At nearly the same instant, far, far across the vast expanse separating them from Kang Prefecture, atop a famous, cloud-shrouded mountain in the Great Qian Continent, stood countless ethereal and magnificent classical structures. Within one of the colossal halls, a young man, handsome and possessing the bearing of a wandering martial artist, stood with a pale, slightly distracted expression, clasping his hands in salute. "Reporting to Master, Senior Brother Li Yao's vital lamp has suddenly extinguished. This disciple has confirmed that Senior Brother Li was traveling on a mission to the distant Kang Prefecture. Calculating the distance between the two lands, Senior Brother Li Yao’s Nascent Soul must have been destroyed sometime between six months and a year ago."

The vital lamp was a specialized, wondrous light ignited by the Grand Supreme Sect using supreme arcane arts for every significant disciple. No matter where that disciple might be, the sect would know the moment they perished. The underlying principle was somewhat akin to the resonance generated by the fusion of Lei Dong’s and Qi Feifei’s divine souls. However, if the distance was too great, there would naturally be a time lag before the vital lamp extinguished.

The middle-aged cultivator, dressed in pristine Daoist robes, with a jade-like face and a black beard, sat motionless in the main hall, appearing like an immortal. He slowly opened his eyes; a sharp glint flashed and vanished, replaced by emptiness and detachment. His voice sounded ethereal and traceless: "Investigate. Whoever killed Li Yao, annihilate his entire sect." After speaking, his eyes slowly closed again, and his entire being became like a statue, utterly devoid of human warmth.

The handsome young man’s expression sharpened. He immediately bowed respectfully. "Your disciple obeys the Master's command and takes his leave." Head bowed, he slowly retreated from the giant hall, then summoned a beam of righteous, pure white escape light and shot toward the heavens.

As if having received an unspoken command, seven other beams of light, bearing the same severe aura, erupted from various mountain ranges, closely following behind. The eight beams converged, streaking across the sky like a meteoric cluster. The leading light possessed an aura that pierced the clouds, overwhelmingly powerful.

From a distance, a passing group of demonic cultivators saw this and their expressions shifted, exchanging wary glances. "It's the Nine Sons of the Azure Heaven from the Grand Supreme Sect! Clear the way!" They transformed into streaks of black light and green flames, scattering away in disarray.

As the Nine Sons of the Azure Heaven swept past, they startled countless rogue cultivators from the demonic and heretical sects. Some who could not evade them were even slain under the Nine Sons' hands. Demonic cultivators everywhere speculated frantically: What could have happened to provoke the mobilization of eight of the Nine Sons, and with such a terrifyingly aggressive and violent demeanor? In that area, every demonic practitioner suddenly felt unsafe, scrambling to hide themselves away and keep silent.

Turning back to Lei Dong’s situation, although the materials Wang Lei proposed were indeed exceedingly precious, Lei Dong knew that forging a supreme-grade magic treasure perfectly suited to his use was worth any price. A thirty percent success rate—that wasn't a small chance, especially for a supreme-grade artifact.

However, Lei Dong was unaware that for an ordinary artifact-refining grandmaster, the success rate for forging a supreme-grade treasure rarely exceeded ten percent. Furthermore, the materials required for a supreme-grade artifact would never normally be this costly; having materials valued at thirty Extreme Spirits was already considered extravagant. Given Wang Lei’s obsessive devotion to the Dao of Artifact Refining, and possessing a large vein of Chaos Refined Iron ore, why would he settle for forging just a supreme-grade treasure?

But if Wang Lei had stated that the success rate for forging a Primordial Spiritual Treasure could also reach thirty percent, the news, once released, would prompt countless powerful sects to try and recruit him by any means necessary.

Lei Dong pondered carefully and decided the matter was feasible. Due to their scarcity, supreme-grade magic treasures were usually impossible to value purely in terms of spirit stones. Yet, if someone were truly willing to trade one, it would be unthinkable to acquire it for less than five or six hundred Extreme Spirits. Even if someone were willing to invest immense effort and time to forge a supreme-grade artifact for you, that cost was far beyond the reach of a Golden Core cultivator, and even impossible for the vast majority of Nascent Soul cultivators.

Therefore, forging supreme-grade artifacts was typically an endeavor undertaken by the power of an entire sect—and not a weak one at that—to have any hope of success.

Lei Dong’s final reason for proceeding was that a portion of the high-grade materials he already possessed fit Wang Lei’s requirements. Excluding the three particularly hard-to-acquire special materials, the remaining components would cost only about ten Extreme Spirits to purchase. With some effort, gathering two more sets of materials would make it manageable.

The current obstacle lay with those three rare, difficult materials: Nascent Soul-grade Silkworm Silk, Netherworld Ghost Flame, and the beast soul of a Nascent Soul-grade Nether Region Demonic Dragon. Lei Dong had never even heard of the Netherworld Ghost Flame or the Nether Region Demonic Dragon. However, Wang Lei had provided specific details. The Netherworld Ghost Flame was a legendary verdant flame capable of refining all spectral entities, somewhat similar to Underworld Fire, but infinitely superior, possessing a degree of sentience—making it, in a way, a special life form sustained by refining ghosts. This flame typically appeared only in nether regions, but the nether regions of the mortal world were unlikely to nurture a flame of this caliber. Thus, one must venture into the true Nether Ghost Domain to acquire it. The deeper one went into the Nether Ghost Domain, the higher the probability of encountering the Netherworld Ghost Flame. Yet, this "easier" encounter was relative. In short, it was an exceedingly rare and powerful flame.

