Chapter 7: The Emperor's Ghostly Stratagem

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  Lei Dong also felt a bit itchy in his heart and nodded in agreement. However, he immediately became serious and said: "Shixiong, I just don't know what the first item of magic is, what should I learn?"

  Chen Ge hesitated for a moment, his face seemingly reluctant to part with something, but he gritted his teeth. He furtively pulled out a shiny object and quickly handed it to Tang Qian, saying in a low voice: "Thank you, Brother Tang, for taking care of me."

  Tang Qian, who had been silent all along, quickly put away the crystal thing and smiled mischievously on his face, nodding constantly: "Brother Chen, you are indeed generous. I'll take care of Brother Lei's matter." He then took out a jade slip from the deepest part of the cabinet and handed it to Lei Dong: "Brother Lei, there are some spells here, but please choose quickly." As he spoke, he glanced outside with a somewhat guilty conscience.

  As a person who has lived for two lifetimes, Lei Dong naturally knew that there must be some trick to this, and he didn't dare waste any more time. He focused his thoughts on the Jade Scroll and quickly browsed through it. Unlike what Chen Ge said about having thousands of techniques, there were only about ten or so scattered ones. Chen Ge's Ming Huo Dan was listed among them. Lei Dong's mind cleared up, and he began to look at each one individually. Among the dozen or so techniques, most of which Lei Dong liked very much, it was difficult for him to make a decision for the time being. However, at this moment, Tang Qian urged him repeatedly.

  Lei Dong's heart moved, and he chose a technique called "Yu Gui Jue". From the introduction of the technique, it appears to be a powerful technique that can refine ghosts for one's own use. Even before crossing over, Lei Dong, who was fond of games, had always liked the profession of Necromancer. Other professions would fight to the death, but the Necromancer only needed to summon a few skulls, and a large group of minions would rush up to attack, allowing him to sit back, drink tea, read the newspaper, and snack on melon seeds while picking up equipment.

  After Leidong selected the Yu Gui Jue, Tang Qian hastily pulled out a special jade slip from under the cabinet that recorded the Yu Gui Jue. With a smile on his face, he said: "Congratulations, Leishi brother! This is the last jade slip of the Yu Gui Jue technique. Normally, even if you have goods to exchange, it would require thirty contribution points. Come on, let's handle the formalities."

  After a while, Lei Dong and Chen Ge left together. It wasn't until they arrived at Chen Ge's residence that Lei Dong asked about the previous matter, although he knew that even if he didn't bring it up, Chen Ge would look for an opportunity to sell him on it anyway. After all, the sparkling object he had paid out earlier should be quite valuable.

  Chen Ge smiled: "Lei Shidi, you don't know this, but according to the Yin Xie Sect's rules, every new disciple who reaches the first layer of Qi Refining can get a free spell jade slip. However, unless they have a strong background, the person in charge of the spell jade slips just needs to make some small moves and you won't be able to choose an excellent spell. Even if someone directly asks for a specific spell, the person in charge can just push it off saying that the spell jade slip is out of stock. Shidi, if I wasn't here, I'm afraid you would have only been able to choose an ordinary spell this time."

  Lei Dong pretended to be suddenly enlightened and said with a grateful expression: "Thank you, senior brother, for your help. The crystal object I sent out earlier must have been very valuable, right?"

  "That's called a spirit stone, it has many uses. Not only can it assist in cultivation, but it can also be used to drive artifacts and arrays. Sometimes, alchemy and talismans will also use some. Because of its wide range of uses, it is an indispensable resource for cultivators. Therefore, in the cultivation world, spirit stones are usually used as currency to measure the value of something."

  Chen Ge's impression of Lei Dong was also excellent, and he explained to him tirelessly. Then he sighed again and said: "My family is not rich enough to rival a country, but it can be considered wealthy. When my father learned that I had a spiritual root, he immediately dispersed half of the family's accumulated wealth over the years and spent several years getting me 100 spirit stones. It was all for me to join the sect later, to get better treatment by greasing palms."

