[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals":3,"chapter-cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-chapter-77":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Cluster Artillery: Shattering the Immortals",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2342088,4578,"Chapter 77: Famine","cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-chapter-77",77,"\u003Cp>“‘Ice Glass Immortal Miss’ Long Xiuyun is from the Four Seas Consortium, the daughter of its president, and at a young age has already reached Qi Refining completion; it is said her beauty is peerless, ethereal and graceful, one of the Two Immortal Maidens of the Righteous Path.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“‘Clear River’ Immortal Miss Chen Xi—she is the Emperor’s eldest princess, his beloved jewel, titled Princess of Clear River—how could these two be dueling?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone was puzzled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s said these two Immortal Maidens founded two organizations—the Ice Glass Pavilion and the Clear River Tower—gathering renowned, exceptionally gifted female martial artists from the Jianghu. They usually have no conflicts, mostly discussing martial arts and private matters among women. No one knows why they’ve come into conflict now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ice Glass Pavilion and Clear River Tower?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many young Shaoyas’ eyes lit up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the two Immortal Maidens were as distant as clouds, if one could find even one compatible partner among them and journey through the Jianghu together, would that not be one of life’s greatest blessings? Instantly, some could no longer sit still, making plans to travel to Chizhou to witness it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding noticed Gong Caiyu’s expression shift.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan’s face paled as she counted on her fingers how many days remained until finals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This % novel {first; release, > Please ! go : to { view!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moving farther away from Dongzhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master, thank you for your great kindness!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sunday, a little after six in the evening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...185 days until the Gaokao. Teachers from across the land and revered elders from academia have been invited to the Immortal Capital’s Ministry of Education to design the Gaokao papers for June 11127, after which they will undergo six months of secluded cultivation under the protection of the Central Array-Spirit Computer...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s on the way.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...This year’s Immortal Gate Gaokao is supervised by the Minister of Education, Nascent Soul cultivator, Dinghai Zhenjun Zhang Zhen...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old man, where are you headed?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most were road disputes triggered by Gao Jie cultivators, eventually suppressed by various factions, leading to the current reality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding answered softly, before she could reply, he tapped his toe, his figure leaping into the forest, vanishing after a few bounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even in famine, those who wield martial power in the Jianghu would never lack a meal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two men and women wearing conical hats watched this scene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dongling Prefecture?” Jiang Ding asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The surrounding refugees stirred; several strong men showed longing, but upon seeing the long swords in the hands of the two conical-hat martial artists, they calmed and continued forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was why he had never dared reveal this world—if even one Jin Dan cultivator, spurred by greed, lost reason, his entire family would be plunged into extreme danger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding spread out the map.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man drank some water, then tears welled in his eyes: “My family were originally from Lingshui County, Bianchi Prefecture. We had a dozen or so mu of poor land. This year’s drought was terrible, and the officials pressed us even harder—we simply could not survive, so we’re taking our family to Dongling Prefecture to seek a way to live.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding looked out the window at the neon lights and traffic, and felt inexplicably more at ease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, Young Master, thank you, Young Master!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s wrong?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, Young Master.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With over a million people in the vast Dongling Prefecture, the chance of encountering someone from the Marquis’s household was very low.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the way to Yuejing, Chizhou was indeed a crucial node—no detour needed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She keenly sensed the young man in blue robes and conical hat had suddenly become deeply downcast, though she did not know why.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man’s eyes shone with hope: “A few years ago, a relative of ours, unable to endure hardship, also fled to Dongling Prefecture—and eventually settled down. He even returned to pay respects at our ancestral shrine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I wonder how many Immortal Gate ancestors sacrificed themselves for this prosperous age, these ten thousand households lit with lanterns...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What else could this be but a hell on earth? He had heard the rumor that the Marquis of Zhendong had risen in rebellion—he laughed it off, certain it could never succeed. How could such a man win the people’s hearts and claim the throne? He might seize power briefly, but would be swiftly crushed by all sides.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Historical records clearly document multiple large-scale civil wars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Caravans, traveling martial artists, and fleeing refugees walked in separate lanes, clearly divided.