Lei Dong’s heart lurched. Without sparing a glance at Tantai Bingyun, he transmitted telepathically, “Indeed, this Lei is a native of the Myriad Ghosts Grotto. Does Miss Tantai have some history with my Myriad Ghosts Grotto?”

“Indeed, there is history. A history of hate,” Tantai Bingyun’s voice turned somewhat cold, ethereal, and hard to clearly discern. “Tantai vows in this life to slaughter your entire Myriad Ghost lineage.”

The final syllable, lineage, exploded in Lei Dong’s ear like a clap of thunder.

Lei Dong felt a surge of blood rush upward. After a long pause, his eyes grew equally frigid. He replied calmly, “Regardless of whatever feud you hold with my Myriad Ghost lineage, your very words establish a situation of life-and-death confrontation. This Lei awaits your attempt to slaughter!”

Throughout the exchange, neither person looked at the other, yet in their hearts, they had already marked the other as someone who must die.

“Since everyone has arrived and the time is nearly right,” Lun Lanzhi’s voice interrupted the undercurrents of communication among the assembly below, “this Seat has pressing matters and will not accompany you all to the Heart Demon Palace entrance. From here, Elder Li of this Alliance will guide you.” Li Yijian stepped forward, his expression grave, and spoke in a deep voice, “Esteemed sirs and ladies, please follow me.”

Exiting the main hall, they arrived directly on the grand plaza. Li Yijian swiftly formed a hand seal, and a magical flying boat, about ten zhang long, materialized before the crowd. The vessel resembled a flying sword in shape, entirely silver-white and radiating an aura of sharp, murderous intent. At his invitation, everyone gracefully used their movement techniques to step aboard the boat.

Li Yijian, standing at the prow, his robes fluttering, surged his divine sense outward. A brilliant light enveloped the flying boat, and it shot upward into the sky with effortless speed. From the outside, it appeared like a silver-edged darting fish. Within several dozen breaths, the colossal Sky Dao City shrank rapidly below, soon vanishing from sight.

At this point, the passengers fell silent, choosing instead to sit cross-legged, calming their breath and nurturing their spirit, as everyone knew the Heart Demon Palace was no easy place to breach.

Even aboard Li Yijian’s Silver Fin Flying Boat, it took over a day to reach a desolate, ruined gorge.

Looking down from the high altitude, the immense chasm seemed as if cleaved by a single sword stroke, its side walls perfectly flat. No vegetation grew in the valley floor, only countless dark red shards of rock littered the entire area. The Silver Fin Flying Boat descended slowly, and the passengers disembarked one by one, examining their surroundings using their unique methods. It was broken, desolate, and utterly devoid of human presence.

“Please follow me,” Li Yijian said, hands clasped behind his back. He unfolded his movement technique, his figure as swift and elegant as a flying sword. The representatives from the various sects followed closely behind, employing their own distinct movement arts. Dao Yao Yao Wang Hui’s movement was dashing and nimble, like a flitting butterfly. Mo Yu Sect Li Huntian’s movement resembled a figure wrapped in a ball of flames, moving straight and direct. As Tantai Bingyun flew, her immortal elegance caused her robes to drift gracefully. Qi Feifei of the Yin-Yang Harmony Sect exuded allure with every turn and glance. As for Lei Dong’s Ghost Shadow Evasion, it was elusive, leaving behind a trail of afterimages. Of course, this was merely traveling a normal distance; no one was deploying their full speed.

After walking but a short while, they passed through the great gorge and beheld a magnificent yet ruined altar-like structure. Complex formations arranged it into an octagon, clearly constituting a teleportation array, inscribed with countless intricate patterns unseen by the assembled cultivators.

Seated cross-legged beside the altar was a youth whose attire bore a slight resemblance to Li Yijian’s—clothes black and white, a long sword on his back. Seeing the group arrive, the youth slowly stood up and respectfully greeted them. “Disciple Zhao Wuji pays respects to Martial Uncle Li.”

Lei Dong glanced at him dismissively. His cultivation was only at the second layer of the Barren Foundation stage, and his aura appeared unstable. This Zhao Wuji was likely the designated representative of the Sky Dao Alliance.

“Wuji, dispense with the formalities. I shall introduce you to the esteemed senior brothers and sisters from the Eight Great Sects.” Li Yijian led the group to the altar, offering brief introductions before stating, “Everyone, the time is nearly upon us. I shall now activate the Heart Demon Palace teleportation array and wish you all success in obtaining what you desire.”

Saying this, he retrieved a black token from his storage bracelet, enveloped it in his divine sense, and slotted it into the teleportation array. With several sharp clack-clack sounds, the intricately constructed array slowly powered up. Small slots emerged from each of the eight corners. Seeing this, Li Yijian produced eight high-grade spirit stones and set them into the recesses one by one.

Click-clack. As the slots retracted, the octagonal array began to rotate, faster and faster, whipping the onlookers’ hair into the air. In mere moments, space warped, and a semi-transparent vortex shining with dark light materialized in the center of the formation. The vortex spun slowly from the outside in. A wave of amazement swept the crowd, as teleportation arrays, such intricate formations, had long been lost to history, with only a few ancient relics remaining, rarely seen today.

