The Soul Nurturing Pagoda

After three days of immersing himself so deeply in the Ghost Taming Art that he forgot to eat and sleep, Lei Dong opened his eyes, feeling both pleased and troubled. The Ghost Taming Art was indeed an extraordinarily powerful technique. However, it was also profound and exceedingly difficult to master. Three days had only given Lei Dong a rudimentary grasp of it. What was more, unlike Chen Ge's Netherflame Bullet, which only required him to absorb Nether Fire while practicing and could then be used freely in battle, the Ghost Taming Art had far greater demands.

Lei Dong's Ghost Taming Art required him not only to make a Soul Nurturing Pagoda for Yin Souls to inhabit, but also to hunt them down and refine them into Ghost Servants. Only then could he summon the Ghost Servants to fight for him. Those things were not even the main problem. Most importantly, the Yin Souls that roamed the wilderness came in different grades. In the eyes of those who practiced the Ghost Taming Art, the vast majority of Yin Souls were Inferior Ghosts. Even after being refined, they could serve only as cannon fodder. Refining Ghost Servants consumed a great deal of time and energy, and required Essence Blood. Inferior Ghosts had little chance of growing stronger, so the effort was hardly worth it.

For every ten thousand Inferior Ghosts, there might be one Spirit Ghost. Spirit Ghosts were divided into five grades: Low-grade, Middle Grade, Upper Grade, Top Grade, and Heavenly Spirit Ghosts. In truth, any Spirit Ghost was worth raising, even a Low-grade Spirit Ghost. But anyone hoping to rely on one as a trusted aide for the long term needed at least a Middle Grade Spirit Ghost. The higher the grade, the rarer the Spirit Ghost; it took nearly a million Inferior Ghosts for even a single Middle Grade Spirit Ghost to appear. Still, the Ghost Taming Art explained that if someone in the Qi Refining Stage was lucky enough to own one Middle Grade Spirit Ghost and a few Low-grade Spirit Ghosts, they would have a significant advantage over cultivators of the same level.

That was why Lei Dong felt both pleased and troubled. He was as poor as could be. Where was he supposed to find a Middle Grade Spirit Ghost?

Spirit Ghosts were hard enough to come by, and he had no good way to obtain a Soul Nurturing Pagoda either. The Ghost Taming Art did list the materials needed to make the sort of Soul Nurturing Pagoda used by beginners like him. But he had none of the materials, and even if he managed to gather them, how could someone with no experience in artifact crafting make a Soul Nurturing Pagoda?

Left with no choice, Lei Dong spent several days refining his Storage Belt and Small Sword. He still couldn't use them with any real proficiency, but he could at least control them. Then he packed his slightly more valuable belongings into his Storage Bag and found a strong servant to take him to the artifact-crafting room belonging to Myriad Ghost Cave. It, too, was overseen by an aged senior brother in the Qi Refining Stage.

When Lei Dong greeted him, the man barely acknowledged him, simply continuing to read a bamboo-slip book. Though Lei Dong felt a touch of irritation, he held his temper and asked about the Soul Nurturing Pagoda.

The old man stared at him for a moment, then immediately began sneering at him, saying he was getting ahead of himself by trying to dabble in an expensive technique like the Ghost Taming Art when he was only at the first layer of the Qi Refining Stage.

From the old man's incessant chatter, Lei Dong gradually began to understand. The Ghost Taming Art might indeed be a powerful technique, but to achieve anything with it, one either needed money—lots and lots of Spirit Stones—or a powerful backer. Only then could one afford a Top Grade Soul Nurturing Pagoda or a Middle Grade or Upper Grade Spirit Ghost. It wasn't that no one started practicing the Ghost Taming Art right away. But most of them had powerful support, such as being a direct relative of some Ancestor. That was how they got the chance to obtain a Middle Grade Spirit Ghost. Of course, unless one was extraordinarily lucky and easily captured an exceptional Spirit Ghost. Myriad Ghost Ancestor, for example, had been lucky enough to obtain a Top Grade Spirit Ghost when he was at the fifth layer of the Qi Refining Stage. It was thanks to that Top Grade Spirit Ghost that he had been so powerful even in the Qi Refining Stage, able to take on difficult missions above his level without trouble. He had grown wealthy from then on, amassed a vast trove of resources, and eventually achieved the Golden Core Path.

Even Myriad Ghost Ancestor, despite his lifelong devotion to Spirit Ghosts, had only managed to obtain one Upper Grade Spirit Ghost and one Top Grade Spirit Ghost after exhausting countless means and spending a fortune. The Top Grade one was a chance find from when he was very young. That showed just how hard it was to find an exceptional Spirit Ghost. A Middle Grade Spirit Ghost was already something one could only hope to encounter by chance.

