Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 41 Harvest

Protected by "starlite," Li Shiming felt a tingling sensation on his scalp.

Since he had decided to create "white phosphorus bombs" and "thermite bombs" for self-protection, and was dealing with cultivators, the finished products of these bombs were made to be as powerful as he could manage.

He understood clearly, if the power was too low, the explosion would not cover the speed at which a cultivator could escape, thus rendering the weapon useless.

But another problem arose, the power was so great that he could not throw the "thermite bomb" far enough to be outside the range of the explosion.

In other words, once the "thermite bomb" exploded, it was very likely to include him in its blast.

Therefore, he needed a way to survive in the flames of the "thermite bomb," and he found the most feasible method in the large server, IBM z15.

"Starlife" was a fireproof material developed by someone named Morris Ward. Although the original "starlife" was lost with the death of its inventor, later researchers used several everyday household items to recreate a similar "starlife" material.

Starch, baking soda, and glue—when these three materials were combined, they formed the new "starlife" fireproof material.

As for its effectiveness, Li Shiming had already tested it in the server room space.

Li Shiming lay on the ground like the filling under a dumpling wrapper, his face now adorned with a gas mask.

He counted in his mind while listening to the sounds outside.

Fifteen seconds after the explosion, he lifted the "starlife" material from his body, seeing that its surface had turned charred black.

Fortunately, this large "pancake" had protected him well; he did not suffer even a slight burn.

However, the hot air and thin oxygen, coupled with the toxic smoke, made the area unsafe.

The effect of his "Basic Light Body Talisman" had not yet faded. After picking up the "starlife" material from the ground, he flashed over to two corpses.

His gaze fell on the storage bags at the waists of the two corpses; he hadn't expected both cultivators to have storage bags.

Although the storage bags showed signs of being scorched, they were not damaged, seemingly possessing some kind of protective mechanism.

Recalling the first storage bag he acquired, which had survived a nitroglycerin explosion unscathed, he realized it was not the time to study this.

He collected the two storage bags and gave no further thought to the other possessions on the bodies, as they were all severely damaged in the fire.

Li Shiming exerted force with his legs and rapidly ran down the mountain.

The explosion and flames alerted the cultivators in the city; some headed towards the direction of the explosion, while others decided to leave the city in different directions.

Among those who had participated in the ambush against Li Shiming, there was extreme shock. They knew who was supposed to be in that direction.

They also knew that the cultivators lying in ambush there could not have caused such a huge commotion; it wasn't just a matter of capability at the Qi Refining Fourth Level, but also that even if possible, they would not choose to act in such a way.

The cultivators involved in the ambush all relied on the city for their livelihood; if other cultivators deemed the city unsafe, then fewer would dare to visit the city.

With fewer cultivators coming to the city, those living nearby would be unable to sell their goods; even if they successfully robbed once, it would not compensate for such a loss.

Li Shiming ran with all his might and only relaxed when he saw the northern gate of Central Capital.

He was dressed too oddly, so he changed his clothes before entering the city, but he did not remove his disguise.

After circling around the city, he came out of an alley and reverted to Advanced Scholar Li Shiming, with his Confucian Robe fluttering, no longer looking like his previous self.

Anyone who saw him would not associate him with the strongly built cultivator.

His height, physique, and facial features were all different, at least indistinguishable to the eyes of a low-level cultivator.

Back at home, Li Shiming looked at the two storage bags in front of him and a helpless wry smile appeared on his face.

Having experienced this danger, he had truly come to understand the terror of the Cultivation World, he decided not to go to the market anymore, at least not until he joined the Heavenly Sea Sect.

Picking up one of the storage bags, he injected spiritual power and sensed the items inside.

A Lower Grade Long Sword Magical Artifact, on the handle of which there was a small "Hao" character mark.

"Is it that Hao?" Li Shiming thought of the first stall in the market, that old cultivator stall owner.

The sign standing at that stall had "Hao" written on it, which was not a particularly common surname. Li Shiming did not believe it had no connection with the old cultivator of that stall.

A Low Grade Magical Artifact with such a marker could not be sold unless one went far from this place.

Then there were stacks of talismans, the amount of which surprised Li Shiming.

Taking out the talismans, he noticed that all of them were made from greenish-yellow talismanic paper, a distinctive feature that allowed him to recognize them immediately.

This talismanic paper was exactly what Old Cultivator Hao sold, indicating that these talismans were likely made by the force Old Cultivator Hao belonged to.

Over fifty Basic Featherweight Talismans, more than thirty Basic Fireball Talismans, more than thirty Basic Ice Freeze Talismans, fifteen Basic Earth Armor Talismans, along with two Intermediate Fireball Talismans.

This was the first time Li Shiming saw so many talismans. He knew that if he truly used talismans to combat a cultivator of such wealth, his own few talismans would definitely be inadequate.

Inside the storage bag, there were also more than one hundred and twenty Spirit Stones, along with several pieces of clothing and mundane items like gold and silver.

Li Shiming had not been cultivating for long, and he already had over a hundred Spirit Stones on him, while this cultivator's storage bag only had just over a hundred and twenty; comparatively, this cultivator was indeed very poor.

He then opened the other storage bag, first seeing another similar style Lower Grade Long Sword Magical Artifact, even with the same "Hao" character mark.

"It's time to visit Brother Gu and inquire about the news of cultivator forces around here!" Li Shiming murmured to himself.

This storage bag contained fewer talismans, but their quality had significantly improved.

There were exactly five Intermediate Fireball Talismans, one Intermediate Earth Armor Talisman, with the rest being over forty low-level talismans.

Li Shiming paid special attention to the Intermediate Earth Armor Talisman, a defensive talisman that could withstand damage.

Three hundred and fifty Spirit Stones, a pile of talismanic ink materials, twelve stacks of greenish-yellow talismanic paper, and one talisman pen brimming with spiritual energy.

Li Shiming took out the talisman pen, which had considerably more spiritual energy than the Red Rabbit Brush he had bought; although it did not reach the level of a Mid Grade Magical Artifact, it was among the best in Low Grade Magical Artifacts.

Last but not least, the storage bag also contained a cultivation notebook. It seems many cultivators liked to write cultivation notes; this was the second one he had obtained, and he had found two in just three storage bags.