Cultivation is just so scientific!
Chapter 671 - 382 Whisper of the Heart

Li Shiming dared to describe the Mingxin Sect as "small" because apart from the False Infant Ancestor, he did not regard the sect highly.

His personal combat power in the way of Body Refinement had already reached the Great Elder Level.

The Great Elder Level, in theory, represents the strongest existence in the Golden Core Stage, not to mention that he had the help of his life-bound magic treasure, the IBMz15, possessed Divine Foot Skill, Telepathy, and Divine Sight among the three Divine Skills, commanded over a dozen Silver Corpses, and had the Great Demon Jue Ling Huanxing Jiao, his capabilities alone were equivalent to the collective Golden Core Stage power of an entire sect.

So when he faced Bo Ran, his attitude was clear, which was to hand over the True Disciple Bo Zhao, who broke the rules. If they did this, his grievance with the Mingxin Sect would be written off.

Bo Ran's face showed a look of shock when he heard Li Shiming's demand.

He sensed Li Shiming's realm; Li Shiming was actually a Golden Core Middle Stage Cultivator.

He once again reviewed the information his son Bo Zhao had gathered about Li Shiming, causing his scalp to tighten.

In just twenty years, Li Shiming had advanced from a novice to the Golden Core Middle Stage, whereas he had taken nearly three hundred years to reach his current realm.

The more of a genius Li Shiming was, the higher his status within the Shushan Sect, and the more troublesome it would be for him.

"Elder Bo Ran of the Mingxin Sect pays respects to Mr. Li!" Bo Ran squeezed out an extremely forced smile, bowing and introducing himself to Li Shiming.

His mind raced with thoughts on how to soothe Li Shiming's anger and resolve the situation.

"I presume my demands have been relayed to the Mingxin Sect, what is the sect's attitude?" Li Shiming asked bluntly, disregarding Bo Ran's greeting.

"Mr. Li, the decision to execute the entire Imperial Family of Xia Country has been made, and the new emperor can be from your family in the secular world!" Regardless of Li Shiming's attitude, Bo Ran continued to respond with a forced smile.

"I am too lazy to be concerned with such minor secular matters. If not for giving face to the Mingxin Sect, I would have taken action myself long ago. When is Bo Zhao going to be delivered?" Li Shiming waved his hand and pressed further.

When he heard the name Bo Ran, Li Shiming had a thought; considering both Bo Ran and Bo Zhao had the Bo last name, which wasn't a prominent family surname, and within the same sect, one was an elder and the other a True Disciple, he refused to believe they had no relation whatsoever.

Especially since Bo Ran came specifically for the matter concerning Bo Zhao, Li Shiming's suspicions only grew stronger.

He activated 'Telepathy'; he had not been confident in probing the thoughts of a Golden Core Middle Stage Cultivator, but after his own breakthrough to the Golden Core Middle Stage, he found he could easily listen to Bo Ran's thoughts.

Indeed, he heard in Bo Ran's thoughts, Bo Zhao being referred to as "son."

"Mr. Li, the Mingxin Sect truly regrets the incident with your esteemed father and family. The sect is willing to offer generous reparation, and Bo Zhao will be handed over to the sect's enforcement team for punishment according to our regulations!" Bo Ran said with his head lowered.

What he called the Mingxin Sect's generous reparation was in fact him preparing to draw some third-grade resources himself, and as for handing over Bo Zhao to the enforcement team, he would indeed do so, but he guessed that Li Shiming would not stay on Sky Sea Island for too long. Afterward, it would be fine to simply release Bo Zhao.

In his view, this was already giving Li Shiming a great deal of face, both publicly and privately, and he expected Li Shiming to accept his offer.

Li Shiming sternly looked at Bo Ran; ever since he heard Bo Ran's thoughts through 'Telepathy', even if he hadn't heard his thoughts, he would not have let Bo Zhao off.

Third-grade resources were extremely precious to other Golden Core cultivators, but they meant little to him, and besides, he did not have high expectations for what an elder of the Mingxin Sect like Bo Ran could draw from his own holdings.

"When I came to Sky Sea Island, Elder Zuo from my sect entrusted me with a message for Elder Zang, advising him not to interfere in disputes among the Golden Core Stage," Li Shiming suddenly changed the subject, taking out a token as he spoke.

Clearly, Bo Ran was startled for a moment, but then he understood that Elder Zuo referred to a Nascent Soul Ancestor from the Shushan Sect.

He also sensed from the token a faint yet daunting presence, one that only Nascent Soul Ancestors could possess.

Thinking of his own Elder Zang, Bo Ran gave a wry and helpless smile internally, accepting the thinly veiled threat from Li Shiming.

"I will convey Elder Zuo's message to our ancestor, and I will deliver Bo Zhao as well!" Bo Ran replied, bowing.

Li Shiming once again listened to Bo Ran's thoughts, his gaze brightening.

He caught wind of Elder Zang's condition. Elder Zang wasn't doing well and hadn't appeared for quite some time.

When still on the Beishu Continent, Elder Zang did not have long to live. Elder Zang had expended some effort to lead the Mingxin Sect across the Beihai.

Li Shiming had not encountered any trouble while crossing Beihai—it was as if the sea was calm.

But this was because there were markers from the Shushan Sect on Li Shiming's Flying Boat, which deterred the sea beasts from attacking.

In essence, it was the longstanding reputation of the Shushan Sect that allowed Li Shiming safe passage back and forth across Beihai.

But the Mingxin Sect was not one of the six great sects, and Elder Zang was not a Nascent Soul Ancestor, so he had to show a certain level of power to be able to lead the entire sect across Beihai.

Upon arriving at Sky Sea Island, even without going through any battles, Elder Zang still had to use the Nascent Soul Dharma Manifestation.