Cultivation is just so scientific! Chapter 1544 - 818: Life and Death_2

His primary fear centered on the possibility that the ally he'd summoned might undervalue Li Shiming, thereby permitting Li Shiming to employ the 'Innate Wood' divine skill for his own recovery.

"I sealed his Nascent Soul!" Right then, a voice echoed into Master Wang He's ears, instantly dissolving his anxiety.

Li Shiming's robust frame couldn't endure the strike from that single finger. He triggered the 'Innate Wood' divine skill, channeling a vast surge of 'Innate Wood' divine power energy from the 'Innate Wood' Divine Power Pattern inside him to mend his bodily wounds.

Truth be told, his Nascent Soul had been sealed for real, yet the assailant clearly had no clue about his possession of five Nascent Souls, with merely one getting locked down.

Thus, he remained able to invoke the 'Innate Wood' divine skill via another of his Nascent Souls, and regardless of the gravity of his wounds, the ample 'Innate Wood' divine power energy would swiftly mend him back to form.

While his form hurtled through the air, both he and his life-bound magical item IBMz15 were scrutinizing the foe from moments before.

He'd pored over countless ancient records, many of which delved deeply into the might of the supreme beings.

He refused to accept that some immense force would traverse the ocean to the Dongqi Continent solely to confront him.

Besides, the wielder of that finger appeared bound by certain limitations, barred from manifesting in the outer realm and perhaps struggling to maneuver there as well.

Master Wang He had deliberately drawn him nearer to that spot, essentially guiding him straight into the striking zone of that finger.

Had that finger been free to strike whenever it pleased, such elaborate schemes would prove unnecessary; the owner could simply approach and jab at him to finish the deed.

More crucially, the finger's master harbored no desire to slay him, for a mere boost in its force would have utterly annihilated him on the spot.

He couldn't have misread that sensation; the finger held the effortless capacity to claim his existence.

Against that finger, he resembled a powerless infant.

As a half-step Mahayana cultivator, he pondered the assailant's essence—a breed of formidable cultivator scarcely glimpsed across the entire Cultivation World.

Such figures remain absent from the Cultivation World since the half-step Mahayana cultivator has ventured onto an irreversible path, forging their personal Cave Heaven, and must fortify it before their lifespan expires, lest they perish alongside their Cave Heaven.

For a half-step Great Power, every instant proves invaluable. Confined within an unfinished Cave Heaven, external cultivators cannot intrude, as the tiniest disruption might shatter a lifetime of labor for that half-step Great Power.

Li Shiming's understanding of the half-step Great Power was limited, drawn mostly from textual sources.

Those accounts represent what's accessible to Great Cultivators, whereas the concealed details likely stay exclusive to the uppermost echelons of major superpowers.

After retreating a specific span, he sensed no more lethal peril, solidifying his assessment all the more.

The gap between him and that finger during the assault marked the reach of a half-step Great Power's strike, and having escaped that zone, he now faced no further peril.

Yet he pressed onward in retreat and directed IBMz15 to map out a tentative assault perimeter.

"It's that jade disk—the half-step Great Power's Cave Heaven is anchored to the jade disk!" Via a straightforward computation, he swiftly pinpointed the prime suspect bearing the Cave Heaven.

Li Shiming possessed solid insight into Cave Heavens, particularly the portable varieties.

Within his own being resided two Cave Heavens: a half-step Cave Heaven and a Heavenly Person Cave Heaven, manifesting as compact energy forms in his frame. These diminutive energy forms constitute the external projection of a Cave Heaven, and no matter the vastness of its inner expanse, it externally displays only a tiny material nexus linking the Cave Heaven to the outer realm.

The compact energy manifestation of a Cave Heaven in the Cultivation World mirrors a vessel's anchor. Yet this vessel—the Cave Heaven—dwells in a distinct spatial layer and stays concealed from view. The anchor binds the Cave Heaven to the vast expanse of the Cultivation World.

This revelation brought Li Shiming a sense of relief.

He turned his gaze once more toward the pair of Peak Great Cultivators, shedding his earlier probing demeanor in favor of eyes gleaming with murderous resolve.

