Cultivation is just so scientific!

Duan Zhen made a decision and immediately carried it out; he was not one to hesitate.

To his surprise, Li Shiming did not turn around and flee right away, but instead controlled five flying swords to fend off the black flying sword.

He was overjoyed; it seemed that Li Shiming had no experience in battling Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivators.

This phenomenon has appeared in many genius cultivators, who always believe that if they can suppress a cultivator of the same stage, they can confront one of a higher stage.

However, the difference in combat power at each minor stage of the Nascent Soul Stage is immense.

A Nascent Soul Early Stage practitioner meeting a Nascent Soul Middle Stage practitioner has to treat them as a senior, and this is not without reason.

At the Golden Core Stage, if one's talent is sufficient, they might advance a minor stage within decades, but in the Nascent Soul Stage, advancing a minor stage usually takes several centuries.

Duan Zhen didn't even activate his Nascent Soul Dharma Form but used his activated Light Spirit Secret Method to swiftly approach Li Shiming.

Li Shiming also noticed Duan Zhen. Though he felt tense, he did not retreat.

If he truly wanted to leave, using the few moments of activation by the 'Water Dragon Protection', he could have already used the 'Distant Horizon' to quickly escape.

When Duan Zhen got close enough, Li Shiming's expression changed as he finally understood the gap between the Nascent Soul Middle Stage and the Nascent Soul Early Stage.

Duan Zhen emitted a kind of oppressive force, which was a suppression of higher layers of cultivation over lower ones.

If Li Shiming didn't possess 191 brains, with each having spirit reaching a very high level of the Nascent Soul Early Stage, just the oppressive force from Duan Zhen could have deprived him of most of his mobility.

In battles of Nascent Soul level, losing most of one's mobility, or even just moving a bit slower, could be a matter of life and death.

Duan Zhen was complacent; he had closed in on Li Shiming, who was entirely within his range of pressure.

At this moment, Li Shiming couldn't escape from his grasp; Li Shiming's life and death depended on his thoughts.

Just then, the 'Water Dragon Protection' effect on Li Shiming vanished.

The five flying swords were struggling to resist the black flying sword, but the black flying sword was much stronger than the five, so even fighting five against one was barely sustainable.

Duan Zhen smiled; this time, he had gained a great deal.

Considering that Li Shiming was a renowned Alchemy Master, it would be better to capture him and take him back, as he had means to make Li Shiming comply.

While he was thinking this, he rapidly closed in on Li Shiming, gathering Spiritual Power in his hands, ready to cast a secret technique to seal Li Shiming's cultivation.

He didn't think Li Shiming could resist; even if Li Shiming resisted, the gap of one minor stage in the Nascent Soul Stage meant Li Shiming could not break through his defenses.

Confident in this, Duan Zhen boldly wanted to get close to sealing Li Shiming's cultivation without any hesitation.

Just as he closed within ten meters of Li Shiming, he saw the strange smile on Li Shiming's face.

He was startled; Li Shiming wasn't a fool, and smiling in such a situation meant he surely had some trick up his sleeve.

Just as he was about to retreat, he saw a silver light in his eyes.

Of course Li Shiming was pleased; if Duan Zhen hadn't approached on his own initiative, he would have considered using 'Distant Horizon' to get close to Duan Zhen himself.

But there were certain risks in using 'Distant Horizon' to approach Duan Zhen, considering at Duan Zhen's level of a Nascent Soul Middle Stage practitioner, he surely had ways to deal with Divine Foot Skill-like space movement skills.

Duan Zhen approaching on his own spared Li Shiming the trouble.

At a distance of ten meters, Li Shiming released the 'Silver Winged Spirit Gu Insect', which was his real confidence in staying put to confront Duan Zhen.

The 'Silver Winged Spirit Gu Insect' is something even Great Cultivators have to handle cautiously, and if Duan Zhen had known Li Shiming possessed the 'Silver Winged Spirit Gu Insect', he wouldn't have gotten too close to Li Shiming.

The speed of the 'Silver Winged Spirit Gu Insect' wasn't slow; for it, ten meters was merely a distance where its wings barely moved.

Duan Zhen saw the silver light but hadn't discerned the specifics of the 'Silver Winged Spirit Gu Insect' before it was already upon him.

Earlier, neither Master Ding nor Grandmaster Hu dared let the 'Silver Winged Spirit Gu Insect' get close, and it wasn't without reason.

Once the 'Silver Winged Spirit Gu Insect' approached Duan Zhen's body, an aura of terrifying ferocity erupted from it, revealing its fangs truly.

A shield artifact on Duan Zhen's body, automatically defensive, activated automatically to stand in front of the 'Silver Winged Spirit Gu Insect'.

The 'Silver Winged Spirit Gu Insect' opened its mouth and bit into the shield artifact.

This shield artifact was a Fourth-grade Upper Stage Magical Treasure, refined by Duan Zhen for many years, serving as his primary defense treasure.

The cultivator's magical treasures, albeit numerous, generally focus on specific attack and defense treasures. A cultivator's energy is limited, and refining treasures requires immense time, making it impossible to attend to all treasures equally.

The defensive power of the Fourth-grade High-stage Shield Treasure could withstand several full-force attacks from a Peak Mid-stage Nascent Soul Practitioner, serving as Duan Zhen's last line of defense.

But something bizarre happened: with a single bite from the 'Silver Winged Spirit Gu Insect', the shield artifact's radiance dimmed, and a hole appeared where it was bitten.

This was precisely the innate ability 'spirit consuming ability' of the 'Silver Winged Spirit Gu Insect'. Any Spiritual Objects of the same grade could lose much of their spiritual essence with a bite from it.