CHAPTER 974: CHAPTER 533: GHOST_2

Moreover, the formation that the Netherworld Emperor found was one specially designed for space rifts, developed by researching with countless Array Masters over many years.

This formation fully developed the power of space rifts, making it truly the pinnacle of fourth-grade arrays.

Such a formation doesn’t just require calculations but understanding its operational principles to deduce it.

The IBMz15, Li Shiming’s life-bound magical treasure, had been computing ever since entering this space but couldn’t come to a conclusion because there was no operational principle to follow—this was an entirely different formation system, unlike anything in the Array Formation Starlight Sea.

The Skystrike Thunder Hammer emitted a golden light, instantly shining like a great sun across the sky, subsequently producing a massive light pillar, but instead of flames, it was thick lightning.

With a "boom," the lightning struck the ground.

This was the first time the Skystrike Thunder Hammer was used in combat, but to Li Shiming’s disappointment, the terrifying strike didn’t even leave a small dent on the ground.

All of the lightning’s power was blocked by a simple formation.

The Netherworld Emperor’s clone, which he imagined would be at least half obliterated, wasn’t affected at all; not a single one was even injured.

Li Shiming found it hard to believe. According to his calculations, a full power strike from the Skystrike Thunder Hammer should surpass an attack at the Nascent Soul Early Stage.

And even such an attack could not harm the Netherworld Emperor.

However, his attack wasn’t entirely ineffective; at least it allowed IBMz15 to analyze some clues.

At the moment when the lightning and the formation met, intense spatial fluctuations were generated, and it was these fluctuations that caused the lightning’s power to disappear.

Although he didn’t know where the spatial fluctuations came from, with this help from IBMz15 it was like having an important hint in a math problem, making the computation much easier.

He didn’t attack again, realizing that the Netherworld Emperor was hiding without any capability to counterattack.

It seemed the Netherworld Emperor intended to just drag it out with him. This space was wrapped in a formation, and this formation contained a kind of spatial energy, making the Divine Foot Skill unusable, and forcefully breaking the formation was also impossible.

The Netherworld Emperor was willing to waste time, but he was not.

He suspended the Skystrike Thunder Hammer in the air, standing on it himself.

"Don’t bother plotting any longer; soon enough, this space will be filled with Yin Cold Energy. Even if you can hold on, can you last a hundred years? When you can’t anymore, your body will still be mine!" The Netherworld Emperor’s piercing voice resounded from all directions in the space.

The voices of a hundred Fourth Grade Ghost Souls speaking simultaneously made the space even more eerie.

Li Shiming indeed felt the increase of Yin Cold Energy in the space, which might soon expel the Spiritual Energy and leave only Yin Cold Energy.

And Yin Cold Energy is only suitable for creatures like Corpse Refining and ghosts. Human cultivators need a Spiritual Energy environment, and in a Yin Cold environment, they need to consume Spiritual Power Pattern to maintain themselves.

"You’re overthinking!" Li Shiming said calmly.

At this moment, IBMz15 had almost fully analyzed the formation and was constructing a formation model.

Indeed, this formation was extremely advanced, and while it belonged to a different formation system, once understanding the formation’s purpose and the spatial energy it employed, many previously unclear aspects became clear.

Moreover, no matter how the formation system changes, its fundamentals don’t alter. It’s just that without the system’s knowledge, the computational requirements would be unimaginable for a regular Array Master.

But as long as IBMz15 had time, its computational power could achieve calculations beyond any cultivator’s imagination in the Cultivation World.

A formation model appeared in Li Shiming’s mind, allowing him to understand many aspects of the formation.

He had methods for how the formation operated and how to enter it, but the only trouble was that he found the formation node’s spatial energy could only accommodate third-grade life.

Yet, even if the Fourth Grade Ghost Soul was divided into a hundred portions, any one of them was far stronger than regular third-grade life.

