Riding a gust of black wind, which scattered sand and stone as it returned to the ground, Lei Dong felt an immediate surge of exhilaration. The Ghost-Blight Camphor’s speed was now comparable to a standard mid-grade flying spirit tool. Lei Dong was certain that by continuously feeding it the souls of the strong, it would eventually reach the level of a high-grade, perhaps even a supreme-grade spirit tool. Of course, as far as Lei Dong knew, any Ghost-Blight Camphor that reached the pinnacle of flying artifacts was invariably born from a cataclysmic slaughter.

The black mist retracted, and Lei Dong squinted, watching Ouyang Rong’er, keen to see if she had regained some composure.

In her eyes, his expression resembled that of a demon assessing the food already near its mouth—utterly sinister. Her face paled, hands clutching her chest, trembling and daring not to look at Lei Dong.

“Good,” Lei Dong said, hands clasped behind his back with a smile. “Since you’ve seen my true face, I won’t waste words on you. You understand the meaning of repaying kindness, right? Those people killed your grandfather because of the Spirit Tea. I have already exacted vengeance for you. Tell me, shouldn't you offer me a proper repayment?” Rong’er’s face fell, and she nodded, but then, as if realizing something, she stared at Lei Dong with wide-eyed terror and shook her head frantically: “Don’t even think I’ll become your… that.”

“Spirit Tea, I only require Spirit Tea…” Lei Dong looked at her face, still brimming with youthful innocence, and curled his lip. “Don’t flatter yourself. I have little interest in someone as underdeveloped as you, lacking in both bosom and derrière. From now on, you will diligently cultivate Spirit Tea for me. Especially that wild Bodhi Clear-Heart Tea, which has reached full maturity; its entire annual yield belongs to me. Of the remaining three cultivated varieties, I claim ninety percent. The remaining ten percent, you can amuse yourself with.”

Rong’er had initially feared that this fellow, initially appearing refined but revealed to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing, would covet her body like that young man surnamed Zhao before.

To her surprise, he called her underdeveloped. While the heavy stone of fear in her heart lifted, it was instantly replaced by deep humiliation, fueling resentment. Yet, she dared not claim to possess curves, so she could only reply aggrievedly: “I am deeply grateful that you avenged me. But why must I cultivate tea for you?” In her heart, she thought: if he had saved her and avenged her, and then comforted her in a gentle manner, he would have instantly become the most important person in her world.

“Why? Heh heh, simply because my fist is bigger than yours.” Lei Dong found teasing her somewhat amusing, feeling a strange sense of ease. A sinister smile touched his lips. “My arm is thicker than yours. If I wished, I could do anything to you. For instance, I could extract your nascent soul and refine it into my Ghost-Blight Camphor, making it mingle with those ghosts. Even suicide would be useless; I could refine your corpse into a beautiful Corpse Puppet and gift it to those street beggars… No, no, that’s missing something.” Lei Dong stroked his chin, pondering deeply, then his eyes suddenly lit up. “Right, I can merge a sliver of your residual soul into the Corpse Puppet refined from your body. That way, although you couldn't move, you could hear and feel everything… Heh heh, I truly am a genius.” Ouyang Rong’er’s hair stood on end instantly; her face lost all color, and her mind grew hazy, wishing only to faint. Heavens, how could a person’s thoughts be so wicked? For a moment, she wished for death, but then the thought of the unimaginably tragic fate awaiting her after death sent shivers down her spine, eradicating any desire to die.

Snap. Lei Dong flicked out a few mid-grade spirit stones toward her. “Here, this is your wage for the year. Cultivate diligently, strive to become stronger than me, and then you can escape my clutches.” With another light wave of his hand, a Level Twelve Shadow Grunt, clad in soul armor and wielding sharp spikes, materialized before them. Lei Dong issued instructions via divine sense, and the spectral guard flashed away, materializing silently behind Ouyang Rong’er before blurring and vanishing.

Yet, Ouyang Rong’er, sensing the faint, lingering chill on her back, knew that the ghost was this fiend’s continued surveillance. Forcing down the terror of being monitored by a malevolent spirit, she now held only one thought: she must become strong, stronger than this demon. He was right; only with bigger fists and thicker arms could one do as one pleased. Biting her lip, she picked up the spirit stones from the ground, transforming her sorrow and anger into boundless motivation.

Lei Dong stood with his hands behind his back, his expression somewhat blank. “Prepare yourself well. I will consume your Spirit Tea once every three days. If you miss one session, jiejie, you know the consequences.”

