Chapter 630: The Great Sun Sword Son's Nine Divisions of One Hundred and Eight Thousand Dao Soldiers

Jiang Ding stared at the several hundred Sky Light Blazing Sun Dao Soldier imprints in his Sea of Consciousness, falling into thought.

The Tu Mountain maid corps' Dao path was different from his own.

He could wait several hundred years, or even enter the Slumber Secret Realm and sleep for several thousand years, and still be here, his future still blazing bright, unchanged.

But these maids no longer had such confidence.

Not to mention several hundred years — even if they lay dormant for a hundred, their Dao paths would likely be finished, including those few Heaven Spirit Root maids.

Because cultivation was a continuous process; a gap of a hundred years in the middle, and advancing to Nascent Soul would be mere wishful thinking.

Heaven Spirit Root was useless.

Among Nascent Soul cultivators, Heaven Spirit Root was hardly outstanding talent — only average, not a drag.

"But what does this have to do with me?"

Jiang Ding Zi murmured.

"These people are not disciples of an immortal sect; our relationship is a pure transaction. I gave them Gong Fa — top-grade Gong Fa — personally taught them cultivation knowledge, cultivation resources, spells, magical artifacts, and treasures. I have never been stingy."

"All of this requires paying an equivalent price."

Jiang Ding's expression was indifferent.

In this world, no one existed who benefited him alone, without any benefit to themselves — that defied the laws of nature.

"If the situation demands going dormant, then we must go dormant!"

"There is no room for negotiation."

"Just as was promised years ago when the Sky Light Blazing Sun Dao Soldier flying swords were bestowed."

"Violators will be deemed to have broken the contract."

Jiang Ding murmured lightly.

These principles would not change.

If some true hero defied fate, severed the connection between Dao Soldier and Sword Master, Jiang Ding would accept the outcome — simply reclaim the Dao Soldier flying swords bestowed back then.

The world produced talent in endless numbers, and as time flowed on, more kept emerging — no single person was indispensable.

Of course, thinking about this now was somewhat cruel.

The Spring, Summer, and Autumn maids were not rebelling — it was merely a Jin Dan cultivator's tentative probe, born of longing for their own Dao and longevity.

Anyone would do the same; it was normal, not malicious intent.

At least, not for now.

"Leave the situation to the main body. Let him handle it."

Jiang Ding shook his head, closed his eyes, and entered standby.

……

Somewhere underground in the Spiritless Desert.

Jiang Ding opened his eyes, spent some time receiving the intelligence transmitted through Dao Soldier flying swords by the various clones and maids, and gained an understanding of the past few years' situation.

"Convene a maid corps meeting."

Jiang Ding did not hesitate. The Taiqing Flying Sword hummed and trembled; a vast surge of divine sense poured into the depths of his Sea of Consciousness, painting the void, constructing one azure soul rune after another.

These soul runes wove together, entwined, compacted, gradually forming an ancient, weather-worn bronze muster platform covered in blade and sword scars.

Nine azure banners fluttered in the wind; the Taiqing Flying Sword stood at the center.

The Blazing Sun Muster Platform!

A core secret art of Dao Soldier command from the *Sky Light Blazing Sun Sword Canon* — relying on the Taiqing Flying Sword, it could communicate freely within a single realm, and held many other wonders besides.

If this soul muster platform were solidified, and vast quantities of soul-type, yang-type, and electromagnetic-type heavenly materials and earthly treasures sought out to refine a treasure-grade muster platform, then communication between realms could proceed normally — hundreds of thousands of sword-cultivating Dao Soldiers communicating with each other in an instant.

Of course, such a strategic inter-realm treasure was extremely expensive — at minimum a fifth-tier grand war treasure, requiring the painstaking effort of an entire major realm power to refine.

The current soul muster platform still worked, but it required the laborious injection of divine sense and a great deal of time to construct it within the Sea of Consciousness; its actual combat effectiveness was not high.

This was Jiang Ding's deliberate choice.

If someone used karmic arts to trace him through the Dao Soldiers, this would vastly increase the difficulty — because there was no regular communication channel, and combined with the Taiqing Flying Sword's inherently high standing and its effect of obscuring heavenly secrets, even a Soul Transformation cultivator could not drag him out and kill him.

"Summon — Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter. All Dao Soldiers of every division, attend."

