As for artifact refinement, Lei Dong placed the most trust in Wang Lei. The powerful treasures he had accumulated throughout his journey were all refined with Wang Lei's assistance. From the earliest Asura Wings to the later Netherflame Ghost Banner, Wang Lei had provided countless aids to Lei Dong, helping him overcome various perils time and again. It could be said that without the existence of Wang Lei, it was doubtful whether Lei Dong could have reached his current standing.

Because of this, even though there were certainly individuals within those long-established sects whose refining skills could rival Wang Lei's, Lei Dong would still choose Wang Lei for assistance. Even if it meant mobilizing artifact refiners from other sects and placing them all under Wang Lei's unified command.

Wang Lei had another advantage: he had successfully forged a mid-grade Innate Spirit Treasure, the Netherflame Ghost Banner, for Lei Dong in the past. With that experience under his belt, it was believed he now possessed absolute confidence in forging Innate Spirit Treasures.

Although Lei Dong had taken time to study the art of artifact refinement and made some progress, he still couldn't compare to a grandmaster refiner like Wang Lei. Thus, as soon as his transaction with the Hades Hall was concluded, he swept away a massive amount of resources.

Leveraging Lei Dong's current prestige and his relationships across various factions, he began inviting alchemists and artifact refiners from numerous sects and races to gather on the Grand Qian Continent, preparing to host a grand convention for alchemy and refinement.

Those grandmaster alchemists and refiners, who originally had their eyes fixed high above, were genuinely stunned when Lei Dong revealed a portion of his Chaos resources. Lei Dong then began recruiting talent, using various Chaos Crystals, spiritual herbs, and ores as bait, while promising to help them break away from their respective sects. Many of those who were fanatically devoted to alchemy and refinement immediately pledged their loyalty to Lei Dong.

Lei Dong did not go back on his word. He brought a large contingent of the (Qianlong Army) and began the operation. Even when top-tier major sects in the mortal realm saw a host of Nascent Soul stage experts arriving to demand personnel, they could only immediately adopt an extremely respectful posture. While the loss of their master alchemists and refiners was painful, it was certainly better than the annihilation of their entire sect.

As an aside, there were a few shortsighted individuals who, upon seeing the sheer volume of resources in Lei Dong's hands, became greedy. They gathered some powerful experts intending to plunder, but the result was predictable—they hit an iron plate that was far too solid.

In truth, with all the power Lei Dong currently commanded, unifying the Six Domains and Nine Continents would not be difficult if he chose to. However, the Three Realms still pressed down from above. And Lei Dong was perfectly clear about the fate of the Hades King and the Demon Emperor in the past. Therefore, accumulating provisions and delaying the declaration of kingship was the proper path.

Rather than openly declaring dominance through military might, it was better to temporarily act as an underground emperor. And resources were one of the best methods to control the world. A thousand (Qianlong Soldiers), along with ten thousand Fierce Ghost Soldiers, were assigned under the command of Lady Qingniang.

Lady Qingniang, although her personal combat strength was average and her cultivation speed not fast, handled various administrative matters with remarkable ease and growing proficiency. And the best way to expand influence and gradually monopolize resources was naturally to establish auction houses and trade consortiums, gathering merchants dealing in various commodities.

A remote place like Kangzhou was naturally out of the question. Lei Dong chose the Grand Qian Continent, the largest continent of humanity, as the site for the headquarters of the resource merchant guild, which would be named the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. The publicity efforts were executed perfectly, and the resulting impact was overwhelming.

It was simple: this auction event would not only feature all manner of incomparably precious strange treasures and exotic objects but also items that would cause even Nascent Soul stage experts to gape in astonishment and fight desperately for them. Examples included Innate Spirit Elixirs, Innate Spirit Treasures, Nascent Soul stage puppets, Chaos Crystals, as well as some Chaos Metals, Chaos Spirit Herbs, and the Water of Life.

These items were nearly extinct or extremely rare across the Three Realms, Six Domains, and Nine Continents. Furthermore, their benefit to Nascent Soul stage experts was nothing short of heaven-defying. Perhaps some Nascent Soul experts stuck at a bottleneck could break through after consuming a single Innate Spirit Elixir.

It must be known that, in this world, there were few things that could genuinely enhance the cultivation of a Nascent Soul stage expert. While Innate Spirit Stones were precious, they only offered minor improvements.

The auctioning of so many heaven-defying treasures naturally attracted countless experts flocking towards the venue like moths to a flame, with news spreading wildly across the Six Domains and Nine Continents. Even the Asura Domain, the Profound Ice Domain, and certain secluded sects and races sent representatives to investigate.

Lei Dong no longer feared being robbed; daring to make a move would simply be courting death. Of course, Lei Dong also needed to prevent some obtuse fools who couldn't grasp the situation from acting recklessly. Thus, he arranged for Nascent Soul stage (Qianlong Soldiers) to maintain order at the auction site.

As a result, even the super-experts hailing from the Asura Domain and the Profound Ice Domain found themselves exchanging uneasy glances, thoroughly intimidated, which dispelled any negative intentions they might have harbored. If they wanted anything, they had to bid honestly.

The hastily organized auction was exceptionally heated. Lei Dong's various earnings were simply explosive, as many items required no initial capital from him, being merely minor spoils from the recent great war.