Spirit Ghosts of even higher grades were beyond the reach of many who practiced the Ghost Taming Art, even if they spent their entire lives searching.

His face flushing red and then pale at the old man's mockery, Lei Dong forced himself to ask how many Contribution Value points the most basic Soul Nurturing Pagoda required. The ten points the old man quoted left Lei Dong feeling choked up. Exchanging for a bottle of Lesser Vitality Pill cost one point of Contribution Value. This most basic Soul Nurturing Pagoda actually cost the equivalent of ten bottles. After hesitating for a long while, he gritted his teeth and asked how much Contribution Value he could get by turning Spirit Stones over to the sect.

"Spirit Stones?" The old man looked as if he didn't want to do business at all. "According to the sect's rules, you can get five points of Contribution Value for handing over one Low-grade Spirit Stone. How many Spirit Stones do you have?"

"I don't have any. I just wanted to ask how much Contribution Value it takes to exchange for one Low-grade Spirit Stone," Lei Dong said without so much as blinking, lying through his teeth.

"Are you messing with me?" The old man snorted. "Ten points per stone. How many do you want?"

"I was just asking." Disappointed, Lei Dong left beneath the old man's angry gaze. He had two Spirit Stones on him, which were probably Low-grade. If he exchanged both, he should be able to get a Soul Nurturing Pagoda. But the difference between the price for handing one over and the price for exchanging one left him unwilling to accept the deal. He wondered if someone with a spare beginner's Soul Nurturing Pagoda might be willing to part with it for just one Spirit Stone.

After asking the strong servant, he learned that there was a senior brother in Myriad Ghost Cave who specialized in doing business. Everyone took their spare items to him to sell, and every so often, he brought them outside to peddle. Yin Sha Sect was, after all, a major sect, and the items its disciples used were generally decent quality. He didn't pay much when buying them, but he could make a tidy profit by selling them to Rogue Cultivators or Aristocratic Clans outside.

When they reached the man's room, the servant helped notify him. Senior Brother Zhao Baiwan, who looked every inch the sharp-minded businessman, warmly invited Lei Dong inside. He didn't look down on him in the slightest for being only at the first layer of the Qi Refining Stage.

Once inside, Lei Dong saw all manner of goods filling the room, as if it were a small shop. He couldn't help smiling.

"Don't laugh, Junior Brother. I, Zhao, know I'm no genius at cultivation, so I can only make a living as a merchant." As he brewed tea for Lei Dong, Zhao Baiwan smiled and explained, "There are only a little over a hundred of us in Myriad Ghost Cave, and everyone's busy cultivating or doing missions. Even if someone has the time to set up a stall, there aren't many customers. The main marketplace is too far away, and it's not worth making the trip for a few small items. So when our fellow disciples have things they've replaced, most of them sell them to me cheap. Junior Brother Lei, make sure to bring me your business in the future."

Lei Dong drank a couple of sips of tea and chatted with him for a bit before stating his purpose.

"A beginner's Soul Nurturing Pagoda? I have one. This is Myriad Ghost Cave, after all, and plenty of people practice the Ghost Taming Art. But it's rare to see someone head straight for it at the first layer of the Qi Refining Stage." Zhao Baiwan picked out a Soul Nurturing Pagoda from among his many wares and handed it to Lei Dong. "Exchanging for this pagoda takes ten points of Contribution Value, which is about the same as two Spirit Stones. It'd fetch about that much outside, too. But we're fellow disciples of the same sect, so I can't take advantage of you. I bought it for six bottles of Lesser Vitality Pill. Since this is our first time doing business, you can have it for six bottles as well."

"How can I accept that?" Lei Dong said, pretending to refuse. Then, somewhat puzzled, he asked, "But this junior doesn't know how much six bottles of Lesser Vitality Pill are worth, or how they compare to Spirit Stones."

"So you do have Spirit Stones, Junior Brother." Zhao Baiwan's eyes brightened slightly as he explained, "Handing over any kind of goods to the sect for Contribution Value is a terrible deal. For example, the Spirit Stones you have would get you only five points each if you gave them to the sect, but exchanging for one costs ten points. So generally, people only use Contribution Value earned from missions or meritorious service to make exchanges. But for convenience, when we buy or sell goods, we calculate their worth based on the exchange rate. The cheapest item to exchange for is the Lesser Vitality Pill: one point per bottle. A Low-grade Spirit Stone is worth ten bottles of Lesser Vitality Pill. So when I work out prices, I usually value a beginner's Soul Nurturing Pagoda at about the same as one Low-grade Spirit Stone."