Chapter 319: The Saintess Pledges Allegiance ... Although he intended to incorporate this nascent soul into the Myriad Ghost Banner, Lei Dong refrained from acting immediately. Instead, he cast out a Soul Sealing Orb and contained the Shadow Elder within it. It must be remembered that this was a nascent soul. Refining such a spirit would be quite taxing even with Lei Dong's Myriad Ghost Banner. Following the Elder's demise, Lei Dong collected his storage bracelet and the two spiritual treasures refined within the nascent soul—both were extraordinary items.

To avoid further hassle, the divine soul imprints on the storage bracelet and the spiritual treasures naturally required Lei Long’s intervention to erase. Being a full major realm higher, erasing those stubborn imprints was easily accomplished. Putting aside the two remarkable spiritual treasures, which Lei Dong could not yet refine or control, he temporarily stored them for later use. The wealth within the magic-treasure-grade storage bracelet astonished Lei Dong; besides large quantities of precious refining and alchemy materials, there were no fewer than thirty top-grade spirit stones, and several thousand high-grade spirit stones.

He was rich; he had struck it rich in a grand way. Even setting aside the two priceless spiritual treasures, just the contents of the storage bracelet, calculated roughly in terms of top-grade spirit stones, amounted to over a hundred stones. This brought Lei Dong immense satisfaction. Having been in Zhaozhou for so long, this was at best the extent of his net worth. Now, just by having Lei Long crush a nascent soul cultivator, he had gained this much. Of course, the few peak-grade ghost spirits he possessed were not included; taking those items out for sale would cause too much of a stir.

Indeed, nascent soul cultivators are incredibly wealthy, Lei Dong mused internally.

Of course, if these words were heard by other Foundation Establishment cultivators, or even Core Formation cultivators, they would instantly faint. Nascent Soul cultivators possess assets that invite envy. However, Lei Dong, a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator possessing such wealth, was even more monstrous, wasn't he?

Setting aside Lei Dong’s secret glee, the Saintess and Tantai Bingyun, who had been lurking behind, both wore rather grim expressions. The Saintess was slightly better off; her watery eyes kept lingering on Lei Dong, pondering something unknown. But in Tantai Bingyun’s eyes, a rare flicker of sheer terror showed.

Lei Dong, right in front of them, had set a trap and ordered Lei Long to eliminate a nascent soul cultivator—this was an undisguised display of power. Given Tantai Bingyun’s intelligence and her understanding of Lei Dong, she was certain the coming situation would be extremely disadvantageous to her.

“Have you seen enough, both of you?” After securing his spoils, Lei Dong summoned the Critical Hit Ghost General and commanded it to devour the Shadow Elder’s corpse. The body of a nascent soul cultivator was a great tonic for the Ghost General. In a short while, the Ghost General contentedly returned to the Soul Nurturing Pagoda, sinking into slumber. When it next awoke, it should have grown significantly stronger. Perhaps consuming the bodies of two nascent soul cultivators would allow it to break through to the intermediate level of Ghost General. In the past, Lei Dong might have struggled to control an intermediate Ghost General. Fortunately, having consumed a Soul Fruit, Lei Dong’s spiritual sense strength had improved tremendously, surpassing even early Core Formation cultivators, so he didn't fear being unable to suppress an intermediate Ghost General.

Hearing Lei Dong’s calm voice, yet one laced with cold killing intent, the Saintess and Tantai Bingyun soared over in a few graceful steps, their immortal postures flowing as they arrived before Lei Dong.

The Saintess performed a full curtsy and spoke first, her voice soft, clear, and melodious: “May I ask, Young Master Lei, if you have already obtained the inheritance of the Divine Temple?” During the months Lei Dong spent in the temple, the two women had tried every means to enter or find a way to leave, yet all attempts failed. Lei Long blocked entry into the temple, and they could find no exit to leave the area.

“Indeed. This Lei has secured the acknowledgment of the Divine Temple,” Lei Dong replied with placid detachment. “However, due to my shallow cultivation, I can only perform the initial refining of the temple.”

The two women paused, surprised by Lei Dong’s honesty in revealing even the preliminary refining stage. What did this signify? It meant he was one hundred percent certain they couldn't reveal this secret. He was even more confident that relying on the two of them offered no chance for them to turn the tables.

“As expected,” the Saintess, as the inheritor of the Guardian Clan, was less unfamiliar with the Divine Temple than others. Though her heart trembled upon hearing this, she spoke with even more agitated excitement: “Then, may I ask, Young Master, how did you obtain the inheritance?” According to her understanding, only the lineage of the Holy Master could obtain the inheritance so easily in this world. Her purpose in entering this place was not entirely to control the temple; the Saintesses, generation after generation, were born to serve the Holy Master. In the Holy Master’s absence, they possessed the authority to command some functions of this spatial sacred artifact. Truly, the Holy Master could not remain in this temple permanently. Most of the time, the Saintess managed the affairs of the Guardian Clan on the Master’s behalf.

The Saintess entered this place merely to claim the portion of authority rightfully belonging to her. But without the Holy Master, even that partial authority would be enough for the Saintess to greatly advance the Guardian Clan.

