If one absolutely had to select ten enemies who most astonished the Black-Winged Demon King during his dominant tenure, this young man before him would certainly rank among them, and quite high up, too. A mere late-stage Golden Core cultivator—the Demon King had casually dispatched countless such individuals throughout his long existence.

Yet, in his entire lifespan, he had never encountered a Golden Core cultivator quite so infuriatingly tenacious. An entire shichen had passed, even with him actively burning his demonic body, and he still hadn't managed to catch the Golden Core boy. Preposterous. Utterly preposterous. The Black-Winged Demon King felt deeply vexed; to continue burning his demonic body might force him to descend a cultivation realm, and recovering from that descent would be harder than scaling the heavens.

The Demon King was in agony, but what of Lei Dong? Was his situation any less wretched? The first transformation of the Tianmo Bian—Peerless—was inherently a formidable skill that rapidly exhausted all internal power to erupt. Any such burst technique, by nature, could not be sustained indefinitely. Nevertheless, Lei Dong was forced to stake his very life to maintain the Peerless state.

He swallowed vast quantities of elixirs and top-grade spirit stones, and while power seemed to be drawn ceaselessly, the real issue was endurance: how could his meridians withstand such brutality? After only this single shichen, the subtle pathways within many primary meridians had already ruptured, tiny threads of blood subtly seeping through his pores, giving his entire appearance an look.

But Lei Dong had no choice but to keep fleeing. Never mind the Demon King burning his body; even without that transformation, Lei Dong was nowhere near his equal.

Thus, one refused to abandon the kill despite paying an immense price, while the other fought desperately solely for survival. Space was torn open again and again, flashing across the sky. Wherever they passed, be it cultivator or demonic beast, all were struck dumb with terror by the astonishing momentum, cowering on the ground, not daring to stir in the slightest.

Lei Dong had never attempted such continuous, reckless teleportation without regard for consequence. Each leap covered dozens of li. Given his usual stamina, seven or eight jumps, perhaps a dozen at most, would typically lead to total exhaustion. But this time, Lei Dong had utterly forgotten how many times he had blinked through space consecutively.

He held only one thought in his mind: flee toward Vajra Temple (Jingang Si). The distance from his starting point to Vajra Temple was fully over two hundred thousand li. Under normal flight, this journey would require several days and nights. Yet, after barely an hour and a half, that immense, towering peak appeared before Lei Dong’s eyes.

Vajra Temple was situated precisely atop that colossal peak known as Vajra Peak. By this point, thanks to Lei Dong's repeated, desperate bursts of speed, the pursuing Black-Winged Demon King had been dragged back a distance of seven or eight li. This suggested that the Demon King was also nearing his limit.

His form flashed once more toward Vajra Temple, sweeping dozens of li away in a blink. Now, he dared not hesitate any longer. The Zhoutian Zangri Jue spun into motion, and his entire aura was completely suppressed. He plunged downward with renewed effort, diving into a canyon fissure. Disregarding the need for a secure location, Lei Dong scrambled into a random cave, activating the Zhoutian Zangri Jue to its absolute peak, leaving not the slightest trace of his presence emanating from his body.

Crouching low, he was like a stubborn boulder, his heartbeat momentarily ceasing. This cultivation method truly lived up to its reputation as a miraculous technique passed down from ancient times. Back when Tantai Bingyun was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, she relied on this very art to successfully conceal herself even from Nascent Soul cultivators.

Boom!

The Black-Winged Demon King, wreathed in a cloud of black flame, suddenly materialized where Lei Dong had vanished, his eyes blazing with ferocity. This chase had cost him a great deal of power. He felt currently more depleted than he had been immediately after his rebirth. What enraged him was that after expending so much energy, just as he was about to close in on the boy, the target had vanished.

The Demon King sniffed; the boy's scent was present, but he could detect not a shred of his aura. Vanished? Impossible. He must have employed some secret technique to hide himself.

"Force him out," the Black-Winged Demon King roared, slamming a palm toward the ground. Demonic energy condensed into solid form, manifesting as a pitch-black palm dozens of feet across. A small hill in the vicinity instantly exploded and collapsed into a pile of fine gravel under that single strike.

They were now merely dozens of li from Vajra Temple's headquarters. Any sect maintained stringent defenses around its main base. In fact, the moment Lei Dong teleported to this vicinity, Vajra Temple had already begun mobilizing. By the time the Demon King appeared, the seven Nascent Soul cultivators who were not currently in secluded cultivation had already deployed, followed by a sweeping host of nearly a hundred Vajra Temple Warrior Monks.

The first two Nascent Soul cultivators were blindingly fast. Before the Demon King could strike a second time, they arrived at the scene. They were monks possessing the strength of mid-stage Nascent Soul, their bodies radiating brilliant golden light, their bearing solemn and imposing, their might overwhelming. In Kang Province, any Nascent Soul cultivator commanded profound renown, and the monks of Vajra Temple were no exception.

These two were none other than the celebrated Vajra Temple figures, Venerable Subduing Dragon (Jianglong Zunzhe) and Venerable Marvelous Light (Miaoguang Zunzhe), figures notorious among the various forces of the Evil Sects. Never mind that the Vajra Temple monks often preached compassion when traveling; in truth, they held the strongest killing intent toward those of the Evil Sects. These two Venerables had personally slain untold numbers of Evil Sect cultivators.

