Ghost Soldier Upgrade

Fortunately, that Level Two Wild Ghost Soldier had limited strength. After unleashing one powerful strike of Fiend Thunder, its aura weakened considerably, and for a time it was beaten into a sorry state by the Ghost Soldier under the effects of the Bloodthirsty Art. Lei Dong's Ink Green Small Sword wasn't particularly powerful, but now that he was at Qi Refining Second Layer, every strike that hit the Wild Ghost Soldier reduced the solidity of its body a little.

After barely a hundred breaths, the Bloodthirsty Ghost Soldier seized an opening and cut the Wild Ghost Soldier in half with a single slash. It then hurriedly devoured it, swallowing it whole. Before long, the Wild Ghost Soldier's body and the transparent inner core inside it, which resembled a Soul Bead, had been completely consumed amid its shrill cries. The Bloodthirsty Ghost Soldier's body, which had been somewhat dim from its injuries, slowly began to mend.

After a while, Lei Dong's Bloodthirsty Ghost Soldier looked more and more spirited. Its translucent body had grown denser and sturdier, and the strange light in its eyes, along with the joyful thoughts it kept sending Lei Dong, made it clear that devouring the Wild Ghost Soldier had brought it great gains. After examining it closely, he found that although it hadn't yet reached the level of a Level Two Ghost Soldier, it had reached the peak of Level One and was only a step away.

Lei Dong couldn't help but marvel. As expected of a Middle Grade Spirit Ghost: after devouring a Level Two Ghost Soldier, it had advanced by nearly half a level. A Low-grade Spirit Ghost couldn't compare. No wonder Middle Grade Spirit Ghosts were worth over a hundred times as much as Low-grade Spirit Ghosts.

After witnessing the Bloodthirsty Ghost Soldier's advancement, Lei Dong became less averse to wild Ghost Soldiers and even began deliberately searching for them. Several days later, after combing through several Yin Sha Lands, he encountered another Wild Ghost Soldier. But that one was already a Level Four existence. Lei Dong spun around and fled, and only barely escaped thanks to his quick legs and the Bloodthirsty Ghost Soldier holding it off for a few breaths.

Otherwise, given a Level Four Ghost Soldier's flying speed, even Lei Dong, wearing Cloud Ascending Boots, would have been just a little slower. If the Level Four Ghost Soldier caught him, with no spells other than the Ghost Taming Art, he'd have been in grave danger. The Cloud Ascending Boots had truly saved his life. Without them, Lei Dong would never have escaped the Level Four Ghost Soldier's claws.

Having nearly suffered a disastrous loss, Lei Dong became even more cautious than before. He sent the Bloodthirsty Ghost Soldier ahead to scout for monsters, while staying ready to bolt at a moment's notice. After that, he encountered no more danger. At last, he found a Level One Ghost Soldier. After they defeated it, the Bloodthirsty Ghost Soldier devoured it, and that lovely fellow finally emerged from its cocoon after several days and smoothly broke through to Level Two.

After its advancement, the Bloodthirsty Ghost Soldier's body had grown much clearer and more solid, and its appearance had become even fiercer and more savage. Its aura was also entirely different from when it had been Level One. The more Lei Dong looked at it, the more he liked it. The Ghost Taming Art really was a fine spell.

Three more months passed in a flash. Once Lei Dong had accumulated around thirty Soul Beads, he finally stopped for the time being. By then, after dealing with Yin Souls for so long, he had captured roughly seventeen or eighteen thousand of them, by even the most conservative estimate. What left him both amused and exasperated was that he had caught only one Low-grade Spirit Ghost. It took ten thousand Inferior Ghosts to possibly produce a Spirit Ghost, so catching only one Low-grade Spirit Ghost was perfectly normal. Still, he couldn't help feeling that his luck was painfully ordinary. He'd heard from senior brothers and sisters who occasionally hunted Yin Souls that if you were lucky, you might catch two or three Spirit Ghosts in ten thousand tries, or even come across a Middle Grade Spirit Ghost.

A few days earlier, he'd spoken with a Myriad Ghost Cave Senior Sister who was at Qi Refining Level Six. When she first tried cultivating the Ghost Taming Art, she caught only a few dozen Inferior Ghosts before getting a Middle Grade Spirit Ghost. Whether she used it herself or sold it, it was an incredibly sweet deal. Plenty of people were green with envy over the whole affair.

Fortunately, Lei Dong already possessed the heaven-defying Soul Devouring Pagoda. Otherwise, he would have been intensely jealous of her luck.

After settling in Myriad Ghost City, he spent several days feeding Soul Beads to all three of his Low-grade Spirit Ghosts, raising every one of them to Middle Grade Spirit Ghosts.

