"Asura King's Wings?" Lei Dong's mind felt a bit foggy, so he swiftly leaped down and landed before the wings. He examined them closely, his expression turning somewhat strange. He couldn't quite grasp why a pair of Great Asura Wings would transform into the wings of the Asura King. Yet, the more he looked, the more convinced he became that they were indeed the Asura King's wings. After all, during his trials in the Heart Demon Palace, he had "seen" the Asura King, and these wings seemed no inferior to its own pair. He couldn't help but look up at Wang Lei and offer a few dry chuckles: "Asura King's Wings they are, then. Senior Wang, didn't you have specific requirements for materials? Surely the Wings of the Asura King should satisfy you, Senior?" Yet, inwardly, he speculated: Perhaps the deacon in charge of materials within the sect had mistaken this item, treating the Asura King's Wings as Great Asura Wings? Could it be that he had stumbled upon an incredible windfall today?

Wang Lei rolled his eyes and shot Lei Dong a fierce glare. Then, he bent down again, caressing the skeletal structure and the membranous skin of the wings. His mannerisms were remarkably akin to how one might stroke a beloved first love, treating the wings with extreme caution and tenderness. He didn't even neglect the damaged spots; his long fingers lightly swept over the shattered wing membranes and broken bones. The man seemed utterly lost in a sense of profound, distant reverie.

Lei Dong dared not disturb his contemplation, so he obediently scurried about ten zhang away to continue his meditation, working to heal and dissolve the residual effects of the Minor Grand Spirit Recovery Pill. Waves of cool yet intensely hot currents slowly circulated through his meridians, passing through the Heaven and Earth Bridge, then his cheeks, finally flowing down through his abdomen and settling into his Dantian. He remained seated like this for several hours before Lei Dong slowly opened his eyes. The physical injuries within his body were now about seventy percent healed, but his spirit remained somewhat listless.

Night had fallen, and the sky was dotted with sparse, exquisite stars.

Meanwhile, Wang Lei seemed still utterly absorbed by the pair of membranous wings, using various tools to measure and calculate them, occasionally falling into deep thought. Lei Dong frowned slightly; was this item truly so difficult to refine? Still, he didn't want to bother him. Just as Lei Dong was about to swallow another pill to aid his recovery, Wang Lei spoke: "Boy, these wings are too severely damaged. But that's to be expected. For an existence of the world-shaking caliber of the Asura King, it would be truly rare if a pair of its wings could be severed intact. To have only suffered damage to less than half is already quite remarkable. The problem is, it's extremely troublesome."

Lei Dong stood up, cupped his hands, and asked, "Senior, what precisely is troublesome?"

"Firstly, due to the severe damage, the fractured areas must be perfectly fused back together, and the damaged membranes need to be re-integrated. The missing sections of the membrane must be mended with rare heavenly materials that match it. I will provide you with a detailed list of the necessary auxiliary ingredients." Wang Lei's demeanor had transformed entirely now—calm, capable, yet possessing an undeniable presence, though his face held a somber cast. "Secondly, the Wings of the Asura King cannot be melted down casually. One must either use the flames erupted from a core of Earth Fire for refining, or... one must earnestly request a Nascent Soul cultivator skilled in manipulating flames to refine them with potent fire."

Upon hearing this, Lei Dong also felt a pang of difficulty. Lacking some rare heavenly materials could be managed.

After all, the storerooms of the Yin Sha Sect held every kind of rare material imaginable. With enough sacrifice, they could certainly be acquired. However, securing a Nascent Soul cultivator proved much more complicated. He could only ask again, "Senior, what about the Earth Fire core?"

"Difficult. Extremely difficult. The Southern Seventy-Six Islands have Earth Fire, but the temperature is insufficient. It might barely suffice for refining Great Asura Wings. In the entire Eastern Sea region, there are only two Earth Fires capable of reaching the temperature needed to smelt the Wings of the Asura King. Neither is a place you or I can easily access." Wang Lei frowned deeply. "If it must be a Nascent Soul cultivator, I do know a few whom I could persuade with some cost. However... human hearts are hard to read. An object as peerlessly rare as the Wings of the Asura King would draw avarice even from Nascent Soul cultivators. They might not act openly at the moment, but once the treasure is refined, we might have invited a wolf into our den."

Indeed, if these Asura King Wings were truly valuable, seeking help from an unfamiliar Nascent Soul cultivator would be tantamount to seeking death. As for Lei Dong himself, he did know one Nascent Soul cultivator, but asking a favor of her felt like a strange knot in his heart. Yet, Lei Dong harbored high expectations for what this pair of Asura King Wings could ultimately forge. One thing was certain: if successful, the resulting item would very likely far surpass the Blood-Colored Cloak. With these wings, he might even stand a significant chance of escaping if he encountered a Golden Core cultivator later on.

After hesitating for a long time, Lei Dong stated in a deep voice, "Since it is so, I trouble Senior to draft the list of auxiliary materials so that I may prepare. Furthermore, regarding the Nascent Soul cultivator, I will think of a way myself."

