The razor-sharp Crimson Flame flying sword cleft him cleanly in two, spraying residual mist of blood.

A tiny nascent spirit, the very soul of a Core Formation cultivator, fled from his ruined corpse. Compared to the nascent spirit of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, this one was much clearer, more condensed; one could clearly observe its expression, its demeanor laced with utter weakness and terror. The nascent spirit, once detached, was immediately buffeted by the sea breeze, tumbling helplessly aside. It managed to steady itself, cast a fleeting glance at Lei Dong, and tried desperately to flee, only to be seized in the grip of a ghastly, pale-green hand.

Lei Dong stood with one hand behind his back, his right hand controlling the Nether Ghost Claw as it flew toward him. Simultaneously, the Ghost General dissolved into a thick fog, enveloping the remains of the cultivator’s flesh and blood, greedily devouring it to replenish its severely depleted power.

Watching the Core Formation nascent spirit struggle violently under the pressure of the Nether Ghost Claw, emitting shrill squeaks, Lei Dong felt an inexplicable surge of elation. For years, a sense of fear and apprehension had clung to him regarding Core Formation cultivators. He had always viewed them as towering, insurmountable mountains. Any one of them, given the slightest will, could crush him like an insignificant ant. This terror and insecurity had constantly haunted him. Lei Dong vividly recalled the feeling when he first joined the Ten Thousand Ghost Grotto—the prickling dread before his Master, the Old Ancestor of Ten Thousand Ghosts, a fear that made his soul and body tremble uncontrollably. But now, such a normally lofty, supremely arrogant Core Formation cultivator had been brutally slain by his hand, his nascent spirit unable to escape, firmly trapped in his grasp. From the clear expression on that spirit, Lei Dong saw its own fear, its terror, its trembling, and even its desperate, pleading squeaks, bringing him a satisfaction unlike any he had known before. It was the liberation felt after struggling out of a terrible nightmare. At this moment, he was overcome with the urge to let out a wild, roaring laugh. Holding the nascent spirit of such a powerful being, watching its desperate plea for mercy—it was truly exhilarating, truly satisfying.

"A pity, a pity it wasn't solely my achievement," he mused. "By myself alone, I likely still lack the strength to fell such an early-stage Core Formation expert." Lei Dong calmed himself slightly, yet his blood still felt as if it were boiling. Even if he couldn't achieve a true solo kill on a Core Formation expert right now, there would come a day, sooner or later, when he would no longer fear them. Sooner or later, he too would ascend to the Core Formation stage.

However, Lei Dong knew that even though he was already at the eighth layer of Foundation Establishment, the path to Core Formation remained riddled with thorns and tribulations. Throughout the entire history of cultivation, countless peerless geniuses had perished midway. How many others had become stuck at some layer of Foundation Establishment, eventually dying in bitterness, their final thoughts consumed by the longing for Core Formation? With his own mediocre aptitude, what right did he have to claim he would surely reach Core Formation smoothly?

As the Nether Ghost Claw dissipated, the nascent spirit darted away rapidly, attempting to escape. Yet, Lei Dong sent another Nether Ghost Claw, snatching it back and manipulating it as if it were a toy in his palm. He quieted his mind and began to deliberate. From the last two uses of the Ghost General, he judged that dealing with ordinary early-stage Core Formation demonic beasts presented no significant problem. However, facing a Core Formation cultivator, especially one with decent equipment, would be a massive headache; a direct confrontation would likely result in defeat.

So, how many dangers would lie on the road back home? Although Lei Dong desperately wished to return to Kang Province now, he clearly understood that the path would not be easy. Otherwise, the exchange between Kang Province and Zhao Province wouldn't be so limited. Rushing headlong home now would likely lead only to his death. But Lei Dong also knew he couldn't linger indefinitely in Zhao Province, perpetually engaged in supposed preparation. After careful consideration, Lei Dong decided he would achieve two conditions here before setting out to find his way back. First, naturally, he must cultivate to the late stage of Foundation Establishment. Although he was currently at the eighth layer, reaching the ninth layer marked the transition to the late stage. Though it seemed a mere sliver of separation, the shift from the middle to the late stage represented a qualitative leap, promising a substantial boost to his intrinsic strength.

Second, he naturally needed to reach a point where he could single-handedly kill a Core Formation cultivator like the one just encountered. Relying solely on a critical-hit Ghost General, while significantly boosting his power, was still insufficient for confronting a Core Formation expert alone. To achieve his goals in a short time, there were only two paths: raise his own cultivation, or successfully nurture another Ghost General or a puppet.

As for puppets, given his current soul strength, he estimated he couldn't control a Core Formation-level puppet. Puppets were fundamentally different from his inherent spirit servants. They were true external objects, unlike the spirit servants, which only required a small gap in spiritual awareness. Lei Dong suspected he might only be able to barely manage a Core Formation puppet if his cultivation reached the eleventh or even twelfth layer. After all, the difference in soul strength between Foundation Establishment and Core Formation was vast. His ability to control the Ghost General was a result of achieving a bloodline connection through blood sacrifice, and even then, it was pushing his limits.

