gaze continuing to fix on this so-called Princess of the Demon Nation.

"Sword Disciple, it is our fault."

Princess Chi Yuan's expression remained calm: "The Demon Nation should not have casually tested an ally, especially given Your Excellency's noble status, ranking only beneath the two Ancestors. It was presumptuous of Chi Yuan."

"Black Panther offended you; he deserves death a thousand times over."

She then looked toward General Brother Brother Moyu.

"How can one who kills our Demon Nation's generals..."

Brother Brother Moyu ground his teeth, his face twisted in ferocity.

Dots of killing intent clearly spread out, falling into his soul, saying nothing more.

"How can one..."

General Brother Brother Moyu's soul trembled, his heart unwilling to accept it.

His reason did not believe the other would kill him at this moment, yet the omen of death in his soul was so clear, creating a stark contradiction.

"Black Panther committed an offense against a superior; he must die."

Finally, he spat out a few words with a grim look on his face.

"Correct."

"You two still know propriety and understand reason."

Jiang Ding nodded, withdrew his sword qi, and waved his hand: "Leave. I do not like noise here. Your Excellency's status is noble; unless there is urgent business in the future, there is no need to come again."

"Yes, yes, yes!"

The assembled Demon Generals dared not even breathe, dragging their two distinguished masters backward in haste, their escape lights speeding away one after another.

The other Foundation Establishment cultivators of Xiang Qiyu Sect also harbored fear, quickly following suit.

Soon, only two people remained here; the maids bowed and retreated, not daring to approach.

It became much quieter.

"Little Junior Uncle, this is a disaster."

A talisman in Li Li Qingyun's hand burned as he reported the events to his master, smiling bitterly: "The Sect currently needs the Master Tushan Demon Nation. If King Kong Que and the Lord of the Red Fox Kingdom hold a grudge over this, an earth-shattering calamity will immediately follow, and all disciples of the Sect will harbor resentment toward you."

"I have already been very lenient, not killing the two of them."

Jiang Ding said indifferently: "Over these three years, how have the mortals in Yue Country fared?"

"Not well."

Li Li Qingyun sighed: "On the way to the Sect, King Kong Que and the Lord of the Red Fox Kingdom swallowed two cities and hundreds of thousands of people whole, stating plainly that wild, free-range humans have finer flesh and nourish the soul."

"Demon Generals and minor demons have also caused much havoc, devouring commoners and claiming mountains as their own. Sect cultivators dare not intervene and do not wish to. Your Mortal Inspection Bureau has ceased operations; a mere handful of Innate Martial Artists cannot face so many demonic beasts."

"The only thing the Sect can do is build a few cities near the mountain gate to accommodate the disciples' families."

He had spent his youth among the mortals of Yue Country; he held no lack of affection for that place and was not ignorant of human suffering.

"We have conceded so much, yet it is still like this."

Jiang Ding said indifferently, showing no surprise.

The human resentment on so many Demon Generals could not have been self-hypnosis.

"These demonic beasts do not know what propriety is. If you concede to them, they will only become more demanding. You should advise your senior brothers to occasionally display some firmness; that is the way to deal with beasts."

"The Sect has not yet reached a point of desperation."

"This disciple understands."

Li Li Qingyun had nothing more to say, bowed with a kowtow, and withdrew.

On another Shanfeng.

The spirit wine was mellow, and the beast meat fragrant and crisp, yet the demons had no heart to drink freely, their faces full of killing intent with nowhere to release it.

Many Foundation Establishment cultivators of Xiang Qiyu Sect forced smiles without cease, but the effect was not apparent.

"Princess, the results of the probe are out."

Brother Brother Moyu, his face gloomy, transmitted his voice: "The Sword Disciple of Xiang Qiyu Sect possesses combat power at the Half-Step Jin Dan level. Within Xiang Qiyu Sect, he is the number one person beneath the two Jin Dan. Such a dangerous figure must be eliminated beforehand, regardless of the Demon Nation's grand strategy!"

