Lei Dong was somewhat speechless. Pulling out a peak Foundation Establishment puppet merely granted him an extra tenth share. If he brought out the three Level Twelve Ghost Guards as well, wouldn't that mean he was claiming half the spoils?

But regardless, Lei Dong’s peak Foundation Establishment puppet certainly served well to boost morale. The others fought with greater vigor. To conserve his True Qi, Lei Dong refrained from using the Black Dragon Roar, instead diligently stabbing with the Scarlet Refining Flying Sword, blow after blow. Before long, the protective aura shield surrounding the puppet was shattered. All that remained was relying on its raw hide to endure the assault.

The wounded Blade Coiled Dragon became even more ferocious, slamming against the formation, causing it to shake violently, threatening collapse.

"Old Zhao, hold the formation steady! Whatever you do, don't let it break through!" Captain Qian's expression shifted slightly as he roared, "Shangguan, use your killing move!"

Shangguan’s face flickered, but he gritted his teeth nonetheless. His body began to tremble violently, as if seized by a fit, and his eyes suddenly flushed crimson. It was as if all his energy was instantly unleashed. His hair broke free from its pin, whipping upwards, and a faint, bloody mist enveloped him, making him resemble a demon general striding forth from purgatory. Simultaneously, he rubbed his palms together, channeling the surging blood mist towards his arms, and roared out in agony. As he thrust his palms forward, a crescent-shaped scarlet sickle of light shot out, carving a diagonal arc as it lunged toward the Blade Coiled Dragon.

Lei Dong was slightly surprised. This scarlet blade of light actually brought upon him a feeling of suffocation, pressure, and even a dangerous sense of terror. The power of this strike was even greater than his Black Dragon Roar. It explained why Shangguan had seemed somewhat unconvinced when he lost to Lei Dong previously.

The Blade Coiled Dragon, sensing the danger, stopped its charge. Instead, it began to maneuver and dart erratically. But the scarlet sickle of light pursued it like the scythe of death. Boom! The Blade Coiled Dragon forgot it was trapped within the formation and carelessly slammed its head against the black mist once more.

Staggered by the impact, it was immediately caught by the scarlet sickle, which cleaved it across the middle. As blood sprayed in a gruesome mist, the Blade Coiled Dragon let out a shrill, piercing scream. Its body was nearly split in two; that one strike had likely severed its spine. Of course, this was also partly due to its protective aura shield being broken. Otherwise, with Shangguan’s mere cultivation base of early Core Formation Eighth Layer, it would have been impossible to inflict such severe damage on a Golden Core beast, even unto death.

Even so, Lei Dong couldn't help but admire the technique; its power was indeed formidable, surpassing the Black Dragon Roar. But Lei Dong’s admiration quickly waned. As soon as Shangguan unleashed the technique, he collapsed weakly, as if utterly drained of strength. The surnamed Zhang, seemingly prepared, flew over and caught him mid-fall.

Seeing this, Lei Dong realized this move was Shangguan’s desperate, self-sacrificial spell. After using it, he would possess no fighting capability left. It was no wonder he usually wouldn't part with it. Lei Dong quickly estimated that with all his defensive measures, whether dodging or enduring, he could handle this Scarlet Blood Sickle strike. This showed that while Shangguan was somewhat tenacious, he was still far from being Lei Dong's match.

When the others saw the Scarlet Blood Sickle strike the Blade Coiled Dragon, a sense of relief washed over them. They had to admit, this creature was significantly more savage than an ordinary early Golden Core demonic beast. It had only taken a few hits for it to nearly break free. If it managed to escape and flee far away, that would be one thing. But if it chose to retaliate immediately, one or two members of this six-person team would likely perish. How could a Golden Core demonic beast be trifled with?

Just as their hearts began to relax, the nearly moribund Blade Coiled Dragon erupted with sudden, explosive power. Ignoring its almost severed body, it channeled all its remaining strength and slammed viciously into the dense black mist. Perhaps its incessant attacks had caused the formation to loosen, or perhaps, at the final moment of its life, it unleashed an unprecedented level of potential.

In any case, this single collision violently blasted the dense fog apart. Tumbling wildly, it escaped the magic array while mid-air and plummeted towards the sea tens of zhang below.

Disaster, was the single word that flashed through everyone's mind. All their efforts over the past half-day would be for naught if the beast escaped into the ocean! Moreover, this was a Blade Coiled Dragon—worth a full two million spirit stones! The team rushed to pursue, unleashing all manner of attacks toward it. But alas, they were a fraction of a step too slow; the Blade Coiled Dragon was practically touching the water.

Suddenly, Lei Dong’s figure appeared silently beneath the Blade Coiled Dragon, as if teleporting, standing suspended above the waves. Black mist surged and rolled around him, and a pair of pitch-black, several-zhang-long Asura wings unfurled high on his back. At a glance, he appeared like a true Mahasura descending—cold, dangerous, and utterly imposing, his long hair whipped violently by the great wind.

