Gambling, in Lei Dong’s previous life, was one of the most profitable industries, preying upon the innate human desire for risk. For instance, a Foundation Establishment Pill typically fetched a market price of around 130,000 to 140,000 spirit stones. Many Qi Refining cultivators without backing simply could not afford one, nor could they necessarily acquire one. Even those with decent aptitude who cultivated quickly often found themselves stuck at the Foundation Establishment bottleneck.

Given Lei Dong’s current standing and strength, acquiring a large quantity of these strictly controlled Foundation Establishment Pills was difficult. However, securing a small handful was certainly achievable. With one Foundation Establishment Pill, plus a substantial batch of elixirs suitable for Qi Refining cultivators, totaling an estimated value of sixty to seventy thousand spirit stones across various tiers, Lei Dong could easily issue 400,000 worth of lottery tickets. As he pondered this intoxicating prospect, Lei Dong quickly realized a flaw: executing it now would be highly inefficient.

Although such a gambling venture could rapidly draw countless Qi Refining cultivators to Black Mountain Market, the very influx of people meant that while he would profit, the lion's share of the gains would be snatched up by others. Such a brilliant scheme, once proven successful, would be instantly imitated, making it nearly impossible to generate the same sensational effect again.

Rather than that, Lei Dong decided it was better to shelve the idea. He would save this brilliant concept for when he possessed his own independent market city, where he could deploy such novelties to instantly support and establish the entire commerce hub. For the time being, this pill shop would remain a small-scale operation—as long as it made money, that was enough.

Old Qian, brimming with renewed vigor fueled by the seemingly limitless potential, began to carefully consider Lei Dong’s words. He diligently inquired about any unfamiliar new terms, pressing Lei Dong for detailed explanations. After a long session, he departed, laden with knowledge, announcing his intention to draft a marketing plan—a concept Lei Dong had, of course, instilled in him.

Subsequently, Lei Dong sought out several master painters and design experts from the Great Ding Kingdom to come to the market city. It turned out that mortals performing these roles were often more specialized than cultivators. After all, these were the professions they dedicated their lives to studying, whereas cultivators had to focus the vast majority of their energy on cultivation. This was a major reason why many cultivators preferred residing in the thriving secular nations—many forms of enjoyment were simply beyond the capacity of cultivators to devise. Few cultivators concerned themselves with art or culture; how to kill, how to kill an enemy faster, and how to advance their cultivation were the concerns that occupied the majority of their mental bandwidth. Running a business like this wasn't inherently his passion, but the elder Lei Dong was growing increasingly aware of one undeniable truth: spirit stones were paramount in the cultivation world. Spirit stones, absolutely, could crush people. For instance, if Lei Dong desired the demise of Ku Gu, which seemed difficult, throwing out twenty million spirit stones would certainly convince many to eliminate Ku Gu for him—twenty million spirit stones would even sway Nascent Soul cultivators into committing murder for the right price. This was merely an example, meant only to illustrate that while spirit stones weren't omnipotent, possessing them unlocked the ability to accomplish countless tasks. Just as Elder Huangfu Ce was effectively crushed by Lei Dong's application of spirit stones; if Huangfu Ce had possessed wealth equivalent to ten million spirit stones, converted entirely into top-grade spirit artifacts or consumables, the ensuing life-and-death battle would have been fraught with suspense, and Lei Dong would not have been guaranteed victory.

Having experienced the efficacy of using spirit stones to defeat Huangfu Ce, Lei Dong placed even greater value on them.

Lei Dong fully conveyed his design concepts to the mortal masters, urging them to create designs spanning as many styles as possible.

He then quietly departed, heading toward Little Azure Valley, the place where he had resided for a long time. The reason for retrieving her now was that Ding Wanyan, responsible for finding them a proper home base, had already located a valley that even she was extremely pleased with. Although the spirit meridian here was far inferior to that of the Myriad Ghost Lair, the entire valley had been meticulously cultivated by a small family that previously inhabited it, making it overwhelmingly beautiful and lush. Lei Dong had inspected it; it was equal to, if not better than, Little Azure Valley.

Of course, to persuade the former inhabitants to relocate, Ding Wanyan had spent a staggering two million spirit stones. This figure caused Lei Dong a pang of heartache, but since Ding Wanyan loved the location, he readily approved. After all, the spiritual land was indeed beautiful and scenic; building a home there would be a deeply heartwarming affair for the couple.

Furthermore, a weaker spirit meridian wasn't entirely without a solution. Within the Ce Sha Sect, there existed a formation known as the Grand Five Elements Spirit Gathering Array. Once deployed, it would slowly gather the scattered, wandering spiritual energy toward the area enclosed by the array, and this concentration of spiritual energy would, in turn, nourish the weak spirit meridian, encouraging its growth.

Naturally, inviting the sect to establish such a Grand Five Elements Spirit Gathering Array would come at an astronomical cost, requiring the mobilization of a Nascent Soul ancestor and demanding tens of millions of contribution points. Moreover, the effect wouldn't be immediate; improvement would only occur year by year.

