"It seems the risk of devouring this thing must be immense. A starving camel is still larger than a horse; those ancient powerhouses were all beings who could pierce the heavens and shake the earth. Even after so many years of death, the intensity of the lingering imprint of their divine souls should not be underestimated," Lei Dong remarked with a sigh.

"Indeed, the risk is huge, but the corresponding reward is equally massive," Mei Ji sighed, adding, "The vast majority who obtain an Essence Spirit will consume it. However, most people only dare to take the risk when they are in utter despair or nearing the end of their lives. If the lingering will within the Essence Spirit vanishes, or if they win the battle during the consumption process, there is a very high chance they can embark on an invincible path leveraging this opportunity. In any case, I never expected that Silver Fox would choose to consume it at such a time, and ended up losing the gamble..."

"He courted death, so he deserves his fate. Silver Fox was far too arrogant. With his peak Nascent Soul initial stage strength, and his divine soul not necessarily being exceptionally robust, gambling carried a great risk," Lei Dong sneered. "Furthermore, with the mess he’s created now—resurrecting an ancient Demon King—I foresee an unavoidable bloodbath in Kang Prefecture."

"That is true. Every time a consumption attempt fails, resulting in the rebirth of some Demon King, God King, or similar entity, it inevitably stirs up a massive storm of bloodshed," Mei Ji frowned. "Because after that great war, the ancient passages to the Heavenly Realm, Spirit Realm, and Demon Realm were all sealed. This Demon King cannot even return to the Demon Realm."

"My Lord, perhaps you could summon the Netherworld Empress to eliminate this fiend while it has not yet recovered, thereby cutting off future trouble?"

"When the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. How does this matter concerning a coming bloodbath concern a mere Core Formation cultivator like myself?" Lei Dong dismissed her with a scornful curl of his lip. "Don't those so-called Orthodox cultivators constantly preach about slaying demons and eradicating devils? Spread the news and let powers like Vajra Temple or Celestial Sound Palace handle this matter."

"While that is true, my Lord, you must still be cautious," Mei Ji frowned, musing for a moment. "Although the Demon King is reborn through seizing a body, in that process, some residual memories and emotions of the one consumed will be integrated. I recall that Silver Fox bore an intense hatred for you because his great-grandson was designedly killed by Feifei. It is uncertain if this lingering resentment won't influence that Black-Winged Demon King."

Hiss—Lei Dong sucked in a sharp breath and stared, asking, "Are you suggesting that fiend might obsessively hunt me down?"

"It's highly possible, especially since you forcibly snatched the prey he desired—myself—from his grasp before. The Demon Race is extremely vindictive, bearing grudges for the smallest offense. It's hard to guarantee that the Black-Winged Demon King won't fixate on you. However, thankfully, he currently needs to recover his vitality urgently and likely wouldn't bother with a Core Formation cultivator like you." Mei Ji, seeing Lei Dong momentarily flustered, felt an unexplainable surge of delight and couldn't help but purse her lips and chuckle heartlessly.

The affairs of the Grand Supreme Sect were not yet resolved, and now he had provoked an ancient, vengeful Demon King.

It wasn't that he couldn't summon the Netherworld Ghost Emperor to annihilate the fiend. Firstly, the Netherworld Ghost Emperor was already heavily injured, making it somewhat embarrassing to ask him to act as muscle. Secondly, favors, once used, diminish. The Netherworld Ghost Emperor might act this time, but calling upon him for every little thing would certainly lead to annoyance and impatience. Eventually, the goodwill would be exhausted.

This was precisely why Lei Dong preferred to rely on himself to overcome this crisis rather than constantly seeking help from the Netherworld Ghost Emperor. Given the situation, utilizing the Ghost Emperor seemed unnecessary. Lei Dong found himself missing his sworn brother, Lei Long, increasingly. That simple, transforming-level ancient flying dragon would never have so many scruples; he only knew that anyone who dared bully Lei Dong was bullying Lei Long.

It was regrettable that, given Lei Dong's current cultivation, he still lacked the means to refine the Divine Temple and release Lei Long to serve as his number-one powerhouse.

"Since the Black-Winged Demon King hasn't fully recovered, let him be for now," Lei Dong said lazily. "If he doesn't provoke me, fine. If he dares to come, I’ll inevitably lead him toward places like Vajra Temple's territory." Lei Dong wasn't merely boasting. As his cultivation increased and his understanding of Spatial Laws deepened, his speed when activating the Asura Wings was exceptionally fast, perhaps not inferior to an unrecovered Demon King. Moreover, he still possessed a Netherworld Ghost Emperor Token. The Ghost Emperor had promised to rush over immediately upon being summoned.

Such a token must involve some profound Spatial Laws, granting a single-use teleportation function. The Heavenly Ghost King had previously given him an identical token, teleporting directly via spatial coordinates.

With that, Lei Dong temporarily put the matter of the Black-Winged Demon King aside. After learning from Mei Ji about the three Sects’ joint attack on the Yin Fiend Sect, he instructed her to remain in seclusion to heal and avoid the coming war, especially keeping clear of the Black-Winged Demon King, lest his hard-won subordinate, gained at such a massive cost, perish needlessly.

Leaving the hidden cliff cave, Lei Dong immediately pushed the Universal Sun Concealment Art to its extreme while simultaneously deploying the Ghost Shadow Evasion technique, his form merging with the night as he stealthily advanced toward his stronghold, the Myriad Ghost Cave.

