Chapter 328: Sixteen Years Old, Ruling a Small Nation

The Great Sun sword light arrived before him.

Jiang Ding gazed at it.

Pressed beneath the sword was a divine soul the size of a thumb, resembling Tian Kuang Dao Ren, his eyelids closed, asleep, instinctively clutching a nearly shattered Jin Dan.

"Congratulations, Daoist Mie, on array-killing Tian Kuang Dao Ren of the Liu Dao Sect!"

Bai Mei, the old cultivator, and Zhou Zhou Sanyan offered their congratulations.

"Your excellency truly lives up to being a top disciple of the Dari Sect."

Mu Mu Tianxue's eyes shifted: "I have heard your sect embraces all like the ocean, unlike the various clans of the Northern Plains who recruit disciples based on surname and lineage..."

Bai Mei, the old cultivator, and Zhou Zhou Sanyan also showed signs of being swayed in their eyes.

"I am not from the Dari Sect."

Extreme disgust flashed clearly across Jiang Ding's face; he was very displeased and cut her off.

"This..."

Mu Mu Tianxue and the other two were stunned.

If this were a cover-up, how could one use disgust to cover it up?

Could the guess be wrong?

Not someone from the Dari Sect, or even an enemy of the Dari Sect?

At this thought,

the three hearts could not help but feel uneasy.

"Daoist, the treasure and storage bag left by this thief..."

Bai Mei, the old cultivator, and Mu Mu Tianxue exchanged a glance, cupped their fists: "Let it be handed over to you, Daoist; since this lair was slain by you, it is fitting."

Zhou Zhou Sanyan felt a pang in his heart but did not speak out to refute.

"No need."

Jiang Ding did not accept their kindness; his body transformed into a magnificent, scorching sword light and flew toward the horizon.

"The spoils of this battlefield were mainly obtained by the three of you, so naturally they should be handled by the three of you yourselves."

"Let us part ways here."

The sword shadow gradually moved away until it vanished completely.

"Daoist Mie, a true sword cultivator indeed."

Bai Mei, the old cultivator, praised him, then looked at Mu Mu Tianxue opposite.

The atmosphere unconsciously grew tense.

With the great enemies gone, the current situation was different.

Although the Qingling Dao Pact was in hand, this was not an absolutely secure matter.

"Let it be so."

Mu Mu Tianxue, expressionless, and Bai Mei, the old cultivator, each took their share of the treasures and storage bag left by Tian Kuang Dao Ren, then transformed into a streak of blood light and vanished.

The great enemies within and outside Chu State were all gone.

With just a slight manipulation, she could use the Huaxue Yu Clan to annihilate the Hundred Ghosts and Poison Zombie lineages, swallow the entire Chu State, gather the power of a nation to serve herself, and it would not be impossible for her cultivation to advance another step.

She was only two hundred and forty-odd years old, with a vast Dao path ahead.

Bai Mei, the old cultivator, watched both sides depart, leaving only the faction of the Yue State's Eastern Host.

For a long time,

he let out a long sigh.

"Senior Brother, now that the sect has gone from obscure to bright again, and the Qingling Dao Pact has been signed with Mu Mu Tianxue, with no worries about external enemies, is there anything else troubling you?"

Zhou Zhou Sanyan offered comfort.

"Why must Junior Brother comfort me?"

Bai Mei, the old cultivator, gave a bitter smile: "The Liu Dao Sect lost a late-stage Jin Dan here; whether they will let the matter rest is unknown.

If they are unwilling, if several late-stage Jin Dan come, that is still good; seeing them early, we can still escape with our lives, but if a Nascent Soul elder comes in person..."

"No way?"

"How could a Nascent Soul elder care about such a remote place, and how could they travel thousands of miles to deal with us ants?"

Zhou Zhou Sanyan's face changed drastically.

"Who knows?"

"Perhaps the Nascent Soul elder is passing by by chance?"

Bai Mei, the old cultivator, sighed.

"Let us wait another one or two hundred years to be sure."

"The sect's revival is a great thing, but for transmission disciples who are far away, there is no need to summon them back anymore; it is a pity my disciple died at the hands of the Hundred Ghosts, and the sect worries about having no successor; we should make plans early..."

The teleportation array trembled with a booming roar.

Amidst the flashing Bai Chong Guang, a youth in green robes vanished.

After more than ten transmissions, concealing his form, he carefully flew out of the underground cave; a sweep of his divine sense revealed it was precisely the border between the vast mountain forests and the endless yellow sand desert.

