Investment

Chapter 14: Investment

Of course, how many Ghost Servants one could command at once still depended on Lei Dong's own strength. This came down to how strong his Mind Power was—what was called Spiritual Sense, or Spiritual Force—a mysterious and profound power. Though it rarely acted directly in battle, it had many subtle uses. At the Qi Refining Stage first layer, Lei Dong's grasp of Mind Power was just beginning; it couldn't be called strong. He figured he could handle three or four ordinary Yin Souls at once, but three or four First-level Ghost Soldiers? He probably lacked that ability.

There were many ways to strengthen one's Mind Power. The main method was to raise one's realm and cultivation—once he reached Qi Refining Second Layer, his Mind Power would certainly leap forward. Second, he could train specifically in Mind Power, constantly tempering and strengthening it without raising his realm. Third, he could wear some items that amplified or enhanced Mind Power.

There were many auxiliary techniques for training Mind Power, but according to the Yin Sha Sect's rules, aside from the first spell being free, everything else had to be exchanged with Contribution Value. Thus, Lei Dong had to shelve that idea for now. He stayed in the Cultivation Chamber, honestly cultivating and recuperating.

Time passed quickly; another half month went by. Lei Dong, who had expended a great deal of Essence Blood and Vital Energy in the Blood Sacrifice, finally recovered fully. Of course, it was only recovery. Over this past month, for the sake of this Ghost Servant, he had endured no small hardship, and his cultivation had practically stagnated. Still, since what he had Blood Sacrificed was a Spirit Ghost, it balanced his mind somewhat.

In the meantime, Chen Ge and Wei Hua had also returned from their missions. The three gathered briefly, and Lei Dong told Chen Ge about the various difficulties of cultivating the Ghost Taming Art. Fortunately, his luck had been excellent—he had spent three months capturing a Spirit Ghost.

Hearing the difficulty, Chen Ge's face turned grave. But when he learned that the Spirit Ghost, after Blood Sacrifice, had become a Ghost Soldier with combat power equivalent to the Qi Refining Stage first layer, Chen Ge and Wei Hua were overjoyed. Their earlier minor dissatisfaction over Lei Dong missing missions vanished like smoke. They just kept urging him to rest well. Once he recovered, they would help him capture another Spirit Ghost.

Of course, their willingness to help also came from valuing the potential of Lei Dong's Ghost Taming Art. If Lei Dong could bring two Ghost Soldiers into action, their missions would be much safer. Though if they saved up enough Contribution Value, they could also learn the Ghost Taming Art. But hearing how complicated it was and how Blood Sacrifice delayed cultivation, they both backed off for now. Better to let Lei Dong handle it alone; the Contribution Value they saved could go toward learning other powerful spells.

Thus, as soon as Lei Dong's body recovered, Chen Ge formed the three into a small team and took on a mission suited to them. Since it was a team mission, each person would get ten Contribution Points upon completion, so the mission was somewhat challenging. Still, although the Yin Sha Sect was a famous demonic sect, it wasn't the kind of idiotic organization that would push its disciples into a fire pit and let them die for no reason.

After all, new disciples like Chen Ge and Lei Dong, though low in cultivation, carried the sect's legacy and might one day become its pillars. Killing them off carelessly would only weaken the sect's future strength. The Yin Sha Sect wasn't stupid enough to tear down its own walls and let the righteous sects bully them.

Thus, the missions for new disciples, while varying in difficulty, weren't likely to kill them off too easily. The goal was to temper them and adapt them to the sect's Contribution growth system—not simply to get them killed. Moreover, many missions were specially arranged by the sect, with difficulty carefully estimated.

Chen Ge's mission was to retrieve a Sect Token from a mountain hollow over three hundred li north of the Myriad Ghost Cave. Of course, to temper the disciples, there was also a Monster Beast at the Qi Refining Second Layer guarding it. For three ordinary Qi Refining Stage first layer newcomers, as long as they had learned normal spells and coordinated well, dealing with the beast the sect had specially arranged wouldn't be a big problem. What's more, Chen Ge and the others had all learned relatively powerful spells for the Qi Refining Stage.

Chen Ge's Netherflame Bullet was a strong direct attack spell, while Wei Hua had learned the powerful defensive spell Profound Yin Shield. These two spells, combined with Lei Dong's Ghost Taming Art, were the signature spells of Yin Sha Sect disciples in the Qi Refining Stage, almost mandatory. However, in the early Qi Refining Stage, due to various reasons, they could only choose some ordinary spells. The three of them—Lei Dong, Chen Ge, and Wei Hua—had each learned one, and their coordination would greatly increase their power.

