News from Kangzhou was scarce, and it took Lei Dong considerable effort, even resorting to purchasing highly confidential intelligence through major commercial outlets, to learn the truth: the current location was exceedingly far from Kangzhou. If one were to set out from the Chaotic Archipelagos, cross the Zhao Continent, traverse its entire expanse to its far western edge, they would encounter a desolate desert. Beyond that desert lay the formidable Hengduan Mountain Range, which cleaved the world in two; past the mountains, one would finally reach Kangzhou. Moreover, Lei Dong’s home, the Yinsha Sect, appeared to be situated not far from the Hengduan Mountains. It sounded close enough.

However, the problem was that it only sounded close. Take Zhao Continent, for instance—a place scarcely inferior to Kangzhou, teeming with sects and clans. Traveling from the Chaotic Seas, across the entirety of Zhao Continent to the edge of that desert, the straight-line distance was approximately seven hundred thousand li. At full speed, this journey might only take a little over a month, allowing Lei Dong to arrive. Yet, attempting to fly in a straight line, let alone at full speed, meant only one thing for any cultivator: certain death. Along that direct path lay three top-tier sects of Zhao Continent and seventy or eighty exceptionally perilous sects and families. Could one truly expect a good outcome by simply soaring brazenly over the heads of so many powerful entities?

Consequently, Lei Dong had already procured a complete set of maps for the Chaotic Archipelagos and the entire Zhao Continent. These were, naturally, not paper maps, but incredibly vivid renderings inscribed on jade slips, complete with topography, water features, and meticulously marked hazardous zones, dangerous areas, and the distribution of sect and family strongholds. This cartography was vastly more professional than what Lei Dong had used in Kangzhou—it was as if he held a miniature, breathtakingly accurate Zhao Continent in his hand. However, the price was equally astonishing, comparable to an ultimate-grade spirit artifact; not something an ordinary person could afford. Still, Lei Dong deemed it worthwhile, believing this map would save him countless detours. Simply blasting through Zhao Continent in a straight line, even for a Nascent Soul cultivator, could result in being annihilated if luck turned sour. Following the safest designated route, however, transformed that seven-hundred-thousand-li direct path into over two million li. Traveling without pause would still require several months.

As for the desert, known ominously as the Great Desolate Wasteland, records indicated it spanned an area the size of ten Zhao Continents.

As for mapping the Wasteland itself, that was entirely impossible. Dangers abounded within the Great Desolate Wasteland; hazardous zones outnumbered safe areas. No one possessed the ability to chart a complete map of the region. Furthermore, the peril of the Wasteland was not solely due to its boundless extent or natural disasters. Demonic beasts ran rampant throughout the desert, and the deeper one ventured, the more powerful the creatures became.

Even the demonic beasts alone would have been manageable, but within the vast, seemingly endless desert, numerous indigenous tribes also survived. In the eyes of the people of Zhao Continent, these tribes were primitive and savage. Food shortages frequently struck the desert tribes, and when supplies dwindled, many would unite to launch devastating raids against Zhao Continent. These attacks were not just for sustenance; they also involved plundering vast resources, such as spirit herbs, spirit stones, and refining materials, whether precious or mundane. This very difficulty in travel and frequent conflict was what made communication and exchange between the regions of Zhao and Kang so tenuous. Furthermore, this entire route included not only the insurmountable Great Desolate Wasteland but also the daunting task of crossing the Hengduan Mountain Range. Lei Dong knew all too well the countless terrifying ferocious beasts lurking deep within those mountains.

Lei Dong had also considered the sea route home. However, the Endless Sea remained utterly uncharted; no one knew its true width or what lay on the other side. A Nascent Soul cultivator, thoroughly prepared, once attempted a crossing, traveling millions of li only to find the ocean still stretched boundlessly before him. He encountered an ultimate-tier demon beast of the Spirit Transformation stage. Severely wounded, he managed a narrow escape, with only his Nascent Soul surviving to return.

For this reason, no one dared speak of traversing the Endless Sea again. The reputation of the Endless Sea was formally cemented from that incident. In short, for Lei Dong to reach home now, the only viable path was across the Great Desolate Wasteland.

Thus, under Lei Dong’s arrangement and persuasion, his teammates exchanged their spirit stones for ultimate-grade spirit artifacts, significantly boosting the overall combat capability of the small team. Simultaneously, over these five years, nearly every member had amassed a considerable fortune in spirit stones. Lei Dong had also taken the time to investigate his teammates' backgrounds. Qian Luo hailed from a mid-tier sect—a group that was neither rising nor declining, whose former leader, a Golden Core cultivator, served as the sect master. When Qian Luo sought support to break through to the Golden Core realm, the sect master informed him the sect was struggling and could not spare extra spirit stones, ultimately dismissing Qian Luo with one million spirit stones.