Jiang Ding, a long sword at his waist, stood at the center of the muster platform, lightly tapped the ground; an invisible azure ripple spread in all directions, expanding toward distant lands.

Four divisions of Dao Soldiers — this was not the complete state.

The complete state of a Great Sun Sword Son possessed nine divisions of Dao Soldiers. Relying on these directly-raised forces, once the Great Sun Sword Master passed, the Great Sun Sword Son could immediately become the master of the Great Sun Sword Pavilion, ruling several hundred minor realms through his Dao Soldiers.

Even if the whole world turned against him, it would only be minor trouble — no great disturbance.

In his outlook for the future, Jiang Ding had provisionally named his Dao Soldier force's Gong Fa the *Spring Summer Autumn Winter Wind Rain Thunder Lightning Yang Nine Divisions Dao Canon*.

Of course, like himself, it was still only an embryo — it had nothing but a name.

In the plan, after several thousand or even tens of thousands of years of continuous cultivation and screening, with many people born and dying, time's erosion washing over them, the force would finally take shape as a Dao Soldier army of one hundred and eight thousand, fit to suppress the four directions of foreign realms, and even gain great advantage in same-realm combat.

In that instant, every maid distributed across the entire Three Kingdoms lands, across the Northern Plains, felt the summons and command from the unseen.

No matter what they were doing — cultivating, fighting, slaughtering, refining pills, or anything else — all of them, by instinct, placed the greater part of their divine sense upon the summons.

All the maids' vision blurred.

When they opened their eyes again, before them had become an azure Sea of Consciousness; beneath their feet was the ancient, weather-worn bronze platform covered in blade and sword scars, nine great banners snapping in the wind.

At the center, a youth in blue robes gazed at them in silence.

"Greetings, Young Master!"

Gong Gong Caiyu, Spring Division's First Maid Spring Sword, Summer Division's First Maid Shang Gong, Autumn Division's First Maid Shang Yun, and Winter Division's First Maid Winter Zang each led their subordinates in salute.

A bevy of beauties, perfectly uniform — each with a hand on the left-side sword hilt, kneeling in greeting.

'Three hundred and eighty-two.'

Jiang Ding counted once.

The self-propagating members of the maid corps had already grown to three hundred and eighty-two, most of them born within the Northern Plains. The execution of the covert orders had not been thorough; they had increased their forces under various pretexts, strengthening the might of the military formations under their command.

Now, relying on the military formations, maidservants like Spring Sword at the Jin Dan stage need not fear cultivators at the peak of Jin Dan.

Spring Sword and the other two palace maids were uneasy and lowered their heads.

Even summoning all their courage, they only dared to quietly add a few formal maidservants. Anything more—such as recklessly provoking conflicts with forces elsewhere—they had only ever dared to imagine, never truly done.

Only in the Northern Plains could one know the terror of their Sword Master.

A Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Zhenjun!

The Master Dinghai Zhenjun of Tushan who slew the Master Dinghai Zhenjun of the Divine Crow of the General Heishi clan, annihilated the General Heishi clan with its ten-thousand-year legacy, and shook the Northern Plains with his fame!

If they truly believed themselves so important that they could threaten Kou Zi Zhong with their own weight, that would be utterly laughable.

Even if the three of them truly went mad and tried such a thing, not a single formal maidservant would follow them. They would immediately be surrounded and slain as targets, without anyone hesitating.

"Tell me about the current situation in the Northern Plains."

Jiang Ding did not pursue the matter further, saying lightly.

"Yes, Young Master."

Spring Sword breathed a quiet sigh of relief in her heart: "Blood Flowing Cloud now occupies everywhere on the Black Snow Great Grassland except the Master Tushan Xiancheng, and is expanding outward. Scattered cultivators and branch family members from across the Northern Plains are coming to join in succession, and the military might has suddenly swelled more than tenfold."

"Now there are over a thousand Jin Dan cultivators in the Blood King's army, with Foundation Establishment cultivators too numerous to count. Because of the protection of dragon qi, Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Zhenjun dare not make a move.

However, the Liu Dao Sect's Holy Son Yin Dao, Bingxuedian's Holy Son Mu Mu Tianxue, the Zhenjun He Huan Sect's Zhenjun He Huan Heavenly Maiden, and others are each leading large armies to advance on the Black Snow Great Grassland. The situation is very unfavorable…"

(End of this chapter)