"Lei Dong," Qi Feifei's bright eyes sparkled, as if a thousand words were trying to escape her lips to tell Lei Dong. Yet, the words reached the edge of her mouth and refused to form a single complete sentence.

Lei Dong merely smiled, saying little himself. That was his nature: meticulous and cautious in action, yet utterly ruthless and determined once he set his sights on a goal. However, once he deemed someone his own, he would defend them regardless of the consequences. Having forced Qi Feifei to declare her allegiance publicly just now was tantamount to him, Lei Dong, openly challenging the Yin-Yang Harmony Sect, one of the Eight Great Supreme Sects.

Chen Ge and the other junior brothers, despite not being the strongest cultivators, were all sharp-witted. A brief thought made them realize the gravity of the situation. Nevertheless, they all positioned themselves behind Lei Dong, signaling their commitment to stand or fall with him. Only Ouyang Rong'er, who had been engrossed in her alchemy research, remained somewhat oblivious to the underlying tension. She had taken a strong liking to Qi Feifei after witnessing her save the little girl, and upon seeing the girl's exquisite, jade-carved beauty, she naturally drew closer to offer comfort with gentle words.

"Old Lei, heroes from all corners of the world are gathering near this Star-Plucking Peak. Who knows how many spies or affiliates of the Harmony Sect lurk nearby. I expect experts from the Harmony Sect will arrive within half an hour," Chen Ge coughed lightly and transmitted his voice privately. "Even if the Harmony Sect forces don't arrive, there are certainly powerful Core Formation cultivators eyeing the substantial bounty the sect has offered."

It was hard to tell if Chen Ge possessed extraordinary foresight or simply the curse of a crow's tongue.

"Jie jie jie." A string of wild laughter suddenly ripped through the air. A garish, arrogant plume of fire cloud swept overhead, blanketing the area, accompanied by a bizarre, effeminate voice: "It seems my Yin-Yang luck is excellent! Coming to Star-Plucking Peak for some excitement, and I run into the Harmony Sect's traitor, the Seductive Fox Qi Feifei."

"Not good, it's the Old Freak Yin-Yang!"

Countless low-level cultivators who had gathered to watch the spectacle suddenly changed their expressions, screaming wildly as they activated various escape lights and fled desperately in all directions. In an instant, the sky resembled a magnificent firework display bursting open, with streams of dazzling light tracing arcs across the heavens. Each streak represented a fleeing cultivator.

Qi Feifei’s eyes narrowed slightly, and a delicate, translucent shield, radiating precious light, materialized before her with palpable tension. Old Freak Yin-Yang was a notorious figure, no less infamous than the Gu Demon, who claimed to be the foremost expert of the Core Formation realm. In terms of killing methods, he was even crueler and more vicious than the Gu Demon. The Gu Demon, at least, had some standards; he generally avoided killing low-level cultivators who didn't provoke him without reason.

However, Old Freak Yin-Yang, born with a naturally divided Yin-Yang physique—half man, half yin—had suffered discrimination and ridicule since childhood, cultivating a ferocious and arbitrary nature. Even low-level cultivators who had never crossed him would be subjected to his unpredictable slaughter based on his fleeting moods. Upon advancing to the Core Formation stage, this behavior escalated, compounded by his extreme lustfulness; he rarely spared handsome youths or beautiful women unless they were clearly beyond his ability to handle.

Innumerable people harbored a bone-deep hatred for Old Freak Yin-Yang. Yet, his Yin-Yang Divine Art, inherited from ancient times, possessed formidable power that few cultivators of the same rank could withstand. Furthermore, he was cunning as a fox, constantly moving, possessing no close friends or family. His escape techniques were exquisitely refined, often rendering even Nascent Soul stage cultivators helpless against him. Of course, any renowned rogue cultivator at the Core Formation level would need exceptional life-saving skills to survive this long and attain such notoriety.

Over time, this only fueled Old Freak Yin-Yang's arrogance.

This was precisely why even Qi Feifei felt a slight throbbing headache.

Although the low-level cultivators were fleeing, their escape did not guarantee their survival.

Old Freak Yin-Yang particularly enjoyed slaughtering lesser cultivators when he was high-spirited. The sky-filling red cloud surged outward like a monstrous, blazing inferno. How could the protective artifacts and shields of the low-level cultivators withstand the corrosion of the legendary Yin-Yang Red Taint? Within mere breaths, their flesh was stained with the Red Taint; shrieking, they fell tumbling downward as their skin rotted away. Among those who fled, perhaps not one in ten truly escaped with their lives.

Lei Dong and his companions were all figures associated with unorthodox or demonic paths, generally remaining unmoved by the deaths of inconsequential individuals. Still, recalling the known atrocities of Old Freak Yin-Yang, even they felt a growing sense of trouble.

"Jie jie, you few young ones have quite some nerve. You stand there so calmly even after hearing my Yin-Yang name," Old Freak Yin-Yang needed only a few dozen breaths to clear the area.

Those who could escape were gone; those who couldn't were already reduced to rotten bones. In this single display, at least a thousand innocent cultivators perished beneath the Yin-Yang Red Taint.

Of course, the Yin-Yang Red Taint was only particularly effective against low-level cultivators. Once facing a Core Formation expert, relying solely on the Red Taint to kill would likely prove insufficient. Just like Qi Feifei, a peach-blossom-colored hazy mist enveloped the group, resisting the Yin-Yang Red Taint and preventing its corrosive intrusion into their bodies.

