Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 538: Chapter 315 Process_2

He hadn’t gone mad from his practice, perhaps due to the deep fortune that was on his side.

Now the consequences of his reckless actions had emerged. The five nodes of the third-grade “Five Elements Qi Absorption Array” began to absorb different types of Five Elements Spiritual Power. At the same time, the Spiritual Power produced during cultivation, once converted by the third-grade “Five Elements Qi Absorption Array”, was no longer expelled but directly absorbed by the five nodes.

Other cultivators had only one Spiritual Power convergence point, but Li Shiming now had five such points in his Spirit Lake, corresponding to the five nodes of the Five Elements in the third-grade “Five Elements Qi Absorption Array”.

Li Shiming felt as though he was going insane; he didn’t know what the outcome would be if he continued to absorb energy in this manner.

But he soon discovered another serious problem standing in his way.

There wasn’t enough Spiritual Energy. A spirit vein reserved for Golden Core cultivators was actually insufficient to support Li Shiming, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, in his breakthrough to the Golden Core Stage. This was something nobody had anticipated.

With the current rate of absorption, even mid-grade Spirit Stones wouldn’t suffice, mainly because the speed at which Spiritual Energy could be drawn from the mid-grade Spirit Stones couldn’t keep up with his rate of absorption.

He did have top-grade Spirit Stones, but these were divided by attributes, and he only had top-grade Spirit Stones of two attributes. He dared not absorb them at random, as an imbalance in the Five Elements Spiritual Power within his body could have unimaginable consequences.

It was at that moment he thought of something.

With a slight stir of his Divine Thought, a golden orb appeared before him.

As he cultivated the “Five Elements Qi Refining Technique” and the “Nine Heavens Thunder Strike Technique”, a continuous stream of Spiritual Energy was drawn from within the golden orb, far surpassing the supply of the spirit vein.

For a time, this golden orb satisfied his need for Spiritual Energy.

“That’s a Golden Core!” Elder Su rubbed his eyes and whispered in disbelief.

He could no longer remain silent; he couldn’t bear to watch any longer.

A Golden Core, which unfortunate Golden Core cultivator had been killed, their Golden Core seized.

As a Golden Core cultivator himself, Elder Su was as shocked as if a tempest had struck; he couldn’t imagine how Li Shiming, a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, could possess the Golden Core of a Golden Core cultivator.

Seizing the Golden Core of a Golden Core cultivator wasn’t an easy feat; the bond between a Golden Core and its cultivator was not easily severed, and at least Elder Su knew of no such method that could break it.

To seize the Golden Core of a Golden Core cultivator and maintain a copious amount of Spiritual Power within required that the Golden Core be taken while the cultivator was still alive, forcibly severing the bond between them.

This was not something an ordinary cultivator could do, not even a Golden Core cultivator could achieve it; only a Nascent Soul Ancestor possessed such capability.

Yet even for a Nascent Soul Ancestor, seizing a Golden Core was no simple task, especially since a Golden Core cultivator could cause the Golden Core to self-destruct with just a thought.

And if one killed a Golden Core cultivator to take their Golden Core, the Spiritual Power within would continually dissipate, resulting in a useless object.

It was precisely because such Spiritually potent Golden Cores were so difficult to obtain, coupled with the hostile attitude of any Golden Core cultivator toward the act of stealing a Golden Core, that such items were so rare in the Cultivation World that Elder Su, despite living for hundreds of years, had never seen one with his own eyes.

“Did this young man personally slay a Golden Core cultivator?” Elder Ma also asked in a low voice.

“He did, and not long ago. However, judging by the depth of Spiritual Power within this Golden Core, it is unlikely to be that Golden Core female cultivator’s Golden Core!” Elder Su thought of Fang Lu, whom Li Shiming had slain, and compared her to the Golden Core before him as he answered.

Elder Ma, focused on his Alchemy, was learning for the first time that Li Shiming had personally slain a Golden Core cultivator. His casual inquiry had been met with such a response.

“This Golden Core has an extremely sharp aura, faintly carrying Sword Intent, likely belonging to some Sword Cultivation Golden Core cultivator!” Elder Su continued.

The more he spoke, the less confident he became. He did not dare to use his Divine Thought and was basing his speculation solely on the aura emanating from the Golden Core, which he too doubted.

In fact, his guess was correct; this was indeed the Golden Core of a Sword Cultivation Golden Core cultivator, the Golden Core of Yun Xingyi.

