Chapter Summaries

Lei Dong explained how Spirit Ghost quality affected Ghost Soldier growth and hunted Yin Souls to produce valuable Middle Grade Spirit Ghosts. While exploring a Mass Grave, he encountered a Level Two Wild Ghost Soldier with Fiend Thunder and attacked it with his Bloodthirsty Ghost Soldier.

• Lei Dong concluded that his Soul Devouring Pagoda could produce Middle Grade Spirit Ghosts, which he planned to sell to earn enough for a Soul Nurturing Pagoda.
• Lei Dong traveled among Mass Graves near Myriad Ghost City, avoiding dangerous sites where powerful Wild Ghost Soldiers or Guards might lurk.
• A Level Two Wild Ghost Soldier ambushed Lei Dong with Fiend Thunder, blasting a crater beneath him, but he escaped using his Cloud Ascending Boots.
• Lei Dong sent his Bloodthirsty Ghost Soldier to fight the Wild Ghost Soldier and realized its awakened intelligence meant it could not become a Blood Sacrifice Ghost Servant.
• Lei Dong launched his Ink Green Small Sword at the Wild Ghost Soldier, intending to let his Bloodthirsty Ghost Soldier devour it.

Lei Dong strengthened his Ghost Soldiers by hunting Yin Souls, then considered selling an extra Middle Grade Spirit Ghost to fund a Flying Magic Tool. The chapter ended with him confronting Zhao Baiwan over a supposedly broken Soul Nurturing Pagoda.

• Lei Dong's Bloodthirsty Ghost Soldier devoured a Level Two Wild Ghost Soldier and nearly reached Level Two, then later advanced to Level Two after consuming another Ghost Soldier.
• Lei Dong fled from a Level Four Wild Ghost Soldier, then hunted cautiously and collected about thirty Soul Beads over three months.
• Lei Dong used Soul Beads to raise his three Low-grade Spirit Ghosts to Middle Grade, giving him four Middle Grade Spirit Ghosts in total.
• Lei Dong decided to sell one Middle Grade Spirit Ghost at a distant cultivator market and looked into buying a Flying Magic Tool.
• Lei Dong checked Flying Magic Tool prices at Old Undying's exchange before going to Zhao Baiwan's quarters and accusing him of selling a broken Soul Nurturing Pagoda.

Lei Dong confronted Zhao Baiwan over a Soul Nurturing Pagoda that had killed one of his Spirit Ghosts and secured thirty Spirit Stones in compensation. He then negotiated to buy Zhao Baiwan’s Phantom Flying Sword, learning that its speed and nighttime concealment came at the cost of twice the usual energy consumption.

• Lei Dong accused Zhao Baiwan of selling him a faulty Soul Nurturing Pagoda, and Zhao Baiwan tried to placate him to avoid attracting the Ancestor’s attention.
• Lei Dong demanded compensation for his dead Spirit Ghost and accepted thirty Spirit Stones from Zhao Baiwan.
• Lei Dong asked Zhao Baiwan about buying a Low Grade Flying Magic Item and set a budget of around three hundred Spirit Stones.
• Zhao Baiwan presented the Phantom Flying Sword and explained its speed and concealed dark-green glow, then admitted it consumed twice as many Spirit Stones as comparable flying tools.
• Lei Dong considered the sword’s heavy operating cost but decided its speed and nighttime concealment made it valuable for his safety.

Lei Dong bought Zhao Baiwan’s Spirit Stone-hungry Phantom Flying Sword and learned to ride it, then flew through the night toward a distant marketplace. After arriving exhausted, he disguised himself and entered the town-like market.

• Lei Dong bargained with Zhao Baiwan and bought the Phantom Flying Sword for a hundred and fifty Spirit Stones.
• Lei Dong spent several days refining the Phantom and practiced flying it, gradually learning to steer while consuming two Spirit Stones in a day.
• Lei Dong decided to travel to a distant marketplace to sell an extra Middle Grade Spirit Ghost and buy a top-quality Soul Nurturing Pagoda.
• Lei Dong departed at dusk and flew through the night, pushing the Phantom to its limit while worrying about danger beyond Myriad Ghost Cave.
• After two nights of travel, Lei Dong arrived near the marketplace, changed into plain clothes to conceal his identity, and entered.

