A few remaining small wolves were entangled by a dense swarm of vengeful spirits. Despite their fierce resistance, they were ultimately overwhelmed by the onslaught of a hundred ghosts, and one by one, they perished, quickly devoured by the ghostly horde until not even scraps remained. A minor disturbance thus faded into nothingness. Lei Dong retracted his Netherworld Ghost Qi, finally having the leisure to look around.

The surroundings were a stark expanse of ice and snow. A cold wind howled, carrying heavy, swirling snowflakes that obscured vision. Even for Lei Dong, whose cultivation had achieved minor success and established an immortal foundation, a bone-chilling cold seeped in. Only when he extended his divine sense outwards could he faintly perceive that he was situated in the center of a frozen lake. The lake itself was not vast, but it was bordered by dense stretches of forest.

The supposed massive black tower that Li Yijian had mentioned via sound transmission was nowhere to be seen, half-obscured. Assuming it was merely the heavy snow obscuring the view, Lei Dong gathered his energy and leaped upwards, soaring toward the sky. However, before he ascended even a hundred zhang, a soft yet undeniable immense force blocked his path. The higher he tried to go, the fiercer the wind and snow became. Clearly, this was a restriction set by the creators of the Heart Demon Hall, designed to prevent trial-takers from ascending too high.

Landing back on the ground, Lei Dong paused to consider, then summoned both his Second-Grade Ice Ghost Guards and his Mid-Grade Shadow Ghost Soldiers. The Crit Ghost Guard, which he had kept summoned all along, took the front position, while the Ice Ghost Guards stayed to his flanks. As for the Mid-Grade Shadow Ghost Soldier, which had grown to Level Twelve, it was stationed at the rear to guard against any surprise attacks.

Furthermore, the Soul-Devouring Shadow Tiger, which he had been slowly feeding up to the twelfth layer of Qi Refining, was now almost at a point where it could be put to practical use. Having just devoured the soul of a silver wolf beast, the Shadow Tiger was exceptionally spirited, closely shadowing Lei Dong. It had completed its juvenile growth phase and was now immense, nearly ten zhang long. For the foreseeable future, as long as soul nourishment was sufficient, it would enter a period of rapid development. It was expected to become Lei Dong’s right and left arm in no time.

In this formation, he slowly proceeded into the forest. The trees were less like living wood and more like towering sculptures draped in icicles and heavy snow. The forest was deathly quiet, save for the mournful cries of the hurricane overhead. Though newly arrived in this realm, Lei Dong dared not be careless. His divine sense was fully spread, covering several li around him. With his current strength, he could potentially cover over ten li if he exerted himself fully, but that density would be too thin, easily evaded with a slight moderation of breath and focus. A radius of three li was perfect, where no slightest disturbance could escape his perception.

After about half an hour passed without encountering any danger, Lei Dong’s courage grew, and he gradually increased the speed of his company. Another half hour passed in this manner. Just as he began to think this seemingly endless ice forest held no living creatures, he heard the furious roar of a demonic beast—a sound that seemed to be a warning, forbidding intruders from encroaching upon its territory.

Lei Dong felt a slight surge of joy in his heart. The roar sounded like that of a bear, and any bear capable of such an assertive and arrogant cry would not be weak. While others might see a Foundation Establishment stage demonic beast as merely a small fortune, Lei Dong was exceedingly pleased. With his divine sense greatly enhanced, he had little time or spirit stones left to procure demonic beast corpses and raw souls to feed his pets. As a result, his three Ghost Guards had not yet reached the limit of his spiritual capacity.

Normally, finding Foundation Establishment stage demonic beasts outside was extremely difficult; one might not secure a single one in ten days or half a month. Now, inside the Heart Demon Hall, in just over an hour, he had encountered two Foundation Establishment level ones. However, this made sense; the Heart Demon Hall only opened once every hundred years, and each entry was limited to at most one month. The demonic beasts surviving here naturally enjoyed an extremely high density due to the lack of natural predators like humans. Still, there was no need to worry about encountering Golden Core stage beasts here. This Heart Demon Hall was established by an ancient sect specifically to test and temper promising young disciples—a proving ground, not a death trap. Therefore, the location naturally possessed special restrictions that would deal with any demonic beasts that were exceptionally lucky or foolhardy enough to advance to the Golden Core stage.

Demonic beasts were different from wild animals. Ordinary wild bears, in this bone-chilling weather, would have long since entered hibernation.

Following the roar, Lei Dong urged his contingent forward to meet the challenge head-on. Seeing that they were unobserved, Lei Dong conveniently summoned the Howling Ghost Soldier and the Phantom Ghost Guard as well. The current company was truly vast: three Ghost Guards, two Ghost Soldiers, and one Soul-Devouring Shadow Tiger. It certainly gave an impression of an imposing procession. The Mid-Grade Level Twelve Ghost Soldiers had a very high probability of advancing to Ghost Guards, though the difficulty was significantly greater than for Upper-Grade Ghost Soldiers. Upper-Grade Blustering Peak Ghost Soldiers would eventually advance after devouring a few Foundation Establishment stage demonic beasts or spending several years quietly residing in an Upper-Grade Soul Nurturing Tower. However, Mid-Grade Ghost Soldiers required vast amounts of flesh and blood to achieve the same, making the cost much higher than for Upper-Grade ones. Furthermore, while Mid-Grade Spirit Ghost Servants could advance to Ghost Guards,

Promoting them to Ghost Generals was exceedingly difficult.

