After leaving the Spirit Ghost Pavilion, I wandered around the street for a lap. Returning to the inn, I changed my attire and strolled into another shop specializing in various exquisite magic artifacts. Half an hour later, Lei Dong walked out with a calm expression. He left the market district directly, mounted the Phantom, and shot straight up into the clouds. After circling once, ensuring he wasn't followed, he changed direction and flew toward the Myriad Ghost Cave.

Only then did a satisfied smile appear on Lei Dong's face. The mid-grade spirit ghost sold for a handsome price, instantly making him moderately wealthy. It was a pity that before these thousand-plus spirit stones even warmed in his pocket, they were nearly spent. The high-grade Soul Nurturing Pagoda that Lei Dong had his eye on was listed at eleven hundred; after much haggling, he secured it for a thousand, though they threw in a storage bracelet worth dozens of spirit stones as a bonus.

Compared to the universally high prices of flying artifacts, the Soul Nurturing Pagoda, being less in demand, was far more reasonably priced. Even the high-grade pagoda Lei Dong acquired only cost a mere thousand spirit stones. This left Lei Dong, who had initially budgeted for a mid-grade pagoda, unexpectedly delighted. This was the first high-grade artifact he had ever acquired in his life, even though it was a high-grade Soul Nurturing Pagoda that many would not choose as their first option. However, when paired with the Soul Devouring Pagoda for manufacturing spirit ghosts, this high-grade Soul Nurturing Pagoda would be exceptionally suited for Lei Dong's use.

Unlike the entry-level Soul Nurturing Pagoda he currently possessed, this high-grade version possessed formidable power. A Level One ghost soldier with low-grade aptitude, even without consuming any flesh, blood, or Yin souls, could easily advance to Level Two after being nourished within this pagoda for a year. As for a Level One ghost soldier of mid-grade quality, it would likely advance naturally in just three or four months.

This undoubtedly saved Lei Dong a significant amount of time and effort. Once he returned home, he only needed to blood sacrifice the remaining two mid-grade spirit ghosts, and he could settle down for secluded cultivation. The advancement speed of the three mid-grade ghost soldiers would likely not be slower than his own progress. At most, he would need to replace the spirit stone in the Soul Nurturing Pagoda every two months. Of course, it could function without adding spirit stones, but the nourishment effect would be greatly diminished. Moreover, neglecting to add spirit stones for too long would cause the efficacy of the main component, soul wood, to weaken until it eventually became scrap. In the past, since the old pagoda had little value, Lei Dong couldn't even be bothered to waste spirit stones on it.

Along the way, there were a few startling encounters. Several unknown cultivators, seeing Lei Dong flying on his sword, urged their artifacts to pursue him—perhaps with good intentions, perhaps malicious. But Lei Dong paid them no mind, pushing the Phantom to its absolute maximum speed, leaving them out of sight in moments.

A flying artifact capable of traveling a thousand li in a normal hour required at least one or two thousand spirit stones; this was no small sum. Some poorer cultivators, even after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, might not be able to afford such a fast flying artifact. This was precisely why Lei Dong was willing to purchase the Phantom, which consumed spirit stones so ravenously.

Subsequently, Lei Dong found a safe place to rest during the day and flew using the Phantom's night concealment function after dark. He returned safely to the Myriad Ghost Cave without incident.

Upon entering his chamber, he checked the gate messages; they were all from Chen Ge and Wei Hua. Because Lei Dong had spent too much time capturing spirit ghosts, Chen Ge had already successfully advanced to the third layer of the Qi Refining stage about a month prior. Even Wei Hua was at the peak of the second layer, striving hard to break through to the next tier.

There were other miscellaneous updates, such as Senior Sister Ding Wanyan already being at the fifth layer of the Qi Refining stage, and Zuo Chao being at the fourth layer. Another relatively major development was that perhaps stimulated by something, Zhou Minghua had been diligently cultivating in seclusion and had unexpectedly surpassed expectations, also advancing to the fourth layer of Qi Refining.

Chen Ge had also repeatedly urged him not to wander off again and to cultivate diligently. There was only a little over a year until the small competition marking three years since their initiation. Zhou Minghua would certainly try every means to humiliate them in that event.

Worthy of being the personally tutored disciple of an Elder esteemed for his excellent aptitude, Lei Dong felt a pang of frustration hearing of Zhou Minghua's cultivation realm. However, since he had already offended him, he felt no regret. While his aptitude was excellent, he himself was no pushover, and moreover, he possessed a heaven-defying treasure that even the Myriad Ghost Ancestor would go mad over. As long as his three ghost servants leveled up, even if Zhou Minghua reached the sixth layer of Qi Refining, what of it? Four against one—how could he contend?

