Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery
Chapter 589 - 574 The Cause of Gold

Constantly going through the Falling Void Sect's tomes on the Way of Cause and Effect.

The more Jiang Ding read, the worse he felt, to the point where he even thought that Shuoyang Heavenly Monarch had done the heavens a favor by annihilating this sect.

This sect had researched cause and effect to the point of madness, frequently provoking wars and mass killings among mortal kingdoms within their domain, letting rivers of blood flow on the earth while forbidding any cultivator to intervene, just to observe the so-called cause and effect and destiny at play.

As soon as they gained any insight, they would compile it into a successful method without even conducting a double-blind test, immediately submitting it to the sect in exchange for a large reward.

The high-level cultivators of the Falling Void Sect turned a blind eye to this nearly deceitful behavior.

Jiang Ding rapidly flipped through various cultivation methods.

He estimated that among the millions of tomes here, at least one-tenth were related to so-called cause and effect.

Even though most of them were just joining in the excitement with nonsensical babble, the Falling Void Sect still shamelessly included them in its own sect traditions.

Jiang Ding even saw an absurdly ridiculous content in a method called the Chicken Crown Method.

This method, though called a method, was by no means a collection of cultivation techniques, offensive or defensive magic, or anything of the sort.

It recounted how a young man, using thieving techniques, stole a magnificent and robust rooster from a noble, ate its meat, smeared the chicken blood on his chest, placed three of the most beautiful tail feathers under his pillow, and spent a night in a horse stall reeking of urine and feces.

After such an ordeal, by morning, this young man would supposedly have great luck, with disasters turning into blessings and peril transforming into safety.

Look, that's all there is to it — without any mention of Heavenly Earth Spiritual Qi, Divine Sense, or mana, and not even a word about acupoints or meridians.

Just such a dull and tedious story from a village witch's frightening idle chats is put there as the basis for establishing the sect's heritage in the Sutra Pavilion of the Falling Void Sect.

"Lord Tushan,"

At this moment, a woman in a blue skirt came over and handed over a jade slip, saying respectfully, "I have chosen this cultivation method as my reward for this time."

"Fine,"

Jiang Ding glanced at it.

The jade slip was titled "Elixir Infant Miscellaneous Talks," apparently written by a Nascent Soul cultivator, mostly consisting of idle chatter and travel notes, with only a small section discussing precautions for Foundation Establishment and Infant Formation. It couldn't really be called a heritage; therefore, it was placed among the foundational teachings.

Remove the restrictions from the jade slip.

"Do not damage it in any way,"

Jiang Ding emphasized.

"Yes!"

The woman in the blue skirt took the jade slip, her Divine Sense flooding into it, a faintly discernible look of surprise flashing in her eyes. She took out a blank jade slip and quickly copied everything from it.

"Thank you, my lord!"

Moments later, the woman in the blue skirt returned the jade slip and bowed deeply.

In the world of cultivation, where strength is overwhelmingly dominant, she had never before met someone who was so honest.

"It's your reward, no thanks necessary,"

Jiang Ding waved his hand and, carrying a heap of storage bags, started working on the second floor, stowing away bookshelves as tall as buildings made of red Spirit Wood and putting them inside the storage bags.

The vast sea of books quickly emptied before one's eyes.

Done, wrap it up.

With a heap of storage bags in tow, Jiang Ding headed toward the third floor, followed by a group of Golden Pill Monks matching his pace.

"Lord Tushan, could I...?"

Immortal Baimei suddenly said with a sheepish smile.

"Take it,"

Jiang Ding knew what he wanted to say and took out the "Elixir Infant Miscellaneous Talks" from a storage bag and threw it to him, "Anyone who wants to make a selection, just let me know."

"Many thanks, my lord!"

Immortal Baimei respectfully received it, then hesitated.

Jiang Ding didn't care about these things, thinking back on the many books of cause and effect he had just seen, his head ached increasingly.

Such completely irrational, illogical things were simply a cancer.

Moments later, over ten Golden Pill Monks chose to select "Elixir Infant Miscellaneous Talks," mostly among those who had companions, probably with the idea of trading privately in mind.

After hesitating for a long time, Immortal Baimei gave up.

This book is just scraps and edges; he didn't want to waste his only opportunity here.

The third layer still consisted of second-order items, but there were even fewer of them, only hundreds of thousands of cultivation methods and scriptures, most of them being powerful Fa-level fine techniques, and there were even Classics-grade practice methods for the Foundation Establishment Realm that only a handful of geniuses could successfully cultivate.

This time, no one was particularly interested.

Jiang Ding, like a busy bee, moved back and forth among the bookshelves, collecting all these unprotected cultivation methods, occasionally glancing and then wincing in pain.

