As expected, that ancient, mysterious sect had considered this very point when designing these summoned entities. If one were to wait for the illusionary energy to dissipate, it might indeed be feasible, but by then, this journey through the Heart Demon Hall would likely be at its end. Drawing a sharp breath, he dared not delay any further. He sent the Critical Strike Ghost Guard to lead the charge, with the Spectre and Frost following behind, forming a triangle as they stormed inward. Meanwhile, Lei Dong stood at the rear, wielding the Myriad Ghost Banner, his army of specters and fierce ghosts chittering as they rushed in.

A fierce battle erupted between the two sides right in the center of the main hall. In the span of half an incense stick’s time, the two illusionary beasts, half-human and half-serpent, were blasted into nothingness. It was a pity that, unlike the naturally born, wild flesh-and-blood demonic beasts outside, killing these two illusionary constructs yielded absolutely no benefits.

Just as Lei Dong felt a pang of disappointment, a beam of light suddenly flashed past. His expression sharpened as he clearly saw a crystal-clear spirit stone resting on the ground, radiating brilliance and overflowing with spiritual energy.

A High-Grade Spirit Stone? A flicker of joy crossed Lei Dong’s mind. He extended a hand to draw it in mid-air, his divine sense wrapping around the High-Grade Spirit Stone until it landed in his grasp. After carefully stroking it, he confirmed it was a genuine High-Grade Spirit Stone, not some illusion conjured by a spell to deceive. Lei Dong began to understand: this ancient sect had designed the Heart Demon Hall specifically to test their promising young disciples. To motivate them in their trials, they naturally included some rewards to spur them onward. It made sense why Li Yijian had told him they only prioritized obtaining one Heart-Washing Fruit; everything else was Lei Dong’s own to keep.

A single High-Grade Spirit Stone was worth nearly ten thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones. For Lei Dong, this was a considerable income, especially since he currently only had seven High-Grade Spirit Stones remaining. With a touch of happiness, he placed the brand-new High-Grade Spirit Stone into his storage bracelet. He then took out another High-Grade Spirit Stone, half-depleted, and began to cultivate and meditate.

Thanks to the refined and immense spiritual energy of the High-Grade Spirit Stone, in only a short while, Lei Dong stood up, his spirits high, ready to explore further. By this point, he no longer resisted fighting the illusionary beasts conjured by magic. Before long, Lei Dong found the passage leading to the second level.

He cautiously scouted the path forward. The mechanisms on the second floor were significantly more potent than those on the first, costing Lei Dong several of his cannon fodder fierce ghosts. Even the guardian illusionary beast in the central hall, though there was only one, possessed a strength equivalent to a third-level Foundation Establishment cultivator. Although Lei Dong didn't take this creature lightly—defeating it with his ghost guards in under a hundred breaths—he could infer that the higher he went, the more difficult it would become.

After defeating this third-level Foundation Establishment illusionary beast, Lei Dong naturally waited for the beam of light to appear and deliver his spoils. However, Lei Dong waited and waited, until the internal energy in his body was fully restored, and yet the light beam never materialized. Only then did Lei Dong realize with astonishment that not every vanquished challenge came with a trophy.

With no other option, he headed toward the third floor. The higher he ascended, the smaller the area of the tower level seemed to become.

Upon reaching the third floor, Lei Dong quickly located the hall leading to the next level.

This time, the illusionary construct was a powerfully built man with a pair of wings, wielding a long spear with extraordinary imposingness. This appearance stunned Lei Dong into stillness. Good heavens, this creature possessed the strength of a fourth-level Foundation Establishment cultivator. As soon as it materialized, it charged toward the leading Critical Strike Ghost Guard, brandishing its spear. Its wings thrashed, whipping up a fierce gale. The Critical Strike Ghost Guard could withstand a few blows from the illusionary beasts on the previous floor, but against this winged illusionary figure, it was significantly outmatched. The Spectre and Frost Ghost Guards rushed to assist. With the three ghost guards attacking in unison, they managed to fight the valiant winged man to a standstill, neither gaining an advantage.

Lei Dong internally exclaimed that this place was certainly not somewhere ordinary cultivators could easily profit from. Second-level Foundation Establishment disciples who only possessed the realm but lacked true fighting prowess could, at best, contend with the beasts on the previous floor. Facing this illusionary winged man, they would likely be instantly overwhelmed. Furthermore, this was merely the illusionary beast on the third level of the mere Black Tower—how formidable it was already?

Fortunately, Lei Dong had not exhausted his full strength. He seized an opportunity and fired off a wave of the Annihilation Dharma Wheel, severing the illusionary winged man's thigh. The three ghost guards immediately gained the upper hand and, in moments, blasted it back into dispersed energy.

This time, before Lei Dong could even sit down to recover his energy, he saw a white pillar of light flash by, leaving behind a dark, inky object. Lei Dong quickly retrieved it and examined it—it was something resembling a mineral, heavy in his hand, emitting a searing heat that drilled into his palm. Although Lei Dong used to study miscellaneous items when he first started out, the more he advanced, the more he focused solely on cultivation, leading him to research fewer and fewer odd objects. No matter how he scrutinized it, he couldn't identify the origin of this mineral. However, he knew it must be quite valuable. With no time to study it now, he stored it away. Even if he couldn't use it himself, he could exchange it for some High-Grade Spirit Stones. Having grown accustomed to cultivating with High-Grade Spirit Stones, Lei Dong found using Mid-Grade Spirit Stones utterly dull. If it weren't so impossible, he even wanted to experience what Top-Grade Spirit Stones felt like. But that was likely too difficult; he recalled that during the last Grand Ceremony of the Heavenly Demon's Nascent Soul, the Demon Prison Sect had gifted the Heavenly Demon only three Top-Grade Spirit Stones, an item specifically noted. This showed that Top-Grade Spirit Stones were absolutely not something people like him could consume casually.