Completely putting aside the pressure brought by Zhou Minghua, Lei Dong replied to the messages one by one before immediately entering secluded cultivation. The first order of business, naturally, was to blood sacrifice and refine the remaining two mid-grade spirit ghosts into ghost servants. It struck Lei Dong how much superior mid-grade spirit ghosts were to low-grade ones; after a single blood sacrifice, both attained the peak of Level One, seemingly on the verge of Level Two. Before he had even finished refining the second, the first one had already advanced to Level Two while he was resting after the first refinement.

Furthermore, both ghost servants had comprehended magical arts. The first one learned Ghost Howl, a sort of area-of-effect spell that could momentarily instill fear and scatter the fighting spirit of those with weaker wills. The second one comprehended the relatively rare Veil Art, making it extremely difficult to detect the invisible ghost servant unless the opposing cultivator's mental awareness and divine sense were far superior. This marvelous technique was useful for ambushes or any other undertaking.

Of course, having each comprehend one spell was considered slightly fortunate. After all, mid-grade ghost servants had a high probability of comprehending a natal spell during blood sacrifice; running into the good fortune of comprehending two spells at once did not happen. This was also one of the main reasons why mid-grade spirit ghosts were highly sought after and commanded prices far exceeding low-grade ones.

Blood sacrificing these two spirit ghosts consumed another two months. However, during the more than half a year spent dealing with spirit ghosts, he had not slackened in his own cultivation during his breaks. At this point, Lei Dong's cultivation realm, though far from the third layer of Qi Refining, was already close to the middle of the second layer. Now, only about a year remained until the small competition after three years.

With no time to waste, Lei Dong immediately began sitting in quiet meditation to gather his qi. Fortunately, Lei Dong had about a hundred spirit stones left, so he was temporarily not lacking in Small Origin Cultivation Pills and spirit stones for his meditation.

In cultivation, time means nothing; the small competition marking three years since initiation arrived in a flash.

On this day, Lei Dong slowly opened his eyes. His previously dark pupils were now more spirited and profound. After rising and washing up, he donned his brand new primary disciple robes, black accented with red, and headed to the Myriad Ghost Cave's Martial Arts Hall with high spirits.

Lei Dong had already rushed to the third layer of Qi Refining six months prior. But he knew that in the remaining half-year, no amount of desperate effort would allow him to advance to the fourth layer of Qi Refining. Therefore, he instead intensified his practice of the Spirit Forging Art, tempering and strengthening his mind and divine sense. Through unremitting effort, Lei Dong's divine sense now far surpassed that of an ordinary third-layer Qi Refining cultivator, likely reaching the divine sense level of an ordinary early fifth-layer Qi Refining practitioner. This was largely because newly initiated primary disciples rarely spent significant time practicing the Spirit Forging Art to temper their divine sense. As cultivation progressed, advancement became increasingly difficult, causing many to branch out horizontally, focusing purely on increasing their overall combat strength.

The reason he judged his mental awareness and divine sense to be at the level of an ordinary fifth-layer Qi Refining cultivator was because one of his three ghost servants had already crossed into Level Four, and the other two were at the peak of Level Three. Yet, he, merely a third-layer Qi Refining cultivator, could control three ghost servants of this caliber with ease. This was likely something an ordinary fourth-layer Qi Refining cultivator could not accomplish.

He sauntered leisurely into the Martial Arts Hall and found that all thirty-odd fellow disciples of his cohort were already present. Three years had passed; unlike the initial disparity where some were older and some younger, everyone now possessed the appearance of adolescents. Even Zuo Chao, the youngest, now looked like a spirited youth.

Most had formed small cliques, gathering in twos and threes. It seemed only Ding Wanyan stood alone by a pillar, radiating a cool distance; it was unclear if this was due to her aloof nature or if her status prevented others from approaching.

Chen Ge spotted Lei Dong and waved, calling him over. But Lei Dong signaled him with his eyes, then turned and walked directly toward Ding Wanyan. Only when he was about a zhang away did Lei Dong stop, and under Ding Wanyan's cold gaze, he bowed respectfully: "Lei Dong greets Senior Sister Ding."

Because Lei Dong’s expression was solemn and his gaze unwavering, Ding Wanyan’s icy look softened slightly, and she nodded lightly, "Greetings, Junior Brother Lei." However, judging by her slight frown, she had probably forgotten who Lei Dong was.

Lei Dong noticed her expression but paid it no mind. A simple, genuine smile touched his lips, and he bowed again, earnestly requesting: "I have come this time, Senior Sister, to sincerely thank you for speaking up for our three junior brothers in front of the Ancestor."

Ding Wanyan paused slightly, then gradually recalled who this junior brother before her was. Her expression thawed by another fraction, and she nodded lightly, "It was a trifle; no need for thanks."

Not only Chen Ge and Wei Hua in the distance, but all the other fellow disciples were staring dumbfounded as Lei Dong shamelessly flirted with their revered, proud, and untouchable Senior Sister Ding. Most astonishingly, Senior Sister Ding was actually conversing with him in a pleasant manner.

... (New book, new author, needing enthusiastic votes from brothers and sisters~ Many thanks~)