Chapter 627: Black Crow Wang Zuo

The entire city fell silent.

There was no chaos, burning, killing, or looting that usually follows a city's fall; everything was calm, and every cultivator remained quietly in place, daring not to move.

Jiang Ding walked and stopped, arriving at the Third-Rank High-Grade Spirit Vein of Master Tushan Xiancheng.

The former Tushan Xiancheng Demon Palace had long vanished without a trace.

Its construction cost was far too low, built only of ordinary rocks, its shape neither majestic nor magnificent; it was flattened by General General Heishi, and on the same spot, a garden filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers was erected.

Within it, white mist drifted, various rare spirit herbs and spirit trees were planted everywhere, cranes, spirit birds, and elk appeared and disappeared from time to time, and occasionally a spirit flower bloomed, releasing a strange fragrance that filled the nose.

Mountains and waters, a scene with every step, a world with every step.

Walking within it made one feel refreshed and inexplicably comfortable, yet one could not tell where the feeling came from; one simply felt that the surrounding rocks, ponds, and Lin Mu all harmonized perfectly with heaven and earth, rising to the stage of art.

After ten thousand years of wealth and luxury, even a mere fragment revealed was enough to make people marvel.

Compared with this garden, Jiang Ding's original Tushan Xiancheng Demon Palace was simply unworthy of the grand word "Palace"; it should have been renamed "Rotten Thatched Hut."

Perhaps that way it might have gained a bit more of a hermit's otherworldly air, avoiding mockery.

Jiang Ding carefully admired it for a while, then withdrew from this shared human aesthetic appreciation.

"A bit disgusting."

He sighed.

He did not look with mere flesh eyes, but scanned meticulously with his divine sense.

Beneath the roots of the fragrant spirit flowers, a human skull that had been carefully refined was buried; it was a female skull, just sixteen years old, the age of beautiful youth, perhaps her face was as delicate and vibrant as a flower.

Beneath the spirit trees, a large pile of tender corpses of three- and four-year-old children lay together; they were compost, producing fruits that were large and sweet, which practitioners of Yin-type Gong Fa could swallow to increase their cultivation.

The cranes and elk that lightly ran throughout the garden were Foundation Establishment cultivators who had practiced the Skin-Flaying Method; their souls were sealed, their minds chaotic and unclear, truly believing themselves to be cranes and elk, occasionally chewing spirit grass, drinking spirit springs, fattening their bodies, and refining their souls.

A garden is not merely scenery.

It can be used, eaten, refined into medicine, forged into artifacts, used to make talismans... General General Heishi's lineage spans ten thousand years, with complete inheritances in every field; every single thing has a purpose.

"A power like General General Heishi should not exist in the world."

Clang!

Jiang Ding drew his sword.

Around him, the array of the spirit herb garden, which trapped countless evil souls and fierce ghosts in the roots to absorb Yin Qi and resentful Qi for growth, shattered; pitch-black Yin Qi like ink spread out, and within it, all kinds of grotesque fierce ghosts broke free from their seals.

"Return my life..."

"Blood, I want blood, I want living things..."

In an instant, the garden, once a fairyland, turned into a gloomy ghost realm; all kinds of mad fierce ghosts swept down from the sky, carrying terrible resentment, seeking to devour all living beings and take revenge.

"Rest in peace."

Jiang Ding said calmly.

The clanging sound of the sword rang out again, carrying the rhythm of the Soul-Calming Hun Zhou; among these fierce ghosts, whether those with unforgivable sins, innocent resentful spirits, or those bent on revenge, their souls became transparent in the sword sound of the Soul-Calming Hun Zhou and gradually vanished.

As for where they went, Jiang Ding did not know.

Whether they were completely extinguished or reborn through reincarnation, no one could tell.

"Thank you, Ancestor, for the great grace of saving our lives!"

After the wronged souls came the cranes and elk; their soul-sealing restrictions were lifted, transforming from spirit beasts into human form; they were revealed to be Foundation Establishment cultivators, men and women, young and old, their expressions dazed and unstable; it took them a long time to react, and they kowtowed, kneeling before the youth in green robes to express their gratitude.

"It is nothing; you are free now, go."

Jiang Ding waved his hand: "Remember, my laws of Master Tushan Xiancheng cannot be violated; if any Daoist friend does not understand them, find a copy, memorize it, and you may do anything else."

"We humbly obey the Ancestor's command!"

The many Foundation Establishment cultivators dared not linger, kowtowed once more, bowed deeply, and withdrew.

