Chapter 965: The Orthodox Great Sun Sword Cultivators Are Emerging

Jiang Ding cast the final spell seal.

Hum!

A vast array erupted in toxic mist, spreading in all directions, its formation aura manifesting as a phantom forest of green wood spanning thousands of kilometers around Gu Shen Mountain.

Only after a long while did it gradually fade.

The Ten Thousand Wood Poisonous Sword Grove Array!

This was Jiang Ding’s adaptation, crafted from his knowledge of the Immortal Sect’s heritage, refined from the Wanti Sect’s incomplete array—maintaining its signature style, barely reaching Fifth-Rank Lower Grade strength, capable of holding its own against a Nascent Soul cultivator of early stage.

Its greatest advantage was saving money; beyond that, it had no other merits.

“A bit fragile—Nascent Soul mid-stage cultivators could break through it in short order…”

Jiang Ding scratched his head.

“Should I set up a hidden super-teleportation array underground for covert troop movements?”

“Nah, wait until the Boundary-Defining Array is built.”

“Once the Boundary-Defining Array is complete, the entire world becomes one colossal composite array, granting massive terrain advantages in Nascent Soul battles—any Nascent Soul cultivator who dares infiltrate my small world will be crushed instantly…”

Jiang Ding sank into reverie.

“The Immortal Sect’s Star Boundary-Defining Array is a Level-One transmission, not open to non-citizens.”

“This Boundary-Defining Array is enormous, with simple but countless array formations—I’d need decades to build it alone, and only I could maintain it afterward.”

“This won’t do.”

Jiang Ding pondered a moment, and an array surfaced in his mind.

“The Great Sun Boundary-Defining Array.”

The Great Sun Sword Pavilion’s transmission, seized by the Immortal Sect, also partially contained the Nascent Soul-level inheritance of the Great Sun Sword Son—its effects were even stronger than the Immortal Sect’s Boundary-Defining Array, but the materials and transmissions were incompatible, unable to synergize with the Immortal Sect’s military arrays, utterly mismatched.

Yet, the Great Sun Boundary-Defining Array had one advantage.

It enhanced sword cultivators’ combat power, cultivation, and the birth of sword cultivators—universal amplification, a strategic-level array of the Immortal Sect, with extreme secrecy, rarely passed on.

“This one then—the supporting array devices can be custom-made by the Immortal Sect.”

Jiang Ding whispered inwardly: “This world bears traces of Immortals—better not expose the Immortal Sect’s presence.”

“My outermost alias is Tu Shan Zhongting; beneath it, the Great Sun Sword Pavilion’s inheritance; later, I’ll layer more aliases, overlaying karmic obscuring arts—time will pass, seas turn to mulberry fields.”

“That should be stable enough.”

“After all, I’m no troublemaker who defies heaven and earth—I’ve always been calm, low-key, kind to others, willing to endure, and if I can’t endure, I erase the threat and flee far away—rarely cause major trouble.”

[28] Hum!

Hum!

In the pause of his thoughts, the super-teleportation array within the Ten Thousand Wood Poisonous Sword Grove Array activated, revealing radiant, blazing figures—sword auras surged, ten thousand Great Sun wheels encircled them, their unmistakable military Nascent Soul pressure radiating outward.

“Sword Son!”

Zhen Jun Fang, Lie Yang Zhen Jun, and others stood solemnly.

The Great Sun Long Sword Capital had arrived.

The Tu Shan Three Armies, whose largest force, Hunyuan Fa Tian Capital, garrisoned the Northern Plains and Western Deserts, left the Tu Shan Maidens’ Corps and the Great Sun Long Sword Capital to clear the four corners—because they were the smallest in number, consumed the least spirit stones for teleportation, and offered the highest cost-efficiency.

“Clear the Southern Frontier—follow the same standards as before, safeguarding the upcoming reforms of the Zheng Zong.”

Jiang Ding nodded slightly.

“Yes!”

Zhen Jun Fang and the other sword cultivators bowed respectfully.