However, the massive wealth accumulated could be used by Lei Dong to secretly acquire various resources. Even low-grade Spirit Stones could be channeled into the Demon Emperor Palace to replenish its spiritual energy reserves.

Under Lei Dong's direction, Innate Spirit Elixirs of various uses were refined, one after another. And Lei Dong had always been the most protective of his own. These Innate Spirit Elixirs were naturally distributed first to those close to him—Wan Yan, Heavenly Demon, Little You, Qi Feifei, and others all received a share.

Furthermore, Lei Dong was extremely extravagant in the application of Chaos Metal, preparing to forge a batch of standardized battle armor and weapons. The first set, of course, was for Lei Dong himself—a complete suit of armor, from head to toe, forged entirely from Chaos Black Iron, with a design that was both imposing and exceedingly handsome.

Chaos Black Iron, even among Chaos Metals, was considered an extremely high-grade material. Ordinarily, when utilizing this metal, people would mix it with large quantities of auxiliary metals to forge spirit treasures or weapons, using it only in amounts of about half a catty or so.

But Lei Dong’s armor, pitch-black and utterly dominant, utilized materials with extreme luxury, consuming over a thousand catties of Chaos Black Iron in total. The myriad intricate and ancient patterns etched upon it were not mere aesthetic embellishments; they were exceptionally sophisticated defensive formations, capable of even driving some laws of power.

This was the masterpiece born from the combined efforts of over a dozen grandmaster refiners from various races and humanity, representing the pinnacle of artifact refinement in the current Six Domains and Nine Continents. The defensive capability of this armor was first-rate. Due to its extreme luxury and meticulous crafting, it ultimately induced a Thunder Tribulation.

After enduring the Thunder Tribulation, the armor was complete, achieving the quality of high-grade, and Lei Dong named it the Black Emperor Armor. This armor specialized purely in defense, its protective power astonishing to the point of perversion. After putting it on, Lei Dong once tested it: a full-force strike from a cultivator at the early Nascent Soul stage couldn't even penetrate its defense; Lei Dong simply relied on the Black Emperor Armor to absorb it head-on.

Any minor damage to the armor was naturally repaired in a short time by the talismans and formations inscribed internally. It was estimated that when worn by an ordinary Nascent Soul expert, this armor could withstand two or three full-power strikes from a Void Refinement stage initial expert.

If Lei Dong channeled his true essence into it, mixed with a trace of the Law of Indestructibility, even a Void Refinement stage expert would find it difficult to kill him in a short span. Of course, he couldn't sustain endless confrontation, as even the best defense would eventually be shattered.

But Lei Dong was no fool; his cultivation was equally profound, especially his mastery of Spatial Laws. Thus, Lei Dong was confident that, even with his current cultivation level, he could contend with a Void Refinement expert utilizing the Black Emperor Armor—though winning was out of the question, as the Black Emperor Armor prioritized defense over offense.

As for offensive Innate Spirit Treasures, Lei Dong did not request any, since his strength lay in various spells rather than close combat. Moreover, Lei Dong's strongest offensive technique was naturally the Netherworld Immortal Slaying Finger, infused with annihilation attributes. As for the offensive Innate Spirit Treasure, the Netherflame Ghost Banner, it remained a favored item. Ostensibly, as Lei Dong's strength grew, its utility seemed to diminish, but in reality, as Lei Dong advanced, the Netherflame Ghost Banner’s power could be further developed. After all, Lei Dong's primary combat style still relied on summoning tactics rather than rushing in to kill enemies himself. Sufficient defensive capability would allow him to execute classic tactics where the weak overcome the strong.

It was slightly regrettable that Chaos Black Iron was a rare commodity even in ancient times when resources were abundant. Of the Chaos Metals Lei Dong brought back from this venture, there were only two thousand catties of Chaos Essence Iron. And Lei Dong's Black Emperor Armor consumed a full thousand catties.

Lei Dong naturally could not hoard the remaining thousand catties. Instead, he planned to forge offensive Innate Spirit Treasures for some of his trusted subordinates. For example, Heavenly Demon, Wan Yan, and Dongfang Fu were all skilled in sword techniques, so he forged a pure Chaos Black Iron sword for each of them. For those like Little You who preferred other weapons, various offensive Innate Spirit Treasures were crafted.

Naturally, battle armor was also included, but these were refined from Chaos Essence Iron. Even so, thanks to the meticulous crafting by over a dozen grandmaster refiners, these still reached the level of mid-grade Innate Spirit Treasures.

To complement Lei Dong's Black Emperor Armor, the designs of these armors were naturally extremely aesthetically pleasing, greatly enhancing the wearer's charm. However, these armors were named the Empress Armor or Concubine Armors. The Empress Armor naturally became Wan Yan's signature piece. The remaining Concubine Armors belonged to Heavenly Demon and the others. As for Dongfang Fu, after receiving her Concubine Armor, she stared blankly for a long time before blushingly accepting it. A few days later, coaxed by Wan Yan, she wore it openly and began refining it with her primordial spirit.

This made Lei Dong extremely curious about what sort of intoxicating potion Wan Yan had fed Dongfang Fu.