Within that long-unvisited Hall of Ten Thousand Ghosts, the gloom was pervasive, as always, the chilling breath of the spectral realm clinging to the body. (Mobile access) The Myriad Ghost Ancestor seemed freshly emerged from seclusion, his entire essence, spirit, and vigor overflowing. Yet, the already unnerving rigidity of his face was now utterly shrouded in menace. After hearing the Foundation Establishment disciples, led by Ting Nong, report on their movements and assignments, his brow involuntarily furrowed, a trace of irritation flickering in his gaze. Immediately, the disciples fell silent as the grave. It wasn't that the Myriad Ghost Grotto had recently encountered any serious trouble; on the contrary, over the last two or three decades, the Grotto had flourished with increasing vigor. Disciples successfully achieving Foundation Establishment followed one after another, and the small sects and families subjugated under the Myriad Ghost Grotto’s banner multiplied. By all indications of development, the Myriad Ghost Grotto was enjoying a period of great prosperity, thriving beautifully.

Nor was the issue rooted in the Myriad Ghost Ancestor’s cultivation progress. In fact, the Ancestor had enjoyed remarkable luck in recent decades, stumbling upon several massive windfalls one after another. With such a deep accumulation of resources, he could finally indulge in the top-tier elixirs he previously couldn't afford, or acquire the superior magical treasures he dared not even dream of before. Based solely on this, the Myriad Ghost Ancestor’s strength across all facets saw substantial enhancement.

Subsequently, during several skirmishes with adversaries and one exploration of a secret cavern, the Myriad Ghost Ancestor, leveraging his clearly superior combat power, repeatedly reaped immense rewards. This not only padded the purses of the Myriad Ghost Grotto disciples but also propelled the Ancestor himself onto a path of rapid advancement. Sometimes, reality simply dictates that the poor grow poorer, and the rich grow richer. When capital is abundant, one invariably makes more profit than those without any means. Even in a robbery, if you hesitate to discard talismans, possess only trash-tier artifacts, and dare not consume elixirs when wounded, how can you possibly succeed against your victim? It could be said that the Myriad Ghost Ancestor and the Myriad Ghost Grotto, whether viewed individually or as a collective force, had entered a virtuous cycle: the stronger they became, the more resources gravitated toward them; the more resources they amassed, the stronger they grew. This was the crucial reason why it took the Myriad Ghost Ancestor sixty or seventy years to ascend from the early Golden Core stage to the middle stage, whereas his current progression to the late Golden Core stage required a mere forty or fifty years—a direct result of massive resource allocation centered on himself.

This explosive pace of cultivation also transformed the Myriad Ghost Ancestor’s prospects from having only a faint hope of reaching the Nascent Soul stage to now being genuinely expected to ascend. Achieving the late Golden Core stage around the age of two hundred, while not comparable to prodigies like Tian Mo with peerless innate talent, still marked him as outstanding among his contemporaries. Consequently, he received increasing favor from the sect, accompanied by various attempts at securing his loyalty.

Everything pointed to the Myriad Ghost Ancestor being in high spirits. Yet, for over a decade, a profound, vexing knot had tightened in his chest: his most valued and beloved disciple, Lei Dong, remained completely unheard from. Even after dispatching countless people to investigate and personally searching several times, there was not the slightest trace. This had caused his temperament to become somewhat volatile and erratic in recent years, swinging between rage and temperamental fits. Others assumed that Lei Dong was merely one of the Myriad Ghost Ancestor’s exceptionally talented direct disciples, nothing more. But the Ancestor knew perfectly well how highly he thought of Lei Dong; he was even preparing to entrust the entirety of the Myriad Ghost Grotto to him one day. The Myriad Ghost Ancestor firmly believed that under Lei Dong’s stewardship, the Grotto would undoubtedly flourish immensely. Decades of master-disciple bond, he felt, were no less profound than the ties of blood kinship.

“All of you, retire now. I require some solitude,” the Myriad Ghost Ancestor suppressed the surge of fury, waving his hand to dismiss everyone, his rigid features fluctuating with shadow and light. “Yes, Master,” the disciples bowed deeply, retreating in utmost trepidation.

After a moment, a spectral silhouette materialized near the Myriad Ghost Ancestor’s left side, its voice ethereal and aged: “Master, please be at ease. Regarding the various means possessed by that brat Lei Dong, others may be ignorant, but surely you are not? Even if he were cast into the Underworld or the Asura Realm, he would undoubtedly survive unscathed.” These words did manage to improve the grim cast of the Myriad Ghost Ancestor’s face slightly. Indeed, his wayward disciple was a remarkably capable individual. On the surface, he appeared honest, serious, composed, and polite, but underneath he was cunning to the extreme. Especially concerning matters touching upon his own life, he could erupt with fierce power. In this regard, the Myriad Ghost Ancestor almost failed to comprehend where such profound insecurity in a young man originated. However, reflecting further, this world was indeed fraught with peril and crises at every turn. The slightest lapse in caution could lead to utter annihilation. The thought brought a weary sigh from the Ancestor as he shook his head: “Forget it, forget it. Fortune favors the benevolent.”

Fiddling with an exquisite jade vial, he mused inwardly, “Lei Dong, oh Lei Dong, you must return, otherwise won’t the Ascension Pill I paid a fortune for become an utter waste?”