Lei Dong studied the marketplace before selling his Middle Grade Spirit Ghost to the reputable Spirit Ghost Pavilion. He left with eleven hundred Spirit Stones, giving him more than a thousand in assets.

• Lei Dong spent more than twenty days observing the marketplace and learning its prices and customs.
• Lei Dong chose a reputable Spirit Ghost shop and entered under the name Chen Hua to sell his Middle Grade Spirit Ghost.
• Shopkeeper Li assured Lei Dong that the transaction would remain confidential after recognizing that he was likely a Yin Sha Sect disciple.
• Lei Dong negotiated with Shopkeeper Li and sold the Spirit Ghost for eleven hundred Spirit Stones.

Lei Dong returned to Myriad Ghost Cave with an Upper Grade Soul Nurturing Pagoda, refined two Middle Grade Spirit Ghosts, and advanced to Qi Refining Third Layer while preparing for the Three Year Small Competition. At the competition gathering, he approached Ding Wanyan to thank her for helping him and his friends.

• Lei Dong sold a Middle Grade Spirit Ghost, bought an Upper Grade Soul Nurturing Pagoda, and evaded cultivators pursuing him on his way back to Myriad Ghost Cave.
• Lei Dong read messages reporting Chen Ge, Wei Hua, Ding Wanyan, Zuo Chao, and Zhou Minghua's cultivation progress, then Blood Sacrificed his two remaining Middle Grade Spirit Ghosts.
• Lei Dong's two new Ghost Soldiers advanced quickly and comprehended Ghost Howl and Escape Technique, while Lei Dong continued cultivating and reached the middle of Qi Refining Second Layer.
• Lei Dong broke through to Qi Refining Third Layer, strengthened his Mind Power and spiritual sense, and arrived at the Martial Arts Hall for the Three Year Small Competition.
• Lei Dong approached Ding Wanyan and thanked her for speaking up for him, Chen Ge, and Wei Hua before the Ancestor, surprising the other disciples.

Lei Dong gave Ding Wanyan a Storage Bracelet and explained how he had used a Middle Grade Spirit Ghost to acquire a high-grade Soul Nurturing Pagoda. He revealed that the public gift was also meant to make Zhou Minghua think twice about targeting him in the upcoming Three Year Small Competition.

• Lei Dong offered Ding Wanyan a Storage Bracelet and said he was not trying to curry favor with her.
• Lei Dong explained that he had sold a Middle Grade Spirit Ghost to buy a high-grade Soul Nurturing Pagoda and raise three Low-grade Spirit Ghosts.
• Lei Dong persuaded Ding Wanyan to accept the bracelet by describing it as a token of gratitude for her life-saving help.
• Ding Wanyan accepted the bracelet, provoking jealous reactions from the watching disciples, especially Zhou Minghua.
• Lei Dong reflected that he had given the bracelet publicly to deter Zhou Minghua and secure Ding Wanyan's support if their conflict turned deadly.

The Three-Year Small Competition began, with its rules, rankings, rewards, and punishments announced before the disciples drew opponents. Lei Dong drew Wu Qianqiu, while Wei Hua was matched against Ding Wanyan and was dragged toward their first-round fight.

• A Ghost Slave announced the competition’s no-killing rule, severe punishment for deliberate killing, ranking rewards, and ninety-six-day format.
• Lei Dong drew Wu Qianqiu as his first opponent, and their match was scheduled for the second bout at Arena C.
• Lei Dong assessed the other disciples’ cultivation and decided to avoid revealing his full strength despite being tempted by the first-place reward.
• Chen Ge and Wei Hua teased Lei Dong about Ding Wanyan, then Chen Ge warned him to concede if he faced Zhou Minghua.
• Wei Hua drew Ding Wanyan and, after hesitating, was carried by Lei Dong and Chen Ge and tossed onto Arena B.

