Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 242: Chapter 167 Soul Dance_2

“So there are still cultivators who have chosen to stay behind, a mere Foundation Establishment seeking death!” Elder Zang said coldly.

His divine thought raced towards Junior Master Song’s body. The divine thought of a False Infant strength, as long as it worked on Junior Master Song’s body, was a certain death sentence.

However, Junior Master Song had already forsaken her body in advance. Her entire soul merged with the Array Formation Starlight Sea, integrating into the Sect Formation.

With Junior Master Song’s Foundation Establishment Stage realm, she could only support herself for Five Breath Time. After that, her soul would dissipate, and her consciousness would be lost forever.

She resolutely gave up her body, which was then torn to shreds by Elder Zang’s divine thought and turned into a mist of blood.

Elder Zang’s face turned grim; although he killed that woman’s body, he did not truly annihilate her soul. He could feel that she was still present.

At that moment, a gorgeous figure materialized amidst the radiant light of the Nine Peaks Sect Formation. At this time, Junior Master Song’s illusory figure donned a blood-red bridal gown, dancing gracefully within the Formation.

Each of her movements caused the spiritual power of the Nine Peaks Sect Formation to surge wildly.

All the cultivators of the Beishu Mingxin Sect trapped within the Sect Formation were immobilized.

Especially the Array Masters, who all watched the materialized woman with faces ashen.

“I give up my soul for eternal oblivion to avenge my husband, Zhuge Xuan, I am coming for you!” Junior Master Song murmured softly as she danced.

Her melding with the Sect Formation meant that even her softest voice clearly reached every cultivator within the Formation.

In her perception, it seemed as if a man was by her side, also smiling, dressed in red wedding attire.

She grew increasingly joyous, laughing out loud, dancing merrily.

Five Breath Time might be a fleeting moment for most, but for some, it was a lifetime.

During these five breaths, Elder Zang attempted to extinguish Junior Master Song’s body, but unless he struck with all his might, he could not immediately break through the Sect Formation.

After all, this Sect Formation had been strengthened by countless Array Masters over ten thousand years and was much more powerful than the Formation at Seven Star Island.

Elder Zang did not wish to launch a full-powered strike, as it would greatly diminish his lifespan. It was not worth it for these trapped cultivators.

As long as he was alive, the sect would remain; if he were to die, the sect would fall to intermediate sect strength, and at that time it might not even withstand the counterattack of the Seven Sects.

In Five Breath Time, the Sect Formation became a blinding white radiance, with terrifying spiritual power sweeping wildly through everything within the Formation.

Foundation Establishment Cultivators and Array Masters were torn into pieces by the explosive spiritual power, just as Junior Master Song’s body had been ripped apart by Elder Zang.

The five breaths passed quickly, the light of the Sect Formation vanished, and Junior Master Song’s figure disappeared, but everyone in the sky seemed to still hear Junior Master Song’s laughter.

“Who is Zhuge Xuan? And who is this woman?” Without inquiring about the sect cultivators who entered the Nine Peaks for rescue, Elder Zang asked those responsible for intelligence.

“Zhuge Xuan is a High-level Array Master of the Heavenly Sea Sect, and this woman’s name is Song Yingwan, also a High-level Array Master of the Heavenly Sea Sect. It is speculated that Zhuge Xuan was killed by Elder Yun a few years ago!” the cultivator reported back.

“I would have never imagined Song Yingwan would go to such lengths for Zhuge Xuan!” Elder Zang shook his head and sighed.

While Song Yingwan caused significant losses to the Mingxin Sect, Elder Zang still respected such a woman.

Many cultivators are selfish, but today Song Yingwan’s actions involved sacrificing her own soul, all for the sake of avenging Zhuge Xuan.

“Has Yun Xingyi not been found yet?” Elder Zang thought of something and asked aloud.

“Not yet. It’s very likely…” The cultivator stopped speaking, but Elder Zang understood what he meant.

Elder Zang shook his head helplessly; Yun Xingyi was the sect’s most hopeful candidate for achieving the Nascent Soul as a Golden Core cultivator.

“Issue the command, after occupying all sect territories, give top priority to finding Yun Xingyi’s whereabouts!” Elder Zang ordered solemnly. He then turned to the Golden Cores returning from the Nine Peaks and asked, “What are the losses?”