Seeing the Saintess’s excitement, Lei Dong understood. First, from his prior observations, and second, during the process of inheriting the temple, Lei Dong had learned the purpose of the Saintess’s existence. Theoretically, this woman should be his servant. However, Lei Dong could not be certain whether the Guardian Clan remained as fiercely loyal to the Holy Master after so many years.

“What I relied on is this.” With a slight movement of his divine sense, the flawless, mesmerizing Emperor Demon Seed on his forehead slowly manifested. It held an evil charm, as if a third eye had opened.

“This is…” Tantai Bingyun’s pupils constricted sharply. She had seen something identical in the Heart Demon Hall. The same object, the same evil allure. And Lei Dong, once this third ‘crystal eye’ emerged, became significantly more formidable.

“The Emperor Demon Seed!” The Saintess couldn't help but cover her mouth and exclaim. Her bright, shining eyes gazed at Lei Dong’s forehead in disbelief, stammering repeatedly: “Young Master Lei, this—this is the Emperor Demon Seed? Could it be, could you possibly be the true successor of the Demon Emperor?”

Lei Dong had no desire to conceal anything now. He stared coldly at the Saintess: “Correct. This Lei is the inheritor of the Emperor Demon Seed. Saintess, it has been fifty thousand years. Have you forgotten your identity? Or has your Guardian Clan betrayed the Holy Master?” Simultaneously, amplified by the Emperor Demon Seed, Lei Dong’s divine sense swept toward the Saintess like an overwhelming tide.

The Saintess’s current cultivation was peak Foundation Establishment. Although her talent suggested she could break through to Core Formation at any moment, Foundation Establishment was still Foundation Establishment. Having never deliberately pursued great strength in spiritual sense, hers was only slightly stronger than cultivators of the same rank. Lei Dong, through constant tempering, various fortuitous encounters, and the boost from the Emperor Demon Seed, now approached the level of an ordinary mid-stage Core Formation cultivator.

Under this oppressive pressure, the Saintess felt an overwhelming sense of impending doom, her heart seized by inexplicable panic. She hastily ceased using special techniques to float and instead descended to the ground, falling to her knees before Lei Dong with a panicked yet devout expression: “The current Saintess of the Guardian Clan, Lan Qisi, pays respects to the Holy Master. For tens of thousands of years, every generation of Saintesses has spent their entire lives awaiting the Holy Master’s arrival. This servant has never dared to forget, since receiving the Saintess’s inheritance. I absolutely harbour no thought of betraying the Holy Master.”

Lei Dong’s expression softened slightly. Although the information he obtained indicated a very low probability of the Saintess’s betrayal—not only due to the inheritance’s conditioning but more importantly, the operating principle of the Saintess’s cultivation technique—a single thought from the Holy Master, and the Saintess, being a servant, no matter how many times stronger, would simply vanish into smoke. Furthermore, the sacred artifact governing the Guardian Saintess’s succession used various methods during the transfer to confirm the Saintess’s absolute loyalty; otherwise, the inheritance could never be passed on.

“Lan Qisi, a reasonably good name. Keep your respect in your heart from now on; if we meet outside, address me as Young Master Lei.” Lei Dong’s voice became much gentler as he slightly raised a hand: “Rise and speak.”

“Yes, Young Master.” Now that her identity was confirmed, Lan Qisi was beside herself with excitement. Through the continuous instillation and conditioning from the Guardian Saintess inheritance sacred artifact, Lan Qisi was indeed fiercely loyal to the Holy Master, willing to sacrifice her life without the slightest hesitation. What thrilled her even more was that the Holy Master’s appearance meant the entire Guardian Clan finally had a focal point. For tens of thousands of years, lacking a central figure, the Guardian Clan had suffered bullying and declined steadily. This was one of the reasons Lan Qisi was determined to find the Divine Temple.

“Qisi, I have your first task.” Lei Dong stood with his hands behind his back, glancing faintly at Tantai Bingyun, a very obvious killing intent flashing in his eyes: “Ensure no outsider learns my secret.”

Lan Qisi blinked slightly, having seen the killing intent in Lei Dong’s eyes. Although she felt a deep affinity, even a sense of mutual understanding, with Tantai Bingyun, as a Saintess born solely for the Holy Master, she absolutely could not disobey the Holy Master’s command—especially not the first command after pledging allegiance. Turning to Tantai Bingyun, she sighed softly: “Bingyun, Qisi has wronged you.” Saying so, without hesitation, she formed a hand seal, and the fierce-looking juvenile Thunder Beast roared forth, spitting lightning as it charged toward Tantai Bingyun.

Tantai Bingyun’s expression changed drastically, but she was no easy opponent either. Spreading the wings on her back, she retreated rapidly, simultaneously summoning a brilliant, multicolored Red Luan to intercept the Thunder Beast while yelling angrily at Lei Dong: “Lei Dong, we are still allies! Do you intend to tear up the alliance?”

Lei Dong smiled coldly: “Alliance? Indeed, we are allies. But the grievances between Lan Qisi and you have nothing to do with me.” ...