Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 2002: Chapter 1047: Together (Part 2)

This wasn’t an attack that ended the moment the flying sword passed through; wherever the flying sword went, it left behind Sword Intent.

That Sword Intent continued to erode the areas it had cut through; as for the Heavenly Thunder, the left-and-right split Heavenly Thunder had its internal will of Heaven and Earth corroded by the invasion of the ”Chaos Sword Intent.”

The ninth Heavenly Thunder was sliced into two halves, yet instead of striking its intended target, it fell to the left and right sides of the ”Thunder Prison.”

This Heavenly Thunder did not let a trace of its power harm Li Shiming and Yin Shilan below; the two were standing between the split bolts of Heavenly Thunder, and the terrifying might of lightning turned huge patches nearby into scorched black.

”Sword, come!” The ten-meter-tall body of Li Shiming stood in the void, eye-catching like a god; he shouted in a deep voice.

The ”Dustless Sword” vanished from high in the sky and, when it reappeared, it was already above his head.

Meanwhile, in the sky above him, the thunderclouds were dissipating.

All the Cultivators who were fortunate enough to witness the Heavenly Tribulation stared at the figure in the sky with eyes full of reverence.

Even the intelligence agents of the various superpowers were the same; regardless of which power they belonged to, as long as they were Cultivators, they would revere the strong.

A powerhouse who had slashed apart a Heavenly Tribulation—and this was no ordinary Heavenly Tribulation, but a Great Power Heavenly Tribulation.

Don’t even talk about slashing apart a Heavenly Tribulation; even a Cultivator who could safely pass such a tribulation was a dragon among men, a peerless genius seen once in several thousand years, the ancestor-level existence of the Cultivation World.

”Hahahaha!” Li Shiming burst into loud laughter.

His body shrank from ten meters back to normal size. Because he had unleashed power beyond what his body could withstand, he was covered in wounds, yet that did not stop his laughter.

He had succeeded—he had slashed apart the Heavenly Tribulation and saved Yin Shilan.

Not only had he saved Yin Shilan, Yin Shilan had also successfully overcome the Heavenly Tribulation and become a Great Power.

Just then, his body swayed.

Only now did he realize how bad his condition was; never mind his mangled body, the energy in his five Grotto Heavens was almost completely exhausted.

The surface of the ”Dustless Sword” was covered in cracks, and this was a Fifth Grade Spiritual Treasure.

Given that it was forged from fifth-grade material, it was practically the most indestructible substance in existence.

Otherwise, why would refining a Fifth Grade Spiritual Treasure require the use of Fifth Grade Immortal Fire and several years of forging? That alone showed how incredibly tough fifth-grade materials were.

Yet even so, cracks had still appeared on the surface of the ”Dustless Sword.”

The sword strike he just unleashed had a power that even affected the ”Dustless Sword” itself, causing those surface cracks.

He sensed it and found that the cracks on the ”Dustless Sword” extended to one-fifth of the flying sword’s thickness.

Although this wouldn’t affect normal use, if he unleashed the same attack again, this Fifth Grade Spiritual Treasure would very likely collapse on the spot.

Li Shiming felt a bit helpless at this point; back then, he had considered that the ”Dustless Sword” was made of fifth-grade material and did not need ”reinforcement rule runes” to be sturdy enough.

So he enhanced the ”Dustless Sword’s” offensive power and its special spatial abilities, but did not strengthen its toughness.

Fortunately, over the years, the fifth-grade materials he had been cultivating in his Grotto Heaven were about to mature; before long, he would replace his Lifebound Flying Sword with a new one.

”Shiming!” Yin Shilan’s voice jolted Li Shiming out of his contemplation.

His figure flickered, and he appeared beside Yin Shilan.

Looking at the injuries on Yin Shilan’s body, rays of Innate Wood Divine Skills flowed from his hand and landed on her.

”Shiming, treat your own wounds first!” Yin Shilan waved her hand and said.

She felt an extreme happiness in her heart; Li Shiming had used his actions to prove his resolve to live and die together with her.

How many couples in this world could do this? Never mind the mortal world—even in the Cultivation World, it was common for Daoist couples to flee separately in the face of great calamity.

”I’m fine. Your injuries are too severe; we can’t delay!” Li Shiming said with a smile.

He had his own ideas: if he didn’t treat Yin Shilan immediately, later on a portion of the Heaven and Earth Reward Energy would be wasted healing her injuries.

Yin Shilan’s talent was already somewhat lacking; if the Heaven and Earth Reward Energy was squandered, it would affect her foundation.