They found a large carriage in Myriad Ghost City, and the three sat cross-legged in the spacious cabin, heading toward the mission site. The carriage was slow, and the road got worse the farther they went. For just over three hundred li, they estimated it would take over two days. Of course, if they had ridden horses, it would take at most a day. But since they were facing a Qi Refining Second Layer Monster Beast, they took the carriage to conserve their energy.

Unable to stand the carriage's bumpiness and slow pace, Wei Hua, who had been used to a life of luxury since childhood, complained bitterly: "If only we all had Flying Magic Tools! Just over three hundred li—we could fly there in two hours. Senior Brother Chen, I still have some Spirit Stones. Why won't you let me buy a Flying Magic Tool?"

"Junior Brother Wei, stop daydreaming. Haven't we asked about the prices? The cheapest Flying Magic Tool costs five or six Spirit Stones. For something slightly better, it's often dozens or even hundreds. We don't have many Spirit Stones; we'd better save them. There will be plenty of places to use Spirit Stones later." Chen Ge was a bit frustrated. He had thought that bringing a hundred Spirit Stones up the mountain would be enough to cultivate all the way to Foundation Establishment Realm. But he never expected that after expenses and bribes, the remaining Spirit Stones would at most buy him a decent set of gear, all Low-grade at that. As for Mid-grade, spending all his Spirit Stones wouldn't buy a single Mid-grade Magic Artifact. Poor Chen Ge—back home, he was also a young master used to spending freely, but here, he had to learn to budget.

Lei Dong was also shocked by the prices. Dozens or even hundreds of Spirit Stones for even a decent Flying Magic Tool—that was too exaggerated. The Low-grade Spirit Ghost he had worked so hard to capture was only worth ten Spirit Stones...

"It's all because our talent isn't good enough. I heard Ding Wanyan is quite favored by the Ancestor. She already has a full set of magic tools, mostly Mid-grade, and her main Flying Sword is even High-grade. Heaven! What different fates people have!" Wei Hua spoke of Ding Wanyan with intense envy.

"Junior Brother Wei, be careful what you say. If this reaches Senior Sister Ding's ears, it might cause trouble." Lei Dong frowned slightly and spoke in a low voice.

"Junior Brother Lei is right. I heard Senior Sister Ding broke through to Qi Refining Third Layer a few days ago. She's not someone we can provoke." Chen Ge strongly agreed with Lei Dong. Someone as monstrous as Ding Wanyan—it was best to avoid provoking her.

It hadn't even been a full year since they joined the sect, and Ding Wanyan had already reached Qi Refining Third Layer. This news left the three in silence. As of now, Chen Ge and Wei Hua were both at the middle of Qi Refining Stage first layer. Lei Dong, because he had been busy with the Ghost Taming Art these past few months, was still a bit away from the middle of the first layer. From the very start, the difference in talent was clear—Ding Wanyan was truly soaring.

"Senior Brother Chen, Junior Brother Wei, I have a suggestion." Lei Dong thought for a moment and said, "Both of you brought some Spirit Stones up the mountain. Instead of saving them, why not exchange them for more Pills for Cultivating Origin or bottleneck-breaking pills? Go into Closed Door Cultivation and focus on raising your cultivation realms. Rise as high as you can. If you hit a bottleneck or run out of Spirit Stones, then start doing missions to accumulate Contribution Value. By then, you'll be at the third or fourth layer at least, and missions will be much easier—more efficient that way."

Lei Dong's words made Chen Ge ponder for a long while before he slowly nodded: "That makes sense. Wei Hua, let's each give twenty Spirit Stones to Junior Brother Lei. If we don't buy random things and only exchange for pills, we can probably cultivate to the fourth layer without much trouble. After we finish this mission, we'll go back into Closed Door Cultivation and stop running around."

"Alright, no problem." Wei Hua was probably even more generous than Chen Ge. He immediately counted out twenty Spirit Stones from his Storage Belt.

Chen Ge also quickly took out twenty Spirit Stones and handed them all to Lei Dong, speaking in a low, earnest tone: "Junior Brother Lei, don't refuse. I believe with your intelligence and insight, you know that I'm investing and currying favor. I don't ask you to follow my lead, only that you and I support each other on the path of cultivation. If one day you rise to greatness, don't forget us brothers."

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