As his Mind Power entered the Soul Nurturing Pagoda, Lei Dong could hardly contain his excitement as he admired the three Middle Grade Spirit Ghosts. He thought of how that Qi Refining Level Six senior sister had caused a stir in Myriad Ghost Cave after luckily obtaining a single Middle Grade Spirit Ghost, and his heart filled with glee. Sure, Senior Sister, you've got great luck. But no matter how good your luck is, it can't beat my treasure, the Soul Devouring Pagoda.

Still, it was best to keep that private delight to himself. If people found out that he already had four Middle Grade Spirit Ghosts in total, they would surely grow suspicious. Even Myriad Ghost Ancestor might come after him to seize them.

Based on his estimate of his Mind Power, even if he kept diligently cultivating the Spirit Forging Art, he'd only be able to control three Ghost Soldiers that were one or two levels above him at the same time for quite a while. He'd naturally have to sell the extra Middle Grade Spirit Ghost and use the proceeds to buy a better Soul Nurturing Pagoda. That was the only way to cultivate in Myriad Ghost Cave in peace. With a decent Soul Nurturing Pagoda, even if he had no time to go out and find good flesh and souls to feed his Ghost Soldiers, he wouldn't have to worry about them falling too far behind his own level. After all, Middle Grade Spirit Ghosts advanced quickly.

However, selling it within Myriad Ghost Cave's territory was out of the question. If he did, everyone in Myriad Ghost Cave would know he'd sold a Middle Grade Spirit Ghost before long. But there was no point in keeping it, either. Turning it into a large pile of Spirit Stones and rapidly improving his strength was the way to go.

Lei Dong had already found a place to sell it: a cultivator market more than eight thousand li from Myriad Ghost Cave. Though it was still within the territory of the Yin Sha Sect, the market was actually run by a Cultivation Family affiliated with the sect. It was said that Evil Cultivators from other sects, as well as Rogue Cultivators who practiced wicked arts, gathered and came and went there throughout the year. Of course, there were also so-called upright cultivators, but they were fewer in number. Selling a Middle Grade Spirit Ghost there was an excellent choice. With so many shady cultivators around, he could get a good price.

The only slight problem was that the place was simply too far away. Even with Lei Dong's Qi Refining Second Layer cultivation and Cloud Ascending Boots, which let him run as fast as a galloping horse, he wouldn't get there in less than ten days. And who knew what dangers he might encounter along the way?

Lei Dong pondered it for a long time. Finally, he steeled himself and decided to choose a fine Flying Magic Tool first. He'd need to buy one sooner or later anyway. Chen Ge hadn't let him buy one before because he needed to save Spirit Stones for cultivation. But now that he had a heaven-defying treasure like the Soul Devouring Pagoda, he'd only have more Spirit Stones as time went on. Time, on the other hand, was what he truly lacked.

After returning to Myriad Ghost Cave, Lei Dong wandered over to Old Undying, who managed the exchange of tools and artifacts, to check the prices of some Flying Magic Tools. He first looked at Upper Grade Flying Magic Items, but once converted into Spirit Stones, their prices easily topped ten thousand. The astronomical figures left him sweating buckets, and he immediately shut the list. He was afraid that if he stared at them too long, his brain would short-circuit.

Next, he checked out the Middle Grade Flying Magic Items. Converted from Contribution Value into Spirit Stones, even the cheapest cost more than eight hundred, while the most expensive reached five or six thousand. Those figures made Lei Dong feel faint all over again. He'd thought his fortune of a hundred or so Spirit Stones made him pretty well-off, but the terrifying prices of those Middle and Upper Grade Magic Tools made him realize just how poor he really was.

But that was only because they were Flying Magic Tools, which were so expensive. Other types of Middle Grade Magic Tools cost several times less. With no other choice, Lei Dong began checking the Low Grade Flying Magic Items.

At last, the prices seemed somewhat more reasonable, and a few were just barely within Lei Dong's reach. Converted from Contribution Value into Spirit Stones, the cheapest Flying Magic Tool cost around twenty or thirty Spirit Stones, while slightly better ones cost over a hundred. The most expensive Low Grade Flying Magic Tool was priced almost as high as a Middle Grade one.

After checking the prices and getting a sense of them, Lei Dong left at an unhurried pace. Old Undying rolled his eyes at him again; after looking around for so long, he hadn't bought a thing. Still, he didn't dare act too cocky toward Lei Dong anymore. At the very least, he'd heard that the Ancestor had received Lei Dong and the others and granted them a decent reward.

Lei Dong hurried over to Zhao Baiwan's quarters and called for him to open the door. Then, looking furious and ferocious, he shouted, "Why, you—Zhao Baiwan! How dare you trick me out of my Spirit Stones with a broken Soul Nurturing Pagoda! I'll fight you to the death!"