Chapter 369: Incense Divine Court

"The enthusiasm of the elders is so high."

Jiang Ding said in surprise.

After a moment of thought, he understood.

This must all be the work of those elders whose lifespans are nearly exhausted.

People who live so long may not have much else, but they have a huge network of connections; after hundreds or even thousands of years, they have accumulated students, colleagues, comrades-in-arms, subordinates, friends, family, and so on.

They might not be able to help with other major tasks.

But mobilizing their friends around them to work in the arsenal for a period of time is no problem.

No one would go against the wishes of an elder whose life is about to end, destroying their final hope.

Furthermore, if the Immortal Sect adds a new small realm, resources and positions would increase out of thin air; research funding, education funding, military expenditures, and so on would all rise.

This would be of great benefit to the entire Immortal Sect.

Many high-level cultivators, without anyone asking them to come, would go to the arsenal to help for a while whenever they happened to be free.

"Since the elders are so eager, let us advance now."

Jiang Ding showed a hint of anticipation: "Incense Deity, Precious Cauldron Maitreya, I have long looked forward to the legendary Incense Divine Court; I hope it will not disappoint me."

"Yes, Supreme Commander!"

An Siyan performed a military salute and said solemnly.

The order was quickly transmitted to every army and every regiment.

The four million troops resting in various places immediately received the order and began to converge on the center of the teleportation array; amphibious tanks, having finished changing equipment, roared and advanced toward this location in neat regimental formations.

Several hours later.

Jiang Ding stood at the center of the teleportation array, his divine sense sweeping across all directions.

The First Army Group of Jin Lingfeng accompanied him for the initial teleportation, providing support and protection beside him, and after breaking through the enemy formation, rushing into the gap to slaughter the enemy's vast forces.

"The First Army Group is ready, Supreme Commander of the Ground Landing Expeditionary Force of the Huang Tong Small Realm; shall we begin teleporting to the East Sea where the enemy is located?"

The voice of the Array Spirit sounded.

"Begin."

Buzz!

The teleportation array hummed; spatial array patterns appeared, spreading across hundreds of kilometers. Amidst the white light filling the sky, human figures were indistinct, and the steel tank army vanished.

The sky was clear and the air fresh, with not a cloud in ten thousand li.

Jiang Ding smelled the salty brine on his nose and opened his eyes.

As far as the eye could see, there was only the boundless, endless ocean; within a radius of hundreds of li, there was not a single piece of land.

A wild wind blew, raising waves more than ten zhang high on the sea surface, which crashed down with a boom; moreover, some giant sea beasts lurked vaguely within.

"Come to think of it, since I was born, I have never been to the seaside."

Jiang Ding sighed.

Around them, the vast tank army spread across a hundred kilometers, descending toward the sea with parachutes deployed; after the heavy tanks touched the sea surface, they sank straight down beneath the water.

After a moment, they floated back up, exposing only a small portion of their hulls.

From time to time, wild winds and huge waves crashed down, smashing large groups of amphibious tanks beneath the sea surface, but the people around them were not panicked.

After a while, everything returned to normal.

"Woo woo..."

In the sea, there were also demon beasts, and their sizes were far greater than those on land; they had always been the overlords of the Huang Tong Small Realm's seas. For countless tens of thousands of years, Huang Tong cultivators had never conquered the deep sea and had left no trace in the bloodline memories of these demon beasts.

"Roar..."

An octopus the size of a blue whale roared; its aura was at the peak of Foundation Establishment, and even an aura of Jin Dan vaguely permeated; if it grew naturally for another few hundred years, becoming a great demon would be unquestionable.

Hundreds of octopus tentacles of the eight-legged octopus stretched taut, their tips bearing water-blue, sharp arrows, and with terrifying power, they shot toward the tank army in all directions.

Dozens of tanks were pierced through, smashed onto the sea surface, and oil mixed with blood flowed down.

