Chapter 624: Chapter 358 Siege_2
Senior Brother Zhao had reported to his master the situation here upon discovering that Li Shiming possessed the âEarth Evil Demon Skill,â and the Nascent Soul Ancestor had come specifically because of this âEarth Evil Demon Skillâ leakage.
After all the other Golden Core fellow disciples had fallen, Senior Brother Zhao tried to buy time by interacting with Li Shiming, just to wait for his masterâs arrival.
If it hadnât been for Li Shimingâs unmanned satellite system surveillance, he might have actually fallen for Senior Brother Zhaoâs scheme.
In such a situation of absolute advantage, most cultivators in the dominant position tend to converse with the defeated in a proud manner to achieve psychological satisfaction.
Li Shiming fully activated the Third-Grade Sword Foundation Magical Treasure and launched an attack towards Senior Brother Zhao, who of course, retaliated.
However, Senior Brother Zhao soon realized that at this distance, none of his attacks could hit Li Shiming.
The spells hadnât even been released before they were countered by Li Shimingâs Sword Intent, and the magical treasures had hardly left his body before being repeatedly struck by the Third-Grade Sword Base, greatly diminished in spirit.
Senior Brother Zhaoâs scalp tingled, and the only thing he could do now was to fully stimulate his Earth Evil Power to protect himself.
He couldnât fathom how Li Shimingâs combat skills allowed such a senior-level Golden Core cultivator like himself to be completely overpowered. Despite the melee being most favorable for a Body Refining Cultivator, and his own practice of âEarth Evil Demon Skillâ providing robust defensive power from the Earth Evil Power, his close combat strength was not weak.
Li Shiming frowned tightly; according to the analysis by his life-bound magical treasure, IBMz15, he wouldnât be able to break through Senior Brother Zhaoâs defense and eliminate him before the Nascent Soul Ancestor closed in to a dangerous distance.
âCome and help!â he commanded in a deep voice.
The Heavenly Ghost, controlling a Great Elder-level Body Refining Golden Core body appeared, holding a Third-Grade Giant Axe magical treasure which was the original life-bound magical treasure of its body.
With both hands on the heavy axe, a long rainbow of blood qi surged from its body.
Upon seeing the Body Refining Golden Core controlled by the Heavenly Ghost, Senior Brother Zhaoâs mind was filled with countless questions.
Unlike Li Shiming, a Golden Core Early Stage cultivator with Golden Core Body Refining Late Stage strength, Li Shimingâs true combat power was too concealed.
And a Great Elder-level Body Refining Golden Core, if it had appeared once on the Beishu Continent, its name would have undoubtedly spread across the entire continent.
Furthermore, a Great Elder-level Body Refining Golden Core could not be cultivated by a minor sect; without a powerful backdrop, at least a sect that controls some of the Fourth-Grade resource distribution rights could have the capability to cultivate such a level of Body Refining Golden Core.
A Golden Core of this level, or any Great Elder-level Golden Core, is extremely proud; unless it is a Nascent Soul Ancestor, they do not obey anyone else.
A Great Elder, who is ready to advance to a Nascent Soul Ancestor, wouldnât possess such an almost invincible mindset without which it is nearly impossible to successfully advance to a Nascent Soul.
But what Zhao saw was Li Shiming issuing a command, and the Body Refining Golden Core obeying and attacking.
What astonished him the most was that the Body Refining Golden Core was being carried around by Li Shiming, meaning it lived inside some kind of spatial artifact of Li Shimingâs that could accommodate living beings.
Let alone a Great Elder-level Golden Core cultivator, even a Foundation Establishment or Qi Refinement cultivator wouldnât allow themselves to be placed inside another cultivatorâs spatial artifacts; that would be equivalent to handing over all their life and dignity to another person.
The presence of the Body Refining Golden Core accelerated the consumption of Senior Brother Zhaoâs Earth Evil Power, and the defensive shield formed by the Earth Evil Power was undergoing intense attacks.
The offensive power of the Body Refining Golden Core even surpassed that of Li Shiming; although Li Shimingâs attacks were more varied, using Thunder Sword Intent, Earth Evil Power, and Five Elements Spiritual Power in rotation, the sheer force of the Body Refining Golden Coreâs full-powered attacks exceeded all of Li Shimingâs techniques.
This was the attack power of a Great Elder level, and it could not be compensated for by varied techniques.
Li Shimingâs mind was still racing; with the addition of the Body Refining Golden Core, he now saw a possibility to kill Senior Brother Zhao, but he still didnât have much time to escape.
