With a slight frown, Lei Dong asked, "Then why did Senior Brother use six bottles of Minor Vitality Pills to acquire a Soul Nurturing Pagoda?"

"Actually, I don't mind telling you, Junior Brother. First, this Soul Nurturing Pagoda is a discarded piece, not worth as much as a new one. Second, even if you exchanged a new one for contribution points, you'd only get five points, equivalent to five bottles of Minor Vitality Pills. My purchase of six bottles is very reasonably priced. If I sold it outside, I could easily fetch twelve or thirteen bottles of Minor Vitality Pills. But that Senior Brother wouldn't travel that far just for the price difference of a few Minor Vitality Pills, and there's no guarantee he could sell it. Zhao Baiwan chuckled, "This existence of us merchants is thanks to the sect's rather stringent exchange system. If you're willing to trade one Spirit Stone for it, Junior Brother, I'm willing to give you four bottles of Minor Vitality Pills back."

Lei Dong breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had thought things through and decided to come here for a look. Otherwise, if he had impulsively traded two Spirit Stones for the Soul Nurturing Pagoda just now, he would have lost a fortune. Seeing Zhao Baiwan seemingly eager for him to trade Spirit Stones for the pagoda, Lei Dong knew that Spirit Stones were indeed valuable and highly sought after. A thought struck him, and he inquired, "I wonder how many Soul Nurturing Pagodas you have here, Senior Brother? If possible, I'd like to select one with better condition."

"Of course, no problem. I have three more here." Zhao Baiwan hastily rummaged through cabinets and drawers, taking out the remaining three Soul Nurturing Pagodas. Then, slapping his forehead, he exclaimed, "I almost forgot, I have one more here." Saying that, after searching for a while, he seemed to pull out a dusty, gray Soul Nurturing Pagoda from a pile of miscellaneous items.

Lei Dong flipped and examined the pagodas several times. The first few looked much the same—clearly standard issue items from the Yin Sha Sect, varying only in how new or old they were. However, the last one Zhao Baiwan pulled out looked vastly different. Compared to the others, it lacked in workmanship and style. Moreover, it was ancient and worn, like an antique that had existed for countless years. Its exterior was unremarkable, yet when Lei Dong held it in his hand, his heart inexplicably fluttered, as if this particular Soul Nurturing Pagoda felt connected to his very bloodline.

"Junior Brother, don't mind that it's old; this item has a significant history," seeing Lei Dong's interest in the last pagoda, Zhao Baiwan launched into a continuous stream of historical details. But to Lei Dong's ears, it sounded exactly like a shady merchant trying to offload a piece of dead stock.

The truth was, Zhao Baiwan had a tale of woe. When he first started his business, he had been duped and spent a Spirit Stone on this very item, thinking it was a treasure. After repeatedly recommending it to fellow disciples, it was returned within days. They claimed it was utter junk; while the other pagodas, even the lower quality ones, would at least allow a spirit ghost within to be gradually nourished and grow, keeping a spirit ghost in this pagoda caused it to appear drained of its vitality within days, leaving it near death. One senior brother’s spirit ghost had actually perished inside. That disciple nearly skinned Zhao Baiwan alive—this was not a Soul Nurturing Pagoda; it was a Soul Extinguishing Pagoda.

Zhao Baiwan dared not try selling the thing at an auction house; he knew their methods—they wouldn't care if he was a Yin Sha Sect disciple or not. However, Zhao Baiwan prided himself on being a businessman, and having unsellable goods felt worse than having a fish bone stuck in his throat. Encountering the ignorant Lei Dong, a mere first-level Qi Condensation cultivator looking to use a Soul Nurturing Pagoda, spurred him into action. He decided to unload it onto Lei Dong. After all, the boy was only at the first layer of Qi Condensation; if anything went wrong, he wouldn't dare come back to cause trouble.

Having lived two lives and originating from an era infamous for shady dealers, Lei Dong was all too familiar with such expressions. Normally, no matter how grand the sales pitch, he would ignore it. But the sudden stirring in his heart, that feeling of a bloodline connection when he touched the pagoda, gave him an instinct that this item was peculiar.

Naturally, to avoid suspicion, Lei Dong maintained the demeanor of a newcomer, listening wide-eyed as Zhao Baiwan spun his yarns, appearing reluctant to part with the item, only to finally shake his head and say, "Senior Brother, I want this one."