"Otherwise, once he advances to Jin Dan..."

"Half-Step Jin Dan!"

Princess Chi Yuan exclaimed, not hearing his following words. Her eyes sparkled with strange light, waves of desire churning within them, as she said greedily: "Truly a sword genius. If he could become my husband, the Demon King title would surely be within reach."

"A human cannot become your husband!"

General Brother Brother Moyu snorted coldly and said nothing more.

"Xiang Qiyu Sect is currently not safe enough."

After Li Li Qingyun left, Jiang Ding fell into deep thought.

Waves of pale blue sword qi flew out, chopping the scattered wine tables, bowls, chopsticks, and delicacies into dust, which drifted away with the wind and vanished.

The mountain once again resumed its quiet and elegant appearance.

"Xiang Xiang Qiyu's Jin Dan and I are bound by interests and calculations; I will not actively break this tacit understanding, but they might part ways with me if new interests arise."

"There must be sufficient backup plans."

Jiang Ding instantly thought of Li Hai Zhen, the True Person.

His teleportation array offered a huge advantage in escape; as long as he wasn't located, even a Nascent Soul cultivator's attack might be evaded.

"Teleportation arrays, at least capable of transmitting a thousand li—get a few."

"That still isn't enough,"

Jiang Ding's thoughts spread: "Puppets, high-intelligence puppets capable of deceiving Jin Dan cultivators. Consider having one handle miscellaneous tasks on my behalf; the safety factor would increase significantly.

If any spiritual materials need gathering, simply have it teleport them here via the array. High cost is no worry; the profits from cross-realm trade are more than enough to cover it, with much surplus remaining."

After repeated deliberation, his figure vanished.

……

Jiang Ding connected his divine sense to the network and searched using "bionic puppet" as the keyword.

"Luban-462 Intelligent Home Robot."

"Male or female, proficient in housework, customizable personality—gentle, aloof, tsundere, scheming, and so on, nothing excluded, nothing missing. It even comes loaded with legendary martial arts: Katou's Thirteen Styles, Vortex Twenty-Seven Styles. Available for purchase at eighteen, satisfying all your various..."

"For the useless."

Glancing over it, Jiang Ding added the condition of Foundation Establishment peak strength.

Without strength, it wouldn't work.

The Cultivation World recognizes only this; without strength, nothing can be accomplished. Moreover, even if you possess it, a deep background might not even help.

"Luban-800, combat/home dual-use bionic puppet, Foundation Establishment peak strength. Housework and stationary states can automatically absorb heaven and earth's spiritual qi for maintenance; combat requires consumption of high-grade spirit stones..."

"Stealth capability is inadequate. Forget about Jin Dan; a single sweep of Foundation Establishment divine sense would reveal it as a puppet. Intelligence is also insufficient."

Jiang Ding continued searching.

No results were found.

He needed something indistinguishable from the real thing, capable of handling affairs independently, enabling real-time communication, capable of self-destruction in critical moments... preferably one he could refine, equivalent to a clone.

"All of these exist; it's impossible."

Jiang Ding sighed, continuing to search online for a barely usable budget version. Flaws were unavoidable; it was better than risking his own life.

The Central Array Spirit Computer silently observed everything happening within the Immortal Gate.

"Ding!"

"Prototype of the nano-mechanical puppet squad currently under development by the Immortal Gate Academy of Science, not yet mass-produced: Nano-Liquid Mechanical Puppet · Type A25, entering the experimental deployment test sequence."

"Due to the permissions you obtained by turning in the ancient strange insect, Iron-Swallowing Worm, you may prioritize deployment."

"Do you choose to enter the test deployment?"

Jiang Ding, who was searching online for puppets, paused.

Remembering the nest of insects he had turned in after the Nine Heavens Ruins, he was overjoyed.

"Yes!"

"Please allow me to enter the experimental deployment!"

(End of this chapter)