Cultivation is just so scientific! Chapter 1534 - 813: Late Stage (Part 2)

Once the array array ceases to serve its purpose, leaving it behind would merely doom it to obliteration under the fury of heavenly lightning.

Li Shiming had fulfilled every necessary step, leaving the fate of the process entirely in the hands of the impending heavenly tribulation.

He dispatched a binding order to the five golden corpses. Throughout their refinement, his personal essence blood had been incorporated, ensuring the master recognition was already complete.

The five golden corpses dispersed into five separate zones, maintaining sufficient spacing to endure their tribulations without mutual disruption.

They remained rooted in place, devoid of any unnecessary actions.

Up above, five clusters of thunderclouds began to assemble, swiftly coalescing into five thick, ominous black masses.

Within every dark cloud, sparks of electricity flickered relentlessly, gathering strength for the initial strike of heavenly thunder.

Li Shiming cast a quick look at the thunderclouds' state, a hint of concern creeping in. These were thunderclouds on the scale of a Great Cultivator, and his limited knowledge of the five golden corpses' capabilities left him unsure if his Thunder Resistance Secret Method would see them through the ordeal.

"Boom," a unified roar echoed as five streaks of heavenly thunder crashed down at once, resonating like a symphony of thunder.

Enormous pillars of heavenly thunder plummeted directly from the clouds, slamming into the five golden corpses.

The five golden corpses held their ground without flinching, accepting the full impact of the heavenly thunder upon themselves.

With his vast experience in facing tribulations, Li Shiming understood that any creature bold enough to defy the heavenly tribulation would provoke an even fiercer response from it.

Naturally, those who confront the tribulation head-on and endure the intensified heavenly thunder stand to reap rewards far surpassing a standard trial, provided they emerge victorious.

Numerous sword cultivators deliberately shatter the thunderclouds amid their Nascent Soul Tribulation, chasing amplified boons from the laws of heaven and earth to forge a sturdier foundation.

Yet timing proves crucial. For golden corpses undergoing tribulation—particularly those at the late stage—any attempt to resist heaven's power might summon heavenly thunder rivaling Great Cultivator Peak intensity, or worse.

The opening bolt of heavenly thunder left faint scorch marks across the exteriors of the five golden corpses, though the damage was minor and barely worth noting for such resilient beings.

Because the five golden corpses endured the heavenly thunder passively without further provocation, the overhead thunderclouds showed no dramatic escalation, simply preparing the next bolt at the expected heightened intensity.

"Boom," another synchronized explosion rang out as the second set of five heavenly thunders descended.

This round carried far more force than the first, yet it stayed within acceptable bounds, letting Li Shiming exhale in quiet relief—no surprises so far.

In the 'Prohibited Book of Xuan Yin Yaksha,' he had encountered tales of numerous Great Cultivators crafting late-stage golden corpses, where tribulations occasionally spiraled out of control, surging ten times stronger and annihilating the creations outright, even absent any defiance.

Following the second heavenly thunder, fissures emerged across the surfaces of the five golden corpses.

When Li Shiming spotted the crimson blood seeping from those splits in their skin, shock gripped him, for the liquid was unmistakably red.

The blood of the late-stage golden corpses he had acquired from Central State Commerce had been golden in hue.

Central State Commerce had no reason to mislead him, and the 'Prohibited Book of Xuan Yin Yaksha' corroborated that late-stage golden corpses possessed golden blood.

However, the five late-stage golden corpses he had forged via the advanced corpse refining technique now coursed with red blood, and with skin mirroring that of living humans, how did they differ from ordinary cultivators?

As thoughts raced through his mind, the damaged areas on the five golden corpses started mending gradually, the healing process evident to the eye.

He drew in a deep, startled gasp; these were injuries inflicted by heavenly thunder during a tribulation. Even the finest healing spirit pills couldn't mend such harm at this speed.

The energy of heavenly thunder persistently gnaws at wounds, so the golden corpses' ability to purge that energy and recover so swiftly pointed to an internal force that countered heavenly thunder effectively.

