Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 1747: Chapter 920: Easing Tensions

As for why Shi Sha, the newly empowered cultivator, chose not to negotiate with the Guiyuan Sect but instead sought out Great Cultivator Hua Ying first, it was an unavoidable decision.

The Guiyuan Sect’s demand was the "Qingning Forbidden Scripture." However, this scripture, which was a fusion of the "Frost Condensation Divine Book" and the "Cold Heaven Scripture," was not stored within the Bitao Sect.

Great Cultivator Hua Ying, being the only Peak Great Cultivator of the Bitao Sect previously, decided to study the "Qingning Forbidden Scripture" first after obtaining it.

It was within his rights, and besides, with Great Cultivator Yi Xiao joining the Bitao Sect and gaining considerable power, for some specific reasons, he did not want Great Cultivator Yi Xiao to see the "Qingning Forbidden Scripture."

Originally, for Great Cultivator Hua Ying, as a Peak Great Cultivator, carrying the "Qingning Forbidden Scripture" on him was extremely safe. In the Cultivation World, apart from mighty beings, Peak Great Cultivators are the strongest forces.

But who would have thought that Li Shiming could defeat Great Cultivator Hua Ying by sending just an illusionary clone.

No cultivators from the Bitao Sect witnessed the battle process; those below the Great Cultivator Realm were unable to observe the battlefield, overwhelmed by the fighting aura of Peak Great Cultivators.

The six Great Cultivators capable of observing the battle were also slain by the late-stage Golden Corpse.

Because the soul lamp belonging to Great Cultivator Hua Ying in the Bitao Sect was still lit, Shi Sha believed that Great Cultivator Hua Ying’s Nascent Soul had escaped.

Shi Sha also understood that as long as Great Cultivator Hua Ying’s Nascent Soul was alive, the soul crystal ring within him could not be obtained by other cultivators, hence the "Qingning Forbidden Scripture" within it would naturally still be in Great Cultivator Hua Ying’s hands.

Li Shiming did not expect that his experimental attempt to strip the consciousness of Great Cultivator Hua Ying’s Nascent Soul would have such an unexpected outcome.

Even the Bitao Sect did not suspect that he had obtained the "Qingning Forbidden Scripture" but instead focused on the whereabouts of Great Cultivator Hua Ying’s Nascent Soul.

If the Bitao Sect knew the "Qingning Forbidden Scripture" was in Li Shiming’s hands, he would undoubtedly face significant trouble.

The Bitao Sect would certainly inform the Guiyuan Sect, leading both to conspire against Li Shiming for the "Qingning Forbidden Scripture," and despite Li Shiming’s strength, the strategies of two superpowers would inevitably cause trouble.

The Bitao Sect’s unexpected reaction caught the Guiyuan Sect off guard, putting Great Cultivator Jiang Hao of the Guiyuan Sect in a difficult position.

He did not want to encroach on the Bitao Sect’s territory, which was in the ocean; seizing it required sending a large number of cultivators to guard it.

This area was very far from the Guiyuan Sect, and truly seizing the Bitao Island would mean constantly dealing with the spirit beasts of the sea, which was a headache.

Having come this far, he could not withdraw so easily; the price paid was not small, and retreating would be hard to justify even within the sect.

The Bitao Sect’s Shi Sha was also having a tough time, with resource blockades, reduced territory, and the lack of Great Cultivator combat power within the sect causing unrest; if the Guiyuan Sect continued, the sect’s cultivators would become unmanageable.

Both sides were in this standoff for several months.

Ultimately, negotiations at the higher levels of power ended the standoff between the two superpowers; the Guiyuan Sect retreated to the Central State Continent, and the Bitao Sect reclaimed its lost territories.

The Guiyuan Sect sent several Great Cultivators to assist the Bitao Sect in searching for traces of Great Cultivator Hua Ying’s Nascent Soul, their intelligence networks fully deployed.

They speculated that Great Cultivator Hua Ying was hiding and reconstructing himself through a backup body, making him difficult to find.

The vast majority of Nascent Soul Stage cultivators would prepare a backup body for themselves, and the location of the backup body was a secret known only to the Nascent Soul cultivator.

Some Nascent Soul Cultivators who trusted the sect left their backup bodies within it, but most still chose to hide them in places known only to themselves.

Among various speculations, Great Cultivator Hua Ying and the "Qingning Forbidden Scripture" slowly became legends, though the Bitao Sect and Guiyuan Sect continued to take them seriously, with the intelligence divisions of both superpowers persistently working.

Outside the gates of the Ten Thousand Beast Sect, Grandmaster Hu greeted the visitor once again.

This time it was Shi Sha from the Bitao Sect. As a cultivator only at the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, such a welcoming ceremony would not typically be afforded to him.

But as Shi Sha represented the Bitao Sect, the Ten Thousand Beast Sect had to provide a welcome befitting a superpower.

Even with the Bitao Sect’s current loss of strength, its powerful beings ensured that recovery was only a matter of time.

"Shi Sha greets Senior Hu!" Shi Sha expressed sufficient respect upon meeting Grandmaster Hu.

He did not look down on Grandmaster Hu due to his status in a superpower. Grandmaster Hu was Li Shiming’s master, a status that allowed him to stand on equal footing with any other Great Cultivator, without belittling him for being from a large sect like the Ten Thousand Beast Sect.

"Mr. Shi, please address me as Fellow Hu. Let’s consider each other peers," Grandmaster Hu said with a smile, refusing Shi Sha’s form of address.

Shi Sha was visiting as a representative of the Bitao Sect. He could show humility, but Grandmaster Hu could not really accept it, as it would be construed as looking down on the Bitao Sect.

"Then, with respect obeyed, Fellow Hu, may I ask if Mr. Li is available?" Shi Sha changed his address and asked.