Prioritizing one for the Heavenly Dao Alliance, one for himself, and one for his senior sister, the immense burden made it so that no matter who Lei Dong looked at, they seemed grating to his eye. Be it Wang Hui of the Carefree Path, or Li Huntian of the Demonic Prison Sect, Lei Dong almost wished he could kill them all off before even entering the arena, thus thinning out the strong competition. Of course, Lei Dong wasn't foolish; he knew that among everyone present, Qingtai Bingyun was likely the toughest to cross, followed by Wang Hui and that Li Huntian. He had already sparred with the monk Jiechen—a man whose temperament was fiery and whose possessions were not easily taken. The remaining three were Xi Donglai of Yin Na Mountain, Wu Peng of Asura Heaven, and Qi Feifei of the Joyful Union Sect. While they were certainly no pushovers, it was still far better than trying to snatch anything from someone as unfathomable as Qingtai Bingyun.

When that Bangtai Bingyun heard that Ding Wanyan truly could not attend, the eyes she had opened slowly closed. It seemed, in her heart, only Ding Wanyan was worthy of being her adversary. This provoked Li Huntian, whose eyes flickered with sparks of fire, murderous intent surfacing repeatedly.

Just then, a loud announcement came from the doorway: "Reporting to the Alliance Master, Dongfang Fu, representative of the Yin Sha Sect, has arrived."

"Oh?" Canglanzi, who had been half-lidded all this time, suddenly seemed invigorated: "Quickly, invite her in." By now, most people present were intimately familiar with the name Dongfang Fu. Even Canglanzi had frequently heard her name mentioned. It was said that as soon as she entered the sect, she was judged to be a rare talent for the Yin Sha Sect in a hundred years. Furthermore, by aligning with Ding Wanyan to form the Twin Yin Evils, her fame soared.

Of course, what concerned Canglanzi the most was that Dongfang Fu’s master was the recent, world-renowned, newly ascended Nascent Soul Overlord, the Demon Sovereign’s prized disciple. Nearly every large and small faction under the Heavenly Dao Alliance had sent representatives to offer congratulations. It was rumored that Dongfang Fu had already been privately designated by the Demon Sovereign as his successor; once she reached the Golden Core stage, he intended to pass the lineage of the Demonic Palace to her.

As expected, Dongfang Fu entered with an air of solitary elegance in a flowing black dress. The eyes behind her black veil were as deep as the endless void, captivating the mind. The young talents in the hall were seeing Dongfang Fu for the first time, especially the men, who stared with wide eyes, fixed upon this woman who seemed like a goddess of the night. What agitated their spirits the most was that her cultivation base had reached the fifth level of the Foundation Establishment stage, the very same as Bangtai Bingyun of the Heavenly Sound Palace. Even Bangtai Bingyun, who seemed to regard everyone—save for Ding Wanyan—as beneath her notice, was momentarily stunned the instant she saw Dongfang Fu. Originally, Bangtai Bingyun thought Dongfang Fu was merely benefiting from having a good master, causing others to dare not equate her with Ding Wanyan. Who would have thought that the Yin Sha Twin Evils truly lived up to their name? Equally outstanding, equally dazzling.

"Dongfang Fu of the Yin Sha Sect greets the Alliance Master." Dongfang Fu curtsied gracefully, her voice so cold it sent shivers down to one's core.

"No need for ceremony, no need." Before Dongfang Fu had fully bowed, Canglanzi’s gentle divine sense lightly supported her.

Then, Canglanzi broke into a warm smile, chuckling with feigned concern, "How is the Demon Sovereign’s health?"

"My Master is in perfect health, thank you for your concern, Alliance Master." Dongfang Fu replied with frosty pleasantries; she didn't exactly detest these courtesies, but she certainly didn't enjoy them. Her gaze swept casually over the hall before settling on Lei Dong. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly: "Lei Dong?" Hearing this, Lei Dong could no longer pretend to be deaf and mute. He forced himself to stand up, cupped his hands in a bow, and said, "Lei Dong pays respects to Senior Sister Dongfang. I came here at the invitation of the Heavenly Dao Alliance to represent them in this Heart Demon Palace journey."

Dongfang Fu had always been detached and didn't pay much mind to this. It was just slightly unusual to see Lei Dong present. Even stranger was the fact that he had already reached the peak of the second layer of the Foundation Establishment stage. Hearing this, she nodded and sent him a private telepathic message: "Your cultivation has progressed well. Perhaps in seven years, you will truly be qualified to fight Huangfu Ce."

"I ask Senior Sister Dongfang to keep this confidential for this junior," Lei Dong replied telepathically as he took two steps forward and directly extended an invitation: "Senior Sister Dongfang, please come sit over here."

Dongfang Fu’s nature was inherently aloof. However, the Demon Sovereign, to prevent her from repeating his own past mistakes, had forced her to seek friendships. Because of this, she maintained surface-level cordiality with a few junior sisters in the Demonic Palace. But in Dongfang Fu's eyes, only Ding Wanyan counted as a true friend. Every person of exceptional talent possesses an ineffable pride. It was only with Ding Wanyan that she could feel genuine threat, challenge, and even mutual understanding.

Though she never quite understood why Ding Wanyan liked Lei Dong, friendship demanded respect. Since he was the man Ding Wanyan favored, in a sense, Dongfang Fu had categorized him as one of her own. He was one of the few in her simple framework of 'one's own people.'