Ding Wanyan and Lei Dong competed in the Myriad Ghost Cave tournament, with Ding Wanyan earning a point after Wei Hua immediately surrendered. Lei Dong defeated Wu Qianqiu in a fierce Arena C match and left with one point.

• Wei Hua greeted Ding Wanyan, then surrendered as soon as his match began, giving her a point.
• Lei Dong and Chen Ge went with Ding Wanyan to Arena C, where two Qi Refining Third Layer cultivators fought until one conceded.
• Wu Qianqiu attacked Lei Dong with Ghost Sha Palm, but Lei Dong blocked the strike with his Level Four Bloodthirsty Ghost Soldier.
• Lei Dong and Wu Qianqiu exchanged attacks, with Lei Dong using his Cloud Ascending Boots to evade Wu Qianqiu's sword while the Bloodthirsty Ghost Soldier pressured him.
• The Bloodthirsty Ghost Soldier shattered Wu Qianqiu's shield, and Wu Qianqiu conceded, giving Lei Dong the victory and one point.

Lei Dong revealed his Upper Grade Soul Nurturing Pagoda during the tournament and continued winning until he drew Zhou Minghua as an opponent. Before their duel, Chen Ge and Wei Hua provoked Zhou by exposing a scandal about his family, and Zhou attacked Wei Hua with Spirit Slaying Finger.

• Lei Dong stored his injured Bloodthirsty Ghost Soldier in his Upper Grade Soul Nurturing Pagoda, drawing the crowd’s envy and the referee’s attention.
• Lei Dong watched other matches, won twelve contests in a row, and observed Zhou Minghua’s strengths and weaknesses.
• Lei Dong drew Zhou Minghua for a match on Arena No. 1, and Zhou waited there with lackeys who insulted Lei Dong.
• Chen Ge and Wei Hua mocked Zhou Minghua and revealed that people in Fan City said Zhou called his own father Grandpa.
• Zhou Minghua attacked Wei Hua with Spirit Slaying Finger, but Wei Hua blocked it with Profound Yin Shield and challenged Zhou over the family scandal.

Zhou Minghua attacked Chen Ge and Wei Hua after they exposed his secret, but the Ghost Servant stopped the fight and ordered him and Lei Dong to continue at the arena. Zhou Minghua challenged Lei Dong to a fight to the death, and both signed the Life and Death Contract before their match began.

• Zhou Minghua's Spirit Slaying Finger struck Chen Ge's shield, and Chen Ge retaliated with a Netherflame Bullet that cracked Zhou Minghua's low-grade shield.
• Wei Hua's Fire Cloud Sword broke through Zhou Minghua's damaged shield, but Zhou Minghua's Profound Yin Shield stopped it just short of his chest.
• The Ghost Servant stopped the fighting, heard Lei Dong's account, and ordered Zhou Minghua and Lei Dong to continue their match at Arena No. 1.
• Chen Ge told Lei Dong to win if he could and surrender if necessary, while Lei Dong said he was ready to fight.
• Zhou Minghua challenged Lei Dong to a fight to the death, and the Ghost Servant ordered the referee to prepare the contract.
• Zhou Minghua and Lei Dong signed the Life and Death Contract, and the referee declared their match underway.

Lei Dong gained the upper hand in his life-and-death duel with Zhou Minghua by combining his flying Magic Tool with two Ghost Soldiers. Zhou Minghua surrendered, but Lei Dong continued the attack, leaving his fate unresolved.

• Lei Dong dodged Zhou Minghua's Spirit Slaying Finger while the Bloodthirsty Ghost Soldier attacked his Profound Yin Shield, and Zhou Minghua used a Minor Return Origin Pill to restore his true qi.
• Zhou Minghua sent his Cold Yin Flying Sword after Lei Dong, who escaped on Phantom and used his Small Sword to disrupt the attack.
• Zhou Minghua's Flying Sword struck at the Bloodthirsty Ghost Soldier until its shield broke, while Lei Dong's hidden Shadow Ghost Soldier ambushed Zhou Minghua and wounded his back.
• Lei Dong and his Ghost Soldiers pressed their assault as Zhou Minghua exhausted his true qi, and the Shadow Ghost Soldier's second strike left Zhou Minghua with little chance to defend himself.
• Zhou Minghua surrendered and promised not to fight Lei Dong again, but Lei Dong ordered his weapons to keep attacking.

