However, Lei Dong was somewhat speechless regarding the first transformation of the Demonic Heaven Art (Tian Mo Bian). Once unleashed, the result was inevitably either the enemy's death or his own. It seemed this level of transformation could only be employed when fighting with one's back against the wall.

But if used to regularly exhaust the true essence stored in his body to optimize his cultivation, it should yield excellent results.

Although this approach felt somewhat self-abusive, for the sake of accelerating his cultivation speed, even a slightly painful process was deemed highly worthwhile.

Following this realization, Lei Dong once again unleashed his peerless might. As before, he went into a frenzy for the time it takes one stick of incense to burn, collapsing on the ground once his strength was completely depleted.

Enduring the severe pain wracking his body, the torment, and the boundless mental exhaustion, he sat cross-legged and consumed another Minor Five Elements Pill. With extreme difficulty, he began the process of refining Qi and meditating to restore his true essence and stamina. Several hours later, when Lei Dong slowly opened his eyes, he felt equally energized. Upon inspecting himself internally, he sensed that his cultivation advancement was significantly less pronounced than the previous time—at most, equivalent to two sessions of normal meditation. However, the lingering ache and soreness within his bones and meridians far surpassed the first experience.

He let out a soft sigh; it seemed that even when squeezing potential, one could not draw endlessly without limit.

Time flew, and half a year vanished in a blink.

During this period, Lei Dong also discovered an alternative method to utilize the Demonic Heaven Art to accelerate his own cultivation. Generally, performing it once every ten days offered the best effect. That single session of cultivation often compensated for several days of normal effort. However, those ten normal cultivation sessions could not be skipped. Consequently, Lei Dong's cultivation speed increased by roughly a few tens of percent, somewhat mitigating the deficit caused by his mediocre aptitude. Yet, the agony following each use of the Demonic Heaven Art was a severe test of willpower. Experiencing it once every ten days brought even Lei Dong’s willpower to the brink of collapse.

Yet, at this moment, Lei Dong had to leave the desolate mountain lair he had occupied for several months. The reason was simple: the Minor Five Elements Pills bestowed by his Master upon accepting him as a disciple had been entirely consumed. Others typically used them for cultivation, taking one every ten to fifteen days. Firstly, this was because once a Minor Five Elements Pill was ingested, its medicinal properties would spread throughout the entire bloodline; while the majority could be absorbed and assimilated during the first day of cultivation, the remaining properties required some time to be fully absorbed.

Secondly, if one repeatedly took the pill before the previous dose was fully assimilated, the medicinal properties would accumulate in the body over time, causing severe bodily harm instead.

But the Demonic Heaven Art, an ancient demonic technique, possessed a fierce nature. Every time it was activated, it not only drained almost all residual true essence in the body but would also scavenge any lingering spiritual elixir properties, treating them as a source of power to be completely sucked dry. This presented both pros and cons. The advantage was that Lei Dong could exploit this trait: he could consume a Minor Five Elements Pill daily, extracting its purest essence, and then, after ten days, unleash the Demonic Heaven Art to purge all residual medicinal dross accumulated in his body. By thus extracting only the peak efficacy of the first day from each pill, he effectively sped up his cultivation in disguise. The problem, however, was that the quantity of pills consumed would reach astonishing levels.

But the results were exceptional. In this manner, leveraging the various characteristics of the Minor Five Elements Pills and the Demonic Heaven Art, Lei Dong established a complete ten-day cultivation cycle for himself. This cycle demanded ten Minor Five Elements Pills and one mid-grade spirit stone. If Lei Dong cultivated like this for an entire year, translating the Minor Five Elements Pills into spirit stones, he would consume over four hundred mid-grade stones. Moreover, when encountering bottlenecks or similar impediments, he would need to consume pills like the Minor Heavenly Spirit Pill. The total expenditure was simply astronomical, and the consumption rate would only increase further down the road.

But perhaps it was all worth it, Lei Dong estimated. Based on his original progress rate, even employing the most extravagant secluded cultivation methods, it would take him at least three to four years to break through to the second layer of the Foundation Establishment stage. But using the current method, he might achieve that breakthrough in only two years.

Unfortunately, the Minor Five Elements Pills were completely gone now. What this trade had given Lei Dong was a vastly improved cultivation base and significantly enhanced control over the Demonic Heaven Art. Activating the technique now would, at most, cause his battle spirit to surge fiercely and his blood to boil, rather than leading to uncontrollable jumping and destructive rampages.

Staying here any longer served no purpose.

Lei Dong’s divine sense penetrated the map jade slip, searching until it located a cultivation market of considerable size, only about ten thousand li away from his current location. He ignored the other closer markets; they were too small to handle large-scale purchasing and selling of elixirs.

Wrapped in a shroud of black mist, he soared quietly through the night sky at a moderate pace. At dawn, Lei Dong would find a hidden spot to rest, resuming his journey after nightfall. Traveling alone outdoors demanded extreme caution. First, he needed to minimize the number of times he arrogantly flew about in broad daylight. Second, he could not maintain continuous flight for too long, as that would drain too much true essence.