“Fifty-six Foundation Establishment Cultivators have fallen, twenty-one Basic-level Array Masters, six Intermediate Array Masters, and one High-level Array Master!” the Golden Core cultivator spoke in a low voice.

It seemed as if lowering his voice could lessen the loss the sect had experienced.

Elder Zang couldn’t help but feel a pang of distress, for the loss of a High-level Array Master was like losing a treasure to the sect.

The Mingxin Sect wasn’t particularly adept at formation arts, and their formation heritage in Beishu was considered ordinary. They had lost an Array Master when they were still in Beishu, and now, only three High-level Array Masters remained in the sect.

“What is that?” At that moment, a Golden Core cultivator pointed in surprise in the distance.

It wasn’t often something could surprise a Golden Core cultivator. Two hundred li away from Jiu Feng, a bizarre object was rising into the sky, spewing a long trail of flames from its tail.

“Elder, I’ll go and stop it!” a Golden Core Middle Stage Cultivator said loudly.

No matter what the object was, no matter how strange, if it appeared within the domain of the Heavenly Sea Sect, it was something created by the Heavenly Sea Sect.

Additionally, the bizarre object didn’t seem very threatening.

Considering the method of its ascent, it likely was some type of flying device.

As he spoke, the silhouette of the Golden Core Middle Stage Cultivator transformed into a rainbow light, flying towards the distant oddity.

If someone from a former era had seen that strange object, they would certainly have recognized it: it was a rocket.

This was the escape device that Li Shiming had been preparing for quite some time; after all, the fastest mode of travel in his previous life was by rocket.

The principle behind a rocket is not complicated; the main difficulty lies in the materials used.

The fuel used in the rocket’s thrusters is liquid hydrogen, which can be obtained through chemical processes from gaseous hydrogen. By storing the hydrogen gas at -252.8 degrees Celsius, one can obtain liquid hydrogen.

Li Shiming used arrays to create an environment of -252.8 degrees Celsius, enabling him to mass-produce liquid hydrogen.

The body of the rocket was made from ordinary steel enhanced with runes. Due to the mundane nature of the material, only the simplest reinforcing runes could be applied, but this proved to be sufficient.

A rocket body reinforced with such runes had a strength and corrosion resistance far surpassing the highest standards of rockets from his former world.

The rocket’s engines posed the greatest challenge; the materials for rocket engines were the biggest hurdle in his previous world. In this world of cultivators, the solution was extremely simple: substitute with spirit metal.

The entire rocket engine was composed of an assembly of Low Grade Magical Artifacts, each fine-tuned in the millimeter space of his workshop with arrays and enchantments applied by Li Shiming.

The head of the rocket was a Flying Boat, which normally had arrays that repelled air, meaning the Flying Boat encountered virtually no air resistance.

The Hidden Dragon Trading House had provided a great deal of assistance with the rocket—of course, they had no idea what the multitude of Low Grade Magical Artifacts that Li Shiming had custom-ordered were for.

One could say that the rocket embodied his research style, using his knowledge of formations and enchantments combined with technology from his former world to create a rocket that merged the expertise of two worlds.

It was a colossal project; for an extended period, his clone’s primary task was to continuously produce liquid hydrogen.

Li Shiming’s research wasn’t solely focused on this; aside from manned escape rockets, he also wanted to develop rockets capable of long-range strikes.

However, with his current production capabilities, while he could manufacture the bodies of rockets—merely at the expense of more Spirit Stones—he could not mass-produce the liquid hydrogen required for long-range strike rockets without better assistance.

After learning that he had been abandoned by his sect, he set up a launch device on Eagle Beak Island.

As the rocket ignited, flames completely enveloped the area in front of the mountain dwelling on Eagle Beak Island. The Spirit Bamboo and Spirit Plants in the spirit field turned to ash within the inferno.

A gap opened up in the Mountain Protection Array above, and as the rocket departed, the Mountain Protection Array shuddered violently; both the hill and the hill’s cave dwelling collapsed. Eagle Beak Island submerged beneath the sea, and the Mountain Protection Array sank with it.