The words from Lei Dong, though grating on Xie Feng’s ears when addressed as "Senior," had managed to dispel a large part of her anger. After all, Lei Dong was disclosing a secret concerning his very life and soul without any apparent guard up, only refraining due to Xuan She’s presence.

A woman in this state might possess incredibly sharp senses regarding certain details, allowing for absolutely no room for error. Yet, in other areas, she could be remarkably obtuse. As for the unfinished explanations in Lei Dong’s account, she had already mentally filled in the gaps for him. Glancing at Xuan She, who had just finished faking death and was scurrying back over, she found the serpent increasingly repulsive the more she looked at it. Her expression immediately turned cold, and she snapped, “You are a dignified Spirit Transformation stage demonic beast. If you can’t win a fight, fine, but to pretend to be dead is utterly shameless. Crawl over there and get as far away as possible.” The Queen’s overbearing aura manifested instantly.

Having previously suffered under Xie Feng’s might, Xuan She dared not utter a single word of protest at this moment, swallowing all its grievances lest the Lady simply conceive a thought that would make its existence a living hell. No rights, truly no rights at all.

Before Xie Feng could cast a second glare, Xuan She scrambled away into the distance with desperate haste.

The four Spirit Transformation stage puppets seemed to possess considerable sentience, as none of them moved to stop Xuan She’s departure.

Only after the serpent had fled several hundred miles did Xie Feng’s brow finally relax. She turned to Lei Dong and spoke softly, “That dead snake has bolted several hundred miles away. With its divine sense strength, there is no way it can overhear our conversation.” Her tone was gentle and mild, a world apart from the ferocity she had directed at Xuan She.

Simultaneously, the four Spirit Transformation stage puppets shifted their entire focus onto Lei Dong. From the preceding exchange, it could already be almost deduced that the primordial spirits utilized by these four puppets were not seized from slain enemies, but were instead the primordial spirits of Spirit Transformation stage Ghost Emperors, likely offered willingly.

At this juncture, Lei Dong hesitated no longer and carefully invited out the Chaos Soul Devouring Pagoda, which had been gestating within his Nascent Soul. Upon exiting the Nascent Soul, the Soul Devouring Pagoda was exquisite and tiny, barely the size of a thumb. It immediately began to grow with the wind, transforming in the blink of an eye into a tower several feet high. The pagoda’s body was ancient and simple, lacking any ostentatious ornamentation. An ordinary person glancing at it would never perceive its extraordinary nature. If it had been cast aside by the roadside, no one would have given it a second look. If this object had radiated brilliant treasure energy and loudly proclaimed itself a supreme spiritual treasure, how could it ever have fallen into the hands of the destitute Lei Dong back then?

However, the silver puppet at the head displayed an expression of profound astonishment. Pointing at the simple and unremarkable Chaos Soul Devouring Pagoda, it exclaimed, “This, this is… No, impossible.” The other three puppets, who had remained silent until now, also revealed expressions of shock and disbelief.

Xie Feng closely scrutinized the Chaos Soul Devouring Pagoda as well, yet no matter how she looked, she could discern nothing special about the dilapidated tower.

Before his words had even fully left his mouth, the peak of the Chaos Soul Devouring Pagoda began to tremble violently, emitting a faint, gentle radiance.

With a clear, resonant Zheng sound.

The Chaos Soul Devouring Pagoda broke free from the constraint of Lei Dong’s divine sense, carving out a perfect arc as it sped toward the direction of the Nether King’s Palace. Under such a phenomenon, everyone guessed that this artifact must be connected to the Nether King. The six figures immediately activated their escape techniques and pursued closely, though cautious not to disturb the treasure, maintaining a distance of several miles behind.

In merely a few dozen breaths of time, the treasured Chaos Soul Devouring Pagoda, which Lei Dong had valiantly brought forth, arrived hovering above the main hall of the Nether King’s Palace. Within the main hall, brilliance surged, and a beam of light burst through the wall, corresponding with the Soul Devouring Pagoda from afar. As the two met, they seemed like long-lost relatives, circling each other joyfully and affectionately.

The onlookers only watched this scene from a distance, even Lei Dong maintained an extraordinary composure. Although the Chaos Soul Devouring Pagoda had temporarily shed the restraint of his divine sense, this was only a temporary state. No matter how formidable a spiritual treasure, it could not independently erase the soul imprint left by its master.

Lei Dong did not refine this Chaos Soul Devouring Pagoda using ordinary methods, but rather the Soul Refinement Art, which was equivalent to fusing his own soul with the spiritual treasure. The deeper the refinement, the more inseparable the treasure and soul would become. The advantage was an absolute degree of control over the treasure—it was a complete extension of his body, capable of unleashing immense power, and exceedingly difficult to snatch away, unless the master perished and the soul scattered. The disadvantage was that if the spiritual treasure suffered damage, the master’s soul would suffer commensurate grievous harm.

For this very reason, cultivators are loath to use the Soul Refinement Art to refine treasures and turn them into Natal Spiritual Treasures unless the artifact is truly rare. Even if the master wished to erase the effect of the soul refinement, it would require immense effort and result in a weakened state of the soul just to accomplish the removal.

It was precisely because this object was so incredibly important to Lei Dong, and out of fear of losing it, that he repeatedly refined it using the Soul Refinement Art. In the long process of refinement, the Chaos Soul Devouring Pagoda had almost entirely merged with Lei Dong’s soul.

