Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery
Chapter 498 - 483: Hometown and Folks

Aside from seclusion and business, Jiang Ding basically returned home once a week.

The people around him, whether children or the elderly, were all familiar faces he watched grow up—from infants to now, with the exception of Foundation-building cultivators, there was not a single exception; they were all people he knew well.

"Stop fooling around, get up."

With a wave of Jiang Ding's hand, those who were bowing in salute around him, and even some who attempted to kneel, were all helped back to their feet.

"Grandpa Jiang, long time no see..."

An old man and the surrounding old fellows shouted in unison, their coordination very much in sync.

"Hmm?"

Jiang Ding looked at them helplessly, these habitual offenders.

With a wave of his hand, elixirs brimming with spiritual energy flew in all directions, landing in the hands of everyone nearby.

The Cleansing Spirit Pills, a type of ordinary elixir, replenished Qi and benefitted the blood, could be used to nurture the body and improve some Martial Dao aptitudes; he had specially ordered a large batch to pamper the children.

"Brother Jiang is great!"

Only then did the group of old men cheerfully shout.

"Li Jinsan, you are still as much of a troublemaker as when you were a kid!"

"And the rest of you too."

Jiang Ding scolded with a smile.

These old men touched their heads somewhat embarrassedly.

It was mainly because their grandchildren and children were watching next to them, which made them somewhat restrained. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been affected at all, having been used to it since childhood.

Pushing through the crowd, he arrived at the center of the banquet where the whole family was gathered.

Lin Wanqiu, Jiang Yuan, and Lin Yuanwang were all Foundation-building cultivators—over a hundred years old, which was a pretty common age among their peers, neither old nor young.

The rest were naturally the younger generation.

The children of Jiang Yuan, a set of dragon and phoenix twins; a boy and a girl.

Perhaps that wasn't quite the right way to refer to them.

They were now nearly eighty years old; the sister had successfully reached Foundation Building over ten years ago and looked to be in her forties or fifties. She was already married with two children, and her husband was a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi cultivation.

Her brother, on the other hand, had the typical appearance of an old man in his eighties.

White hair, wrinkles all over his face, dark tanned skin; he had six children, all around fifty years old. His eleven or twelve grandchildren were in their twenties or thirties, half of whom were already married with their own children, who were three or four years old.

Surrounding them was a crowd of forty to fifty people, mostly the descendants of Jiang Yuan and their spouses.

If another hundred or two hundred years were to pass, with one core member, it would be effortless to expand to tens of thousands of members; there would be no difficulty at all.

"Dingding, come here!"

Lin Wanqiu called out, "The chef at this banquet did an excellent job. The crystal buns are clear and transparent—aside from the ingredients being a bit off, it's even more delicious than what you make."

"Uh..."

Being called by his childhood nickname made Jiang Ding suddenly feel a bit awkward, so he quickly took a seat aside.

"Yuanwang, sister, how is Xiaohe's academic performance at the university?"

Jiang Ding hurriedly changed the subject, looking towards Lin Yuanwang and his family.

Forty-four years ago, Lin Yuanwang got married to a Foundation-building female cultivator. Over twenty years ago, they had a daughter with a Quadruple Spiritual Root named Lin Xiaohe, who is currently attending classes at the Qianling University Daoism Department.

Upon hearing this, a round-faced young girl couldn't help but glare at him.

"Her grades aren't very good; she's trying to switch to a Magic-Level Technique."

Lin Yuanwang responded somewhat helplessly: "Aside from you, it seems like our family all has average comprehension. Jiang Yuan is that way, Xiaoyun is the same, it's really bizarre."

"It's okay, studying more might just lead to a breakthrough."

Jiang Ding comforted.

With a slight scan of his Divine Sense, he noted that Lin Wanqiu and Jiang Yuan were at the mid-stage of Foundation Building, Lin Yuanwang too, although he was quite close to the latter stage. Xiaoyun, Jiang Yuan's daughter, was at the early stage of Foundation Building.

With aptitude and comprehension not much different from each other, without a major opportunity, they had basically no hope of reaching the Golden Pill stage.

"Let's not talk about this."

"Today is the joyful day of your promotion to a Golden Pill Monk."

Lin Yuanwang sighed, "Although we had long anticipated this day would come, its actual arrival still feels somewhat dreamlike."

"If only grandpa and grandma were still here, if my dad and mom were still alive, I wonder how happy they would be."

He said, slightly melancholic.

Humans have a strong capacity to adapt.

Many years ago, he couldn't accept reality and even entertained thoughts of suicide, feeling as though there was no joy left in life; but as time slowly passed by, he gradually came to terms with the way things were.

"Indeed,"

Jiang Ding also sighed.

"How has Xiaoyuan been faring these years?"

Jiang Ding casually asked.

After advancing to the Foundation-building stage, Jiang Yuan spent some time changing her appearance and now has reinstated her youthful beauty of thirty-four, also able to focus and cultivate with patience and diligence.

After all, they were all over a hundred years old and had experienced much.

"Of course, things have been great, big brother!"

Jiang Yuan looked at her younger brother standing before her and said spiritedly, "After building my foundation, I feel like I've rejuvenated a great deal, and so many things have become interesting once again, as if I'm living a second life."

"That's really good to hear."

Jiang Ding was sincerely relieved.

The two closest people in the world, who had grown up together, were still alive and by his side—this was more precious than anything else.

After a moment, people around came over to offer their congratulations, and Jiang Ding, with very polite and equal manners, smiled and responded to each one, showing no hint of looking down on them for their younger age or lower status.

"Uncle!"

Someone approached.

"Hello."

Jiang Ding smiled warmly at the woman in front of him, who looked very much like Jiang Yuan.

"Uncle, I wish you success on your great path and an auspicious quest for longevity!"

Zhou Yun, Jiang Yuan's daughter, a cultivator at the early stage of Foundation Building, offered her congratulations and then gritted her teeth, "Could you possibly…"

Her words trailed off, hesitant to continue.

"Could you…"

Again, she hesitated, struggling to decide.

"Could you maybe…"

Once more wavering, the words faltering on her lips.

For some reason, the simple words just wouldn't come out, despite her determination and effort.

She remained frozen in place for a long time.

Finally, Zhou Yun revealed a trace of despair and helplessly bowed before stepping back.

Zhou Xiong, another nephew who witnessed this, sighed inwardly, bitterness spreading across his face.

He swallowed the words he had taken over a decade to craft and polish, words that were impeccable in emotion and logic; after offering a brief congratulations and holding a bottle of wine, he left, not wishing to linger there.

Among the group of cultivators, his heart ached intensely.

He had the potential, with top-notch martial dao aptitude.

Yet too young and carefree at the time, assuming he would always remain young, he squandered precious time and without anyone to endlessly support him.

Even after regretting deeply in his fifties and sixties and practicing martial dao with greater hardship, attempting to compensate, it was in vain; the rate of his progress couldn't keep up with his body's decline.

Eventually, he lost all hope, spending his days in a drunken stupor, living as though in a dream, indifferent to the impact on his lifespan.

As for the dozens of others queued to offer congratulations, they were politely prevented, with the words that their good intentions were enough and there was no need for formalities.

Lin Wanqiu and Lin Yuanwang exchanged a glance and sighed softly, without saying a word.

"Mom, I'm begging you, can you help me with something?"

Elsewhere, Zhou Yun went over to her mother Jiang Yuan, took her hand, and pleaded, "The more I cultivate, the more I feel my limits; if things continue this way, reaching the latter stage of Foundation Building will be my utmost boundary, with no other possibilities."

"Mom, I don't want to die after just a hundred years."