Cultivation is just so scientific!

Though Li WenYuan held but a fourth-rank position, he was the Magistrate of Nanling Prefecture, a truly important official. In Nanling Prefecture, he was the highest ranking official.

If he wished to be promoted, he would have to return to Central Capital and enter the government's core.

The successive heinous cases in Nanling Prefecture, though related to cultivators, had indeed had too terrible an impact; no matter what, Li WenYuan would be affected to some extent.

However, Li WenYuan had no intention of returning to Central Capital, so it was unlikely it would amount to much trouble.

"Shiming, you go back and rest. The Imperial Examination is coming in a few days; take care of yourself!" Li WenYuan did not want Li Shiming to get too involved in these affairs and, smiling, waved his hand.

"You should rest early too!" Li Shiming reminded as he left.

As he stepped out of the room, he saw several officials quickly approaching and could not help but sigh helplessly, realizing that Li WenYuan would not get a good rest today.

Crossing the stone bridge and about to return to his own courtyard, he suddenly looked in one direction, toward the guest quarters where two cultivators resided.

Li Shiming looked at the guest quarters in front of him, noticing that there were still lights inside.

"Li Shiming seeks an audience with the Immortal!" The two guest quarters were next to each other; he stood in front of the close neighboring doors and loudly called out.

No one responded to him, which was something he had anticipated.

Still, to be cautious, he inquired with courtesy.

He tried to push one of the courtyard doors and found it was bolted from the inside.

Such a bolt is not difficult to open from the outside; he took a dagger and inserted it into the door gap, gently lifting it a few times to slide the bolt aside.

Entering the courtyard and finding the room doors wide open, he smoothly checked several rooms such as the main hall and the bedroom but found nothing.

The cultivators appeared to be above worldly concerns, having left not a single trace of their stay.

Nothing had changed in the courtyard since the last time he had seen it, even the bed covers had not been disturbed.

He hadn't held much hope, only wishing for a slim possibility that the two cultivators might have left something behind.

Disappointed, he left the guest quarters and entered another.

When he entered the bedroom of this guest quarter, Li Shiming spotted a circular plate on the floor.

The plate emitted a faint glow, with four glowing milky-white stones at its center, connected by countless intricate lines that formed strange patterns.

Chief Escort Wang's "Introduction to Runes" had not mentioned such a plate, but this kind of form was mostly likely some sort of array.

"It couldn't be a defensive array, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to enter!" Li Shiming deduced with his limited knowledge of cultivation.

He picked up a wooden chair nearby and carefully placed it above the circular plate.

"It's not an offensive array!" Seeing the unscathed chair, he dismissed another possibility.

There being no danger, he no longer hesitated; he reached his hand into the circular plate.

His hand encountered no attack, nor did anything unexpected occur.

"Could it be an array that aids in cultivation?" A guess flashed through his mind.

Zheng didn't take the Gathering Spirit Plate with her partly because Senior Brother Zhao had called for her urgently, and she didn't expect that she wouldn't be able to return. On the other hand, activating the Gathering Spirit Plate initially consumes a lot of Spirit Stones, but once it's running smoothly, it uses very few.

Under normal circumstances, she would only activate the Gathering Spirit Plate once during her stay and keep it in that state afterward to minimize the consumption of Spirit Stones.

In Great Xia, which is within the domain of the sects, the more powerful cultivators would give face to the sects. Amongst cultivators in the Qi Refinement Realm, sect cultivators have an absolute advantage in both strength and possession of Magic Artifacts and talismans. She never considered the possibility that she wouldn't be able to return.

That's why the Gathering Spirit Plate was left behind. Of course, if Senior Brother Zhao had known that Zheng possessed a Gathering Spirit Plate, he would have come back to retrieve it, even if he was seriously injured or threatened by a Loose Cultivator.

The problem was that Zheng kept the existence of the Gathering Spirit Plate well-hidden, knowing that if it were exposed, she would have to be wary of her fellow disciples killing her and stealing it.

Li Shiming speculated in his mind. He sat down cross-legged within the glow of the Gathering Spirit Plate and placed it beneath him.

He began to attempt the "Five Elements Qi Absorption Technique". He had tried many times before without any perception, but this time, it was completely different.

Around him floated specks of light, with three different colors: gold, red, and green.

He did not know what this signified, but as long as he could perceive the light spots, it meant he could sense the existence of Spiritual Energy.

Sensing Spiritual Energy created the foundational condition for officially cultivating the "Five Elements Qi Absorption Technique". Suppressing the excitement in his heart, he followed the first level's pathways of the technique, drawing in the light spots of Spiritual Energy into his body and circulating them through the designated routes.

Li Shiming had no idea how fortunate he was. Normally, even for people with the talent for cultivating immortality, factors like resources and environment aside, one still required a Cultivation Technique that matched their talent to actually practice cultivation.

The "Five Elements Qi Absorption Technique" left behind by the ancestral Chief Escort Wang was an extremely versatile technique, suitable for all those with a talent for cultivation.

It was designed so that any of their descendants with a talent for cultivation could practice the "Five Elements Qi Absorption Technique".

Li Shiming immersed himself in his first experience of cultivation, absorbing Spiritual Energy continuously into his body and gathering it in front of his chest.

Two hours later, his body suddenly trembled, and a Spiritual Energy Vortex appeared at his chest. Although the gathered Spiritual Energy wasn't much, it didn't dissipate due to the confinement of the vortex.

He opened his eyes, and the room was as bright as if it were daylight.

This was not the effect of candlelight; his body seemed to have undergone a great change nourished by Spiritual Energy.

He smelled a stench and hastily checked to find that it was emanating from his own body.

There was a layer of black grime on his exposed skin, and pulling open his clothes, he saw that his body was covered in it.

It seemed that the creation of the Spiritual Energy Vortex had expelled impurities from his body.

According to the "Five Elements Qi Absorption Technique", the appearance of a Spiritual Energy Vortex at Li Shiming's chest meant he had officially entered the Qi Refining First Level.

He did not draw upon the Spiritual Energy at his chest as it was too scant, causing him to refrain from acting rashly.

Without guidance, cultivation was like a blind man feeling an elephant.

Looking at the still luminous Gathering Spirit Plate, Li Shiming knew that maintaining it in this state was wasteful, but as he had just started his cultivation journey, he was really unable to practice the "Five Elements Qi Absorption Technique" a second time.

After one session of cultivation, a faint pain came from the parts of his body through which the Spiritual Energy had circulated.

After pondering a while, he placed his hand on the Gathering Spirit Plate and stored it in the machine room space.

The Gathering Spirit Plate continued to attract Spiritual Energy into the machine room space even after being stored there, and although the source of the outside environment was unknown, the plate persistently drew in Spiritual Energy into the machine room.

Li Shiming observed the Gathering Spirit Plate for a while and, finding no indication that it affected the other equipment in the machine room, he reassured himself and withdrew his consciousness.