There was no other reason: after long deliberation, Lei Dong still believed his singular and greatest advantage lay in that ultimate treasure, the Soul Devouring Pagoda. If he wanted to increase his means of self-preservation, he still needed to build upon the foundation of the Pagoda. The three Mid-grade Ghost Soldiers currently possessed had decent aptitude; nurtured within the Soul Nurturing Pagoda, their final growth speed would not be inferior to his own. If he cultivated them meticulously, they might even surpass him by a level or two.

But the problem was this: with such a setup, while he would certainly hold a significant advantage against ordinary or even relatively outstanding cultivators of the same level, facing some exceptionally powerful adversaries, merely three Mid-grade aptitude Ghost Soldiers would prove slightly inadequate.

In the past, the Old Ancestor Wan Gui managed to seize some advantage relying on a single Supreme-grade Spirit Ghost, eventually stepping onto the path of the Golden Core Dao. But that wasn't solely due to the Supreme-grade Spirit Ghost; the Old Ancestor’s own aptitude was also extraordinary, at least no worse than Zuo Chao's currently, ranking as top-tier.

Lei Dong's aptitude, among disciples of the same generation, was only above average. If the resources that the Old Ancestor Wan Gui gained through the Supreme-grade Spirit Ghost were given to Zuo Chao instead, Zuo Chao might also smoothly enter the Golden Core realm. But Lei Dong could not. The poorer the aptitude, the greater the disparity becomes the further one refines. Moreover, Lei Dong’s aptitude lagged significantly behind Zuo Chao’s top-tier potential.

Thus, theoretically, assuming Lei Dong and Zuo Chao both advanced to the Golden Core Dao someday, the resources consumed during that process would be at least several times what Zuo Chao needed for Lei Dong—perhaps even ten times as much. This was precisely why every cultivation sect placed such high importance on the quality of their disciples' Spirit Roots.

Even for someone with top-tier aptitude like Zuo Chao, the Old Ancestor Wan Gui’s assessment was that he held high hope of advancing to the Foundation Establishment stage, but the chance of reaching the Golden Core was slim—less than a ten percent probability—unless Zuo Chao could personally secure vast amounts of resources to squander, thereby increasing the odds. However, cultivation resources have always been scarce in the entire cultivation world; equitable distribution was a joke. This meant contention was necessary, a massive struggle for what was not originally his share.

Top-tier aptitude individuals like Zuo Chao were valued in various sects, yet their numbers were significant; on average, they would recruit over a dozen or twenty every ten years. A large portion of them, as anticipated, smoothly entered the Foundation Establishment stage after receiving their due resources. But the majority stalled for life at Foundation Establishment. Only a very select few, like the Old Ancestor Wan Gui, who relentlessly acquired more resources openly and covertly using the Supreme-grade Spirit Ghost, gradually stood out to become Golden Core Ancestors. But the hardships endured, only the Old Ancestor Wan Gui himself could know.

From this, it was evident how arduous the road to the Golden Core Dao would be for Lei Dong if he set his sights on it. Fortunately, Lei Dong understood one principle: one must eat one bite at a time, and goals must be approached step by step. The distant prospect of the Golden Core Dao was not something he would dwell on for now.

What mattered now was trying very hard simply to survive in this perilously fraught environment. Even though he was a Transmigrator and possessed the mysterious Soul Devouring Pagoda, in this setting, the slightest carelessness would meet him with utter annihilation and dispersal of his soul.

To refine and cultivate one High-grade Spirit Ghost required Lei Dong to spend approximately three months scouring for Yin Souls. As for a Supreme-grade Spirit Ghost, although Lei Dong had never tried, by estimation, it would require about three years to capture enough Yin Souls. Three years for a single Supreme-grade Spirit Ghost was a duration Lei Dong currently could not afford to expend.

But secretly cultivating three High-grade Spirit Ghosts, plus the expenditure of Blood Sacrifice, was a full year he could just barely endure. Once successfully refined, this level of Spirit Ghost, even without being fed flesh and souls, would grow faster than Lei Dong himself simply by residing in a High-grade Soul Nurturing Pagoda. Soon, they would become his formidable trump cards.