Furthermore, he possessed a spirit pet, the Soul-Devouring Shadow Tiger. The Tiger was Lei Dong's treasure, far surpassing the value of an upper-grade spirit ghost. It was undefeated in a one-on-one fight against a Ghost Guard of the same rank, its strength slightly better than that of a Spirit Servant. The Shadow Tiger's drawback was that it could only grow and evolve by devouring enough souls. Moreover, it required a gradual process; swallowing sufficient souls didn't immediately trigger a molt and evolution. Its advantage, however, was that it too was bound to Lei Dong through blood sacrifice, making it, in a sense, a part of Lei Dong’s body. If Lei Dong died, the Shadow Tiger could not survive alone. If the Shadow Tiger perished, Lei Dong would suffer a massive backlash. There was an element of co-existence and mutual prosperity involved.

It seemed the next step was to focus on nurturing the Soul-Devouring Shadow Tiger, while simultaneously advancing his own cultivation. Although the desire to return home was pressing, Lei Dong understood the simple principle that haste makes waste. Moreover, in the unfamiliar surroundings of Zhao Province, failing to establish relationships with local cultivators would mean even scouting the way home could kill him.

Summoning the Soul-Devouring Shadow Tiger, Lei Dong tossed the Core Formation nascent spirit directly to it.

The Soul-Devouring Shadow Tiger became wildly ecstatic; as a creature dedicated to soul-devouring, it instinctively sensed that this was a supremely nourishing substance. It sprang forward and inhaled sharply. The nascent spirit was instantly drawn as if by a magnet, flying straight into the Tiger's mouth. With a single gulp, it swallowed the spirit whole. Perhaps a Core Formation nascent spirit was just too rich a tonic for the Tiger. After consuming it, the beast let out sounds of deep contentment, rubbing against Lei Dong, leaping and rolling about in an extravagant display of affection.

Lei Dong was amused by its simple behavior and flicked its forehead lightly. "You have better luck than me. You just eat a nascent spirit and advance. I have to cultivate painstakingly, step by slow step. Such a hard life," he said, admitting a touch of envy. Creatures like the Soul-Devouring Shadow Tiger, innate anomalies, descendants of ancient divine beasts, truly had fortunate lives, not having to endure the arduous cultivation he faced.

As he spoke, the Ghost General had finished devouring the flesh and blood of the Core Formation cultivator. Its black ethereal body was now streaked with crimson, requiring time to fully digest the essence. Lei Dong sent the equally sated Ghost General back to the Soul Nurturing Pagoda to rest. He, meanwhile, held the two spirit artifacts left behind after the Ghost General’s consumption, along with one exquisite, ancient storage bracelet.

Lei Dong lacked the skill to erase the spiritual imprint left by a Core Formation cultivator on such a storage bracelet. After a cursory tidy-up, he went to find the slow-moving Qian Luo. Once everyone was gathered, Lei Dong explained that the Core Formation cultivator's nascent spirit and body had been used by him, and he intended to claim the remaining nascent spirits of the Foundation Establishment cultivators as well.

Initially, while his companions knew the Ghost General was formidable, they harbored some innate fear and skepticism about destroying a Core Formation expert. However, now that Lei Dong and Qian Luo had actually accomplished the feat of slaying the Core Formation cultivator, they were overcome with excitement, and an undeniable sense of reverence for Lei Dong took root. This was a fearsome entity capable of felling even Core Formation cultivators. Human cultivators, by nature, paid deep respect to the strong. No one voiced any objection to Lei Dong claiming some of the nascent spirits, as Qian Luo and Lei Dong were leading them now.

Of course, Lei Dong repeatedly instructed Qian Luo that the spoils he used would be deducted from his final unified share. As for the nascent spirits of the Foundation Establishment cultivators, Lei Dong decided not to feed them to the Shadow Tiger, but to refine them all into the Myriad Ghost Banner. The nascent spirits of these mid-to-late Foundation Establishment cultivators, refined into vicious ghosts, would be even more ferocious, useful for slaying enemies or serving as cannon fodder in critical moments.

Qian Luo, naturally, threw himself into the arduous task of breaking the spiritual imprint on the Core Formation cultivator's storage bracelet. In truth, even without the storage bracelet, the group had reaped significant wealth from this engagement. The spoils scavenged from the seven Foundation Establishment cultivators were already quite valuable, and the flying boat was worth a considerable sum as well. However, once Qian Luo expended immense effort to finally erase the spiritual imprint from the Core Formation bracelet, everyone realized they had truly struck it rich. It was a storage bracelet with a vast spatial capacity, making the bracelet itself exceptionally valuable. Most importantly, this group had apparently been at sea for a long time; inside, ten or so Core Formation demonic beasts, properly processed, were stored.