The fierce battle, without any preamble or buildup, erupted instantly, plunging straight into the thick of it. The initial volley of ten thousand suicide ghosts detonated collectively, ripping apart over a hundred Blood Puppet Minions. Most of the remaining puppets sustained injuries. But this was not the final blow; the dense swarm of suicide ghosts behind them accelerated continuously, hurtling forward like guided missiles, blanketing the entire area. A continuous chain of explosions erupted without pause.

Simultaneously, Lei Dong's Belly Cannon Ghosts began to unleash their might. Amidst the thunderous roar of artillery, green flames mingled with blasts of Netherfire cannons, streaking through the sky like a magnificent meteor shower. Ten thousand Netherfire shells poured down mercilessly, creating a grand spectacle even Lei Dong had never witnessed firsthand.

It wasn't that Lei Dong held back any trump cards. Accustomed to mass attack tactics, he knew clearly that if these thousand or so strange and powerful Blood Puppets managed to breach his front lines, it would spell disaster of unimaginable proportions. Not only would his formations of suicide ghosts and belly cannon ghosts be scattered, but his six Soul Transformation stage combatants would also be entangled. Once their formation broke, if the three Split Avatars of the Integration stage old monsters charged in, things would become dire.

Lei Dong could afford no restraint, unleashing his entire offensive power at once. Those formidable Blood Puppets were engulfed by the ferocious explosions, vanishing into nothingness amidst shrieks of agony. Blood mist permeated the air, the stench overwhelming, transforming the scene into a veritable hellscape. It stunned not only the powerful fighters within his own ranks but also momentarily froze the three Split Avatars of the enemy Integration stage old monsters. The technique the Blood Child executed was far more complex than it appeared; it certainly wasn't something a mere Soul Transformation stage avatar could manage, even if his avatar had reached the mid-stage of the Soul Transformation level.

The Blood Child had paid an immense price to drag a portion of his Blood Puppet army into this realm. He had intended for this force to carve a path of destruction, sweeping aside everything in its way. Yet, barely having made their debut, more than half were destroyed or crippled in an instant, leaving the remaining Blood Puppets maimed, nothing more than broken remnants of an army.

"Kill!"

Xie Feng, having previously witnessed the lethality of Lei Dong's killing array, was the first to recover, despite being shocked by the sheer power Lei Dong’s formation manifested. The morale, just dashed by the thousand Blood Puppets, instantly soared. With a sharp cry, she immediately activated the Netherflame Black Phoenix Banners. Twelve bizarrely shaped black phoenix banners unfurled in the wind, the black phoenixes depicted upon them seeming alive, spreading their wings and soaring with supreme elegance. They spat torrents of netherflame from their beaks, condensing into Netherfire shells that relentlessly bombarded the remnants of the blood-colored puppets.

The Netherflame Black Phoenix Banners were reputed to be one of the strongest offensive formations in the Nether Domain, possessing immense power. Once struck by those Netherfire shells, the Blood Puppets were instantly annihilated by the green flames. Furthermore, Xie Feng's figure flickered, transforming into a colossal black phoenix with a wingspan spanning several dozen zhang. It let out a clear cry to the heavens, activating its famed Innate Spiritual Treasure. Countless black phoenix feathers rained down like a thunderous storm, striking out.

These quills, each condensed with the essence of a Nether Phoenix clan Soul Transformation expert, acted like peerlessly sharp swords, dancing wildly like autumn leaves, forming devastating arrays that tore apart any Blood Puppet caught within into fine powder, scattering them as blood mist. Though those Blood Puppets possessed a semi-corporeal nature, the "Phoenix Dance of Nine Heavens," an Innate Spiritual Treasure embodying the unique heritage of the Nether Phoenix clan, was no ordinary artifact. In its weaving and slaughtering attacks, it often caused both body and spirit to perish.

It was evident that both Lei Dong and Xie Feng shared a common trait: their terrifying power was most fully realized when confronting large groups of weaker foes.

As Xie Feng made her move, the four Instrument Puppets and the Black Serpent, as if waking from a dream, joined the fray. With morale high, those four puppets fought like war gods, their blades, forks, swords, and halberds slashing out dazzling spiritual light, dissolving anything they touched. Even the weakest among them, the Black Serpent, fought as if divinely assisted. It manifested its majestic hundred-zhang-long body, shrouded in black aura, maneuvering with exceptional agility in mid-air. Opening its cavernous mouth, it swallowed several Blood Puppet Minions whole in a single gulp. Its tail whipped out like a steel whip, casting a net of whipping shadows; everywhere it passed, bleak winds wailed, and all collapsed.

"Hee hee, a mere little Serpentine Black Serpent dares to be so arrogant? Let this old granny meet you." Just as everyone was demonstrating their might, the seductive woman whose true form was the Scarlet Refining Divine Serpent appeared atop the Black Serpent's head, leaning on an umbrella, seemingly out of nowhere. With a charming, seductive laugh, there was a sharp crack.

The Soul-Snaring Whip, barbed with hooks, instantly turned into heavy layers of shadows, tearing through space as it lashed viciously across the Black Serpent's spine.