Had fortune forsaken him even a touch more, he'd already lie as a lifeless husk.

"Obstruct my lifespan, hinder my cultivation; bar my way to the Dao, and I'll battle without quarter until the finish!" his mind roared.

"Return to me!" he commanded the five late-stage Golden Corpses.

The five late-stage Golden Corpses pulled back without delay. Though they absorbed additional blows from the duo of Peak Great Cultivators, nothing halted their withdrawal to Li Shiming's position.

"Mr. Li, resistance is futile now; those five Golden Corpses won't shield you any longer!" Wang He Great Cultivator declared in a flat tone.

Victory seemed assured to him; a Great Cultivator deprived of his Nascent Soul resembled a fangless beast, ripe for domination.

"Half-step Great Power—is this the half-step Great Power from Yuqing Sect or White Emperor Sect? Does a half-step Great Power only cower in hiding, too afraid to reveal itself?" Li Shiming eyed the two Peak Great Cultivators and taunted.

"How dare you!" Wang He Great Cultivator bellowed, as though struck across the face.

"So it's Yuqing Sect's half-step Great Power!" Li Shiming remarked with a subtle grin, validating certain inferences from Wang He Great Cultivator's outburst.

Firstly, his attacker was truly a half-step Great Power; secondly, that half-step Great Power hailed from Yuqing Sect; and lastly, the half-step Great Power proved unable to strike him from a distance.

Uttering such words amounted to a grave affront against a half-step Great Power. Given the vast might wielded by a half-step Great Power, true capability would have prompted direct action against him.

"Once you're hauled to Yuqing Sect, I'll ensure you're treated with utmost care!" Wang He Great Cultivator spat with bitterness.

Never before had anyone disgraced a half-step Great Power in this manner, and Wang He Great Cultivator took it as a personal slight; under normal circumstances, he might pursue half-step Great Power status in a few centuries.

"You're not heading back!" Li Shiming intoned gravely.

A fearsome aura erupted from his form. Though one Nascent Soul stood sealed, it merely cost him a fifth of his spiritual power stockpile, barely denting his battle prowess.

"How are you still wielding spiritual power?" This time, both Wang He Great Cultivator and Yan Gao Great Cultivator recoiled in shock, staring at Li Shiming in disbelief.

With the half-step Great Power's assertion, Li Shiming's Nascent Soul had to be sealed.

Yet how could a Great Cultivator whose Nascent Soul was sealed still draw upon the spiritual power housed within it?

Well-versed in the might of half-step Great Powers, they as Peak Great Cultivators grasped it far better than their peers. Such knowledge typically unlocks only at the Peak Great Cultivator ranks within sects.

Half-step Great Powers cannot indeed depart their Cave Heavens, but that doesn't preclude them from striking out.

Half-step Great Powers boast potent self-defense means, and save for full Great Powers, no cultivator can endure such assaults.

For strikes from half-step Great Powers originate from their Cave Heavens, rendering them authentic assaults.

An authentic assault represents a distinct assault form; thanks to the Cave Heaven's singular properties, deploying it against foes in the material realm lets the Cave Heaven's rule power neutralize the bulk of real-world energy barriers.

No matter how flawed the rules within the Cave Heaven might be, a single Cave Heaven's rules can readily counter the rules and energy in an invading Great Cultivator's barriers.

This explained why Li Shiming's 'Heavenly Human Technique'—which erected a 'Chaotic Spiritual Power' defensive barrier—got bypassed; even the innate guard spell of a premier fourth-grade robe offered no resistance.

And an authentic assault terrifies even more, functioning as an onslaught that directly targets matter via the Cave Heaven's power as conduit.

Absent restraint, any matter finer than the Cave Heaven's conduit would shatter under the authentic assault.

That lone finger, appearing as mere a digit, actually linked to a half-step Great Power's Cave Heaven, unleashing a barrage fueled by Cave Heaven Power.

Back then, Li Shiming had pitted his flesh against the material of one Cave Heaven conduit; without the half-step Great Power curbing its force, it would have reduced him to cinders.