CHAPTER 1014: CHAPTER 553: GROWTH (PART 2)

He thought of the Gu Feng Sect currently in conflict with the Ten Thousand Beast Sect, wondering if he should seize the opportunity to take the initiative and eliminate some Gu Feng Sect cultivators!

As long as there are no other cultivators watching, he can exert his true combat power, and almost has no rivals in the Nascent Soul Early Stage realm.

Brother Song looked at Little Feng with envious eyes. He was well aware of what a Red Gold Phoenix represented. As long as the Red Gold Phoenix grows to the fourth grade, it can become an important combat force of the sect.

He also thought about himself; his spiritual pet was gravely injured and on the brink of death. If it cannot be saved, he might need to use contribution points to apply for re-entry into the Ten Thousand Beasts Cave Heaven to re-contract a spiritual pet.

This would consume a large amount of his contribution points, as the resources and time needed to re-cultivate a spiritual pet cannot achieve real combat power without several hundred years.

Don’t look at Li Shiming’s Little Feng, growing at such a fast speed.

This is Little Feng’s luck, encountering a suitable spiritual insect, and having a powerful owner like Li Shiming, able to trap the third or fourth grade ’Three Gold Earth Beetles’ in an illusion, allowing Little Feng to consume them without any resistance.

"Brother Song, do you have more things to do, or will you return to the sect with me?" Li Shiming asked Brother Song.

"Please, Master Li, take me back to the sect with you!" Brother Song said, bowing.

Li Shiming and Brother Song flew towards the sect together. Because he needed to consider Brother Song, Li Shiming’s flying speed was not fast.

While flying for a distance, his gaze fell in one direction, his ’spiritual eye’ saw a Nascent Soul quickly approaching.

His ’spiritual eye’ can see up to three thousand miles; that Nascent Soul had not yet discovered him and Brother Song.

He was doubtful in his heart, as few cultivators would travel using only their Nascent Soul. Even if they did, it would be accompanied by their body, not just the Nascent Soul.

A Nascent Soul is very vulnerable without deploying the Nascent Soul Dharma Form; if attacked, the consequences are more serious than attacking the body.

Attacking the body of a Nascent Soul cultivator, the Nascent Soul can still escape afterward and start over by body seizing or using a backup body.

But if the Nascent Soul is destroyed, then the Nascent Soul cultivator truly dies.

"A Nascent Soul is approaching, be careful!" Li Shiming warned aloud.

Brother Song’s fingers flashed with runes as he cast a secret technique to enhance his vision, then looked in the direction Li Shiming pointed.

At this time, the Nascent Soul had approached, and due to its rapid speed, when it saw cultivators up ahead, it was already not far from Li Shiming and Brother Song.

That Nascent Soul was startled, just about to flee but saw Brother Song, causing the Nascent Soul to pause.

"Brother Deng, what happened to you?" Brother Song recognized the identity of the Nascent Soul and asked in a startled voice.

"Brother Song, please escort me back to the sect!" Deng Zhang, in Nascent Soul state, felt much relieved and spoke out.

"Hurry up and come over, don’t leak the Nascent Soul essence!" Brother Song drew several runes in the air with his fingers as he spoke.

Deng Zhang’s Nascent Soul did not hesitate, being good friends with Brother Song, he knew that being in Nascent Soul state outside was too dangerous.

He flew to the runes arranged by Brother Song, which enveloped the Nascent Soul.

"Thank you, Brother Song, this time I suffered, I encountered a surprise attack from Gu Feng Sect cultivators, and only my Nascent Soul escaped with the main treasure!" Deng Zhang recounted his ordeal in a sorrowful tone.

"Damn Gu Feng Sect, I was also attacked, if not for Master Li’s help, I probably wouldn’t have fared any better than you!" Upon hearing Deng Zhang’s encounter, Brother Song immediately said with shared indignation.

"What, you were also attacked?" Deng Zhang exclaimed in shock.

Both he and Brother Song thought of one thing; if the attacks by Gu Feng Sect were not isolated incidents, then it’s likely not only the two of them were attacked, but more sect cultivators as well.