"Aoo—" The poor Black Serpent, having just found a taste of mastery against the Blood Puppets, screamed out in agony from the whip strike, letting loose a cry akin to a dragon's roar, suggesting that the bloodline of the Serpentine Black Serpent contained a trace of the divine dragon's lineage. The Soul-Snaring Whip was clearly no ordinary object; while it appeared to strike its physical body, it was actually impacting the Serpent's primordial spirit.

The massive impact force nearly shook the Black Serpent's spirit out of its shell. As it struggled to stabilize its mind and return to consciousness, who knew that the barb of the Soul-Snaring Whip possessed endless utility? It dug straight into the Serpent's primordial spirit with that single strike. The enchanting Snake Woman laughed wildly, her expression seductive: "Little darling, hurry up and hand over your spirit to this old granny to satisfy my appetite." With that, she gave a gentle flick of her arm, and the Soul-Snaring Whip rapidly retracted, dragging the Serpent's spirit slowly out of its body. In mere moments, half of it was pulled free. The intense pain only made the Serpent struggle harder and suffer more, as the deep barbs sank deeper. A primordial spirit is different from an infant soul; the latter usually develops within the Purple Mansion until it advances to the spirit stage, at which point the spirit pervades the entire body like an extension of the physical self.

Just as the Black Serpent's spirit was about to be entirely snatched away, the hard-mouthed but soft-hearted Xie Feng let out an angry, sharp cry: "Shameless wretch, how dare you!" The tail feathers dancing in the air coalesced into an array, surging toward the Seductive Snake like a locust swarm. Though she usually held disdain for the Black Serpent, it was, after all, her battle pet, her personal property. One couldn't allow others to attack what belonged to them without consequence!

"Big Black Bird! I am your opponent." The scarred strong man had also managed to slip inside the protective shield by this time, speaking in a muffled voice. As he did so, his figure shook and suddenly expanded, much like the Manifestation of Heaven and Earth technique, growing into a terrifying giant hundreds of zhang tall, his head brushing the sky and his feet planted on the ground, resembling a moving mountain range.

His muscles were like tempered steel, bulging like boulders across his frame. Revealing his true form like this, the giant radiated a savage, ancient aura of brutality, truly displaying the majesty of an Ancient War Giant. He stepped forward, and countless tail feathers struck him head-on.

Clang, clang, clang! A series of metallic collisions rang out, sparking countless flashes of electrical light. However, the Ancient Giant Dana only sustained minor injuries to his chest, oozing rivulets of blood. Ignoring the wounds, he grinned fiercely at Xie Feng, then revealed a surging, savage battle intent, roaring: "Fine spiritual treasure, capable of wounding me! Big Black Bird, take this punch!"

The giant, hundreds of zhang tall, was nearly comparable to a thousand-meter-high peak. His fist hammered down like a mountain peak, causing space itself to vibrate violently, shattering into fragments that formed swirling vortexes of debris. The suffocating sensation of the heavens collapsing and the earth cracking made it impossible to breathe.

Xie Feng's Nether Phoenix true form, with its wings spanning dozens of zhang, was indeed massive, but compared to this pure-blooded Ancient War Giant, she was like a sparrow beneath an elephant's foot.

However, as one of the Four Emperors of the Nether Domain and the most outstanding of the Nether Phoenix clan, Xie Feng naturally possessed her unique and proud strengths. With composed grace, she flapped her wings and vanished, instantly reappearing several miles away. Yet, her wing feathers were disheveled, blood flowing freely; she had not entirely dodged the giant's spatial shattering punch. The wounds on her wings were clearly gashes torn by spatial fragments.

While inwardly shocked by the terror of the Ancient Giant, it only ignited her own immense pride and fighting spirit. She sneered mockingly: "Ancient Giant? Heh heh, creatures strong in limb but simple in mind. How have you not been weeded out by nature yet? It’s a miracle. Have your kind finally developed an awareness?"

"Big Black Bird, you seek death!" Although the Lan Gu Giant was simple-minded, ridicule easily drove him into a rage. He stomped his pillar-like leg, and his colossal body bizarrely materialized not far in front of Xie Feng. He brought his massive foot down violently in the air, causing the heavens and earth to collapse, smashing out countless sharp spatial fragments. He roared deafeningly toward Xie Feng, his voice forming shockwaves that carried countless shattered spatial fragments, sweeping over everything.

"Silly brute, I knew you’d use this move." Xie Feng’s eyes gleamed with scorn; having already prepared, she flickered and instantly reappeared beside Lei Dong. The Ancient Giant’s roar happened to strike the hundred or so remaining Blood Puppet soldiers. The incomparably sharp spatial fragments instantly shredded those pitiful puppets into pieces.

By this point, in barely a few dozen breaths since the battle began, the technique the Blood Child had executed at such a heavy cost was almost entirely nullified. Only a few dozen crippled Blood Puppets remained on the battlefield, no longer capable of posing any threat.

Seeing this, the Blood Child was so enraged he nearly spat a mouthful of blood. In that single move, his vital blood energy had been completely depleted; his combat strength was less than twenty or thirty percent of his peak—effectively crippled. Yet, the enemy remained almost fully combat-ready. How could this battle possibly continue? Although Integration stage experts possessed rich experience, they were ultimately restricted to exhibiting the true strength of the Soul Transformation stage.