This left Qian Luo utterly disillusioned with a sect that seemed to function as the private property of its master. After learning Qian Luo had achieved the Golden Core stage, the sect master repeatedly sent messengers, hoping Qian Luo would return to stabilize the sect, perhaps taking an Elder position to intimidate rival forces. Qian Luo flatly refused. For one, he was now a Golden Core cultivator, qualified to establish his own sect. More importantly, his progress following Lei Dong had been far superior to remaining with that selfish sect master.

Shangguan Hong originated from a subsidiary family of a top-tier sect. That family was itself formidable, possessing several Golden Core cultivators and recognized as a prominent noble house. Shangguan Hong held a respectable position within the family, but his inherent love for adventure and disdain for the family’s rigid adherence to tradition led him to seek opportunities in the Endless Sea. Fortunately, he encountered Lei Dong, allowing him to advance to the late Foundation Establishment stage in just a few years, acquire three ultimate-grade spirit artifacts, and see his assets multiply tenfold. This made him restless; rather than return to the predictable life in his family, staying with Lei Dong seemed to promise a much grander future. Despite his usual haughty demeanor, projecting the image of an arrogant young master from a powerful family, he valued loyalty deeply. When Lei Dong merely hinted at needing help with an extremely dangerous task, Shangguan Hong agreed without hesitation and subsequently trained with even greater diligence.

Zhao Ge was a man of few words, skilled in several types of formations. At Lei Dong’s request, he diligently cultivated and acquired ultimate-grade spirit artifacts over the years, but the majority of his spirit stones were invested in formations. He not only spent a fortune acquiring several powerful offensive and defensive formations but also carried a large quantity of array tools, the value of which was undeniable. Regarding his origins, Lei Dong had ascertained that Zhao Ge was the disciple of a rogue cultivator—or more accurately, the disciple of someone who had betrayed a family renowned for its mastery of formations. Zhao Ge seemed largely unattached to his past. Under Lei Dong’s subtle prompting, he pledged his loyalty.

As for Qing Niangzi, Lei Dong had yet to uncover her background. Although the woman had repeatedly shown him favor in secret, Lei Dong’s focus lay elsewhere. Despite his inability to ascertain her history, under Lei Dong’s suggestion, Qing Niangzi promised she would repay the favor he had done her, regardless of the circumstances.

Beyond recruiting these teammates, Lei Dong harbored a massive plan—a strategy to elevate the entire team’s combat capacity. Relying solely on a few ultimate-grade spirit artifacts to traverse the world was undeniably asking for a group of burdens. Previously, Lei Dong’s own strength was insufficient, and he hadn't fully exploited his most fundamental treasure, the heaven-defying Soul Devourer Pagoda. But now, his power was steadily climbing; although his cultivation stood only at the tenth layer of Foundation Establishment, he could already contend with early Golden Core cultivators. Armed with this capital, Lei Dong decided to begin unleashing the true power of his ghost servants. After years of association, Lei Dong trusted these teammates implicitly and intended, given the chance, to secure two high-grade spirit ghosts for each of them. To this end, Lei Dong specifically ordered the hoarding of Foundation Establishment-level nascent souls, flesh, and blood.

Lei Dong himself was preparing for an upgrade: attempting to elevate the high-grade spirit ghosts he currently controlled into ultimate-grade spirit ghosts. While the Ghost Control Art was a secret technique of the Yinsha Sect, many sects across the realms understood the art of controlling ghosts. Nurturing ghost servants was not an exceedingly profound endeavor in itself. However, the Yinsha Sect's version of the Ghost Control Art, refined over countless years, possessed significant differences from common methods. For instance, it allowed cultivators practicing it to conserve spiritual sense far more efficiently. This meant that under identical spiritual sense reserves, practitioners of the Yinsha Sect’s art held a clear advantage in the rank and number of ghost servants they could command compared to users of ordinary ghost control techniques.

Furthermore, the Yinsha Sect's Ghost Control Art made it easier to trigger the innate magical abilities of spirit ghosts during blood sacrifice. The most significant divergence lay in the technique known as the Netherworld Grand Method (Youming Dafa). Lei Dong was uncertain if cultivators in Zhao Continent possessed a spell similar to the Netherworld Grand Method. But in his home province of Kangzhou, the Netherworld Grand Method was a unique art of the Yinsha Sect, without parallel elsewhere. As widely known, the Netherworld Grand Method provided a highly noticeable boost to the combat strength of ghosts.

Of course, this didn't mean the Yinsha Sect’s technique was definitively the world's best. After all, the heavens and earth contained countless eccentrics and extraordinary individuals. Regarding the Ghost Sect in Zhao Continent, Lei Dong had two objectives: first, to spar with their Foundation Establishment disciples to see how they manipulated ghosts, and second, to ascertain whether he could acquire a ghost control technique from the Ghost Sect that could be adapted for his teammates' use. Whether he would face pursuit afterward from the Ghost Sect was a matter Lei Dong cared not a whit about, as his ultimate plan was to lead the entire team out of Zhao Continent and directly to Kangzhou.

For more novels, visit storyread.net.