The sky was overcast, a shroud of gray. The moon had quietly hidden itself behind the layers of cloud. Fully fifty Earth Giants, each twenty to thirty feet tall and resembling massive hills, utilized their innate shadow-draining technique to silently close in within a few miles of the Hehuan Sect headquarters, lying in ambush, motionless as so many small mounds. Among them, several patrolling figures were silenced, their necks snapped with spectral swiftness by unseen hands.

Lei Dong stood suspended in the ink-black night sky, clad in black armor, his hands clasped behind his back. The night wind whipped his cloak into a crisp snap.

Once all were in position, a single thread of his divine sense conveyed the command to the army of Earth Giants. Those fifty Giants, each possessing Golden Core level strength, simultaneously raised their colossal hands and gestured in the void. A surge of ochre energy followed, and in each hand materialized a monstrous boulder.

The Earth Giants, born with prodigious strength, hurled the rocks violently toward the Hehuan Sect. As each stone tore through the air, it shrieked in protest. Merely a few miles separated them, and the projectiles arrived almost instantaneously. This method of attack was almost instinctual to the Earth Giants; it was how they typically hunted in the treacherous Great Wilderness. As long as the target wasn't too small, their accuracy was astonishing.

Boom—Thud—Crash—

Mid-air, the boulders struck what felt like an invisible wall. With violent impacts, they burst forth with thunderous roars. Shrapnel sprayed across the sky, and the transparent barrier itself rippled and undulated, looking dangerously unstable.

Even with the sect-guarding formation maintained at minimal output, fifty Earth Giants could not shatter it with a single volley.

Vast, oppressive auras instantly swelled forth from within the Hehuan Sect, accompanied by a roar of fury that echoed across the heavens: "Insolent wretches! Who dares assault my Yin-Yang Hehuan Sect?"

Even without looking, Lei Dong knew that the source of the powerful, oppressive aura belonged to one of the Hehuan Sect’s Grand Elders—the Ageless Demon Venerable. This individual specialized in draining the yin essence of men to bolster his yang vitality. Despite his nearly thousand-year age, he retained the smooth, pampered appearance of a young dandy.

Yet, the strength of his cultivation was absolutely not to be underestimated. In his relentless pursuit of breaking through to the Soul Transformation stage, the Ageless Demon Venerable had remained in strict seclusion at the sect headquarters, ignoring worldly affairs, dedicating himself solely to savoring the beauties sent his way, hoping to achieve that very ascension.

That a single attack from the Earth Giants could stir him showed he possessed swift reaction times—a fitting trait for one of Kang Province’s leading demonic magnates. This rogue was the most significant threat Lei Dong faced on this venture; if this elder could marshal the Hehuan Sect forces to defend behind the grand formation, even victory, should it come, would incur devastating military losses.

Lei Dong’s only chance was to destroy the sect-guarding formation with the utmost speed.

Without any command from Lei Dong, the Earth Giants’ second wave of rock projectiles was already aloft, hurtling toward the formation like streaking meteors.

"Damn it, this is bad."

The Ageless Demon Venerable, only just awakened, cursed inwardly. How could there be so many Earth Giants? Had the Hehuan Sect somehow offended some tribe in the Great Wilderness? But now was no time for contemplation. The formation, not operating at full power, had barely withstood the first assault, but it was already listing dangerously, scarred and crippled; it was unlikely to weather the next barrage.

Once the sect-guarding formation fell, the Hehuan Sect’s greatest protection would vanish, leaving it utterly exposed—like a ravishing, undefended maiden amidst a horde of brutes, ripe for the taking. The Ageless Demon Venerable had lived for a millennium, making him one of the oldest living beings in Kang Province. In the span of a single thought, he understood that whoever attacked the headquarters must have had significant backing; otherwise, he wouldn't believe it.

"Activate the sect-guarding formation to full power immediately!" the Ageless Demon Venerable roared. Simultaneously, his body dissolved into a wisp of mist, seeming to tear through space itself as he materialized just outside the defensive perimeter. Vast true essence surged outward, transforming into streaks of light that shot toward the incoming swarm of rock projectiles, like locusts, hurled by the Earth Giants.

That move had involved utilizing some aspects of the Laws of Space. During his long years of secluded cultivation, the Ageless Demon Venerable’s comprehension of spatial laws had surpassed that of ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators. Perhaps given another century, or even just a few decades, he might truly have stood a chance of breaking through to Soul Transformation, doubling his lifespan in the process. This was also one of the primary reasons he had so strongly advocated for cooperating with the Grand Sect in attacking the Yin Sha Sect. After all, acquiring the alluring benefits offered by the Grand Sect would significantly increase his odds of shattering his bottleneck and achieving Soul Transformation.

If the Ageless Demon Venerable reached the Soul Transformation stage, why would he ever fear the Grand Sect?

Alas, the tides of Kang Province were notoriously unpredictable. His decision, which he considered supremely astute, might well plunge him into an abyss from which he would never rise.

Sensing the Ageless Demon Venerable had rushed out from behind the protective barrier to confront the rock stream, Lei Dong felt not alarm, but a surge of delight. This elder was indeed overconfident in his martial prowess among the Nascent Soul ranks, leading him to act rashly.