Seeing that he was choosing an ordinary Soul Nurturing Pagoda, Zhao Baiwan felt a pang of disappointment but remained persistent. "Junior Brother, shouldn't you reconsider? This one is top-grade!"

"My purse is a bit thin," Lei Dong said with a wry smile. "To be honest, Senior Brother, I only have one Spirit Stone on me—the one my family scraped together as their entire fortune before I came up the mountain."

"One Spirit Stone?" Zhao Baiwan hesitated, then grit his teeth. "Fine. Today, to make a friend of you, Junior Brother, I'll take the plunge. One Spirit Stone it is. Take it."

"But Senior Brother, I worry that if such an old thing doesn't work when I take it back?" Lei Dong blinked with wide, innocent eyes. This act wasn't difficult; partly because of his actual young age, and partly because he had grown accustomed to feigning innocence since his transmigration.

"How could that be? My item..." Zhao Baiwan seemed deeply insulted, his face flushing as he launched into a fervent defense and reprimand of Lei Dong. But no matter how far Zhao Baiwan rambled, Lei Dong kept his expression fixed in hesitant doubt.

Finally, likely when Zhao Baiwan was hoarse, Lei Dong said shyly and sheepishly, "If Senior Brother could include this old Soul Nurturing Pagoda as a freebie to give me some assurance, I'll hand over the Spirit Stone."

"What? A freebie?" Zhao Baiwan was dumbfounded.

"Didn't Senior Brother just say he wanted to be friends with me?"

...

After much haggling with Zhao Baiwan, the latter finally relented and sold Lei Dong two Soul Nurturing Pagodas for one Spirit Stone. In the end, he feared that if Lei Dong found the old pagoda unusable, a scene might ensue. Besides, even if he lost a bit, at least he got rid of it. Keeping that pagoda around was a constant, silent mockery of Zhao Baiwan's business acumen. However, before handing it over to Lei Dong, he explicitly stated that no returns or exchanges would be accepted if the item was unsatisfactory.

Leaving Zhao Baiwan's place, Lei Dong immediately returned to his small room and carefully examined the ancient Soul Nurturing Pagoda. When held, it felt slightly warm; he couldn't tell what material it was made from. Most importantly, every time he touched it, that feeling of connection to his bloodline arose. It was this sensation that had driven him to acquire it. Even if his feeling was wrong, at least he hadn't spent much money and now had a backup unit.

However, after several days of dedicated effort, he couldn't discern anything special about the object. Still, without any Yin Souls on hand, further research yielded no meaningful results. He contacted Chen Ge via the gatehouse restriction, only to be told he was in seclusion. It seemed this matter would have to be resolved by himself.

Fortunately, the area controlled by the Yin Sha Sect was one of the most notorious perilous lands in the world—a place where countless people had perished over the years and which naturally accumulated Yin energy. Yin Souls, therefore, should be relatively common.

After a brief inquiry, he learned that near the major human city, Myriad Ghost City, which fell under the jurisdiction of the Myriad Ghost Grotto, there were several mass burial grounds filled with scattered Yin energy. Packing his meager belongings, Lei Dong headed for the large city first.

It was a magnificent city with walls towering over ten zhang high, inhabited by no less than a million mortals, entirely serving the Myriad Ghost Grotto of the Yin Sha Sect. His status as a Myriad Ghost Grotto disciple, even a newly initiated one, made him quite favored here. He easily learned that not far to the west of the city lay a mass grave. Most disciples of the Myriad Ghost Grotto with low cultivation often went there to capture Yin Souls.

Lei Dong possessed nothing valuable, let alone a flying artifact. Fortunately, having undergone preliminary marrow washing and body refinement, the first-level Qi Condensation Lei Dong was light as a swallow. Though he hadn't learned movement techniques, his running speed was not slow. In less than half an hour, he reached the desolate, chilling mass burial ground.

It was midday, yet the sky was overcast, and the fog within the grounds was thick, obscuring vision beyond a short distance.

Not daring to venture deep, Lei Dong gripped his small sword and cautiously circled about half of the graveyard, which spanned several li, but did not see a single Yin Soul. Looking at the sky, he suddenly understood: the blazing sun was high overhead. Unless they were exceptionally powerful Yin Souls, ordinary ones would never dare come out to court such misfortune.