Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 534: Chapter 313 Opportunity_2

But just as the Heavenly Demon’s howling ceased and the demon became nearly completely transparent, leaving only a faint and elusive silhouette, the lightning bolts lost their effect on such a state of the Heavenly Demon.

No matter how much Li Shiming intensified the lightning’s attacks, they could no longer harm the Heavenly Demon.

This state of the Heavenly Demon seemed to be devoid of vitality, like an empty shell, but this was a Heavenly Demon, after all. If it couldn’t be completely annihilated, it might recover someday.

Li Shiming did not know that the Heavenly Demon could undergo such a transformation; he reveled in the continuous enhancement of his soul, believing that with his own power he could annihilate the Heavenly Demon.

Li Shiming sensed the transparent Heavenly Demon; it existed in his perception, but when he tried to sense it with lightning, it felt like nothing was there.

This was why the lightning could not harm the Heavenly Demon—the demon in this state was more void than substantial. The only tangible aspect was the perceived silhouette of the transparent Heavenly Demon, which turned into nothingness upon contact.

Even in this state, Li Shiming could not extract the Heavenly Demon from his own soul.

To have the Transparent Heavenly Demon remain within his soul was a significant risk.

He thought of the engine room space, and with a slight motion of his mind, the Transparent Heavenly Demon disappeared from his soul and appeared within the engine room space.

The engine room space’s utterly unreasonable storage capacity, to a certain extent, broke the rules of Heaven and Earth, and it was by defying these rules of Heaven and Earth that it could achieve such a feat.

His mind entered the engine room space and saw the Floating Transparent Heavenly Demon, still enveloped by the lightning-formed Formation cage.

This lightning-formed Formation cage, constructed by Li Shiming manipulating the lightning, was even stronger outside the body than inside.

Unfortunately, the lightning cage still could not harm the Transparent Heavenly Demon, who remained as insubstantial as ever.

Even when Li Shiming sent his flying sword into the engine room space, attempting to harm the Transparent Heavenly Demon physically, it proved that physical means, or the ways of Spiritual Power Pattern or Sword Intent, could not harm the Heavenly Demon in its transparent state.

What he didn’t know was that the formation of the Transparent Heavenly Demon was extremely rare, requiring a cultivator to use the minimal amount of damaging attack to slowly deplete the energy within the demon.

Until the energy within the Heavenly Demon was completely depleted, precisely at the point of emptiness, yet without the excess force to break the demon’s shell.

If there were energy inside the Heavenly Demon’s shell, it could be destroyed along with the energy, but if the shell had no energy at all, simply an empty shell, then the shell’s insubstantial properties would make it immune to all attacks.

Li Shiming didn’t even know the kind of miracle he had wrought; he had played the Heavenly Demon to its limits.

No wonder it was considered a stroke of luck, as being possessed by a Heavenly Demon seemed like a tremendously unlucky event.

Yet, he had gained many benefits from the Heavenly Demon; his soul had strengthened by half, he created the “Heavenly Demon Entering the Ear”—a mental attack technique, and he gained a deeper understanding of the “Nine Heavens Thunder Strike Technique.”

Lastly, there was the shell of the Transparent Heavenly Demon; its use was still unknown, but it was an artifact left by the Heavenly Demon, a being that could cause headaches for cultivators at any level in the Cultivation World.

Now, Li Shiming no longer needed to worry about the Heavenly Demon. In the engine room space, he set up a lightning cage using electrically charged lightning, with a single charge of Thunder Spirit Power lasting several days.

In the future, as long as he kept replenishing the Thunder Spirit Power, he could keep the Heavenly Demon trapped until he found other ways to deal with it.

With the threat of the Heavenly Demon removed, his body relaxed; for forty days, both his soul and body had been in a state of tension, and now he could stretch both his mind and body.

At that moment, his mind was pondering the “Nine Heavens Thunder Strike Technique”; he finally understood why he had not been able to break through to the Golden Core Realm.

He had cultivated the “Five Rhymes Qi Cultivation Technique,” one of the top-tier cultivation techniques in the Cultivation World.

His deep understanding of the Five Elements Spiritual Power, coupled with his mastery in formations, should not have kept him trapped in the bottleneck of the Golden Core Stage for so long.