Without the passage of a century, the spirit meridian wouldn't become significantly stronger. Thus, this matter had to be temporarily tabled. Black Mountain Market wasn't far from that Little Azure Valley—a mere ten thousand li. It wasn't that Lei Dong desperately missed Ouyang Rong'er, but rather, he needed to recoup the investment made in the alchemist he had painstakingly cultivated. Spending so many spirit stones on her meant he needed a return. Leaving her alone in that cramped Little Azure Valley simply wasn't a safe proposition.

Now that Lei Dong no longer needed to conceal his identity or movements within the Heavenly Dao Alliance, he rode the Ghost Shroud, unconcerned with day or night, hurtling toward Little Azure Valley. Firstly, moving under the guise of a Yin Sha Sect disciple afforded him considerable safety within the Alliance; no Golden Core cultivator with a functioning brain would willingly pick a fight with him for no reason.

Secondly, Lei Dong was confident that with his current arsenal of top-grade spirit artifacts, various talismans, and items like the False Death Pill, while defeating a Golden Core cultivator was utterly impossible, escaping was something he felt quite certain about. Moreover, the probability of encountering a Golden Core cultivator en route was exceptionally low. Under such rapid travel, in a mere three days, Lei Dong successfully brought Ouyang Rong'er back into the territory of the Great Ding Kingdom.

Though Little Azure Valley was pleasant, it wasn't situated on his own domain, leading to a persistent lack of security.

Poor Ouyang Rong'er hadn't grasped what was happening before she was swiftly snatched up by the great demon—a figure who inspired both awe and terror in her—and forcibly transported to another location. Just as she was helpless before the Heavenly Demon, Ouyang Rong'er was entirely at Lei Dong’s mercy, able to be molded as he wished. However, speaking of which, despite her fear of Lei Dong, she felt a measure of gratitude toward him over the years, even though he relentlessly forced her to study alchemy. After all, he had avenged her great wrongs and given her a chance to rise in stature. Even the spiritual ghost lashing her for alchemy failures had slowly transitioned in her mind to be seen as Lei Dong’s method of ensuring her progress.

Of course, Lei Dong was indifferent to her girlish sentiments; all he cared about was her talent for planting and alchemy.

Because Lei Dong had already discussed Ouyang Rong'er with Ding Wanyan before leaving, his sudden arrival home with another woman did not shock Ding Wanyan. On the contrary, she greeted Ouyang Rong'er with utmost courtesy and prepared to offer her tea. Yet, under a sharp glare from Lei Dong, Ouyang Rong'er dared not sit down, immediately rising to diligently prepare tea for Lei Dong and Ding Wanyan.

"Wanyan, this is the Bodhi Heart-Clearing Tea I mentioned to you," Lei Dong said with a light smile as he accepted the spiritual tea poured by Rong'er, showing affection to his wife. "If drunk consistently, it has excellent effects on strengthening the divine soul. I've been drinking it for many years, and my divine soul has expanded significantly..."

Ding Wanyan took a sip. Beneath the scorching heat of the tea, a refreshing coolness indeed flooded her entire body, causing every pore to comfortably dilate. Her divine soul also felt a wave of clarity. She couldn't help but express a slight delight, "It truly is a fine item. Husband, your luck is good. Although its immediate effect is far inferior to the Heart-Washing Fruit, in terms of long-term value, this spiritual tea surpasses the Heart-Washing Fruit..."

Ouyang Rong'er watched, her mouth watering. Since falling into Lei Dong's demonic clutches, she hadn't tasted a single cup of high-grade spiritual tea; even her rare indulgences were merely cultivated teas. Fortunately, as she meticulously nurtured them, the efficacy and flavor of those cultivated spiritual teas were slowly improving.

Her expression did not escape the notice of the observant Ding Wanyan, who smiled softly and said, "Rong'er, you've worked hard. Sit and have a cup of spiritual tea as well..." Noticing how fearful Rong'er seemed of Lei Dong, she shot a sharp look at him before adding, "Rong'er, don't be afraid of him. Truthfully, Lei Dong appears fierce on the surface, but his heart is quite good."

Lei Dong could not bear to slight his wife, so he glared at Rong'er, "If the Mistress tells you to drink, then drink. But finish quickly and get back to work—transplant those spiritual teas properly, and if any die, it will be your responsibility. Furthermore, you've delayed your alchemy progress these past couple of days; you must catch up quickly..."

"Yes, Master. Thank you, Mistress..." Rong'er replied with a hint of pathetic meekness. Now, she dared not disobey a single command from Lei Dong. She sat down and savored the spiritual tea she hadn't tasted in so long. After finishing her cup, she quickly hurried off to find a suitable spot to transplant the Bodhi Heart-Clearing Tea. The thought of what fate awaited her if the spiritual teas perished made her shiver—could she ever have a good life again?

Once she departed, Ding Wanyan gave Lei Dong a look of reproach, followed by a charming smile. "You... you are too harsh on Rong'er."

"Harsh? Hmph, if I hadn't saved her, her entire life would have been ruined by now," Lei Dong dismissed carelessly. "You cannot spoil a young girl like that, or she’ll climb right over you." "I’ll go help her pick a good spot for the tea planting," Ding Wanyan, still feeling uneasy, departed directly, leaving Lei Dong alone in the pavilion to leisurely sip his tea.

Suddenly, a faint, lingering voice drifted into his ears: "You two young spouses, you certainly seem quite affectionate?"