Chapter 373: Did the Immortal Sect Err in Rejecting Nearly All Talent from Minor Realms?

Armor-piercing shells rained down, filling sky and earth.

With no target, they circled for a long while before descending upon the myriad beasts within seventy kilometers, once again stirring a storm of blood and rain, the sea turning faintly red.

"Continue the assault."

Jiang Ding said with boredom: "I'm starting to miss home… Never mind, I shouldn't say that."

"Yes!"

Commanders like Jin Jin Lingfeng and Jin Jin Chengkong were stirred deeply.

This is the Great Sun Sword Son.

An invincible presence within the realm, where enemies die faster than the time it takes for an armor-piercing shell to travel from launch to impact.

Tank armies rumbled forward, sweeping across tens of thousands of kilometers of sea.

Along the way, ancient deep-sea overlords fled in panic; those who moved even slightly too slow and entered the army's seventy-kilometer range—whether in shallow or deep waters—died instantly, even Golden Core beasts made no exception.

Temples of the Treasure Cauldron Maitreya Sect and their fanatical Buddhist followers collapsed one by one, died one by one; no one came to stop them anymore.

The pacts between gods and mortals, forged through incense and protection, were being shattered one after another.

Standing above the Eastern Sea's sky,

The incense Buddhist realm, bright as a star, trembled again and again.

Eighteen outer pillars of the Brother Xuanwu Four Poles Boundary Array appeared on the horizon, glowing brilliantly, encircled by runes, linking to the celestial Brother Xuanwu army formation, equipped with offensive and defensive arrays—even Golden Core cultivators were powerless against them.

"Fire!"

"…"

After only three volleys, the eighteen Brother Xuanwu Four Poles Boundary Array pillars collapsed and snapped; the faithful and Brother Xuanwu Heavenly Palace Foundation Establishment cultivators within them died—no doubt remained.

"Continue."

Jiang Ding said calmly.

"Yes!"

Steel rumbled onward, pushing through the sea.

Clearing the Treasure Cauldron Maitreya temples and fanatical Buddhist followers, days later, they reached the central Brother Xuanwu Four Poles Boundary Array, its eighteen pillars shining with golden light, their aura even more terrifying.

Boom!

Under the bombardment of millions of artillery pieces, it collapsed and shattered, utterly unstoppable.

"Treasure Cauldron Maitreya has regained his reason and did not reappear—shameful, unworthy of the name 'Indestructible Vajra, Unbreakable.'"

Jiang Ding muttered to himself.

"I wonder if your incense faith core still remains intact?"

The tank army rumbled across the sea, pushing forward thousands of kilometers.

No enemies remained; they halted at the outermost edge of the Brother Xuanwu Heavenly Palace's final reach in this world—the core Brother Xuanwu Four Poles Boundary Array.

"The final battle…"

Jin Jin Lingfeng and others held their breath, gazing upward.

The first thing to meet their eyes were naturally the thirty-six colossal pillars piercing the clouds, extending into the celestial army formation, radiant with light, bearing crushing pressure, faintly exuding primordial qi.

This was one of the core arrays controlling the entire world!

Had it not been suppressed by the Immortal Sect's formations, even Soul Transformation cultivators could not have breached it in a short time.

But such towering pillars had been seen too often; their soul warnings had grown weary.

Everyone glanced at them once, then moved on, all eyes fixed on a single Buddhist light-star whose radiance was slightly dimmed.

At this moment, at this place,

Its light rivaled the sun, its majesty profound, the aura of Vajra and indestructibility shining across fifty kilometers of heaven and earth, echoing with Sanskrit chants carrying compassion and admonition—grass and trees were even converted, dotted with faint Buddhist light.

"Pre-Nascent Soul stage…"

Jiang Ding's breath quickened.

In his soul, a faint chill spread; the Taiqing Flying Sword trembled faintly, brimming with lethal intent.

"We cannot launch an attack yet."

Chief of Staff An Siyan, his expression solemn, conveyed the opinions of the General Staff and all ranks to the highest commander of the landing forces.

"The Treasure Cauldron Maitreya Buddhist Realm draws its Pre-Nascent Soul power from three sources."

"First, the core array of the Brother Xuanwu Four Poles Boundary Array in the Eastern Sea and its subsidiary arrays; we have already cleared the northern subsidiary arrays, but the other three directions require divided forces for subsequent clearance."

"Second, the faith of the Treasure Cauldron Maitreya Sect across the Eastern Sea, Western Desert, Northern Sea, and Southern Theater, especially the uncleaned fanatical Buddhist followers."