"Go back where you belong." The surrounding black mist instantly retracted into his palm. He raised his hand and struck, unleashing a black dragon, several zhang long, whose roars and cries swept forward.

The severely wounded Blade Coiled Dragon could neither evade nor dodge. It was hammered squarely by Lei Dong’s strike. The potent force instantly tore its hide and flesh open. The immense impact instantly reversed its downward trajectory, rocketing it forcefully back up towards the sky.

Relief washed over the rest of the team. They surged forward to follow up, unleashing a flurry of their techniques, finally blasting the Blade Coiled Dragon to death.

By the time the massive creature died, it was mangled beyond recognition. As its beast soul—a creature resembling a Blade Coiled Dragon about a zhang long—tried to flee, Captain Qian, who was experienced and prepared, captured it mid-air and sealed it within a Soul Sealing Sphere.

With that concluded, Captain Qian hung the sphere beneath the flying boat and called his teammates to begin butchering the tens-of-zhang-long Blade Coiled Dragon. Of course, its bloodline contained no true dragon blood; its appearance merely bore some resemblance to a dragon. Otherwise, its value would have doubled. That said, the Blade Coiled Dragon was, in a sense, a type of Innate Spirit Beast. Shortly after birth, it entered the Qi Refining stage, gradually advancing to Foundation Establishment and then Golden Core as it aged. Legend held that the strongest Blade Coiled Dragons could reach the Nascent Soul level, though such instances were exceedingly rare. For a normal Blade Coiled Dragon, the Golden Core stage was usually the limit of its bloodline.

As the team dismantled the beast, Captain Qian, familiar with the creature, began to explain its nature to the others. Once the dissection was complete, Captain Qian collected all the usable parts into a storage bracelet and tossed it to Lei Dong. "Brother Lei, you contributed significantly this time. What was that set of wings you manifested at the end?"

"Just a wing spirit artifact. Contributing is what I should do. Captain, I will purchase this Blade Coiled Dragon at full price." Lei Dong preferred not to elaborate on the previous events. He had sensed that these teammates were generally easy to get along with and were not particularly malicious. This was why Lei Dong had risked revealing the Asura Wings at the critical moment to block the Blade Coiled Dragon. Otherwise, even if Lei Dong felt the lack of a Golden Core beast, he would never have exposed his hand. As he spoke, Lei Dong counted out two hundred high-grade spirit stones and threw them directly to Captain Qian.

If such power were exposed, it would make everyone wary of him, preventing them from harboring any greedy intentions. Lei Dong had built his wealth by playing the unassuming expert. Revealing his trump cards felt unnatural; it was like being unable to fish. However, since there weren't any truly worthwhile prospects among these teammates anyway, he might as well display a bit more strength to deter any ill-intentioned thoughts that might ruin the camaraderie.

In that brief moment, Lei Dong had covered nearly a hundred zhang using those wings, making everyone feel that the artifact was quite extraordinary. Since Lei Dong was unwilling to elaborate, nobody pressed him. After all, Lei Dong was an immensely powerful cultivator, and offending him by prying into his secrets was unwise. Besides, who among people didn't have their own secrets?

Captain Qian took the spirit stones, frowning slightly. "According to our initial agreement, you must buy the spoils at full price, which I feel is unfair to you. Does anyone else have an objection?" Clearly, Captain Qian had initially hoped to gain a small advantage, earning an extra share of spirit stones. But now, witnessing how young, wealthy, and incredibly powerful Lei Dong was, he felt the urge to bring him closer to the team.

"Captain Qian, forget it. The previous arrangement regarding spoils must stand," Lei Dong replied with a faint smile, cupping his fist. "I am not one to go back on my word, so let's all drop it. If there is a discount on future ventures, perhaps that can be arranged then."

The others felt both admiration and relief. While recruiting Lei Dong was certainly worthwhile and no one objected to the idea, the prospect of actually handing over a significantly larger share of spirit stones genuinely stung their hearts. After all, why risk hunting a Golden Core beast if not for spirit stones? Lei Dong’s words made them feel that he was a truly decent person, worthy of alliance—trustworthy and loyal. Unconsciously, their goodwill toward him increased.

"In that case, we will re-evaluate the distribution for the next adventure," Captain Qian mused, already considering whether he could afford to drop one or two members from the team. After all, Lei Dong was worth two or three of the others combined without question. He continued, "However, I will immediately return the extra tenth share I promised you earlier." With that, he tossed ten high-grade spirit stones back to Lei Dong.

Lei Dong smiled enigmatically, pocketing the stones and the Golden Core beast. Suddenly, both Lei Dong and Captain Qian simultaneously tilted their heads to the left, looking toward their left flank.

……