The Heaven-Spirit Stone had become Lei Dong's most critical strategic resource at this stage. Given its scarcity, it was often unobtainable even with ample wealth. The portion Lei Dong had previously acquired, after activating one Grotto-Heaven and Blessed Land, was no longer enough to power a second activation cycle within the Time Law space.

Now, another batch of Heaven-Spirit Stones had filled Lei Dong's coffers, signaling that his core forces had another opportunity for a rapid surge in strength in the short term.

But what truly moved Lei Dong to deep contemplation were the five bottles of Divine Water of Life he had obtained. It was these seemingly minor vials of Divine Water of Life that had triggered this entire chain of events. Otherwise, even with Lei Dong's might, there would have been absolutely no need to venture into the formidable Brightness Holy Domain to cause trouble. Yet, it was precisely because of this Divine Water of Life, which was vital to the Heavenly Demon's survival, that Lei Dong felt compelled to attempt a breakthrough into the Brightness Holy Domain, regardless of its immense power.

Lei Dong's original plan was simply to seize the wealth of the Dawn Main City and then vanish immediately, returning to Kangzhou to revive the Heavenly Demon first.

However, the Dawn King seemed unwilling to grant Lei Dong this opportunity. The moment Lei Dong revealed himself in the Dawn Main City, the guards stationed there surged forth to attack. Furthermore, within Lei Dong's keen divine sense, he distinctly perceived a powerful spatial fluctuation manifesting within the Dawn Divine Palace itself.

Great Teleportation Art.

This was one of the Winged Race's potent divine arts, capable of transporting a large contingent of troops to a fixed location. The Dawn Main City had evidently been set as such a spatial translocation coordinate. As expected, amidst the intense fluctuations, the elite remnants of the Dawn King’s most powerful personal guard were collectively teleported into the Dawn King’s sleeping quarters, the Dawn Divine Palace.

Truly worthy of being called a divine art. With a sweep of his powerful divine sense, Lei Dong calculated that the number of troops transported this time exceeded one thousand. The one leading the formation possessed an exceptionally powerful aura; even before appearing, he exerted intense pressure on Lei Dong’s divine sense. Clearly, the Dawn King attached extreme importance to his sleeping quarters being infiltrated, unwilling to refrain from personally leading his troops for a direct counter-attack.

While the Great Teleportation Art is indeed a divine art with powerful effects, it is not without its flaws. Firstly, it requires a clear and secure spatial translocation coordinate; meaning, one cannot simply move to an arbitrary location. Secondly, although it can transport up to a thousand individuals at once, the resource expenditure for a single casting is excruciatingly expensive. Thirdly, the distance is limited; within a few hundred thousand li it is feasible, but attempting to move millions of li in one go is pure fantasy.

Despite these inherent weaknesses, it cannot be denied that when utilized effectively, the Great Teleportation Art can often reverse a losing battle situation.

For instance, in this current scenario.

Lei Dong’s strategy was to lure the snake out of its hole, but was the Dawn King not employing a similar tactic? Having committed the main army to a decisive battle against the mysterious enemy did not preclude the Dawn King from having plans to force the hidden enemies out of the shadows.

Of course, this small setup within the Dawn Main City was merely one facet of the Dawn King’s numerous arrangements. Even he could not be certain that the enemy would infiltrate the Dawn Main City to stir up trouble; he was not clairvoyant to that degree, but merely followed the habit of preparing multiple contingencies.

Undoubtedly, the Dawn King’s caution in this instance had yielded him significant gains, at least, that was his perception.

Because this time, it was not just him teleporting back, but an entire contingent of his most elite troops accompanying him. In his view, even if the enemy capable of infiltrating the Divine Palace to steal were extraordinarily powerful, they could not stand against the sheer numerical superiority of his forces. Moreover, engaging in theft and mischief was something one would never attempt while commanding an army.

The Dawn King held supreme confidence in his troops. This was because those teleporting back with him constituted the absolute core of his most elite guard. This thousand-man unit had been forged through immense expenditures of resources by the Dawn King, even consuming significant amounts of Divine Water of Life. The weakest among them was a Nascent Soul initial-stage Winged Man.

Yes, a Nascent Soul initial-stage being.

If such terrifying combat power were made public, it would certainly cause a massive shockwave. The Dawn King, long considered the weakest among the Brightness Domain rulers, had secretly maintained an army of a thousand Nascent Soul initial-stage Winged Men, beyond the visible Nascent Soul-level generals and commanders?

And this pure, elite army composed entirely of Nascent Soul-level Winged Men had remained completely undisclosed externally? Considering this, even the other powerful rulers in the Brightness Domain—such as the Judgment King or the Verdict King—would find it exceedingly difficult to assemble a thousand-man army purely of Nascent Soul cultivators.

