Old Residence

The Aura Concealing Art was called a spell, yet it did not truly count as one. It was a method of controlling Spiritual Power.

It used special runes to arrange a hidden net within the body, concealing one's true Spiritual Power Fluctuations.

The Aura Concealing Art did not require conscious coordination. Once the runes had been drawn, it could be cast.

Li Shiming was not worried about the complexity of the runes. He scanned the "Aura Concealing Art" into the IBMz15 Mainframe, then repeatedly read it with his mind.

In only a few minutes, he had memorized every rune of the Aura Concealing Art.

He mobilized the Spiritual Power within his body and began drawing the Aura Concealing Art's runes beneath his skin.

He did not feel any trouble. He drew the complex Rune Patterns without a single error.

He felt the Spiritual Qi Vortex within him tremble slightly, as though something had veiled it.

The Aura Concealing Art had activated successfully. Li Shiming frowned slightly; the feeling of being bound by it was far from pleasant.

Moreover, as long as he cast a spell or mobilized Spiritual Power to a certain degree, the Aura Concealing Art's effect would be destroyed.

Before cultivators whose strength vastly surpassed his own, the Aura Concealing Art's effect was also extremely limited.

Still, the Aura Concealing Art had come free of charge. It was already good enough that it had some use, and he did not ask for much more.

"Eh, Fellow Daoist, have you mastered the Aura Concealing Art?" Fan Yiyang happened to see Li Shiming as he emerged from the cabin door, rubbing his stomach, and asked in surprise.

How could he not be astonished? In such a short time, Li Shiming had already mastered the Aura Concealing Art and put it to use.

Though cultivators, nourished by Spiritual Power, surpassed mortals in many respects—most notably in memory—spell runes were famously complex.

No matter how low-grade the Aura Concealing Art was, it was still a spell.

How many days did it take me to learn the Aura Concealing Art? Fan Yiyang asked himself.

He could barely remember such a trivial matter from so long ago, but it certainly had taken no less than a month.

As he looked at Li Shiming standing by the railing, his heart was filled with a thousand flavors. Even the Spiritual Rice he had just eaten no longer tasted fragrant.

"Thank you very much, Fellow Daoist!" Li Shiming said with a bow.

Fan Yiyang became even more enthusiastic. If one wanted to befriend a fellow disciple of exceptional future talent, one had to do so before he rose to prominence.

He had some backing in the sect, but his own talent was too poor, so the help his supporters could offer him was extremely limited.

If he wanted to live better in the sect, he needed to make more friends. That was his rule of conduct.

He did not have much ambition. With his aptitude, this was likely all he would amount to in this life. He needed to earn more resources and establish his own family in the mortal world someday; all of that required the support of powerful friends.

Li Shiming spent twelve days aboard the official ship. During those days together, he and Fan Yiyang became friends.

"Fellow Daoist Li, we have arrived at the Central Capital. Let us part here. I hope we meet again in the sect!" Before the ship even docked, Fan Yiyang cupped his hands toward Li Shiming.

"Fellow Daoist Fan, we will meet again if fate allows!" Li Shiming returned the salute.

Fan Yiyang leaped toward the riverbank. A flash of Talisman light passed, and his figure turned insubstantial before vanishing.

Though Li Shiming was also at the Qi Refining Second Level, he did not possess such a trick. Besides, he had a maidservant, a servant boy, and a great deal of luggage with him, so he could not possibly be so carefree.

Whether Fan Yiyang had done it deliberately or not, it had certainly filled him with longing.

The official ship stopped at the dock, and Li Shiming disembarked with his attendants.

"Young Master, the residence's carriage has come to pick you up!" the servant boy Mo Yan cried excitedly.

Following the direction of his finger, Li Shiming saw an old carriage. If it had not borne the mark of the Fourth Rank Li Residence, he truly would not have expected a carriage in the Central Capital to look like this.

But then, this was the Central Capital. Fourth Grade truly did not amount to much here.

He merely sighed inwardly and had no particular demands regarding the carriage.

"I pay my respects, Young Master! I am Steward Zhang from the Central Capital Old Residence!" The driver saluted him.

Only after entering the carriage did he realize that he might have been mistaken.

The carriage's interior furnishings were not inferior in the slightest to those of the carriage in Nanling Prefecture. Its aged exterior was merely a disguise.

There was quite a lot of luggage, and it filled the rear of the carriage.

Aside from Li Shiming and Si Qin, Mo Yan and the four guards followed the carriage on foot.

Si Qin opened the carriage window and gazed curiously at the Capital City of Great Xia.

"Steward Zhang, how much farther is the Old Residence?" Li Shiming had no interest in the Central Capital's splendor. What he wanted most now was to return to the Old Residence immediately.

Over these twelve days, he had repeatedly calculated the method of activating the Spirit Gathering Disk by borrowing the computing power of the IBMz15 Mainframe.

Combined with some information he had learned through his conversations with Fan Yiyang, he was highly confident that he could activate the Spirit Gathering Disk.

He had waited a full twelve days without using the Five Elements Qi Absorption Art to improve his cultivation. At most, after casting the Spring Breeze Transforming Rain Art, he had used the Spiritual Qi in the Server Room Space to restore the Spiritual Power within his body.

"Young Master, we will arrive after passing the street ahead!" Hearing Li Shiming's urgency, Steward Zhang answered while cracking the whip, making the carriage move faster.

As the carriage sped up, the four guards and Mo Yan began to jog as well.

"This is the Old Residence?" Li Shiming asked as he stood before the vermilion-red gate.

The vermilion-red gate did not seem small, but by Great Xia's standards, it was the style used by humble households. It did not resemble the residence of a fourth-rank official in the slightest.

Of course, Li Wenyuan lived year-round in the Government Office of Nanling Prefecture, but even so, such a gate still seemed somewhat shabby.

The gate opened, and Steward Zhang bowed as he invited him inside.

Three servants stood lined up on each side within the gate. The two men and one woman were all rather advanced in age; including Steward Zhang, only four people managed the Old Residence.

The Old Residence was a three-courtyard compound. Passing through the hanging-flower gate from the main entrance led to the inner courtyard. The east and west wing rooms stood to either side, the main hall faced them directly, and a small courtyard dotted with flowers and grass lay between them.

"Master sent a letter arranging for you to stay in the main hall," Steward Zhang reminded him softly.

"Mo Yan, take the luggage to the main hall." Li Shiming had no objection. As the master of the house, and with his father Li Wenyuan not living here, it was only natural for him to occupy the main hall.

More importantly, the main hall had side rooms to the left and right, with a Rear Cover Room behind it. Surrounded on all sides, it was suitable for the four guards to protect.

Of course, Li Shiming liked the main hall because it had enough interior space, making it convenient for his cultivation.

"Steward Zhang, without my permission, no one is to enter the main hall. If anything comes up, just inform Si Qin!" After giving Steward Zhang this stern instruction, Li Shiming entered the main hall.

Everything inside was clean. There was no expensive furniture, but all the necessary daily furnishings were complete.

Mo Yan led the servants in carrying the luggage into the main hall. Si Qin dismissed them and began organizing everything.

No one could help with these matters; only Si Qin could handle them. The sole female servant had originally been the cook.

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