Kang Prefecture, belonging to the Great Desolation Continent, one of the Nine Provinces of the world. Over ninety-five percent of the vast territory of the Great Desolation Continent belonged to a region called the Great Desolate Desert. Only in the small corners to the east and west were there two tracts of land where humans could thrive for generations. They were named Kang Prefecture and Zhao Prefecture, respectively. The environment within the Great Desolate Desert was harsh, overrun by monstrous beasts; even those who had achieved cultivation found survival difficult, let alone ordinary mortals who possessed virtually no combat strength.

These so-called cultivators were fundamentally dependent on the existence of a massive mortal population. Without mortals, cultivators were merely castles in the air. Even if they achieved temporary dominance, the entire race would gradually decline and eventually vanish into the tides of history.

Of course, throughout history, there were powerful sects that attempted to expand their territories into the Great Desolate Desert, establishing impregnable cities for mortals to live and breed. But ultimately, these endeavors failed due to beast tides, food shortages, natural disasters, plagues, and other calamities, leading to the deaths of countless humans. This reality forced all the cultivators in the Great Desolation Continent to retreat entirely into Kang and Zhao Prefectures, where, relying on natural barriers and fertile lands, they slowly developed to their current state. Nevertheless, as the saying goes, small as a sparrow is, it still has all the vital organs. For the vast majority of low-to-mid-tier cultivators, though they knew the world was vast and Kang Prefecture was small, for those unable to reach anywhere else, Kang Prefecture was their entire universe. Now, a monumental rumor had erupted within the cultivation world of Kang Prefecture in a short period: Tian Mo of the Yin Sha Sect, one of the eight major sects of Kang Prefecture, was scheduled to engage in a life-and-death duel with Fan Quqing of the Tai Shang Sect from Qian Continent.

Whether it was the lofty Supreme Elders of the top sects or the Qi Refining rogue cultivators setting up stalls on the streets in threes and fives, the topic of discussion recently had revolved entirely around the duel between Tian Mo and Fan Quqing. It was not that Kang Prefecture had never seen conflicts between Nascent Soul stage cultivators, but such struggles were always like hidden currents—turbulent beneath a surface of calm.

It had been an unknown length of time since two Nascent Soul cultivators had signed a contract to engage in a life-or-death battle in the arena. After all, within the domain of Kang Prefecture, regardless of the righteous or evil path, Nascent Soul cultivators were already supreme and exceedingly rare existences. How could they possibly risk such a strange peril?

What’s more, this was no ordinary confrontation, but a duel concerning honor. Even those sects holding ancient feuds with the Yin Sha Sect leaned emotionally toward hoping Tian Mo would emerge victorious. This wasn't merely due to regional bias; it was a view taken from the broader strategic picture. Those cultivators who managed to ascend from the common masses all the way to the Nascent Soul stage were invariably supremely intelligent individuals. If Tian Mo were to fail, they could already foresee the various methods of incursion the Tai Shang Sect would employ.

Internal strife was one thing, but external invasion was an entirely different matter. Consequently, under the maneuvering of the Supreme Elders of the Yin Sha Sect, those sects that had secured a foothold in Kang Prefecture relying on special artifacts began to offer clandestine assistance. The most prominent examples were the Spirit Medicine Valley and the Mechanism Sect, two anomalous behemoths.

The Spirit Medicine Valley was a family-style sect that had historically focused on the refinement of elixirs, only recruiting a small number of exceptionally gifted disciples from outside families. Yet, its strength could not be underestimated. Though few in number, they possessed numerous masters. If judged purely by assets, perhaps any single one of the eight major sects could not compare to the Spirit Medicine Valley.

The Mechanism Sect, conversely, was a sect specializing in the refinement of artifacts and mechanism arts. Most members of this sect were technical fanatics, but their standard of artifact forging and the level of their mechanism arts were renowned far and wide. They were one of the few sects in the entire world capable of crafting Nascent Soul level puppets. Naturally, due to a lack of materials and a desire to remain low-profile, the Mechanism Sect publicly declared they possessed only two Nascent Soul level puppets. Whether they had any secretly hidden away, however, was unknown to anyone. In short, this was certainly not a simple sect.

Setting aside the current uproar in the cultivation world of Kang Prefecture, with cultivators flocking toward the Yin Sha Sect’s location.

Let us focus on Lei Dong, whose refinement of a certain Innate Spirit Treasure had reached its most critical juncture. In a mere half an hour, Lei Dong had already exerted his utmost strength, consecutively blocking eight bolts of heavenly lightning. But the ninth bolt was still being brewed.

The terrifying reality, however, was that within those eight bolts of heavenly lightning, Lei Dong had deployed nearly every technique at his disposal. His two high-tier Ghost Generals and the Soul Devouring Shadow Tiger had all been blasted aside by the lightning, left clinging to life. The top-grade spirit artifacts that had accompanied Lei Dong for a long time—the Undying Spirit Shield, the Scarlet Cloak, the Scarlet Refined Flying Sword—and the superior-grade spirit armor had all met their glorious demise. This demonstrated that Lei Dong had thrown caution to the wind to withstand the tribulation lightning. The successive destruction of several soul-refined spirit artifacts had also inflicted a massive shock upon Lei Dong’s own Divine Soul.

