Cultivation is just so scientific! Chapter 8 Tracking

Shi Ximing perched atop the roof, his form as weightless as a plume, while a soft cyan radiance pulsed from his legs.

His journey to Great Xia was driven by a single purpose: a legacy.

Lacking exceptional talent, he had labored for over two decades just to reach the third level of Qi Refinement.

This level of strength left him in a precarious position; typically, any cultivator wandering the world would possess at least this much power, if not more.

Because his life had been consumed by basic cultivation, he lacked the time to master combat arts, leaving him without even the skills necessary to commit a successful robbery.

If not for the dwindling resources inherited from his forebears, he likely would have failed to reach the third level of Qi Refinement at all.

His path here began when he discovered ancestral notes mentioning a close companion of his forefather. This friend, having suffered debilitating injuries that ended his hopes for the immortal path, had retired to Great Xia.

The journal recounted how this individual had been fortunate enough to acquire a top-grade magic tool during his early Qi Refinement days.

Such items are incredibly scarce—even those at the late-stage of Qi Refinement often struggle to obtain them. The fact that this specific tool was a high-grade offensive weapon only added to its immense value.

While his ancestor might have recorded the detail as a mere reminiscence, Shi Ximing saw it as an opportunity; with a high-grade attack magic item, he could easily overpower most low- to mid-level cultivators.

A low-level cultivator might struggle to fuel such a powerful weapon for long, but even a mid-level opponent would be defenseless against its strike if they lacked superior defensive artifacts.

Convinced that this was his destined path as a cultivator, he had traveled to Great Xia.

Lacking ties to the mortal realm, however, his clumsy attempts to track down the descendants of his ancestor's friend caused his intentions to be exposed.

The man he sought was Chief Escort Wang, whose family foundation was built upon the very legacy left by that ancient friend.

This inheritance did not just contain cultivation secrets; it also featured several elite martial arts styles.

While the Cultivation World viewed martial arts as insignificant, these techniques had allowed the Wang family to produce generations of martial experts.

The current Chief Escort Wang had risen to the rank of a master, turning the Weiyuan Escort Agency into a powerhouse within Great Xia.

Aware of the weight of his family's secrets, Chief Escort Wang grew wary the moment he heard whispers of someone digging into his lineage.

He was meeting with his lead escorts to plan their defense when Shi Ximing finally tracked them down.

Seven lead escorts sacrificed themselves in a desperate struggle at the Tianxiang Building to ensure Chief Escort Wang’s escape. Utilizing his intimate knowledge of the city, the master managed to vanish from Shi Ximing’s sight.

Shi Ximing had underestimated the mortal’s craftiness. He had assumed a mere secular master would be trivial for a third-level Qi Refinement cultivator to apprehend, but his own arrogance had allowed Chief Escort Wang to slip away.

The chaos at the Tianxiang Building—where many scholars were wounded and seven lives were lost—prompted the local government to launch a massive manhunt for Shi Ximing.

Though he didn't fear the mortal authorities, he was reluctant to draw the ire of Great Xia’s officials before securing his prize.

If the situation escalated, the Immortal Sect backing the empire would dispatch cultivators to intervene.

Against the enforcers of a Sect, his meager third-level Qi Refinement cultivation would be utterly useless.

Consequently, he stopped his overt rampage and turned to more subtle tracking methods.

Yet, after hunting through nearly half of Nanling City without success, his patience finally snapped.

Shi Ximing stormed the Weiyuan Escort Agency, slaughtered everyone remaining, and used the blood of the Wang bloodline to prime a Low-level Bloodline Tracking Talisman.

To his utter frustration, the talisman failed to pinpoint a specific location.

This suggested only two things: Chief Escort Wang had either fled beyond the five-hundred-mile range of Nanling Prefecture or he was already dead, rendering the blood-link void.

Gritting his teeth as he stood on the rooftop, Shi Ximing pulled out another talisman, this one etched with far more intricate Spiritual Power Patterns.

This was a Mid-level Qi Tracking Talisman, a precious relic from his family's past.

A single Intermediate Talisman was worth more than a hundred low-level ones. At his current stage of Qi Refinement, Shi Ximing lacked the ability to create such a complex item himself.

The thought of wasting such a treasure on a common mortal filled him with bitterness.

“When I find you, I’ll rip out your soul and turn your corpse into a puppet!” he hissed, pulling a garment from the storage bag at his hip.

The clothing had been taken from the Weiyuan Escort Agency; it belonged to Chief Escort Wang and still held his lingering scent.

He poured his Spiritual Power into the Mid-level Tracking Talisman, which dissolved into a streak of light that soaked into the fabric. Suddenly, the path Chief Escort Wang had taken became clear to his senses.

The talisman would remain active for six hours. Shi Ximing was certain that if the man was still within the city walls, he would be found.

Even a dead man would leave a trail of Qi behind for the talisman to follow.

Earlier, during his brutal interrogation of the Wang household, he had learned that the Chief Escort had fled with a specific item in his possession.

Therefore, whether the man lived or died, the legacy was within reach.

Shi Ximing activated a Basic Light Body Talisman, ensuring he remained as nimble as a bird.

He was being uncharacteristically wasteful, burning through talismans he usually hoarded, all to ensure this hunt ended successfully.

Guided by the spectral trail of the Mid-level Tracking Talisman, he vaulted across the rooftops of Nanling City.

An hour later, his pursuit led him to the gates of the prefectural office.

As the talisman pulsed with direction, the irony of the situation struck him.

Chief Escort Wang had been hiding right under the noses of the law; the most obvious hiding spot had proven to be the most effective.

While the guards and Shi Ximing were scouring the streets, the target was resting inside the government’s own headquarters.

Shi Ximing did not hesitate. Even at the risk of being spotted by the guards, he was going in.

The Qi trail drifted toward the rear gardens. The towering walls of the estate posed no obstacle to him.

He cleared the perimeter in a single bound, his toes grazing the leaves of the trees as he moved through the air, never once touching the earth.

The garden was deserted. Li Wenyuan had been overwhelmed with work lately, and the Li household was small, consisting only of the official, his son Li Shiming, and a few attendants.

Given the recent turmoil in Nanling Prefecture, most of the staff had been sent out to assist with the ongoing investigations.

Though Shi Ximing was considered "weak" among cultivators, his enhanced senses and the Light Body Talisman allowed him to slip into the heart of the estate completely undetected.