"I am waiting for you and Li Yuanba in Hell!" The Nascent Soul of Great Cultivator Duan Zhang looked at Li Shiming and said.
A flash of lightning fell into the cage of light, but contrary to Great Cultivator Duan Zhangâs expectations, the light was merely a feint. The true force destroying Great Cultivator Duan Zhangâs Nascent Soul was the Heavenly Ghost.
Great Cultivator Duan Zhangâs Nascent Soul awaited death, surrendering all resistance. In fact, even if he wanted to resist, it was impossible under such circumstances.
But if Great Cultivator Duan Zhang had known his fate, that his soul would be devoured by the Heavenly Ghost, he would surely have fought to the death.
The result of being devoured by the Heavenly Ghost is complete annihilation of the soul, a death no cultivator can accept.
"No!" This was the final sound Great Cultivator Duan Zhangâs Nascent Soul emitted, filled with a sense of desolation and deep unwillingness; it was not the death he wanted.
The Heavenly Ghost gulped down Great Cultivator Duan Zhangâs Nascent Soul, terrifying spirit energy instantly invaded, affecting the Nascent Soulâs psyche, halting its self-detonation, and consequently eliminating the ability to self-detonate.
The self-detonation of a Nascent Soul results in complete destruction of the spirit and soul, with life wholly extinguished from this world. Thus, normal Nascent Soul Cultivators never resort to self-detonation even in the face of death.
Such was Great Cultivator Duan Zhangâs resolve, but unfortunately, it came too late.
The Heavenly Ghost specializes in targeting the soul and spirit, especially after it devours them, entering its dominion. Even a Great Cultivatorâs Nascent Soul doesnât possess much more defensive power than that of a Middle Stage Nascent Soul, thus easily susceptible to intrusion by the Heavenly Ghost.
Moreover, the Heavenly Ghost had previously gained multiple enhancements; this time, with the devouring of Great Cultivator Duan Zhangâs Nascent Soul, the benefits were considerable, necessitating time for the Heavenly Ghost to digest.
Li Shiming was not worried about the Heavenly Ghost growing too strong. After cultivating âHeavenly Human Techniqueâ, his spirit equaled the level of a Great Cultivator. As long as the Heavenly Ghost doesnât suddenly break through to the fifth-grade, it remains under his control.
The Heavenly Ghost spat out a âHeavenly Strike Thunder Hammerâ, a soul crystal ring, then turned into a lump.
Li Shiming took the Heavenly Ghost into the Heavenly Person Cave Heaven; the Heavenly Ghost was to return to the body of Great Cultivator Luo Pei, using the Great Cultivatorâs body for digestion.
Li Shiming picked up the âHeavenly Strike Thunder Hammerâ; it was a fourth-grade top-level Artifact Tribulation Treasure, exhibiting faint fluctuations of thunder rule power. It was clear this âHeavenly Strike Thunder Hammerâ had been refined by Great Cultivator Duan Zhang over many years, infusing his comprehension of thunder rules into it.
"What a pity." He shook his head and put away the âHeavenly Strike Thunder Hammerâ.
This âHeavenly Strike Thunder Hammerâ was Great Cultivator Duan Zhangâs life-bound treasure. Even if refined deeply, itâs only in relation to Great Cultivator Duan Zhang himself. For other Thunder Cultivators, the severer the refinement, the harder it is to erase Great Cultivator Duan Zhangâs influence.
He also took the soul crystal ring, but he wouldnât check it here.
He was uncertain of the disturbances during his battle with Great Cultivator Duan Zhang, and how much attention it drew. His identity must not be exposed.
Feeling the energy within, he then performed âOne Step Aheadâ, vanishing towards a distant place.
While fleeing, he contemplated todayâs battle.
Todayâs battle was his first truly fair fight against a super-powered Great Cultivator at full strength, and he slew him.
Speaking of fairness, it wasnât exactly fair.
Li Shiming had some understanding of Great Cultivator Duan Zhang, but Great Cultivator Duan Zhang knew very little of his combat power and tactics. This informational asymmetry was the main reason for Great Cultivator Duan Zhangâs crushing defeat.
Throughout the battle, Great Cultivator Duan Zhang didnât launch a single attack, which was telling.