Regrettably, with the five golden corpses locked in their tribulation, he was barred from linking his Divine Sense to them or engaging in any interaction throughout the event.

Doing so would count as aiding the tribulation, drawing the tribulation's wrath to encompass Li Shiming himself.

For now, his sole option was to observe from afar without interference.

The disturbance here drew notable attention, prompting some cultivators from the distant Ten Thousand Beast Sect Tai Chu Branch to approach out of intrigue.

Five simultaneous Great Cultivator-level tribulations were unheard of on the Dongqi Continent, and possibly across the broader cultivation world—especially confined within a grotto heaven's sealed realm.

Even with Li Shiming's earlier directives, the innate curiosity and worry among the cultivators couldn't be fully quelled.

That said, handling such intrusions fell outside Li Shiming's immediate concerns. Great Cultivator Luo Pei guarded the outer boundary, his aura flaring powerfully as a clear deterrent to any would-be onlookers.

Li Shiming lacked the spare attention for those cultivators; his gaze stayed fixed on the five swirling thunderclouds overhead.

Lightning arcs built up denser and denser within the clouds, yet no immediate strike fell. Such buildup signaled that the culminating heavenly thunder would pack even greater might.

Worry etched across his features, for this final bolt threatened to deal severe blows to the golden corpses.

The prolonged delay only diminished the odds of the golden corpses triumphing over the tribulation.

In the midst of his anxiety, the thunderclouds at last reached their limit, unleashing a heavenly thunder twice the size of the previous one in a devastating plunge.

Lightning fully engulfed the golden corpses, and even through his 'Divine Eye,' Li Shiming couldn't discern their state amid the blaze.

Only via his bond with the golden corpses could he detect the excruciating agony they endured.

Feeling pain was actually a positive sign; total silence in feedback would spell disaster.

Through his shared link with the five golden corpses, their torment stretched the moments into an eternity, making the span of the third heavenly thunder drag like several hours.

At long last, the third heavenly thunder expended its fury, and the five thundercloud formations overhead scattered into nothingness.

He beheld his five golden corpses, over half their skin and flesh stripped away, revealing the underlying bones.

For typical living entities, such devastation would mean death multiple times over.

Yet the tenacious life force of golden corpses ensured all five endured.

Before Li Shiming could invoke the 'Innate Wood' divine ability, the blessings of heaven and earth descended, enveloping the five golden corpses in their restorative embrace.

Under the influence of this mystical energy, the lost flesh on the five golden corpses regrew at a startling pace, returning them to pristine human cultivator form within mere breaths, utterly free of scars.

As the heavenly rewards faded, Li Shiming extended his Divine Sense repeatedly to examine one of the golden corpses' status.

Delving into the golden corpse's core, he verified their late-stage nature, a determination drawn from the core's characteristics.

The core lay concealed within the golden corpse's frame, sealing away all traces of its aura, so any cultivator scanning it would detect only a Great Cultivator harnessing Yin Cold Spiritual Power, mistaking it for the real thing rather than a golden corpse.

In essence, the core mirrored a Great Cultivator's Nascent Soul, and with its aura contained, it could seamlessly impersonate an authentic Nascent Soul.

Beyond the existing 'Speed Rule Imprint' on the core, two new ones had emerged: a 'Power Rule Imprint' and a 'Defense Rule Imprint'.

Li Shiming had never anticipated that etching four billion 'Refining Corpse Runes' onto a Great Cultivator's body would yield such results; he had only hoped the sheer volume might trigger a transformative shift.

In the realm of artifact forging, reaching four billion runes often births corresponding rule imprints post-Artifact Tribulation.

But with four billion 'Refining Corpse Runes,' the resulting late-stage golden corpses boasted these two bonus rule imprints, exceeding his wildest projections.

After a brief reflection, he surmised that golden corpse refinement traditionally emphasized raw power and unyielding defense.

Likely, the 'Refining Corpse Runes' amplified those traits in the corpse, and scaling them to four billion had crystallized the 'Power Rule Imprint' and 'Defense Rule Imprint'.