Even the phantom division was momentarily stalled, and even the activation of the ’World at Your Fingertips’ was delayed, failing to dodge the large hand in time.

The large hand grabbed the phantom division, then took it through the spatial gate.

Everything happened too quickly; Grandmaster Hu and Grandmaster Chai were equally suppressed by the terrifying pressure emitted by the large hand; and by the time they reacted, the phantom division had vanished.

"Shizhen!" Grandmaster Hu exclaimed in surprise.

He was just about to launch an attack on Master Su Tong, but the speed of the four late-stage Golden Corpses was even faster.

The phantom division was originally only thirty meters away from Master Su Tong, with the speed of a late-stage Golden Corpse, thirty meters was no different from being right in front.

Master Su Tong had not yet unleashed his hidden strength when the four late-stage Golden Corpses reached his side.

The half-step Great Power Lian Lei was dealing with the phantom division at that moment; he didn’t expect the battle outside to end so quickly, Master Su Tong’s strength couldn’t even hold for a single breath.

Master Su Tong’s body was struck by the four late-stage Golden Corpses, his flesh and Nascent Soul instantly collapsed. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

The late-stage Golden Corpses then made an entirely unexpected move, two of them each took Grandmaster Hu and Grandmaster Chai and retreated quickly from the main hall.

At the same time, the other two late-stage Golden Corpses appeared to have a Fourth Grade Array Flag in their hands, and several Fourth Grade Array Flags were thrown to the ground, creating a Formation centered around Master Su Tong.

At this time, it was no longer the late-stage Golden Corpses but Li Shiming’s four brains controlling them.

When the phantom division was attacked, he took over the control of the four late-stage Golden Corpses.

Li Shiming immediately recognized the sudden large hand as an attack from a half-step Great Power.

Having experienced an attack from a half-step Great Power once, he naturally understood how to deal with such a half-step Great Power.

A half-step Great Power cannot leave the Grotto Heaven by themselves, and the Grotto Heaven needs to be carried by a cultivator; otherwise, the anchor point of the Grotto Heaven cannot move freely.

Li Shiming was very experienced in dealing with the anchor points of a half-step Great Power’s Grotto Heaven and could effectively seal the spatial connection between the Grotto Heaven and the outside world by adopting a spatial formation.

Of course, the power of a temporarily arranged spatial formation is limited, but all he needed was to block off the half-step Great Power for a little while to take Grandmaster Hu and Grandmaster Chai away.

Once they moved out of the half-step Great Power’s attack range, this powerful half-step Great Power would be unable to harm them.

On site, Li Shiming only paid attention to Grandmaster Hu and Grandmaster Chai, as for the safety of other cultivators, he did not care.

With his understanding of the half-step Great Power, he hoped the half-step Great Power would target the remaining cultivators because every action taken would exhaust the half-step Great Power.

"Master, it’s Shizhen, give me control of the Sun Concealing Sect Array!" said one late-stage Golden Corpse to Grandmaster Hu in a deep voice.

Grandmaster Hu handed over a jade token to the late-stage Golden Corpse without any hesitation.

The late-stage Golden Corpses were Li Shiming’s Corpse Refining, capable of controlling late-stage Golden Corpses, only Li Shiming could do it, and Li Shiming’s request was certainly not something he would refuse.

"What’s your situation now? Are you in danger?" Grandmaster Hu followed with a probing question.

Both he and Grandmaster Chai cast caring glances at the late-stage Golden Corpse, knowing that Li Shiming’s safety was integral to the future of the Ten Thousand Beast Sect.

If Li Shiming got into trouble, it wouldn’t just be a question of holding the Dongqi Continent; the survival of the Ten Thousand Beast Sect would be uncertain.

The Ten Thousand Beast Sect now relied entirely on Li Shiming’s strength.

"It’s my phantom division, my actual self is still at the mountain gate of the Ten Thousand Beast Sect!" The late-stage Golden Corpse explained to Grandmaster Hu while manipulating the jade token.

Grandmaster Hu had no grievance about Li Shiming deceiving him earlier and was rather glad it wasn’t Li Shiming, just a phantom division.

