Cultivation is just so scientific!

The warm atmosphere lasted for a long time, no words were needed, no other actions either, just the sound of two beating hearts letting each person feel the proximity of the other.

"Oh, the Spiritual Tea has gone cold!" Li Shiming suddenly remarked, after quite a while.

His words broke the mood, Yin Shilan chuckled softly and gave him a light glare. Although it was left unsaid, their relationship had just become a bit closer.

"How do I use this?" Li Shiming refilled Yin Shilan's cup with more Spiritual Tea, then picked up the talisman and asked.

He wasn't being formal at this moment, considering it a heartfelt gesture from Yin Shilan. When he had the strength, he would prepare something for Yin Shilan in return.

"Activate it with Spiritual Power Pattern. This talisman can still be used three times. Take note though, each activation requires three breaths' time!" Yin Shilan explained.

Li Shiming nodded, the usage of the talisman was quite simple, although the three-breaths' preparation time was a bit long.

"What about its power?" he asked, knowing that the talisman carried some of the power of a magical artifact, but needed more details from Yin Shilan.

"The power of the talisman depends on the magical artifact it draws from. A single strike from this Sky-Tearing Bow Talisman can hardly be withstood by early and mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, and it poses a certain threat even to late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators!" Yin Shilan patiently explained.

Li Shiming gasped in surprise. Despite having guessed the power of the talisman, he hadn't expected it to be so formidable.

Such a talisman in hand was enough to kill three cultivators at either the early or mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.

If there were many such talismans, then what purpose would Foundation Establishment Cultivators even serve?

"The process of extracting part of an artifact's power to create a talisman permanently decreases its power, and the owner's Golden Core is similarly damaged. The talismans of our sect are all created by senior Golden Core cultivators before their death to pass on to the next generation. This Sky-Tearing Bow Talisman was exchanged from a descendant of a Golden Core cultivator!" With a gentle laugh, the elegant Yin Shilan noticed Li Shiming's thoughts and continued her explanation.

She had given the Sky-Tearing Bow Talisman to Li Shiming to save his life, not for him to use it to kill others, hence she explained its preciousness.

Li Shiming nodded profoundly, realizing that to obtain a talisman, a Golden Core cultivator and their artifact had to suffer permanent damage, signifying the great value of the talisman.

Also, this value represented the deep affection from Yin Shilan, making him feel the substantial weight of her feelings.

"I've come across a peculiar issue and was just about to consult you on it!" Li Shiming changed the subject, continuing, "Here, a Starlight Sea has formed and all the formation knowledge I've learned has turned into starlights."

Yin Shilan listened with wide almond eyes filled with surprise.

Of course, she knew what that meant because she had reached that realm after her own moment of enlightenment with Li Shiming.

Even knowing Li Shiming's incredible talent for formations, she had not expected him to comprehend the Starlight Sea so quickly.

"You've comprehended the Starlight Sea, which marks a major transformation for an Array Master. The Starlight Sea is a prerequisite for high-level Array Masters; without it, one cannot set up advanced formations. I believe you've already felt it," Yin Shilan said earnestly when discussing formations.

"So it is!" Li Shiming nodded.

The vast amount of calculations necessary for advanced formations could not be managed without the Starlight Sea's capabilities for on-the-spot computation.

Of course, that did not include him possessing an IBMz15, which was also a major reason why Yin Shilan valued him greatly; even before he had the Starlight Sea, he already possessed an incredibly powerful computational ability.

Starlight Sea is useless for new formations, thus Array Masters need to continuously study and add a great deal of formation knowledge into the Starlight Sea in order to manage the computations of various high-level formations.

"You are now qualified to take the Intermediate Array Master assessment; you can undertake missions with me in the future!" Yin Shilan beamed with a smile.

"Let's wait a bit longer. I want to solidify my knowledge of formations first," Li Shiming said regretfully, as if he was reluctant to miss the opportunity to work on missions with Yin Shilan.

Thus, although he declined the assessment for Intermediate Array Master, Yin Shilan had no hint of blame.

Li Shiming considered that he had been too busy recently, with too much planned that needed to be addressed before he could take the assessment for Intermediate Array Master.

Additionally, he did not want to stand out too much, considering his low cultivation level.

After a fond farewell to Yin Shilan, both enjoyed their time together; yet, they both knew cultivators must manage their own time.

Li Shiming sent a message to Yun Ze and ordered a batch of goods.

"Junior Li, 'Thousand-Mile Mutual View' sales are good, but once the market is saturated, you won't have the same revenue from spirit stones. You should consider your future!" Yun Ze's customary advice soon followed.
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This did not affect Li Shiming's order; Yun Ze knew such advice wouldn't help, but as his friend, Yun Ze still felt compelled to advise him.

Li Shiming smiled upon reading the message on his Identity Jade Disc. Little did this Yun Ze know about the perils of the business world in his past life; Li Shiming had plenty of methods to earn spirit stones.

However, what was most important now was to proceed immediately with the plan.

He returned to an underground space where three dead bodies and a copper corpse were inside the 'Netherworld Ghost Realm Array.'

The three bodies belonged to Foundation Establishment cultivator Wei Yun, a Qi Refining Seventh Level cultivator, and a Qi Refining Eighth Level cultivator.

The corpse of Foundation Establishment Wei Yun was severely damaged, with only the skeleton intact.