"Tian Gui Ling, an item bestowed personally by the Ghost King. He mentioned that this operation would take us into the territory of the Demon Dragons. Not only did he dispatch a contingent under my command to await your orders, but he also gifted this Tian Gui Ling. Should a crisis arise, this token can instantly summon the Ghost King to our side." Tu Lei spoke, a hint of envy flickering in his eyes. "Brother Lei, it seems the Ghost King holds you in very high esteem."

Lei Dong turned over the exquisitely crafted, ancient yet imposing token, his expression serious. "Then I shall go pay my respects to the Ghost King to express my gratitude for his profound kindness to this junior."

"There is no need for that. The Ghost King is entering seclusion recently to contemplate advancing to the intermediate rank; there's no need to disturb him," Tu Lei waved his hand. "Let's not delay; we should depart immediately. I will share some intelligence with you on the way."

"Everything is at Brother Tu's discretion," Lei Dong replied with a slight bow.

About an hour later, a full twenty medium to small, pitch-black, sinister-looking flying vessels tore directly into the tumultuous, swirling clouds shot through with crimson and black.

As soon as they entered the cloud layer, dark red lightning frequently erupted, and countless hidden vortices seemed intent on tearing the vessels apart. However, since Tu Lei dared to steer the vessels into such dangerous clouds, he certainly wasn't leading them to their deaths.

Deep, low rumbles of thunder, mixed with red lightning, struck the flying vessels, only to be absorbed by strangely shaped formation discs, leaving the hulls entirely unharmed. The hidden vortices were also spotted long beforehand, either avoided, or annihilated into nothingness by spells blasted out from the vessel where Tu Lei personally held command. The smaller vessels followed closely behind in a (Wild Goose) formation.

Seeing Lei Dong watching with a side glance of astonishment, Tu Lei puffed out his chest slightly with pride. "Brother Lei, don't underestimate the ingenuity of us Ghost Tribe members, especially Senior Heavenly Ghost King. His prowess in formations, talismans, and even alchemy and artifact refining is in no way inferior to the geniuses among your human race. These lightning-dispelling formation discs are the Ghost King's exclusive design; they not only deflect the Blood Lightning but also absorb its energy, storing it within the war vessels to supply their flight, defense, and combat needs."

"Senior Ghost King is such a Heaven-Gifted Genius?" Lei Dong's astonishment was genuine, stirred by the sheer brilliance of the disc's design. At the center of the disc stood an object resembling a lightning rod. It was clear that this world harbored numerous individuals with extraordinary ideas. His respect for the Heavenly Ghost King deepened once more.

"Brother Lei, this formation disc is the Ghost King's closely guarded secret; outsiders cannot know of it," Tu Lei's expression grew solemn. "It is only because we absolutely must conduct business in the Demon Dragon Domain that the Ghost King allowed me to utilize this. If outsiders were to learn that we possess vessels capable of traversing these clouds safely, it could bring disaster upon our Heavenly Ghost City."

Lei Dong's expression tightened as well, and he said seriously, "Brother Tu, Lei Dong understands."

After the necessary instructions, Tu Lei began briefing Lei Dong on the various conditions within the Demon Dragon Domain, while the others started to appreciate the unique spectacle within the churning clouds. Under normal circumstances, unless they were fleeing for their lives, no one would dare fly within these clouds. Even if they entered, they would be terrified, with every defense at full power, fearful that a single misstep would lead to their complete annihilation. Few would have the leisure to observe the bizarre lightning and the dangerously mysterious vortices with an appreciative eye.

Naturally, the cloud layer held more than just vortices and Blood Lightning; there were also various hurricanes, torrential downpours, and even strange races that subsisted entirely within the clouds.

After hearing more explanations from Tu Lei about the Demon Dragons, Lei Dong finally understood. The Underworld Demon Dragon Clan was considered a very powerful race within the Underworld Realm, ranking among the Four Great Clans of the Underworld.

Unlike the Ghost Tribe, which was numerous but varied in quality, the Underworld Demon Dragons inherited the characteristics of their ancient Dragon ancestors: individually formidable strength coupled with an extremely low reproductive rate. The data Tu Lei provided indicated that across all nine layers of the Underworld Realm, the entire adult Demon Dragon population hovered at only about ten thousand.

Yet, these ten thousand Demon Dragons firmly held a position as one of the four superior races of the Underworld Realm. The Demon Dragon Emperor himself was one of the Four Emperors of the Underworld. This demonstrated that the innate talents of the Demon Dragon Clan were not to be underestimated.

It could be said that every single Demon Dragon was an extremely precious asset to their clan. If anyone dared to kill one, once exposed, they risked being hunted down by the Demon Dragon Emperor.

The Demon Dragon Emperor’s forces were not limited to just these ten thousand Underworld Demon Dragons; he represented an entire power faction headed by himself. Given all this, the Heavenly Ghost King had to proceed with extreme caution, even when targeting a lone Underworld Demon Dragon.

