Cultivation is just so scientific! Chapter 1554 - 823: Devouring (Part 2)
Previously on Cultivation is just so scientific!...
No assurance exists that Yang Xing, among the various Half-step Great Powers, stands as the one most likely to ascend to full Great Power status.
The Yuqing Sect's probe into matters simply won't permit the Intelligence Department to probe Yang Xing directly, this Half-step Great Power, and gathering intel on Yang Xing inside the Grotto Heaven remains impossible for the Intelligence Department.
Luckily, Master Wang He stands ready for the investigation, and since Master Wang He's mission falls under the Intelligence Department's purview for data collection, the Yuqing Sect Intelligence Department activated its top-tier intel network right away.
Over on Li Shiming's end, he reached a verdict, and via his sealed Nascent Soul, confirmation came that the Half-step Great Power had indeed perished.
He gave the order to the Heavenly Ghost, which charged at the thunderclouds without a second's pause.
While other spiritual beings might dread lightning strikes, the Heavenly Ghost proves exceptional. Its owner practiced the "Yuqing Thunder Scripture," granting the Spiritual Pet enhanced tolerance against thunder as well.
Moreover, the thunderclouds in the Grotto Heaven, fueled by the mind demon's mental force, linger on but pack far less punch. Forget the Heavenly Ghost—even a third-grade spiritual being could shrug off attempts to destroy it.
The Heavenly Ghost dashed toward the mind demon, its Heavenly Demon shell keeping it utterly soundless and unseen before the mind demon. Only when the Heavenly Ghost bared its jaws to gulp down the mind demon did any counter from the mind demon become futile.
Inside the Heavenly Ghost's maw, a bizarre spiritual power utterly erased the mind demon's awareness, reducing it to a mere blob of lifeless spirit energy.
Li Shiming directed the Heavenly Ghost to hold onto maximum sway over the thunderclouds during the feast, so as it consumed the mind demon, the Heavenly Ghost spared a odd spirit chunk.
Through his bond with the Heavenly Ghost, Li Shiming detected that spirit chunk.
The spirit chunk linked up with the Heavenly Ghost's awareness, staying fundamentally the same as prior, just abruptly shifting allegiance.
From his sense, the spirit chunk housed the Recognition Imprint of the Cave Heaven Core, essentially a soul shard. Thanks to Yang Xing’s dying fixation, during the soul's shift into a mind demon, this shard bearing the Recognition Imprint of the Cave Heaven Core endured intact.
At present, the Grotto Heaven's master has switched to the Heavenly Ghost. Just something like the Heavenly Ghost, able to ingest and reshape spiritual beings freely, possesses this kind of talent.
Naturally, this ties into both Yang Xing and the mind demon weaving this soul shard into their core obsessions, aiming to safeguard it.
Li Shiming pondered that now with the Grotto Heaven secured, a personal inspection seemed in order.
Yet the Heavenly Ghost encountered a challenge; the mind demon born from Yang Xing’s Half-step Great Power soul carried soul power at Half-step Great Power tier, whereas the Heavenly Ghost lingered at Peak Fourth Grade Middle Stage.
A huge surge of spirit energy got refined into the Heavenly Ghost’s own spirit power via the swallowing ritual.
The Heavenly Ghost’s level surged forward without delay, leaping to Late Stage Fourth Grade, and the rush didn't halt there, with spirit energy inside the Heavenly Ghost skyrocketing further.
In a way, gulping a full soul posed less ease for the Heavenly Ghost than tackling a mind demon.
Post-devouring of the soul energy by the Heavenly Ghost, conversion was needed, causing notable waste in shifting soul to spirit energy.
Yet mind demons differed; the Heavenly Ghost drew from Heavenly Demon traits, and Heavenly Demons served as the ultimate bane to mind demons.
Regardless of a mind demon's might, once a Heavenly Demon targeted it, instant consumption and takeover followed.
For the Heavenly Demon, mind demon energy tunes right to the Heavenly Demon’s preferred vibe, yielding almost total uptake on swallow.
The Heavenly Ghost, born from merging a Heavenly Demon with a ghost, duly inherited Heavenly Demon powers. Thus, ingesting a Half-step Great Power mind demon matched swallowing a full Half-step Great Power's spirit energy.
Li Shiming lacked knowledge on what a spiritual being needs for Late Stage Fourth Grade breakthrough, but the Heavenly Ghost's jump from Peak Fourth Grade Middle Stage to Late Stage Fourth Grade faced zero hurdles.
