... Immediately following this, Lei Dong began the refinement process. Not long after, stillness settled within the Myriad Ghost Banner. Before much time passed, Li Yao's Nascent Soul would be refined into a Golden Core-level Fierce Ghost inside the banner. This was also a weakness of the Myriad Ghost Banner. Lei Dong had heard rumors that the Yinsha Sect possessed a secret art capable of refining a cultivator's Nascent Soul into a Nascent Soul-level Ferocious Spirit. The sect's plaque itself housed several such Nascent Soul-level Ferocious Spirits. However, that secret art had numerous drawbacks, requiring reliance on the sect's special grand array for the refining process. Moreover, once refined, it merged with the array and could not be relocated.

Besides this, the Myriad Ghost Banner also yielded a fan-shaped Spiritual Treasure and a massive storage chest. These were items Li Yao had refined and fused into his Divine Soul. The fan-shaped Spiritual Treasure was the weapon Li Yao used, capable of unleashing torrential blue flames with considerable might.

As for the pitch-black storage chest, whose material Lei Dong could not immediately discern, it gave him a slight sense of oddity.

Any cultivator would use their Divine Soul or Nascent Soul to nurture Dharma Treasures or Spiritual Treasures. But firstly, the treasure had to be worthy of such nurturing, as it was an endeavor that consumed time and effort, sometimes even delaying the tempering of the Divine Soul. Lei Dong had heard of storage chests before. Unlike the portability of storage bracelets, storage chests, due to their shape design and other factors, were inconvenient for personal carry. However, because their storage space was vast, they were often utilized for sect warehouses or large-scale cargo transport.

Naturally, due to their large size, storage chests typically required thousands, if not tens of thousands, of times more material than storage bracelets. Even the lowest-grade storage chest was quite valuable. Ordinary people would rarely purchase or refine such items.

Even Lei Dong had never contemplated spending a fortune to acquire a storage chest with such immense space.

Furthermore, Lei Dong had never heard of anyone expending Divine Soul or Nascent Soul power to soul-refine a storage chest, incorporating it as one of their soul-refined Dharma Treasures. After all, a storage chest’s sheer bulk made completely refining it bit by bit to merge with the Nascent Soul an undeniably laborious undertaking.

Yet, Li Yao had done precisely that.

Looking again, a rather impressive storage bracelet, clearly no common item, was fastened to the arm of his corpse. This caused a stir in Lei Dong's mind. He recalled that Li Yao had come to Kangzhou on a mission, and that mission seemed to have been completed. Could his task be connected to this storage chest?

Lei Dong pocketed Li Yao's storage bracelet and corpse, then unceremoniously handed everything except the body over to the Celestial Demon. In front of others, he maintained a respectful demeanor: "My apologies, Lord Celestial Demon, could you please take the trouble to erase Li Yao's Divine Soul imprint."

The Celestial Demon nearly fainted upon hearing this and glared fiercely at Lei Dong with clear annoyance. Erasing the imprint on that non-soul-refined storage bracelet, while requiring a few extra days, was manageable. As for the fan-shaped Spiritual Treasure, it was obviously Li Yao's cherished item, soul-refined with his Nascent Soul; erasing its imprint would likely take at least half a year of painstaking effort.

What truly made the Celestial Demon's eyes bulge was the storage chest. After being removed from Li Yao's Nascent Soul, the item had returned to its original size, measuring fully a zhang in width and depth. This caused the Celestial Demon to start sweating slightly. Who knew how long Li Yao had spent soul-refining this thing? Because the longer something was soul-refined, the more intimately it connected with the owner's will, presenting much greater resistance during imprint erasure.

Among cultivators of the same rank, erasing another’s lingering Divine Soul imprint usually required more than ten times the effort, let alone soul-refined objects. Unless, of course, a higher-level cultivator was called upon, such as an Integration Stage cultivator, who could erase these items relatively easily.

"This... I shall handle that chest; consider it atonement for my shortcomings," the Blood Demon said, noticing the Celestial Demon's darkening expression, and voluntarily took on the arduous task. He smiled dismissively, "After all, my lifelong goal is merely to advance to the mid-Nascent Soul stage, so I don't mind wasting time and energy."

"Old Blood, in your estimation, how long will it take to erase this Divine Soul imprint?"

"That... given the size of this storage chest and Li Yao's cultivation level, it will likely require a significant amount of grinding. Anywhere from five or six years at minimum, to perhaps over a decade," the Blood Demon replied after a moment's thought.

Heh, Lei Dong was beginning to understand why the Celestial Demon had glared at him. Whether it meant wasting the Blood Demon’s or the Celestial Demon’s time for over a decade was not something Lei Dong wished to see. But even seeking help from the Yaksha King now would not guarantee safety; what if the contents of that box attracted the covetous eyes of an Integration Stage cultivator? That would be courting death.

Lei Dong pondered briefly and thought of Thunder Dragon. Given his strength and temperament, he absolutely would not covet anything of Lei Dong's. An idea struck him, and he spoke to the Blood Demon: "Elder Blood, I happen to have a favor to ask. Some of my subordinates will be transporting a batch of Kangzhou specialties across the Great Desolation Desert toward Kangzhou. You are surely aware of the dangers of the Great Desolation Desert. Even with a safe route and the escort of Earth Giants, lacking a Nascent Soul cultivator's presence feels uneasy. Therefore, I would like to request your assistance in escorting them there and back, roughly four to five years in total."

