A little slack was good enough. The Evil Phoenix immediately unleashed the supreme methods honed over years of being an Emperor to secure advantages, starting to beat around the bush by negotiating with the Silver Puppets and the Ghost King Hall's Artifact Spirit behind them, while simultaneously testing the Artifact Spirit's authority and bottom line through relentless, exorbitant demands. Meanwhile, Lei Dong continued to feign innocence on the sidelines, though he constantly communicated with the Evil Phoenix via his divine sense to siphon off even greater benefits.

At Lei Dong’s subtle prompting, the Evil Phoenix continually demanded silver puppets to serve as Lei Dong’s personal bodyguards, opening her mouth with a request for ten such puppets. However, the Artifact Spirit held firm, refusing to budge until finally understanding the true situation: the Ghost King Hall had been dormant for far too long. For a period calculated in hundreds of millions of years, many of the original puppet guards had been completely destroyed and were irreparable. Now, within this vast Ghost King Hall, only these two bronze and two silver puppets remained operational. Furthermore, the Ghost King’s original directive to the Artifact Spirit was simple: protect the Ghost King Hall.

The Artifact Spirit itself was utterly incapable of disobeying the Ghost King’s direct order by gifting the remaining puppets to Lei Dong as guards.

But the Evil Phoenix remained relentlessly persistent, softening the Artifact Spirit with ceaseless coaxing, trying to exploit any loopholes or gaps to secure more advantages for Lei Dong. A Nascent Soul level puppet might not have been a world-shattering treasure in the era when the Ghost King enjoyed abundant spiritual energy and resources. But in the current Six Domains and Nine Continents, whoever obtained a Nascent Soul level puppet would not necessarily be able to conquer the world and reign supreme, but they would certainly be considered a significant figure.

Nascent Soul level combat power was genuinely rare across the Six Domains and Nine Continents. In the massive cultivation world of Kang Province, ever since the last Nascent Soul stage expert ascended thousands of years ago, no one had managed to break through to that level. This absence had resulted in even a mere Core Formation stage cultivator casually lording it over Kang Province if they hailed from a distant sect like the Taiyi Sect—such was the consequence of lacking Nascent Soul level power to anchor the region.

Lei Dong was also intensely eager for the Nascent Soul puppets. Although he himself had begun engaging at the Nascent Soul level and knew or befriended several powerful experts at that stage, the strength of others was ultimately just that—theirs. Only what one possessed personally was truly the best. Moreover, given that he was about to venture into the territory of the Birdmen, the Bright Domain, having an additional Nascent Soul level puppet guard would vastly increase his security and success rate.

Gradually, both sides began to lose patience. The negotiation devolved into a stalemate.

But the unexpected occurred with sudden force.

"Boom! Boom!"

Two massive explosions rattled the vast space, sending tremors through it. Looking up toward the protective barrier, ripples and waves could be seen spreading across its surface. The defensive formation of the Ghost King Hall appeared to be under attack by unknown intruders.

The Silver Puppet immediately cast a simple spell, projecting the scene outside the formation via an illusionary technique for everyone to witness. Outside the defensive formation floated three figures of distinct appearances. The one in the middle, leading the group, was a short figure clad in black armor and robes, hands clasped behind his back, calmly observing the shield barrier.

Another figure, towering several zhang high, his muscles bulging like solid rock, was directly engaging the barrier in close combat, pounding against the shield with solid fists. His strength was terrifyingly immense; with every blow, the shield produced violent fluctuations and dimmed slightly. Seeing this, the Evil Phoenix’s expression shifted subtly; the brute’s sheer physical force was too overwhelming. After all, she herself had tried attacking the protective shield with her cultivation techniques, and the resulting effect was far inferior to what this brute achieved with his fists, indicating his offensive power surpassed hers by a significant margin.

Although the strikes looked utterly ordinary, it was likely that even a mountain range would be shattered with such ease before him.

Beside them stood a voluptuous, charming woman whose face constantly radiated a hint of sultry allure, possessing an air of languid detachment. She lazily supported a huā umbrella. This umbrella seemed to be an extraordinary spiritual treasure; as it slowly spun, it emitted bursts of precious light, actively drawing the surrounding condensed Yin Thunder towards its apex. When the thunder struck the umbrella, it vanished without a trace, as if swallowed by the sea.

The short leader in the middle seemed to sense their scrutiny. His icy eyes glanced deeply in their direction. Then, a cold snort escaped his lips, and a flash of electric light flickered in his eyes. The illusory vision on this side immediately dissolved like melting snow, transforming into a blurry, swirling mist.

Lei Dong and the Evil Phoenix exchanged glances, both seeing surprise reflected in the other's eyes.

These three, judging by their aura and appearance, could not possibly be ordinary individuals. They were likely at least three experts at the early Nascent Soul stage. In fact, they were highly unlikely to be mere Core Formation stage cultivators, considering the treacherous void they were in, where powerful demonic beasts roamed, even including Nascent Soul level beasts like the Black Serpent. For a Core Formation cultivator to venture here was extremely difficult. Judging by their expressions and the spiritual treasures they wielded, they seemed prepared rather than acting on impulse.