The enormous spirit energy kept flooding the Heavenly Ghost relentlessly. The pace of the Heavenly Ghost's progress stirred real jealousy in him.
Watching the Heavenly Ghost's power climb steadily from Late Stage Fourth Grade, every breath matched a Great Cultivator's decade of gains.
After some indeterminate time, the Heavenly Ghost hit Peak Fourth Grade Late Stage, but a hefty wave of spirit energy still poured in.
Thankfully, the Heavenly Ghost’s Heavenly Demon shell outshone typical spiritual being casings. As spirit energy topped the Peak Fourth Grade Late Stage limit, the Heavenly Ghost’s shell expanded, packing the surplus spirit energy inside.
When the spirit energy flow finally stopped, the Heavenly Ghost morphed into a colossal version, looming fifty meters tall.
The enormous Heavenly Ghost loomed in the Grotto Heaven, crown brushing the sky's roof and soles dug into the earth. Still, the Heavenly Ghost needed to hunch a bit.
This Grotto Heaven truly felt cramped, far too confined for straight posture.
Li Shiming got shocked by the Heavenly Ghost’s form. Despite his "Heavenly Human Technique" practice, in his view, the Heavenly Ghost’s overall spirit outstripped its owner's.
Remember, he boasts 191 brains, each holding a Great Cultivator's spirit honed for spirit arts. The combined might of 191 brains surely topped the Cultivation World's Great Cultivators in total spirit.
Yet now, the Heavenly Ghost eclipsed him, solely from consuming a mind demon derived from a Half-step Great Power.
If the Heavenly Ghost weren't his Spiritual Pet, he'd covet its fortune deeply.
He called the Heavenly Ghost out of the Grotto Heaven, and the version emerging outside, with its ghostly form, typically lacked menace. The Heavenly Ghost normally only rattled foe souls in close fights.
However, this Heavenly Ghost, openly revealing itself without cloaking or vanishing, projected a sixty-meter massive shadow, plus a subtle yet chilling spirit pressure leaking from its shell, enough to terrify any facing Great Cultivator.
This stemmed from spiritual suppression, where sheer spirit volume unleashes a soul-shaking impact.
Li Shiming grinned at the Heavenly Ghost, hardly anticipating a fresh battle tactic from this venture.
The battle tactics he now wielded went beyond the commonplace.
From the acknowledged battle tactics alone, one could see his arsenal featured thunder strikes paired with spirit treasures like the "Heavenly Strike Thunder Hammer" and "Shenxiao Thunder Pearl," sword flights boosted by "Traceless Illusion Sword" fused with "Chaos Sword Intent," and the full force of five Late-stage Golden Corpses outfitted completely.
Though his personal "Heavenly Human Technique" couldn't solo Peak Great Cultivators, the "Heavenly Human Technique" didn't qualify as an acknowledged battle tactic.
Not due to weakness in the "Heavenly Human Technique" itself, but from missing defensive counters. Still, the "Heavenly Human Technique" housed countless other secret arts; the noted thunder and sword assaults owed their strength to "Heavenly Human Technique" backing.
Regarding the eleven "Silver Winged Spirit Gu Insects," their fighting prowess awaited real tests, holding them as reserves for now.
With the Heavenly Ghost's present might, no Peak Great Cultivator would eagerly clash against it.
Few ways existed to counter spiritual beings, much less a unique Peak Fourth Grade sort like the Heavenly Ghost.
Truth be told, should Li Shiming confront a foe like the Heavenly Ghost, his first instinct would invoke Divine Foot Skill for flight, since spiritual beings' formless nature grants incomprehensible swiftness.
Should a spiritual being draw near, a cultivator's soul faces peril, a doom harsher than mere demise.
Li Shiming rested a palm on the Heavenly Ghost, probing its inner state. What it had swallowed was the heart demon from a Half-step Great Power, and that Half-step Great Power tier spirit energy, upon entry into the Heavenly Ghost, reshaped into Peak Fourth Grade spirit energy.
The shift between those spirit energy kinds caused the Heavenly Ghost's current swollen condition.
This proved hugely advantageous for the Heavenly Ghost; such immense spirit energy lets it steadily refine and integrate each day, evolving from sheer volume to true essence. Who knows, a fifth-grade Heavenly Ghost could one day grace the Cultivation World.
Sure, as a fresh breed unseen in the Cultivation World, figuring the path to fifth-grade for the Heavenly Ghost demands more study.