The thought brought a wave of emotion. He recalled hearing the Heavenly Demon mention, the last time, asking him to go with her. At the time, swept up in a moment of indignation, he had refused without thinking. Now, looking back, that action seemed somewhat foolish. Yet, Lei Dong asked himself again: if the Heavenly Demon were to make the same request now, would he agree? After thinking for a moment, he still arrived at the conclusion that he would refuse.

This realization made Lei Dong sigh at the stubbornness of his own pride. Such behavior was truly suffering for the sake of saving face... If it was to be suffering, then so be it. Lei Dong cast those distracting thoughts aside and proceeded toward the fourth floor.

After feeling his way around for a while, he arrived at the guardian illusionary beast of the fourth floor. This time, there was no exaggerated appearance of a fifth-level Foundation Establishment beast; instead, there were two third-level Foundation Establishment beasts—equally difficult opponents, though still within Lei Dong's scope of engagement. Lei Dong’s three ghost guards consisted of one third-level, one second-level peak, and one merely second-level.

Lei Dong found the forms of these two illusionary beasts somewhat familiar. They seemed to be creatures recorded in the sect's ancient texts, appearing only in the vast ocean—intelligent beings called Yakshas. Like humans, they had two legs and two arms, but their bodies were entirely pitch-black, moving with agility. They resembled fierce demons, ferocious and brutal in appearance. As soon as the two Yakshas appeared, waves of black energy, neither quite mist nor quite water, swirled around their bodies, giving them a formidable air.

Lei Dong dared not be careless. He ordered the Spectre Ghost Guard to entangle one, instructing it not to fight to the death. The other two ghost guards fiercely attacked the second illusionary Yaksha. Lei Dong intended a swift resolution, unleashing the Netherworld Grand Art, which stimulated his three ghost guards, making them even more savage and violent, greatly boosting their combat power. Simultaneously, ghost mist and black energy coiled like threads, twisting toward the two Yakshas.

At the same moment, the Annihilation Dharma Wheel struck out. Amidst mournful, low groans, it shot toward the ferocious Yaksha. That illusionary Yaksha proved surprisingly resilient. Black water surged around its body, and although it didn't entirely block the Dharma Wheel, it managed to deflect the majority of its force. However, the remaining power struck the Yaksha, making its form momentarily blurry, almost dissolving. Seeing this, the two attacking ghost guards became even more ferocious, absorbing the Netherworld Ghost Qi and savagely assaulting that Yaksha.

In a matter of tens of breaths, with Lei Dong's coordination, they successfully annihilated one. As for the remaining one, it was still locked in a fierce struggle with the Spectre Ghost Guard. Because of the augmentation from the Netherworld Ghost Qi, the Spectre Ghost Guard actually held a significant advantage. If he had been patient enough to wait, it might have been able to kill that Yaksha on its own. This caused Lei Dong to muse that the Netherworld Grand Art was indeed the best technique for those cultivating the Ghost Controlling Art. Otherwise, Lei Dong’s master, the Myriad Ghost Ancestor, would not have primarily cultivated the Netherworld Grand Art.

Naturally, Lei Dong had no patience to wait. All three ghost guards advanced and easily dispatched the remaining Yaksha.

Subsequently, the pillar of light flashed and vanished again, leaving a fruit on the ground that exuded a rich fragrance and glowed fiery red. Lei Dong’s heart stirred, and he quickly retrieved it for inspection. He felt both joy and disappointment. The joy came from recognizing the extremely rare immortal cultivation spirit fruit, the Vermilion Fruit. The disappointment was that this was not the Heart-Washing Fruit. Of course, the Vermilion Fruit was no ordinary item; whether used in medicine or eaten raw, it greatly benefited one's cultivation. However, Lei Dong was currently at a bottleneck in his cultivation. If consuming the Vermilion Fruit failed to break through that bottleneck, it would be a terrible waste. He took out a jade box from his storage bracelet, placed the Vermilion Fruit inside, and returned it to the bracelet.

Entering the fifth floor, Lei Dong faced a fifth-level Foundation Establishment flying beast, also conjured from illusionary magic. If it had been a genuine mid-stage fifth-level Foundation Establishment beast, Lei Dong would have fought a grueling battle. But fortunately, even though the illusionary beasts conjured by the spells of this ancient sect were astonishingly lifelike and powerful, they were ultimately a bit rigid.

Even so, Lei Dong still had to exert considerable effort to take it down.

On the sixth floor, there were two fourth-level Foundation Establishment illusionary beasts, neither quite human nor quite fish, strongly resembling the merfolk Lei Dong remembered inhabiting the deepest parts of the ocean. Because they were illusionary creatures, despite their power, Lei Dong managed to break them down individually. This time, Lei Dong remarkably obtained an eight-hundred-year-old spirit ginseng.

Reaching the seventh floor, Lei Dong became exceptionally cautious. According to the limited information obtained from Qi Feifei, each Black Tower should only have seven levels.

Roar! A bull-like creature, covered in flickering firelight, its body resembling a small mountain, as if it had crawled out of hell.

It charged forward, its single horn striking the Critical Strike Ghost Guard and sending it flying. Its two eyes blazed with madness and resentment.

Lei Dong’s heart tightened, and he cursed inwardly, This isn't an illusionary summoned beast...