Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 664: Chapter 378: Going Home_2

It had just been twenty years, a span of twenty years. Back then, he was at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, and Li Shiming had just joined the sect during the invasion by the Mingxin Sect. Li Shiming was merely at the late-stage of Qi Refining.

However, twenty years later, Li Shiming stood before him, now a Golden Core cultivator. This made him doubt his own eyes.

“It seems Brother still remembers me!” Li Shiming said happily.

Being remembered felt wonderful. Relationships among cultivators were seldom deep. Back in the day, Zhu Ji had taught him the basics. Afterward, they had barely kept in touch.

Li Shiming had IBMz15. His memory shared with IBMz15, he could retrieve any related memory images at any time. No matter how many years had passed, as long as Zhu Ji’s appearance hadn’t drastically altered, he could recognize him at a glance.

“I wouldn’t dare to be called ‘Brother’ by a senior like you!” Zhu Ji, having recovered from his shock, respectfully performed a bow.

Li Shiming sighed inwardly. He had known it would be like this.

“Do you know how the Sky Sea Sect is doing?” Li Shiming waved his hand for Zhu Ji to stand up, then asked.

He knew some of the affairs concerning the Sky Sea Sect. Elder Yin and Elder Ren had brought some news when they came to the Beishu Continent, but he was unclear about the details thereafter.

“The Sky Sea Sect has long been gone. Now the seven sects have merged into one and have been driven to the seaside, barely surviving!” Zhu Ji mentioned the Sky Sea Sect with a face full of sadness.

He, unlike Li Shiming, was born near the Sky Sea Sect and later joined it, running in his veins was the purest bloodline of the Sky Sea Sect.

Hence, his affection for the Sky Sea Sect was profound—far deeper than Li Shiming’s, who saw the sect merely as a stepping stone to increase his power.

Zhu Ji later spoke a lot, also letting Li Shiming know the current situation on Sky Sea Island.

The Mingxin Sect was now dominant, but they had not annihilated the remaining seven sects completely.

Instead, these seven were completely sealed off and suppressed. Without access to cultivation resources, Golden Core Elders sought other avenues. Even with the merger of the seven sects, there were now only nine Golden Core Elders.

At the peak, the seven sects had over twenty Golden Core Elders, and that was just the official count.

Elders like Elder Yin and Elder Ren were among those who had left, forced to do so because without resources, even maintaining their power was difficult, let alone improving it.

Any Golden Core cultivator with even a hint of ambition wouldn’t dream of remaining trapped on Sky Sea Island, a place devoid of hope.

As for why the Mingxin Sect didn’t wipe them out completely, Li Shiming was all too familiar with such tactics.

If the Mingxin Sect ended up with no enemies left on Sky Sea Island, they would gradually become corrupt—this had been a lesson in the rise and fall of countless sects.

Without external threats, a sect loses its vigor and the drive to improve.

Leaving behind the weaker combined seven sects would give the Mingxin Sect’s disciples enemies to fight against.

“Senior, what are your plans for this return?” Zhu Ji anxiously watched Li Shiming’s expression as he asked.

In front of Li Shiming, even though he restrained his spiritual energy fluctuations, an oppressive aura still emanated from him.

He didn’t know how powerful Li Shiming was, but he hadn’t felt such pressure even from Golden Core Elders in the sect.

If Li Shiming were to return to the sect—although it was no longer the Sky Sea Sect, the merger of the seven sects could be considered a continuation—the sect’s strength would definitely greatly improve.

“I have already joined another sect. This time I just came to have a look,” Li Shiming shook his head. After a moment’s thought, he took out a jade bottle and tossed it over, saying, “Meeting here must be fate, let’s meet again if destiny allows it!”

After saying this, he flew up into the air and took off on his Meteor Ink Boat.

Zhu Ji held the jade bottle in his hands, watching Li Shiming’s flying boat until it was out of sight before turning away.

Even with his limited knowledge, he could tell that the flying boat was a treasure. It appeared that Li Shiming had been doing exceedingly well outside.