Approximately one-third of the cultivation methods here are so-called 'cause and effect' methods, all sorts of ludicrous and illogical things, experiences, and so-called fortune-changing rituals.

Even if he didn't understand much about the Way of Cause and Effect, he didn't think it had any relation with the scientific principles of the Immortal Path.

The fourth layer saw the cultivation method books turn into third-order heritage, and the quantity reduced dramatically once again.

At a glance, the number of cultivation methods, magic techniques, and miscellaneous talks added up to just over one hundred thousand. All were inscribed on precious materials and had suffered little to no damage over ten thousand years, hardly requiring any restoration.

That is, they required breaking through restrictions.

For anyone not among the higher-ups of the Falling Void Clan, it would be very difficult to unlock these restrictions and obtain the inheritances within, and improper handling could easily lead to self-destruction.

To Jiang Ding, however, it was not an issue.

The Xianmen Sect's deciphering techniques were at least three levels ahead of those of the Falling Void Clan, making it quite easy to crack these level restrictions.

"About sixty percent of the cultivation methods here are related to cause and effect, still as ludicrous as ever."

Jiang Ding gradually adapted, no longer disappointed, and patiently started to examine the legitimate cultivation methods and scriptures.

Suddenly, his steps halted,

as his gaze fell upon a blood jade palm in the distance, with several seal characters faintly visible on it.

"Records of the Lectures on Five Elements Incarnation and Causality by Shuoyang Ancestor."

Jiang Ding's spirits lifted as he carefully picked up the blood palm and poured his Divine Sense into it, breaking through the restrictions contained within.

"...Every element born from the Five Elements must have a cause; breaking the cause will extinguish its effect... Yet the great path is treacherous, how can one find the cause of the Five Elements?"

"...The chaos remains unclear, beyond the realm of human effort..."

"...Only the cause of Metal offers a glimpse..."

Clearly, the person was a Golden Pill Monk of the Falling Void Clan from years past, recording a lecture given by Shuoyang Heavenly Monarch. The text was shrouded in clouded terms, disjointed, and extremely difficult to comprehend.

"Cause of the Five Elements?"

"The origin cause of Metal..."

Jiang Ding only half-understood, yet instinctively thought of something.

Immortal Skill: Void Suppression.

Daoist Chen He, who was parasitizing Han Lin, had once shown him a fragment of an Immortal Technique heritage stele, only the size of a fist, but it was still possible to see an Immortal flipping his palm to extinguish the Star River, his hand falling and obliterating the Five Elements, spacetime, and cause and effect.

"Perhaps, ten thousand years ago, Shuoyang Heavenly Monarch acquired a relatively complete heritage stele, which also involved cause and effect?"

"Then he had some insight?"

Jiang Ding speculated, taking a deep breath.

If that was the case, Shuoyang Heavenly Monarch's talent was truly without parallel, actually beginning to touch upon and comprehend Immortal Techniques in the God Transformation Realm—even if it was just the tip of the iceberg, it was still quite terrifying.

With that thought, he quickened his pace, moving on towards the fifth and final sixth layer of the Sutra Pavilion.

The cultivation methods here were still third-order.

Only now they had shifted from Fa-level techniques to Classics-grade practices, and similarly for magic techniques. Various top-level third-order content regarding Formation Dao, Talisman Dao, and the pinnacle traditions of Spiritual Plants and Spirit Beasts for the Golden Pill lineage were casually arranged, making Immortal Baimei and others' hearts beat wildly as they frantically searched for anything related to the Nascent Soul.

Jiang Ding ignored them, continuing to break through restrictions in the jade slips and read the cultivation method books on cause and effect, regardless of whether he understood them or not, or whether there were any traps within these cause and effect cultivation method books—

By now, he no longer dared to view these ludicrous methods as mere superstitious ravings.

"Records of True Orchid Master Mother."

Jiang Ding's gaze was drawn to a particular book.

It was a cause and effect technique book written by a direct disciple of Shuoyang Heavenly Monarch from ten thousand years ago, who seemed to also be the Sect Leader of the Falling Void Clan.

"... Following the passing of the Main Mother of True Orchid, the master used the cause of Metal to create the Golden Emperor Bathing Beauty, binding three thousand beautiful women in a flower pond with threads of metal's cause, interred behind the Ancestor Temple... Looking back now, this was the master's will, to obtain the world's beauties, to spread his bloodline across the Northern Plains, to take the world as his family, perpetuating legacy for thousands of generations..."

"... And my Falling Void Clan, we became an obstacle..."

"... The cause of Metal..."

Jiang Ding felt a tremor in his heart and looked in the direction of the Falling Void Clan's Ancestor Temple.