Li Shiming sat atop the massive Flying Boat Magical Treasure, a public asset of the Shushan Sect controlled by Elder Zuo.
Apart from Elder Zuo and him, there was also a disciple of Elder Zuo and his senior sister Ye Jingxian present on the massive Flying Boat Magical Treasure.
Bringing Ye Jingxian was Elder Su’s idea, as each invited cultivator was allowed to bring one person along.
Li Shiming had no juniors of his own, and his other senior brothers hadn’t even reached the Golden Core Stage, thus were not eligible to attend, only Ye Jingxian, his senior sister in the early Golden Core Stage, barely qualified.
Therefore, he brought Ye Jingxian, who, despite her tall stature, behaved very modestly on the flying boat, unlike her usual carefree self.
Li Shiming occasionally smiled at her, understanding the reason behind her behavior— with Elder Zuo present, she strived to restrain her usual demeanor.
"Shiming, have you encountered any issues with your cultivation recently?" Elder Zuo asked with a smile.
Elder Zuo’s question sparked a flash of envy in the eyes of the disciple standing beside him.
Even though the disciple Elder Zuo brought this time was at the Great Elder level, Elder Zuo had never spoken to him so cordially.
"Elder Zuo, my cultivation has been going smoothly, although the increase in my cultivation level seems slow!" Li Shiming replied with a sigh.
His words immediately caused both the Great Elder and Ye Jingxian to widen their eyes, thinking he was boasting.
Ye Jingxian, with a hundred years of cultivation, had barely reached the early Golden Core Stage, and after several years of effort, she barely managed a bit of combat power at the Golden Core level.
When compared to Li Shiming, who had subsequently caught up and now was in the middle Golden Core Stage, yet still complaining about his cultivation speed.
Even though the Great Elder’s realm was high, he had already spent over three hundred years, with only a hundred left to advance to the Nascent Soul Stage.
With Li Shiming’s current rate of cultivation, it was feared he could reach the Great Elder level before he turned one hundred and forty, thereafter having almost four hundred years to breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Stage.
Still, Li Shiming commented on the slowness of his cultivation speed, which left them speechless.
Yet Elder Zuo saw the sincerity in Li Shiming’s words— a cultivator who had only been practicing for a bit over twenty years, and had spent six years at the mid Golden Core Stage, could certainly call it a lengthy period.
"Shiming, you also need to pay attention to your mental state. Your cultivation time has been very short, and your level has increased too rapidly, making you feel it is too easy to cultivate. This phenomenon can easily cause instability in your mental state, thereby creating inner demons!" Elder Zuo solemnly advised.
Li Shiming was startled but quickly thought of his Heavenly Ghost.
The Heavenly Ghost could even devour the inner demons of a Nascent Soul Ancestor, so if he indeed developed his own inner demons, the Heavenly Ghost would likely handle it even more effortlessly.
With this thought, a weight lifted from his heart, as if he had set down a heavy stone.
As his mind relaxed, he began to gain new insights into the five Golden Cores within his body. Without any hesitation, he sat cross-legged, tossed dozens of mid-grade Spirit Stones around him, and formed a small Spirit Gathering Array.
"Shiming’s talent is truly..." Elder Zuo, watching Li Shiming suddenly make such a move, shook his head with a mix of emotions.
Failing to find a suitable adjective to describe Li Shiming’s talent, his mere comment had triggered an epiphany in Li Shiming.
He then glanced at his own Great Elder disciple, who was staring blankly at Li Shiming, then back at him.
"Really a piece of rotten wood!" Elder Zuo regretted bringing this disciple.
The disciple he once held in high regard now seemed like dead wood compared to Li Shiming.
He waved his hand, channeling the Spiritual Energy from the massive Flying Boat Magical Treasure towards Li Shiming’s location, supplemented by the small Spirit Gathering Array set up by Li Shiming, which immediately enriched the area with spiritual energy.
Although the disciple was surprised by Li Shiming’s ability to quickly set up a Spirit Gathering Array with just a handful of mid-grade Spirit Stones, this mastery of formations paled in comparison to his sudden epiphany.
Li Shiming dared to cultivate on the spot only because Elder Zuo was present. If the location of a Nascent Soul Ancestor wasn’t safe, then no place in the Cultivation World was.
He felt grateful to Elder Zuo. In the last five years of cultivation, a sense of impatience had indeed arisen in his heart.
Though he suppressed this impatience, it was difficult to completely eradicate it after it had emerged.
But after Elder Zuo pointed it out, Li Shiming became aware of this aspect, and thinking of the Heavenly Ghost’s capabilities, the impatience in his heart dissipated, leading to a mental advancement.
Cultivation involved not only the practice of cultivation techniques but corresponded with the advancement in mental state, which is sometimes even more crucial.
The Spiritual Power within the five Golden Cores was extremely active, accelerating the flow of spiritual energy through his body as he practiced the "Five Rhymes Qi Cultivation Technique," mobilizing energies previously inaccessible and accumulating throughout his body to join the circulation during this cultivation session.
These accumulated energies, usually unreachable by the cultivation technique in regular practice, started mobilizing effortlessly after his revelation, bringing him a profound sense of integration with the "Five Rhymes Qi Cultivation Technique."
The increasing influx of Spiritual Power into the five Golden Cores accelerated during this epiphanic session, the effect of which was many times greater than that of usual practice.
Li Shiming slowly opened his eyes, the dozens of mid-grade Spirit Stones beside him had crumbled, and he felt the Spiritual Energy of the massive Flying Boat Magical Treasure gathering around him.