He then looked at Li Shiming, hearing Brother Song call him Master Li, he realized Li Shiming’s identity.

It was because he recognized Li Shiming that he had some questions about how Li Shiming was able to save Brother Song.

"I encountered Xiong Long, this time Xiong Long met Master Li and suffered heavy losses. It might take a hundred years to recover!" Brother Song couldn’t help but speak of Xiong Long’s miserable state.

Hearing that even Xiong Long was defeated and fled from Li Shiming, Deng Zhang felt much more at ease; having a powerful companion like Li Shiming made returning to the sect much safer.

They encountered no more troubles along the way and returned to the sect after several hours.

"Master Li, I must take Deng Zhang to find a backup body and report the previous matters to the sect; farewell for now!" Brother Song bowed and bade farewell.

"Let’s meet again when we have time!" Li Shiming nodded in reply.

He flew towards his mountain but received a message from Junior Brother Lu Heng.

It seemed Lu Heng had been keeping track of his movements and learned immediately when he returned to the sect.

"Brother Li, after returning to the sect, do not leave for a short period!" Lu Heng’s message was brief but left Li Shiming bewildered.

"Junior Brother Lu, did something happen?" Li Shiming replied with a query.

"Today, in our sect’s influence range, three Nascent Soul Early Stage practitioners were attacked by Gu Feng Sect cultivators; one known to have perished, and two escaped with only their Nascent Soul!" Lu Heng responded.

Li Shiming sighed silently in his heart, indeed, the attacks by Gu Feng Sect were on a larger scale, not isolated actions.

"Junior Brother Lu, on my return I encountered Song Tong and Deng Zhang, I saved Song Tong, and only Deng Zhang’s Nascent Soul was saved by Song Tong!" Li Shiming replied in a somber tone.

"That’s already the fifth attack; there might be more. Gu Feng Sect distracted most of our cultivators at sea, and yet launched surprise attacks on our land-based cultivators; what are they planning?" Lu Heng returned, equally astonished upon hearing.

Li Shiming ended his contact with Lu Heng. Naturally, such matters were for the sect leadership to deal with; what he needed now was to retreat for a period.

This time his realm had improved a lot; the enhancement from epiphany needed a period to sort through the gains.

More importantly, he didn’t just gain insights into the current realm; he already accumulated knowledge of the Five Elements up to the Great Cultivator Realm level.

This was more valuable to him than a mere ascension in realm.

This time, participating in the Taichu Sect’s grand event, he also acquired a batch of Puppet Mechanism Technique materials, allowing him to continue his research on the Puppet Mechanism Technique.

He cast several spells to seal the formation around the mountain, letting any approaching cultivators know of his seclusion.

He released Little Feng and the Illusion Spirit Dragon, letting them roam in the Spiritual Pet Room, where the environment was beneficial to them.

Little Feng, too, needed time to digest its rapid growth gains.

While Li Shiming was in retreat, the conflict between the Ten Thousand Beast Sect and the Gu Feng Sect also intensified.

The Gu Feng Sect’s attacks on land led to the total fall of three Nascent Soul cultivators from the Ten Thousand Beast Sect, with the Nascent Soul of four others escaping back.

This incident stirred emotions among the Ten Thousand Beast Sect’s cultivators, as when had they suffered such a loss, especially being attacked within their own territory.

Soon, the Ten Thousand Beast Sect launched retaliation, activating their powerful intelligence system to track down the Gu Feng Sect cultivators.

As the Ten Thousand Beast Sect launched a full-scale counterattack, the fights and conflicts rose to a new height.

The Gu Feng Sect suffered several Nascent Soul cultivator losses as well, and their feud with the Ten Thousand Beast Sect escalated.

Meanwhile, engaging in battles amid spirit beast tides on land, the Gu Feng Sect still frequently clashed with Ten Thousand Beast Sect cultivators.

However, these battles were not as intense as the previous surprise attacks, since the Ten Thousand Beast Sect’s cultivators tended to stay together in groups, rather than acting alone.

Even when attacked by the Gu Feng Sect, it was rare that any of their Nascent Souls were alone, so casualties were less frequent.

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