Chapter Fourteen Investment

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  Of course, the number of ghostly servants that Leidong can control also depends on his own strength. This depends on how strong Leidong's will is, which is also known as spiritual power or divine thought. It is a mysterious and subtle force that rarely has a direct impact on battles, but it has many clever uses. As for Leidong, who was only at the first level of Qi refinement, his grasp of divine thought was still in its infancy and couldn't be considered strong. He could probably control three or four ordinary ghostly souls without issue, but controlling three or four first-level ghostly soldiers might be beyond his abilities.

  There are many ways to strengthen one's mind. The most important way is to improve one's cultivation level, and as long as you reach the second layer of Qi Refining, your mind will definitely rise significantly. Secondly, it is specifically cultivating the mind without improving one's cultivation level, constantly tempering and strengthening the mind. Thirdly, wearing some tools that can enhance and amplify the mind.

  There are many auxiliary techniques for cultivating heart and mind, but according to the rules of Yīn Xiǎo Zōng, except for the first technique which is free, all others need to be exchanged with contribution. Therefore, Léi Dòng temporarily also had to give up this idea. He stayed in the cultivation room, diligently cultivating and nourishing his life.

  Time flies, and another half month has passed. The blood sacrifice has consumed a large amount of Lei Dong's vital energy, but he has finally fully recovered. Of course, it's just a recovery. For over a month now, for the sake of this ghost servant, Lei Dong has suffered greatly, not to mention that his cultivation has almost been stagnant. Fortunately, the one who was sacrificed was a vengeful spirit, which has balanced Lei Dong's mind a lot.

  During this time, Chen Ge and Wei Hua also returned after completing their tasks. When the three of them gathered together for a while, Lei Dong also told Chen Ge about the various difficulties he had encountered while cultivating the Ghost-Subduing Spell, luckily he was extremely lucky and spent three months capturing a single Lingguai.

  The difficulty was also what made Chen Ge's face turn solemn, but in the end, after hearing that the Ling Gui had become a Gui Zu through blood sacrifice and possessed combat strength equivalent to that of a first-level Lian Qi cultivator, Chen Ge and Wei Hua suddenly became overjoyed. Their previous dissatisfaction with Lei Dong's absence from the mission dissipated into thin air, and they repeatedly urged him to rest well. Once he recovered, they would help Lei Dong capture another Ling Gui.

  Of course, they are willing to help and also value the potential of the Thunder Movement Ghost Manual. If Lei Dong can bring two ghost soldiers into action, it will be safer for everyone to do tasks. Although if they accumulate more contribution points, they can also learn the Ghost Manual. However, after hearing that the Ghost Manual is so complicated and the blood sacrifice is quite time-consuming to practice, they all temporarily gave up. For now, let's just have Lei Dong learn it alone, and use the saved contribution points to learn other powerful spells.

  As a result, the three of them formed a small team and took on a task that suited them. Since it was a team task, each person could also gain ten contribution points after completing it. Although the Yīn Xiǎo Sect was a notorious evil sect, it wasn't an organization that would push its disciples into the fire pit just because they were full.

  After all, the new disciples like Chen Goulei have low cultivation, but they bear the responsibility of passing on the sect's legacy. It is unknown whether they will grow into pillars in the future. If they are killed carelessly, it will only weaken the sect's future strength invisibly. The Yīn Shuāng Sect is not a fool, destroying its own walls for those righteous sects to bully in the future.

  Therefore, some tasks for new disciples of the sect, although there are difficulties and easiness, will not lead to a high mortality rate among new disciples. After all, the purpose is to hone them and adapt to the sect's contribution growth system, rather than simply harming them. Moreover, many tasks are specially set up by the sect, with estimated difficulty levels.

  Chen Ge's task was to retrieve a sect token from a mountain valley over 300 miles north of the Wan Gui Cave. Of course, in order to hone his disciples, there was also a second-layer Refining Qi period demonic beast guarding it. Normally, three new first-layer Refining Qi period cultivators who had learned some normal techniques and coordinated properly would have no problem dealing with the demonic beast arranged by the sect. What's more, Chen Ge and the other two had all learned relatively powerful techniques during their Refining Qi period.

  Chen Ge's Ming Huo Dan, is a powerful direct killing spell, while Wei Hua learned the powerful defensive spell Xuan Yin Dun. These two spells, combined with Lei Dong's Yu Gui Jue, are the signature spells of the Yin Xie Sect disciples in the Qi Refining stage, and almost all of them learn it. However, during the initial stages of equipment refinement, due to various reasons, they can only choose some ordinary spells. The three Lei Dongs, each learned one, and when combined, their power will naturally increase greatly.