To eliminate any potential suspicion, Lei Dong frowned first and asked, "Senior Evil Phoenix, you have been at the Nascent Soul stage for a long time and have interacted with higher-level individuals, knowing many prominent figures. Do you happen to know the identities of these three powerhouses?"

Unexpectedly, the Evil Phoenix also furrowed her brow deeply. After pondering for a few breaths, she slowly shook her head. "Regarding all Nascent Soul experts in the Six Domains and Nine Continents, I dare not claim to know or have heard of every single one, but the Ghost Phoenix Clan possesses detailed intelligence on over ninety percent of them. Only those few who are kept hidden, or reclusive experts who never emerge, would lack specific details, though one might still know something general. Yet, these three, based on their appearance and bearing, are completely unknown to me."

Lei Dong’s expression grew even more serious. The Six Domains and Nine Continents were vast, yet small in certain aspects. Any major power would maintain a strong intelligence network. And for a peerless Nascent Soul expert to remain entirely unknown was no easy feat. For instance, the Yaksha King of the East Sea in Kang Province, although he rarely ventured out, any moderately important figure in the Six Domains and Nine Continents, even if they hadn't met the Yaksha King, would at least have heard tales of him. After all, Nascent Soul stage experts were far too rare; like a beacon in a dark night, it was difficult to remain unnoticed.

The Evil Phoenix claiming they were unknown suggested a serious problem. If one unknown Nascent Soul expert appeared, perhaps like Lei Long who had just emerged from a sealed space, it would be plausible. But for three such individuals to appear at once—the probability was frighteningly low.

This left only one possibility: these three Nascent Soul experts were likely not natives of the Six Domains and Nine Continents. Therefore, the only alternative was that they originated from outside the domains. If they came from beyond, the regions capable of producing such powerhouses and maintaining a connection to the Six Domains and Nine Continents would most likely be the Immortal, Demon, or Spirit Realms.

Although the Three Realms had inverse passages, it wasn't entirely impossible to travel between them. With support on the lower end and confirmed spatial coordinates, some immensely powerful beings could descend upon the Six Domains and Nine Continents via projection. Beyond that, if one was willing to pay a sufficient price and absorb the resulting loss, they could use the Art of Clones to send a portion of their divine soul as an avatar to the Six Domains and Nine Continents.

Of course, whether projecting or sending an avatar, not just anyone in the Six Domains and Nine Continents could achieve this; usually, it was experts at the Integration stage who undertook such tasks. When these beings projected their presence, they often possessed a combat strength equivalent to the Core Formation stage. But if an avatar descended, it would possess at least the strength of the early Nascent Soul stage.

As for greater powerhouses beyond that level, they were less willing to descend in this manner. Although some formidable existences could manifest avatars possessing Void Refinement stage strength, the cost incurred was too steep, leading those great powers to avoid such self-damaging and unrewarding actions.

By this deduction, these three unknown Nascent Soul experts were likely avatars descending from Integration stage powerhouses of one of the Realms. Such avatars usually possessed at least early Nascent Soul combat strength. The issue was that their main bodies were Integration stage figures, possessing extremely high cultivation tiers, and their comprehension of Heavenly Laws, battle experience, and mastery of magic far surpassed that of normal Nascent Soul cultivators.

This was no trivial matter. If the stages were similar, the native Nascent Soul experts of the Six Domains and Nine Continents would often be no match for these avatars in a one-on-one fight. They would need to suppress them with sheer positional advantage, or more likely, join forces to defeat the powerhouse avatars who had descended.

If Lei Dong could deduce this, the Evil Phoenix certainly could too. Her expression grew equally grave: "Lei Dong, this situation seems quite troublesome now. Judging by the auras of these three, if I were at my peak, I might be able to barely handle one. But now, having expended much energy in previous battles, I can barely manage half of one. From their demeanor, they do not appear to be from the Immortal or Demon Realms; they are most likely avatars sent down from the Demon Spirit Realm." By saying this, the Evil Phoenix was informing Lei Dong and the Ghost King Hall's Artifact Spirit of the true situation, and also, following Lei Dong's lead, clearing her own name, separating her faction from the three outside, lest the Artifact Spirit grow suspicious and cause internal instability.

The Silver Puppet's gaze also turned solemn: "These three should be from the Spirit Realm. That scarred brute is likely a genuine Ancient War Giant; only the Ancient Giant race favors fighting directly with fists and feet. The body of that woman seems to be a pure-blooded Crimson Refinement Divine Serpent. As for the child, he appears to possess a secret art, making his true form difficult to discern? However, his aura is the strongest among the three, close to the middle Nascent Soul stage. These three are likely ill-intentioned and will be extremely difficult to deal with."

This assessment was likely not the Silver Puppet's own deduction but rather information provided by the Ghost King Hall's Artifact Spirit lurking behind the scenes. In that instant, all arguments and haggling ceased; a unified front against the outside threat formed in their minds.