Cultivation is just so scientific!

Inside the gates of the Mingxin Sect, they were discussing matters related to Li Shiming. The Sect Leader and the Golden Core Elders heard the voice coming from outside the gate, as well as the arrogant declaration.

How little they must regard the Mingxin Sect, thought the many Golden Core cultivators, including the Sect Leader, as their anger surged in unison.

However, the Sect Leader was different; he quickly suppressed his fury.

If Li Shiming dared to provoke them in such a manner, it meant he must be confident in his abilities.

Especially when the Sect Leader used the Sect Protection Array to probe Li Shiming, he detected the silhouettes of twelve Silver Corpses.

Twelve Silver Corpses might not count for much, but the significance was entirely different when Li Shiming brought twelve by himself.

The resources required to refine a single Silver Corpse were enormous, as they had to include the cost of failure. Therefore, for a standard Golden Core cultivator, being able to refine one or two Silver Corpses was already the limit. Moreover, numerous Silver Corpses could also exert pressure on a Golden Core cultivator's spirit.

From this, one could see that Li Shiming not only held a high status within the Shushan Sect and was highly valued by Nascent Soul Ancestors but also controlled a significant amount of resources.

He glanced at Bo Ran; Li Shiming had previously demanded that they hand over Bao Zhao, and Bo Ran had dealt with the matter.

The Sect Leader had not interfered, thinking that with Bo Ran's experience, there shouldn't be any problems handling such matters.

However, the reality was that Bo Ran had not only failed to manage the situation but had allowed Li Shiming to come knocking on their door as well.

"Elder Bo, what do you think we should do?" the Sect Leader asked Bo Ran.

Bo Ran was taken aback; he recognized what the Sect Leader's words implied—it was his turn to go out and communicate with Li Shiming.

But how could he dare to go out at this time? Although he did not know the extent of Li Shiming's combat power, the twelve Silver Corpses alone were more than he could handle, not to mention that Li Shiming must have other means to confidently block the outside of the Mingxin Sect.

"Sect Leader, since Elder Li is so disdainful toward our Mingxin Sect, we should teach him a lesson. As long as we don't injure him seriously, I believe the Shushan Sect won't cross Beihai over such a trivial matter!" Bo Ran thought for a moment and then replied.

Since Li Shiming intended to have him handed over as well, he was now a mortal enemy of Li Shiming. Under such circumstances, it was in his own interest to provoke a fight between the sect and Li Shiming.

"Sect Leader, why not go out and talk to this Elder Li? We can't just let him block our gate indefinitely, can we?" one of Bo Ran's friends spoke up in support.

The Sect Leader thought it made sense. Regardless of what would happen afterward, the most pressing matter at the moment was to communicate with Li Shiming and see if things could be handled to both parties' satisfaction.

The precondition was that they needed a cultivator who could suppress Li Shiming. Normally, a Late-stage Golden Core Cultivator would suffice, but considering Li Shiming's confidence, a typical Late-stage Golden Core Cultivator might have difficulty overwhelming him.

"Summon Great Elder Fan Xi!" the Sect Leader cast a spell and said with a grave tone.

Bo Ran and the other Golden Core Elders showed joy on their faces. Those who could be addressed as Great Elder were at the pinnacle of the Golden Core Stage, at a certain level detached from it and touching upon a sliver of the Nascent Soul Stage's power.

In their view, as long as Great Elder Fan Xi stepped in, the matter would be easily resolved.

In the Cultivation World, all matters were settled by the might of one's fist. They believed that Li Shiming dared to provoke alone outside because he was confident in his ability to challenge any Golden Core Elder of the Mingxin Sect on his own.

As for ganging up, Li Shiming had the backing of the Shushan Sect. If all the Golden Core cultivators of the sect jointly attacked Li Shiming, it would inevitably provoke retaliation from the Shushan Sect afterward.

This was the confidence of a great sect; Li Shiming was not sneaking around, and if the Mingxin Sect really responded to such an open challenge with a group attack, it would also greatly demoralize their own forces.

Not long after the Sect Leader's spell was cast, a middle-aged cultivator appeared in the hall. His aura was inconspicuous, and he bowed slightly to the Sect Leader.

The Sect Leader did not dare to be negligent and quickly returned the bow while the other Golden Core Elders took the initiative to greet him with bows.

Great Elder Fan Xi was the most promising figure in the Mingxin Sect, second only to Elder Zang, and the hope of the sect.

With Elder Zang's life span coming to an end, the Mingxin Sect had placed all its resources on Great Elder Fan Xi, hoping he could ascend to the Nascent Soul Stage.

Of course, ascending to the Nascent Soul Stage was not easy; there were many difficulties involved.

But regardless, with Elder Zang unable to take action, Fan Xi was the only force capable of suppressing external enemies for the Mingxin Sect.

"Great Elder Fan, the Golden Core cultivator outside is a Shushan Sect Elder and has some grievances with our sect!" the Sect Leader explained to Great Elder Fan Xi.

"Do you want me to kill him?" Great Elder Fan Xi asked in a deep voice.

He was now fully dedicated to cultivation and knew almost nothing of external affairs. His abode was shielded from all sounds except for certain communication techniques.

He was unaware of Li Shiming's situation, but with his strength, he hardly took any Golden Core cultivator seriously.

"We can't kill him. I would like to ask the Great Elder to defeat Elder Li so that our sect can negotiate with him from a position of strength!" the Sect Leader hastily shook his head and said.

If they actually killed Li Shiming, just the token of Elder Zuo shown by Li Shiming previously would be enough to cause great trouble for the Mingxin Sect.

"I will go now!" Great Elder Fan Xi nodded; he wanted to resolve the issue quickly to return to his cultivation.

He flew out of the Sect Protection Array and saw Li Shiming and the twelve Silver Corpses beside him, his face showing a scornful expression.