Suddenly, that beam of light abruptly submerged into the Chaos Soul Devouring Pagoda. The tower immediately erupted in a radiance never before seen, enveloped by swirling, seven-colored precious light. By this point, everyone could discern the extraordinary nature of this treasure, their eyes wide, staring fixedly at the Chaos Soul Devouring Pagoda.

In a moment, the emanating radiance gradually receded. Following its brilliance, the pagoda shed its superficial glory and reverted to its usual, inconspicuous and simple appearance. Yet, Lei Dong distinctly sensed the transformation within the pagoda. The former Chaos Soul Devouring Pagoda was an extremely potent spiritual treasure, but it functioned largely like a sophisticated tool—an inanimate object. But at this very moment, the Chaos Soul Devouring Pagoda had acquired an unprecedented trace of spirituality.

“Eh? Who are you?” The Chaos Soul Devouring Pagoda suddenly transmitted a divine sense fluctuation toward Lei Dong. The fluctuation directly materialized as the voice of a young girl, resonating clearly within Lei Dong’s mind through his soul.

Communicating via soul fluctuations like this was a unique privilege of high-level cultivators. Naturally, if Lei Dong was unwilling, others could not send messages through soul fluctuations. But the Chaos Soul Devouring Pagoda was somewhat different; since it had almost completely fused with Lei Dong’s soul, making them inseparable, communication was exceptionally clear and straightforward.

Although the intervening moments had been slightly bewildering, Lei Dong was a man of extensive experience and could vaguely guess that the wondrous change in the Chaos Soul Devouring Pagoda stemmed from that beam of light. And that light, in all likelihood, was the Artifact Spirit of the Chaos Pagoda. In the past, when crafting some astonishing spiritual treasures, ancient masters often incorporated an Artifact Spirit to assist the master in controlling the treasure without needing constant personal attention, much like the damaged Arena of Fair Play Lei Dong now possessed.

Some exceptionally potent Artifact Spirits possess an intelligence level that rivals most living beings. If they exist long enough, they might even evolve. The Arena’s Artifact Spirit showed signs of this tendency.

Lei Dong maintained a calm demeanor and replied using soul fluctuation, “I am the master of this Chaos Soul Devouring Pagoda. May I ask if you are the Artifact Spirit specifically nurtured for the Pagoda by the Nether King?”

“That’s right. This young lady is the Artifact Spirit the Nether King cultivated by gathering vast amounts of Chaos Spiritual Energy and borrowing a Chaos Golden Lotus as the primary matrix,” the Artifact Spirit replied. Although her tone carried a slight childish immaturity, her self-assurance was considerable, imbued with a faint arrogance: “Therefore, even as an Artifact Spirit, I am no ordinary one—I am an Artifact Spirit with life. By the way, who are you? Daring to call yourself my master? Chaos Soul Devouring Pagoda—humpf, what an ugly name to randomly pick.”

“Hmph.” Lei Dong couldn't be bothered to argue with this newly born Artifact Spirit. He immediately formed a hand seal and commanded, “Retrieve!”

The Chaos Soul Devouring Pagoda obediently shrank and flew toward Lei Dong, re-entering his Nascent Soul. During this process, the young girl-like Artifact Spirit continuously questioned and attempted to command the Pagoda to resist, but in the end, it was all in vain.

Admittedly, she was an Artifact Spirit and possessed some control over the spiritual treasure.

But in reality, in the design and crafting of any spiritual treasure, the creator would never set things up so that the Artifact Spirit could supersede the treasure’s owner. The primary obedience of a spiritual treasure is always to its master, and secondarily to the Artifact Spirit. This is similar to how, in some science fiction films from Lei Dong's previous life, there were always intelligent computer systems, but these systems were merely auxiliary tools and could not rise above humanity—it was the same principle.

Lei Dong could completely bypass the Artifact Spirit and command the Chaos Soul Devouring Pagoda directly, with a familiarity as natural as directing his own limbs. Temporarily silencing the noisy little girl Spirit within his Nascent Soul, Lei Dong turned to the leading silver puppet with a mysterious air, stating calmly and respectfully, “Senior witnessed the process? I obtained this Chaos Soul Devouring Pagoda by a twist of fate, entirely unaware of its origin. But the result is now clear: this artifact is likely a supreme treasure refined by His Majesty, the Nether King.”

“You—how could you possibly obtain the Chaos Supreme Treasure refined by the Nether King?” The silver puppet seemed to have just recovered its senses, staring fixedly at Lei Dong in utter disbelief. “Impossible. The Nether King left the Supreme Treasure’s Artifact Spirit in the palace to continue its gestation while he went out searching for the Chaos Primordial Source. There is no chance he would have lost the Chaos Supreme Treasure.”

“Senior, I am merely stating a fact,” Lei Dong said with a solemn expression. “I acquired this treasure through serendipity, and based on the legacy left within the artifact, I am not the first person to obtain it. There was a predecessor named the Demon Emperor who apparently acquired a Chaos Primordial Source, and he used that source to completely finish refining this treasure. I have merely benefited from the grace of a predecessor.”

“What? The Demon Emperor?” The silver puppet didn't react, but Xie Feng gasped, covering her mouth in shock, looking at Lei Dong in disbelief. “You—you actually obtained the Demon Emperor’s legacy?”

... (To be continued)