Cultivation is just so scientific! Chapter 1492 - 792: Grandmaster Cultivation (Part 2)

He activated all of his one hundred and ninety-one brains. Right now, those brains, boosted fully by his spirit and immersed in the ascension phase, operated like they were running at maximum speed. The one hundred and ninety-one brains broke the rule fragments into countless segments, starting to grasp them gradually.

He remained unaware that his grasp of the ’Chaos Sword Intent’ rules, drawn straight from the ’Sword Intent Stele’’s sword intent principles, matched perfectly with the deepest essence of rising to become a Great Cultivator.

A typical Peak of Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator wouldn’t get this early shot at sensing the rules. Only when breaking through to Great Cultivator does this unique ascension condition grant cultivators a heightened sense from heaven and earth.

During the breakthrough to Great Cultivator, by drawing on massive prior insights, one forms a personal rule.

Naturally, this insight merely creates a fuzzy rule mark inside the Nascent Soul, turning into a drawn-out effort later to refine that mark step by step after the breakthrough finishes.

That’s why certain Great Cultivators wield immense power while others lag behind; beyond spiritual power variations, the main divide comes from how sharp the rule mark is in the Nascent Soul.

Skipping that vital rule-sensing phase in the Great Cultivator breakthrough means waiting ages to sense fresh rules, and most Great Cultivators never manage a second one.

Li Shiming, lacking any proper lineage, had gathered tons of knowledge yet it fell short of organized heritage. For instance, he wasn’t fully aware of the warnings tied to the Great Cultivator breakthrough.

Actually, had he held off until Li Yuanba hit Peak of Mid-stage Nascent Soul, Li Yuanba would have unlocked the right inheritance from the Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion. That inheritance activates solely for those at Peak of Mid-stage Nascent Soul, ready to push into Great Cultivator.

Knowing such details too soon isn’t always helpful for Mid-stage Nascent Soul folks, since it might mess with their mindset.

A hazy rule mark of the ’Chaos Sword Intent’ emerged inside Li Shiming’s five Nascent Souls.

By now, the Nascent Souls held a Five Elements Rule Imprint, a Thunder Rule Imprint, plus the fresh Sword Intent Rule Imprint. Once he locked in the ’Chaos Sword Intent’ Sword Intent Rule Imprint, he gradually left the unique ascension mode.

Once out of that mode, attempting to sense the sword intent rules from the ’Sword Intent Stele’ felt far less vivid, like covered by a thin mist.

Though way better than his Mid-stage Nascent Soul sensing, it paled hugely compared to the breakthrough’s heightened awareness for Great Cultivator ascension.

A wave of insight flooded his mind, realizing how crucial rule comprehension is during the Great Cultivator breakthrough.

He sensed the new rule mark in his Nascent Soul and breathed out deeply in relief. He hadn’t noticed earlier, but looking back, without grasping these rule marks ahead, he’d have shelved the rule-sensing part for now.

The Five Elements Rule Imprint formed the base for his ’Heavenly Human Technique’ practice, the Thunder Rule Imprint served as the key groundwork for the Great Cultivator stage of the ’Yuqing Thunder Scripture’, and the Sword Intent Rule Imprint was essential for the Great Cultivator phase of the ’Sky-Surging Sword Intent Technique’.

So, missing even one rule mark would block him from unleashing full Great Cultivator might in that area.

Fortunately, he’d encountered the Five Elements Rules and Thunder Rules in the Half-Life Cave Heaven, sparing his valuable Great Cultivator ascension window for those, freeing it up for the Sword Intent Rule instead.

From later reviews, lingering more on the Five Elements Rule and Thunder Rule would’ve stopped him from grasping the Sword Intent Rule Imprint.

Li Shiming’s ’Heavenly Human Technique’ hadn’t reached completion; the aura in his Nascent Soul surged to Great Cultivator height, and the Great Cultivator ’Chaotic Spiritual Power’ from the ’Heavenly Human Technique’ flooded into his body.