Had Lei Dong’s Divine Soul strength not already surpassed that of an ordinary peak Golden Core cultivator, he would likely have suffered Divine Soul annihilation by now, turning into a walking corpse. The Divine Soul is the most vital component of a cultivator; once extinguished, there is no room for recovery.

With a pale face, staring with a touch of dread at the ninth heavenly bolt intensifying in the sky, Lei Dong reflected that although the treasures he had relied upon earlier were all spirit artifacts, they were rare top-grade spirit artifacts that had been nourished by his Divine Soul for decades. In terms of sheer power, while inferior to a mid-grade Dharma Treasure, they far surpassed a common-grade Dharma Treasure. Yet, in this heavenly tribulation, in this war against the heavenly lightning, they had been annihilated one by one.

Wang Lei shouted with a pale face, "Brother Lei, give up, you can't withstand the ninth heavenly bolt!" Wang Lei was disheartened. This was the first time in his life he had refined an Innate Spirit Treasure, but this particular one was terrifyingly high in quality, thus invoking the heavenly tribulation. If it had been ordinary tribulation lightning, it would have been manageable, but it had summoned nine bolts!

Nine is the ultimate number of the cosmos. Usually, nine bolts of heavenly lightning represent the highest level. Even Wang Lei found it hard to believe he had refined an Innate Spirit Treasure capable of summoning nine bolts. Simultaneously, Wang Lei felt deep regret; he had done his best, and Lei Dong had fought desperately, but regrettably, he would never know how truly formidable this rare Innate Spirit Treasure was in his lifetime. He also understood that he likely would never have a second chance. However, Lei Dong’s eyes remained intensely focused on the ninth heavenly bolt, which was reaching its final stage of accumulation, completely ignoring Wang Lei’s words.

Lei Dong was no fool. Having endured the lightning thus far, he could certainly calculate the power of the ninth bolt. He knew his trump cards were not yet exhausted. He swallowed some precious and potent elixirs, along with two top-grade spirit stones, which began to pour the purest energy ceaselessly into his body.

Consuming top-grade spirit stones was not the first time Lei Dong had done such a thing, yet almost no one in the entire cultivation world dared to follow suit. The reason was simple: although the spiritual energy within a top-grade spirit stone was near ultimate purity, any spiritual energy, no matter how refined, caused significant harm to the body if it wasn't tempered repeatedly through meridians and the Dantian. Furthermore, the amount of spiritual energy contained within each top-grade spirit stone was terrifying. If swallowed directly, it could easily rampage unchecked within the body. This was unlike consuming elixirs; some elixirs were potent, but their effects were precisely calculated and refined by the alchemist.

However, Lei Dong possessed something utterly different from ordinary cultivators: the lineage of the Ancient Demon Emperor Sect.

Lei Dong’s entire body began to tremble violently. The tie holding his somewhat messy long hair snapped, and his unbound locks flew wildly. On his forehead, between his brows, the Demonic Seed, resembling a third eye, slowly manifested. His gaze was cold and filled with imperial authority, causing a complete transformation in his entire demeanor. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, as if he had completely subdued heaven and earth beneath his feet.

A powerful and suffocating aura spread outward from him. Wang Lei, who had just completed the final step of perfecting the Myriad Ghost Banner, froze in place, feeling an inexplicable urge to submit and worship him. The words he had intended to shout were immediately swallowed back. Wang Lei was not weak—he was currently a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator—but the terrifying pressure radiating from Lei Dong made him feel as if he were facing a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Almost simultaneously, the ninth heavenly bolt, thick as a water bucket, arrived as promised, its roar targeting the newly formed Myriad Ghost Banner.

Tremble.

The pair of wings on Lei Dong’s back flashed powerfully. Amidst a blur of residual images, Lei Dong landed beneath the heavenly lightning. Condensing the power of his entire being, he unleashed a Black Dragon Roar. Aoooo!

The black dragon roared and coiled, lunging fiercely toward the sky.

Instantly, the ferocious heavenly lightning and the extremely realistic black dragon collided violently. It seemed they were evenly matched, erupting in an intensely powerful shockwave that made the air ripple outward continuously.

The mere aftershock swept the unprepared Wang Lei, banner and all, directly away. However, the ninth heavenly bolt was ultimately too ferocious. With Lei Dong’s current power, which approached the Nascent Soul stage, he only managed to neutralize the majority of its force. The remaining lightning fiercely struck Lei Dong, slamming him toward the barren island and kicking up a massive cloud of dust.

When everything finally subsided.

In the center of the island, a colossal crater had appeared. Wang Lei's precious set of cauldrons had been warped into a twisted mass. Just as Wang Lei stared in utter horror, the charred and naked Lei Dong slowly rose from the pit and drawled, "Brother Wang, did we succeed? I want to see the Innate Spirit Treasure, the Myriad Ghost Banner."

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