His mind stirred slightly once more, and an Iron Corpse appeared by his side.
This was Refining Corpse Nan Ming. In just a few short months, Refining Corpse Nan Ming had advanced from a Copper Corpse to the peak of the Iron Corpse.
With a substantial supply of materials and the excellent aptitude of Refining Corpse Nan Ming, he faced almost no bottlenecks and elevated continuously to the peak of the Iron Corpse.
Moreover, the âNanming Leaving Fireâ pattern within the body of Refining Corpse Nan Ming had also increased as his Corpse Refining Realm improved.
It seemed that the âNanming Leaving Fireâ pattern was a part of the body of Refining Corpse Nan Ming, recognized by the Heaven and Earth Rules, and received enhancements with every promotion.
Unfortunately, âNanming Leaving Fireâ did not receive much strengthening. Perhaps it could be said that âNanming Leaving Fireâ was getting stronger every day and every moment, but the pace of strengthening was too slowâso slow that it required an extremely long time to see any enhancement in âNanming Leaving Fireâ.
Fortunately, Li Shiming had found a method, which was to use the body of a Nascent Soul for cultivation.
Li Shimingâs own âNanming Leaving Fire,â because the âMingnan Li Fireâ pattern had not yet formed in his body, had turned to cultivating âNanming Leaving Fireâ for Refining Corpse Nan Ming after being nurtured for some time by the Nascent Soul Body.
The âNanming Leaving Fireâ within Li Shiming was already sufficient to elevate his fire attribute Golden Core; his current state was exactly suitable for his growth. Any further increase might, however, place a burden on his body.
As for Refining Corpse Nan Ming, after this period of cultivation by the Nascent Soul Body, a flame of Nanming Leaving Fire had formed within his body.
Combined with the possession of the âNanming Leaving Fireâ pattern, this allowed him to release the flame of Nanming Leaving Fire at the peak of the Iron Corpse Realm.
Of course, in an actual combat, the effectiveness of Refining Corpse Nan Mingâs Nanming Leaving Flame was extremely limited.
The deployment of Nanming Leaving Fire was too slow, making it almost impossible to hit an enemy unless the enemy stood still.
Now, Senior Brother Zhao was standing there motionlessly because he knew that whether he moved or not, Li Shiming and the Body Refining Golden Core were faster than him; it was better to stand still and focus all his energy on the Earth Evil Power.
When Senior Brother Zhao saw Refining Corpse Nan Ming, he was initially startled, thinking that if Li Shiming summoned another Great Elder-level Golden Core cultivator, he might not be able to hold on much longer.
But upon realizing that Refining Corpse Nan Ming was just an Iron Corpse, he felt considerably more at ease, still holding a bit of hope that he could last until his master arrived.
He had already tried, and the formation laid out by Li Shiming made it impossible for him to use his life-saving talismans.
As long as Li Shiming had time, the formations he could lay out, which block the use of life-saving talismans, werenât difficult at all. His skill in formations could even allow a Third-Grade Array Flag to be deployed with effects comparable to those of a Fourth-Grade Array Flag in certain special effects.
Just as Senior Brother Zhao stopped paying attention to Refining Corpse Nan Ming, under the control of Li Shimingâs Divine Thought, Refining Corpse Nan Ming slowly forced out a flame from his fingertip.
At the same time, the offensive from Li Shiming and the Body Refining Golden Core intensified, mainly aimed at making Senior Brother Zhao unable to move.
Senior Brother Zhao felt the scent of death, the previous attacks from Li Shiming and the Body Refining Golden Core had already made him feel extremely endangered, but there was still some distance from the actual scent of death.
This time, his feeling was extremely intenseâit was the scent of death, a sense that he could fall at any moment.
He saw a flame, seemingly an ordinary orange flame, yet it invoked a terrifying fear that made his soul tremble.
A Nascent Soul-level Divine Skill attack, this was simply not an attack that a Golden Core Stage should possess, let alone appear on Refining Corpse Nan Ming, equivalent to a Foundation Establishment Peak.
However, the reality was right before him. Refining Corpse Nan Ming, personally enhanced and modified by Patriarch Weng Zhao and seized by a Nascent Soul, inherently possessed extraordinary and mystical aspects.
Under the push of its finger, the Nanming Leaving Fire advanced toward Senior Brother Zhao, burning open the Earth Evil Power, revealing a small gap in his defenses.