Seeing Lei Dong's expression darken, Chen Ge, adept at reading faces, spoke indignantly, "Brother Lei, that Grand-Ascension Sect is far too arrogant, bullying our Yin Sha Sect for no clear reason. Hmph, but our Heavenly Demon Lord is no pushover either." He was determined to show that woman named Fan Quqing what the Great Heavenly Demon Arts truly were. "Brother Lei, it's all because our strength is too low." Wei Hua's face was equally grim as he sighed, "Otherwise, if the Grand-Ascension Sect dared to offend our Yin Sha Sect, we'd kill every one that came, and fight two against any pair." At this moment, Lei Dong, after the initial shock of anger, had immediately calmed down.

Having lived two lifetimes and experienced so much, how could he not understand that rushing things wouldn't bring a solution? Instead, he took a deep breath, composed himself, and began sipping his tea. Zuo Chao had already mentioned that there were about half a month left until the decisive battle.

Next, Lei Dong began to ponder. Indeed, by logical deduction, if a sect's disciples were killed, a powerful, supreme faction absolutely could not ignore it. Sending out eight Nascent Soul cultivators at once, one of whom was high-level, was excessive, but still within reason.

However, Lei Dong knew an inside detail that others did not: the mysterious storage chest. Lei Dong had the Blood Demon take this storage chest to Zhao Prefecture, and Lei Long helped erase its soul imprint. Calculating the time, if everything went smoothly, the Blood Demon should be returning soon.

Perhaps the Eight Sons of Lingxiao were also burdened with a secret mission. If it were only about Li Yao, things would be relatively simple. But if the storage chest was involved, the entire matter might become quite complicated.

Then again, Lei Dong was almost certain that the reason the Heavenly Demon agreed to the confrontation was to muddy the waters and buy time. And for fear of disturbing Wang Lei and himself while refining treasures, she hadn't sent a single person to the desolate island to pass on a message from beginning to end. This point made Lei Dong's heart tremble slightly, and at the same time, he made a firm decision: no matter the outcome of this battle, he absolutely would not allow anything to happen to the Heavenly Demon.

And it certainly wouldn't be easy for the arrogant and aggressive Eight Sons of Lingxiao to leave Kang Prefecture alive. Lei Dong clearly remembered that the Netherworld Ghost Emperor and the Yaksha King each owed him a huge favor. If either one of them intervened, letting even one of the Eight Sons of Lingxiao escape would be a sheer embarrassment for a Soul Transformation stage cultivator.

Putting the matter aside for the moment, Lei Dong began inquiring about the changes at Wenxiang Cottage over the years. Lei Dong didn't ask, and when he did, he was thoroughly startled. Before he left, he had indeed set up certain arrangements, which were later managed by Zuo Chao and the others.

But he never expected that in just over twenty years, the situation he had created had already achieved considerable success. Hearing them speak with relish, Lei Dong felt a stirring of curiosity and an irrepressible itch, preparing to go and take a look himself. In a secluded spot within the deep valley behind Wenxiang Cottage, all sorts of rare flowers and exotic herbs were planted.

But today, those exotic blooms were blasted every which way, many crushed to dust. A top-grade spirit artifact level cauldron, worth over a million spirit stones, was violently ripped into four pieces, shattered everywhere. A woman whose face was entirely covered in soot, her robes disheveled—looking as if she had been thoroughly violated, completely lacking her usual grace—sat collapsed on the ground, her expression dull, yet her eyes rolled busily, as if she were puzzling over something.

A group of young boys and girls dressed as medicine attendants, all at the Qi Refining stage, stood rigidly behind her, not daring to breathe deeply, fearful of disturbing the woman's concentration. After an indeterminate time, the woman suddenly sprang up, laughing heartily: "I've got it! I've got it!

This young lady is truly an out—" "What is it?" A voice, half-smiling, cut her off directly. The woman seemed momentarily stunned by the interruption, but in the next instant, she turned back furiously, yelling, "Which bastard dares interrupt this grandma's alchemy? Zuo Chao, you scoundrel, how do you guard the door, letting all sorts of riffraff in?

Don't you know—uh..." Originally, the woman had started scolding upon catching sight of a man with his hands behind his back, smiling kindly, looking somewhat familiar. But as she cursed, she realized something was off. This person, why did he look so...

look so... much like... "Waaah!" The woman leaped three zhang high as if she had seen a ghost in broad daylight, letting out a piercing scream.

She immediately transformed into a streak of green light and fled into the distance without looking back. "Heh heh, seeing your own master, and you don't even kneel to offer greetings? Running where?" Lei Dong squinted and chuckled lightly, casually reaching out toward the sky.