The main reason he had been stuck in the Half-step Golden Core Stage for several months was his insufficient grasp of the “Nine Heavens Thunder Strike Technique.”

Thunder Skill was one of the most powerful and complex techniques in the Cultivation World, and its difficulty was the largest barrier in its cultivation.

Thunder Skill required a certain aptitude for cultivation, which was a prerequisite for its practice, but even more important was the comprehension of the Thunder Skill. Without sufficient comprehension, the cultivation speed of Thunder Skill would be profoundly slow.

Li Shiming had always been pursuing his comprehension of the Five Elements. Even though his understanding of the Five Elements was enough to break through the Golden Core bottleneck, he continued to explore in this direction. If it hadn’t been for the need to confront the Heavenly Demon this time, he wouldn’t have known how long it would take to find the right direction.

A look of surprise appeared on his face as he felt his bottleneck loosening.

With just a bit more cultivation, he was confident that he could break through the bottleneck.

He did not immediately go into seclusion again, unlike Li Yuanba of the Senluo Sect, for whom the Elder Jian was in seclusion and otherwise had no other entanglements.

He had Elder Su, three senior fellow disciples, Elder Ma, and the attention of his sect.

Previously, when his senior sister had breakthrough, he had gone to observe. If he were to have a breakthrough, he would also need to report to Elders Su and Ma, and if there were Late-stage Foundation Establishment disciples, they could also come to observe.

He had enjoyed the benefits, but at the same time, he needed to take on his own responsibilities.

So he cast two communication techniques, sending them to Elders Su and Ma respectively.

Moments later, Elder Su and Elder Ma arrived at his cave dwelling.

“Master!” Li Shiming respectfully greeted the two masters who had helped him the most.

“Shiming, has your bottleneck loosened?” Elder Ma, more anxious than Elder Su, asked eagerly before Li Shiming had even finished his salutation.

Elder Su smiled and did not compete with Elder Ma to ask questions.

There was no need to ask more; Li Shiming’s aura, somewhat different from before his seclusion, had become less stable, which was enough to suggest that his bottleneck had loosened.

It was worth noting that Li Shiming, in his Half-step Golden Core Stage before, had an extremely stable aura, a stability that was due in part to the bottleneck.

Both Elders Su and Ma had gone through this period and had observed other Golden Core cultivators in the sect during their breakthroughs, so they could judge Li Shiming’s current state very accurately.

Of course, part of the reason was also that Li Shiming did not hide his aura in front of his two masters, as there was no need for him to hide.

Elder Ma’s urgency stemmed from Li Shiming’s status as an Alchemy Master. Once Li Shiming broke through to the Golden Core Stage, he could refine Third-grade Spirit Pills using two types of Third-grade Spiritual Medicines as main materials. This was just immediately after the breakthrough, but once his Golden Core Realm stabilized, he would be able to refine most of the Third-grade Spirit Pills.

By then, Li Shiming would be a true Alchemy Master, unlike now, where he bore the title of Alchemy Master but could only refine Third-grade Spirit Pills using one type of Third-grade Spiritual Medicine as the main material.

“I have had some insights during my recent seclusion and feel that if I organize what I’ve learned, I might be able to attempt a breakthrough to the Golden Core in about a month!” Li Shiming replied with a smile.

He did not mention the matter of the Heavenly Demon; he had already dealt with it, and discussing it further would require too much explanation.

“Until you break through, I will be watching over you, ensuring that no one disturbs you!” With a smile full of satisfaction, Elder Su spoke after receiving confirmation from Li Shiming.

His eldest disciple, Ye Jingxian, was already in the Golden Core Stage, and now his youngest disciple was on the verge of a breakthrough.

Normally, for a cultivator to train a disciple who becomes a Golden Core cultivator in their lifetime is considered quite an achievement. Two of his disciples were set to become Golden Core cultivators, while the other three still had plenty of time to grow and possibly attempt the breakthrough.

Just this sense of achievement alone made Elder Su extremely proud.

Thus, even if it affected his own cultivation, he decided not to go into seclusion until Li Shiming had broken through, as Li Shiming was not only his most important disciple but also the most important disciple in the Shushan Sect.