Chapter 1960 - 1026: Exploration_2
Chapter 1960: Chapter 1026: Exploration_2
As he climbed up the mountain peak nearing the summit, he gathered nearly a hundred materials for half-step fifth-grade corpse refining.
When he reached the summit, a half-step fifth-grade ghost soul suddenly appeared and let out a soul howl directed at him.
This was not the same kind of soul howl emitted by the previous fourth-grade ghost soul; the half-step fifth-grade ghost soul was clearly more intelligent, as it targeted Li Shiming specifically with the soul howl.
A one-on-one soul howl focuses the impact point of the soul attack more intensely, and its power is stronger.
Even ordinary Great Cultivators, if careless, can easily fall prey to it.
Having withstood a soul howl from the half-step fifth-grade ghost soul, Li Shiming looked at the half-step fifth-grade ghost soul and opened his mouth, releasing "Heavenly Demon Entering the Ear."
This Secret Technique, "Heavenly Demon Entering the Ear," was created by him based on the Secret Technique "Devil’s Sound into the Ear" and the howl of the heavenly demon, and in numerous battles, it proved to be unexpectedly effective.
After achieving the Great Power Realm, when he executed this "Heavenly Demon Entering the Ear," its power was no longer just for harassment.
The power of "Heavenly Demon Entering the Ear" depends on the strength of the soul of the one executing it, and after ascending to Great Power, his soul strength far exceeds all other Great Cultivators.
This is absolutely certain; no Great Cultivator can possess soul strength exceeding the collective of one hundred ninety-one Great Cultivators.
When "Heavenly Demon Entering the Ear" was released, it was done in a one-on-one fashion by Li Shiming as well.
The invisible shockwave created by "Heavenly Demon Entering the Ear" struck the body of the half-step fifth-grade ghost soul.
The body of the half-step fifth-grade ghost soul instantly crumbled; perhaps it had some attack immunity, but "Heavenly Demon Entering the Ear" was specifically aimed at the soul, and could not be neutralized.
The Heavenly Ghost rushed over at this moment and swallowed the crumbled spirit energy of the half-step fifth-grade ghost soul.
After swallowing the spirit energy, the Heavenly Ghost conveyed a message to Li Shiming, indicating that this type of enemy did not require his master’s involvement.
Li Shiming laughed, realizing that the Heavenly Ghost did not want to waste good feed; even the half-step fifth-grade ghost soul was considered feed, albeit of a higher quality.
As the journey continued, half-step fifth-grade ghost souls appeared intermittently, but once a half-step fifth-grade ghost soul appeared, it would quickly be devoured by the Heavenly Ghost.
The speed of the Heavenly Ghost was exceedingly fast, almost as if fearing that its master would steal its prey.
Li Shiming enjoyed a leisurely pace, and after a day’s travel, he arrived at the tenth mountain peak.
During this period, he slew hundreds of half-step fifth-grade corpse refinings and ghost souls; as for the other fourth-grade corpse refinings and ghost souls, their numbers were incalculable.
The form of the Heavenly Ghost had already expanded to sixty meters, not because it intentionally grew larger, but because it had absorbed too much spirit energy without processing it.
This place was practically a paradise for the Heavenly Ghost; truly, if the Heavenly Ghost were left here, it could possibly ascend to the fifth grade in a matter of time.
Of course, ascending to the fifth grade here was not necessarily a good thing.
Because during the ascension process, it would not be perceived by heaven and earth, and once leaving here, the Heavenly Tribulation would be significantly more powerful than normal, greatly increasing the likelihood of failure.
Just like all the half-step fifth grades here, if this ancient ruin were connected to the outside world, all the half-step fifth grades here would cease to exist, and the Heavenly Tribulation would purify all the half-step fifth grades here.
Li Shiming did not intend to cultivate something that could only exist in special spaces or Grotto Heavens, as that held no meaning.
His astonishment at this ancient ruin grew, the deeper he explored, the greater his sense of reverence for ancient cultivators became.
He himself could cultivate half-step fifth grade, but he was acutely aware that he lacked the capability; without IBMz15, without the data center space, he would not be able to refine a half-step fifth-grade corpse.
Yet here, half-step fifth-grade corpse refinings and ghost souls were created en masse.
