It truly astonished Lei Dong that Qing Niangzi and the others had achieved this much in just a few short years. While his Ghost Pendants undoubtedly played a decisive role, even so, Qing Niangzi's efficiency was borderline excessive.

"Can every single person guarantee their loyalty?" Lei Dong couldn't help but ask, laced with a slight concern. A force swelling too quickly inevitably meant a mix of good and bad. Especially with something like the Ghost Pendants; should they ever be exposed to the world, Lei Dong would instantly become the public enemy of all cultivators, the primary target.

When this issue was raised, Qing Niangzi also became exceptionally serious. "Reporting to the Military Commander, we have already scrutinized the complete background of every single person involved. They all value their lives immensely. If we weren't absolutely certain of control, we wouldn't have moved. Those with hard bones have already been eliminated."

Controlling people through Ghost Pendants was ultimately not the supreme way; given enough time, deviations were hard to prevent. More so, since the majority of this group were soft-boned individuals who feared death above all else; they were ultimately not entirely dependable. However, in establishing his force, Lei Dong had no other viable option. Even if these people weren't completely trustworthy, their cultivation levels made them quite useful nonetheless.

"Very good. You've worked hard these days, Sister Qing. As for the Hidden Dragon Army, I will personally handle matters after resolving the issue with the Heavenly Demon Lord. For this period, I still need to trouble you." Compared to the vast numbers of Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators,

Lei Dong placed greater emphasis on his yet-to-be-formed Hidden Dragon Army, which would be his truly trustworthy core contingent in the future.

The former Lei Dong had, at times, considered living a steady, quiet life as a solitary cultivator.

However, this world was extremely treacherous. Alone, even with heaven-defying cultivation, one would eventually be overwhelmed by numbers. Establishing his own contingent was entirely necessary. Lei Dong had no desire to cross over through rebirth only to meet a tragic end where both body and spirit were destroyed. Moreover, he was not alone now; he still had Wanyan, the Heavenly Demon, and other family members to protect.

Receiving Lei Dong's sincere praise, Qing Niangzi felt a surge of delight. To be honest, she had indeed labored extremely hard over the past few years. Yet, there was always a driving force within her heart, supporting her to do her absolute best. This was not only for Lei Dong's grand undertaking but also for herself.

Seeing Qing Niangzi receive such warm attention from Lei Dong, Qi Feifei became thoughtful and whispered, "Lei Dong, my cultivation is not that low anymore. Perhaps I should join the Hidden Dragon Army as well, to help share some of the burden." Qi Feifei also harbored some private thoughts; the only reason she was accepted by Lei Dong was her willingness to betray her sect unconditionally, solely to fulfill her promise to him. But she was keenly aware that her standing was far inferior to Ding Wanyan's.

Now that such a golden opportunity was presented before her, how could she possibly let it slip? Being able to do things for Lei Dong, to the point where he couldn't do without her, would naturally elevate her own status.

Lei Dong frowned slightly. Currently, Qing Niangzi was managing the major aspects of the Hidden Dragon Army. If he were to place Qi Feifei in there too, would Qing Niangzi feel resentful?

Qing Niangzi, deserving of her reputation as a mature woman well-versed in worldly affairs, quickly grasped Lei Dong's thoughts from Qi Feifei's request and Lei Dong's expression, deciphering roughly seven or eight parts of it. Feeling a touch of warmth that he considered her feelings, she softly spoke, "Military Commander, if Feifei can help with the work, that would be for the best.

You must know, our power is still small now, and as we slowly develop, I will surely need more strength."

"Since that is the case, Feifei can temporarily assist Sister Qing with some tasks. However, Feifei, Sister Qing is more experienced than you; it's best to listen to her in all matters. Also, regardless of whether it is Sister Qing or Feifei, neither of you can let your cultivation delay too much. The Golden Core stage is absolutely not your final goal."

Qi Feifei was overjoyed when Lei Dong agreed, nodding obediently, "Yes, I will definitely listen to Sister Qing and not let you down."

Following this, Lei Dong added, "Sister Qing, I summoned you this time because I have arranged two important moneymaking tasks for you to handle." Having said this, Lei Dong laid out his plans one by one.

Lei Dong's unrestrained, wide-ranging ideas left Qing Niangzi feeling somewhat incredible. Yet, upon careful consideration, she found the feasibility extremely high. If executed well, these two ventures would yield massive profits. The thought of their current tight situation regarding spirit stones made her eyes gleam. "Military Commander, how did you come up with such moneymaking ideas? Manipulating the odds is one thing, but the lottery method is truly ingenious."

Lei Dong had been traversing this world for quite some time. He had visited numerous markets but had never seen anyone use a lottery system to gather spirit stones. The reason it wasn't used before was simply that the scale was too small to extract large sums at once. A lottery system, everyone could imitate it. Once Lei Dong executed it once, the news would quickly spread throughout the realm. Intellectual property rights protection was simply a joke here.

