Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 754: Chapter 423 Origin_2

As the thought crossed his mind, the flying sword pierced into his body.

”How can this flying sword be so fast?” That was his first thought.

”How did the flying sword break through my defenses!” That was his second thought.

These two thoughts flashed by in an instant, and as his Mysterious Turtle defensive stance was breached, his defenses crumbled.

He was left with only the innate defensive power of his Body Refining Grand Elder physique, but without running the Body Refining Techniques, this physique’s defensive power couldn’t provide much defense against peers of the same rank.

The sword that penetrated Great Elder Sun Ao’s body was the ’Flowing Light Star Meteor’ flying sword treasure.

This was Li Shiming’s first time using the ’Flowing Light Star Meteor’ flying sword treasure in real combat, and he had only utilized its sharpness; the rest went unused.

Who would have thought that Great Elder Sun Ao wouldn’t even move, just a living target, making the attack lack any difficulty, and not showing off the power of ’Flowing Light Star Meteor’ at all.

The ’Flowing Light Star Meteor’ penetrated the critical nodes of Great Elder Sun Ao’s Body Refining Techniques, reaching deep into his bones.

With the ’Divine Eye Technique,’ Li Shiming saw the state of Great Elder Sun Ao’s body, and without his defensive abilities, he was like meat on a chopping board, completely at Li Shiming’s mercy.

The Third Grade Sword Base in Li Shiming’s hand disappeared; at this moment, it would have been enough to end Great Elder Sun Ao’s life.

He swung his fists, just like an ordinary person fighting, striking Great Elder Sun Ao’s body with punch after punch.

His attacks were calculated; each one struck the critical nodes previously analyzed by his lifebound IBMz15 treasure, rendering Sun Ao completely immobilized.

At the same time, he let out shrill screams; this was the ’Heavenly Demon Entering the Ear.’

Had ’Heavenly Demon Entering the Ear’ been used on a healthy Great Elder Sun Ao, given the gap between Li Shiming and him, the effect would have been almost negligible.

But now, as Great Elder Sun Ao lost his power to resist, each use of ’Heavenly Demon Entering the Ear’ weakened his spirit’s resistance.

With both his body and spirit under attack, Great Elder Sun Ao couldn’t even muster the thought to refocus his mind; his brain was muddled.

Li Shiming’s Divine Thought searched Great Elder Sun Ao’s body and took the staff treasure and the Space Ring.

The Space Ring was a Mustard Seed Ring; while Great Elder Sun Ao was still alive, it would take some effort to open, so Li Shiming didn’t immediately open it but took it instead.

Li Shiming’s fists and screeches continued for two hours, leaving Great Elder Sun Ao limp as mud, his eyes unfocused, his spirit severely weakened.

At this time, Li Shiming’s ’Telepathy’ was deployed, entering the mind of Great Elder Sun Ao.

”What is the purpose of your coming to the Beishu Continent?” Li Shiming asked gravely.

The newly awakened Great Elder Sun Ao was shocked. Instinctively, his mind went to the purpose of coming to the Beishu Continent and thought resolutely about not being a traitor.

Li Shiming, through ’Telepathy,’ heard the inner voice of Great Elder Sun Ao and his face showed a look of astonishment.

It turned out that the purpose of Skywalk Trading Company’s visit was a Grotto Heaven opened by a great power named Zhai Ge.

Of course, Skywalk Trading Company wasn’t entirely sure, but the great power Zhai Ge had indeed come to the Beishu Continent and had lived here for many years, leaving some traces.

These traces were detected by the Skywalk Trading Company’s branch on the Beishu Continent, confirming that Zhai Ge had stayed for several centuries.

Afterward, there was no more news of Zhai Ge, leading Skywalk Trading Company to suspect that he had perished on the Beishu Continent.

The demise of a great power is never so simple.

Li Shiming didn’t understand what realm Zhai Ge belonged to, as that was not something Great Elder Sun Ao’s inner voice mentioned, but from the ability to open Grotto Heavens, one could tell that he was definitely not comparable to those Nascent Soul Early Stage Practitioners from the Beishu Continent.

According to Li Shiming’s judgment, Zhai Ge very likely exceeded the Nascent Soul Stage, and the Grotto Heaven that remained would be where Zhai Ge’s relics are kept.

