That Wu Wenlong was formidable indeed; even in such dire straits, he managed to blast out several strikes, the churning black miasma repelling the three advancing Ghost Guards several yards back. Perhaps spurred by his life hanging by a thread, a potent survival instinct erupted. After spitting out a mouthful of blood, a fierce crimson light surged around him, suggesting a Blood Evasion Technique or something similar was imminent.

Lei Dong had long anticipated this move. Nearly a thousand vengeful ghosts surged forth like a tide, coalescing into a dense wall of specters spanning several dozen feet in diameter. Unless Wu Wenlong possessed some spell capable of tearing through space to escape, he was surely doomed here.

The Flood Dragon, dark as ink, moved with an aura of overwhelming spiritual dominance. In its undulations, it traversed dozens of feet in the blink of an eye. Its surrounding black aura swelled, and with a roar, it plunged into the ghostly tide. The three Ghost Guards, relatively unscathed, followed closely behind. The dragon's roar, the shrieks of the ghosts, and Wu Wenlong's heart-wrenching screams mingled in the air.

From the collapsing wooden hut, a delicate figure draped in thin gauze trembled violently as she struggled free. Glancing briefly at the scene of Wu Wenlong being torn apart by the fierce ghosts and vicious dragon, and hearing his final, agonizing cry, her beautiful face shifted in alarm. Disregarding everything else, she immediately lifted Lü Ruyi and fled skyward.

"Hmph," Lei Dong let out a scornful snort, raising his hand in a sweep. A streak of cyan light shot toward the night sky, severing the green streak of escape light—which appeared agonizingly slow in his eyes—with a heavy strike.

The woman barely managed a single shriek before her light vanished, splitting in two and plummeting down. With another strike, the Nether Ghost Claw reached out, seizing her nascent soul. Almost simultaneously, the nearly thousand vengeful ghosts violently compressed inward, and Wu Wenlong’s screams abruptly ceased. The adulterous pair had indeed achieved a macabre realization: if they couldn't share life, they would share death. Lei Dong felt only contempt for their actions at such a critical juncture. Though survival is instinctual, the moment danger struck, they immediately abandoned the other. Wu Wenlong did so, and so did that woman from the Liu family. Had they, at this crucial moment, managed to support each other and escape together, Lei Dong, while still merciless, would not have felt such disdain. But could they even escape?

Daring not to linger, he summoned the Soul-Devouring Shadow Tiger from his spirit beast pouch and ordered it to consume both their nascent souls separately. He then strenuously controlled hundreds of vengeful ghosts, preventing them from devouring the corpses, instead commanding the three Ghost Guards to coalesce into thick mist to consume the flesh and clean the battlefield. The vengeful ghosts were also put to use, helping Lei Dong retrieve the damaged spirit artifacts, magical treasures, and storage bracelets.

In an instant, the chaotic battlefield was swept clean. Lei Dong dared not delay, recalling all his capable subordinates. Taking advantage of the fact that night had only just fallen, he sped directly towards his planned route. Under the rushing wind, the black ghostly shroud of the Evil Ghost Banner billowed backward, actually appearing rather ethereal and graceful. After a moment, his speed returned to normal, flying silently onward like a meteor in the starry expanse.

He traveled like this for nearly ten days, winding and turning, covering over a hundred thousand li. By now, Lei Dong had flown far beyond the direct sphere of influence of the Yin Sha Sect. According to the jade slip map, this region was a neutral buffer zone encompassing perhaps ten kingdoms, occupied by two high-tier powers, seven or eight mid-tier powers, and countless smaller sects and lower-tier forces.

To prevent being picked off and dismantled one by one by the Yin Sha Sect to the northwest or the Heavenly Sound Palace to the southeast, the sects in this vast territory, comparable in size to the Yin Sha Sect’s domain, had voluntarily formed an alliance known as the Heavenly Dao Alliance. Even so, despite their sheer numbers, the Heavenly Dao Alliance's overall strength remained slightly inferior to established top-tier behemoths like the Yin Sha Sect and the Heavenly Sound Palace.

Thus, the Heavenly Dao Alliance's guiding principle was resolute unity against external aggression, while maintaining absolute neutrality. Privately, they spared no effort in placating their two immensely powerful neighbors. It was a difficult existence, but by maintaining balance, they survived quietly.

In truth, even though the Heavenly Dao Alliance was slightly weaker than its two neighbors, neither the Heavenly Sound Palace nor the Yin Sha Sect could possibly absorb this vast area without paying a devastating price. Conversely, the other side could never stand idly by and watch their rival expand its influence right under their noses by annexing neutral territory. After repeated historical confrontations and probes, a tacit understanding was reached, truly cementing this area as a neutral buffer zone between the two.

To a sect, land resources might seem useless, but their importance was immense. More land meant a larger population, and a larger population meant more disciples with excellent aptitude. Moreover, greater territory implied more spiritual veins, mineral deposits, and spirit plants, naturally enhancing prestige and power. This is why every sect, even the smallest, guarded its domain fiercely. However, to survive, especially long-term survival, a sect required a way to maintain itself—be it through alliances, subordination, leaning on a powerful backer, or intermarriage. In this world, a small force with no backing or connections could never hold onto its territory and resources. It was akin to a completely defenseless, naked beauty—it was a joke if nothing happened to her.