He even began to suspect that half-step fifth grade was not the limit, for the deeper he delved, the stronger the half-step fifth-grade corpse refinings and ghost souls he encountered became.
Even within the half-step fifth grade realm, there were distinctions of strength; the disparity between the strongest half-step fifth grade and the weakest was as vast as that between the Nascent Soul Early Stage and Great Cultivators.
Nevertheless, here his gains were substantial, having obtained more half-step fifth-grade corpse refining materials than anticipated.
During this period, IBMz15 conducted an analysis and research series on the acquired half-step fifth-grade corpse refining materials.
Through calculations and deductions, a viable plan was determined: refine a fifth-grade corpse refining by utilizing thirty-six portions of half-step fifth-grade corpse refining materials.
As for advancing a half-step fifth-grade corpse refining to the fifth grade, IBMz15’s repeated calculations revealed that the advancement of half-step fifth-grade corpse refining always lacked the most crucial step.
In truth, the key point for a half-step fifth-grade corpse refining to reach the fifth grade lies in its mastery of the rules.
The challenge is that the half-step fifth-grade corpse refining, though intelligent, lacks sufficient wisdom to comprehend the rules; it can only manipulate the rules based on the comprehension from when it was alive.
Thus, despite Li Shiming inscribing billions of "Refining Corpse Rune" into these corpse refinings, it still did not directly elevate them to the fifth grade.
A half-step Great Power’s corpse could only be refined to a half-step fifth grade; advancing further proved to be exponentially more challenging than he had imagined.
This conclusion was reached after acquiring and analyzing actual half-step fifth-grade corpse refining material data via IBMz15.
This compelled Li Shiming to alter his plan; he opted to refine fifth-grade corpse refinings using Great Power corpses and fifth-grade corpses and postponed advancing half-step fifth grade refinings until he devised a feasible improvement plan.
However, the essential prerequisite remained the acquisition of more half-step fifth-grade corpse refining materials.
On the tenth day of traversing the ancient ruins, his pace had markedly slowed.
Not only were the half-step fifth-grade corpse refinings and ghost souls increasing in power, but the detrimental environmental effects upon him were also intensifying.
Now, he did not just contend with half-step fifth-grade corpse refinings and ghost souls; he also had to battle the influence of Yin Cold Energy.
If not for his cultivation in "Heavenly Human Technique," he might have been forced to activate his defensive shield to its maximum capacity at all times just to withstand the erosion of Yin Cold Energy.
"Hmm!" As Li Shiming was walking, a sudden sensation stirred within him.
With a wave of his hand, one hundred thirty-three Holy Spirits flashed toward the left side.
The Holy Spirits, at present, emanated a sacred glow throughout their bodies, combating the Yin Cold Energy through this method.
On the other hand, the Heavenly Ghost was completely unaffected by the Yin Cold Energy, even seeming to relish the Yin Cold Energy-filled surroundings.
Here, the Yin Cold Energy already contained Rule Power, augmenting its corrosive effect by multiple factors.
The distance for Holy Spirits to perform Space Movement had been reduced to just ten meters; the prohibitions here had likewise strengthened considerably, so much so that even though Space Movement is a natural ability of Holy Spirits, it suffered a notable impact.
While performing Space Movement, the target of one Holy Spirit’s movement deviated automatically from its intended spot.
This situation suggested only one possibility: something lay hidden there, occupying the designated location.
"Indeed!" Li Shiming mused to himself.
Despite immense constraints in the ancient ruins, he could still perceive a faint trace of a special aura.
Utilizing perception here was arduous, so he resorted to the most straightforward method, having the Holy Spirits use Space Movement to tread all areas.
Fortuitously, after only a short time, he pinpointed the hidden location.
Li Shiming moved to the spot, extending his hand towards it.
His hand touched a film, which served as a barrier isolating all; although he could simulate this through a Formation, replicating the film’s effect was exceedingly difficult.
Unless he elected to employ the "Beidou Formation Map" or "Nine Heavens Star Constellation Array Diagram," which might create a space with similarly mirrored film effect.
However, utilizing the "Beidou Formation Map" and "Nine Heavens Star Constellation Array Diagram" presents a significant drawback: neither Formation is crafted by him, and any Great Cultivator familiar with both formations can detect them using specific methods.