Cultivation is just so scientific! Chapter 1367 - 730: Annihilation

As Great Cultivator Duan Zhang abandoned his physical shell, he triggered a life-preserving Jade Talisman. This was a Thunder Escape Talisman specifically crafted by a Great Ability of the Yuqing Sect for the protection of Great Cultivators.

The Thunder Escape sealed within this talisman is distinct from the version utilized by typical Nascent Soul Cultivators, as it contains the very essence of Thunder Rules.

Using the Thunder Rules typically wielded by Great Cultivator Duan Zhang as a benchmark, the power stored within this Great Ability life-saving Jade Talisman is ten times more potent.

This represented his ultimate survival trump card; the moment his Nascent Soul exited his body, it shifted into an ethereal bolt of lightning and raced toward the horizon.

Li Shiming, however, had already sensed the movements of Great Cultivator Duan Zhang’s Nascent Soul. After his Divine Sense swept out to claim the Great Cultivator's discarded body, his own form flickered and vanished.

On one side was the power of a Great Ability’s life-saving Jade Talisman; on the other was the 'One-Step Arrival' technique, perfectly calculated by multiple brains. Had a genuine Great Ability been present to execute the Thunder Escape personally, they would have held the advantage, and Li Shiming’s prospects of intercepting them would have been slim.

Nevertheless, a life-saving Jade Talisman can only store a finite amount of a Great Ability’s Thunder Rules. While the Thunder Rules mastered by a Great Cultivator are ten times greater than those of a standard practitioner, they still only scratch the surface of the true Dao of Thunder.

With a single 'One-Step Arrival', Li Shiming can traverse eight thousand miles. He is capable of performing this 'One-Step Arrival' incessantly, provided his internal energy remains sufficient, granting him the ability to move through space eight thousand miles at a time without limit.

It took a mere three breaths for him to overtake the Nascent Soul of Great Cultivator Duan Zhang.

The Thunder Escape provided by a Great Ability’s life-saving Jade Talisman is renowned as a premier escape method in the Cultivation world.

Yet, against Li Shiming, it only bought a three-breath reprieve—and that duration included the time he spent securing Great Cultivator Duan Zhang’s physical remains.

The Nascent Soul of Great Cultivator Duan Zhang barely perceived a descending bolt of lightning before finding himself suddenly confined within an 'Electric Light Prison'.

Li Shiming turned Duan Zhang’s own signature technique against him. Previously, Great Cultivator Duan Zhang had used the 'Electric Light Prison' to capture Li Yuanba; consequently, Li Shiming had prepared a mind within his Spirit specifically to manifest that same 'Electric Light Prison'.

Once he caught up to Great Cultivator Duan Zhang’s Nascent Soul, he unleashed the 'Electric Light Prison' instantly, requiring no preparation time at all.

The 'Electric Light Prison' is far more effective against a Nascent Soul than a physical body. When used to restrain a cultivator of the same level, a sufficiently powerful physical form might be able to force its way through the barrier.

However, a Nascent Soul is different; its defensive capabilities are remarkably fragile, a fact that holds true for the Nascent Soul of any Great Cultivator.

A Nascent Soul is fundamentally unable to shatter an 'Electric Light Prison' of its own level; attempting to do so would be an act of suicide.

Even though Li Shiming is only at the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, he has mastered the 'Heavenly Human Technique'. Combined with the 'Shenxiao Thunder Pearl', a supreme treasure for any Thunder Cultivator, the potency of his Thunder Skills has reached the Middle Late Stage of a Great Cultivator, making it more than enough to restrain Duan Zhang's Nascent Soul.

"What incredible skill; to wield the Thunder Skill of a Great Cultivator while only at the Nascent Soul Middle Stage—falling by your hand brings me no shame!" Great Cultivator Duan Zhang stopped struggling, merely wishing to utter his final words.

"The 'Yuqing Thunder Scripture' is truly formidable!" Li Shiming replied calmly.

He offered no further details, allowing the power of his Thunder Skill to be attributed solely to the 'Yuqing Thunder Scripture'.

"I am aware that the 'Shenxiao Thunder Pearl' came into your possession; I simply did not expect you would dare to show your face. Is Li Yuanba truly that vital to you?" Great Cultivator Duan Zhang asked.

He concluded that the 'Shenxiao Thunder Pearl' was the reason Li Shiming could manifest Thunder Skills at the Great Cultivator level.

While the 'Shenxiao Thunder Pearl' is not a spiritual treasure, its value to a Thunder Cultivator is equal to one.

It was once the prized possession of a Yuqing Sect Great Ability, who was certain the pearl could never be truly lost.

That Great Ability had spent millennia refining the 'Shenxiao Thunder Pearl'. This level of refinement ensured that even a peer Great Ability could not quickly erase the original owner's aura from the pearl.

As long as the 'Shenxiao Thunder Pearl' remained within the boundaries of the Cultivation world—even hidden inside a Grotto Heaven—the Yuqing Sect Great Ability would be able to track it.

But reality defied those expectations; perhaps that Great Ability never imagined that Li Shiming’s machine room space existed independently, severed from the laws of this world.

Li Shiming is able to store the 'Shenxiao Thunder Pearl' within that machine room space and still tap into its power.

The aura of the pearl only leaks out during the moments he actively uses it.

Furthermore, any aura that does escape is no longer the original signature, meaning the Great Ability cannot detect it. Only Yuqing Sect Thunder Cultivators in his immediate vicinity can sense the presence of the 'Shenxiao Thunder Pearl'.

"You have no need to know that—who gave the order to seize Li Yuanba?" Li Shiming questioned coldly.

"The White Emperor Sect paid a heavy price; even if I am defeated today, another Great Cultivator will take my place. Once a Cultivator is marked by the White Emperor Sect, there is no hope of escape!" Great Cultivator Duan Zhang saw no reason to protect the White Emperor Sect's secrets.

He felt only resentment toward them, blaming their mission for his current predicament.

"Great Cultivator Duan Zhang, do you have any final words?" Li Shiming asked one last time, his palm crackling with electric light.