Cultivation is just so scientific! Chapter 1793 - 943: Duke of Thunder

Li Shiming detected the ninth strike of Heavenly Thunder. After a quick comparison, he perceived this Heavenly Thunder's might to be even greater than the assault from Lian Lei, a Half-step Great Power he had previously faced. While it couldn't match the true power of a Great Power, a Heavenly Thunder of this magnitude was undeniably sufficient to obliterate any being of the fourth grade.

As for whether the Sharp-mouthed Fanged Corpse Refining could endure the ninth Heavenly Thunder, he held no absolute certainty. In any scenario, should even a sliver of its residual force reach him after this Heavenly Thunder struck, he would find himself utterly incapable of self-preservation.

The formidable ninth Heavenly Thunder descended upon the Sharp-mouthed Fanged Corpse Refining. This entity utilized its wings to shield its form, forcibly withstanding the bolt of Heavenly Thunder.

Observing from a distance, Li Shiming sensed spatial energies emanating from the wings of the Sharp-mouthed Fanged Corpse Refining. He vaguely perceived a spatial fissure appearing on those wings at the moment the Heavenly Thunder impacted.

That terrifying Heavenly Thunder plunged into the spatial fissure, only to re-emerge from within the thunderclouds, subsequently shattering the dense formations of thunderclouds overhead. As for the Sharp-mouthed Fanged Corpse Refining beneath the ninth Heavenly Thunder, despite its outwardly ravaged appearance, it had indeed survived the Heavenly Tribulation.

The wings of the Sharp-mouthed Fanged Corpse Refining folded back behind its form, exposing its battered physique. Wounds marred its body, attempting a rapid self-repair, yet the lingering Heavenly Thunder energy within these injuries impeded their closure, drastically slowing the healing process.

However, with the arrival of the heaven-and-earth reward that followed the Heavenly Tribulation, the injuries afflicting the Sharp-mouthed Fanged Corpse Refining vanished entirely within approximately three breaths.

The energy coalesced from this heaven-and-earth reward did more than just mend its wounds; it actively reshaped the Sharp-mouthed Fanged Corpse Refining's physical form. A potent aura erupted from it, continuing its upward trajectory.

After an extended period, as the energy derived from the heaven-and-earth reward gradually dissipated, the aura radiating from the Sharp-mouthed Fanged Corpse Refining ceased its ascent.

Li Shiming could definitively ascertain that the realm of the Sharp-mouthed Fanged Corpse Refining had not yet attained the status of a Great Power – that is to say, the conceptual level of a 'Flying Night Demon'. Yet, it had unquestionably transcended the Golden Corpse stage, reaching a level comparable to a human Cultivator at the Half-step Great Power stage.

Naturally, even a Great Power specializing in the intricate research of Corpse Refining would be unable to categorize the specific type of Corpse Refining embodiment the Sharp-mouthed Fanged Corpse Refining represented. This was due to the unprecedented nature of such a Corpse Refining; it had never before manifested in the Cultivation World. Li Shiming's experimental endeavors had birthed a true anomaly.

Li Shiming directed his gaze toward the Sharp-mouthed Fanged Corpse Refining suspended in the sky. With a subtle shift of his intent, the entity vanished from its position and reappeared instantly before him.

The Sharp-mouthed Fanged Corpse Refining exhibited profound deference towards him; this sentiment was also palpable through the master-recognition contract that bound them. Its surpassing of Li Shiming's own realm had not triggered any semblance of losing control, a highly favorable outcome.

Regardless of the monstrous nature of the Sharp-mouthed Fanged Corpse Refining, so long as it remained under Li Shiming's command and possessed exceptional power, this experiment could be deemed an unqualified success.

Li Shiming meticulously scrutinized the Sharp-mouthed Fanged Corpse Refining. Beyond its readily apparent fangs, the discernible armaments on its person included the ten razor-sharp talons adorning its fingers.

These talons constituted a form of weaponry surpassing the fourth grade yet falling short of the fifth. Those talons alone possessed the capability to effortlessly rend the physique of a Peak Great Cultivator. He even harbored doubts as to whether a Half-step Great Power could withstand the onslaught of a swipe from the Sharp-mouthed Fanged Corpse Refining's claws.

Furthermore, these talons were by no means its most potent offensive capability. The Sharp-mouthed Fanged Corpse Refining also commanded the power to manipulate both lightning and space.

Engaging in communication with the consciousness of the Sharp-mouthed Fanged Corpse Refining, Li Shiming discovered that its methods of attack were remarkably diverse, far exceeding the capabilities of its Late-stage Golden Corpse predecessor.

The Sharp-mouthed Fanged Corpse Refining held dominion over lightning; this very power allowed it to forcefully break through eight bolts of Heavenly Thunder during its Heavenly Tribulation. Normally, Heavenly Thunder naturally held a restraining influence over Corpse Refining. This was also why cultivators frequently met failure when refining Corpse Refining; newly formed Corpse Refining found it exceedingly difficult to withstand the assaults of Heavenly Thunder. The preceding form of the Sharp-mouthed Fanged Corpse Refining was Yang Xing, a Half-step Great Power from the Yuqing Sect. Yang Xing had diligently practiced the "Yuqing Thunder Scripture," establishing himself as a Thunder Cultivator Half-step Great Power who had, to a remarkable extent, integrated the Thunder Rules into his very being. Although the Half-step Great Power Yang Xing had met his end, traces of the Thunder Rules persisted within his physical body. Throughout the transformation process of Corpse Refining, these residual Thunder Rules were ingeniously converted by the Refining Corpse Rune into a Thunder Rule Imprint. The other formidable ability possessed by the Sharp-mouthed Fanged Corpse Refining was its spatial manipulation. The ninth Heavenly Thunder was forcefully deflected by it, leveraging its spatial abilities; this represented a direct application of its spatial prowess. Furthermore, the Space Movement ability was something it innately commanded; when Li Shiming summoned it back, it had employed Space Movement. Li Shiming's own grasp of spatial abilities was acquired through the cultivation of the Divine Foot Skill. In terms of proficiency with spatial abilities, he was demonstrably inferior to the Sharp-mouthed Fanged Corpse Refining. With the Sharp-mouthed Fanged Corpse Refining by his side, Li Shiming could continuously scrutinize its spatial techniques, thereby enhancing his own mastery of spatial abilities. The tremendous disturbance emanating from this location was too significant to remain unnoticed by the Ten Thousand Beast Sect, situated ten thousand miles away, nor by the numerous cultivators across the Dongqi Continent. However, upon his emergence, he had already extended a prior notification to the Ten Thousand Beast Sect. On the Dongqi Continent, he stood as the most potent existence and also the cultivator wielding the most considerable authority, consequently, no cultivator dared to approach and disrupt him. Li Shiming harbored an intention to gauge the combat efficacy of the Sharp-mouthed Fanged Corpse Refining, but he swiftly relinquished this notion.