After a slight identification, his formless escape light sped up; a few quarters of an hour later, he descended upon the ruins of the Master Tushan Demon City.

Below, palace walls had collapsed, many stone houses were melted away, and the ground was pitch black, scorched by fire for a long time.

At the very center, where the Demon Palace once stood, it had become a pool of solidified lava, with not a single trace remaining.

However, this place was not desolate.

In just a few short months, a large number of flying birds, running beasts, and demons had gathered here, including those of Demon General rank; even the cave-dwelling shops of the Spirit Treasure Merchant Association were still there, still in business.

A scene of gradually flourishing prosperity.

This was the location of a third-grade upper-quality spirit vein!

Cultivating here would multiply one's cultivation speed several times over, and the chance of breaking through to become a Great Demon was far greater than elsewhere. In the past, it had always been occupied by the Three-Tailed Fox and Five-Colored Kong Que clans.

Now that it was suddenly masterless, which demon cultivator wouldn't be tempted?

Over a month ago, a bloody battle had erupted. None of the parties could overcome any other, and so a situation formed where seven or eight Demon Generals each occupied a single cave dwelling to cultivate.

Jiang Ding concealed his form, his faint sword intent and divine sense sweeping bit by bit across the city.

In Chengxi, slaughterhouses had been set up once again, slaughtering livestock and humans gathered here for the demon generals' cultivation while satisfying their appetites.

There were several thousand years of tradition in this regard.

"Not bad."

Jiang Ding's face was expressionless.

"Outside the demon city, there must surely be many captive humans. With the population, the foundation for everything is in place — not rootless duckweed."

……

Lingbao Commerce Guild.

Inside a cave-shaped shop.

"Shopkeeper."

The bearded Foundation Establishment cultivator looked toward the former demon palace, his heart itching unbearably: "This is a third-grade upper-quality spirit vein! Among our merchants, only a few clan elders at the Jin Dan Jing can enjoy such a thing, yet now it's been occupied by seven or eight demon generals."

"Can you swallow this?"

"Let's not talk about taking the whole place — at the very least we should seize half the cave dwellings and distribute them among our brothers, no?"

His voice wasn't particularly pleasant, but it carried a strong beguiling tone, and the five or six Foundation Establishment cultivators around him grew heated, their hearts stirred.

A third-grade upper-quality spirit vein!

This was something only the strong among Jin Dan True Persons could enjoy — enough to serve as the foundation of an entire clan.

Cultivating upon it, without any need for spirit pills or wondrous medicines, one could easily multiply one's cultivation speed several times over.

If one could occupy it for ten years, breaking through a Tu Po Xiao Jing would be trivial.

"Not allowed to go!"

The middle-aged scholar said in a heavy voice: "A third-grade upper-quality spirit vein — is this something we few Foundation Establishment cultivators can lay a finger on?

This kind of empty situation won't last. Once the surrounding sects' melee ends, a Jin Dan cultivator will surely come to claim his spoils."

"Think about it — if he saw a few juniors occupying his old nest, how would that senior react?"

"How?"

The surrounding Foundation Establishment cultivators briefly imagined such a scene and shivered.

"We are descendants of the Lingbao Merchant Clan — he wouldn't necessarily do anything…"

The bearded Foundation Establishment cultivator was still unwilling.

The surrounding Foundation Establishment cultivators shook their heads.

Though the Merchant Clan was strong, they wouldn't send a Jin Dan cultivator all this way for the sake of a few Foundation Establishment juniors.

If every junior who suffered some grievance called for such a fuss, where would Jin Dan cultivators find the time to cultivate?

They'd just become busy servants for the juniors.

How could that be possible?

Anyone who truly dared think so should prepare to die without a burial place — calling out "uncle" a few times wouldn't be enough to save them.

Clang!

A clear, soaring sword hum rang out across the city.

Then came cursing, roars, the explosive sounds of spells, the sharp clash of weapons — rising one after another.

After one breath,

came the sound of heavy objects hitting the ground one after another, and everything fell silent.

"Wouldn't do anything…"

The bearded Foundation Establishment cultivator swallowed, a chill creeping down his spine.

The Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Lingbao Commerce Guild hurriedly flew out of the shop.

But they saw, in the sky,

a youth in blue silently watching everything within the city.

Surrounding him lay a ring of demon generals and lesser demons' corpses — several hundred bodies — and a thick stench of blood spreading outward, restoring the city to its former quiet.

(End of this chapter)