Lei Dong had amassed a substantial cache of resources and was eager to advance his cultivation, unwilling to wander aimlessly. Having fled far beyond the sphere of influence of the He Dong Wu Family was sufficient. Even if that so-called Core Formation ancestor of the Wu Family returned, he couldn't simply divine that Lei Dong had killed his grandnephew and track him down. Furthermore, the scene of the murder bore evidence pointing to that adulterous pair, allowing the investigation to proceed as it might.

He found a secluded wilderness mountain and an inconspicuous cave. After setting up a few basic defenses and stationing the Ghost Guards on watch, Lei Dong eagerly entered seclusion for cultivation.

He popped a Small Five Elements Pill into his mouth, gripping a high-grade spirit stone in his hand—its spiritual light pulsating like the most perfect gem in existence. He calmed his mind and began to circulate his breath slowly. As the medicinal properties spread through his bloodstream, the seemingly ultra-pure spiritual energy from the high-grade spirit stone was absorbed by Lei Dong. A slight, refreshing coolness caused him to shiver comfortably; it flowed directly into his meridians, circulating effortlessly without the need for refinement.

After one day, Lei Dong checked his progress and his eyes lit up. This high-grade spirit stone was truly extraordinary. Its cultivation effect was far superior to that of a mid-grade stone.

This extremely extravagant method of cultivation would likely make even the Myriad Ghost Ancestor tremble and curse the wastefulness if he knew. Even Core Formation Ancestors dared not use high-grade spirit stones constantly during cultivation; they typically used mid-grade stones, reserving the high-grade ones only for crucial breakthroughs. This disparity was also partly due to unequal consumption rates. Lei Dong, currently at the first layer of Foundation Establishment, could spend roughly a hundred days exhausting this single high-grade stone. However, a Core Formation Ancestor might not last even a few days with one. Even the Myriad Ghost Ancestor, despite his wealth, would face complete bankruptcy within ten years if he cultivated daily using high-grade spirit stones and stacked elixirs so lavishly.

Time passed quickly in the pursuit of immortality; in a blink, over two years had elapsed.

A new layer of depth had settled in Lei Dong’s eyes. These two years had brought him both joy and sorrow. The joy was that eighteen months prior, Lei Dong had reached the peak of the first layer, and after consuming the second Small Heavenly Spirit Pill, he smoothly advanced to the second layer of Foundation Establishment. Subsequent cultivation, though requiring far greater energy expenditure than before, remained relatively smooth. The nightmare only began after reaching the peak of the second layer.

Confident, he prepared to break through the bottleneck using the remaining Small Heavenly Spirit Pills, but to his utter shock, he could not break through the barrier; he remained stuck at the peak of the second layer, the pills exhausted. However, he still had over seven hundred Small Five Elements Pills and seven high-grade spirit stones left. No matter how Lei Dong struggled, his cultivation showed no progress.

Lei Dong felt a desperate urge to weep. In total, it took him three years to ascend from the first layer to the peak of the second layer of Foundation Establishment. It was the first time in his life his cultivation speed was nearing his Senior Sister's. Yet, unexpectedly, his advancement ground to a halt at this second-layer peak.

Damn this aptitude, Lei Dong sighed softly. The bottleneck at the first layer's peak was manageable, resolved by two Small Heavenly Spirit Pills. The bottleneck at the second layer’s peak was infuriating, unyielding even to the Small Heavenly Spirit Pills. And bottlenecks were not something that could be overcome simply by cultivating desperately. Sometimes, a breakthrough came after an epiphany following a battle; sometimes, one might gain insight from observing flowers and grass; other times, a near-death ordeal brought the breakthrough. But frequently, cultivators remained stuck at this juncture for their entire lives, unable to advance.

Lei Dong could try various methods employed by predecessors to break through bottlenecks, but he could not stake everything on these nebulous concepts that seemed to rely entirely on luck. Therefore, he temporarily abandoned the pointless, stagnant sitting here. His divine sense probed the jade slip map, examined it briefly, and then he mounted the Evil Ghost Banner, leaving the desolate mountain where he had stayed for over two years.

His destination was Heavenly Dao City, the headquarters of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, over forty thousand li away.

Several days later, Lei Dong appeared in the skies near Heavenly Dao City. The city was built nestled against mountains and water, its walls towering several dozen zhang high. The tallest structures soared into the clouds; the entire scene was incomparably majestic and magnificent. Lei Dong knew it was impossible to fly directly over the city walls to enter. Following local custom, he retracted his light and descended to the city gate.

At that very moment, he observed streams of escape lights—of various colors and shapes—descending from all directions, while others continually took off from the city gates, ascending into the sky.

Suddenly, a golden-yellow streak of light landed right in front of Lei Dong. Focusing his gaze, he saw a young, sturdy monk. Lei Dong started slightly—a monk from the Vajra Temple?