However, Lei Dong possessed a blood-red cloak, a rare and extraordinary treasure. When worn while executing the Ghost Shadow Evasion, a surge of sanguine power flooded his body, and under a haze of blood mist, his speed increased even further. Yet, even with this advantage, Lei Dong calculated his absolute top speed could, for a short burst, reach two thousand li per shichen. At such an explosive pace, cultivators with inferior cultivation levels would barely perceive more than a faint crimson spectral image. Even so, Lei Dong felt he still couldn't escape a Golden Core stage cultivator, even the weakest among them. The speed they could momentarily unleash would far surpass his own. One should never underestimate a mere increase of five hundred li per shichen in speed. With such a disparity, even if he managed to gain a distance of two or three li, they could catch up within a few dozen breaths and deliver a fatal strike.

Lei Dong carefully calculated and pondered. If he were to encounter an early-stage Golden Core cultivator, perhaps if he could momentarily push his own evasion technique to a speed of twenty-five hundred, he might have a sliver of a chance to survive. But if he could attain a speed of three thousand, his odds of survival against an early Golden Core cultivator would exceed fifty percent. Of course, if he ran into an extremely powerful cultivator with superior magic artifacts who held genuine hostility towards him, he could only count it as misfortune; there was little he could do, given the vast difference in cultivation. It was simply an impossible dream for a Qi Refining cultivator, or even an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, to escape him once he decided they shouldn't live.

For enemies who could absolutely destroy him, the only recourse was to avoid provoking them at all costs and to show them utmost deference upon meeting. Cultivation—cultivation was, above all else, the most vital thing.

Lei Dong pondered deeply for a long time. If his cultivation level didn't rise, he stood absolutely no chance of contending with the peerless experts of this world.

The issue was that everyone desired to advance their cultivation. Some people dreamed of nothing else: Qi Refining cultivators yearned for Foundation Establishment, Foundation Establishment for Golden Core, and Golden Core for Nascent Soul. The reality, however, was that no one could ascend the cultivation ladder in a single leap. Every single high and mighty Golden Core cultivator, and every revered Nascent Soul overlord, had once crawled up from a mere first layer Qi Refining minor cultivator, step by painstaking step.

Therefore, he absolutely could not slack off on cultivation. But for the immediate future, he needed to first find ways to acquire more methods of self-preservation. Regarding Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, Lei Dong no longer felt much fear. After all, even if he couldn't win the fight, he could still flee. The Golden Core stage remained the persistent shadow haunting his mind.

No one knew if he would encounter a Golden Core cultivator during this war. Lei Dong certainly didn't want to meet an untimely end while still young, leaving his beloved wife a widow.

After testing his speed and realizing what he needed, Lei Dong returned to Xiaozhou City. Originally, the over ten million spirit stones on his person had all been handed over to Sister Bei before he left, allowing her to continue executing her money-making schemes. Thus, before coming to the East Sea, Lei Dong only carried a mere two hundred-plus high-grade spirit stones, just in case. In terms of current expenditure, he had spent one hundred and twenty-five stones purchasing five Golden Core Beast Souls, used to refine the Evil Ghost Shroud to the level of a top-grade flying spiritual artifact. However, after intercepting three Foundation Establishment cultivators, from the spiritual artifacts and storage bracelets they dropped—even though the value of those artifacts had severely diminished by seventy to eighty percent due to soul fusion—Lei Dong had gained a total of thirty high-grade spirit stones from that engagement. Additionally, when capturing the Seventy-Six Southern Isles, Lei Dong had gained around a hundred stones from selling what he acquired.

Furthermore, although capturing the Overlord Fish involved expenditure, the dozen or so Overlord Fish, after Zhang Heng and Number Four and the others sold them, ultimately yielded a total of over two thousand three hundred high-grade spirit stones. But that venture was a collective effort. Although Zhang Heng constantly griped that those who didn't work as hard would receive less, in reality, he distributed the spoils fairly evenly. Everyone, including himself, received two hundred and fifty high-grade spirit stones.

In the end, Zhang Heng's entire squad made a fortune from this mission. Lei Dong himself was allocated three hundred and fifteen high-grade spirit stones. Consequently, from joining Zhang Heng's squad until now, Lei Dong’s net profit was four hundred and seventy high-grade spirit stones. Combined with his existing savings, his total spirit stones reached a staggering seven hundred and eighty.

This was a massive sum; if used well, it was enough to provide Lei Dong with a significant leap forward in either combat power or survivability.

Moreover, Lei Dong had also acquired a considerable amount of contribution points. The five million contribution points for the Inspection Patrol were canceled because an accident nearly wiped out the entire squad. After successfully capturing the Seventy-Six Southern Isles, the Sect distributed the contribution points, and due to the success, Lei Dong’s total was instantly doubled, reaching ten million contribution points.

