A thousand Small Five Elements Pills would fetch at least a thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones; it was quite the massive transaction. It took the Myriad Treasures Pavilion half a day of frantic movement before they could finally declare the sum complete. Lei Dong, meanwhile, sat for half the day sipping tea, entirely unmoved by the flirtatious glances cast his way by the woman named Man'er. In truth, Lei Dong felt a pang of sadness; having seen the peerless beauty of his Senior Sister, every other woman seemed… lacking. Yet, at that very moment, the image of the near-perfect ** beneath the ragged black robes of the Heavenly Demon resurfaced in his mind.

Lei Dong’s growing composure, his imperviousness to seduction, made the onlookers genuinely mistake him for a young master from some established aristocratic clan. Within the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, every woman of some standing took turns launching a fierce offensive.

Once the final thousand Small Five Elements Pills had been exchanged, Lei Dong could not bear to stay a moment longer. He left and wandered through the market district, planning to slowly offload the spoils he had seized from Chen Chen’s household, piece by piece. As for the Foundation Establishment Pill, that unexpected bonus, he kept it tucked away for now. After all, such an extremely valuable item was best held as personal wealth. The next day, Lei Dong donned an entirely different set of clothes and continued selling his goods. Within a few days, a sizable sum of mid-grade Spirit Stones had quickly accumulated in his hands. But soon after, that sum, reaching three thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones, was transformed into several Small Heavenly Spirit Pills, an additional five hundred Small Five Elements Pills, and fifteen high-grade Spirit Stones.

This required Lei Dong to make a harsh decision. The total spiritual energy contained in one high-grade Spirit Stone is roughly ten times that of a mid-grade one, but its value is around one hundred times greater. On the surface, cultivating with high-grade Spirit Stones seemed extremely inefficient. In fact, it was. But for Lei Dong, who pursued speed above all else, if high-grade Spirit Stones could be used, mid-grade ones simply would not suffice.

After all, high-grade Spirit Stones not only contained a greater total amount of spiritual energy, but the purity of that energy far surpassed that of mid-grade stones.

At Lei Dong’s current cultivation pace, one mid-grade Spirit Stone would only last ten days. But due to the higher energy content, one high-grade Spirit Stone could last a hundred days. Because the energy in the high-grade stone was many times purer, Lei Dong knew, even without precise calculation, that over the same hundred-day span, using the high-grade stone would likely boost his current extreme speed by another thirty to forty percent.

For a poor cultivator, this was undoubtedly extravagant waste. But for Lei Dong, time was life. The supplement of one Small Five Elements Pill per day, plus the effect of the Heavenly Demon transformation once every ten days, combined with the extremely luxurious use of high-grade Spirit Stones for cultivation—Lei Dong felt that at this speed, he absolutely wouldn't lag far behind those peerless geniuses.

Lei Dong roughly estimated that this cache of resources would be enough for him to cultivate at this extreme, no-holds-barred pace for nearly two to three years, as consumption would only increase further down the line. Unless he encountered a massive bottleneck, the reserve Small Heavenly Spirit Pills should solve the problem. With such a horrifyingly extravagant method of cultivation, perhaps even Golden Core Ancestors without deep family fortunes would be bankrupted and forced to sell off assets to survive within a mere few decades.

However, before entering seclusion, there was one matter left to settle: repaying a debt. In a small barren mountain near the Liu Family of Hedong, Lei Dong spent several days, each one dedicated to refining the newly acquired Black Dragon Banner. Of course, Lei Dong was not refining it into a Natal Spiritual Tool, but merely treating it as an ordinary Spiritual Tool. He also took the opportunity to further refine the Myriad Ghosts Banner, incorporating the lingering souls of the two elders of the Chen family, along with a large quantity of low-grade ghosts. With Lei Dong’s current Divine Sense strength, he could now fully sustain three ‘Foundation Establishment stage’ primary soul fierce ghosts, in addition to seven or eight hundred miscellaneous minor ghosts. The power of the Myriad Ghosts Banner had nearly doubled.

Fortunately, Lei Dong did not have to wait long. That night, the spy surnamed Zhou, who was embedded near the Liu Family, provided definitive intelligence: their Third Young Mistress had gone out for a supposed “visit to a friend.”

Lei Dong dared not delay, terrified of missing this opportunity; who knew how long he would have to wait otherwise. He immediately enveloped the elder surnamed Zhou in a black mist and, following the elder’s directions, tracked the Third Young Mistress on her route out to “visit a friend.” The lady was piloting a flying artifact resembling a jade ruyi, moving at a steady, unhurried pace toward the east.

Trailing far behind her, once the elder surnamed Zhou confirmed her identity, Lei Dong discreetly set him down. He then continued following the Third Young Mistress alone, maintaining a distance where she could not possibly spot him, relying on his significantly amplified Divine Sense to keep pace.

After flying for about an hour, the woman descended amidst a brilliant green light into a small valley brimming with lush flowers.

The valley boasted a gurgling stream and blossoms everywhere—a truly pleasant scene. Nestled in the shaded area near the mountain’s base was an exquisite wooden cabin, clearly established as a rendezvous point.

