As for the four Purgatory Red Lotus Seeds, Lei Dong held off on selling them for the moment. After all, these could be preserved for a long time, unlike the Heart-Washing Fruit, which was rumored not to last even ten years.

With a substantial fortune in hand, Lei Dong began to contemplate how to enhance his strength. Using Spirit Stones directly wouldn't defeat anyone; it was far more practical to convert them into tangible combat power sooner rather than later. Heavenly Dao City was the focal point of the Heavenly Dao Alliance's influence. Within its territory, various sects and factions established branches or engaged in commercial trade. The entire metropolis boasted a staggering population reaching millions. Of course, over ninety percent were mortals without spiritual roots. However, the mortals of Heavenly Dao City were not entirely ignorant of the cultivation world. The vast majority were descendants or family members of the Heavenly Dao Alliance members. Over time, they had flourished and multiplied within this very city. This demonstrated that Heavenly Dao City was an extremely peculiar metropolis where mortals and cultivators coexisted. Yet, even setting aside the ninety-plus percent of mortals, the number of cultivators in Heavenly Dao City reached an astonishing figure, although more than half of them were rogue cultivators or members of minor families. Furthermore, this was just the permanent population, not accounting for the countless itinerant cultivators who visited annually.

These people lived, earned money, socialized, and cultivated in Heavenly Dao City, each in their own way.

Due to the sheer number of cultivators in Heavenly Dao City, even certain forces outside the Heavenly Dao Alliance established shops here, though the size and location of these establishments varied according to their power. For instance, the Yin Sha Sect maintained an external branch headquarters in Heavenly Dao City, perhaps to assert their dominance. The master of this branch was none other than a formidable figure at the Golden Core Ancestor level.

In addition to this external branch, the Yin Sha Sect also held numerous significant business interests. Their ventures were reportedly quite prosperous, earning the sect substantial Spirit Stones every year or helping them acquire many resources and materials.

For his current dealings, Lei Dong avoided the Yin Sha Sect's properties, despite the significant discounts he would receive given his status. The reason was simple: he still wished to avoid exposing his true wealth and strength as much as possible. After all, Huangfu Ce had spent more time within the Yin Sha Sect than he had. Lei Dong did not wish for even the slightest possibility that what he bought or sold here might reach Huangfu Ce's ears.

He used the Art of Disguise to alter his appearance, wrapping himself in a black robe that concealed nearly all his features. Qi Feifei also disguised herself, transforming into a veiled lady resembling a sheltered young gentlewoman, accompanying Lei Dong while shopping. Appearance could be masked, but the aura of one's strength was difficult to control. Lei Dong had heard of special breath-concealing techniques that could hide one's cultivation level aura, but he hadn't studied these specialized skills yet.

His purchasing list included cultivation methods, Spirit Artifacts, and top-tier elixirs; indeed, Lei Dong even set his sights on items like the Thunder Fiend Bombs.

Everything had a single objective: to invariably boost his combat capability or survivability. Cultivation methods were exceedingly difficult to find. Although occasionally market stalls would feature ancient inherited methods or techniques passed down through generations, ultimately, it was too hard for these to surpass the might of the Yin Sha Sect’s own methods. Of course, Lei Dong wasn't stubbornly insisting that a new method had to be more powerful than those of the Yin Sha Sect.

The problem was that even finding something comparable was immensely challenging. After examining many methods, he found them either impossibly boastful and utterly unbelievable or simply too weak in power. Frustrated, Lei Dong soon gave up on this pursuit.

Spirit Artifacts were one of Lei Dong's primary targets. Currently at the third layer of the Foundation Establishment stage, in terms of rank classification, he was still considered an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. Therefore, Spirit Artifacts were his best bet; a decent High-Grade Spirit Artifact would suffice until he reached the Golden Core stage. If he managed to acquire a Supreme-Grade Spirit Artifact, he could even utilize it like a Dharma Treasure during the Golden Core stage. Just as Lei Dong was currently using the Annihilation Dharma Wheel for his main offense in the Foundation Establishment stage—because its sheer power was not inferior to an ordinary High-Grade Spirit Artifact—he saw no need to switch unless he could obtain a Supreme-Grade offensive Spirit Artifact.

After visiting numerous places for half a day, Lei Dong gained some understanding of the Spirit Artifact market. He paid no mind to Low-Grade artifacts; unless one was destitute, ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators would not choose them. After all, even rogue cultivators at this stage found earning money far easier than those in the Qi Refining stage. They preferred to save more time and Spirit Stones to purchase a Mid-Grade Spirit Artifact in one go, achieving a solid foundation. Mid-Grade Spirit Artifacts were not cheap; even inferior ones cost upwards of ten thousand Spirit Stones, while slightly better ones easily fetched fifty, sixty, or eighty thousand.