Pfft. A surge of black mist erupted, and Lei Dong vanished within it. Deep within this Green Valley, he found a residence in a quiet environment where the spiritual energy was passable. Settling here to cultivate was a decision Lei Dong had made after careful consideration. First, he possessed abundant spirit stones and resources, having no immediate need to venture out for risks; he preferred to find a quiet place to digest the fruits of his recent adventures. Second, Lei Dong simply could not let go of the Spirit Tea that strengthened the divine soul, and transplanting the tea—or even taking the soul-tending Rong’er with him—was currently unwise. Third, although Rong’er’s aptitude was only superior-grade, if properly nurtured, reaching the Foundation Establishment stage would not be difficult, allowing her to become a useful subordinate later. Of course, Lei Dong preferred she venture into alchemy, noting her talent for cultivation. Whether he possessed any aptitude for alchemy himself was irrelevant; he truly lacked the time to master such a time-consuming skill. Thus, after cultivating for half a month, Lei Dong suddenly left. A few days later, he returned with an old man, whose hair was entirely white, at the fifth level of Qi Condensation, along with a stack of jade slips detailing the basics of planting and alchemy, and a high-grade artifact-level alchemy furnace. Additionally, there was a large supply of medicinal herbs for the Minor Restoration Pill, valued at three thousand spirit stones.

The Minor Restoration Pill was the first type of medicinal pill Lei Dong had encountered since entering the path of cultivation. Its value was low, only one spirit stone for ten pills, but it was indispensable for early and mid-stage Qi Condensation cultivators—cheap, effective, and highly cost-efficient. Lei Dong learned that one batch could yield one hundred pills. The materials he had purchased were enough for over a hundred batches.

Theoretically, if all one hundred batches were successfully refined, even if only ninety-odd succeeded, this venture could net a profit of six or seven thousand spirit stones—a genuine windfall. However, this was pure fantasy. Such alchemists were not nonexistent; indeed, many capable alchemists within various sects could achieve this. But why would an alchemist of that caliber expend such great effort and time for a meager profit of a few thousand spirit stones? One hundred batches was simply ridiculous; refining them day and night would take several months…”

“I see that you have too much free time while tending the tea trees and cultivating. Whenever you’re idle, you sit there crying over your deceased grandfather, which frankly annoys me. So, I’ve found something for you to learn.”

Lei Dong’s words marked the beginning of Ouyang Rong’er’s tragic career. From then on, she was required to spend five shichen daily studying alchemy and cultivation techniques, attempting to refine the Minor Restoration Pill, producing one batch daily. Two shichen were dedicated to tending the tea trees, and of the remaining time, half a shichen was for personal matters; the rest was for cultivation. Of course, every three days, she had to serve Lei Dong a pot of Bodhi Clear-Heart Tea.

That white-bearded old man was an alchemist Lei Dong had lured and captured from a distant area. His skill level was not high, but his theoretical knowledge was extensive, backed by considerable experience in refining low-tier pills. Having him instruct Ouyang Rong’er in the fundamentals of alchemy was perfectly suited for the task. However, Lei Dong felt a small surge of delight that cultivators from minor families often learned a random assortment of things since childhood, giving them a basic foundation in herb properties and cultivation, thus avoiding starting from absolute zero. Of course, even starting from scratch wouldn't matter, given she was only sixteen.

Lei Dong firmly believed in one adage: talent is crucial for mastering a skill, but massive, uninterrupted repetition daily is even more vital. To better whip Ouyang Rong’er into shape and spur her progress, Lei Dong commanded the Shadow Grunt to manifest a whip and administer lessons whenever she slacked off. Compelling her to practice alchemy, even her very first attempt, resulted in a beating if it ended in failure.

Time rushed by, and several months spun past in a blur.

During this period, Lei Dong felt his own progress was immense; his cultivation base had solidly advanced, a result directly linked to consuming copious spirit pills, torturing himself with the Heavenly Demon Transformation, and swallowing a Vermillion Fruit. What delighted him most was the Spirit Tea. Though sometimes he had to mix in lower-grade teas when the superior kind ran short, in just a few months, he felt his divine soul had grown substantially, and his spiritual sense was significantly stronger than before. While this wasn't entirely attributable to the Spirit Tea—his own slight power increase played a part—Lei Dong knew that with sustained persistence, his divine soul would eventually surpass that of his peers by a huge margin. Perhaps this was the most crucial factor guaranteeing his survival in this world.

What struck him with the most emotion was Ouyang Rong’er’s massive improvement. Undergoing inhuman torment, she displayed terrifying potential in alchemy. After destroying the first ten batches of Minor Restoration Pills, followed by sporadic successes, she eventually managed to succeed in three out of ten batches. Calculated against one hundred batches, her overall success rate astonishingly reached fifteen percent, meaning the three thousand spirit stones worth of raw materials cost Lei Dong only fifteen hundred in losses. This inhuman rate of growth even satisfied Lei Dong, who was extremely harsh on her. He had initially expected her to manage perhaps five or six successful batches.