He opened the jade bottle, sniffed it lightly, and then a look of surprise appeared on his face.

Inside the jade vase were ten second-grade high-level Spirit Pills, the quality of which exceeded his expectations.

Although he merely sniffed them, he felt the turmoil within his Spirit Lake, and his spiritual power had increased slightly.

If he were to consume all ten second-grade high-level Spirit Pills, his strength could increase by at least a minor level.

He quickly looked around and, finding no other cultivators nearby, carefully put away the jade vase, contracted his body, and sprinted away swiftly.

Li Shiming had no intention of intervening in the affairs of the seven sects; he increased the speed of his Flying Boat.

Nanling Prefecture was in the southern part of Xia Country, the place where he had crossed over.

As he approached Nanling Prefecture, he put away the Meteor Ink Boat, cast an invisibility spell on himself, and flew into Nanling Prefecture.

The familiar streets had changed; the faces were all strangers. The soldiers he knew at the entrance of the government office had been replaced with unfamiliar ones.

His divine thought swept over the government office and found that it had already changed hands.

For a moment, he felt at a loss. Without intelligence support in Xia Country, he couldn’t determine his father’s whereabouts.

His gaze fell on the main study, where a middle-aged man dressed in a fourth-rank official’s robe sat.

The main study was where only the magistrate was entitled to use within this government office.

Li Shiming passed through the open window and landed inside the room, then he dispelled his invisibility.

“Who are you, and do you know I am a fourth-rank official of Xia Country, the master of this prefecture!” When the magistrate saw Li Shiming suddenly appear, although surprised, he still forcefully asked.

He probably thought that by raising his voice, soldiers would come.

But he did not know that Li Shiming had already sealed the surroundings of the study room. Not to say voice, even if someone stood at the door, they would not see what was happening inside.

Li Shiming did not answer. He began to look around the study, which hadn’t changed much; the arrangements were still the same, only the books had been replaced.

“Where has the original Prefect Li gone?” After looking around, he finally turned toward the magistrate and asked.

“Are you an Immortal?” The magistrate glanced at two soldiers who stood not far outside the study, seemingly unaware of what was happening here, and he asked aloud after realizing.

“Answer my question!” Li Shiming said impatiently.

“Mr. Li was promoted to the capital ten years ago!” After guessing that Li Shiming was an Immortal, the magistrate’s attitude immediately became respectful, and he honestly answered the question.

Li Shiming felt joy in his heart; he hadn’t expected that the magistrate indeed knew of his father’s whereabouts.

“I have disturbed you!” Li Shiming nodded, and his figure flickered, disappearing from sight.

The magistrate stood in place for a long while, not calling for the soldiers outside but instead observing the place where Li Shiming disappeared with a look of fervent admiration.

Li Shiming emerged from the study, reapplied the invisibility spell to himself, and flew over the garden. This place held precious memories for him. He copied the scenery into his life-bound magical treasure IBMz15, so he could revisit it anytime.

From here to the capital, he no longer used the Flying Boat. Instead, he directly utilized “Step by Step Lotus,” and he didn’t even use “Charming Soul Concealing Secret Technique” or “Sky Concealing Secret Technique,” just a common invisibility spell.

The cultivators of Xia Country probably didn’t even have a single one at the Foundation Establishment Stage. A common invisibility spell was already enough to render him invisible to the cultivators here, let alone ordinary people.

At the old family house in the capital, facing the somewhat aged vermillion door, Li Shiming knew without using divine thought, but simply based on the kinship bond, that his father Li WenYuan was here.

Given the aged state of the door, and considering that his father Li WenYuan was a fourth-rank official when he left, his father’s return to the capital should have warranted at least a residence matching his status. It was evident that the Li Family had declined.

He knocked on the door, and after the sound of the knocker echoed for more than a dozen breaths, the door slowly cracked open.

“Young Master, it’s the Young Master, the Young Master has returned!” The person who opened the door gaped at Li Shiming, then shouted excitedly before kneeling on the ground and repeatedly kowtowing.