These were ghosts, one of the most difficult beings to deal with.

Suddenly, he thought of a method and couldn’t help but smile.

With a slight movement of his mind, the Heavenly Ghost appeared in the space from the server room.

The Heavenly Ghost was invisible, and its invisibility skill belonged to the Heavenly Demon category. It had been tested in the Grotto Heaven of Great Power Zhai Ge, and the Fourth Grade Ghost Soul couldn’t detect the Heavenly Ghost.

Indeed, the appearance of the Heavenly Ghost did not alert the Netherworld Emperor.

Li Shiming controlled the Heavenly Ghost with his mind, sending it toward the ground. As it approached the ground, the Heavenly Ghost entered at one position, then flexibly changed several positions before truly entering the formation’s interior.

The Heavenly Ghost plunged into one of the formation nodes, linking with Li Shiming’s perception, allowing him to discover the situation inside the formation node.

It was almost like another space here, filled with eerie Yin Cold Energy, and the space was extremely unstable, seemingly ready to collapse with any major movement.

The space within the formation node wasn’t large, less than a cubic, and was irregular in shape.

The Heavenly Ghost came behind one of the Netherworld Emperor’s Fourth Grade Ghost Soul clones, opening its mouth wide to swallow it whole.

"What have you done?" The Netherworld Emperor exclaimed in shock.

Just now, one of his hundred clones suddenly lost connection, disappearing without any prior warning.

But the clone was within the formation node, supposed to be absolutely safe.

Only third-grade life could enter, and even if Li Shiming cracked the formation, he could only use a third-grade life to enter the node and attack the clone.

Yet, with the strength of the clone, what third-grade life could defeat it?

But the fact was it happened, a clone mysteriously vanished, leaving the Netherworld Emperor in disbelief.

This time it was Li Shiming’s turn to ignore him, knowing the Skystrike Thunder Hammer was poised to strike in the air, ready to blast the Netherworld Emperor if he dared to come out.

The Netherworld Emperor also knew this, hoping that the disappearance of the clone had nothing to do with Li Shiming, and was due to a problem with the space rift instead.

Just as he was contemplating this, another clone lost connection.

The Heavenly Ghost was enjoying a feast; indeed, to the Heavenly Ghost, the Fourth Grade Ghost Soul voluntarily divided itself into a hundred parts, lowering its strength to the third-grade, which was like cutting itself into perfectly snack-sized chunks within the Heavenly Ghost’s power range.

The Heavenly Ghost consumed at an extremely rapid pace, quickly traversing each node within the formation, diving in to engulf the clones in one gulp.

The clones could not detect the Heavenly Ghost’s existence at all, and by the time they were devoured, it was too late. Once in the Heavenly Ghost’s belly, they would be instantly disintegrated by the Heavenly Ghost, while the energy didn’t need to be digested immediately and could be stored first.

"Stop it, spare me, I have a big treasure I can give you!" The Netherworld Emperor became anxious, loudly pleading for mercy.

In this short time, he had already lost more than half of his clones, and he still didn’t know what was destroying them.

This bizarre method was something even he, as a disciple of the Sun Concealing Sect, had never heard of.

How could Li Shiming possibly stop? This was the Heavenly Ghost’s opportunity, otherwise where would he find so much ghost energy for the Heavenly Ghost?

The Heavenly Ghost was an important helper for him, always able to produce unexpectedly powerful effects at critical moments.

Now that he had advanced to the Nascent Soul Stage, the Heavenly Ghost needed to reach the fourth-grade to continue aiding him.

As for any big treasure, he would believe it when he saw it; he didn’t believe there was any big treasure at all. If there really was, why wouldn’t the Netherworld Emperor dig it up himself?

"I also have Sun Concealing Sect’s Inheritance Techniques, spare me and I’ll be willing to transcribe them for you!" The Netherworld Emperor, seeing he couldn’t persuade Li Shiming, offered another condition.