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had thought Dongling Prefecture was already hell on earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mm.” “Young Master, are you leaving?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Members of the marquis’s household freely abducted children and martial artists to brew blood elixirs; officials and martial artists in the Jianghu arbitrarily oppressed commoners; countless lower-class people teetered on the edge of hunger and poverty; many landless farmers and urban poor were driven into banditry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long silence, he quietly slipped a silver ingot into the old man’s pocket, bid farewell to the family, and the two continued on their journey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding’s worldview was struck again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stepping out of the room, his clothing automatically reshaped into a shirt and jeans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the road, many emaciated refugees shuffled slowly forward; occasionally someone collapsed with a thud, no one gave more than a glance—only family members cried out a few times before rejoining the fleeing column.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>!.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gong Caiyu exclaimed in alarm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah! Finals are almost here!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This world...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding’s eyes held horror; images of humans collapsing and dying from hunger replayed endlessly in his mind, shattering his worldview.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There’s one here and there,” Gong Caiyu thought: “Uncle Ziteng said there seem to be more of them these years, but that’s the government’s affair—none of our Jianghu business.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was an opportunity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After dinner, the family watched television together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What... is this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master, I want to go to Chizhou,” Gong Caiyu said softly. “I once traveled with my parents through the Jianghu, visiting elders, and have met Princess Clear River several times—we conversed quite pleasantly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So I wonder if I can use her influence to save my mother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man, in tattered clothes, stared at the food in excitement, first handing portions to his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson, then wolfing down the steamed bun in his own hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding nodded softly: “For a while, I’ll be leaving alone to handle some matters. Keep traveling—I’ll find you again before you enter Chizhou.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most cultivators are surely good, but some Gao Jie cultivators surely yearn for the self-centered dominance of outer-realm Gao Jie cultivators; they follow Immortal Gate laws only under pressure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He checked his phone: the last batch of Blue Fluorescent Butterflies were en route. According to the contact at the North Star University Affiliated Biological Research Center, it would take about a month to synthesize the “Blue Gold 2431 Elixir.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Young Master.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet now he was lost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding rose and left; after Gong Caiyu replenished some food, the two wasted no time and departed the small town.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding stopped a family of fleeing refugees, took food and water from Gong Caiyu, and handed it to them, asking softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they were lucky and avoided the Marquis’s household’s malice, the old family still had hope of survival—now the Marquis was recruiting heavily, stockpiling grain, and job opportunities were relatively plentiful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding sighed softly: “Are such droughts and famines common?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Dinghai Zhenjun served four hundred years on the Thirty-Second Tian Gang Orbital Fleet. His flagship, the ‘Dinghai Zhenyuan’ Space Carrier, repelled multiple invasions by outer-realm cultivators. During service, he slew twelve outer-realm Nascent Soul cultivators and helped repel three attacks by Soul Transformation cultivators, earning the ‘First-Class Space Hero’ medal—his battlefield exploits are legendary, his integrity ironclad...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He would only lend a helping hand when convenient; mostly, they must rely on themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“For a while, focus on honing your skills in surviving alone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If unlucky, they’d die far from home—but better that than staying where they were.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gong Caiyu’s eyes brightened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man had lived most of his life—he knew the rule against flaunting wealth; no warning was needed. Jiang Ding did not urge the family not to go to Dongling Prefecture, where war was breaking out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Jianding, you can do it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Wanqiu encouraged Jiang Ding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mm, okay.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wondered: on a space carrier, Nascent Soul cultivators commanding the flagship, surrounded by Jin Dan cultivators in escort vessels, and countless Foundation Establishment cultivators piloting space fighters forming a grand array across the stars—what would that look like?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1428,"2026-06-20T23:34:14.007Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","5b07251693c3cad4d5a1d7c84c60c7af44e2743d100f07bf5a232bba9188c866","cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-chapter-78","cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-chapter-76",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fcluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-cover.jpg"]