Lei Dong killed Zhou Minghua in their life-and-death duel and claimed his possessions and status as a Personal Disciple. After summoning Lei Dong, Myriad Ghost Ancestor approved the outcome and formally made him one of his Personal Disciples.

• Lei Dong’s Ghost Soldiers devoured Zhou Minghua after Lei Dong killed him, and Lei Dong collected the defeated disciple’s Flying Sword and Storage Belt.
• The referee declared Lei Dong the winner, and his cohort began addressing him respectfully as Senior Brother.
• The Ghost Servant told Lei Dong to visit the Ancestor the next morning, leaving Lei Dong anxious about the consequences of killing Zhou Minghua.
• Lei Dong waited through the morning before appearing before Myriad Ghost Ancestor and admitting he had acted boldly.
• Myriad Ghost Ancestor said Zhou Minghua’s defeat accorded with the sect’s rules and named Lei Dong one of his Personal Disciples.

Lei Dong became the Ancestor’s Personal Disciple, gaining resources and guidance that would help his cultivation. He finished fifth in the Small Competition after losing narrowly to Zuo Chao, though he believed he could have won by revealing all three ghosts.

• Lei Dong accepted the Personal Disciple title and learned about its allowances, Spirit Cave quarters, cultivation lectures, and discounted exchanges.
• Lei Dong asked the Ancestor questions about cultivation and received a Middle Grade Spirit Ghost as a reward.
• Lei Dong met a few visitors, then advanced through the Small Competition by conceding several matches.
• Lei Dong lost narrowly to Zuo Chao after fighting with two Ghost Soldiers, and the two began calling each other Senior Brother.
• Lei Dong forced his final opponent to concede, and the rankings placed Ding Wanyan first, Zuo Chao second, Chen Ge third, Wei Hua fourth, and Lei Dong fifth.

Lei Dong hit a bottleneck at the peak of the Fifth Layer and learned that an Earth Spirit Pill could help him break through, but its price was far beyond his means. He decided to use the Soul Devouring Pagoda to build wealth and marked nearby Yin Sha Lands on a map as potential hunting grounds.

• Lei Dong spent two and a half years cultivating as a Personal Disciple and reached the peak of the Fifth Layer, but failed three times to break through to the Sixth Layer.
• Lei Dong learned that Earth Spirit Pills were expensive but could greatly improve his chance of overcoming a bottleneck.
• Lei Dong decided to earn enough money for an Earth Spirit Pill by raising a Middle Grade Spirit Ghost with the Soul Devouring Pagoda.
• Lei Dong bought a Jade Slip map of the Yin Sha Sect's territory and marked the lower-grade Yin Sha Lands.

Lei Dong harvested Yin Souls across the Yin Sha Domain for a hundred and twenty days, building up Soul Beads as he prepared to refine a Middle Grade Spirit Ghost before the next Small Competition. As he left another Yin Sha Land, a third-generation disciple of the Yin Sha Sect arrived on an Evil Ghost Banner.

• Lei Dong used his Ghost Soldiers and Divine Scan Technique to collect Yin Souls efficiently in a battlefield valley.
• He moved among several Yin Sha Lands for a hundred and twenty days, capturing more than eighty thousand Yin Souls and collecting 142 Soul Beads.
• Lei Dong found only six Low-grade Spirit Ghosts among his captures, but his ghosts devoured a level-five Wild Ghost Soldier.
• He decided he needed to refine a Middle Grade Spirit Ghost and sell it for an Earth Spirit Pill to aid his breakthrough before the next Small Competition.
• As Lei Dong prepared to leave at dawn, three cultivators landed nearby, and he recognized the leading disciple's Black Mist mount as an Evil Ghost Banner.

