Cultivation is just so scientific! Chapter 9 Explosion

"He has been lingering here for quite some time!" Shi Ximing noted. Based on the spiritual energy intensity detected by the Intermediate Tracking Talisman, he could sense the traces left behind.

He stood before a rockery located in a particularly secluded corner of the garden.

A moment later, a look of bewilderment crossed his features.

While he could clearly detect the spiritual energy signature of Chief Escort Wang in this spot, there was no indication that the man had ever departed.

Under normal circumstances, Chief Escort Wang should still be present.

Even if the man had been killed, moving his corpse would have inevitably left a trail of spiritual energy behind.

Yet, the lingering energy suggested that after staying here for two days, Chief Escort Wang had simply vanished into thin air.

Despite his confusion, Shi Ximing knew that finding the Chief Escort was secondary; his true objective was a specific item.

With a wave of his hand, a flicker of green light manifested.

Though he had seen little success in the Cultivation World, he possessed genuine skills, particularly in his primary field of cultivation.

The garden was lush, overflowing with various plants and flowers.

By stimulating his wood spiritual energy, he could easily perceive the condition of the surrounding vegetation.

This method was even more efficient for analysis than an IBMz15 server, a fact reflected in the swift grin that touched his lips.

"Found it!" he cried out, moving toward the patch of earth where the wooden box was concealed.

The spiritual energy of a small cluster of grass here was distorted; once he applied his wood spiritual energy, the area glowed as brightly as a beacon in the dark.

He brushed away the topsoil with his bare hands, revealing the wooden box beneath.

His smile grew even wider at the sight of it.

The container appeared ordinary, yet it bore patterns frequently utilized in the Cultivation World to suppress spiritual energy.

Items kept in such a vessel certainly did not belong to the Mortal World.

He took no precautions before opening it. For one, this was the mundane realm, where a small box could only house limited mechanical traps, and as a cultivator at Qi Refining Third Level, he was impervious to common poisons. Furthermore, he was destitute.

A Basic Defense Talisman cost as much as three or four offensive ones, and he simply could not justify the waste.

As he pried the lid open, he saw the box was filled with a clear liquid. Simultaneously, a white powder ignited the moment it was exposed to the air.

Had Shi Ximing recognized the contents, he would have fled immediately, exhausting every protective talisman in his possession without hesitation.

However, due to his different knowledge system, he failed to identify both the liquid and the white powder.

He mistakenly assumed it was a crude trick by Chief Escort Wang intended to ruin the contents if the box was compromised.

Driven by urgency, he reached in to snatch the visible items.

He spotted two books crafted from materials typical of the Cultivation World, designed to withstand a millennium without rotting or taking damage.

In reality, Li Shiming had packed the box with nitroglycerin and topped it with white phosphorus.

The wooden box, though of mysterious origin, possessed an airtight seal.

Upon arriving here, Li Shiming had transferred nitroglycerin from the server room into the box. After sealing it, he had moved the remaining air into the server room and placed a small amount of white phosphorus atop the explosive liquid.

Nitroglycerin is a volatile explosive, liable to detonate at the slightest provocation.

White phosphorus ignites immediately upon contact with oxygen.

Shi Ximing was now witnessing the result of that fire meeting the nitroglycerin.

It happened directly in front of him, involving a significant quantity—roughly one kilogram of the substance.

The detonation of one kilogram of nitroglycerin yields 715 liters of gas and releases approximately 3980J of thermal energy, generating a pressure of about 9000×105Pa.

Faced with an explosion of this magnitude at point-blank range, even a defense talisman would be useless; basic ones would fail instantly, and even intermediate versions would offer little protection.

Shi Ximing attempted to react as the blast occurred, but he was far too slow.

"Which fellow set this trap? Why was there no spiritual energy detected?" These were his final, confused thoughts before the violent blast tore his body to shreds.

The explosion did more than kill Shi Ximing; it decimated everything within a five-meter radius, reducing the rockery to a rain of jagged debris.

Inside the small study, Li Shiming felt the structure tremble violently as a thunderous boom left everyone’s ears ringing.

"Young Master!" Si Qin shrieked from outside, her voice filled with panic.

To Si Qin, her Young Master was her entire world.

"Don't be scared, Si Qin. I'm going to check what happened!" Li Shiming called out to soothe her.

"Young Master, please don't go! We should wait for the guards!" Si Qin pleaded, grabbing hold of him.

"It’s alright, I’ll be safe!" Li Shiming replied, gently patting her head.

Stepping out, he surveyed the chaos. Though the blast originated in the garden's center, the debris had scattered far and wide.

Flying stones had crushed many flowers, and a thick grey haze of dust hung in the air.

He was certain that the only way his trap could have been triggered was if someone had uncovered that wooden box.

Given its hidden location within the magistrate’s private gardens, no ordinary person could have found it so quietly.

The trap had been set specifically for the cultivator; it appeared his target had finally been caught.

The carnage before him left little doubt about the outcome.

If a cultivator could survive such a devastating blast, Li Shiming would have to question if they were even human.

By now, servants and guards from the magistrate’s office were rushing toward the garden in a frenzy.

An explosion of this scale within the magistrate's own residence was a far more serious matter than the massacre at the Weiyuan Escort Agency.

While the others scrambled about like headless flies, Li Shiming headed straight for the epicenter at the rockery.

As he drew closer, the sheer scale of the destruction he had engineered horrified him.

The box of nitroglycerin had completely erased the rockery, leaving an empty void in its place.

A crater a meter deep marked the ground, and the surrounding flora had been pulverized into dust.

Li Shiming’s eyes narrowed as he spotted remnants of human remains scattered across the earth, shredded by the force of the blast.

A sense of relief washed over him; regardless of the property damage, the death of the cultivator meant his greatest threat was neutralized.

Then, his eyes fell upon a leather waist pouch lying on the ground. Remarkably, it had survived the explosion completely unscathed.

Li Shiming stepped forward and retrieved the pouch, knowing it must have belonged to the deceased cultivator.