Almost simultaneously, the headquarters of the Eight Great Sects of Kangzhou, the Demon Prison Sect, and the Asura Heaven headquarters both came under fierce attack from an immense power.

Under Lei Dong's active planning, the Yaksha Clan dispatched five hundred elites, ten of whom possessed Nascent Soul stage combat power. Ding Wanyan and Dongfang Fu, who had gone to the Nether Ghost Moth for aid, also gained considerable returns. Upon being surprised that they had reached the Nascent Soul realm in a mere few years, the Nether Ghost Emperor placed great importance on Lei Dong's faction and immediately dispatched one of his trusted confidants, leading twenty Ghost Kings and eight hundred Ghost Generals, who arrived in Kangzhou in a grand procession.

The Ghost Guards and the host of Ghost Soldiers were not mobilized, as the Nether Ghost Moth itself was experiencing internal unrest, and too large of a movement could cause instability within their ranks.

The Nether Ghost Emperor, truly a peerless expert a notch above the Yaksha King, displayed extraordinary bearing; the reinforcements he dispatched were significantly superior in strength to those from the Yaksha Clan. His zealous support for the Yin Sha Sect was likely not just to repay Lei Dong's favor, but rather to secure an exceptionally promising ally for the Nether Ghost Moth.

When Ding Wanyan proposed that the Ghost Emperor intervene to contact the Asura Clan regarding their strategic deployment, the Nether Ghost Emperor agreed without hesitation, exceedingly readily.

He stated that the matter was simple; he maintained good relations with the Asura Kings, and since none of them were on good terms with the Winged God Clan, they certainly couldn't allow the Winged God Clan to cause chaos in Kangzhou and reap massive benefits. Seeing the Winged God Clan suffer a major setback in Kangzhou was something that would please many people.

The only slight regret for Lei Dong was that Tian Ling Ghost Little You seemed to be in the most critical phase of closed-door cultivation and likely wouldn't make it for this battle. Fortunately, the power sent by the Ghost Emperor was astonishing, rendering Little You's presence unnecessary.

Xue Ceng and Qi Feifei also traversed the Hengduan Mountains, bringing Lei Dong an army of formidable strength. Having received Lei Dong's message long ago, the Holy Maiden Lan Qisi immediately rallied her troops and personally led the army, spending several years crossing the Great Barren Desert to arrive in a magnificent column. This was an entire army, unable to be transported by flying vessels, requiring arduous travel and enduring countless hardships.

The Great Barren Desert was no gentle place. Despite Lan Qisi's powerful forces and her cautious nature, she still suffered significant troop losses during the journey. After all, the movement of a large army generates considerable noise and is difficult to conceal.

Now, having safely arrived in Kangzhou, Lan Qisi commanded over a hundred barbarian warriors at the Golden Core level, more than ten thousand tamed Foundation Establishment level Swift Insects, and two hundred well-trained Golden Core level Earth Giants. Although they lacked any Nascent Soul level combat power, this force alone was in no way inferior to the other two supporting factions.

Furthermore, Lan Qisi's army merged with the Earth Giant clan that Lei Dong had subdued. Following their arrival in Kangzhou, this combined force, under the Earth Giant Yan Shi and with Lei Dong's assistance, had already annexed several smaller tribes, now boasting a membership reaching over fifteen hundred, truly qualifying as a medium-sized Earth Giant tribe. The only minor deficiency was that Yan Shi had not yet advanced to the Nascent Soul stage.

Though numbering only around fifteen hundred, Yan Shi personally led three hundred strong tribesmen to offer aid upon receiving Lei Dong's distress call.

This increased the number of Earth Giants available to Lei Dong to over five hundred. When five hundred elite Earth Giants assembled, even a Transformation God expert would have to prudently detour around them.

Possessing such terrifying strength, Lei Dong naturally divided his forces into three, scheduling simultaneous attacks against the three evil sects to strive for their complete annihilation.

Towards his enemies, Lei Dong had never shown mercy.

While individual power could be cultivated to an extremely formidable level, it was ultimately useless against an absolute numerical superiority. Even the Undying Demon Venerable, who, in the absence of Transformation God experts in Kangzhou, was among the top-tier existences, was forced to reluctantly abandon his physical body under the overwhelming human wave assault from the Yaksha and Ghost clans, attempting to flee for his life in his Nascent Soul form.

But all of this was too late.

Lei Dong, having long prepared for this, would not let an enemy of this caliber escape. He personally intervened, using successive teleportations to easily capture the extremely miserable Nascent Soul of the Undying Demon Venerable, who had been intercepted, and sealed it within the Soul Sealing Orb.

For Lei Dong, this was an incredibly valuable treasure; a peak-level Nascent Soul contained pure and immense soul power, perfect for feeding the Soul Devouring Shadow Tiger, which was stuck at the late Golden Core stage and struggling to break through.

Of course, even if he didn't feed it to the Shadow Tiger, selling it would attract countless evil cultivators eager to pay at least several hundred million spirit stones. Feeding it to the Shadow Tiger, while perhaps a wasteful use of resources with poor cost-effectiveness, was something Lei Dong was unwilling to forgo due to his affection for it.