It’s no wonder that Skywalk Trading Company continuously investigated the Beishu Continent, estimating that if it weren’t for Li Shiming’s discovery of Skywalk Trading Company’s intentions and finding evidence of their exploration of various sects and powers, perhaps Skywalk Trading Company would slowly develop and continue its investigations in Beishu Continent.

Until they discovered the Grotto Heaven of the Great Power Zhai Ge and stealthily took away the treasures within.

What Li Shiming did not know was that, before it was annihilated by the six great sects, Skywalk Trading Company had found a piece of key evidence.

This is also why, after the Skywalk Trading Company’s Beishu branch was destroyed, Patriarch Weng Zhao immediately came, originally to verify the news, but he had not expected the local branch to be ruined.

With the strength of Patriarch Weng Zhao, it was not possible to support the whole sky with one hand in Beishu Continent, and other Nascent Soul Ancestors of Skywalk Trading Company still needed time to arrive, so he was preparing to proceed slowly.

However, Patriarch Weng Zhao eventually failed and fell at the hands of Li Shiming.

Elder Jin Kai of Skywalk Trading Company arrived next, possessing great strength, and so he was even more direct, enticing local cultivators to serve him through various means.

A large amount of resources were invested, winning over countless local cultivators and investigating the locations of Grotto Heavens throughout the Beishu Continent.

”Sun Ao, which Body Refining Technique do you practice?” Li Shiming asked another question through ’Telepathy’.

In the inner voice of Great Elder Sun Ao, a technique named ’Taiqing Xuan Turtle Technique’ appeared. According to legend, the Taiqing Xuan Turtle was the first Mysterious Turtle between heaven and earth, possessing tremendous strength and an immortal body.

Legend has it that the Taiqing Xuan Turtle supported the sky, separating heaven and earth, and withstood countless attacks without affecting its body that held up the sky.

All this was heard from the inner voice of Great Elder Sun Ao, who had a zealous identification with the Body Refining Technique he practiced.

”Do you still remember the content of the ’Taiqing Xuan Turtle Technique’?” Li Shiming asked again.

This time, through the ’Telepathy’ of Li Shiming, he saw a turtle shell.

What surprised him even more was that this turtle shell was inside Great Elder Sun Ao’s Mustard Seed Ring.

A look of surprise flickered in Li Shiming’s eyes; he didn’t ask Great Elder Sun Ao anything more and, after a moment’s hesitation, used ’Flowing Light Star Meteor’ to strike at Sun Ao’s vital points.

The light in Great Elder Sun Ao’s eyes disappeared, and life rapidly drained from his body, soon losing all vitality.

Although Li Shiming wanted to control Great Elder Sun Ao, he could not be certain he could genuinely control a Body Refining Grand Elder from an external continent who might possess many Secret Techniques.

As long as he gave Great Elder Sun Ao the slightest chance, Sun Ao might erupt in resistance.

Most crucially, there was a Nascent Soul Middle Stage Practitioner before and after Great Elder Sun Ao, so killing Sun Ao was the safest option.

Li Shiming glanced once more at Jiang Shu, who was on the brink of death beside him, a Golden Core cultivator who had betrayed the Beishu Continent. With a casual strike, Li Shiming killed Jiang Shu, and a flame turned the body to ashes.

After doing these things, his gaze fell upon the waterfall in front of him.

Although Great Elder Sun Ao had determined that this waterfall was not the location of Great Power Zhai Ge’s Grotto Heaven, that compass could detect spatial fluctuations, which means there was a special space here.

Li Shiming’s Divine Thought spread out, searching every inch of the waterfall.

The waterfall flowed down to form a small pond, slight in size but extremely deep.

As his Divine Thought spread out, he probed as deep as one hundred and fifty meters before reaching the bottom of the pond.

There he discovered traces of formations. With his knowledge of formations, a few traces allowed him to infer many things.

It was a spatial formation. Someone used a formation to carve out a space within this pond.

That was why the compass that detected spatial fluctuations had discovered something, and such spatial fluctuations were extremely rare in the Cultivation World, at least they would not appear in the wild.

Spatial formations were only inherited by great sects or powers, typically used within sect gates, or upon Flying Boats, and sometimes for personal grotto-homes. It is likely that this pond concealed a wild grotto-home.