Even relying on the advantage of the war vessels, it took nearly a month to reach their destination, and that was by taking a shortcut.

On the eighth layer of the Underworld Realm, the sky seemed exceptionally dim. The Blood Lightning had already shattered five or six lightning-dispelling formation discs in succession.

According to intelligence, this vast, dark, swamp-like region was the territory of a Nascent Soul-level Demon Dragon couple named Tambor. The reason the Heavenly Ghost King chose this location was that Tambor and his mate had recently suffered some misfortune.

It was a fierce conflict with a Ghost Tribe sovereign over territorial rights—a war that resulted in mutual heavy losses, with neither side gaining any advantage.

In the Underworld Realm, countless minor and major wars occurred daily, between different races and even within the same clans. Everything was a struggle for the scarce survival resources. But wars resulting in such severe mutual losses were not common, perhaps because the deep-seated grudges between the parties involved made them eager for a decisive end.

This situation, however, provided Lei Dong with considerable convenience. Otherwise, although there were many Nascent Soul-level Demon Dragons throughout the Underworld, finding a safe target was rare. Tambor was severely injured and was secretly recuperating in a place within the swamp saturated with dense Nether Qi. His Demon Dragon wife had gone out to find some precious healing herbs for her husband.

All of this had fallen perfectly into the Heavenly Ghost King’s intelligence network.

"Brother Lei, you have only the time it takes for two sticks of incense," the twenty warships hovered silently within the dangerous clouds. Through the hazy veil, one could vaguely make out the vast, dark expanse of the swamp below. Tu Lei stated grimly, "Once our operation commences, if the Demon Dragon calls for aid, his main army will arrive within half an hour at the latest. Although the army I brought consists of the Ghost King’s most elite personal guard, they cannot stand against his primary forces. At best, we can eliminate or tie down the Demon Dragon King Tambor’s personal guard."

The strategy had been thoroughly calculated on the journey over, but Lei Dong knew well that anomalies could always arise. He replied seriously, "Brother Tu, two sticks of incense should be enough time to deal with a heavily injured Demon Dragon King. However, to prevent any accidents, if we cannot slay the Demon Dragon King within those two sticks of incense, we will retreat according to the original plan." Truthfully, Lei Dong was quite impressed by the Heavenly Ghost King's intelligence capabilities. Considering the Demon Dragon King dared to heal here, the matter should have been extremely secret, with even his old adversaries having a low chance of discovery. Yet, the distant Heavenly Ghost King had investigated the situation completely.

The banners flying on the twenty ships at this moment bore the sigil of the Ghost King who had fought the Demon Dragon King. This seemingly obvious act of framing would only make events more unpredictable.

Tu Lei began executing the original plan, leading the Heavenly Ghost King’s personal guards—their flags subtly altered—to launch a surprise assault downwards. The dive of the twenty warships carried immense momentum, and as the magical cannons roared, bursts of green fireworks erupted across the swamp.

The personal guard of the Demon Dragon King Tambor was thrown into utter disarray, completely unprepared for their clandestine location to be discovered by their old adversary. As personal guards, they were naturally the most loyal to the Demon Dragon King. Hundreds of his guards rushed forward, shouting words like "Protect the Demon Dragon King!"

The two forces quickly became locked in combat. Ultimately, Tu Lei’s army proved superior, heavily suppressing the Demon Dragon personal guard.

The Demon Dragon King Tambor, healing beneath the swamp, suddenly roared, his massive body, tens of feet long, lunging outward. He roared, "Underworld Ghost King, this King swears eternal enmity with you!"

Seeing this, Lei Dong narrowed his eyes slightly and immediately shouted, "Let's go, finish him quickly!"

Dongfang Fu, Ding Wanyan, Qi Feifei, and their respective Ghost General battle pets all charged toward the Demon Dragon King. Simultaneously, they unfurled their respective Ten Thousand Ghost Banners. Including Little You, the number of fierce ghost troops was certainly no less than two hundred thousand. Losses from previous battles had long been replenished; in the Underworld Realm, the only thing not scarce was the countless Yin souls and fierce ghosts to serve as cannon fodder. Moreover, Lei Dong himself had brought a large reserve of fodder troops.

With this formation, even an undamaged Demon Dragon King would struggle to resist, let alone one as heavily wounded as this one.

The battle immediately entered a fever pitch from the start. The Demon Dragon King attempted to retreat several times, but each time, he was relentlessly entangled by Lei Dong and Little You for several crucial breaths, combined with various sealing talismans that repeatedly shattered the Demon Dragon King’s escape plans.

However, this only provoked the heavily wounded Demon Dragon King into extreme rage, causing him to fight desperately. As a descendant of the ancient Dragon race, his power was immense and terrifying; he became even more fearsome in his injured state.

Dense green demonic flames burned the entire sky a sickly emerald color, incinerating countless fierce ghosts into ashes, truly becoming cannon fodder.

...