Whoosh!

At the same time as its attack, or even earlier, hundreds of armor-piercing shells had already arrived with piercing whistles, shattering its tentacles that filled the sky and blasting into the octopus's soft body.

"Woo woo..."

The octopus's angry roar turned to terror; it spread a thick water-blue shield, which was broken in an instant. Numerous armor-piercing shells tore its body apart, turning it into chunks of flesh and blood fragments that dyed the surrounding sea surface red.

"Roar..."

The roars and howls of the giant beasts rose and fell one after another.

"There are far more demon beasts in the water than on land; the resources and products are likely the same."

Jiang Ding swept his divine sense around.

Within a radius of a hundred kilometers, this kind of thing kept happening; the demon beasts in the sea were too aggressive, and even without entering their territories, they dared to launch direct attacks.

The consequence was naturally that torpedoes and armor-piercing shells arrived, blasting everything clean.

Within a radius of a hundred li, it grew quiet, and vast stretches of sea were dyed red.

"Jiang Ding, do you like grilled octopus tentacles?"

Jin Lingfeng asked.

In her hand, she held two large bunches of scorched yellow squid tentacles; no one knew how she had cooked them in such a short time.

With a sweep of his divine sense, Jiang Ding saw that there were similar people around, secretly slacking off under the leadership of their commanders.

"Chief of Staff An."

Jiang Ding's expression was emotionless.

"How should this situation be handled?"

"Present!"

An Siyan said with malicious glee: "According to military regulations, during the march, in battle, and after battle, one may not consume the bodies of demonic beasts. They must undergo strict testing to confirm they are non-toxic before consumption."

"First offense, record a minor demerit."

"Hurry."

"Yes!"

An Siyan immediately notified the military police to go handle it.

"You..."

Jin Jin Lingfeng froze, her face grimacing: "I was wrong, I'm sorry. After many days of victory, I became a bit lax."

"I am deeply sorry."

"Do not let it happen again."

Jiang Ding snorted lightly, too lazy to deal with her further. His divine sense swept the surroundings; after confirming no one else had violated military discipline again, he closed his eyes slightly and entered a semi-cultivation state.

Several days later, the Second, Third, and Fourth Army Groups arrived in succession via teleportation.

"Advance."

Jiang Ding said softly.

"Yes!"

Four million amphibious tanks sliced through the water, creating rows of white waves. Amidst the earth-shattering roar, they charged toward the East Sea foundation of Brother Brother Xuanwu's Four Poles Stabilizing Heaven Array.

Along the way, sea monsters that refused to believe in fate roared and charged forward. The rulers of these territories possessed extremely strong territorial instincts and a fierce desire for revenge. Even a Jin Dan giant beast that had slipped through the net appeared, intent on driving these small creatures out of its domain.

Then, they all turned into chunks of flesh and blood, nourishing other demonic beasts in the deep sea.

After traveling over a thousand kilometers, a small island over three hundred kilometers in size appeared before everyone's eyes.

Over three hundred thousand people lived on the island. At its center stood a city, and beside the city was a golden-roofed temple taller than the city walls. Incense smoke curled from it, and waves of Sanskrit chanting rose up through the roof.

A ten-plus-zhang tall eight-armed Maitreya Buddha statue sat within the Great Hero Hall, its sacred appearance solemn, with golden light of the Buddhist sect filling the air.

Jiang Ding's gaze fixed on the statue.

"Buddha's enemy..."

At that moment, the Buddha statue's head moved. It opened its eyes, its divine might like a prison, its divine might like the ocean. It spoke coldly: "Retreat, or after your death you will fall into the Avici Hell, reincarnated as a beast for countless lifetimes, enslaved by humans, never to attain liberation."

"Understood."

Boom!

A blue-gold sword light slashed through, turning its Buddha head into dust. The headless statue fell backward.

I will update the rest tomorrow.

As requested by everyone, this world will end as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)