Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 1554: Chapter 823: Devouring (Part 2)

No one can guarantee if among the several Half-step Great Powers, it’s Yang Xing, a Half-step Great Power, who has the chance to advance to a Great Power.

The investigation work of the Yuqing Sect can’t possibly allow the Intelligence Department to directly investigate Yang Xing, the Half-step Great Power, nor can the Intelligence Department acquire intelligence on Yang Xing who is within the Grotto Heaven.

Fortunately, there’s Master Wang He who can investigate, and Master Wang He’s task is still under the responsibility of intelligence gathering by the Intelligence Department, so the Yuqing Sect Intelligence Department began to mobilize its highest-grade intelligence network.

On Li Shiming’s side, he made a decision, and through his sealed Nascent Soul, it was also confirmed that the Half-step Great Power had already fallen.

He issued a command to the Heavenly Ghost, and without any hesitation, the Heavenly Ghost pounced towards the thunderclouds.

Other spiritual entities might fear lightning, but the Heavenly Ghost is different. Its master cultivated the "Yuqing Thunder Scripture," and as a Spiritual Pet, it also gained a higher resistance to lightning.

Additionally, the thunderclouds within the Grotto Heaven, sustained by the mental energy of the mind demon, though still present, are extremely weak in power. Not to mention the Heavenly Ghost, even a third-grade spiritual entity would find it hard to kill.

The Heavenly Ghost lunged at the mind demon, its Heavenly Demon shell rendering it silent and invisible in front of the mind demon. By the time the Heavenly Ghost opened its mouth to swallow the mind demon, it was too late for the mind demon to retaliate.

Once in the mouth of the Heavenly Ghost, a peculiar spiritual ability completely annihilated the intelligence of the mind demon, turning it into a lump of dead spirit energy.

Li Shiming commanded the Heavenly Ghost to retain as much control over the thunderclouds as possible, so while devouring the mind demon, the Heavenly Ghost left behind a strange spirit block.

Li Shiming, through his connection with the Heavenly Ghost, sensed that spirit block.

The spirit block connected with the intelligence of the Heavenly Ghost, overall unchanged from before, merely switching ownership suddenly.

In his perception, within the spirit block lies the Recognition Imprint of the Cave Heaven Core, which is actually a fragment of a soul. Due to Yang Xing’s final obsession, when the soul was transformed into a mind demon, this fragment containing the Recognition Imprint of the Cave Heaven Core was perfectly preserved.

Now, the owner of the Grotto Heaven has changed to the Heavenly Ghost. Only an entity like the Heavenly Ghost, capable of swallowing and transforming spiritual entities at will, can possess such ability.

Of course, this also relates to both Yang Xing and the mind demon having transformed this soul fragment into part of their obsession, intending to preserve it.

Li Shiming was contemplating that with the Grotto Heaven being received, it seemed he could have a visit.

However, the Heavenly Ghost was facing an issue; the mind demon transformed from Yang Xing’s Half-step Great Power soul, its soul energy was at a Half-step Great Power Level, while the Heavenly Ghost was only at the Peak of Fourth Grade Middle Stage.

A massive amount of spiritual energy was transformed into the Heavenly Ghost’s spiritual energy through the process of devouring.

The Heavenly Ghost’s realm did not wait for anything, advancing straight to the Late Stage Fourth Grade, and this wasn’t over yet, as the spiritual energy within the Heavenly Ghost continued to increase crazily.

To some extent, devouring a complete soul was not as convenient as devouring a mind demon for the Heavenly Ghost.

After the soul energy was devoured by the Heavenly Ghost, it required conversion, resulting in quite a loss during the process of transforming the soul into spiritual energy.

But the mind demon was different; the Heavenly Ghost inherited the characteristics of the Heavenly Demon, and the Heavenly Demon was the nemesis of mind demons.

No matter how formidable the mind demon, as long as the Heavenly Demon set its sights on it, it would immediately be devoured and replaced by the Heavenly Demon.

To the Heavenly Demon, the mind demon’s energy is adjusted to the Heavenly Demon’s favored frequency, leading to nearly 100% absorption rate upon devouring.

The Heavenly Ghost, formed by the fusion of a Heavenly Demon and a ghost, naturally inherited the abilities of a Heavenly Demon. Therefore, devouring a mind demon of a Half-step Great Power was equivalent to devouring the entire spiritual energy of a Half-step Great Power.

Li Shiming didn’t know what condition a spiritual entity requires to reach the Late Stage Fourth Grade, but during the Heavenly Ghost’s advancement from the Peak of Fourth Grade Middle Stage to the Late Stage Fourth Grade, there were no obstacles at all.

The massive spiritual energy continued to pour into the Heavenly Ghost without stopping. The speed at which the Heavenly Ghost was advancing made him truly envious.