Lei Dong confronted an arrogant Ghost Fiend Mansion youth who demanded his Soul Nurturing Pagoda and threatened to refine him into an Evil Ghost Banner. Lei Dong pretended to surrender, then summoned a Ghost Soldier while feigning trouble removing his Spiritual Sense imprint.

• The ugly young man arrived on an Evil Ghost Banner with two women and accused Lei Dong of trespassing on Ghost Fiend Mansion territory.
• Lei Dong calmly explained that he had come to capture Yin Souls, but the ugly young man demanded his Soul Nurturing Pagoda.
• When Lei Dong cited the Yin Sha Sect's rules against robbing fellow disciples, the ugly young man mocked him and threatened to extract his Living Soul.
• Lei Dong pretended to panic and offered the ugly young man his high-grade Soul Nurturing Pagoda.
• The ugly young man ordered Lei Dong to erase the Spiritual Sense imprint, and Lei Dong's apparent attempt instead summoned a Ghost Soldier.

Lei Dong killed the arrogant son of the Ghost Fiend Ancestor after luring him into a coordinated ambush by his three Ghost Soldiers. He fled more than ten thousand miles and hid in a cave, where he realized the danger of killing such a powerful man's beloved son.

• The ugly young man threatened Lei Dong, who pretended to surrender before ordering his Shadow Ghost Soldier to stab him.
• Lei Dong used the Bloodthirsty Ghost Soldier and Fierce Howl Ghost Soldier to overwhelm the ugly young man, then killed him with his Cold Yin Flying Sword.
• Lei Dong killed the two women who pleaded for their lives after the young man's death.
• Lei Dong fled on Phantom for a day and night, traveled more than ten thousand miles, and hid in a cave guarded by his Ghost Soldiers.
• Lei Dong learned that the dead young man was the biological son of the Ghost Fiend Ancestor and feared the consequences, though he did not regret killing him.

After killing Ghost Fiend Ancestor’s son and two women, Lei Dong seized the chance to advance to the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining while hidden in a cave. He examined the dead young man’s rich haul and realized how dangerous his opponent’s hidden weapons had been, but kept the valuable treasures for himself.

• Lei Dong meditated after the killings, sensed an opportunity to break through, and ordered the Three Ghost Soldiers to guard the cave.
• Lei Dong advanced from the fifth to the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining and endured the Marrow Cleansing and Hair Washing that came with the breakthrough.
• Lei Dong examined the women’s belongings and erased the divine sense imprint on the ugly young man’s Storage Belt.
• Lei Dong discovered five Yin Sha Thunder and ten Return Origin Pills in the belt and realized the young man could have overwhelmed him in a drawn-out fight.
• Lei Dong found over a thousand Spirit Stones, ten Middle Grade Spirit Stones, an Evil Ghost Banner, a powerful shield, and an Upper Grade Ghost Fire Sword among the young man’s possessions.

Lei Dong concealed the conspicuous treasures he had taken from Ghost Fiend Ancestor’s son and used Soul Beads to raise a Spirit Ghost to Upper Grade. Deciding that presenting it would earn him more protection and favor than selling or keeping it, he brought it to Myriad Ghost Ancestor, who reacted with intense excitement.

• Lei Dong buried the Evil Ghost Banner, shield, and other conspicuous loot in a hidden spot, then returned to Myriad Ghost Cave without drawing attention.
• Lei Dong fed a Low Grade Spirit Ghost 112 Soul Beads and raised its quality to Upper Grade.
• Lei Dong weighed keeping the Spirit Ghost, auctioning it, or gifting it to Myriad Ghost Ancestor, and chose to present it to the Ancestor.
• Lei Dong requested an audience and told Myriad Ghost Ancestor that he had found an Upper Grade Spirit Ghost while seeking a valuable ghost to trade for an Earth Spirit Pill.
• Lei Dong offered the Spirit Ghost in an ordinary Soul Nurturing Pagoda, and Myriad Ghost Ancestor eagerly asked whether Lei Dong was certain of its quality.