Ghost Shadow Evasion is inherently a powerful movement art, particularly potent when practiced by those cultivating the Netherworld Grand Art, granting formidable speed and efficacy. However, Lei Dong was uniquely different. Utilizing the Netherworld Essence and the tempering effects of the Underworld King Body Forging Art, his physique had transformed into a Netherworld Body. Various Netherworld-series spells cast by him saw their effects nearly doubled.

The concealment and elusiveness of the Ghost Shadow Evasion, when performed by Lei Dong, felt almost masterfully refined; his entire being had completely integrated into the night breeze, silent and unseen. Coupled with the breath-concealing effects of the Universal Sun Concealment Art, Lei Dong could guarantee that even if a Nascent Soul cultivator stood only a few dozen zhang away, they would struggle immensely to detect his presence.

For a Ghost Controller, a faint connection always exists with his ghost servants, unless the distance spans several continents or they are in different realms. Lei Dong had previously used his divine sense to instruct the Ghost King, Ah Chou, to lead the Yin-Yang Old Monster toward the vicinity of the Myriad Ghost Cave.

As Lei Dong drew closer to the Myriad Ghost Cave, the master-servant connection grew increasingly clear. Simultaneously, Ah Chou transmitted a wave of joy to Lei Dong from afar.

Soon, Lei Dong rendezvoused with Ah Chou and Yin Yang at the outskirts of the Myriad Ghost Cave. Yin Yang's injuries were not severe; Nascent Soul cultivators possess tenacious vitality and astonishing recovery abilities, and both were now well.

From Mei Ji, he had learned that the three Evil Sects had suddenly exerted overwhelming force while the Yin Fiend Sect's numerous Nascent Soul cultivators were gathered at their headquarters, surrounding the headquarters without attacking and laying down an encirclement formation to prevent the Yin Fiend Sect members from contacting the outside world through any means.

This explained why Lei Dong had received no news of the Yin Fiend Sect headquarters being besieged, leading him to walk right into a trap. Lei Dong's encounter with Silver Fox and the others was purely coincidental; the three Nascent Soul cultivators from the Joyous Union Sect were assigned to the Evil Dragon Ridge to slay that Flood Dragon and happened to run into Lei Dong en route.

Because a tacit understanding had been reached among all major sects in Kang Prefecture, the three Sects were acting somewhat brazenly, openly conducting a siege and attrition strategy, trapping the Yin Fiend Sect's core experts within their headquarters. This strategy was simple yet effective: the Yin Fiend Sect's Nascent Soul cultivators would either have to abandon their home advantage and fight their way out desperately, or watch as all of the Yin Fiend Sect's influence and foundation were systematically uprooted and destroyed.

Fortunately, the three Sects had only just begun implementing this strategy and had not yet entered the comprehensive phase. Following his silent approach to the Myriad Ghost Cave, Lei Dong was greatly relieved to find his discreet Master, the Myriad Ghost Ancestor, in the secret chamber. What Lei Dong feared most was that the three Sects had already begun assaulting the Yin Fiend Sect's foundation.

Even more fortunately, the development of the Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land was taking place entirely within the Myriad Ghost Cave. After the Heavenly Spirit Stones in the Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land were depleted, Lei Dong, wary of the lurking threat from the Grand Supreme Sect, had played a calculated game of pretending to be weak, temporarily hiding all the inhabitants of the Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land within the Myriad Ghost Cave.

A mere branch front led by Core Formation cultivators would not warrant much attention from those high-and-mighty Nascent Soul cultivators.

This covert maneuver also led to the three Sects misjudging the Yin Fiend Sect's capabilities. Most of the trapped Nascent Soul cultivators from the Yin Fiend Sect were part of the old guard. As for Blood Fiend, he had originally intended to return to the sect for the meeting but was dispatched by Lei Dong to the Great Barren Desert to contact Stone Chief of the Earth Giant race.

According to previous reports, although the Stone Chief had not yet advanced to Nascent Soul strength, he had managed to communicate with and win over several smaller Earth Giant tribes through abundant medicinal resources, forming a minor tribal alliance. This scheme, incidentally, was proposed by Lei Dong's brother, Qian Luo, who was left behind to oversee matters.

Despite being geographically separated, Qian Luo and Lei Dong had never lacked communication. At the very least, Lei Dong knew the population of that tribal alliance had already reached over thirteen hundred Earth Giants.

Dispatching Blood Fiend was specifically intended to organize an Earth Giant army to come to Kang Prefecture and fight for Lei Dong.

The Earth Giant race is an exceptionally formidable race, innately talented with powerful earth element affinity. Moreover, upon reaching adulthood, they possess Core Formation strength. They are inherently warlike and valiant; with sufficient numbers, dealing with several Nascent Soul cultivators is not an issue. Under the effect of the Earth Giants' innate spell, Gravity, it is very difficult for Nascent Soul cultivators to escape certain death.

Furthermore, to guard against a large-scale invasion by the Grand Supreme Sect, Lei Dong instructed Heavenly Demon to deliver a secret letter to Lan Qisi while trading in Zhao Prefecture, ordering her to bring an army to support the Yin Fiend Sect. Considering the time elapsed, Lan Qisi should soon be arriving with her allied foreign armies.

Lan Qisi’s Insect-Extracting Art, which she stole and learned from the Unicorn Clan, was extremely powerful, allowing her to incorporate a massive number of Swift Insects. When assembled into swarms, their collective strength was terrifyingly immense.