Seeing the Heavenly Ghost’s energy advancing step by step from the Late Stage Fourth Grade, each breath of time was equivalent to the Great Cultivator’s ten years of cultivation results.

After an unknown period, the Heavenly Ghost’s realm reached the Peak of Fourth Grade Late Stage, yet there was still a large influx of spiritual energy coming in.

Fortunately, the Heavenly Ghost’s Heavenly Demon shell wasn’t an ordinary spiritual entity shell. When the spiritual energy exceeded the Peak of Fourth Grade Late Stage threshold, the Heavenly Ghost’s shell began to swell, consolidating the excess spiritual energy within its shell.

Once the influx of spiritual energy ceased, the Heavenly Ghost transformed into a gigantic Heavenly Ghost, towering fifty meters high.

The gigantic Heavenly Ghost stood within the Grotto Heaven, with its head touching the sky ceiling and feet planted in the dirt. Even so, the Heavenly Ghost had to slightly bend its waist.

This Grotto Heaven was indeed too small, too small for it to stand upright.

Li Shiming was startled by the Heavenly Ghost’s state. Even though he cultivated the "Heavenly Human Technique," in his perception, the spiritual totality of the Heavenly Ghost surpassed that of its master.

One must know that he has as many as 191 brains, each possessing the spirit of a Great Cultivator specializing in spiritual cultivation. The total spirit of 191 brains could definitely rank first among the Great Cultivators in the Cultivation World.

But today, the Heavenly Ghost surpassed him, all because of devouring a mind demon transformed from a Half-step Great Power.

Were it not for the Heavenly Ghost being his Spiritual Pet, he’d be envious of the Heavenly Ghost’s luck.

He summoned the Heavenly Ghost from the Grotto Heaven, and the Heavenly Ghost that appeared in the outside world, with its illusory body, originally bore no sense of intimidation. The Heavenly Ghost usually only stirred enemy souls in direct confrontation.

But the current Heavenly Ghost, without hiding its presence or becoming invisible, cast a sixty-meter gigantic figure, coupled with a faintly terrifying spiritual pressure emanating from its shell, inducing fear in any confronting Great Cultivator.

This effect was spiritual suppression, exerted by massive total spiritual energy inflicting a spiritual influence.

Li Shiming smiled at the Heavenly Ghost, never expecting to gain another combat method this time.

The combat methods he recognized now were not ordinary.

Judging from the recognized combat methods alone, it could be observed that the combat methods he accepted included thunder attacks in coordination with the spiritual treasures "Heavenly Strike Thunder Hammer" and "Shenxiao Thunder Pearl," flying sword attacks emboldened by "Traceless Illusion Sword" combined with "Chaos Sword Intent," and the combat power of five Late-stage Golden Corpses fully equipped with all necessary gear.

Even though his own "Heavenly Human Technique" failed to overwhelm Peak Great Cultivators on its own, the "Heavenly Human Technique" didn’t count as a recognized combat method.

It’s not that the "Heavenly Human Technique" was weak but rather that it lacked counteracting secret techniques. However, the "Heavenly Human Technique" accommodated a vast range of other cultivation secret techniques; previously mentioned thunder attacks and flying sword attacks were this powerful thanks to "Heavenly Human Technique" support.

As for the eleven "Silver Winged Spirit Gu Insects," their combat power has yet to be tested through actual combat, thus remaining as a backup option.

Given the current strength of the Heavenly Ghost, not even a Peak Great Cultivator would be willing to face such an entity.

There were already few means to oppose spiritual entities, let alone a special Fourth Grade Peak spiritual entity like the Heavenly Ghost.

Honestly, if Li Shiming had to face an enemy like the Heavenly Ghost, his immediate desire would be to utilize the Divine Foot Skill to escape, as spiritual entities lack corporeal form, leading to speed beyond normal comprehension.

Once a spiritual entity gets close, a cultivator’s soul would be threatened, which was a fate worse than death.

Li Shiming placed a hand on the Heavenly Ghost, feeling its interior condition. What the Heavenly Ghost had devoured was the heart demon transformed from a Half-step Great Power, and that Half-step Great Power Level spiritual energy, converted upon entering the Heavenly Ghost, formed a Fourth Grade Peak spiritual energy.

The transformation between the two types of spiritual energy led to the present bloated state of the Heavenly Ghost.

This was greatly beneficial to the Heavenly Ghost; such a vast amount of spiritual energy allows the Heavenly Ghost to continuously compress and absorb daily, eventually transforming from quantitative to qualitative. Perhaps, a fifth-grade Heavenly Ghost might even appear in the Cultivation World someday.

Of course, as a new species never before seen in the Cultivation World, studying how the Heavenly Ghost could advance to fifth-grade needs further research.