Cultivation is just so scientific! Chapter 1525 - 809: Facing the Challenge

A single day afterward, the Ten Thousand Beast Sect hosted a magnificent ceremony as representatives from the Lianhua Temple and Sun Concealing Sect arrived, bearing formal surrender documents from their respective sects, both led by Great Venerables.

Grandmaster Hu, along with a few other Great Cultivators, first intended for Li Shiming to join this important event, yet Li Shiming turned down the invitation.

Fame and authority held no appeal for him at all. Relying on his expertise in alchemy, he could easily gain both prestige and riches whenever desired, without the necessity of leading any faction for selfish benefits.

While the outside world buzzed with excitement, he stayed secluded in his residence, steadily focusing on his cultivation.

Part of his consciousness, linked via the IBMz15 drone satellite network, kept watch over the entire Dongqi Continent.

By this point, the drone satellite network spanned nearly all of the Dongqi Continent, with particular emphasis on the headquarters of the Ten Thousand Beast Sect and the former Taichu Sect.

The former Taichu Sect's headquarters now operated under the name Ten Thousand Beasts Sect Tai Chu Branch. Even though traces of Thunder Energy had been mostly removed from the surface, restoring the spirit fields using the spiritual veins would demand considerable time.

At present, numerous Spirit Plant Masters assembled from different regions were actively working across the Tai Chu Branch's grounds.

Besides the remaining Spirit Plant Masters from the Taichu Sect's Grotto Heaven, additional ones had been summoned from the Lianhua Temple and Sun Concealing Sect.

Luckily, with the substantial resource points surrendered by those two sects, there was an ample surplus of Spirit Plant Masters available.

Even though Li Shiming showed little concern for the ongoing developments, Grandmaster Hu continued to relay regular reports to him via the Identity Jade Disc.

The Lianhua Temple and Sun Concealing Sect had pulled back their areas of control, yielding more than half their lands to the Ten Thousand Beast Sect.

Control over almost three-quarters of the Dongqi Continent's resource points now rested with the Ten Thousand Beast Sect, which also claimed ownership of two major sect headquarters.

In particular, at the Tai Chu Branch, Li Shiming's acknowledgment of the Taichu Cave Heaven's core granted him access through the Artifact Spirit.

Using the Artifact Spirit, he restored the sealed Grotto Heaven space around the Tai Chu Branch, restricting entry within a thousand-mile radius to only Ten Thousand Beast Sect Cultivators.

Rather than lingering at the Tai Chu Branch, Li Shiming made his way back to the Ten Thousand Beast Sect's main base.

As the Ten Thousand Beast Sect's most formidable fighting force, his presence there, even absent from the surrender proceedings, ensured a strong warning to the other two sects.

Naturally, no matter how bold those sects might feel, the complete destruction of the Taichu Sect left them too intimidated to spark any discord with the Ten Thousand Beast Sect.

Had the Ten Thousand Beast Sect been fully developed with sufficient Great Cultivators to manage its growing domains, it would have long since directed Li Shiming to eradicate the pair of sects outright.

Within his residence at that moment, Li Shiming benefited from the Spiritual Energy provisions assigned to two Great Cultivators. While the extra Spiritual Energy offered him minimal boost, it clearly demonstrated the high regard the Ten Thousand Beast Sect held for him.

He chose not to retreat into his Heavenly Person Cave Heaven; for now, until the primary threats were eliminated, staying alert remained essential.

The envoys from the Lianhua Temple and Sun Concealing Sect endured the ceremony in deep shame. They understood that their sects would slowly decline from this point, yet this fate paled in comparison to the Taichu Sect's total obliteration, making it a far better result.

Having surrendered enormous swathes of land and resource sites, the Lianhua Temple and Sun Concealing Sect now struggled with inadequate supplies for their Cultivators; moving forward, they might turn to ocean scavenging or redistribute some of their members.

Harvesting resources from the ocean carried immense peril; even a Great Cultivator venturing into the deep seas for plunder risked fierce counterattacks from Late Stage Fourth Grade spirit beasts lurking there.

Furthermore, nearly all coastal resources along the Dongqi Continent fell under the Ten Thousand Beast Sect's dominance.

The reason lay in every Ten Thousand Beast Sect Cultivator possessing a personal Spiritual Pet, effectively doubling their battle prowess, and these spirit beast companions excelled against oceanic foes, enabling the sect to firmly hold shoreline assets.

Despite facing oppression in the past, the other three sects never managed to harvest coastal resources on the same grand scale as the Ten Thousand Beast Sect achieved.

Of course, if those three sects had access to the coasts for centuries or millennia, they could potentially devise potent strategies against spirit beasts.

Although the Lianhua Temple and Sun Concealing Sect backed by mighty superpowers, such entities refrained from meddling in Dongqi Continent's local conflicts unless involving rival superpowers.

The sole exception was the Taichu Sect's downfall, where the stance of its supporting superpower remained ambiguous.

Still, undue worry proved unnecessary, given Li Shiming's showcased might, which would make any superpower hesitate before acting.

Should Li Shiming clash with a Peak Great Cultivator, the Ten Thousand Beast Sect could then solidly claim its expanded holdings on the Dongqi Continent, free from any superpower's greedy eyes.

For the foreseeable future, with Li Shiming alive and well, the Ten Thousand Beast Sect would remain secure, even should he depart the Dongqi Continent entirely.

Such was the might of supreme battle power. Any group wielding such elite strength could safeguard territories befitting its caliber.

That said, the Ten Thousand Beast Sect's roots were still too fragile, so the newly seized lands depended on Li Shiming's fame to keep them in check temporarily. Once the sect's own Great Cultivators advanced adequately, its inherent power would suffice to maintain territorial dominance.

Days flowed by steadily, and Li Shiming avoided deep immersion in cultivation, since practicing the ’Heavenly Human Technique’ yielded only moderate results.

Yet its key benefit allowed him to snap out of cultivation instantly and leap into combat whenever required.