Wang Lei, too, held great anticipation for this artifact. He had been a Master Artifact Refiner for many years, yet he had never worked with materials of this magnitude. Hearing that Lei Dong seemed to have a plan, he swiftly compiled a detailed list of auxiliary components, sealed it within a jade slip, and handed it to Lei Dong. After exchanging a few polite words, Lei Dong put away the wings, found Zhang Heng, and departed the island.

Not long after Lei Dong left, a faint black shadow drifted to Wang Lei's side, a raspy voice uttering, "Thank you, Old Wang."

"Miss Mu." Wang Lei suddenly seemed to revert to his previous state, as if all his vigor had been drained, nodding listlessly. "I have repaid the debt I owed you this time. Once matters here are settled, I will move away from this place."

"Old Wang, will you not reconsider my proposal?" the shadow inquired faintly.

"No. I am merely a walking corpse. Had you not transmitted your voice to me just now, Miss Mu, I would not have been tempted by the boy's materials, no matter how excellent they were ten times over." Wang Lei slowly shook his head. "But I still thank you for your kindness, Miss Mu. I am tired now; please do as you wish."

"Since that is the case, I will not press you. Farewell." The shadow vanished swiftly, leaving only one sentence echoing in his ears: "Regarding Lei Dong, please help maintain confidentiality, Old Wang. I do not wish for him to know I had any hand in this."

Meanwhile, Lei Dong was heading toward Little Islet Island with Zhang Heng. Zhang Heng had helped him considerably, and moreover, had the good sense to leave at the crucial final moment, further improving Lei Dong's impression of him. Standing at the bow of the boat, he cupped his hands toward him and smiled, "Thank you for your help just now, Brother Zhang. I sought out Wang Lei because I obtained a pair of damaged wings belonging to a peak Great Asura, and there was no one on Little Islet Island capable of refining them." With that, he took out the wings to show Zhang Heng.

In truth, Lei Dong had already sought out numerous people on Little Islet Island previously to refine the Asura Wings; anyone who inquired a little could find this out. Lei Dong proactively showing them now was merely a gesture of goodwill.

Indeed, Zhang Heng's expression shifted slightly, and he ran a hand over the skeletal frame of the wings. "Peak Great Asura? That would be equivalent to a peak Nascent Soul figure! Impressive, truly impressive. I can sense a powerful force emanating from these damaged wings. Any treasure refined from this material would certainly be stronger than a top-grade spiritual artifact."

"It should be significantly stronger. I got them at a thirty percent discount, costing twenty-one million contribution points just for the raw material. Plus the various precious auxiliary materials listed by Senior Wang, I estimate it will take another few million spirit stones to fund it." Lei Dong’s face looked troubled, though his worry stemmed from needing the Nascent Soul cultivator’s assistance for the smelting. Who knew what perverse conditions that demoness—that young lady from the Heavenly Demon Sect—might impose.

Zhang Heng was astonished. "Lei Dong, you are truly willing to spend so much. All those spirit stones and contributions sunk in, and you could have acquired three top-grade spiritual artifacts. But it seems you are short on contribution points? Buying materials on the open market is too unreliable, isn't it? Do you plan to donate spirit stones to acquire contribution points?"

"I only had two thousand one hundred contribution points originally; the remaining million contribution points were acquired by using twenty high-grade spiritual stones to buy them," Lei Dong complained somewhat. "That old fellow, Deacon Zhao, is too stubborn; he wouldn't budge even with a small shortfall."

"That's cutting it a bit too fine," Zhang Heng mused for a moment, then suggested, "If we exchange spirit stones for contribution points at the sect, we get a seven-to-one exchange rate—seven points per spirit stone. Tell you what, I have some surplus contribution points. You give me one million spirit stones, and I'll help you exchange for seven million contribution points' worth of materials."

"How could I possibly accept that?" Lei Dong's eyes lit up at the suggestion. This arrangement could save him a significant portion of his spirit stones.

"What's so hard to accept? Everyone often lacks spirit stones, so we use a portion of our contribution points to exchange directly at this ratio." Zhang Heng laughed. "If you don't mind, Lei Dong, I can ask the other brothers and sisters if any of them need spirit stones; perhaps they can operate this way. In fact, since our Battle Hall disciples get heavy discounts when exchanging items, many brothers and sisters can help with exchanges when they want certain materials. However, this can't be done too frequently, or the sect will issue warnings. But if we keep it internal within the Battle Hall, it shouldn't be a problem. You are merely short on contribution points; otherwise, you would also get the thirty percent discount."

"If that is the case, then I thank you, Captain." Lei Dong felt a surge of pleasure; this maneuver would save him quite a sum, as relying purely on spirit stones to grind out contribution points was proving inefficient.

After a round of polite exchanges, the two returned to Little Islet Island. Lei Dong first went to Deacon Zhao’s place to check the refining materials against the list. Tallying them up, he discovered that the auxiliary materials on the list totaled a staggering four thousand one hundred million contribution points. This number almost made Lei Dong faint on the spot.