Cultivation is just so scientific!

He turned and arrived at the main hall; Li WenYuan was once again seated in his original position sipping tea.

"Shijie becoming the Emperor, I wonder if that's a good thing!" Li WenYuan said with slight reproof.

"I asked him, he's quite eager to try. If it doesn't work out, he'll just come back!" Li Shiming replied with ease.

Li WenYuan thought it made sense. With Li Shiming as his elder brother, what did it matter if he failed?

Although he did not know the extent of Li Shiming's power in the cultivation world, observing the State Preceptor Meng Bin's respect, which seemed to flow from deep within him upon seeing Li Shiming, he knew Li Shiming was doing very well.

He had met Meng Bin before. As the State Preceptor and an Immortal, he always carried himself above all mortals, including members of the Royal Family and the Princes.

Never had he seen Meng Bin treat a mortal with such demeanor, not even former Emperors.

"Shiming, let's not talk about Shijie now. Let's play a game and see if your skills have dropped!" Li WenYuan shifted the topic and said with a smile.

A servant beside them set up the chessboard, with Li WenYuan holding the white pieces and Li Shiming the black; Li Shiming was to move first.

It had always been this way. Li WenYuan had taught Li Shiming to play chess. When there was a spare moment, the father and son would often play a game.

Li Shiming played with care, not because he lacked ability, but because he needed to keep his father in good spirits, so he could not win, yet he could not lose too badly either, lest his father lose interest.

The powerful life-bound Spiritual Artifact IBMz15 became an assistant in their game of chess.

Amid the laughter of father and son, the day passed.

At night, under Si Qin's care, Li Shiming bathed, freshened up, and went to bed; still, he used a spell to put Si Qin to sleep in the middle of the night and went to the underground space to cultivate.

The next morning, as he was greeting his father, a communication technique arrived.

He did not disturb his father. After finishing his greeting, he left the room and then soared into the sky.

Bo Ran stood in midair, holding a corpse in his hand. Upon seeing Li Shiming, he threw the corpse over.

"Mr. Li, this is Bo Zhao's corpse. The sect's enforcement team executed him!" Bo Ran said solemnly.

Li Shiming's Divine Thought caught the corpse; it was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator's corpse, and both the age and appearance matched the description of Bo Zhao that he had overheard from Meng Bin's inner thoughts.

However, when he used "Telepathy" to listen, he heard Bo Ran's inner voice.

This was not Bo Zhao, but another Foundation Establishment Cultivator who bore a slight resemblance to Bo Zhao.

As for Bo Zhao, he was currently locked in Bo Ran's cave, waiting for Li Shiming to leave Heavenly Sea Island, after which he would allow Bo Zhao to change his name and reappear.

"Bo Zhao? Isn't this Sun Li?" Li Shiming let out a mocking laugh as he retorted.

Bo Ran's expression froze; he couldn't imagine how Li Shiming had found out about the body swap, let alone the swapped Foundation Establishment Cultivator's name.

He had told no one about this deed, not even his son Bo Zhao, apart from themselves, knew within the sect.

Even Bo Zhao did not know the name of the Foundation Establishment Cultivator who died in his stead, which gave Bo Ran a chilling feeling.

"Mr. Li, you indeed are a genius, but do not push too hard. The Mingxin Sect isn't so easily offended!" Of course, Bo Ran wasn't about to hand over his son, for the cost of a Golden Core cultivator having a child was not small.

"It seems I will have to go to the Mingxin Sect personally to get what I am owed!" Li Shiming said indifferently.

"Then I shall await fellow Daoist at the sect!" Bo Ran responded solemnly.

With that, he turned and left. Li Shiming did not make a move there.

This place was above the capital of Xia Country. If Golden Core cultivators began to fight, it wasn't just the aftermath, but merely the aura of a Golden Core cultivator could cause many mortals in the city to die.

Moreover, cultivators who have reached the Golden Core stage are not allowed to battle in mundane areas; such are the rules of the cultivation world.

When unnecessary, Li Shiming also did not wish to break that rule, although he possessed the strength to kill Bo Ran without any resistance, he had not done so.

