Chapter 694: The Longing to Trample the Bones of Dukes and Ministers on the Heavenly Street

"Subsidizing cultivation for unemployed cultivators can only be a temporary measure."

"If time drags on, Master Tushan Xiancheng's finances cannot bear it; we must part on good terms and abandon the construction plan for the Northern Plains Economic and Trade Center."

Jiang Ding watched the back of the green-skirted maid as she departed.

Actually, there are ways, such as investing in infrastructure, water conservancy projects everywhere, orders and investments led by Master Tushan Xiancheng, and building spiritual veins; all these can absorb a certain amount of employment.

Alas, the pool in the Three Kingdoms region itself is too small.

With only three third-grade spiritual veins, gathering dozens of Jin Dan cultivators and five or six hundred Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators, it is already overburdened; it relies entirely on external blood transfusions and the development of processing trade to maintain cultivation and prosperity.

Having lost the largest external source of blood transfusion, no matter how much the Xiancheng official invests internally, it is useless, so they might as well rot.

At that time, those willing to stay here and endure the harsh cultivation environment will be left alone as long as they obey the law; those who wish to return to the Northern Plains will be subsidized for part of their boat tickets.

That is all there is to it.

"The key lies in the situation in the Northern Plains, the situation on the Black Snow Great Grassland..."

Jiang Ding thought lightly.

Even so, expecting him to personally interfere in the war of the Wang Ting in the Northern Plains is a delusion.

Mere economic losses will absolutely not make him violate his own principles and trap himself in danger.

"However, eighteen years from now, when the Blazing Sun Spirit Iron emerges, my annual expenses will skyrocket to one billion low-grade spirit stones, comparable to the cost of a heavy armor division... though I am quite frugal in managing the household."

"Not having money then will also be a troublesome matter."

Jiang Ding looked toward the Northern Plains and spent some time receiving recent intelligence from the Northern Plains maids.

"Blood Flow Cloud did not die; he escaped."

"Truly a man who has escaped from the hands of Nascent Soul True Persons many times before, even while severely injured..."

"He has not given up, has not lost heart; it seems he is reforming?"

A hint of interest appeared in Jiang Ding's eyes.

"So he didn't reform when he had the advantage, but now reforms under such a great defeat? Isn't he afraid his subordinates will rebel and surround and kill him with a military formation?"

In a remote part of the grassland.

More than fifty Jin Dan cultivators had gathered here successively; the vast majority were late-stage or peak Jin Dan cultivators, constituting an extremely powerful force.

Such cultivators focus solely on the Nascent Soul Dao.

The so-called families, the so-called wealth and honor, are not placed in their eyes at all.

This is the reason they follow Blood Flow Cloud to the death without wavering.

One heart for immortality, one heart for the Dao path.

The Liu Dao Sect, unprecedentedly, set no threshold to recruit vassal families; for them, this held no attraction whatsoever.

Bai Mei True Person, Tie Gu Jin Gang, Hei Lou Cheng, and others were all the same.

Everything is for immortality.

Similarly, it is precisely for this reason that they sell out their comrades-in-arms without hesitation.

Seeing multiple enemies closing in, they flee without thinking, regardless of any military formation, regardless of any grand strategy; without a living me, the grand strategy is meaningless.

This has been the case for hundreds of years.

It is long accustomed, it is instinct.

Swearing to follow to the death and fleeing the battlefield are not contradictory at all.

At this moment, everyone gathered together.

You look at me, I look at you, a face full of sorrow.

They looked at each other in silence.

"Sigh!"

"Past matters need not be mentioned again."

"The current situation is already much better than before; at least no Nascent Soul True Person will come to slaughter us, and our lives are secure for the time being."

Blood Flow Cloud coughed incessantly, his face flushed, his breath rising and falling; obviously, his severe injuries had not yet healed.

He comforted the crowd in turn.

"Fellow Daoists, you and I have walked the Jin Dan path for hundreds of years; have we not experienced failures, setbacks, and hardships?"

"Have we not encountered situations more difficult than the present?"

Blood Flow Cloud smiled and fell into memories.

"When I was thirteen, still a mortal child, I killed a young master of the Yin noble clan and was chased by dozens of warriors on horseback with dogs."

"At that time, I had no power; I jumped into the river in the ice and snow, surviving nine deaths out of ten, barely escaping, relying entirely on luck to obtain the legacy of a cave dwelling left by a Qi Refining senior, and thus I survived."

"Fellow Daoists, some of you come from small sects, some from collateral branches; have you not encountered such situations? I do not believe it."

"General, we have, many times."

The expressions of the surrounding Jin Dan cultivators relaxed slightly, and morale improved somewhat.

"General,"

Someone smiled: "I am also from a scattered cultivator background, not those direct-line grassland nobles; how could I not have encountered these things? It is ordinary."

"The lifespan of a Jin Dan is just so; with the Dao path ahead, it is only death."

"Only death."

Bai Mei True Person, Hei Lou Xi, Chun Chun Jian, the First Maid of Spring, and others agreed, feeling no fear.

"Among you all, there is no one who fears death and craves life."

"With such great strength and a number at least six times that of the Yin Dao, why was the defeat so easy?"

Blood Flow Cloud let out a long sigh.

"In the Secret Realm of the Luo Xu Sect, Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun, wielding the power of a Jin Dan avatar, controlled the temporary army, crushing everything like withered wood, invincible to all."

"Why are we inferior to others?"

"What did Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun do in this to cause such a result?"