Without a word, he directly summoned the Soul Devouring Shadow Tiger, allowing it to consume the peak Nascent Soul, and then commanded it to enter secluded cultivation. If it could break through, excellent; even if it couldn't, it would at least lay the groundwork for future advancement, as the Shadow Tiger truly found it difficult to advance due to its bloodline constraints.

With the demise of the Undying Demon Venerable, it essentially signaled the end for the Joyful Union Sect. Many cultivators awakened during the surprise attack witnessed this scene, falling into terror as their morale plummeted. Even those who managed to activate the mountain protection formation amidst the chaos dared not make any rash moves relying on the natural defenses.

The Earth Giants relentlessly hurled stones at the protection formation. Although its energy was constantly being replenished, consumption ultimately outstripped supply. In less than half an hour, the formation shattered.

Simultaneously, Lei Dong pressed his great army forward with crushing force, encircling the Joyful Union Sect with overwhelming superiority, and roared into the sky: "The Undying Demon Venerable is dead! When will the Joyful Union Sect surrender?"

In the face of absolute power, all schemes and stratagems became a joke. Although the Joyful Union Sect still possessed several ultimate killing artifacts capable of resisting Nascent Soul experts, against a force that could crush their sect several times over, no one could maintain their resolve. The remaining two Nascent Soul elders, recognizing that the tide had turned, conferred briefly and announced their surrender. In a war of this magnitude, having the opportunity to surrender was already a rare occurrence. In fact, if Lei Dong had not possessed the Heaven-Defying Ghost Gu at hand, he would have directly ordered a massacre of the entire sect.

On this expedition, Lei Dong’s Hidden Dragon Army was kept aside to observe. Although his Hidden Dragon Army had cultivated within the Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands, they were currently only at the early Golden Core stage, and few in number, totaling only twenty-three. Therefore, Lei Dong intended for them to experience the atmosphere of a major battle.

During those years in the Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands, in addition to cultivating and training the Fierce Ghost Army, Lei Dong spent the vast majority of his time with the children of the Hidden Dragon Army, his sole purpose being constant brainwashing to deepen their bond and loyalty.

Perhaps they were few and weak now, but they were Lei Dong's direct subordinates, his true core team. Having followed him from bewildered children to this stage, decades of continuous training and various forms of indoctrination meant that even if ordered to commit suicide, they would execute the command without hesitation.

They were provided with the best resources and subjected to the most rigorous training. In their movements, they exhibited none of the laziness, lone-wolf tendencies, or arrogance common among cultivators of ordinary sects. Their movements were perfectly synchronized, their bearing solemn and murderous, radiating the aura of career soldiers.

Though only twenty-odd individuals, their assembled presence floating in the sky projected an imposing aura that was in no way diminished.

In their childhood, they were gathered from various places. But after joining the Hidden Dragon Army, they were brainwashed into forgetting their past names and experiences, granted a new identity. Lei Dong was rather lazy and somewhat crude when it came to naming: males were simply named Dragon One, Dragon Two, and so on, while females were called Phoenix One, Phoenix Two, etc. However, these names had to be earned through competition; only the most capable could claim Dragon One or Phoenix One. Of course, to distinguish individuals, each also possessed a unique numerical code inscribed on a personal plaque worn around their necks.

Accepting surrenders was a task ill-suited for the rough Earth Giants, and the Ghost and Yaksha clans were generally more adept at combat than administration.

Thus, Lei Dong's Hidden Dragon Army was perfectly utilized. Following Lei Dong's command, they descended to begin registering and managing the captives. All magical artifacts, storage rings, and similar items were to be confiscated, including certain Soul Refining artifacts, as they required a full search of the divine soul.

It wasn't that the captives were unwilling to resist; it was because Lei Dong had been adequately prepared for this campaign, accumulating a large store of Ghost Gu. With one Ghost Gu administered, the individual’s life and possessions were completely under Lei Dong's control. With a mere thought, the Ghost Gu would activate, consuming their divine soul. Such excruciating pain was unbearable even for figures like the Blood Demon, let alone the Joyful Union Sect members, whose willpower was never particularly steadfast.

Naturally, Lei Dong did not reveal the true efficacy of the Ghost Gu, as allies were present. Therefore, he temporarily refrained from recruiting anyone, allowing others to mistakenly believe that while the Gu could temporarily control a person, it could still be refined away with some effort.

After accepting the surrender of the Joyful Union Sect members, the next step was collecting the spoils of war. The Joyful Union Sect had stood in Kangzhou for over ten thousand years; their headquarters surely held considerable treasures.

Led by Dragon One and Phoenix One, the search began throughout the entire Joyful Union Sect complex. Several days later, Lei Dong stared in astonishment, murmuring that he seemed to have underestimated the wealth contained within a sect headquarters.

Upon receiving the inventory list from Dragon One—a stack so thick—and hearing that it represented only one percent of the accumulated wealth, Lei Dong was genuinely taken aback. He had previously considered himself quite wealthy, but compared to a sect with such an ancient lineage, he was merely a drop in the ocean.

In the treasury, there were terrifying quantities of magical artifacts, even Spirit Treasures, mountains of low, mid, high, and supreme grade materials, and countless spirit stones.

He was rich; now he was truly rich.