Obtaining the Netherworld Ghost Flame, even if not used for forging the artifact, would multiply the power of any Yin Sha Sect netherfire-type spell by several times. This material was considered top-tier and exceptionally rare even within the Nether Ghost Domain. Its rarity was precisely why Lei Dong remained ignorant of it.

The Nether Region Demonic Dragon was a type of dragon. Its name suggested that this lineage also dwelled within the Nether Ghost Domain. Dragons, too, were one of the most formidable races of the Ancient Era, when they were known as Divine Dragons. This hinted at their immense power back then. However, their fate was as tragic as that of the Ancient Giants, perhaps even more so. As the vanquished party, the Divine Dragon race was mercilessly hunted by other races because every part of their being was considered a treasure.

Consequently, the Divine Dragon race no longer existed. The various dragon lineages that remained were merely scattered hybrid remnants, clinging to life in secluded pockets across the land. The Nether Region Demonic Dragon was merely one descendant line of the Ancient Divine Dragons, living in the Nether Ghost Domain. Unlike the gregarious nature of the Giants, dragons typically lived solitarily and were extremely few in number. Their one advantage over the Giants was their exceptionally high probability of advancing to the Nascent Soul stage.

All three items originated from the Nether Ghost Domain, or the Nether Region. This was not coincidence; rather, the Ten Thousand Ghost Banner Lei Dong intended to forge was inherently a ghost-related artifact. It was perfectly normal for its materials to stem from the Nether Ghost Domain. In other words, if Lei Dong wished to forge this supreme-grade artifact, a trip into the Nether Ghost Domain was unavoidable.

In fact, Lei Dong had long heard of the Nether Ghost Domain and longed to explore it. For a cultivator whose primary practice was the Netherworld Great Law, finding a place rich in concentrated Netherworld Ghost Qi to temper his cultivation could elevate the power of his technique significantly.

However, the problem before him was that whether it was the Nascent Soul-grade Profound Nether Ice Silkworm, the Netherworld Ghost Flame, or the Nether Region Demonic Dragon—apart from perhaps stumbling upon the Ghost Flame by luck—none of the other two could be obtained solely by Lei Dong on his own. Lei Dong assessed his strength: he could command two high-stage Golden Core Ghost Generals, six early-stage Golden Core Fierce Ghosts, plus one high-stage Golden Core Soul-Devouring Shadow Tiger.

This level of strength was already a rare anomaly among Golden Core cultivators. Yet, even facing a single Nascent Soul cultivator, he would still struggle to fight and his only viable option would be to flee. He couldn't win, but he could escape, especially since he possessed the heaven-defying Asura Wings.

Should he involve the Heavenly Demon? This was something Lei Dong wished to avoid at his current stage. The Heavenly Demon was already nearing the peak of early Nascent Soul; the best course now was diligent secluded cultivation to break through to mid-Nascent Soul swiftly. Delaying the Heavenly Demon's progress too much just to increase his own strength was something Lei Dong was reluctant to see. Moreover, once the Heavenly Demon reached mid-Nascent Soul, aided by the two early-stage Ghost Kings, his strength would more than double compared to now.

If Wan Yan could break through to mid-Golden Core, with her exceptional divine soul power, she could also manage two high-stage Golden Core Ghost Generals, along with several Fierce Ghosts and the high-stage Shadow Tiger from the Ten Thousand Ghost Banner. With the couple fighting in tandem, they might barely contend with an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator. However, defeating a Nascent Soul expert would be incredibly difficult; it would barely amount to self-preservation. The reason Wan Yan’s soul power surpassed that of ordinary cultivators was that she too had consumed Heart-Washing Fruit and regularly drunk Bodhi Clear-Heart Tea. Although her spiritual sense was nowhere near as abnormal as Lei Dong’s, it vastly exceeded that of a typical Golden Core cultivator.

As for taking a large contingent of Earth Giants into the Nether Ghost Domain, Lei Dong dismissed the idea instantly; that would be pure suicide.

Such a large target profile, once attracting the notice of Ghost Kings within the Nether Ghost Domain, would lead to unimaginable consequences. The Ghost Kings in the Nether Region were not merely combatants with Nascent Soul-level strength; they commanded vast territories and legions of Ghost Generals and Guards.

"Perhaps we should invite Dongfang to explore the Nether Region with us," Ding Wan Yan suggested softly after hearing Lei Dong's concerns, explaining: "Lord Heavenly Demon has been very supportive of our Myriad Ghost Cave, and Dongfang Fu and I share a sisterly bond, very close. Since Husband possesses the heaven-defying Soul Devouring Pagoda, why not put its efficacy to use again, benefit Dongfang, and simultaneously increase our own strength? Besides, with a little more effort, Dongfang’s cultivation can also break through to mid-Golden Core."

"Dongfang Fu?" Lei Dong had almost forgotten this woman who had once shared hardship with him. He had to admit that, in every aspect, Dongfang Fu was an outstanding individual.