The core idea behind this arrangement was that outwardly, he would only present three Mid-grade Spirit Ghosts. Under normal circumstances, his respectable set of magical artifacts and spells, coupled with the three Mid-grade Ghost Soldiers, should suffice. Only when his life was on the line, or when secretly slaying someone to seize treasure, would he deploy the High-grade Spirit Ghosts as a hidden ace—leaving himself a fallback route.

Within the sphere of influence of the Myriad Ghost Cave, the territory spanned thousands of li. There were certainly many perilous valleys and treacherous spots. Since he had luckily "snatched" a High-grade Spirit Ghost before, spending considerable time lingering in places teeming with Yin Souls was justifiable. As long as the Old Ancestor Wan Gui deemed it reasonable, Lei Dong feared no one.

Capturing Yin Souls within his own sect’s territory, while perhaps not as swiftly efficient as sweeping across vast, scattered lands, offered the advantage of safety. Even when physically weak after a Blood Sacrifice, he could still wander in safe spots to capture Yin Souls.

...

Time flowed swiftly, and another year passed quickly. The dozen or so fierce grounds within the Myriad Ghost Cave had been thoroughly swept by Lei Dong. But this year had been extremely arduous, no more comfortable than his time in the Lesser Yin Sha Cave. Day after day, he captured Yin Souls, endured three agonizing Blood Sacrifices, and to save time, he even had to continue hunting for Yin Souls and refining Soul Pearls while dragging his weakened body after the sacrifice.

However, despite the hardship, the rewards were extremely rich. A full three High-grade Spirit Ghosts were transformed one by one into his Bound Ghost Servants through Blood Sacrifice. Combined with the exceptional quality inherent in High-grade Spirit Ghosts, and Lei Dong’s current cultivation base, these three High-grade Spirit Ghosts immediately reached the level of Third-tier Ghost Soldiers upon refinement. The earliest High-grade Ghost Soldier, after more than half a year of nurturing in the Soul Nurturing Pagoda, and routinely devouring stray Ghost Soldiers and low-level demonic beasts it encountered, had soared like a rocket to the peak of Fifth-tier Ghost Soldier. The remaining two, having been sacrificed later, were currently at Fourth-tier and Third-tier, respectively.

What pleased Lei Dong the most was that during the refinement of these three High-grade Ghost Soldiers, his luck held well; each emerged with two skills. Although High-grade Spirit Ghosts had a decent chance of mastering two spells after Blood Sacrifice, it still gave Lei Dong a small thrill. After all, his luck was notoriously mediocre; even if a relatively rare single-skilled High-grade Ghost Soldier appeared, it would have been within reason.

The Fifth-tier peak High-grade Ghost Soldier possessed the common skill Blood Thirst, which temporarily reduced the Ghost Soldier's defense while increasing its damage output by thirty percent. Its second skill was also quite common, called Phantom Strike, a technique that condensed soul power to unleash a single powerful attack, often achieving triple the damage of a normal strike.

While both spells for this High-grade Ghost Soldier seemed common, having both appear on the same subordinate drastically enhanced its combat prowess. Consider this: Blood Thirst reduces defense and boosts damage over time; combining that with a Phantom Strike attack, the resulting power was easy to imagine. Some cultivators of the same level, caught unaware, might even be instantly executed. In short, this was a High-grade Ghost Soldier that maximized offensive output, leading Lei Dong to name it the Critical Hit Ghost Soldier.

The second High-grade Ghost Soldier’s two innate skills were Deathly Chill and Ice Curse. Taking Deathly Chill first, this was a sustained effect spell. After the Ghost Soldier cast it, within a certain range, any creature with flesh and blood would be affected by an intensely chilling aura, causing their movements to become sluggish and slow. Of course, the exact effect depended on the strength of the caster versus the strength of the target. For instance, since this was currently a Fourth-tier Ghost Soldier, if the target was only at the first layer of Qi Refining, they might be frozen to the point of immobility. But if the target was significantly stronger, say at the seventh or eighth layer, the influence would be extremely limited.

As for Ice Curse, this was a direct attack spell, spewing out a mist of extremely low temperature. Weaker enemies could be frozen solid instantly, and even stronger ones struck by it would certainly suffer greatly.

Consequently, Lei Dong named the second Ghost Soldier the Frost Ghost Soldier.

As for the third Ghost Soldier, though it emerged latest, it was one that made Lei Dong dream of laughing. This was because its innate skills were Phantom Strike and Invisibility.