Upon returning home, Li Shiming informed his father that he was going out to take care of some matters and would be back by evening.

He did not utilize "Step by Step Lotus," but instead used the Meteor Ink Boat to slowly fly toward the gate of Mingxin Sect.

The gate originally belonged to Sky Sea Sect. Due to its geographical location, situated right in the middle of the original seven sects, it was chosen by Mingxin Sect to be their new gate.

The reason he had not used "Step by Step Lotus," and even flying the Meteor Ink Boat at less than full speed, was to wait for Bo Ran to return to the sect.

From Xia Country to Mingxin Sect gate, using "Step by Step Lotus" would only take thirty minutes to reach.

Considering Bo Ran's speed at the middle stage of Golden Core, he kept his speed such that he would reach the gate in two hours.

Looking at the increasingly familiar scenery, the islands at sea, they remained the same as before.

Only now, these islands had changed sects, but their function remained largely unchanged.

As he neared Mingxin Sect, he saw a reef that was once the location of his cave abode.

Feeling a slight stirring in his heart, he casually retracted the Meteor Ink Boat and flashed into the sea.

Eagle Beak Island no longer looked like it once had, this was the result of the destruction he caused the last time he left using rockets.

The spirit field on the island was completely destroyed, allowing seawater to flood in. Most importantly, the spiritual vein had vanished, rendering the place useless for cultivators. Thus, it was abandoned.

Li Shiming went under the sea and quickly found the hidden cave he had left behind, passing through it to arrive at an underground space.

This space was the underground part of the former cave abode, where the spiritual vein was also sealed, unable to send spiritual energy upwards.

He sat next to the Spiritual Spring. The spring had not changed much; the small fish in the water were unaware of the events outside and swam freely.

He used his Divine Thought to catch two fish and made himself a meal of spirit fish soup.

The spirit fish, which had been greatly beneficial to him in the past, now served merely as a reminiscence.

He smiled and took out a Top Grade Spirit Artifact that he obtained at some point and placed it beside the Spiritual Spring. If a cultivator discovered this place in the future, this Top Grade Spirit Artifact could be considered a chance encounter.

Whoever found this place, it could be said that they had some destiny with him.

Without lingering there longer, he exited the underground cave and flew out of the sea surface towards the gate of Mingxin Sect.

He made his presence known, a move that caused the Sect Protection Array of Mingxin Sect to shine brightly.

Since Mingxin Sect had only occupied this place for just over a decade, they were always vigilant against attacks from cultivators, reacting extremely swiftly.

Li Shiming stood ten miles away from the gate which was still within the attack range of the array. However, due to his strength, even if the array launched an attack from such a distance, the power would not be sufficient to harm him.

He had no intentions of getting any closer. Although he knew that Elder Zang's lifespan was nearing its end, he did not want to get too close to the gate and give Elder Zang a chance to act.

"Shushan Sect Elder Li Shiming is here to pay a visit to the gate, hand over Bao Zhao and the deceitful Bo Ran, otherwise, I will seal off Mingxin Sect!" shouted Li Shiming, his voice echoing through the gate of Mingxin Sect driven by his spiritual power.

He waved his hand and twelve Silver Corpses appeared beside him, with the Absolute Spirit Illusionary Jiao also summoned but hidden to the side.

Inside the gate of Mingxin Sect, Bo Ran was reporting the previous events to the Sect Leader and the Elders.

He did not conceal anything. Being involved with an Elder from a major sect on the Beishu Continent like Shushan Sect, especially one who had advanced to the middle stage of Golden Core in just twenty years, he dared not hide the slightest detail.

"Are you saying that Elder Li held Elder Zuo's Token, openly demanding that Elder Zang must not interfere with matters regarding the Golden Core Stage?" the Sect Leader asked gravely.

Holding the Nascent Soul Ancestor's token meant that Li Shiming's status within Shushan Sect was even more significant.

Nascent Soul Ancestors rarely intervened in sect affairs; not to mention the Nascent Soul Ancestor, even the sect's Elder Zang only acted to help the sect retreat from the Beishu Continent when its survival was at stake.