Discovery (New Book, Please Add to Favorites!)

After Li Shiming successfully made his first Talisman, he threw himself into the great enterprise of Talisman Crafting with unstoppable momentum.

After coming from a world where everyone was equal to this Cultivation World, the deeper he understood this world, the more he felt threatened in terms of safety.

This threat came from insufficient firepower. It was a fear rooted deep in his soul, derived from the racial talent of his Previous Life.

If he wanted to be a mortal, then he did not need to worry too much. With his family background and the knowledge he possessed, whether in officialdom or any other field, he could achieve something.

But after learning about the Cultivation World, how could he be willing to remain ordinary?

Talismans allowed him to make up for the shortcomings of not having enough spiritual power and knowing too few Spells, so for a long time, he spent his daily spiritual power on Talisman Crafting.

When making the Low-Grade Geng Metal Talisman, he succeeded after failing eight times. When making the Low-Grade Fireball Talisman, he failed five times.

By February tenth, not counting his Spoils of War, among the Talismans he had made himself alone, there were twenty Low-Grade Body Lightening Talismans, thirty Low-Grade Fireball Talismans, thirty Low-Grade Geng Metal Talismans, and ten Low-Grade Object Moving Talismans.

The Low-Grade Body Lightening Talismans he made exceeded the seized Low-Grade Body Lightening Talismans in speed by twenty percent, making them the most special of the Talismans he had crafted.

After taking inventory of the Talismans, he did not craft any today. On one hand, the Talismans he had were enough, and his recent Talisman Crafting had delayed his Cultivation Speed, consuming too much spiritual power every day.

On the other hand, the Spring Examination was about to begin, and he would enter the Examination Hall on February fifteenth.

He had decided to enter the Cultivation World, but before leaving, he still had to fulfill the Original Body's wish. The Original Body's greatest wish had been to place high in the Spring Examination.

This could also be considered a farewell to the Original Body. Only without emotional obsessions could he devote himself better to cultivation.

To show respect for this examination, he began preparing for it in the remaining few days.

The Market in Central Capital City had successfully been held twice. The various Cultivation Families and cultivators with related interests were all very satisfied, and the profits had increased as well thanks to the safer environment and the growing number of cultivators.

Among these cultivators, only the Hao Family was still investigating the matter of their family cultivators being killed.

"Old Fourth, have the investigation results been verified?" Old Cultivator Hao asked in a deep voice.

The information in his hands left Old Cultivator Hao somewhat surprised, yet it also seemed reasonable.

"Clan Head, I used some favors to obtain intelligence from the Royal Family!" the Hao Family Cultivator called Old Fourth replied in a deep voice.

"Clan Head, whether Li Shiming is the murderer or not, just kill him. Do we still need evidence?" another Hao Family Cultivator said, clearly somewhat impatient.

In the Cultivation World, evidence was unnecessary. Suspicion alone was enough to make a move.

"According to the intelligence, that boy stays in seclusion and rarely goes out. It seems there really is something wrong!" Old Cultivator Hao said with a slight nod.

Before Li Shiming attended the gathering, he had gone out of the city every day to a civilian residence, but ever since the gathering, he had not left the city again.

The information in his hands showed that Prince Shun had been burned to death by strange flames, and along with Prince Shun, several of his confidants had also been burned to death, among them Li Wenfeng.

The conflict between Li Wenfeng and Li Wenyuan was very deep, and Li Shiming's mother's death was connected to Li Wenfeng.

And when Li Shiming first arrived in Central Capital, he had been attacked, suspected to be connected to Li Wenfeng and Prince Shun.

The Royal Family had suspected Li Shiming, but Li Shiming had a very good relationship with Gu Jia the consecrator, so without evidence, the Royal Family found it difficult to carry out a deeper investigation into Li Shiming.

Most crucially, Gu Jia the consecrator had gone to the scene where Prince Shun was killed and confirmed that there had been no Spiritual Power Fluctuation there.

At the scene where the two Hao Family cultivators had been killed, there had likewise been flames without Spiritual Power Fluctuation. This similarity made Li Shiming the prime suspect.

"Clan Head, though Gu Jia is in Central Capital City, killing a Qi Refining Second Level cultivator would not produce much Spiritual Power Fluctuation at all. I can do it alone!" Old Fourth requested in a deep voice.

"Be careful in everything. If there is no opportunity, do not act. Take these two Invisibility Talismans to make things easier!" Old Cultivator Hao said after pondering for a moment.

It was rare for him to study by lamplight late into the night. Li Shiming used this method to calm his mind and return to a state of studying.

He took a light sip of spiritual water. After this Great Examination, the many years of bitter study the Original Body had persisted in would be severed completely. He was, in a sense, experiencing the last of his mortal days.

A soft buzz pulled him out of his studying state.

He was suddenly startled. The Goggles had sounded an alarm. At night, as long as a moving target entered the monitoring range, the Goggles would emit a faint vibration.

With his five senses connected to the IBMz15, whether he was sleeping or cultivating, that bit of vibration was enough for him to notice.

He put on the Goggles. The second camera captured a thermal-imaging human figure that had just climbed over the courtyard wall.

He immediately switched the camera mode, changing it to normal mode.

There were many lamps hanging in the courtyard at night as well, and that spot was illuminated by lamplight.

But after switching to normal mode, the place where there should have been a figure was completely empty.

He switched the mode back to Infrared Thermal Imaging, and this time he saw the thermal-imaging human figure again.

"A cultivator!" Li Shiming's expression turned ugly.

He Did Not Expect that after so many days had passed, a cultivator would still come looking for him.

Only a cultivator would have such methods, allowing their body to remain hidden and invisible to the naked eye.

Of course, this Invisible State was aimed at mortals. Cultivators had corresponding methods to see through this kind of invisibility.

But Li Shiming was not included among them. He had only just touched the threshold of being a cultivator, and many abilities normal cultivators possessed were things he did not have.

If not for the Infrared Thermal Imaging camera, perhaps that cultivator really could have approached him silently without him knowing.

Li Shiming's hand brushed his waist, and he Took Out ten Low-Grade Geng Metal Talismans. With the strength of Qi Refining Second Level, the most Talismans he could activate at once was five. He needed to activate them twice in succession to send out the Talismans in his hand.

Old Fourth climbed over the wall, and after entering the courtyard, he knew this assassination would be far too simple.

This Li Shiming had no cultivator methods at all. In the courtyard, never mind a Defense Formation, there were not even any warning Talismans set up.

A Defense Formation might have been too expensive to buy, but Warning Talismans were essential Talismans to have when away from home.

Family cultivators like Old Fourth had no need for Warning Talismans. The family's Defense Formation was enough, and it was safer than Warning Talismans.

But when cultivators were out in the world, only by setting up Warning Talismans could they ensure no one approached them. One had to know that when a cultivator was unguarded, even a mortal might be able to kill them.

Old Fourth's gaze swept across the area, and he sensed where the two night-watch guards were.

He showed a cold, silent smile. If he had not wanted to avoid alerting Gu Jia, he would have directly used his Magic Artifact to wipe out the guards along with Li Shiming inside the room.