"This..."

The surrounding Jin Dan cultivators fell silent.

Cultivating for hundreds of years, which one of them is not an old hand turned cunning? How could they not know the crux of the matter?

It is just...

Seeing this, Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun said nothing actively, waiting quietly.

The surrounding Jin Dan cultivators seemed to have turned into mute people.

They looked up at the white clouds in the sky, looked at the ground, looked at the green grass, but had no time to speak.

For several consecutive days, it was all like this.

No one was willing to come out and offend people, to be hated by the multitude.

Since ancient times, those who are pioneers of reform have all met a bad end!

"Do you all not know?"

"Indeed, the actions of Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun are mysterious and unfathomable; it is only natural that we find it difficult to comprehend."

Seeing this, Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun felt somewhat disheartened and listless: "In that case, let us each disperse."

"A mob of disorganized people, what path can they speak of? Forcing a charge forward would only result in more casualties."

"It is better to enjoy the rest of one's life and wait for death in a grave."

Having spoken,

Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun made no pretense, rose up, flew away from here, left without looking back, with no lingering attachment.

"General!"

"No, no!"

"We still have hope..."

Upon seeing this, True Person Bai Mei and others immediately grew anxious.

Apart from Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun,

where else could they go to pursue the Nascent Soul Dao?

Which faction would give Nascent Soul opportunities to independent cultivators like stray dogs?

None!

Not a single one!

No faction would.

Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun paid no heed, did not look back, flew faster, unwilling to be entangled in any more karma.

"General!"

True Person Bai Mei and others immediately became terrified.

The last thread of the path was about to depart; in this life, there would be no more opportunity for Nascent Soul.

"General!"

"The reason Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun could control the temporary army and crush everything like withered wood, we know!"

True Person Bai Mei and the other several Jin Dan peak cultivators with little lifespan left exchanged glances, gritted their teeth, and said sternly: "It is nothing more than strict laws and severe punishments!"

"Those who flee, kill!"

"Those who fight each other over heavenly treasures and earthly artifacts, disregarding military discipline, kill!"

"Those who retreat, kill!"

"Supplemented with generous rewards to comfort meritorious soldiers, allowing their path to advance further."

"The so-called art of controlling people is nothing more than the four words 'clear rewards and punishments'; there is nothing mysterious, that is all!"

"Is it so?"

Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun's footsteps finally paused, but he did not agree immediately.

"Clear rewards and punishments?"

"Correct, it is indeed so."

Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun asked: "These four words are simple, yet knowing is easy while doing is hard; how can it be achieved?"

"You must know, previously I issued orders many times to handle the power struggles and fighting among the brothers, but it was in vain, various casual excuses were made, willing but powerless."

True Person Bai Mei and others fell silent.

Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun was also silent, merely looking at them, urging nothing.

"We are willing to join the Law Enforcement Team."

"Willing to kill all who do not obey the Blood King's military laws."

After a moment, True Person Bai Mei and several dozen Jin Dan peak cultivators sighed: "General, a Dao Pact can be established, monitoring enforcement treasures can be forged, emulating Master Dinghai Master Dinghai Zhenjun; all brothers can view the enforcement process.

We will bear all the resentment of the Jin Dan on our own; on the battlefield, we can be the vanguard, charging into the fray; whoever flees, we kill first."

"There is only one condition: the Nascent Soul opportunity, after you and a few others, must be selected by us first!"

Speaking the last words, their voices and expressions were fierce, killing intent cold and sharp; they feared nothing, not the so-called Northern Plain Heavenly Prodigies, the Northern Plain Great Heroes, nor the encirclement and slaughter of the military formation.

"Brothers, it is a deal!"

Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun laughed heartily.

In the Blood King Army, these Jin Dan peak cultivators are the backbone.

Once they are resolved, the others are much the same.

A Daoist contract, brimming with spiritual light, flew forth.

It came from the ancient Great Guda Sect; it stipulated the obligations and rights of each party, and the name Blood Flow Cloud was already signed upon it, prepared long ago.

True Person Bai Mei, Blood-Handed Demon Li Tu, Iron-Bone Vajra, and other Jin Dan peak cultivators hesitated for a moment, examined it carefully, and signed their own great names.

In less than a quarter of an incense stick, the registers of all Jin Dan had been recorded.

The atmosphere among the Jin Dan cultivators underwent some change; their mutual vigilance seemed to lower a bit, while trust increased a bit.

"If our brothers had this kind of resolve before, how could we have suffered such a crushing defeat?"

Blood Flow Cloud laughed loudly: "But it is not too late now!"

"Brothers, do not look at me now, abandoned by all; though many Jin Dan have surrendered to the Liu Dao Sect, as long as I issue one strategy, in an instant I will summon a million-strong army!"

"Do you all believe it, or not?"

"What strategy?"

True Person Bai Mei and the others were stunned.

The Northern Plain Jin Dan possess no loyalty; the Liu Dao Sect is powerful and has accepted them, making them vassal families; they would not re-pledge allegiance merely because of the name Blood Flow Cloud.

"Nascent Soul Gong Fa."

"That is all."

Blood Flow Cloud said calmly.

"As long as a Jin Dan joins, they receive the Nascent Soul Gong Fa; first, half is given, and the rest is given after meritorious deeds are achieved; all the brothers here may view the complete version."

"I do not believe these Jin Dan will not be tempted; the Liu Dao Sect cannot offer equivalent conditions to woo them."

"Tell me, can a million-strong army be summoned?"

(End of this chapter)