“Everyone, enter quickly! The high-grade spirit stones will not last long!” Li Yijian shouted, jolting those still mesmerized by the spectacle. Li Huntian of the Mo Yu Sect seemed particularly bold. He let out a cold snort, his body erupting in a demonic flame, and he shot directly towards the dark vortex. As the crowd watched him pass through the swirling energy, the vortex rippled momentarily, but in the next instant, he was entirely swallowed and vanished.

Next came Jiecun of the Vajra Temple, whose temperament was similarly explosive. Undeterred by the demonic sect’s action, he flashed a golden light and pierced the vortex like a hunting arrow. Everyone present was clearly not one to shy away from trouble. One after another, they approached in sequence.

Just as Lei Dong was about to leap forward, Li Yijian’s voice reached his ear: “Nephew Lei, don't forget our agreement.”

Lei Dong nodded, his surrounding Nether Ghost Qi surging dramatically. Like a phantom, he drifted into the vortex. Upon entry, Lei Dong was immediately assaulted by an intense wave of dizziness, and his vision turned pitch black. Even with his robust physique, he felt the urge to vomit. Fortunately, the teleportation lasted only an instant. When his vision cleared, before he could assess his surroundings, a bone-chilling cold swept over him. Especially from his back, he felt a slight involuntary twitch—his body had registered danger before his mind did.

Instinctively, he formed a hand seal, enveloping himself in a semi-transparent, white protective light shield.

Whoosh, whoosh! As the Profound Yin Shield materialized, several sharp whistling sounds indicated projectiles piercing the air. They slammed hard against the shield on his back, causing ripples of energy to spread. The impact was considerable, making even his nascent soul tremble slightly. Simultaneously, Lei Dong flashed forward, turning back to face his attackers. He saw several snow-white vicious wolves, mouths open, spitting sharp, icy spikes at him. The largest among them was stout as a small calf; the ice shards it spat were several times larger than those of the others, emanating an intense, bone-chilling cold. If struck squarely, he doubted the Profound Yin Shield could withstand it.

Lei Dong remained calm. He circulated his vital energy, and dense, inky Nether Ghost Qi welled up, transforming in the blink of an eye into countless wisps of black vapor, like threads and algae, winding around the ice shards. The largest shard, in particular, was entangled by the majority of the ghost energy. Its piercing speed was instantly reduced manifold, and when it struck the shield, it merely produced faint ripples, unable to inflict harm.

Perhaps out of breath to spit more ice, the wolf pack began to howl and pounce. The few vicious wolves moved swiftly, accompanied by gusts of foul air. The lead silver-colored giant wolf was incomparably fast, crossing several zhang in an instant, white cold energy swirling around it, leaving streaks of afterimages.

At this point, Lei Dong discerned that the snow-white wolves were mostly at the late stage of Qi Refining at various levels. However, the singular silver giant wolf possessed the strength of around the second layer of Foundation Establishment. In terms of realm, it was not beneath Lei Dong.

It was due entirely to Lei Dong’s own formidable power that he hadn't been completely overwhelmed by this small pack of white wolves following the momentary lapse during teleportation. Having weathered the initial two waves of attack, his mind settled; it was time to counterattack. Instantly, the black energy surrounding Lei Dong surged, covering an area of tens of zhang in almost a single turn, as if dark clouds had blotted out the sun. The surroundings became like pitch black night, punctuated by continuous, mournful ghostly wails, reminiscent of the Nine Nether Underworld.

Threads and wisps of black energy darted about, wrapping around the wolves like seaweed in the deep sea, acting as countless tentacles. The Black Thread Soul-Entanglement technique was so effective that even Jiecun of the Vajra Temple was momentarily unable to break free, let alone the less powerful white wolves. One by one, they were entangled by the black threads until they could not move. Only the silver giant wolf, while still capable of movement, found its actions significantly slowed. Under Lei Dong’s well-cultivated Ghost Shadow Evasion, the silver giant wolf repeatedly pounced but could not even grasp his shadow.

“Hmph!” The Critical Strike Ghost Guard suddenly materialized and brutally clashed head-on with the silver giant wolf. Although it was only a second-tier Ghost Guard, the amplification from the surrounding Nether Ghost Qi boosted its strength significantly. Employing a Ghostly Strike, its form flickered, actually knocking the silver giant wolf backward in a tumble.

Only then did the silver giant wolf realize its intended prey was too difficult to handle. Tumbling in mid-air, it twisted its body, clearly attempting to flee. But how could Lei Dong allow it? The Nether Ghost Qi surged, flowing like threads and silk, entirely blocking its path. No matter how hard the silver giant wolf struggled or tried to escape, the black threads seemed endless.

It was only a momentary delay before the Critical Strike Ghost Guard caught up. Cooperating with the large number of fierce ghosts summoned from the Myriad Ghosts Banner that Lei Dong had simultaneously unfurled, they managed to slay the silver giant wolf within moments. Receiving Lei Dong’s command to devour its flesh and inner core, the Critical Strike Ghost Guard happily transformed into a mass of ghost mist and enveloped the wolf carcass. As for the wolf soul, Lei Dong released the Soul-Devouring Shadow Tiger, which happily swooped in to swallow it completely.