Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 850: Chapter 471: Judgment (Part 2)

Venerable Huike executed the ”Miles Away”, and they instantly appeared above the sea.

At this moment, cultivators from afar also arrived, specifically Skywalk Trading Company’s Elder Jin Kai and Ancestor Ren Xun, as well as Heavenly Inquiry Sect’s Ancestor Luo Wei and Ancestor Han Xiao.

It could be said that both the Nascent Soul Ancestors from Skywalk Trading Company and Heavenly Inquiry Sect were here, and judging from their attitudes, it seemed there might be some covert collaboration between the two parties.

”Where is Li Shiming?” Ancestor Luo Wei glanced at the six Nascent Soul Ancestors forming a battle formation and asked indifferently.

If the six Nascent Soul Ancestors had really found Li Shiming, even if they resisted, he was confident he could make them hand over Li Shiming.

Because he had reached a cooperative agreement with Elder Jin Kai, first controlling the Cave Heaven Inheritance within their two forces, and then deciding distribution rights by other means.

This was an attempt to exclude the Beishu Continent, whose power was relatively weak.

The biggest role of the Beishu Continent was to locate Li Shiming. Once Li Shiming was found, the significance of the Beishu Continent would diminish.

”Go take a look yourselves, and you’ll understand!” Ancestor Lu, unwilling to clash with them, gestured to the sea below.

He also understood that these two forces must have installed many spies throughout the Beishu Continent, and even the Beishu Trading Company might have been bribed. Otherwise, how could they have followed so quickly?

They had converged immediately upon receiving information from Ancestor Zhan. Although it took some time for the six Nascent Soul Ancestors to gather, Venerable Huike’s subsequent ”Miles Away” saved a considerable amount of time.

An analysis revealed that the leaked information primarily came from the Beishu Trading Company.

He was considering discussing the matter with the Beishu Trading Company upon his return.

Recognizing the implication in Ancestor Lu’s words, Ancestor Luo Wei vanished into the sea and returned to the surface shortly after.

”Li Shiming left this cave residence ten days ago!” Ancestor Luo Wei asserted confidently to Elder Jin Kai.

Such traces couldn’t be faked, especially with the Array Plate and communication talisman on the ground, which demonstrated Li Shiming’s cautiousness.

He hadn’t given them any opportunities, even using an Array Plate to pre-set a time to send messages.

”What was Li Shiming’s last message?” Elder Jin Kai asked Ancestor Lu.

”Wait for him to return!” Ancestor Lu answered without withholding anything.

”He left? That doesn’t make sense; his strength just broke through to Late-stage Golden Core. Even if he wanted to leave, he’d at least wait until his power reached its limit, right?” Ancestor Luo Wei shook his head.

Based on current intelligence, Li Shiming should have a significant amount of late-stage Golden Core Third-grade Spirit Pills on hand.

They reckoned Li Shiming was secluded somewhere, and wouldn’t take further action until all his late-stage Golden Core Third-grade Spirit Pills were consumed.

They also estimated the number of late-stage Golden Core Third-grade Spirit Pills Li Shiming had refined, concluding he could last a maximum of five to eight years before depleting his supply.

It was based on this analysis that the two Nascent Soul Middle Stage Practitioners from Skywalk Trading Company and Heavenly Inquiry Sect remained on the Beishu Continent to wait.

In reality, they weren’t aware that their calculations were wrong; they underestimated Li Shiming’s alchemy prowess.

The number of Third-grade Golden Cores they computed was far too low, with the public part of Li Shiming’s alchemy exceeding their estimates threefold.

Not to mention Li Shiming possessed the ”Mountain and River Qiankun Fan”, which annually produced a large batch of third-grade Spiritual Medicine, beyond what he and his counterpart Li Yuanba could consume.

Elder Jin Kai’s expression changed slightly, while Ancestor Ren Xun’s eyes flickered with uncertainty beside him.

They naturally thought of the thirty-six drops of ”Reach Profound Kun Earth Immortal Dew”. Judging by the timing, Li Shiming’s departure coincided approximately with the time required to consume thirty-six drops of the ”Reach Profound Kun Earth Immortal Dew”.

In other words, Li Shiming chose to leave after digesting the thirty-six drops of ”Reach Profound Kun Earth Immortal Dew” and reaching a bottleneck in his strength.