In the remaining time, he undertook patrol duties, remnant clearing missions, and similar tasks, earning another three million contribution points. The biggest windfall came from the final assassination mission. Based on Lei Dong's ranking and performance, coupled with the Heavenly Demon personally awarding everyone double contribution points, Lei Dong should have received seven million points. As a result, not long after the war started, the contribution points Lei Dong gained already amounted to twenty million. Indeed, joining the War Hall allowed contribution points to accumulate very quickly. Even without war, merely patrolling normally and bullying minor Sects or small families—given Lei Dong’s current ranking—would have allowed him to amass such a huge quantity of contribution points within a few years. It was no wonder that every member within the War Hall was exceptionally powerful. If Number Two hadn't been so stingy, hoarding contribution points to eventually buy spiritual medicine for advancing to Golden Core, he wouldn't have lost out to Lei Dong.

For an average person, this amount of contribution points could roughly be exchanged for two hundred high-grade spirit stones. But because Lei Dong was a War Hall soldier, he received a thirty percent discount, allowing him to gain more. Of course, only a fool would exchange contribution points for spirit stones. If he had to exchange, he would rather convert them into spiritual herbs, elixirs, and other resources to sell outside, as the profit would be much greater.

Thus, this accumulation of contribution points was certainly not a small figure. However, no matter how high the contribution points, they were earned by Lei Dong risking his life. At the critical moment when he deployed that Nether Fire Cannon talisman, it could only be considered Lei Dong acting to save his own life. If he hadn't deployed it then, the entire team would have perished there. It was precisely his use of that Nether Fire Cannon talisman that earned him respect within the squad, matching that reserved for Zhang Heng. After all, Lei Dong had saved everyone’s lives. Even Number Two had once said that he had intended to spend some contribution points to acquire a few more top-grade spiritual artifacts, preparing to conquer a city. But out of respect for Lei Dong saving him, he decided to remain in the 'Number Two' position.

Unfortunately, Number Four let slip the real reason. He hinted that Number Two was afraid Lei Dong possessed another Nether Fire Cannon talisman, which is why he dared not fight for the top spot. Indeed, a talisman capable of potentially killing a Golden Core cultivator—how could a Foundation Establishment cultivator withstand such destructive power?

Therefore, calculating everything, Lei Dong’s wealth was not insignificant. First, he traveled to the temporary headquarters of the Third Command of the War Hall; the officials managing contribution points had also relocated. Naturally, they had to follow, otherwise how could they assess everyone's military merits? The contribution official for the Third Command was an elderly Foundation Establishment seventh-layer cultivator. His beard was white, and he was quite old; his surname was Zhao, and everyone called him Old Zhao.

The man stood up from behind his desk as soon as he saw Lei Dong, cupped his hands with a smile, and said, "Ah, it is Senior Brother Lei gracing us with your presence. I apologize for not greeting you sooner, not greeting you sooner. Have you come to check your contribution points...?"

Lei Dong was now quite famous, especially among the Foundation Establishment ranks; almost everyone knew of him, and most Golden Core cultivators also knew of Lei Dong, even recognizing his face.

Of course, this Zhao fellow treated everyone politely and called everyone Senior Brother. However, if anyone expected to squeeze more contributions out of him, that was utterly impossible.

"Officer Zhao, I am here this time, firstly, to update my contribution points..." Lei Dong took out his identity token and handed it over, adding, "Furthermore, I would like to ask Officer Zhao for a recommendation regarding spiritual artifacts..."

"Spiritual artifacts..." Officer Zhao quickly began calculating Lei Dong's new contribution points, resealing the updated value back into the token. He returned it with a smile and said, "May I ask what kind of spiritual artifacts Senior Brother Lei requires..."

"We are currently at war with the Heavenly Sound Palace; I am looking for spiritual artifacts that can help me survive..." Lei Dong stated carelessly. "If it can increase my speed, preferably an artifact or technique that allows for an instantaneous burst of intense evasive speed..." Lei Dong paused, outlining his concept.

Officer Zhao's expression remained unchanged. Lei Dong’s idea was entirely normal. It was not easy for anyone to reach this level of cultivation, and nobody wished to perish easily. Especially when facing an enemy Golden Core cultivator alone—there was no one to call for help. He knitted his brow, thinking carefully for a long time, and then expressed some difficulty: "Senior Brother Lei's request is quite high. Spiritual artifacts that can help one escape the clutches of a Golden Core cultivator are truly hard to come by. How about... you try the Blood Evasion Technique...?"

Lei Dong was momentarily speechless. The Blood Evasion Technique? Lei Dong had deep feelings about this spell. He first encountered it on Bai Li Yun, who escaped using it, nearly causing a great disaster afterward. The second time, he saw it used by the Heavenly Demon, and ever since, he felt he was trapped in her clutches, unable to flee even if he wanted to.

It was a method that consumed one's vital essence, exploding one's internal blood to catalyze the evasion technique. While one might not say it was life-or-death, the chance of survival was, at best, only forty to fifty percent. Firstly, there was the risk of exploding and dying instantly while executing the Blood Evasion Technique. Secondly, who knew what unforeseen disaster might befall him at his landing spot after fleeing?

However, looking at it another way, a forty to fifty percent chance of survival was better than having no chance at all. Lei Dong mulled it over; this was still a spell he needed to master. He could only cough twice and say, "Then let's start with the Blood Evasion Technique first. I would also appreciate it if Officer Zhao could recommend a few others..."