"Agreed," the Blood Demon replied without hesitation, accepting immediately. This task seemed time-consuming, but in reality, the Blood Demon usually had little else to do, allowing him ample time to cultivate on the flying ship.

Seeing his ready agreement, Lei Dong felt satisfied with his tact. He was not stingy in return: "Elder Blood, I cannot let you work for nothing. I am willing to grant you one-tenth of the profit from this trade venture." Lei Dong deeply understood that to truly win the Blood Demon's loyalty, relying solely on the Ghost Gu threat was useless. It required binding their interests together for mutual benefit to ensure longevity.

The Blood Demon promptly shook his head: "No need for that. I have also heard that pills are cheaper in Zhaozhou. I can also carry some private goods, which is no bad thing, and I’m benefiting from your arrangement anyway. Moreover, the supreme-grade spirit ghost you gave me is something money can’t easily buy."

The Celestial Demon’s eyes lit up: "Lei Dong, I also have some private assets; perhaps you could carry some goods for me as well?"

Lei Dong was delighted by the Celestial Demon's request. Traveling there and back was a long journey, so carrying more cargo was beneficial. Of course, the quantity couldn't be excessive, or it would cause price inflation and dilute profits in both locations.

But then, Lei Dong began employing psychological tactics. He addressed the Blood Demon with renewed deference: "Elder Blood, I have one more matter to trouble you with. Please also take this fan-shaped Spiritual Treasure and the storage chest along. Upon arrival in Kangzhou, my subordinates will take you to find my Integration Stage brother, and he can help erase the imprints on these two items."

The Blood Demon paused, muttering inwardly whether Lei Dong truly had an Integration Stage brother, and wasn't merely trying to trick him? Instantly, the Blood Demon's attitude toward Lei Dong shifted subtly, showing considerably more reverence. He stated solemnly, "I will certainly see this matter through to completion." It was also an honor for the Blood Demon to meet a senior at the Integration Stage.

Ding Wan Yan, standing nearby, covered her mouth, too astonished to speak. Lei Dong arranging for three Nascent Soul cultivators to jointly eliminate Li Yao was already an unbelievable feat in her eyes. However, the famous Supreme Elder of the sect, the Blood Demon, seemed to be taking orders from her husband. Their conversation, throwing around terms like supreme-grade spirit ghosts or an Integration Stage brother, left Ding Wan Yan feeling slightly dizzy.

However, Ding Wan Yan had always been gentle and obedient. Like a content, happy wife, she leaned against Lei Dong’s back, watching him manage these various affairs.

After Lei Dong had given all instructions, he quietly led his group away without alerting anyone. That unfortunate Li Yao had thus completely vanished.

... Time rushed by, and half a year flashed past. During this interval, two incidents of moderate significance occurred within the Yinsha Sect. The first was the tragic death of the Old Devil of Withered Bones from Withered Bone Peak during a mission, leaving no remains. The entire Yinsha Sect was greatly enraged, ultimately placing the blame on the Celestial Sound Palace. Consequently, relations between the two sects deteriorated once more, leading to continuous skirmishes everywhere.

The second was the formal return of Lei Dong, the direct disciple of the Myriad Ghost Ancestor. Having been missing for over a decade, he had now reached the late Foundation Establishment stage. The minor sensation his return caused was due to his disappearance having triggered numerous events, serving as a flashpoint for the escalating war with the Celestial Sound Palace. Of course, regarding how he disappeared and how he returned, Lei Dong had fabricated an explanation.

He claimed to have been trapped on a deserted island for over ten years and only recently managed to escape. Otherwise, his actual experiences would surely invite questioning from the Supreme Elders of various sects, especially concerning Kangzhou and the precise routes to and from it—too many troublesome details. Furthermore, Lei Dong needed to maintain these secrets to secure the maximum benefits for himself.

Thus, apart from a small circle of insiders, no one knew the earth-shattering changes Lei Dong had undergone. He still appeared only as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, showing no extraordinary airs.

In these past six months, besides his routine cultivation, Lei Dong dedicated a significant amount of time to accompanying his parents, wife, and master. Amidst these mundane and happy trifles, one incident almost made Lei Dong faint. The cause was naturally Shangguan Hong, who used Ghost Gu to coax and deceive a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators, secretly assigning them the tasks of capturing Spirit Ghosts and collecting Inferior Ghosts. The publicly stated reason was the need for a large quantity of Inferior Ghosts to refine Ghost Gu.

In reality, Lei Dong used them to refine Soul Beads and catalyze Spirit Ghosts. Since he didn't have to hunt the Spirit Ghosts himself, he didn't hesitate in their use, dreaming of catalyzing a Celestial Spirit Ghost. However, after exhausting countless materials, Lei Dong reached a conclusion: the Celestial Spirit Ghost could not be catalyzed into existence.

Just as he felt slightly discouraged, Ding Wan Yan inadvertently tossed one to him...