  Listening to Chen Ge's tone, his family was indeed considered wealthy. However, more than half of the family's property could only be exchanged for a hundred spirit stones. Lei Dong couldn't help but secretly sigh, the price of these spirit stones was too expensive. He wondered how many spirit stones he could buy if he spent all his family's wealth. Seeing Chen Ge seemed to be somewhat melancholic, he comforted him saying: "Elder brother doesn't have to feel distressed, with elder brother's qualifications you will definitely achieve success in your cultivation, and won't disappoint uncle's efforts."

  "Not bad, as long as my brother has the opportunity to achieve his foundation, our family will reach unprecedented heights because of me. Who knows, we might even become rich enough to rival a country." Chen Ge was inspired by him and his morale greatly increased, looking radiant and energetic. He couldn't help but feel more affectionate towards Lei Dong, putting his arm around his shoulder and saying: "Come on, let me show you my Underworld Fireball."

  He finished speaking and summoned a strong servant to bring over several human-shaped targets. At this time, Chen Ge's expression was solemn, he held his breath, concentrated his spirit, and began to make strange gestures with his hands, while muttering incantations in his mouth. The entire process lasted for several seconds. A fist-sized dark fireball, with a faint blue flame tail, shot out with a whooshing sound and hit the human-shaped target.

  The human-shaped target suddenly split into four or five pieces, and the flying wooden blocks were already stained with a faint blue flame, which continued to burn until it turned to ashes. However, Chen Ge, who had just cast the Netherfire Bullet, revealed a satisfied smile on his face, but he was also sweating profusely, his complexion somewhat pale: "Don't laugh, brother, this Netherfire Bullet is a powerful technique in the Refining Qi stage, and I've only been practicing it for a short time. My cultivation level is too low, so it's already not easy to cast it successfully."

  Lei Dong also took a deep breath, indeed as Chen Ge said, because he was not proficient and his movements were too slow. But he had to admit that this thing's power was quite great. Just now when Jian Pu was moving the human-shaped target, Lei Dong paid attention for a moment. He found that the wooden structure of the human-shaped target seemed very heavy. His own family also had a set of wooden furniture, which should be expensive red wood in the mortal world. However, this target was blown to smithereens by Chen Ge's Ming Huo Dan. This power was comparable to a small-caliber cannon. This was the technique displayed by Chen Ge, who was only at the Refining Qi stage. If it were the Old Ancestor of the Ten Thousand Ghosts, Lei Dong simply didn't dare imagine its ferocity...

  Seeing Leidong's eyes and complexion, Chen Ge also seemed to be quite satisfied: "Junior brother, don't be jealous. Your Ghost-Controlling Spell is also a rare and powerful technique. When cultivated to the extreme, even gods will find it hard to resist. Our family's ancestor was said to have liked the Ghost-Controlling Spell the most back then."

  "This is all thanks to Brother Lei's help." Leidong had witnessed the Minghuo Dan, and even with his two lifetimes of experience, he was somewhat unable to hold back the excitement that was stirring up. He wanted to study the Yegui Jue as soon as possible to see if it truly lived up to its introduction, which claimed it had boundless power.

  "You and I are brothers, no need to be too polite. Junior brother, hurry back and contemplate the Ghost-Subduing Spell carefully. Once you have some achievements, we will go on a mission." As he spoke, Chen Ge took out two crystal clear spirit stones, about the size of walnuts, and handed them to Lei Dong. With a serious expression, he said: "Please keep these two spirit stones well, holding them in your hand while cultivating can speed up the process. Although the effect may not be as fast as the Small Pei Yuan Pill, it has a longer lasting effect. At our current level, these two spirit stones are enough for junior brother to use until he reaches the second layer."

  Feeling the warmth and comfort transmitted from the Ling Stone in his hand, Lei Dong did not decline, and after chatting with Chen Ge for a couple of sentences, he returned to his residence. He couldn't wait to take out the jade slip that recorded the Jiegui Secret, and began to meditate in seclusion in his cultivation room. In any sect that cultivates the Tao, in order to maintain the exclusivity of their secret techniques, and to prevent mutual learning between different techniques, there will be an unbreakable seal on the jade slips. For example, this jade slip registered under Lei Dong's name required him to use his own blood as a key to unlock it, after which only Lei Dong himself could use it. Otherwise, Lei Dong and Chen Ge could have exchanged their techniques to learn from each other.

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