Heaven-Defying Exotic Treasure

Chapter 12: Heaven-Defying Exotic Treasure

In his eagerness, Lei Dong carefully observed the process by which the Yin Souls disappeared. He wasn't sure whether it was because he had thrown in more this time—over a hundred of them. As the Yin Souls gradually faded away, a faint, almost invisible thread appeared inside the Mysterious Soul Nurturing Pagoda, connecting to its ceiling. Lei Dong watched the ceiling closely but couldn't make out anything unusual.

Another hour passed, and the hundred-plus Yin Souls vanished completely. The thread connecting to the ceiling disappeared as well. But a mysterious glimmer appeared up there, blinking like a star. Lei Dong hurriedly transferred more Yin Souls inside, leaving only a dozen or so behind in case something went wrong. As a mass of over three hundred Yin Souls faded away together, the thread connecting to the ceiling grew thicker and clearer. Looking closely, he could even see streams of energy surging through it.

The light at the ceiling gradually grew brighter. The three hundred-plus Yin Souls had grown exceedingly dim, as if they might disappear at any moment. Then something miraculous happened. Just as the mysterious energy-transfer thread vanished, it stopped drawing power from the Yin Souls. The light at the ceiling also seemed to have reached its limit, shining brilliantly like a miniature sun. The three hundred-plus Yin Souls survived, though each had become a wretched, pitiful wisp of mist.

Then the dazzling light gradually gathered together, eventually condensing into a transparent bead. Lei Dong froze for a moment, then his heart leaped with joy. The Mysterious Soul Nurturing Pagoda hadn't simply made those Yin Souls disappear. Just as he'd suspected, it had been absorbing their power and condensing it into a bead.

With a thought, Lei Dong caught the bead in his palm and turned it over carefully. It was crystal clear, like a treasure made from pure water. It felt slightly cool between his fingers, yet wonderfully soothing. Even to the naked eye, one could see the exceedingly pure power flowing faintly within it.

Suppressing his excitement, Lei Dong began to wonder how he should use the thing he'd tentatively named a Soul Bead. Was it meant for him to swallow and cultivate with, or did it act directly on Yin Souls?

Perhaps either was possible. But he didn't dare swallow a Soul Bead extracted from countless Yin Souls without first confirming that it was safe. He had only one life; dying from eating something at random would be a ridiculous end. Judging by appearances, as long as he had enough Yin Souls, he could refine more Soul Beads. So he might as well test its effects on one of the Yin Souls he had left. Fortunately, when testing the Mysterious Soul Nurturing Pagoda's abilities earlier, he hadn't been so furious that he forgot to leave a dozen or so behind. Though the thing shouldn't really be called a Soul Nurturing Pagoda at all. It ought to be called a Soul Devouring Pagoda.

Having joined his mind with the Soul Nurturing Pagoda, Lei Dong could clearly observe the dozen or so Inferior Ghosts remaining inside. He had never tested a Soul Bead before, so he simply tossed one in. The Yin Souls, which had been listless moments earlier, suddenly seemed to catch the scent of something they found intensely alluring. After a brief pause, all of them lunged at the Soul Bead at once.

The closest one had the advantage of being right there. Without even hesitating, it swallowed the Soul Bead whole.

But before it could even digest it, the other Yin Souls caught up and tore it into countless pieces. Its scattered energy drifted in every direction, and the bead fell to the ground. The Yin Souls seemed to realize that none of them could safely swallow and digest the Soul Bead while the others were around. Instinct told them they first needed to eliminate every other obstacle.

All the Yin Souls began fighting one another. Though they were all classified as Inferior Ghosts, there were still differences in strength among them. After the time it took to burn a stick of incense, the strongest Yin Soul emerged as the last one standing. Its entire body had already become half mist. Now, at peace with its victory, it swallowed the Soul Bead and warily retreated to a corner.

Lei Dong watched every moment of it, his attention unwavering.