A solid, heavy ink-green claw seemed to fly toward the sky at a very slow speed, yet it instantly seized the fleeing green light and forcibly dragged her back. The Netherworld Ghost Claw. Chen* and Zuo Chao, who were accompanying him, exchanged glances, both seeing the unconcealed shock in the other's eyes.

This was one of the signature spell series of the Yin Sha Sect, used by many of its disciples. However, with their current level of knowledge, they had never seen anyone execute the Netherworld Ghost Claw with such effortless grace, as if it tore through space itself to snatch the target. It must be remembered that Ouyang Rong'er was not just an Alchemy Master now; she was also a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, and the flying spiritual artifact she used was an extremely rare top-grade item in this world.

Even if the opponent were a Golden Core cultivator, they couldn't capture her so easily; they would have to chase her at least a little bit, right? Lei Dong squinted his eyes, quite pleased with his grip just now. Although he had always loved the Netherworld Ghost Claw and often practiced it in his spare time, given his own strength, achieving this level was usually impossible.

The reason Lei Dong's Netherworld Ghost Claw displayed such extraordinary power was likely twofold. First, after absorbing Netherworld Essence, Lei Dong’s body constitution had transformed into the very rare Netherworld Physique. This physique was incredibly special, naturally drawn to Netherworld Ghost Qi, allowing for extremely fast mastery of certain Netherworld series spells and enabling them to exert immense power.

But the most crucial factor was that Lei Dong’s understanding of Spatial Laws had deepened further, allowing him to gradually integrate Spatial Laws into his spells. Although it was only a superficial grasp, even that fraction made Lei Dong’s true strength somewhat unfathomable. The same Netherworld series spell cast by him might not possess the vast, potent energy of a Nascent Soul cultivator, but in terms of subtlety and precision, it even slightly surpassed it.

Ouyang Rong'er, pulled back, seemed unable to believe it. Her pair of bright, lively eyes stared at Lei Dong in extreme terror, stammering, "You, you are already dead? You, you won't let me go even if you become a ghost?" Lei Dong was nearly choked with anger enough to pass out; he was standing there alive, with flesh and blood, brimming with Yang energy.

How could he possibly be dead? Even spreading rumors shouldn't be done this way! "Heh heh, this venerable one has only been away from home for twenty-odd years, and you little female slave have already learned to rebel," Lei Dong smiled faintly, a smile devoid of warmth.

"It seems you are due for a lesson." As he spoke, the black aura around Lei Dong intensified, and swirling ghost Qi began to dance everywhere. Lei Dong made no other movements, simply standing quietly with his hands behind his back, but miraculously, the ghost Qi began to condense into tendrils, nimbly binding her limbs and hoisting her into mid-air. More Netherworld Ghost Qi, as if possessing life, condensed into a slender whip.

"Snap!" The ghost whip struck out of thin air, eliciting a crisp cracking sound. "No! Help me!" Ouyang Rong'er struggled desperately like a tender white rabbit awaiting slaughter, pleading bitterly.

Her eyes looked pleadingly at Lei Dong: "Master, Master, this servant was wrong, this servant will never dare again." "Crack!" This time it wasn't an illusion; the whip landed squarely on her body, causing Ouyang Rong'er to shriek uncontrollably. However, after the scream, she realized it didn't hurt; clearly, Lei Dong had held back. She immediately burst into laughter mixed with tears, calling out placatingly, "Master, this servant dares not again.

This servant will brew your tea, massage your legs, and rub your back. I beg the Master to spare this servant this once." "Hmph," Lei Dong snorted coldly before withdrawing the swirling ghost Qi. Ouyang Rong'er, now firmly back on the ground, knew exactly what to do.

She knelt obediently, bowing respectfully, "This servant, Rong'er, greets the Master, and congratulates the Master on his safe return and great success in his divine skills." "Rise. Report to this master the progress of your cultivation over these years. I want to see if you have been lazy." In fact, Lei Dong had already learned of Ouyang Rong'er’s cultivation progress from Zuo Chao; not only had she not been lazy, but she had far exceeded his expectations for her.

This was an unexpected pleasant surprise for him. However, Lei Dong knew that those who achieve some success often become spoiled and arrogant. For this reason, Lei Dong had played the intimidating tactic right away, to let Ouyang Rong'er know that even if she were an Alchemy Master, a Grandmaster of Alchemy, or a Divine Alchemist, he, Lei Dong, remained her Master.

Ouyang Rong'er had encountered the demon Lei Dong when she was very young, and the notion of fear and dread had long been deeply ingrained in the depths of her soul. After this bout of unpleasantness, she dared not show any disrespect whatsoever. Humbly and honestly, she began reporting on her achievements in alchemy.

The more Lei Dong listened, the more satisfied he became. With Ouyang Rong'er, his great undertaking would advance another significant step.