Li Shiming felt a wave of weakness throughout his body, with less than one-third of his spiritual power remaining.

    He withdrew his Qingyuan Wood Sword and grabbed the body of a Xuanming Sect Qi Refining Cultivator, stowing it away in the mechanical space.

    He didn''t have time to check the belongings of the Xuanming Sect Qi Refining Cultivator, deciding to just collect them for now.

    From underwater, he looked toward the surface where the Flying Boat had landed on the lake, sending huge ripples spreading across the water.

    It appeared that another Xuan Xuanming Sect Qi Refining Cultivator was attacking the Flying Boat.

    Li Shiming had no intention of helping. He had been fortunate enough to kill a Qi Refining late-stage cultivator of the Xuanming Sect and didn''t believe he could handle another late-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

    Just now, if the Xuanming Sect late-stage Qi Refining cultivator had not wanted to leave his body intact or had wanted to play cat and mouse, he would have been killed from afar many times over.

    From this experience, he silently reminded himself, when fighting lions unleash all your strength, likewise when fighting rabbits.

    Facing any enemy, one must never let their guard down; otherwise, they''d end up dead just like the Xuanming Sect late-stage Qi Refining cultivator a moment ago.

    Li Shiming''s oxygen tank could support him for at least thirty minutes, he planned to survive by any means possible, having already exceeded what was expected of him.

    As for the young men on the Flying Boat, their fate was now in their own hands.

    Inside the first floor of the Flying Boat, thirty young men had never encountered such a situation and did not even know what was happening outside.

    They only knew the Flying Boat was suddenly descending, followed by continuous booming sounds as the Flying Boat shook violently.

    "Where is the immortal master?" a young man shouted in panic.

    Unfortunately, no one answered him; there were only more panic-filled screams. Explore more at empire

    "Don''t be afraid, let''s unite and face this together!" Jin Shufeng suppressed the fear in his heart dramatically and spoke sternly to the young men around him.

    If not for his trembling legs betraying him, perhaps the other young men might have believed him.

    Regardless, his small group, confused, did gather around him.

    His sister, Jin Fengzhi, did not join them; she was very clear on what kind of person her brother was. Normally, it didn''t matter, but at times like this, she wouldn''t trust Jin Shufeng.

    Surrounded by many young men, Jin Shufeng felt a bit more secure, thinking that even in the face of death, these young men would die first, giving him more time to live.

    His interactions with Li Shiming were not frequent, but his impression of Li Shiming was extremely good.

    Li Shiming had helped him resolve the incident with the Xuanming Sect Qi Refining Cultivators in Central Capital, and for this, he owed him a favor.

    "Does anyone know where Li Shiming is?" Junior Master Cui asked aloud.

    His voice greatly calmed the teenagers, many of whom were still in a state where their brains were not functioning normally, unsure of how to respond to his question.

    "Respectable Immortal Master, Brother Li lured a cultivator into the water!" Jin Fengzhi, one of the few disciples who had observed the outside from the Flying Boat''s window, answered nervously.

    Upon hearing this, Junior Master Cui''s figure flashed off the Flying Boat, and then a sword light entered the water.

    Li Shiming, who had been hiding well, suddenly found his body uncontrollably being lifted at high speed through the water.

    He tried to break free, but his body was completely out of his control.

    He almost tried to take out an ''aluminum thermite grenade'' from the space in the engine room, but he didn''t even know where the enemy was. How could he use it?

    In his anxiety, he emerged from the water and saw a person standing on the sword light.

    "Junior Master Cui!" he exclaimed in surprise.

    "You did well by drawing away a Xuanming Sect cultivator," Junior Master Cui nodded approvingly.

    He did not believe Li Shiming alone could handle a Xuanming Sect cultivator. Just as he had discovered Li Shiming with his sword light, Li Shiming must have narrowly escaped the Xuanming Sect cultivator''s pursuit.

    As for that Xuanming Sect cultivator, perhaps he fled upon seeing Junior Master Cui''s sword light.

    Junior Master Cui did not bother to pursue him—it was just a minor Qi Refinement cultivator.

    "Stay on the Flying Boat!" Junior Master Cui instructed, as the sword light carried Li Shiming onto the Flying Boat''s deck.

    He himself flew towards the sky, likely to join in the battle with the distant Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

    Li Shiming steadied his mind and entered the first floor. He saw the young boys and girls huddled together, and dead bodies were everywhere.

    He also saw the body of the Xuanming Sect cultivator, his head separated from his body.

    "How tragic!" he thought to himself with a helpless shake of his head.

    Out of the thirty teenagers, only nine remained; the rest had become corpses.