Cultivation is just so scientific! Chapter 1581 - 837: Merger

"Canglong Sect?" Li Shiming mused briefly, drawing a complete blank on any such group.

Honestly, a sect like that hardly merited his notice, especially since he paid no heed to the inner workings of the Ten Thousand Beast Sect.

"Then you shall live, and go back to deliver this: No force from the Dongqi Continent is allowed to set foot on the Beishu Continent without my order!" He dialed back a portion of his aura and proclaimed in a grave tone.

Xiao Lu sensed the overwhelming force bearing down on him ease away, his entire form slick with perspiration, as though he'd teetered right on the precipice of doom.

"My lord, I will leave the Beishu Continent at once and spread your command!" Freed from the bind, Xiao Lu bowed low in the sky, his voice full of deference.

He then carefully rose halfway, backing away gradually through the air, terrified of any action that could irk Li Shiming.

The seven Nascent Soul Early Stage experts pinned to the earth, Ancestor Ge and Ancestor Zhan far off, plus Ren Fei’er inside the cavern—all the cultivators who saw this were utterly stunned.

A Nascent Soul Middle Stage powerhouse, one that demanded the full might of Beishu Continent's sects to challenge, groveled like a mere hound in front of Li Shiming.

What stood out most was Xiao Lu's use of "my lord," a phrase seldom heard in the Cultivation World.

Among ordinary folk, "my lord" might refer to a parent or serve as a title for a government figure.

In the Cultivation World, it only emerged when a huge gap in standing existed, marking deep submission to the superior.

"Fan Ancestor, Elder Zuo, Ancestor Ling, Ancestor Lou, Elder Ran, Venerable Huike, Ancestor Lan, it’s been years, I didn’t expect you’d welcome me this way. Lan’er had her century’s worth of cultivation destroyed by you; I initially thought of letting it go due to some past kinship, seeking only a little compensation, but look at what you have done!" Li Shiming gazed at each fallen ancestor, hailing them with the familiarity of old.

His gaze brimmed with recollections, as many of these ancestors had battled by his side, raised cups together, and some had been close companions beyond generational divides.

But for the lure of gain, every bond had been forsaken.

"Li Shiming, I know I’ve wronged you. Left Brother and I are at your disposal, but I beg you, for old times’ sake, to leave the Shushan Sect’s heritage!" Fan Ancestor implored.

Having felt Li Shiming’s true power firsthand, he grasped just how naive his past assumptions had been.

Li Shiming turned his eyes to Fan Ancestor, then scanned the rest of the Nascent Soul Ancestors, his brow furrowing in thought.

Slaying them posed no challenge, but afterward, he'd face the task of sorting out the turmoil across the Beishu Continent.

On some other landmass, he'd shrug it off. After all, what upheavals hadn't he quelled in his time?

Though the Shushan Sect had slighted him, it sheltered his master and comrades; the Senluo Sect also counted among those hosting the master of his clone, Li Yuanba, and Jian Wuwei. Such ties demanded careful weighing.

"Hereafter, the seven sects shall unite, with the Thousand Illusion Sect’s mountain gate as the center, establishing a new mountain gate. All cultivators involved in oppressing Lan’er must enter closed-door cultivation after the merger!" Li Shiming at last pronounced his verdict.

His declaration caused every Nascent Soul Ancestor to raise their heads, staring at him in sheer astonishment.

This setup spared the sects’ legacies, yet it effectively dissolved their core identities after thousands of years.

Unsurprisingly, they resisted the notion, and even Ancestor Ge and Ancestor Zhan from the Thousand Illusion Sect opposed Li Shiming’s plan.

"Senior Li, isn’t this decision a bit..." Ancestor Ge started to argue, only to halt under Li Shiming’s piercing stare.

"I’m not discussing this with you, but declaring it. In the Cultivation World, strength reigns supreme. As a Great Cultivator, I assume authority over all matters on the Beishu Continent!" Li Shiming stated icily.

With those words, he called forth five Late-stage Golden Corpses, each radiating the aura of a Great Cultivator upon arrival, which quelled any murmurs of dissent from the Nascent Soul cultivators.

"Mr. Ge, take them with you; they can move each mountain gate along with the spirit veins!" He gestured toward Ancestor Ge and commanded.

Of everyone there, Ancestor Ge bore the least fault, making him the fitting choice for the job.

After issuing his orders, Li Shiming’s form flickered out of sight, abandoning the five Late-stage Golden Corpses in his wake.

The five Late-stage Golden Corpses curbed their presence, at last permitting the gathered Nascent Soul cultivators to stir without restraint.

"Huike, this is the Nascent Soul Middle Stage you mentioned?" Ancestor Lu rose to his feet, shouting at Venerable Huike.

His rage was understandable; mistaking a Great Cultivator for a Nascent Soul Middle Stage stemmed from Venerable Huike and Elder Li’s reports, which had spurred his foolish confrontation.

No, confrontation? He hadn't even qualified for that, barely deserving to linger in Li Shiming’s presence.

Great Cultivators, a concept gleaned from dealings with the Canglong Sect, acted as a revered label in the Cultivation World for those at Late-stage Nascent Soul.

Through the Canglong Sect, they learned the essence of a Great Cultivator—one who equaled scores of Nascent Soul Middle Stage foes, perched at the pinnacle of the Cultivation World, wielding true dominance.

"How was I to know that a Golden Core Stage cultivator would become a Great Cultivator after a mere hundred years away from the Beishu Continent, can you believe it?" Venerable Huike, thoroughly irritated, dropped his monastic poise and fired back sharply.

His retort silenced Ancestor Lu, who conceded the point—Venerable Huike wasn't at fault, particularly since Elder Li had echoed the same judgment.