Unfortunately, Lei Dong had been constantly busy improving his own cultivation. He had no time to scour for numerous low-grade ghosts to refine Soul Pills to upgrade the quality of these two Mid-Grade Ghost Soldiers to Upper-Grade, or to attempt upgrading one of his Upper-Grade Ghost Guards to Extreme-Grade. Time, for him, was extremely pressing. Moreover, even upgrading an Upper-Grade Ghost Guard to Extreme-Grade would not yield that much benefit.

Given his limited divine sense strength, there was little point in having the Ghost Guards mature too quickly; the righteous path was to accelerate his own cultivation while he was still young. Only when he reached the mid or late stages of Foundation Establishment would he consider Extreme-Grade Spirit Ghosts.

The bear had clearly smelled, or otherwise sensed, that Lei Dong had not retreated but was instead closing in. Instantly, it let out another furious roar, which carried a tone of savage brutality that shook the accumulated snow from the trees. Lei Dong had seen a few Foundation Establishment stage demonic beasts before and could discern that this bear would not be weak; at the very least, it would be stronger than the silver giant wolf from before.

With that realization, he urged his company onward. In moments, amidst the bear’s continuous enraged roars, Lei Dong drew nearer. The giant bear seemed to become utterly enraged, bursting from its lair and charging directly forward, intent on smashing the insolent trespasser who ignored its warning.

In Lei Dong’s divine sense, he clearly "saw" a massive shape hurtling towards him. He decided to halt his advance and wait, conserving his energy. The Ghost Soldiers and Guards took up their positions. As for the Soul-Devouring Shadow Tiger, fearing it might be harmed, Lei Dong ordered it to hover to the side, only to rush in if a clear opportunity for a decisive strike presented itself.

Holding the Myriad Ghost Banner in his left hand and the Annihilation Dharma Wheel in his right, he stood ready for the bear's charge. Upon seeing the creature clearly, Lei Dong’s heart hammered violently several times. Even when running on all fours, the beast stood over two zhang tall; standing upright, it must have been no less than five or six zhang high—practically a small mountain. Yet, it moved with incredible agility when running, weaving nimbly between the tree trunks with fluid grace.

The giant bear’s speed was impressive; the distance of a li was covered quickly. It was like a charging tank in Lei Dong’s perception—overwhelmingly powerful and peerless. Lei Dong immediately abandoned his initial tactic of having the Crit Ghost Guard absorb the initial impact before a group assault. As the Netherworld Ghost Qi surged around him, he focused his divine sense on commanding the Crit Ghost Guard.

Just as the unstoppable giant bear charged, ready to sweep the Crit Ghost Guard aside with a massive paw strike, the Crit Ghost Guard gave a sharp whoosh and its ghostly form darted sharply to the side. The bear’s heavy blow fell on empty air. Its massive, sturdy body surged forward, smashing through seven or eight large trees before its momentum was finally halted.

Lei Dong let out a cold laugh and immediately commanded the three Ghost Guards to close in, holding the others in reserve. Simultaneously, the ghost energy from his left hand, the Myriad Ghost Banner, blazed fiercely, releasing hundreds upon hundreds of vengeful spirits that surged forth in a dense, black, and malevolent tide, rushing towards the giant bear.

The three powerful Ghost Guards locked into fierce combat with the giant bear. Instantly, snow flew everywhere, and trees were continuously snapped apart. Ghost Guards were never known for exceptional strength. However, by Lei Dong’s observation, this bear should be at the fourth layer of Foundation Establishment, especially its strength, which was unmatched by ordinary demonic beasts. The Soul-Devouring Shadow Tiger, meanwhile, seemed quite indignant, letting out repeated roars, eager to challenge the bear to a duel. Unfortunately, Lei Dong knew that if it charged in now, it would simply be swatted away, given the significant disparity in cultivation levels.

Of course, the Soul-Devouring Shadow Tiger was not entirely useless at this moment. Seizing an opening, it spat out a silver-white sphere of light, blasting it at the giant bear. Although its power was insufficient to even scratch the bear’s hide, it was enough to provoke continuous roars of fury.

Lei Dong certainly didn't remain idle. If he had allowed the three Ghost Guards to fight the bear alone, they might have eventually won, but the victory would have been devastatingly costly, perhaps even resulting in the loss of one guard. The long-brewed Netherworld Ghost Qi surged towards the bear like a tide. Both the vengeful spirits and the Ghost Guards, energized by the ghost qi, grew fiercer and more savage. The giant bear, however, became sluggish and slow as it was enveloped by the Netherworld Ghost Qi. Especially the hundreds of vengeful spirits, like a black swarm of bats, descended upon it, tearing at the bear with phantom claws and razor-sharp teeth.

Taking advantage of this opening, the Soul-Devouring Shadow Tiger and the two Ghost Soldiers also surged forward, relying on superior numbers.

A demonic beast was just a demonic beast. This particular bear, it seemed, had never encountered human cultivators. It lacked cunning and was too impulsive. In a short while, before Lei Dong even needed to deploy his Annihilation Dharma Wheel, the bear was slaughtered amidst continuous howls of agony.

Lei Dong was naturally unwilling to feed the flesh and blood of a fourth-layer Foundation Establishment stage demonic beast to the hundred ghosts. He commanded them to return to the Myriad Ghost Banner, allowing the Ghost Soldiers and Guards to share the spoils. As for the Soul-Devouring Shadow Tiger, which had merely played a supporting role, it contentedly feasted on the giant bear's raw soul.