"Vile fiend!" Venerable Marvelous Light roared first. "How dare you cause trouble at Vajra Temple! Submit at once!"

The Black-Winged Demon King had sensed this contingent arriving long before they reached him. The only reason he hadn't fled was his absolute confidence in his own power, especially while still burning his demonic body. Burning the body certainly drained colossal energy constantly, but if he could devour these Nascent Soul cultivators, not only would he replenish his prior consumption, but he might even ascend to a higher level.

Facing Venerable Marvelous Light's shout, the Demon King instead gave a chilling, wicked laugh. "A few little bald donkeys have arrived, perfect for this King's replenishment. Hand over your Nascent Souls obediently." Temporarily forgetting Lei Dong, his figure flickered precisely behind Venerable Marvelous Light, delivering a claw strike.

If one were to select the sect in Kang Province’s Eight Great Sects with the strongest defense, it would undoubtedly be Vajra Temple. A dense golden light immediately enveloped Venerable Marvelous Light, forming an eggshell-like barrier that protected him, allowing him to forcefully absorb the Demon King’s claw strike.

Clang!

A sound like the ringing of a massive morning bell resonated. The Demon King's strike, capable of shattering small mountains, failed to achieve its full objective. The Indestructible Vajra Shield on Venerable Marvelous Light’s body deeply concave, then sprang back out. Simultaneously, he spat a mouthful of blood and staggered forward, his expression one of utter dread. Like Qin Tairan before him, he had suffered a crushing blow, never expecting this Demon King to possess such terrifying strength.

The profound golden light of the Indestructible Vajra Shield dimmed significantly, leaving behind only a thin, translucent layer.

The Black-Winged Demon King was equally surprised. What a tough tortoise shell this bald monk possessed; such a protective art was comparable to the Great Protection Talisman used by Mei Ji earlier. However, for the sake of a Nascent Soul, even the hardest shell must be cracked open to replenish his energy. Otherwise, the Demon King would inevitably suffer a realm descent after the battle.

He immediately clung to his target like gangrene, attempting to strike Venerable Marvelous Light again. Unfortunately, Marvelous Light was not alone. The highly perceptive Venerable Subduing Dragon, usually responsible for overseeing strategy, roared out in shock and fury, "Vile fiend, how dare you!" His enormous, bell-like eyes widened into a wrathful Vajra aspect, golden Buddha-light surging around him. He condensed this light into a massive, gleaming golden palm and slammed it fiercely into the Demon King's back.

Rulai Divine Palm.

This was one of Vajra Temple's most devastating palm techniques, meant for subjugating demons and slaying devils, possessing immense power.

Sensing the might of that incoming strike—which clearly surpassed Lei Dong's Black Dragon's Roar by a large margin—the Black-Winged Demon King dared not meet it head-on. He was forced to abandon Marvelous Light, whirling around to summon a shield of condensed demonic energy and black flame into a defensive posture. The two impacts met; the black flame and the golden light collided and canceled each other out instantly.

The Black-Winged Demon King felt a trace of confusion. These two little monks seemed stronger than he had anticipated. Nevertheless, he was, after all, a Demon King of his generation; even a fallen dragon is unwilling to be bullied by a pack of dogs. Moreover, if he failed to slay these monks and devour a Nascent Soul to cover his costs, his demonic body would certainly drop a cultivation realm.

Had he not been burning his demonic body, the Demon King might have felt a flicker of fear. But now that he had come this far, there was no turning back. Lei Dong, Lei Dong, this King shall tear your bones and flay your skin! With a roar, he ignored Subduing Dragon and the reinforcements arriving, focusing entirely on killing Venerable Marvelous Light first to devour a Nascent Soul and replenish his reserves.

A Black-Winged Demon King focused singularly on one target is terrifying. Venerable Marvelous Light, already gravely wounded by the sneak attack and carelessness, could not withstand the Demon King's suicidal, desperate assault. Several protective Buddhist artifacts were shattered by the Demon King’s blows. Just as the Demon King took a blow from Subduing Dragon and prepared to rend Marvelous Light apart, intending to swallow him and his Nascent Soul whole, the unexpected occurred.

The Black-Winged Demon King had underestimated the conviction of the Vajra Temple monks: the belief that they would rather perish together than be consumed by a demon's maw. Lei Dong had experienced this conviction before. Now, the Demon King was about to receive the same treatment.

"Vile beast, you dare not!" Venerable Marvelous Light's beard and brows bristled; he resembled an intrepid Vajra, shouting his defiance. He detonated the last of his remaining power—his Nascent Soul self-destructed.

Boom!

Even in his current state, the Black-Winged Demon King could not withstand the power of a self-detonating Nascent Soul unscathed. The colossal impact sent him flying backward. His powerful demonic body sustained significant injury, and blood dripped from him. Marvelous Light's death did not cause the Black-Winged Demon King to relent. Rather, Venerable Subduing Dragon and the newly arrived wave of Nascent Soul cultivators began their desperate assault.