Chapter 419: Chapter 256: Return to the Sect
Upon returning to the Beishu Continent from the sea, a small invisible snake had appeared on Li Shimingās finger, the very āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā that had signed a contract with him.
The āNine Shao Insect Scriptureā held the āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā in high esteem, partly because its combat power was incredibly strong, especially in surprise attacks where those of the same rank could hardly resist, and partly because of the āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeāās loyalty.
Looking at the space left by the Five Qi Sect, to guard its masterās remains, even though the master had dissolved the contract with the āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snake,ā the snake had still never left its masterās remains until its death.
This shows the loyalty of the āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snake;ā even after the death of that huge āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snake,ā it passed down this guarding consciousness through inheritance, allowing generation after generation of āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā to continue guarding their masterās remains.
Li Shiming did not dislike the cold and slippery feeling from the āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā on his finger, because the sense of dependency that came from the āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā brought him great joy.
This was his first real spirit beast, and his doppelgƤnger Li Yuanba seemed to be his extension. Though he also had twelve Iron Corpses, the spiritual intelligence of the Iron Corpses focused solely on battle instincts, and besides, one couldnāt expect any affectionate interaction with a refined corpse!
The āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā had become his companion, and with the āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeāās lifespan, perhaps this companionship would last a lifetime.
The food for the āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā was a problem; many ingredients for the diet of spiritual beasts mentioned in the ancient āNine Shao Insect Scriptureā had been lost over time.
However, spiritual beasts possess a natural instinct for feeding. Li Shiming tried giving the āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā some of his spiritual objects to choose from, and the snake picked a Spirit Pill.
Whatever type, the āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā liked all Spirit Pills.
Li Shiming initially worried that the āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā might have problems after consuming the Spirit Pills, but after it swallowed a First-grade Spirit Pill suitable for a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, he used Divine Thought and the bond from their contract to meticulously check the āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā and found no issue at all.
The āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeāās absorption capacity was extraordinarily strong; it immediately digested the Spirit Pill, converting it into the energy needed for its body.
The newly born āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā had a strength that was around the late-stage Qi Refining level, and this was just at birth. Over the past few days, the āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeāās strength continued to grow steadily.
According to the āNine Shao Insect Scripture,ā a mature āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā possessed the level of a Great Demon.
As for why the āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā killed by Li Shiming in the sea had only reached the Late-stage Foundation Establishment, far from a Great Demon, the reason was simple: influenced by the inherited consciousness, that āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā never ventured far from that space, hunting only in the vicinity.
And that area was only about three hundred Baili from Beishu Continent, belonging to the near sea area.
No sea beast with substantial strength would approach such a short distance. Even weaker spirit beasts, after being preyed upon by the āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā multiple times, would recognize the dangers of this area.
Weak spirit beasts are often even more sensitive to danger than powerful ones, and since the āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā could not leave the vicinity of that space, it essentially grew up with almost no resources at all.
Even with excellent natural talent, without the necessary resources, how could it grow?
Li Shiming amused the āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā with his finger, guessing that no one would imagine that the tiny āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā would one day become a Great Demon.
And being a Great Demon was not the limit for the āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā; as long as it had enough resources, its potential for growth was incredibly high.
He took out another Spirit Pill; these Spirit Pills suited for late-stage Qi Refining cultivators were not abundant in his possession.
Mainly because when refining these late-stage Qi Refining Spirit Pills, he had not possessed the ability to refine ten furnaces of Spirit Pills at once.
Of course, although the number of Spirit Pills for late-stage Qi Refining cultivators was few, that was relative to his stock of Foundation Establishment Stage Spirit Pills.
The āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā was almost indiscriminate about food. Initially, he had worried that it wasnāt good for the āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā to eat too much, but its digestive system was simply too powerful; a Spirit Pill that would take a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator one to two days to absorb, the āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā could digest in just a few hours.
The āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā did not develop any drug resistance in its body; it treated the Spirit Pill as a spiritual object containing energy.
With the āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeāās appetite, it was estimated that most cultivators couldnāt afford to keep it, but that did not include Li Shiming.
The āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā swallowed the Spirit Pill in Li Shimingās hand and then joyfully rolled around in his palm, using this action to express its gratitude and happiness.
He smiled and turned his attention back to the harvest of this trip. Initially, he thought the acquisition of the āFive Rhymes Qi Cultivation Techniqueā was the greatest gain; the āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snakeā was the second most important, as the fundamental āFive Rhymes Qi Cultivation Techniqueā for cultivators was more crucial than external forces like the āAbsolute Spirit Illusion Snake.
But on this journey, as he studied the āFive Elements Daoā through the IBMz15, he realized that his greatest gain was probably the āFive Elements Dao.ā
After reading through the āFive Elements Daoā several times, although he couldnāt deeply understand it, it gave him a sense of familiarity, as it seemed somehow similar to the Divine Foot Skill.