The crowd, who had held their breath for so long, finally erupted in cheers, their faces flushed with excitement. Even Lei Dong couldn't entirely remain aloof. A Golden Core stage demon beast! Everyone present was only at the Foundation Establishment stage. To eliminate a Golden Core level sea overlord while only at Foundation Establishment—that kind of exhilaration could only be truly understood by those who had experienced it firsthand.

Zhang Heng also let out a long sigh. Although this wasn't the first time he'd done something like this, each experience felt like a tempering of his own being. Even though he ultimately killed the Overlord Fish with a single blast from the Nether Fire Cannon, since they had already hooked it, it would have only taken a short while longer to finish it off with the combined efforts of the brothers fighting desperately. However, this was Zhang Heng's first time leading a team in such an endeavor, so for the sake of safety, once its defenses were breached, he swiftly blasted it to death to settle things.

From inside the head of the Overlord Fish, a small, semi-transparent version of the fish emerged, preparing in confusion to swim back into the sea.

"It's a Beast Soul, don't let it escape!" people shouted, reaching down with their Nether Ghost Claws. Lei Dong had his own specialized technique for capturing Beast Souls. He immediately channeled some ghost energy to empower his Nether Ghost Claw, forcefully pushing through the crowd to precisely seize the soul and hoist it upward. However, as expected of a Golden Core stage Beast Soul, even under such severe damage, it still exerted immense pressure on Lei Dong's claw, nearly causing it to shatter.

Lei Dong hastily took out a Soul Sealing Sphere and trapped it inside. Understanding the hierarchy, he handed it to Zhang Heng, as Zhang Heng was the captain here. But Lei Dong then inquired, "Captain, since I want to refine the Malicious Ghost Shroud, could you sell this Beast Soul to me?"

"Yes." Zhang Heng was pleased with Lei Dong's adherence to protocol and tossed the Soul Sealing Sphere over. "This Golden Core level Beast Soul would fetch around three hundred thousand spirit stones if sold. Your performance during this hunt was excellent; I'll take the liberty of giving you one-sixth; your share amounts to fifty thousand spirit stones. You only need to provide an additional two hundred and fifty thousand spirit stones."

Without a word, Lei Dong produced twenty-five high-grade spirit stones and handed them directly to Zhang Heng.

He also felt a thrill. While a Golden Core level Beast Soul was expensive, its efficacy was immeasurably superior to a Foundation Establishment level soul or a raw soul. Lei Dong tucked away the Soul Sealing Sphere, intending to refine the Malicious Ghost Shroud as soon as he had time. After all, that item was an exceptional treasure for escaping danger. The Star Islands of the East Sea were not like the interior lands; they were chaotic. Having extra life-saving items on hand was always better than not having them.

Little did he know, the three hundred thousand spirit stones Zhang Heng quoted were for an ordinary Overlord Fish soul. This one was clearly a notch above the usual, likely equivalent to the strength of a second or third layer Golden Core stage; forty thousand spirit stones would be a sure price, but Zhang Heng intentionally favored Lei Dong, seeing it as a gesture of goodwill.

Zhang Heng brought the Nether Ghost Number Nine down, and everyone worked together swiftly to harvest the valuable parts of the Overlord Fish. Soon, the fish was completely dismembered and stored in Zhang Heng's storage bracelet. This Overlord Fish was powerful; even without the Beast Soul, the remaining parts were worth about a million spirit stones. Of course, this was not the time to divide the spoils; all dividends would be distributed only after the entire operation concluded and the loot was sold.

Lei Dong finally had a moment to refine the Malicious Ghost Shroud. Indeed, after refining the Overlord Fish Beast Soul, the quality of the shroud seemed to have instantly improved significantly. The ghost energy was denser, and its physical appearance had grown much larger. Lei Dong seized the opportunity to test its control and found that its speed had increased by at least forty to fifty percent. Estimating its top speed, it should manage close to two thousand li in one hour at full throttle. Naturally, this improvement wasn't solely due to the Golden Core Beast Soul but also incorporated the effects of the previous three Foundation Establishment cultivator's raw souls.

When he returned to the Nether Ghost Number Nine at maximum speed, Zhang Heng stared with wide eyes, praising with envy, "Your Malicious Ghost Shroud's speed seems to have surpassed that of a high-grade flying spiritual artifact. Impressive, truly impressive. A pity I already possess a high-grade flying spiritual artifact; had I known, I would have refined a Malicious Ghost Shroud too. After all, this item can be continually refined and used indefinitely."

"Number One, take a look at my Malicious Ghost Shroud," Number Two also showed off his shroud. It was larger than Lei Dong's and exuded an even denser, more menacing ghost aura. He said smugly, "My Malicious Ghost Shroud has consumed five Golden Core Beast Souls in total. Its current speed is now on par with a top-grade flying spiritual artifact."

On par with a top-grade flying spiritual artifact? Lei Dong inherited Zhang Heng's look from earlier, staring at Number Two's shroud with a mix of envy, jealousy, and hatred, looking as if he wanted to snatch it away.

Seeing Lei Dong's expression, Number Two felt a surge of satisfaction. Damn it, finally, there was something where I surpassed you. In terms of Ghost Servants, I lost; in terms of puppets, I lost; in direct combat, I also lost.