Li Shiming’s sights were not set on just the Mahayana Realm; he was looking far beyond.

He wanted to ascend together with Yin Shilan. Since he could help Yin Shilan advance to Great Power, then ascending together was something he was determined to achieve.

Yin Shilan quickly understood Li Shiming’s intention. As the Heaven and Earth Reward Energy descended, it strengthened her physical body, soul, and Grotto Heaven.

Her Grotto Heaven fused with the external rules, making it more complete; even if she didn’t oversee it, the Grotto Heaven could automatically regulate its energy balance.

As for planning the Grotto Heaven, she had long discussed it with Li Shiming.

Her Grotto Heaven did not need to specialize in any particular aspect, because she was not needed on the battlefield.

She only wanted to construct a Grotto Heaven environment similar to the outside world to plant and cultivate Spiritual Medicines, nurture spirit ore, and so on.

Yin Shilan had advanced, and unexpectedly, because she had faced the Heavenly Tribulation together with Little Phoenix this time—

There was a separate share of Heaven and Earth Reward Energy for Little Phoenix, and Little Phoenix officially advanced to fifth-grade.

This was not hard to understand; the Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens Technique was a Cultivation Technique designed to be cultivated and grown alongside the Phoenix. Since she had summoned Little Phoenix during the tribulation, it was equivalent to Little Phoenix undergoing the tribulation together.

It was precisely because of the Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens Technique’s special nature that Heaven and Earth regarded Little Phoenix and Yin Shilan as one, and did not strengthen the Heavenly Tribulation due to Little Phoenix’s participation; otherwise Yin Shilan’s tribulation would have been even more impossible to withstand.

If the Heavenly Tribulation hadn’t become unbearable at the ninth Heavenly Thunder, then even with Li Shiming’s intervention, he would not have been able to face multiple Heavenly Thunders.

That one sword strike from Li Shiming had consumed all the energy in his five Grotto Heavens and inflicted severe injuries on himself; there was no way he could unleash a second strike.

After a long while, the Heaven and Earth Reward Energy inside Yin Shilan and Little Phoenix finally dissipated.

”Lan’er, you’re a Great Power now!” Li Shiming stepped forward and congratulated her with a smile.

”It feels just like a dream,” Yin Shilan looked gently at Li Shiming and said softly.

Little Phoenix took to the air and cried out to Little Feng, who was circling on the outskirts.

Little Feng also flew over to Little Phoenix’s side; the two Red Gold Phoenixes danced up and down in the air, frolicking happily.

Previously, Little Phoenix’s realm had always been lower than Little Feng’s, so even when they played together, they could not stand on equal footing.

Now that Little Phoenix had advanced to fifth-grade, Little Feng was extremely happy—at last it had a peer of equal strength, and of the opposite sex at that.

Li Shiming smiled, waved his hand, and put Little Feng, Little Phoenix, and the other Spiritual Pets away into his Grotto Heaven.

Although Little Phoenix was Yin Shilan’s Spiritual Pet, it acknowledged Li Shiming’s status and allowed itself to be put away by him without resistance.

Li Shiming extended his hand, took Yin Shilan’s hand, and used Space Movement with her, disappearing from high above the ”Thunder Prison.”

Li Taibai stayed behind to clean up the lingering might left by the final Heavenly Thunder.

There was no helping it; the power of that last Heavenly Thunder was too great. If it wasn’t cleared, those Thunder Cultivators would no longer be able to enter the ”Thunder Prison” to cultivate.

The events that had taken place at the ”Thunder Prison” on the Dongqi Continent soon spread to every superpower.

The various Great Powers were once again shocked; there were not many things that could astonish a Great Power, and in the past few hundred years, most of the events that shocked them were related to Li Shiming.

Yin Shilan, this Daoist couple of Li Shiming—if not for her connection to Li Shiming, she would never have drawn the attention of the Great Powers.

From the intelligence they had gathered, the Great Powers understood what Yin Shilan’s talent was like.

They had all come to the conclusion that no matter how much Li Shiming did for Yin Shilan, he could at most help her reach Half-step Great Power.

Advancing to Great Power was not something that could be achieved simply by piling on resources.

Otherwise, why would Great Powers in the Cultivation World be so few? Without sufficient aptitude, it was fundamentally impossible to become a Great Power.

Even with talent, one still needed opportunity, resources, and luck; if any of these were lacking, a Cultivator could not become a Great Power.

Yet Yin Shilan had become a Great Power with Li Shiming’s help, something beyond all the Great Powers’ imagination.