Lei Dong had considered this proposal carefully. Given his current rate of cultivation, reaching the Golden Core realm would likely take a long time. If he could cultivate a Golden Core-level ally in the near future, his chances of survival would increase considerably. He did plan to upgrade his Critical Hit Ghost Guard to the Ghost General level, but whether a Ghost General could hold its own against a Golden Core Cultivator was still uncertain. After all, cultivators who reached the Golden Core realm were hardly ever poor. Even if they had been poor before, they certainly wouldn't stay that way once they reached Golden Core. The speed and sources of a Golden Core Cultivator's Spirit Stone income far surpassed those of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
Therefore, most Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators in this world could consider themselves well-off if they focused on earning Spirit Stones and made over a hundred thousand a year. Even adventuring in a dangerous place like the Endless Sea for several hundred thousand Spirit Stones a year was about the limit. Captain Qian's team was already making a great deal of money. They could go out to sea twice a year, and even if they averaged three Golden Core Demon Beasts a year, their total income would only be four or five million Spirit Stones. After deducting expenses and consumables and splitting the remainder six ways, each person would take home only a few hundred thousand. And even that wasn't pure profit. In such a dangerous place, who would dare not stock up on pills and powerful talismans? A few hundred thousand Spirit Stones might not sound like much, but to a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator—even one in the late stage—it was a considerable sum. Otherwise, who would risk their life to venture into such