Currently, Kang Province had not seen such a situation in hundreds of years; three-tenths of the cultivators were gathered for this event. It was practically a colossal spirit stone mine placed right before him.

Subsequently, Lei Dong discussed further details with Qing Niangzi and Qi Feifei.

Soon, a complete and comprehensive plan was devised.

It was handed over to Qing Niangzi and Qi Feifei to execute together. Lei Dong, maintaining an extremely low profile, acted as an attendant using his Foundation Establishment cultivation level, coldly observing everything.

Of course, this matter could not be handled by Qing Niangzi alone, as this territory belonged to the Yin Sha Sect. Because of this, Lei Dong secretly enlisted the help of Dongfang Fu and Wanyan. These two were major favored figures within the Yin Sha Sect, holding positions far superior to ordinary Golden Core Ancestors.

In just a few days, under Qing Niangzi's lead, Qi Refining stage cultivators were gathered, and ten massive platforms were erected. Each platform was overseen by one Golden Core cultivator, supplemented by twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators, commencing the lottery ritual.

Cultivators, fundamentally speaking, were no different from mortals. After continuous booming announcements using sound amplification artifacts by the Golden Core cultivators, within moments, each platform was surrounded by a terrifying number of Qi Refining cultivators.

After listening to the explanation twice more, those Qi Refining cultivators finally understood what a lottery was: one spirit stone for one chance to draw. And upon hearing that the first prize was a Foundation Establishment Pill,

a craze almost swept through them like a tidal wave.

For Qi Refining cultivators, what was most important? Naturally, it was achieving Foundation Establishment. In this world, it wasn't that no one could achieve Foundation Establishment without a Foundation Establishment Pill. But if they were talented enough to reach that level naturally, how could they lack the pill?

Thus, a Foundation Establishment Pill held a fatal attraction for Qi Refining cultivators.

Besides the Foundation Establishment Pill, the second prize was a high-grade Dharma Treasure, equally coveted. The vast majority of Qi Refining cultivators used low-grade Dharma Treasures; occasionally possessing a mid-grade one was already enough to show off. The third prize wasn't bad either: a mid-grade Dharma Treasure. The fourth and fifth prizes were less significant, being a low-grade Dharma Treasure and a bottle of Qi Gathering Pills, respectively.

However, compared to the first prize's mere one-in-six-hundred-thousand chance, the probability of winning Qi Gathering Pills was much higher.

Probability was not what cultivators new to lotteries concerned themselves with. People are inherently self-centered, always feeling they are the protagonists of their own lives, just awaiting the right opportunity. Moreover, the language used by the Golden Core cultivators during the promotion was extremely seductive, using phrases like one spirit stone exchanging for a heaven-reaching opportunity for instant ascension.

It was fortunate that Golden Core cultivators were present to anchor the scene; otherwise, relying only on the twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators, they might have been crushed flat by the countless frenzied Qi Refining cultivators. After the Golden Core cultivators applied intense pressure with their formidable auras, the lower-level cultivators obediently lined up for the draw. One must remember that, before a Golden Core cultivator, a Qi Refining cultivator was almost an ant that could be crushed with a casual squeeze. They possessed an inherent, deep-seated sense of dread. Even a mind as strong as Lei Dong’s had been in awe of Golden Core cultivators during his own Qi Refining stage.

Each major platform formed fifteen long queues, with fifteen Foundation Establishment cultivators acting as vendors. The remaining five Foundation Establishment cultivators served as prize redeemers. The Golden Core cultivator sat squarely in the center, glaring watchfully over the scene, maintaining order. As for the lower-level cultivators, some paid one spirit stone to test their luck, while others bought a hundred tickets at once and retreated to slowly check them.

A massive quantity of tickets was sold at a frantic pace. Almost immediately, someone won a prize, but most were the lowest-tier prizes, or the third or fourth tier. Yet, even the third prize was a mid-grade Dharma Treasure, several hundred times the cost of one spirit stone returned.

Stimulated by this, many who initially intended to buy just one ticket to try their luck decided to spend several more spirit stones.

**Soon, a moment arrived; in barely half an incense stick's time, Platform Seven produced a Foundation Establishment Pill. This result, achieved intentionally, spread across all booths in an extremely short period. The appearance of the Foundation Establishment Pill plunged many Qi Refining cultivators into a state of manic excitement, making them spend their spirit stones even more readily. Those who had bought little initially rushed back to queue again,

only to stomp their feet upon seeing the queue stretch to an endless horizon, regretting why they hadn't bought more earlier.

As time wore on, one Foundation Establishment Pill and high-grade Dharma Treasure after another were revealed, pushing the first-time lottery participants into a near-hysterical state.

Lei Dong, lurking and observing from the shadows, almost couldn't close his mouth from smiling. In the Qi Refining cultivator section alone, he had prepared tickets worth over a hundred million spirit stones. If all were sold, this single part could rake in sixty to seventy million spirit stones. This was faster than robbery. What method of robbery could achieve this efficiency?