No formalities—ten thousand sword cultivators swiftly flew outward, their killing aura unmistakable, unhidden.

They were only tasked with killing humans, demons, insects, and incense deities.

Kill according to Tu Shan law—leave none alive; everything else is none of their concern—that’s other cultivators’ duty.

The Great Sun Long Sword Capital was an utterly pure combat institution.

The Tu Shan Maidens’ Corps, in their spare time, handled all manner of tasks for Jiang Ding—administration, surveillance, agriculture, metallurgy, pill refinement, and more—versatile, composite talents.

The Hunyuan Fa Tian Capital needed no explanation—composed of vast numbers of magic cultivators, combat was merely their secondary duty, conscription.

The primary roles of magic cultivators were pill refiners, metallurgists, talisman masters, array masters, spirit planters, spirit beast handlers, and gu masters—nearly every magic cultivator possessed one of the hundred arts of cultivation.

The Great Sun Long Sword Capital was different.

They stubbornly refused to cultivate any of the hundred arts—daily life consisted only of sharpening swords, practicing sword techniques, and killing humans and demons.

Nothing else.

All they needed, they took from their swords.

This was not unique to the Great Sun Long Sword Capital’s sword cultivators—across the myriad worlds, nearly all sword cultivators were like this.

Such specialization, combined with the Great Sun Sword Pavilion’s inheritance and the presence of the Great Sun Sword Son, steadily increased the number of true sword cultivators within the Great Sun Long Sword Capital—currently, over five thousand cultivators had awakened sword intent.

Nearly one in every twenty sword cultivators—once rare geniuses called “sword intent cultivators” by outsiders—now abounded here.

Estimated within a few centuries, as all sword talents of the small world converge here, and the Great Sun Sword Pavilion’s efficient cultivation system takes effect, the number of sword intent cultivators in the Great Sun Long Sword Capital will surpass ten thousand without issue.

The Great Sun Long Sword Capital, rising rapidly, gradually became the strongest force beneath the Sword Son of Tu Shan Zhongting.

Jiang Ding gazed toward the horizon.

Ten thousand sword cultivators scattered in all directions—splitting into two, then four, then infinitely.

They did not act as a unit; each dispersed independently, forming squads commanded by Nascent Soul cultivators, and without pause, subdivided further into companies led by Golden Core cultivators, even trending toward individual combat.

As the ten thousand sword cultivators scattered, the massive military array dissolved—each took charge of a direction, a region, for cleansing and slaughter.

This completely violated the military principle of “overwhelming strength against weakness, numbers against few.”

In the Tu Shan Maidens’ Corps, anyone who dared such a thing would be severely punished—repeated offenses warranted imprisonment without question.

But in the Great Sun Long Sword Capital, this was normal.

Their combat’s outcome was not the most important thing—process was.

Without direct orders from above, or when facing a Nascent Soul enemy, they would not gather into formations to fight—they would duel.

One would draw his sword and sweep across the land, slaying opponents.

Some Great Sun Long Sword Capital cultivators died; some succeeded in slaying enemies, eventually breaking through to new sword intent and sword techniques.

Some defeated enemies but gained nothing, grew despondent for a while, then sought the next opponent.

All of this was ordinary—nothing certain.

If a Great Sun Long Sword Capital cultivator in a given direction died, his superior officer would calmly send a stronger one—this cycle repeated until nine times.

Only when confirmed that same-rank and lower-rank cultivators could not slay the enemy would they reluctantly summon a formation to surround and kill.

This was not military bullying or personal vendettas.

Because officers had their own sword paths, identical to their subordinates—beyond assigning cultivators or gathering to surround strong foes, they had no interaction with them.

They walked alone across the Southern Frontier, facing alone each human or demon who needed eradication.

No one knew whether they lived or died, except their immediate superior officer—this happened constantly.

In peacetime, clearing residual enemies.

Under this fighting style, such missions to harvest battle merit had forced upon them a terrifying casualty rate exceeding fifty percent!