The two of them had no plans to reveal this, as it was too humiliating; they had paid a great price but gained nothing.

They couldn’t even blame Li Shiming; it was Ancestor Luo Wei’s forced entry into the Shushan Sect’s gates that caused Li Shiming to flee and hide.

Li Shiming had taken with him ten Fourth Grade Spiritual Medicines and the upfront payment of thirty-six drops of ”Reach Profound Kun Earth Immortal Dew” as compensation.

”Could Li Shiming have set up a false trail and possibly still be somewhere on the continent?” Ancestor Ren Xun brought the topic back to finding out Li Shiming’s whereabouts.

”What if he is? He is so cunning, finding him won’t be easy!” Ancestor Han Xiao said in a deep voice.

”Everyone, we ask for your help in the Beishu Continent to find him!” Ancestor Luo Wei said with a smile to the six Nascent Soul Ancestors on the Beishu Continent.

He seemed to forget the previous pressure, but the six Nascent Soul Ancestors of Beishu Continent didn’t dare oppose, at least not before splitting the alliance of Skywalk Trading Company and Heavenly Inquiry Sect.

”That’s no problem; the intensity of the previous search won’t decrease!” Ancestor Lu assured in a deep voice.

”Then we shall take our leave!” Ancestor Luo Wei nodded.

He flew off in the direction from which they came, taking Ancestor Han Xiao with him, while Elder Jin Kai and Ancestor Ren Xun departed as well, leaving only the six Nascent Soul Ancestors behind.

”Did we make a mistake?” Venerable Huike asked softly.

The other Nascent Soul Ancestors understood his implication; for a Cave Heaven Inheritance, they had forced Li Shiming, their own top alchemy master, into hiding.

Yet they hadn’t gained the expected benefits; under the alliance of Skywalk Trading Company and Heavenly Inquiry Sect, they had become the weakest side.

At this point, they realized they couldn’t hold onto the Cave Heaven Inheritance even if they obtained it.

”It’s too late to say it’s a mistake now!” Elder Zuo said with a helpless smile.

”Too late!” Ancestor Lu shook his head.

Elder Zuo was concerned about Li Shiming, while Ancestor Lu worried about Li Yuanba.

The most troubling for Ancestor Lu was Li Yuanba’s master, Elder Sword. If Elder Sword knew how the Senluo Sect had treated Li Yuanba, even as a master, he wouldn’t find it easy to handle.

Ancestor Lu knew Elder Sword’s background; given Elder Sword’s character, if he truly returned to the Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion, it was highly probable that the Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion would protect Senluo Sect.

But if Elder Sword learned of the matters concerning Li Yuanba, let alone protecting, the greatest likelihood would be for the Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion to exterminate the Senluo Sect, perhaps only sparing Ancestor Lu a way out.

”Uncle-Master, there is something I haven’t reported to you!” Ancestor Han Xiao said to Ancestor Luo Wei.

In flight, Ancestor Luo Wei looked at Ancestor Han Xiao with curiosity, not knowing what he wanted to say.

”When Sword Elder of the Senluo Sect left, the formations we set along the route returned information. He departed along our course!” Ancestor Han Xiao said gravely.

It’s impossible to lay formations all along the route; what they did was set up some reconnaissance formations at the endpoint of the route after arriving on the Beishu Continent.

These reconnaissance formations were a normal safety measure to prevent ambushes set up midway by other forces.

It was known that at the route’s end, it might be discovered by the continent’s grand formation, and if the continent had the capability, they could set a trap there to ambush them on their departure.

Of course, for the Beishu Continent, such actions were almost useless, as the Beishu Continent’s strength couldn’t possibly execute an ambush.

Yet, safety had become a habit for Heavenly Inquiry Sect.

”How did he know our route? His disciple Li Yuanba and Li Shiming are friends, you mean there’s a possibility that Li Shiming also left the Beishu Continent along the route?” Ancestor Luo Wei pondered more and found it increasingly possible.

Initially, Sword Elder leaving the Beishu Continent in a direction similar to Heavenly Inquiry Sect’s route might have been a coincidence, but considering Li Shiming’s departure, Ancestor Han Xiao inevitably had some speculations.