Having simulated countless scenarios regarding an assault on the enemy headquarters, Lei Dong had already prepared contingencies for this exact moment.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

In the sky, one explosion after another erupted like fireworks. The Earth Giants' boulders were annihilated mid-flight. The Ageless Demon Venerable was undeniably formidable; facing fifty incoming rocks, he missed none, intercepting every single one by instantaneously splitting his divine sense into fifty channels, remotely guiding energy strikes onto the projectiles.

However, he was not a Soul Transformation powerhouse—merely one of the most supreme existences at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. To do what he did was akin to directly grappling with fifty Golden Core level Giants imbued with immense brute force.

A violent feedback surge traveled back along the divine sense pathways he couldn't recall in time, shaking his solidified, almost tangible Nascent Soul violently. A taste of copper filled his mouth, and he couldn't stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Injury—for an entity of the Ageless Demon Venerable’s caliber, this was something belonging to the distant past. A wave of incandescent rage swept through his mind: "Damn the Earth Giant race! Once I recover and ascend to Soul Transformation, I swear I will annihilate your entire clan."

Pity, the opportunity had already slipped away.

A sudden premonition flared in the Ageless Demon Venerable’s mind. Just as he was about to suppress the churning blood energy and execute a technique for instantaneous spatial shift, a ferocious surge of energy erupted from his back.

CRACK!

His hastily erected protective aura managed to briefly block Gui Ci’s stealth approach, but it could not stop the Ghost Strike amplified by the Bloodlust Incantation. A hidden ambush, bolstered by Bloodlust and culminating in the vicious Ghost Strike—this single blow, unleashed in an instant by Gui Ci, whose strength was only at the early Ghost King level, was comparable to the full-force strike of a mid-tier cultivator.

Caught completely off guard, how could the Ageless Demon Venerable withstand such an impact? The savage energy not only shattered his protective aura but allowed a Ghost Thorn to pierce directly into his back. Chilling energy exploded within his body, reducing his internal organs to pulverized ruin.

Under normal circumstances, even with his inherent talents, Gui Ci would find it nearly impossible to ambush the Ageless Demon Venerable so successfully. However, due to Lei Dong's meticulous planning, Gui Ci had infiltrated the area near the protective formation before the fighting even began, ready to react to any contingency.

And so it was: the Ageless Demon Venerable, panicked by the fifty Earth Giants, had momentarily overlooked the assassin skilled in concealment lurking nearby.

Through a perfect confluence of timing, positioning, and human error, Gui Ci achieved a monumental success. The Ageless Demon Venerable was struck like a cannonball, sent rocketing away into the distance. Yet, being a pinnacle Nascent Soul existence, the Elder’s life force was intensely resilient. Even with his viscera shattered, he maintained a flicker of life, desperately propelling himself forward.

At this juncture, all concern for the survival or destruction of the Yin-Yang Hehuan Sect fled his mind. His sole thought was self-preservation. The old fox knew perfectly well that if he retreated back into the protective formation in his ruined state, he would merely be sealing his fate, caught like a turtle in a jar. He had to flee—flee as far as possible.

"Hmph," Lei Dong let out a disdainful snort. Attacking the Hehuan Sect headquarters had required considerable calculation on Lei Dong's part. Having amassed several allied forces, he could not tolerate any margin for error. Without a sound, he had already laid a comprehensive net.

If the Ageless Demon Venerable had been more ruthless, abandoning his ruined physical form to escape as a pure Nascent Soul entity, he might have retained a ten or twenty percent chance of slipping away. But as it stood, this was a dead end. Of course, given his remaining lifespan, escaping in Nascent Soul form to perform a soul usurpation would mean he would never reach Soul Transformation within his natural lifespan. This was the ultimate reason the Ageless Demon Venerable refused to abandon his physical body even in this critical moment. Releasing him was simply not an option; what if he managed to unlock some latent life potential and eventually ascended to Soul Transformation only to return seeking vengeance? That would only create endless trouble for Lei Dong.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Under the inescapable net, where could the Ageless Demon Venerable possibly find a safe route to escape? The Trident Clan's water lances and pillars shot skyward like machine-gun fire. Simultaneously, an entire army from the Nether Ghost Realm, under Lei Dong’s command, manipulated streams of spectral fire and malevolent sha energy, viciously assaulting the battered Ageless Demon Venerable.

The participants in this conflict were largely high-level experts from various factions. Both the Trident Clan and the Nether Ghost Realm had deployed numerous Nascent Soul stage cultivators. With desperate intercept maneuvers by some Ghost Generals and Trident warriors at the Golden Core level, the Ageless Demon Venerable found escape utterly impossible.

The battlefield was filled with masters. In a flash, a massive net enveloped the Ageless Demon Venerable, and under the coordination of several Nascent Soul experts, he was beaten savagely and miserably.

"I surrender!" Seeing escape was hopeless, the Ageless Demon Venerable roared the words out.

Lei Dong’s heart gave a slight stir, but that flicker of avarice was immediately extinguished. He issued a cold command: "Kill without quarter." This particular Elder was unusual; a peak Nascent Soul existence. If given the chance to reach Soul Transformation, Lei Dong had no assurance he could control him with the Ghost Gu. If he failed to reach Soul Transformation, how much longer would his life span even be? Therefore, he was utterly worthless as a captive.

...