"Lei Dong, what are our chances against Old Freak Yin-Yang?" Qi Feifei transmitted worriedly. "If the odds aren't great, let's join forces to defend against him. I believe Sister Wanyan and the others will surely arrive soon after hearing news." Given the scale of the disturbance, the Yin Fiend Sect’s control over this region meant the news would spread quickly.

Perhaps others would feel fear watching Old Freak Yin-Yang sweep the field clean, but Lei Dong felt the opposite; the villain had saved him the trouble of eliminating witnesses who might report his actions to higher powers. With a cold snort, Lei Dong directly summoned his peak-level Ghost General, A-Chou, and his high-tier demonic beast, the Soul-Devouring Shadow Tiger.

While Lei Dong was issuing his summons, Old Freak Yin-Yang was still cackling malevolently: "You boys and girls look like you have solid foundations. Submit willingly and come back with this venerable one to enjoy life, and you will avoid... Ugh!"

Before he could finish his sentence, Old Freak Yin-Yang’s eunuch-like old face suddenly froze mid-expression. A hideous Ghost General, clad in sinister armor and exuding magnificent power, materialized out of thin air, clutching a massive blade. Its eyes stared coldly at Old Freak Yin-Yang, utterly devoid of fear. Beside the general, a colossal, shadow-colored tiger, easily five or six zhang long, suddenly appeared and roared skyward, rattling the very eardrums.

Old Freak Yin-Yang had seen many ghost servants and battle pets in his life. But with his discerning eyes, how could he fail to recognize that the Ghost General's strength was at the peak, merely a step away from Ghost King status? And that famed Soul-Devouring Shadow Tiger, while not yet peak Core Formation, possessed formidable momentum, already ranking as a high-tier Core Formation battle pet.

What truly stunned Old Freak Yin-Yang was that the summoner of these two ferocious beings was not the Core Formation cultivator Qi Feifei, but the seemingly insignificant Foundation Establishment junior, Lei Dong. No matter how he scrutinized the youth, he looked like a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator. Could it be that he possessed some secret artifact concealing his true cultivation?

When he met Lei Dong’s cold, smiling gaze, Old Freak Yin-Yang’s heart clenched involuntarily. He knew he had encountered a true powerhouse this time. The peak Ghost General and the high-tier demonic beast alone were enough to keep him occupied for a good while. Add to that the mysterious, unfathomable young man, and a sense of acute danger sent a chilling sensation through Old Freak Yin-Yang.

Rogue cultivators, by necessity, are often flexible figures; otherwise, they wouldn't have survived this long. He retracted his arrogant expression, and Old Freak Yin-Yang’s face suddenly softened with forced amiability: "This venerable one was merely joking with my nephews and nieces... You all carry on with your business. I shall proceed to Star-Plucking Peak to observe the battle and offer encouragement to Lord Heaven Demon."

With that, he turned without a backward glance and fled.

"Hmph, trying to leave? Too late," Lei Dong raised his hand and launched a Nether Ghost Claw strike. It seemed to leap out of space, appearing behind Old Freak Yin-Yang the next instant. The massive, sickly-green claw lunged fiercely toward his back.

"Spatial Law?" Old Freak Yin-Yang groaned in terror, but after all, he was a cultivator with long-established fame and considerable strength. His large head hadn't been gained for nothing. He abruptly spun around, spitting out a stream of intensely pure crimson light from his mouth. When it collided with the Nether Ghost Claw, a vast shockwave expanded outward, violently sending Old Freak Yin-Yang hurtling backward.

This demonstrated that Lei Dong’s Nether Ghost Claw, augmented by his Nether Physique, was now comparable to the full-power strike of a high-tier Core Formation cultivator.

Seizing the opportunity, A-Chou and the Shadow Tiger attacked simultaneously. The cornered Old Freak Yin-Yang could only struggle to defend, losing even the chance to flee. His eunuch-like face contorted into an expression of utter panic: "Senior, this junior has offended greatly; please, for the sake of this junior's miserable past, spare me this once! This junior will never dare again." In his plea, he had already begun to regard Lei Dong as a Nascent Soul stage cultivator.

Lei Dong ignored him, his expressionless face weaving a precise hand seal. The Nether Flame Ghost Banner, radiating pure ghostly energy, manifested out of thin air, fluttering slightly in the wind and imposing an endless sense of pressure. Countless ghosts, burning with faint azure flames, roared forth, their sharp cries sounding like an overwhelming tide as they rushed toward Old Freak Yin-Yang. The aura of each ghost far surpassed the cannon-fodder level specters Lei Dong had used previously.

Old Freak Yin-Yang might have managed to gradually cope with A-Chou and the Shadow Tiger if he had been given a moment to recover. However, the emergence of ten thousand ghosts nearly caused him to collapse. But something even more devastating happened: when he unleashed his signature Yin-Yang Red Taint—most effective against large numbers of weaker enemies—he was horrified to discover that while the Red Taint could affect the ghosts, the faint azure flames flickering on their forms instantly incinerated the Red Taint.

"Yin-Yang, I offer you a chance to surrender and pledge fealty," Lei Dong stated with chilling indifference. "You have only one chance. If you do not choose within five breaths, I will let the Myriad Ghosts consume your soul until you perish."