As to why a phantom division could be assumed as Li Shiming’s actual self, Grandmaster Hu didn’t have any doubt, knowing full well his own cultivation level was too weak to understand the abilities of Li Shiming, a Peak Great Cultivator.

"If the phantom division is destroyed, does it affect you greatly?" He realized something crucial and continued to ask.

"The impact on my strength won’t exceed one percent!" The late-stage Golden Corpse thought for a moment, then answered.

This answer wasn’t precise; according to IBMz15, the impact would be one in a hundred and ninety-one; losing just the spirit part of the phantom division would make him feel like his soul suffered a severe wound, all abilities would greatly decline.

But since Li Shiming had one hundred and ninety-one brains, losing one would mean an impact of one in a hundred and ninety-one.

As the worries in Grandmaster Hu and Grandmaster Chai’s hearts reduced, Li Shiming, through the late-stage Golden Corpse, activated and adjusted the Sun Concealing Sect Array, imposing further spatial blocking on Master Su Tong’s location.

This spatial blocking was sufficient to entirely lock down that Grotto Heaven anchor point.

If only Li Shiming’s actual self was present with various essential formation treasures, things wouldn’t need to be so cumbersome.

Inside the half-step Great Power Lian Lei’s Grotto Heaven, after the phantom division was grabbed by the large hand, Li Shiming saw the aged half-step Great Power Lian Lei.

"Are you Li Shizhen?" the half-step Great Power Lian Lei asked uncertainly, looking at the phantom division.

The phantom division gripped by the large hand seemed extremely powerful in its Spiritual Power Pattern, but to say it could easily slay many Peak Great Cultivators felt somewhat exaggerated.

At the division’s current level, its combat strength was at most comparable to a regular Peak Great Cultivator, not much higher.

So the half-step Great Power Lian Lei was a bit uncertain whether the captured Peak Great Cultivator was indeed Li Shizhen.

"Before questioning me, don’t you think you should introduce yourself first?" the phantom division calmly countered.

Though seized by the half-step Great Power Lian Lei, the phantom division was not much afraid, being merely a phantom division; if it were destroyed, it would just lose the spirit of one brain.

These weren’t irrecoverable wounds, merely requiring some rest to fully regain the spirit of the lost brain through cultivating the ’Heavenly Human Technique’.

Most importantly, this phantom division shielded the actual self from almost certain disaster.

Last time, when Li Shiming encountered the half-step Great Power Yang Xing, luck was on his side as Yang Xing went berserk and was defeated by him.

This time was different, as the half-step Great Power Lian Lei before him, despite his aged aura, was far superior in cultivation and realm compared to Yang Xing.

The phantom division examined the Grotto Heaven situation, seeing a dominant lightning motif, with dense clouds in the sky and thunder rules suppressing the whole Grotto Heaven.

Unfortunately, this Grotto Heaven appeared full of lifelessness to the division, like a world on the brink of collapse.

Realization dawned on the division, likely prompting the half-step Great Power Lian Lei to come to Dongqi Continent, seeking an opportunity to act.

A half-step Great Power nearing the end of his life has nothing to lose, even squandering energy on attacks.

"What great courage, I am Lian Lei of the Yuqing Sect!" the half-step Great Power Lian Lei complimented instead of getting angry, then introduced himself.

"Li Shizhen of the Ten Thousand Beast Sect greets Lian Dao You!" The phantom division lightly nodded due to being restrained by the large hand.

"You are already my captive; I have some things to ask you, hoping you’ll answer honestly," the half-step Great Power Lian Lei said in a serious tone upon confirming the division’s identity.

"Hold on, before determining I’m your prisoner, perhaps you should check the situation outside the Grotto Heaven!" The phantom division subtly smiled, reminding him.

The half-step Great Power Lian Lei was taken aback, quickly checking the outside of the Grotto Heaven, only to find the Grotto Heaven anchor point was sealed.

He attempted to break the seal but realized that the connection between the Grotto Heaven and the outside depended on the spatial anchor point, which was now sealed, making it impossible to accurately target the outside for an attack.

Of course, with persistent attempts, his intimate understanding of the Grotto Heaven would eventually reveal the spatial anchor point seal’s location, allowing him to use energy to destroy it.