Jiang Ding waved his hand; the cultivation array was broken, and all the spirit flowers and spirit grass around him that had lost their self-sustaining ability flew toward him, collected into his storage jade pendant.

Most were Yin-type spirit plants, of the Second and Third Ranks.

These were all grown using human bones, blood, and souls as soil; Jiang Ding did not deny this, but he would still use them, not wasting anything.

Regardless, demonic cultivators deserve death, but the wealth they left behind must not be burned.

Such moral fastidiousness is unacceptable.

Demonic cultivators are cunning and cruel, with immense strength; if righteous people—such as himself—were to further slash their own resource utilization rates, their strength would fall behind by a significant margin, hindering the future cause of righteousness.

To truly do so would be foolish, a distortion of the Righteous Path.

Righteousness and strength are one and the same; how could they be such inconvenient things?

With these flowers and grass gone, the surrounding garden was no longer complete, pockmarked like a dog had chewed it, lacking the artistic beauty of harmony between heaven, earth, and nature.

"This is just right."

Jiang Ding nodded in satisfaction; this was his aesthetic.

Strolling slowly through various parts of Master Tushan Xiancheng, he searched every treasure vault and cave dwelling with his divine sense, obtaining wealth of six to seven hundred million Low-Grade Spirit Stones, the vast majority of which were First, Second, and Third-Rank heavenly treasures and earthly wonders, slightly replenishing his pockets.

After a round of strolling and gaining a general understanding of Master Tushan Xiancheng, Jiang Ding returned to the center of the Third-Rank High-Grade Spirit Vein.

Jiang Ding's gaze lingered for a moment on the central hall.

This was a Wang Zuo tens of zhang high, carved entirely from Third-Rank Black Crystal Iron; behind it was carved a golden-crowned crow spreading its wings and soaring, its eyes vivid and profound, the carving work reaching the peak of perfection, as if at any moment this golden-crowned crow would come to life and choose someone to devour.

"This is excellent; I like it very much."

Jiang Ding walked up and sat on the Black Crow Wang Zuo, lightly stroking the sword hilt, and said calmly: "This position shall not be changed; all other places must be modified, with efficiency and simplicity as the greatest goal; practicality must never be sacrificed for aesthetics or empty formalities."

"Yes, Young Master."

From his side came a clear, ethereal response.

A haze cleared, revealing the figures of two women.

One was about one meter fifty tall, with a petite figure, wearing a snow-white palace gown, at the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm; this was Gong Gong Caiyu.

The other was a woman with an ordinary face, ordinary figure, and ordinary aura, easily overlooked; she was the First Maid of Winter, possessing the Mist Spirit Body, at the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm, named Dong Dong Xue.

The two of them, along with some members of the Master Tushan Maidens' Corps, had been lying in wait in the Three Kingdoms region and had never left.

When Jiang Ding returned once more, they appeared again as well.

"Your concealment skills have been cultivated quite well."

Jiang Ding nodded and offered some encouragement: "If a Jin Dan cultivator does not carefully scan an area with spiritual sense, they certainly cannot be discovered; this means you possess a certain degree of self-preservation ability. Although these years have been rather difficult, you have not neglected your cultivation, which is very good."

"It all relies on Young Master's cultivation of us back then."

Gong Gong Caiyu and Dong Dong Xue wore proud expressions.

To receive praise from this person was a glory sufficient to earn recognition even across the entire Northern Plains.

"How many maids are there in the Three Kingdoms region?"

Jiang Ding asked.

"There are eighty-seven formal maids, the vast majority of whom are at the realm of Late Foundation Establishment or above, and fifty-four reserve maids."

"The reserve maids have not been granted the Heavenly Light Radiant Sun Dao Weapon flying swords; most are Foundation Establishment cultivators. They are our outer-circle members, know very little about us, and possess poor combat power."

Gong Gong Caiyu answered crisply.

Compared with their counterparts in the Northern Plains, they had strictly executed the order to lie in wait and had not expanded.

"Eighteen... no, eighty-seven. That can form two Jin Dan combat groups... it will do."

Jiang Ding tossed a sword talisman to each of them and said softly, "Go. Sweep through the Chu State and the Yue State, eliminate the remaining forces of General General Heishi there, destroy all who obstruct the will of Master Tushan, and re-establish the rule that belongs to us, just like the Master Tushan Xiancheng of many years ago."

"Yes!"

Gong Gong Caiyu and the other loudly replied.

(End of this chapter)