’Chaotic Spiritual Power’ kept fortifying his physical form nonstop. This initial boost proved vital, building the strongest base for his physique.

The perk of five Nascent Souls showed up again, letting his body get the Nascent Soul’s first boost fivefold, gaining five cycles of Great Cultivator body strengthening via the ’Heavenly Human Technique’.

His body shook repeatedly, releasing booming thunder-like noises.

Nobody could tell how much time slipped by before he snapped out of cultivation.

Powerful, unbelievably powerful—this rush of might stemmed purely from his own power jumping ahead in a massive surge.

The divide between Mid-stage Nascent Soul and Late-stage Nascent Soul in the Nascent Soul realm looms huge. In the Cultivation World, Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators get lumped with Early-stage ones, just called Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.

Yet Late-stage Nascent Soul experts earn the honor of being named Great Cultivators.

In battle, Great Cultivators crush Mid-stage Nascent Soul foes with ease.

The key edge lies in Great Cultivators seizing a thread of Rule Power, brushing against the world’s core laws.

Li Shiming extended his hand, summoning a Fourth-Grade Sword Foundation into his grasp. Now, that Fourth-Grade Sword Foundation’s caliber had climbed to elite Fourth Grade standard.

This matched his body’s toughness; his physical strength equaled a Fourth-Grade Sword Foundation’s quality. Elite Fourth Grade level meant his body hit the top tier for Great Cultivator Body Refinement.

At this point, relying only on his physique, he could shatter a standard Fourth-Grade Magical Treasure. Even a Great Cultivator wielding a non-elite Fourth Grade Magical Treasure would struggle to pierce his body’s guard.

Sure, this covers just raw spiritual power and force, ignoring unique effects from cultivation methods.

Despite his mighty frame, he wouldn’t let a Great Cultivator skilled in ’Void-breaking Sword Intent’ hit him directly, since a Great Cultivator’s ’Void-breaking Sword Intent’ packs destruction beyond normal Great Cultivator force.

Li Shiming skipped further strength trials; he gathered his focus and dove back into closed-door cultivation.

Fresh from the breakthrough, his five Nascent Souls held barely any spiritual power left.

Before starting to cultivate, he checked his stock of high-level Great Cultivator Cultivation Spirit Pills.

After stockpiling for so long, he had one hundred and thirty-six high-level Great Cultivator Cultivation Spirit Pills. He ignored the count of lesser Great Cultivator Cultivation Spirit Pills, saving those for gifts or trades.

"Looks like I still need to take on more alchemy commissions from Great Cultivators!" he mumbled to himself.

If fellow Great Cultivators heard his grumble, seeing his pile of Spirit Pills, they’d likely explode in fury and shout curses.

Even Great Cultivators from mighty groups face scarce resources. Based on Li Yuanba’s stint at the Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion, grabbing a set of Great Cultivator Spirit Medicine took about ten years.

His one hundred and thirty-six high-level Great Cultivator Spirit Pills, setting aside their top quality, would demand an Alchemy Master refining a batch of Spirit Medicine flawlessly, producing two per batch, so a Great Cultivator would toil six hundred years to gather what he had.

Among his one hundred and thirty-six high-level Great Cultivator Spirit Pills now, some stemmed from handling loads of alchemy tasks for Great Cultivators via the Central State Commerce, letting him keep part of the Spirit Medicine to make them.

The bulk of commissions Li Yuanba handled for the Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion came from the pavilion’s own reserves; solo Sword Cultivator Great Cultivator requests were few.

Li Shiming swallowed five high-level Great Cultivator Cultivation Spirit Pills, sending their essence rushing into his five Nascent Souls.

At that pace, the one hundred and thirty-six high-level Spirit Pills would run dry fast. More Nascent Souls meant more headaches.

For the first time, he realized he wasn’t as rich as he’d believed, unable to freely burn through high-level Great Cultivator Spirit Pills.

That feeling stung, since short on high-level Great Cultivator Spirit Pills, his cultivation pace would drag.

With that on his mind, he redirected his spirit to resume practicing the ’Heavenly Human Technique’.