Blocking the Road

There was a special connection between Li Shiming and the Geng Metal Needle, allowing him to control its direction.

However, because this was his first time activating the Geng Metal Art, and he had borrowed the intent of a bullet, the Geng Metal Needle's straight-line speed was too fast. By the time he wanted to control it, the Geng Metal Needle had already driven deep underground and lost its forward momentum.

He was surprised to discover that this time, the spiritual power consumed inside him was only one-tenth, nowhere near as much as when he cast the Spring Breeze Transforming Rain Art.

One had to know that at Qi Refining Second Level, casting the Spring Breeze Transforming Rain Art once used up a full third of his spiritual power.

Li Shiming was puzzled. They were clearly both the lowest-level spells, so why did the Spring Breeze Transforming Rain Art use up a third of his spiritual power, while the Geng Metal Art only used one-tenth?

Although he had several guesses, he did not know which one was correct. This was the drawback of not having a teacher.

Li Shiming prepared to keep going. The spiritual power in his body was still enough to learn the next spell, the Earth Spirit Art.

The function of the Earth Spirit Art was to adjust the spiritual qi in a Spirit Field. In his view, this spell was the most useless.

But the Earth Spirit Art was a foundational spell that normal Spirit Planters had to learn. If one wanted to plant a Spirit Field, then after each planting ended, one had to use the Earth Spirit Art again to adjust the spiritual qi in the Spirit Field, making it convenient for the next normal planting.

Learning the Earth Spirit Art did not take long. Using aerial footage of the earth, he comprehended the intent required for the Earth Spirit Art.

Only, when he cast the Earth Spirit Art, the spiritual power it consumed was similar to when he cast the Spring Breeze Transforming Rain Art, using up a third of his spiritual power all at once.

Fortunately, after learning the Earth Spirit Art, he would not need to use it in the short term. Otherwise, he would have gained another major spiritual qi drain.

When he came out of the study, even his bearing was somewhat different. He was no longer the same as before he had entered the study.

From this moment on, he possessed an offensive spell of a cultivator and truly had a means of self-protection he could bring out in ordinary times.

The Geng Metal Art was not like talismans. With the spiritual power in his body, he could use it ten times, and after ten times, he could recover his spiritual power and continue using it.

When Si Qin saw the smile on the Young Master's face, her mood improved quite a bit as well.

"Si Qin, prepare gifts. Have Mo Yan ready the carriage. I'm going to visit Father's friends!" Li Shiming waved his hand and gave the order.

After the assassination last night, he imagined that the news of his arrival in Central Capital had already spread.

Regardless of whether his father's friends were reliable, he had to go visit them to avoid being discourteous.

After Si Qin accepted the order and left, his fingers drew a complex Spiritual Power Rune in the air, and a Geng Metal Needle that was hard to see with the naked eye appeared shortly afterward.

With the foundation from casting it the first time, he controlled the Geng Metal Needle as it shuttled through the air.

The control range of the Geng Metal Art was not large, probably only about Five Meters around him. This was also the maximum range of his perception over the Geng Metal Needle.

But this did not mean the Geng Metal Art's attack range was only Five Meters. Rather, after the Geng Metal Needle left Five Meters, it could only fly in a straight line.

The straight-line attack range of the Geng Metal Art could reach as far as Thirty Meters.

As for the killing power of the Geng Metal Art, he had also tested it. Whether trees or rocks, it could easily pierce into them.

The tiny Geng Metal Needle was as indestructible as a divine weapon, but unfortunately, the Geng Metal Needle itself was too small. If it did not hit a vital point, it would be difficult to cause serious harm to a cultivator.

The reason he said cultivator here was because the Geng Metal Art was a spell, and the Geng Metal Needle contained a cultivator's spiritual power.

There was very little spiritual power contained within the Geng Metal Needle, so its effect on cultivators was limited, but against ordinary mortals, it was fatal.

When Li Shiming got into the carriage, he activated the Aura Concealing Art and hid the Spiritual Qi Vortex. At this moment, forty percent of the spiritual power remained in the Spiritual Qi Vortex.

As a junior visiting these elders, he did not need to spend long at each household. He presented gifts, and it did not even matter whether he saw the elders themselves. As long as he conveyed his intention, that was enough.

After coming out of the last household, he let out a long breath.

Every one of Li Wenyuan's friends was an official in Central Capital, ranging from the fifth rank to the second rank.

The household he had just left belonged to a high-ranking second-rank official. He had not even seen the man, and had only presented the gift.

He did not mind this at all. He had never had any interest in an official career.

"Mo Yan, take a detour along Prince Estate Street!" Li Shiming ordered Mo Yan in a low voice.

"Yes, Young Master!" Mo Yan replied aloud.

This time, Li Shiming had only brought Mo Yan. Although Mo Yan had also come to Central Capital for the first time, he had done plenty of preparation, and drove the carriage without taking a single wrong turn.

Mo Yan also knew that Prince Estate Street was not on the way, and that it was a long detour, but since the Young Master had ordered it, he would not object.

The carriage entered Prince Estate Street, and Li Shiming lifted the window curtain to observe Prince Estate Street.

Prince Estate Street—one could tell from the name what sort of people lived on this street. This was where the various princes' estates were located.

Although the street was extremely wide, it was not lively. There were no shops on either side of the street, only residences separated by high red walls.

"Prince Shun's Estate!" He saw a plaque, and his eyes narrowed slightly, carrying a hint of killing intent.

To him, since Second Uncle Li Wenfeng was the chief secretary of Prince Shun's Estate, then everything he did must surely bear Prince Shun's will.

Prince Shun's authority was immense, but it could not frighten Li Shiming, a cultivator.

He had come this time to investigate Prince Shun's Estate and prepare for his later actions.

"Young Master, someone's blocking the road!" He felt the carriage suddenly stop, then heard Mo Yan's report.

Li Shiming could not help but be startled. Although he had been observing Prince Shun's Estate, with his five senses, he had not sensed anyone in front of the carriage.

He opened the carriage door and saw the person standing in front of the carriage. That person wore an Azure Daoist Robe, looked to be around forty or fifty years old, and had a Storage Bag at his waist.

After that person saw Li Shiming's appearance, a strange expression appeared on his face. With a wave of his hand, Mo Yan collapsed onto the carriage shaft.

"Mo Yan!" Li Shiming cried in alarm.

Though Mo Yan was only a pageboy, he was still one of the few people Li Shiming had interacted with the most since coming to this world.

"No need to worry, young friend. He's only asleep," the man said with a faint smile.

"May I ask why you restrained my pageboy?" Li Shiming steadied himself and asked.

He knew the person across from him was a cultivator, but as far as he knew, Great Xia was within the Sky Ocean Sect's territory, and the Sky Ocean Sect forbade cultivators from causing trouble in Great Xia.

This was Central Capital, no less, and the Imperial City was not far away. How could there be a cultivator blocking the road?

"I am Gu Jia, a Garrison Cultivator of the Sky Ocean Sect. I need to verify your identity!" Gu Jia stated his identity.

His eyes swept across Li Shiming's entire body, making Li Shiming feel as if he were wearing no clothes at all. The runes the Aura Concealing Art had condensed inside him dispersed under that single glance, and Li Shiming's Spiritual Power Fluctuation at Qi Refining Second Level was revealed.

His method of inspection was extremely domineering. Whether or not Li Shiming agreed, everything about him was completely exposed before Gu Jia.