At this time, Lei Dong’s strength had nearly stabilized at the early Golden Core stage. Due to meticulous preparation and excellent aptitude, both Qing Niangzi and Shangguan had successfully advanced to the Golden Core realm. As for Qi Feifei, although her aptitude was inferior to that of Tantai or Wan Yan, she was still considered among the elite of her generation, and with the augmentation of the Pure Maiden Great Technique, she easily broke through to the Golden Core stage. To have four individuals advance to the Golden Core realm in such a short span was certainly cause for great celebration and exceedingly rare. Especially Shangguan Hong and Qing Niangzi, the old comrades who had followed Lei Dong through life-and-death battles for so long, had carried immense guilt in previous years. Because their cultivation was too low during successive life-or-death struggles, they could not contribute substantially. This guilt had spurred them to cultivate with desperate diligence. Now that they had achieved the Golden Core, once again becoming Lei Dong’s indispensable right and left hands, they were immensely excited.

Lei Dong was naturally delighted by their success. While the Earth Giants were formidable, they could ultimately only be employed as soldiers. To maximize the power of the Earth Giants, one undoubtedly needed a loyal and reliable core group to command and operate them. In the territory of Kangzhou, matters were widely intertwined; if Lei Dong involved himself directly, he would constantly face numerous constraints. He was precisely lacking personnel who could hold the line, and their successful advancement to the Golden Core stage was a timely boon for him.

Furthermore, Lei Dong’s Ghost Gu project—hmph—also required careful, clandestine planning, making trustworthy personnel critically important.

As for Qi Feifei, in accordance with Lei Dong’s earlier promise, he had formally dissolved the Soul Fusion linking them. This action brought Qi Feifei immense relief in her heart, yet simultaneously instilled a profound sense of loss. Previously, due to the soul bond, even across great distances, she could vaguely sense Lei Dong’s presence. She had grown accustomed to that near-telepathic connection; its sudden absence felt like a piece of her heart had been gouged out.

But shortly thereafter, Lei Dong sincerely proposed that Qi Feifei work for him, laying out various excellent terms. This suggestion naturally sparked great interest in the emotionally volatile Qi Feifei. What she feared most was that Lei Dong, worried about their affair being exposed to Ding Wanyan, would discard her entirely and sever ties completely. Now, being able to work under Lei Dong, even without formal status, gave Qi Feifei a small, warm feeling in her heart.

Lei Dong had naturally considered this matter thoroughly. Qi Feifei, in fulfilling her promise, had willingly betrayed her sect to help him break through to the Golden Core. Having reached this point, it was impossible for Lei Dong to simply cast her aside and absolve himself of responsibility. Regarding Qi Feifei’s situation, needless to say, Lei Dong had quietly taken the burden upon himself; once the time was right, he would surely settle this account. Moreover, Lei Dong and Qi Feifei shared a uniquely close relationship. Knowing that Qi Feifei was a reasonably reliable person and lacking capable subordinates, bringing her close held many advantages. Once properly armed, Qi Feifei would also become a formidable combatant.

As his own strength continued to grow, Lei Dong gradually began to exude an extraordinary air of confidence. First among these was his peerless forbidden treasure, the Soul Devouring Pagoda—one of the greatest secrets of Lei Dong’s entire life. Revealing it was, of course, out of the question to anyone. However, refining the Spirit Ghosts, even top-grade ones, for his sole use was truly a waste of this heaven-defying artifact’s potential. Take his old comrade Qian Luo, for instance: even equipped with decent magical treasures, he was merely a slightly more powerful early Golden Core cultivator. But once one could skillfully command two Upper-Grade Ghost Generals, their combat power would increase by at least a factor of two. It seemed that upon his return this time, he needed to meticulously plan how to use the Soul Devouring Pagoda to elevate the overall combat strength of his faction. One person commanding two Upper-Grade Spirit Ghosts—what an unimaginable terror that would be!

As for Tian Mo, Lei Dong had also considered her situation long ago. Upper-Grade Spirit Ghosts were unworthy of her status; a mere two Ghost Generals would be superfluous to her. But if they were two Top-Grade Spirit Ghosts, the situation would be vastly different. Tian Mo was already nearing the mid-Nascent Soul level. If she were to cultivate the Ghost Control Art, though perhaps not as effortlessly as the Myriad Ghost Ancestor or Lei Dong, controlling two early-stage Ghost Kings should not pose too much difficulty. If Tian Mo possessed two early-stage Ghost Kings, facing a formation like the Demon Subduing Venerable accompanied by the Eighteen Arhats would not only pose no mortal danger, but turning the tables and slaughtering them would be easily achievable. In fact, a single early-stage Ghost King evolved from a Top-Grade Spirit Ghost could nearly fight an average Nascent Soul cultivator of the same rank to a draw. The reason was simple: Top-Grade Spirit Ghosts were entirely different from Upper-Grade ones. They possessed considerable intelligence and far more outstanding and fierce combat talent; unless they encountered a Nascent Soul cultivator at the very peak of the early stage, they stood a good chance in battle.

“What? These are two Top-Grade Spirit Ghosts?” When Lei Dong stealthily called Tian Mo into his room, filling her heart with a slight flutter of anticipation, she was completely unprepared for him to casually drop this bombshell. Even with her bearing, she was struck dumb, staggering slightly. Top-Grade Spirit Ghosts—these were Top-Grade Spirit Ghosts! The total count of named Top-Grade Spirit Ghosts in all of Kangzhou could be counted on one hand, perhaps two. And this fellow was producing two at once…