The lady gracefully alighted before the cabin door, cautiously glancing around before pushing the door open and stepping inside. Lei Dong circled wide, descended from his light, and then, using the elusive Ghost Shadow Evasion technique, moved stealthily along the ground, slowly approaching the small wooden structure. Tentatively, he sent a light, almost imperceptible sweep of his formidable Divine Sense through the interior. He discovered only the woman; her cultivation was far too low to detect Lei Dong’s probing.

Instead of alarm, Lei Dong felt pleased; the adulterer, Wu Wenlong, had clearly not yet arrived. This was better; he had ample time to prepare. Finding a concealed spot not too far away, he stealthily summoned his three Ghost Guards first. The previous Lei Dong found simultaneously using the three Ghost Guards to be extremely taxing on his Divine Sense, barely manageable. Now, however, it was effortless. It was clear there was still significant room for improvement in the Ghost Guards' power. Feeling a strange ease, he sat cross-legged, swallowed a pill, and recovered the True Qi expended in flight and in summoning the guards.

After barely an hour, his True Qi returned to peak condition. Lei Dong once again inspected all the magical artifacts and spiritual implements required for this assassination. The Myriad Ghosts Banner, the Extinguishing Dharma Wheel, and the newly acquired Black Dragon Banner. As for the Soul Devouring Shadow Tiger, given its current mere Eleventh Level of Qi Refining strength, he wouldn't risk sending it out to die. After all, his opponent was a peak Third Level Foundation Establishment expert, and not someone from a poor background either. A cultivation family with a Golden Core Ancestor’s backing would not necessarily be much poorer than the Myriad Ghost Cave. Against such a figure, he could not afford to be careless; this man’s prowess should far exceed that of the Lord of Chen Family Manor.

Whether by habit, or because Wu Wenlong was delayed en route, another two or three hours passed until twilight began to settle before a silver, luminous streak of light drew an arc across the night sky, descending toward the small wooden cabin. This man, however, was cautious; he swept his Divine Sense over the valley one last time and, confirming only the woman was inside the cabin, pushed open the door and entered.

The moment his Divine Sense swept over the area, Lei Dong had already enveloped his three Ghost Guards with his own Divine Sense.

Lei Dong, at the Foundation Establishment stage, had excellent eyesight. Hidden in the darkness, he saw from afar a woman in pink darting forward. As the cabin door slammed shut, Lei Dong’s hearing easily picked up the unmasked, heavy breathing of the two and the rustling sound of clothes being shed.

Daring not to be careless in the slightest, Lei Dong waited patiently.

Only when the woman let out a soft, pained yet rapid moan did he carefully maneuver his form, enveloping the three Ghost Guards with his Divine Sense, and cautiously approach the small wooden structure. It took a considerable amount of time before Lei Dong reached the exterior of the cabin. Listening to the increasingly violent sounds of conflict within, clearly nearing climax, Lei Dong sneered inwardly—death was imminent, yet they remained unaware.

As the woman’s ecstatic cries grew louder and Wu Wenlong’s breathing became more rapid, the Ghost Guards quietly positioned themselves near the foundation of the wall. Lei Dong flicked his wrist, the Myriad Ghosts Banner in hand, and began chanting an incantation. Nearly a thousand ferocious fierce ghosts surged forth. Almost simultaneously, the Berserk Ghost Guard smashed violently through the wall, attacking the naked, still-struggling pair with extreme brutality. Meanwhile, the Ice Spirit Ghost Guard cast the Ice Spirit Curse, sending a blast of bone-chilling cold that instantly froze the entire wooden cabin solid.

The Spectral Ghost Guard held back from immediate attack, instead using its stealth to slip into the house, searching for an opportunity for a killing blow.

“Who is it?” Wu Wenlong roared in heartbroken fury and terror, disregarding everything else. He instantly activated a shimmering, multi-hued Dharma Shield to block his back. With a deafening crash, energies collided, sending shockwaves rippling outwards, shattering the structure of the small wooden cabin in moments. Although his cultivation was high, far exceeding the Berserk Ghost Guard, the sheer killing power unleashed by the Ghost Guard’s bloodlust combined with a Spectral Strike was not easily countered. In his hurried defense, the shockwave traveled along his Divine Sense directly into his soul, making his internal organs feel as if they had shifted position. He spat out a mouthful of blood.

But the man was formidable; his reaction was lightning quick. Instead of counterattacking, he moved his body, preparing to use his movement technique to flee.

At the same moment, ice flowers erupted in the air, and the temperature plummeted. As Wu Wenlong’s movement technique faltered, the Spectral Ghost Guard seized the opportunity, clinging to him, and unleashed another fierce strike accompanied by a surge of dark light. Even though he had keenly sensed the sneak attack and managed to block it with his mid-grade Spiritual Artifact Shield, under such cumulative, abrupt assaults, he couldn't hold on. His body shot forward like a kite whose string had snapped.

The three Ghost Guards surged forward simultaneously, resembling three grim reapers in the dark night, terrifyingly sinister.

Behind them, in the night sky, the dense throng of fierce ghosts, like a spectral army from the Nine Hells, shrieked and howled excitedly as they lunged for their feast.

“Roar!”

A dragon's roar exploded into existence. In the darkness, a dragon several zhang long, appearing misty yet purely formed of black qi, writhed violently, baring its claws and fangs.