However, purchasing High-Grade Spirit Artifacts was where true expense began. Not only were they costly, but they were also extremely rare. Only at major auctions would High-Grade Spirit Artifacts appear, and their value often bankrupted even a wealthy Foundation Establishment cultivator. As for Supreme-Grade Spirit Artifacts, those were items truly found only by luck. An ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator might never possess one in their entire lifetime. Even someone as formidable as Lei Dong’s master would possess two or three Supreme-Grade Dharma Artifacts, but Lei Dong suspected even he might not have a Supreme-Grade Spirit Artifact in his collection.

Lei Dong did not set his sights on High-Grade Spirit Artifacts. While a High-Grade Spirit Artifact, costing hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones, could possibly be bought, his ambitions were loftier: he aimed for a Supreme-Grade Spirit Artifact. Using various disguises, Lei Dong spent several days scouting and investigating in Heavenly Dao City, visiting all the well-known major shops.

Regrettably, even the largest shops backed by powerful factions had, at most, one or two High-Grade Spirit Artifacts displayed as their treasured specialties. Supreme-Grade Spirit Artifacts were rare to a certain degree. However, Lei Dong did manage to find out that they occasionally appeared as final auction items in large-scale auctions, typically fetching between 1.2 million and 2.5 million Spirit Stones, depending on their function.

This was a terrifying figure; even ordinary Golden Core cultivators would struggle to produce such a sum of disposable funds. Moreover, although a Supreme-Grade Spirit Artifact could be used until the Golden Core stage without replacement, true Golden Core cultivators, unless they had an excessive amount of money to burn, would generally not spend such a large sum on a Supreme-Grade Spirit Artifact for their own use. After all, spending the same amount to acquire a Dharma Treasure suitable for a Golden Core cultivator would undoubtedly yield superior results and power. The high value of a Supreme-Grade Spirit Artifact stemmed primarily from its scarcity and collection value. Secondly, a Foundation Establishment cultivator equipped with one would experience a significant increase in strength.

The Golden Core cultivators willing to spend such a massive sum on a Supreme-Grade Spirit Artifact, if not of the common tier, might be doing so for an exceptionally outstanding heir who could carry on their lineage.

However, perseverance paid off. After several days, Lei Dong finally learned that a Supreme-Grade Spirit Artifact would be featured as one of the grand finale items at an auction hosted by the Myriad Treasures Pavilion in a month's time, though the exact nature of the artifact remained unknown.

Lei Dong pondered for a while and decided to wait the month, planning to try and bid for that Supreme-Grade Spirit Artifact at the auction. He consequently remained in the quiet courtyard where the Heavenly Dao Alliance hosted esteemed guests, spending his days meditating and refining his qi, consuming the remaining supply of Small Five Elements Pills and High-Grade Spirit Stones. Qi Feifei also decided to stay with Lei Dong until after the auction. Given her exceptional aptitude, her cultivation wouldn't suffer during this month, so she took it upon herself to gather news for Lei Dong.

Every few days, she would update Lei Dong on recent developments. For example, she mentioned that Tantai Bingyun's injuries were severe and showed no signs of improvement, suggesting it would take at least a year for her to fully recover. She also reported that Li Huntian had passed his Inner Demon trial and emerged from the Heart Demon Hall. Furthermore, she shared that the Heavenly Dao Alliance had learned the full story behind the events from Tantai Bingyun and deemed the matter too serious, deciding to temporarily suppress it. For now, they would maintain the pretense that Wang Hui was still inside the Heart Demon Hall. She even mentioned that Xi Donglai showed no sign of overcoming his inner demons and might perish inside the Heart Demon Hall.

Some of this information was highly confidential, causing Lei Dong to feel a touch of irony: someone with such great talent wasn't dedicating all her focus to cultivation. She certainly had a knack for gathering gossip. Of course, this likely related to her background; her charm arts had little effect on him, but they were highly potent against others. As a top disciple from one of the Eight Great Supreme Sects, her methods of extracting information were almost impossible to guard against.

She even managed to uncover the identities of most of the final featured items at the auction. This left Lei Dong somewhat speechless, but upon learning that the Supreme-Grade Spirit Artifact was a defensive one, Lei Dong became even more resolved to acquire it. With a Supreme-Grade defensive Spirit Artifact, Lei Dong believed his combat and survival capabilities would see an unprecedented boost.

Time flew by, and the appointed day arrived. Lei Dong and Qi Feifei, both in disguise, quietly entered the auction house. After each paying a qualification fee of five thousand Spirit Stones, they received a small Dharma Artifact for free: a grey cloak that, when worn, gave the wearer an indistinct and elusive appearance.

Moreover, this artifact could, to some extent, shield them from the probing of divine sense.

The entrance fee alone made Lei Dong realize that the Myriad Treasures Pavilion was truly something special. Five thousand Spirit Stones per person—that sum alone was enough to net them immense profits. As Lei Dong stepped into the auction hall, his eyes swept across the outer seating area, where three-tenths of the seats were already occupied. However, every single person wore the exact same grey cloak as Lei Dong.