No one would probably believe that Li Shiming, during his Qi Refinement Realm, had slain a Golden Core cultivator, who was a well-known Sword Cultivator on the Beishu Continent.

With the Spiritual Energy provided by the Golden Core, the suction at the five nodes of the ‘Five Elements Qi Absorption Array’ inside Li Shiming’s Spirit Lake became more and more powerful, and the five nodes began to show signs of Spiritual Power contraction.

“Could it be that I am going to form five Golden Cores?” He felt his scalp go numb in waves. Could it really be possible for someone to have five Golden Cores existing simultaneously in this world?

By now it was impossible to halt the ascension. The Spiritual Energy within Yun Xingyi’s Golden Core was being absorbed by him continuously, and the five points of Spiritual Power contraction greedily absorbed the Five Elements Spiritual Power, all flickering with electric light.

The state within his body was beyond his imagination; the possibility of simultaneously forming five Golden Cores was becoming ever more likely.

His demand for Spiritual Energy also grew increasingly large. The Spiritual Energy in Yun Xingyi’s Golden Core, which was supplying five Golden Cores, was slowly becoming insufficient.

If Yun Xingyi had been at his prime, his Golden Core would naturally be full of Spiritual Power, but when Li Shiming killed Yun Xingyi, Yun Xingyi was in a critically injured state and was preparing for Body Seizing.

At that time, the Spiritual Power within Yun Xingyi’s Golden Core was pitifully scarce.

Of course, no matter how scarce it was, the Golden Core could still provide all the Spiritual Energy needed for two or three cultivators to form their own Golden Cores without a problem.

Yet Li Shiming needed to absorb Spiritual Power for no less than five Golden Cores, which caused Yun Xingyi’s Golden Core to be drained in a short span of time.

Almost the instant Yun Xingyi’s Golden Core was emptied, Li Shiming took out another golden orb.

To be able to ascend to the Golden Core Stage, he really had to bring out all of his reserves.

By this time, Elder Su and Elder Ma were stunned. Was this their disciple, a mere Foundation Establishment Cultivator?

Even though Li Shiming was an Alchemy Master, a highly skilled Alchemy Master who could quickly gain wealth,

which Golden Core cultivator would pay with their own Golden Core to obtain Spirit Pills? A Golden Core is grown and nurtured by countless Third-grade Spirit Pills; its value is immeasurable.

Of course, that is referring to the Golden Core within a Golden Core cultivator’s own body. As for Golden Cores obtained through plundering, the true methods of utilization are only known by Devil Cultivators, and due to the extreme rarity of Golden Cores, their actual value is also not clearly defined.

Look at Li Shiming, a mere Foundation Establishment Cultivator, who for the sake of absorbing Spiritual Energy, casually brought out two Golden Cores.

This suggests that at least two Golden Core cultivators’ deaths were related to Li Shiming; otherwise, how could he have possibly obtained the most valuable Golden Cores of Golden Core cultivators?

Although Elder Su and Elder Ma were shocked in their hearts, they had no other thoughts.

As mentioned before, Li Shiming was far too important to the Shushan Sect. It didn’t matter that Li Shiming had only taken out two Golden Cores to help his breakthrough; if Li Shiming used these two Golden Cores to practice devilish techniques, the sect would turn a blind eye.

The three Late-stage Foundation Establishment Disciples who were observing Li Shiming’s ascension process were now doubting life itself, staring blankly as the previous Golden Core fell to the ground, shattering into pieces, with a new Golden Core taking its place.

This was a Golden Core, the very thing that the three Late-stage Foundation Establishment Disciples had sought their whole lives, only to watch Li Shiming treat as if it were an ordinary Spiritual Object, expendable.

Especially the second senior brother, Wan Zheng, who scrutinized Li Shiming closely, from top to bottom, left to right, trying to determine whether the person before him was his junior or some great devil in disguise.

But no matter how closely he looked, Li Shiming was still the Li Shiming he knew, the one who would smile happily upon receiving a gift from him when he first entered the sect.

He then glanced at the expressions of his master, Elder Su, and Martial Uncle, Elder Ma. If there was anything wrong with Li Shiming, these two would definitely notice.

The result was that he saw the same shocked expressions on the faces of Elder Su and Elder Ma, with no other emotions or actions, implying that Li Shiming was indeed his junior brother.

“How could I have ever thought of comparing myself with my junior brother!” Wan Zheng felt a wave of emotion within himself.