"Number One, don't be too envious. Today's Beast Soul wasn't the first, nor will it be the last. If you need one, we can all let you buy one first, refine it to the speed of a top-grade spiritual artifact quickly, and stop Number Two from being so smug," Number Four chimed in support. "Heh, Number One, as long as you can afford it, of course, I can sell it to you, but I won't be giving you an extra share of the Beast Soul money." Zhang Heng also chuckled. When the subordinates were strong, it was a great benefit to him as the captain. In truth, he treated Lei Dong well only because of his formidable strength, which provided him, the captain, with more opportunities to achieve great merit. Of course, Number Two was not weak either. Zhang Heng glared at him irritably: "Number Two, stop showing off your Malicious Ghost Shroud. If everyone hadn't given up those Beast Souls for you, how could you have refined that life-saving treasure so quickly? Number One is new; take care of him more in the future. Don't be jealous that he killed your Grade Eight Ghost Guard. Didn't the Commander get you a high-grade spirit ghost?"

Upon hearing about the high-grade spirit ghost, Number Two became spirited again.

The others hurriedly pressed for details, and Zhang Heng smiled, "Actually, Number Two benefited from misfortune this time. He had accumulated a lot of contribution points and always wanted a high-grade spirit ghost. But that item is exceedingly rare. As soon as the sect acquired one, it would always be seized by Golden Core cultivators. This time, the Commander took pity on him and helped him acquire one. It’s probably his luck; I heard that recently, in the last year or two, nine high-grade spirit ghosts have appeared across various regions. It seems the supply of high-grade spirit ghosts suddenly increased, which is how Number Two managed to get lucky."

Nine? Lei Dong was slightly startled. Hadn't he only sold five? But he quickly calmed down. The world was vast; besides himself, others must have had good luck finding high-grade spirit ghosts. Didn't he see one at the Heavenly Dao Alliance auction previously? However, a seed of caution was planted in his heart. From Zhang Heng's tone, he could tell that the overabundance of high-grade spirit ghosts had begun to arouse suspicion. If someone were to pay closer attention to this matter, it would be easy for problems to arise if he tried to sell spirit ghosts in the future.

Lei Dong resolved that he must temporarily stop selling high-grade spirit ghosts. Firstly, the risk factor had significantly increased. Secondly, with his current strength and spirit stone reserves, he could still manage to get by. Given his current capability, which was no less than a twelfth-layer cultivator in the sect, earning spirit stones might not be excessively slow. Selling the spirit ghosts previously was merely a temporary expedient; otherwise, dealing with that Huangfu Ce would have been quite difficult.

Now that the thorn in his side, Huangfu Ce, was gone, it was better to be extra cautious. Otherwise, if his astonishing hidden treasure were exposed, not just Golden Core cultivators, but even Nascent Soul cultivators would move against him. In that scenario, forget his Master; even the Heavenly Demon might not be able to protect him.

Everyone congratulated Number Two on his good fortune in obtaining a high-grade spirit ghost, accompanied by envious sentiments. Never mind cultivators who practiced Ghost Control Arts, many Foundation Establishment cultivators would be willing to switch their cultivation methods for a high-grade spirit ghost if they had one.

Number Two also felt quite pleased. Although the Grade Eight Ghost Guard was lost, and the high-grade spirit ghost had only just been refined, given the high-grade spirit ghost's potential, with careful nurturing—feeding it quality Beast Souls and raw souls—it would quickly recover to his peak combat strength, perhaps even surpass it. This was because Mid-grade spirit ghosts rarely broke through to the Ghost Guard level unless fed massive amounts of Golden Core Beast Souls, which was an extremely uneconomical proposition. Feeding it ten or eight Golden Core Beast Souls would cost enough spirit stones to simply buy a high-grade spirit ghost from someone else.

Besides, where could one easily find a Golden Core Beast Soul? With so many people present, and all belonging to the Yin Sha Sect, everyone desired such excellent Beast Souls. The reason Zhang Heng could make the decision to grant the soul to Lei Dong immediately was due to Lei Dong being new and possessing great strength, allowing him to act on his own authority.

This matter was then set aside. After successfully hunting a Golden Core level demon beast, the excitement of the crowd had not diminished but rather intensified. They urged Zhang Heng to proceed to the next hunt. Zhang Heng also enjoyed this activity immensely, so he reorganized his fishing gear, replaced the damaged bait, and commenced the next round. Half a month flew by in a rush.

The fish signal period ended; in the last two days, not even a Scale Fin Fish was spotted, let alone an Overlord Fish. While the others lamented this, they were quite excited overall. Because in this mere half-month, the group had killed thirteen Overlord Fish—a massive harvest. Usually, during this half-month fish signal period, they could manage at most eight. Everyone praised Lei Dong as a bringer of good fortune.

It was important to note that opportunities to hunt Golden Core demon beasts were rare. Lei Dong also learned during this time that this fish signal was not annual but occurred every five years.

Lei Dong also gained immensely this time. Acquiring four more Golden Core Beast Souls allowed him to forcefully refine the Malicious Ghost Shroud to the speed equivalent of a top-grade spiritual artifact. At full flight speed, it could nearly match the Nether Ghost Number Nine. However, regarding subsequent Golden Core Beast Souls, once Lei Dong understood how many others needed them, he hesitated to contend further, lest people think him insatiably greedy.