"Third, the home-field advantage of the incense Buddhist realm—in its range, the incense deity's power is greatly amplified."

"The latter two are especially critical to Treasure Cauldron Maitreya."

"The god-mortal pact holds the highest priority; even if He were merely a deity equivalent to a Golden Core cultivator, let alone one as powerful as a Soul Transformation cultivator, none could prevent such a pact."

"This is one of the fundamental rules of the Divine Path."

An Siyan, fearing the sword cultivators' reckless battle lust might spiral out of control, spoke rapidly and in detail: "Believers and deities are inseparable; both must coexist."

"Even the emperors and star lords of myth and legend are no exception—lose incense and faith, and they fall into slumber, clinging desperately to the accumulated incense faith energy built over countless ages."

"In severe cases, they may perish instantly."

"The Northern Sea, Western Desert, and other regions are urgently dismantling temples and mountains, using force to change customs, inciting the populace to curse and reject Buddha deities, severing incense faith, killing fanatical Buddhist followers, and transforming faith into curses—Immortal Sects have mature experience in this."

"Within two months at most, the Treasure Cauldron Maitreya incense Buddhist realm will change. Please do not rush."

An Siyan said nervously.

All eyes turned to their supreme commander; countless desperate pleas brewed in their hearts.

"Don't hold so many prejudices."

Jiang Ding snorted, dissatisfied.

"Except in extremely rare special cases, the vast majority of sword cultivators can absolutely control their sword intent and flying swords, using the person to command the sword— the sword is the person; there has never been the reverse truth."

"That's good."

An Siyan exhaled deeply, yet still looked somewhat uneasy.

The tank unit's engines roared, parting the water waves, splitting into two army groups of two million Qi Condensation cultivators, commanded by Dong Xue Senior Qian and Jin Jin Chengkong, charging toward three other directions.

In the future, to further improve efficiency, the forces will be divided even further.

Jiang Ding concealed his form, gliding beyond the reach of the incense Buddha realm and the Brother Xuanwu Four Poles Boundary Array.

If the Brother Xuanwu Heavenly Palace or the Bao Ding Maitreya believe that splitting their forces can achieve something, they are utterly mistaken.

Even if the Brother Xuanwu Candidate Daozi himself descended, he would hardly dare leave the array to act—he might be intercepted halfway and surrounded and killed by troops converging from all regions.

The other three war zones are doing similar things.

And since there are no external enemies, they can act freely, achieving efficiency far faster than here.

The people—no, humanity—is extremely pragmatic.

They possess tremendous survival capabilities, adapting to all environments, thereby becoming the dominant force across the myriad worlds.

In the demon kingdoms, becoming livestock allows survival;

in the Buddha realms, becoming devout followers also allows survival, and their incense faith is sincere and genuine, verified directly by gods and Buddhas, enabling them to ascend to high positions.

But when the environment changes,

when faith is no longer needed, and life becomes even better than before,

humanity can rapidly change itself and adapt to the new environment.

Two months passed in a flash.

Jiang Ding concealed his form, flying through the sky, his spiritual sense sweeping across the land.

Over these two months, he gradually witnessed the people's transformation under the Immortal Sect's propaganda.

In the Eastern Sea,

the atmosphere of faith was thick, with almost no non-believers.

Everywhere, widespread devout incense worship prevailed; shallow believers were rare and did not constitute the majority—this was a true divine-Buddhist realm.

Yet, in just these two short months,

it had mysteriously vanished!

Devout believers were nearly gone, replaced by mostly shallow believers and non-believers, and the number of non-believers was rapidly increasing.

It was genuine and unfeigned,

confirmed by his spiritual sense, comparable to a Jin Dan, scanning and detecting—no deception possible.

"Humanity,"

"lacks the various innate talents of demonic races, with frail bodies and mediocre cultivation potential."

"Yet they are truly formidable."

Jiang Ding was shaken within.

"The Immortal Sect, due to resource limitations, internal conservative factions, and the need to maintain internal unity and purity,"

"coldly rejected nearly all elite from minor realms, accepting only a tiny number of ascending immigrants whose talent, creativity, moral character, and battlefield achievements were exceptionally outstanding."

"In terms of conservatism, it is even more closed and rigid than the Brother Xuanwu Heavenly Palace."

"Is this a mistake?"

The next two chapters may come at one or two in the morning.

Don't worry—I usually sleep at this time too. It's not staying up late.

(End of Chapter)