Cultivation is just so scientific! Chapter 1697 - 895: The Situation

In Fengqi Palace's second floor at Luanyang Palace, Yin Shilan fixed her gaze on Li Shiming’s phantom clone without blinking.

Despite assurances from the phantom clone that the main body remained safe and sound, Yin Shilan watched it closely whenever possible, checking on Li Shiming’s condition and fearing it might vanish if she glanced away even briefly.

She never voiced her anxiety, yet Li Shiming perceived it clearly in her gaze.

Her fears intensified with greater insight into the cultivation world, particularly after grasping Li Shiming's tremendous strength. What haunted her was a cultivator so mighty that it compelled Li Shiming to flee desperately for survival.

Li Shiming had effortlessly slain the mightiest peak great cultivators of the Nascent Soul Stage in the cultivation world, even when they outnumbered him two to one.

The unimaginable might of the foe who drove Li Shiming to withdraw boggled the mind. Yin Shilan even suspected it could be the legendary great power.

After entering Luanyang Palace, her master informed Yin Shilan that a great power anchored its strength there, transforming it into a superpower with vast resources to cultivate every female disciple.

Even with Li Shiming gone and only the phantom clone left, Luanyang Palace's regard for Yin Shilan stayed unchanged—in fact, they cherished her more deeply.

This surely tied to Li Shiming's narrow escape from a great power; so long as he lived, Luanyang Palace would uphold Yin Shilan as a prized core cultivator.

Right now, the phantom clone pored over intelligence from Dongqi Continent, compiled by Luanyang Palace for Li Shiming.

Li Shiming had openly claimed seclusion for cultivation, yet whispers spread across Dongqi Continent's factions, rousing unruly powers to scheme.

Scrutinizing the dispatches, he discerned a superpower pulling strings from the shadows.

Absent a superpower's support, tales of Li Shiming's flight from Dongqi Continent would never have filtered to those factions.

No group would dare strike at the Ten Thousand Beast Sect, bolstered by Luanyang Palace's three resident great cultivators.

He shook his head dismissively, unbothered by the trivial ploys of Dongqi Continent's factions, having dispatched two late-stage golden corpses to the Ten Thousand Beast Sect.

These two late-stage golden corpses answered to Li Shiming alone, their formidable gear enabling them to crush numerous peak great cultivators with ease.

Truth be told, he relished the unrest on Dongqi Continent—chaos served his ends perfectly. With Ten Thousand Beast Sect claiming three-quarters of the land, the turmoil would let him sweep up the rest, seizing full command of the continent.

Superpowers lurked behind Lianhua Temple and Sun Concealing Sect, yet Li Shiming's crushing dominance had squeezed these sects into meager corners.

According to reports, these two sects stirred the most vigorously.

A sly smile curved the phantom clone's lips, convinced that Yuqing Sect and White Emperor Sect manipulated Lianhua Temple and Sun Concealing Sect.

"Looks like it’s time to give Yuqing Sect some trouble, and White Emperor Sect cannot remain idle either!" the phantom clone pondered silently.

"Phantom, is there any good news?" Spotting the smile on the phantom clone’s face, Yin Shilan—who had watched intently—quickly inquired.

Responses from the phantom stayed deliberately elusive. Li Shiming held back not from reluctance, but uncertainty over whether Cloud Island Sea belonged to the same realm as Central State Continent or a separate world.

Revealing too much would only amplify Yin Shilan's worries. Besides, if Cloud Island Sea aligned with Central State Continent's world, Yuqing Sect's Great Power Luo Yuan could feasibly track him down.

Li Shiming recalled seizing the teleportation ring from Yuqing Sect's Half-step Great Power Yang Xing.

"There’s some good news: the main body has found a safe place for seclusion, and it’ll take about thirty years to return!" Sidestepping its earlier musings, the phantom clone addressed Yin Shilan’s query.

"That puts my mind at ease!" Relief washed over Yin Shilan's features as she learned of Li Shiming's seclusion.

Sharing time with Li Shiming, she had seen firsthand his talent for drawing calamity.

Being a great cultivator, Li Shiming had forged countless formidable foes across the cultivation world.

Should Li Shiming escape to some distant location, he would undoubtedly stir up more chaos, leaving her deeply concerned about whether he could return alive.

Her fears turned out to be entirely valid. The moment Li Shiming set foot on Cloud Island Sea, he provoked all six superpowers in the area and even brought about the demise of a half-step great power.

Cloud Island Sea would never have enjoyed such tranquility had Li Shiming not chosen to enter seclusion.

In the meantime, across Dongqi Continent, Lianhua Temple and Sun Concealing Sect had gradually pulled back their influence over the years, surrendering massive territories. The yearly resources they gathered fell short of supporting their existing disciples.

Though the two great sects possessed lingering reserves, these deficits were only being offset by their accumulated stores from the past.

Still, this precarious balance could not last forever, and leaders from both sects knew it all too well.

Right in the midst of their toughest struggles, a superpower extended an olive branch to them.