  From the city of Wan Gui, they found a large horse-drawn carriage, and the three of them sat together in the spacious carriage, heading towards their destination. The speed of the carriage was not fast, and as the road conditions worsened, it would take more than two days to cover just over 300 miles. Of course, if they were riding horses, it would probably only take one day. However, this time they were facing a second-level demonic beast that had cultivated its energy, so they decided to conserve their strength by taking the carriage together.

  Some people can't stand the bumpy carriage ride and slow speed, and Wei Hua, who has been accustomed to luxury since childhood, said in distress: "If we all had flying artifacts, it would be great. The distance of over 300 miles would only take two hours to fly. Chen Shixiong, I still have some spirit stones, why stop me from buying a flying artifact?"

  "Stop daydreaming, Wei Shi-di. We've already asked about the prices. Even the worst flying artifacts cost five or six spirit stones. The slightly better ones cost tens or hundreds. Our spirit stones are limited, so it's better to be frugal. There will be many places where we'll need to use spirit stones in the future." Chen Ge felt a bit depressed, thinking that the hundred spirit stones he brought up the mountain would be enough for him to reach the foundation period. But unexpectedly, after deducting the ones used for miscellaneous expenses and wastage, the remaining spirit stones could only afford to buy himself a slightly better set of clothes, which were still low-quality goods. As for mid-grade items, even if all the spirit stones were spent, not a single mid-grade artifact could be bought. Poor Chen Ge, who was a young master at home, had grown up in luxury and didn't know how to calculate his expenses until he came here.

  The price was also astonishing, tens or even hundreds of spirit stones were spent on it. Even if it was a good flying artifact, the price was still too exaggerated. The low-grade spirit ghost that he had not caught after much hardship was only worth ten spirit stones...

  "It's all because our qualifications aren't good enough, I heard that Dīng Wěi Yán has gained the favor of the old ancestor, and has already obtained a complete set of magical tools, most of which are mid-grade, but her main flying sword is top-grade. Good heavens, it's really a case of people having different fates." Wei Hua spoke about Ding Wei Yan with a tone full of strong jealousy.

  "Be careful what you say, Wei. If this gets back to Sister Ding, it could spell trouble." Lei Dong said with a slight frown, his voice low.

  "Lei Shidi is right, I heard that Ding Shijie has already advanced to the third layer of Qi Refining a few days ago. She's not someone we can afford to provoke." Chen Ge also strongly agreed with Lei Dong's words, it's best to avoid provoking someone like Ding Yuanyan who is an existence that defies the heavens.

  It's still three months before the end of the first year, and Ding Yuanyan has already advanced to the third layer of the Refining Qi stage. This news caused the three of them to fall silent for a moment. Currently, Chen Ge and Wei Hua are both at the middle level of the Refining Qi stage, while Lei Dong is still some distance from the middle level due to his busy schedule with the Ghost Suppressing Technique over the past few months. The difference in their innate talents has already become apparent, and Ding Yuanyan is indeed a rising star.

  "Brother Chen, Brother Wei, I have a suggestion." Lei Dong said after a moment of contemplation: "You two, when you went up the mountain, were carrying some spirit stones. Rather than saving them now, why not exchange more for Cultivation Pills or Breakthrough Bottleneck Elixirs, and focus on closed-door cultivation to improve your cultivation realm? Whatever progress you make is progress, if you encounter a bottleneck or run out of spirit stones, then start doing tasks slowly to accumulate contributions. By that time, you'll at least have three or four layers of cultivation, making it easier to do tasks, with higher efficiency."

  Lei Dong's words made Chen Ge sink into deep thought for a moment before nodding slowly and saying, "Indeed, that's the principle. Wei Hua, let's each give 20 spirit stones to Lei Shidi. If we don't buy unnecessary things and only exchange for medicinal pellets, I estimate it won't be difficult to cultivate up to the fourth layer. After we complete this task, we'll go back and close ourselves off for cultivation, no more running around."

  "Alright, no problem." Wei Hua was even more generous than Chen Ge. He immediately counted out twenty spirit stones from his storage waistband.

  Chen Ge also quickly took out twenty pieces of Ling Stone and handed them over to Lei Dong, saying in a low and serious tone: "Lei Shidi, please don't decline. I believe that with your intelligence and insight, you must know that I am investing in a good deal. I don't ask you to consider me as the leader, but only hope that if one day you become successful, you won't forget about me."

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