He was truly astonished. This tiny Soul Bead had such a powerful allure for Yin Souls. For that very reason, he wasn't willing to miss a single moment.

Time passed. After about half a stick of incense, the lucky, powerful Yin Soul began to change in a curious way. Its body, badly injured before, gradually solidified, as if its wounds were healing at great speed. After the time it took to burn a stick of incense, it had recovered to its peak condition. But the changes didn't stop there. The Yin Soul began to tremble violently, its body of misty energy twisting and contorting.

Its characteristic, shrill ghostly wails hissed through the air. The sound made clear how much it was suffering. This continued for over an hour before the Yin Soul finally began to quiet down. Its solidified body started to grow dim again, and it looked extremely weak.

Lei Dong watched for a while longer, but saw nothing else unusual about it. After a brief moment of thought, he forced down his eager anticipation and checked the Yin Soul's grade again. As before, a beam of light shone down on it.

Previously, this Yin Soul would have shown only white light. But now, a startling streak of golden yellow had appeared inside its body. It wasn't much, but it was unmistakably there.

A Spirit Ghost? Lei Dong was so excited his mind nearly went blank. That Soul Bead had actually raised an ordinary Inferior Ghost to a Spirit Ghost. Though it was only a Low-grade Spirit Ghost, even one of those was worth ten Spirit Stones. Lei Dong, who had suffered for over three months at the Mass Grave near Myriad Ghost City, knew all too well how difficult it was to get lucky and capture a Spirit Ghost.

Wait. If the Soul Bead could turn an Inferior Ghost into a Low-grade Spirit Ghost, could it also raise a Low-grade Spirit Ghost to Middle Grade, or even Upper Grade, or Top Grade? At the thought, Lei Dong's heart began to pound. According to legend, when Myriad Ghost Ancestor had been at the fifth layer of the Qi Refining Stage, he'd gotten extraordinarily lucky and obtained a Top Grade Spirit Ghost. From then on, he'd risen to great heights. If the Soul Bead could do the same, wouldn't Lei Dong... wouldn't he really be on his way to greatness?

At the thought that he, too, might have a chance to rise to greatness, his blood surged and burned. He imagined how powerful he'd become, and all the things he'd do. The more he thought about it, the more excited he grew. It wasn't until over an hour later, when his stomach started rumbling, that he finally snapped out of it.

Keep a low profile. He absolutely had to keep a low profile. If anyone found out that he possessed a treasure capable of defying the heavens, it would be a miracle if he lived to see the next sunrise. Forget his fellow disciples—even Myriad Ghost Ancestor would personally move to seize it. First, he had to be the only one who knew about this. He had to keep it buried deep inside. Second, even if this thing really could upgrade a Spirit Ghost's grade, he still had to keep a low profile and make sure no one became suspicious. For some powerful, greedy people, they wouldn't need proof. Just suspecting that he possessed a treasure would be enough to give them reason to attack.

There was also Zhao Baiwan, another loose end. After all, he'd palmed this thing off on Lei Dong when he sold it to him. If Lei Dong knew he'd been cheated but did nothing, then as his strength grew, Zhao Baiwan would surely grow suspicious. If the opportunity arose, Lei Dong would have to handle this properly.

For now, though, there were two urgent matters. First, he needed to keep making Soul Beads and test whether they could raise a Low-grade Spirit Ghost's grade. Second, he needed to speed up his own cultivation. This cultivation world was one where the strong preyed on the weak, and danger lurked everywhere. A single misstep could destroy both body and soul. Without sufficient strength, he'd be easy prey for powerful opponents. Even if he had the Soul Devouring Pagoda, a Heaven-Defying Exotic Treasure, he'd still be meat on the chopping block.

Since the heavens had let him transmigrate into this world instead of dying, granted him the chance to cultivate, and even blessed him with a treasure like the Soul Devouring Pagoda, he had to make something of himself. Otherwise, he'd be letting himself down. At last, he might truly have a chance to hold his head high.

For a moment, Lei Dong's spirit soared, his heart surging with excitement.