Should any situation arise where his true essence was insufficient, the consequences could often be fatal.

Therefore, although Lei Dong knew his time was short, he refused to rush his journey recklessly and invite calamity. After all, in this world, while Foundation Establishment cultivators were formidable experts, Golden Core powerhouses were by no means rare.

In this world governed by strength where the strong prey upon the weak, powerful experts with even slightly poor temperaments would never bother with reason. There were countless justifications for killing: perhaps they were in a bad mood, found someone displeasing, coveted an item the traveler possessed, or simply wanted to rob someone for profit or lust.

Faced with such threats, if one's strength was inadequate, the only recourse was fury. But anger solved nothing.

Thus, cautious travel was paramount. Once in a market city, despite the multitude of cultivators, every market maintained certain rules; these were necessary to ensure the long-term survival and stability of the settlement.

Of course, should major vested interests be at stake, these so-called rules could be altered at any moment.

Two days later, Lei Dong descended into a secluded valley inaccessible to mortals. Through the misty haze, one could vaguely discern a cluster of buildings resembling a small town, ancient and tasteful in appearance.

Following the market city’s rules, he paid a low-grade spirit stone at the main gate and entered the marketplace on foot. Most markets had stipulations like these: no casual flying, no spontaneous fighting, and so on.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do; moreover, Lei Dong lacked the power to change the rules. Therefore, he could only abide by the dictates of others. Although this area was still within the sphere of influence of the Yin Sha Sect, it was quite far from the headquarters, meaning the Sect’s control was not overwhelming. This very fact allowed the market to flourish, growing from the size of a small hamlet to its current state, resembling a heavily guarded fortress.

Just by observing casually, Lei Dong deduced that the market’s backing likely came from a local cultivation family, one deemed to possess medium-level influence by the Yin Sha Sect’s standards. This suggested the family probably possessed a Golden Core Ancestor. Against such beings, Lei Dong certainly had no intention of provoking them. With that realization, he resolved to act discreetly within this market.

He did not change his attire, still clad in a black robe, giving off a ghostly aura, shrouded in black mist—a figure signaling "stay away." This appearance, coupled with his undisguised power and malevolence, saved him considerable trouble and served to deter petty nuisances.

At the very least, the Qi Refining stage cultivators kept a wide berth, sneaking glances at him with eyes mixing awe and curiosity. The seasoned Qi Refining scoundrels who made a living swindling people on the market streets hid even further away; someone like Lei Dong was certainly not someone they could afford to offend.

While the market had rules, even Foundation Establishment cultivators were generally individuals the market proprietors preferred not to antagonize; as long as matters didn't escalate, they would often turn a blind eye.

"Senior, please wait; a junior has urgent matters to discuss."

An elder, perhaps at the third or fourth layer of Qi Refining, hesitated for a long time before gathering the courage to call out to Lei Dong.

Lei Dong knew that a being so insignificant beneath his cultivation and strength would not call out so casually unless truly necessary. He stopped, resting his hands behind his back, and spoke coldly:

"Speak."

Simultaneously, he swept a glance over the elder. This person was likely a rogue cultivator without backing; otherwise, no matter how foolish a sect disciple might be, it was improbable they would still possess only a third or fourth layer of cultivation at this age.

"Might this senior move to a more private location?"

The white-bearded elder’s eyes held fear, yet his expression was earnest: "This junior has a matter of extreme importance to discuss."

"You know the consequences." Lei Dong said calmly.

"This junior knows. If this senior is uninterested in my matter, I will submit to your disposition."

As if making a solemn vow, a flash of grim determination crossed the elder's face.

Lei Dong felt a slight stirring of curiosity and agreed to follow him. After a winding path, they reached a secluded alley where the elder opened a stone door, beckoning Lei Dong inside. In truth, Lei Dong had not lowered his vigilance in the slightest since the beginning; true essence flowed ceaselessly within his body, ready for immediate flight should any contingency arise.

With his significantly enhanced divine sense, Lei Dong swept over the interior of the stone dwelling, seeing everything clearly. There were no ambushes, no hidden doors. Within a radius of several dozen feet, there were no masters present.

Only then did he step inside, without pretense: "There is no one within thirty feet. Speak directly via sound transmission if you wish. My time is valuable, Ding."

The elder dared not waste time rambling and nervously began transmitting his voice to Lei Dong: "Senior, this junior wishes to hire you to kill someone."

"Nonsense. Seeing your age, I shall not trouble myself with you further." Lei Dong, instead of angering himself, laughed lightly and made to turn away.

"The reward is a high-grade spiritual artifact."

Instantly, Lei Dong stopped halfway through his turn and pivoted back.

================================================= I had some urgent matters today and only returned after dinner. I’ve just finished typing this freshly written chapter and am posting it now; I will write another chapter tonight, uploading it no matter how late it gets~ I hope everyone enjoys reading, votes, and leaves plenty of comments. I read every single comment and piece of feedback, little brother will look at them all. (To be continued. If you wish to know what happens next, please log in to Qidian; there are more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)U