Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 539: Chapter 316 Heavenly Thunder

Li Shiming took out another Golden Core, which belonged to the Six-fingered Sound Demon. The Spiritual Energy within this particular Golden Core was even scarcer.

Fortunately, his demand for Spiritual Energy had lessened significantly at this point. As a massive amount of Spiritual Energy surged into his body, it was transformed into Five Elements Thunder and Lightning Spiritual Power by the two cultivation techniques, entering into five distinct Spiritual Power convergence points.

At this moment, the center of the five Spiritual Power points all exhibited a solid gold Spiritual Power.

He realized this was the formation of the Golden Core about to complete, but the actual number of Golden Cores whether indeed five, still gave him an intense feeling of unreality.

The consecutive two Golden Cores, even if they were excessively depleted ones, contained Spiritual Energy that at least accumulated over a hundred years of a Golden Core cultivator.

Whether it was Yun Xingyi or the Six-fingered Sound Demon, both were veteran Golden Core Stage cultivators. Yet, the Spiritual Energy within their two Golden Cores became the foundation for Li Shiming to form five Golden Cores.

Otherwise, even with the Golden Core Spirit Veins and Spirit Gathering Array, given his demand to form five Golden Cores, the Spiritual Energy of Sword Holding Peak would definitely not be sufficient for his absorption.

If the Spiritual Energy were insufficient, then advancement would be out of the question.

If this attempt at advancement failed, the damage he would sustain was simply incalculable because of the uniqueness of his Spirit Lake, and normal methods of repairing the Spirit Lake might all be useless.

He felt the absorption of Spiritual Energy by the five Golden Cores gradually stabilize, but following that, the vitality and spirit within his body were drawn into the five Golden Cores.

In terms of physique, he could say that he was unmatched among Foundation Establishment cultivators. Apart from mastering ‘Vajra Body Protection Divine Skill’ and ‘Sword Demon Secret Manual’, he had also consumed a large number of third-grade spiritual items, pushing his physical condition to the limits of the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Therefore, even though the five Golden Cores absorbed the vitality from his body, his body could barely endure it.

Of course, on the surface, his condition looked terrifying.

His body visibly slimmed down at a seeable pace, which was the manifestation of the rapid depletion of vitality within his body.

But as the superficial fat in his body was consumed, the depletion of vitality in his muscular parts noticeably slowed down.

Because the vitality in his muscles was extremely abundant, a result of large quantities of third-grade spiritual items combined with two Body Refining Techniques; indeed, just in terms of physical condition, he surpassed many Golden Core cultivators.

What made Li Shiming feel the most uncomfortable was his spirit being devoured by the five Golden Cores.

For an ordinary cultivator, let alone having their spirit devoured by five Golden Cores, even one could be unbearable.

Yet, his spirit was so strong that it could rank among the top in the history of all Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Cultivation World.

Moreover, he had a method that would allow his spirit to endure for a while longer, making the devouring of his spirit the easiest hardship to overcome.

Above his head, a brilliant Array Formation Starlight Sea appeared, the mysterious and profound specks of starlight not only represented the intricacies of the formation, but they were also the manifestations of his spirit.

As the five Golden Cores devoured his spirit, he could use the spirit stored in the Array Formation Starlight Sea as a substitute. The only caution was not to let the Array Formation Starlight Sea deplete too much, causing it to collapse.

“Array Master?” Elder Su and Elder Ma exclaimed in unison.

Immediately, they both stopped speaking; such disturbances could affect Li Shiming’s breakthrough process and distract him.

Elder Su and Elder Ma exchanged glances, a helpless smile of resignation in both their eyes. Just how much had this kid hidden?

For other cultivators, if they could become an Array Master, they would have already leveraged this status for benefits.

As for Li Shiming, had it not been for today’s advancement matter, who knows how long his identity as an Array Master would have remained concealed.

An Array Master, although not as sought after as an Alchemy Master, still held a prominent status within the sect.

The major arrays of the sect required an Array Master for setup, and important maintenance work also needed an Array Master to perform.

It can be said that an Array Master is an indispensable talent within a sect, and the number of Array Masters has always been very few.

Each major sect has a multitude of arrays, and compared to the number of arrays that need an Array Master’s intervention, there are far too few Array Masters.

Not to mention the Golden Core Elders and Nascent Soul Ancestors, some of whom also have needs related to arrays, which also require an Array Master to operate.

Li Shiming felt his body becoming increasingly weak. Ever since he began cultivating, he had never felt like this.

He seemed to be plummeting from a cultivator to a mortal, even worse than a mortal at that.

Fortunately, his spirit was still under control, not allowing his mind to lose rationality and keeping him fully aware of what was happening.

The five Golden Cores grew slightly, the cost being that the Golden Core of the Six-fingered Sound Demon became dull and lusterless, his body almost reduced to skin and bones, and the starlight in the Array Formation Starlight Sea above his head dimmed.

Suddenly, Li Shiming sensed a signal from the five Golden Cores and without any hesitation, he swallowed a Soul Stabilizing Pill that emitted a purple glow.

For Li Shiming taking out a top-grade third-grade Soul Stabilizing Pill, Elder Su and Elder Ma already didn’t feel much surprise.

After all the shocks and horrors they had already experienced, the appearance of a third-grade top-grade Soul Stabilizing Pill seemed trivial.

Upon ingestion, the Soul Stabilizing Pill immediately turned into energy, stabilizing the Spiritual Power within his body, and no more external Spiritual Energy entered his body.