Thunder Cultivator Duan Zhangâs attacks were the fastest; Thunder Cultivatorsâ attacks are nearly unavoidable.
Yet all his actions seemed previsaged by Li Shiming.
Li Shiming had combat aids, his life-bound treasure IBMz15 grew increasingly powerful alongside his spirit.
Before battles, IBMz15 would analyze based on enemy info, conducting rehearsals for all possible enemy responses and counter-methods.
During battle, IBMz15 provided real-time battlefield analysis, pinpointing the enemyâs weaknesses.
As long as Li Shiming and the enemy were at the same tier, he could employ overwhelming combat techniques to utterly defeat them.
Of course, Li Shiming was not without weaknesses, his realm inherently being one. However, âHeavenly Human Techniqueâ largely compensated for all areas, nearing the level of a Great Cultivator.
But his cultivation time with âHeavenly Human Techniqueâ was brief; even with IBMz15âs assistance, he couldnât yet match veteran Great Cultivators in defense.
The defensive treasures he previously refined were now unsuitable for his current power.
And he hadnât crafted new defensive treasures, leaving his defense reliant solely on his physical body.
With a body equivalent to a Body Refining Great Cultivator, he had some confidence to withstand standard Great Cultivator attacks, yet worried about paralysis from Thunder Skills of Great Cultivator Duan Zhang.
If the Thunder Skills paralyzed him, Great Cultivator Duan Zhang would easily finish him off.
Therefore, in battle with Great Cultivator Duan Zhang, Li Shiming employed optimal operations, using his advantages so precisely that Great Cultivator Duan Zhang couldnât land a single hit.
While using Great Cultivator level attack tactics, he swiftly resolved Great Cultivator Duan Zhang.
Li Shiming returned to a location a thousand miles from Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion, releasing his avatar Li Yuanba.
"Thank you, fellow. Here are some Great Cultivator Spirit Pills for you to refine!" Avatar Li Yuanba spoke politely, though his actions werenât the least bit courteous as he produced several jade boxes.
"Fellow, please act cautiously in the future!" Li Shiming accepted the jade boxes, nodded, and said.
Li Yuanba hesitated not a moment, deploying âLimitless Horizonâ towards Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion.
He decided that he would always change direction repeatedly whenever outside.
He clearly realized that a Sword Cultivator had betrayed him, but such matters were difficult to investigate.
The Sword Cultivator divulged his whereabouts; a communication token suffices to deliver intelligence, whereas identifying the betraying Sword Cultivator requires activating Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilionâs large array for surveillance, then setting a trap to induce the Sword Cultivator to betray intelligence once more.
He shook his head, shelving plans to seek out the Sword Cultivator for now, needing to enhance his power.
Li Yuanba returned to Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion. Just as he was about to enter his abode in Sword Cave Heaven, a figure appeared nearby.
"Greetings, Sword Elder!" He hastily bowed and greeted.
Only Sword Elder could move in such a manner in Sword Cave Heaven.
"You bear traces of Yuqing Sectâs Soul-locking Restriction Technique; what happened?" Sword Elder motioned for him to rise and inquired.
Sword Elder watched over Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion, his attention drawn instantly to any trace of foreign energy in Sword Cave Heaven.
After being captured by Great Cultivator Duan Zhang, Li Yuanba had two restrictions applied on him, an artifact restriction easily removed, simply requiring forced removal.
Great Cultivator Luo Pei merely waved his hand to dispel the artifact restriction, but Yuqing Sectâs secret technique restriction was far harder to remove.
Within Great Cultivator Realm, Great Cultivator Luo Pei was among the weakest, even leveraging Li Shimingâs familiarity with âYuqing Thunder Scriptureâ to unbind the Yuqing Sectâs Soul-locking Restriction Technique demanded substantial effort.
Even then, traces of Yuqing Sectâs Soul-locking Restriction Technique lingered in Li Yuanbaâs body, necessitating his slow erosion of them.
But Li Yuanba hadnât expected Sword Elderâs sensitivity, still detecting remnants within his body.
It must be mentioned that Sword Elderâs heightened alertness is due to issues Li Shiming instigated.
From Fuliu Sect to Qianren Sect, Grotto Heavens of two major sects were broken into by cultivators, prompting vigilance among all sects possessing Grotto Heavens, Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion included.