Consequently, she would not refuse such an invitation. Following Lei Dong's guidance, she walked to the seat just above Li Huntian of the Demonic Prison Sect. Li Huntian’s expression was undeniably sour, yet he had to admit that, purely based on cultivation, Dongfang Fu was indeed a step above him. In the Cultivation World, especially among the demonic sects, the logic of "the strong are respected" reigned supreme. Despite his inner dissatisfaction, it was only a cold snort in the end. Moreover, although Dongfang Fu’s appearance was obscured, simply possessing that demeanor of a creature of the night was a pleasure in itself for someone seated beside her.

Who would have thought that Lei Dong would move his own chair over, acting subserviently, only to set it down several zhang away from Li Huntian before letting Dongfang Fu sit? Immediately following, under the gaze of everyone present, he fetched another chair for himself, brazenly placing it right beside hers, and plopped down. This instantly drew furious looks from several male cultivators. What right did Lei Dong have to sit so close? Most infuriatingly, he sat so shamelessly next to Dongfang Fu—was he worthy?

Lei Dong ignored these looks. Before he was even settled, he rushed off to bring over a small tea table, procured some spiritual tea, and began diligently pouring water and brewing tea. This act caused Canglanzi some minor embarrassment, as it seemed he had forgotten to serve tea. And judging by Lei Dong’s demeanor, he had no intention of serving tea to anyone outside the Yin Sha Sect. He had to swallow his pride and telepathically summon two Foundation Establishment cultivators to handle the rest of the pouring.

"Senior Sister Dongfang, what is your cultivation level? How does it compare to that Tai Tai Bingyun?" Lei Dong asked telepathically, his eyes shifting slightly.

"I only broke through to the fifth layer not long ago. Against that Bangtai Bingyun, we should be evenly matched," Dongfang Fu replied. Although she strongly disliked sitting next to any man, she felt little repulsion toward Lei Dong. Coupled with his attentive service, she couldn't bring herself to reject him. She did, however, ask telepathically with some curiosity: "Why do you ask?"

"That means you are mid-Foundation Establishment! It’s like this, Junior Brother heard that the Heart Cleansing Fruit is quite beneficial for Foundation Establishment cultivators," Lei Dong said, his expression unchanged as he sipped his tea and communicated mentally.

"Done. I guarantee you will get one," Dongfang Fu stated without hesitation. She paused for a beat, then added: "But you shouldn't consume it yet. It would be better to use this item to break through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage when you reach the peak of the fourth layer." Clearly, even for someone with Dongfang Fu's aptitude, the breakthrough to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage in the early stages had been quite difficult. Thus, this was a measure of special regard for Lei Dong.

Lei Dong felt his flattery hadn't been in vain, given how readily Dongfang Fu agreed. However, just one wasn't enough, was it? He immediately sent another message: "Thank you very much, Senior Sister Dongfang. However, this junior has an agreement with the Heavenly Dao Alliance: after helping their second-layer disciples obtain one, the rest will be for this junior. Furthermore..." He hesitated at the end, feeling slightly embarrassed himself, "...this junior also wants to set aside one for Senior Sister..."

Dongfang Fu hadn't anticipated that enjoying a served chair and brewed tea would lead to her getting roped into something. Her starry eyes fixed intently on Lei Dong, and she sent a message: "Lei Dong, are you suggesting that I should snatch a total of four Heart Cleansing Fruits?" The thought of that number made Dongfang Fu feel utterly drained.

"That's not quite it. This junior meant forming a team," Lei Dong quickly messaged back, fearing Dongfang Fu might become enraged and lash out. "Junior Brother already made arrangements with Qi Feifei of the Joyful Union Sect. And that lad from the Heavenly Dao Alliance is also a natural teammate. Although he's only at the second layer of Foundation Establishment, he still counts as manpower. Four people, aiming to snatch only five fruits."

"Only five fruits? Only?" Dongfang Fu sat there, looking as if she might collapse. What kind of teammates had this fellow found for her? Only Qi Feifei was somewhat normal, and even she ranked near the very bottom among the eight disciples. The rest, including Lei Dong himself, were only at the second layer of Foundation Establishment. Dongfang Fu felt an impulsive urge to strike him down with a single sword stroke and end it all.

"Senior Sister Dongfang, please rest assured. If this junior wasn't somewhat confident, I wouldn't dare to be so reckless, would I?" Lei Dong began to coax again. "Moreover, five seems like a lot, but let's each take one as our due share. Then we just need to snatch one extra. Bangtai Bingyun is too difficult, we'll skip her. That lad from the Demonic Prison Sect, though I don't like him, he's from a brother sect; it would be awkward to explain to our elders later. Wang Hui of the Carefree Path has an Ancestor at the Nascent Soul stage; his family certainly isn't poor. That leaves the monk Jiechen from Vajra Temple, Wu Peng from Asura Heaven, and Xi Donglai from Yin Du Mountain. If we set our sights on these three, snatching one Heart Cleansing Fruit should not be a major issue."

After being persuaded by his smooth talk, Dongfang Fu considered that snatching just one extra fruit seemed achievable. However, she couldn't fully promise Lei Dong at this moment, so she only agreed to do her best and told him to call on her if she needed to make a move.

The extent to which she agreed already exceeded Lei Dong's imagination. It seemed his flattery had paid off handsomely. It was a pity that Bangtai Bingyun belonged to the Heavenly Sound Palace; otherwise, given her sheer power, flattering her and clinging to her would have been a good strategy.

Unexpectedly, just as Lei Dong was contemplating Bangtai Bingyun, a voice that sounded quite demure drifted into his ear from Bangtai Bingyun: "So you are also from the Myriad Ghost Cave?"