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 underestimate Li Shiming, thereby letting Li Shiming activate the 'Innate Wood' divine skill to mend his wounds.

"I sealed his Nascent Soul!" Right then, a voice echoed into Master Wang He's ears, wiping away his worries in a flash.

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

True enough, his Nascent Soul had been sealed, yet the assailant clearly had no idea about his possession of five Nascent Souls, with merely one getting sealed.

Thus, he remained able to unleash the 'Innate Wood' divine skill via another of his Nascent Souls, and regardless of how grave his wounds were, the ample 'Innate Wood' divine power energy would swiftly mend him.

While his form soared through the air, both he and his life-bound magical item IBMz15 were scrutinizing the recent foe.

He'd pored over numerous ancient records, many of which delved deeply into descriptions of the mighty.

He refused to accept that a Great Power would traverse the ocean to the Dongqi Continent solely to target him.

Besides, the wielder of that finger appeared bound by certain limitations, prevented from manifesting in the outer realm and likely struggling with mobility there as well.

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

Had that finger been free to strike freely, such maneuvering wouldn't have been necessary; the owner could have simply approached and jabbed at him to finish the job.

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

He couldn't have misread that sensation; the finger held the power to effortlessly claim his life.

Against that finger, he felt utterly powerless, like a defenseless infant.

As a half-step Mahayana cultivator, he pondered the assailant's nature—a kind of formidable cultivator rarely encountered in the Cultivation World.

Such beings stay hidden in the Cultivation World since the half-step Mahayana cultivator treads a path of no retreat, forging their own Cave Heaven, and must fortify it before their lifespan expires, lest they perish alongside it.

For a half-step Great Power, every instant proves invaluable. Confined within an unfinished Cave Heaven, external cultivators cannot intrude, for even minor disruptions might destroy a lifetime of dedication for a half-step Great Power.

Li Shiming's knowledge of half-step Great Powers remained limited, drawn mostly from textual sources.

Those details accessible to Great Cultivators represent the surface level, whereas the concealed aspects likely remain privy only to the highest echelons of major superpowers.

After retreating a specific distance, the lethal peril faded, solidifying his assessment.

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 faced no further peril.

Yet he pressed on with more withdrawal and directed IBMz15 to map out a tentative assault radius.

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

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

Within his 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 compact energy forms constitute the external projection of a Cave Heaven, where no matter the vastness of the inner realm, just a tiny material link ties the Cave Heaven to the outer world.

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 separate spatial layer and stays concealed from view. The anchor links the Cave Heaven to the vast Cultivation World.

This revelation brought Li Shiming relief.

He turned his gaze once more to the pair of Peak Great Cultivators, shedding his earlier probing intent, now filled with murderous resolve.

Had fortune been just a tad less favorable, he'd already lie dead.

"Obstruct my lifespan, hinder my cultivation; bar my Dao path, and I'll battle without cease till the finish!" he resolved inwardly.

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

The five late-stage Golden Corpses pulled back at once. Though they absorbed additional blows from the two Peak Great Cultivators, nothing halted their dash to Li Shiming's position.

"Mr. Li, resistance is futile now; those five Golden Corpses won't shield you!" Wang He Great Cultivator declared coolly.

Victory seemed assured to him; a Great Cultivator bereft of Nascent Soul access resembled a fangless tiger, ripe for control.

"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 emerge?" 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 hunches from Wang He Great Cultivator's outburst.

Firstly, his attacker was indeed a half-step Great Power; secondly, this half-step Great Power hailed from Yuqing Sect; and lastly, the half-step Great Power couldn't strike him from a distance.

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

"Once you're hauled to Yuqing Sect, I'll ensure you're properly handled!" Wang He Great Cultivator spat bitterly.

Never before had anyone demeaned 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 returning!" Li Shiming intoned gravely.

A fearsome aura erupted from his form. Though one Nascent Soul stood sealed, it merely cost him one-fifth of his spiritual power stockpile, barely denting his fighting 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 assurance, Li Shiming's Nascent Soul had to be sealed.

Yet how could a Great Cultivator with a sealed Nascent Soul still draw on the spiritual power housed there?

Well-versed in half-step Great Power capabilities, they as Peak Great Cultivators grasped the depths more than fellow Great Cultivators. Such intel typically unlocks only at the Peak Great Cultivator ranks within sects.

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

Half-step Great Powers boast defensive means for self-protection, and beyond full Great Powers, no cultivator can endure such assaults.

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

An authentic strike represents a distinct assault type; thanks to the Cave Heaven's singular traits, deploying it against foes in the physical realm lets the internal rule power neutralize most real-world energy barriers.

No matter the incompleteness of the Cave Heaven's inner rules, 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' deployed 'Chaotic Spiritual Power' defense shield got bypassed; even the innate guard spell of a premier fourth-grade robe proved useless.

True attacks grow even more dreadful, functioning as direct material assaults via the Cave Heaven's power conduit.

Without restraint, any material finer than the Cave Heaven's conduit faces obliteration from the true attack.

That single finger, appearing mere flesh, actually linked to a half-step Great Power's Cave Heaven, unleashing an onslaught via Cave Heaven Power.

Back then, Li Shiming had pitted his body against the material of one Cave Heaven conduit; absent the half-step Great Power's power control, it would have reduced him to dust.