How could a mere Dawn King possess the means to assemble such a secret and powerful force?

Indeed, the Winged Race boasts noble and potent bloodlines; any Winged Man failing to reach the Golden Core stage upon maturity is purged from the population as weak. This suggests that the weakest among the Winged Race is at least a Golden Core practitioner.

But the issue lies here: while the probability of a Winged Man cultivating to the Golden Core stage might be high, the average chance of progressing step-by-step to the Nascent Soul stage is only about one in fifty. In practical terms, fifty Golden Core Winged Men would yield, on average, only one Nascent Soul expert.

This represents a remarkable rate of producing strong individuals, but based on the twenty thousand-plus pure-blooded Winged Men under the Dawn King’s rule, he should at most have four to five hundred Nascent Soul experts. Assembling a thousand-man army entirely composed of Nascent Soul cultivators is not merely a matter of the Dawn King's troop management skill.

Lei Dong was also momentarily startled. The aura emanating from the thousand-man unit teleported in was undeniably powerful for each individual. When massed together, they projected an overwhelming sense of might. Each one clearly exuded the aura of a Nascent Soul expert.

A single, or even a small group, of Nascent Soul experts would not warrant Lei Dong's serious attention. However, when a force of Nascent Soul cultivators gathers in formation, the situation becomes terrifyingly serious. In his entire life, Lei Dong had only encountered two organized formations of Nascent Soul armies.

The first was led by the Blood Child from the Demon Spirit Realm, who, at enormous cost, utilized the Blood Spirit Pearl to summon fully a thousand Nascent Soul Blood Puppets, displaying staggering arrogance. Yet, that force encountered Lei Dong, the ultimate bane of such entities, resulting in their complete annihilation; even the Blood Child’s Soul Transformation stage clone was stifled and defeated by Lei Dong before it could unleash its full power.

This was the second time.

It wasn't that such armies could not be established within the Six Domains and Nine Continents. Lei Dong was certain that figures like the renowned Radiant Twin Kings, the two powerhouses in the Asura Domain, the Abyss Lord, and the Purgatory Demon King all possessed the qualifications to establish such a purely structured Nascent Soul army.

But these individuals did not include a minor figure like the Dawn King. Compared to those titans, the Dawn King was, at best, a lord-level figure dwelling in some remote corner.

Forget the Dawn King; even the Underworld Ghost Emperor would struggle to establish an organized army of this caliber. This is not to say the Ghost Emperor is significantly inferior to figures like the Radiant Twin Kings. Rather, the Ghost Race relies on sheer numbers; their high-quality experts are fewer compared to top-tier races, but their total quantity is terrifying. In terms of overall comprehensive strength, the Ghost Race is comparable to one of the Radiant Twin Kings.

As for beings like the Evil Phoenix or the Demon Dragon King, they also lacked the qualifications.

Lei Dong, being who he was, had thoroughly investigated the situation on the Dawn Continent before causing any upheaval there. He had meticulously ascertained, or at least estimated, the full extent of the Dawn King's power.

A Nascent Soul army numbering over a thousand was certainly not something the standard Dawn King could muster. If that were the case, could one not infer that the Dawn King’s current strength was abnormal?

If so, what sort of abnormality allowed the Dawn King to cultivate such a powerful force? This was a matter that greatly piqued Lei Dong’s interest. While the current Lei Dong could not field an army of this magnitude, it did not mean he lacked the means to challenge the Dawn King’s force.

Lei Dong had rarely favored direct one-on-one combat throughout his career. One of his guiding principles was that sheer numbers could overpower fewer opponents—multitudes dominating the few. In a sense, overwhelming force represented the path of a true sovereign. Lei Dong’s immediate reaction was to swiftly command Lei Long, Xuan She, the Flame Demon King, and Mo Yi.

He instructed them via divine sense to avoid rash charges, as a converged formation of Nascent Soul experts could unleash terrifying power. Even a powerful Soul Transformation expert, charging in recklessly, risked severe injury or death if pinned down and entangled.

Having them assume human form and guard him on his four sides, Lei Dong then summoned the invaluable Nether Flame Ethereal Ghost Banner. This banner was an innate spirit treasure that Lei Dong had painstakingly refined with countless efforts and resources. Though perhaps incomparable to the legendary Netherworld Banner, it was undeniably a formidable innate spirit treasure in its current state.

With time pressing, Lei Dong frantically urged the Ethereal Ghost Banner, unleashing a tide of various, peculiar ghost soldiers that poured forth and arrayed themselves in dense defensive formations based on their troop types.

It was fortunate that the Winged Race possessed an immense sense of propriety, resulting in their sleeping quarters, the Dawn Divine Palace, being built on a truly colossal scale. Even a minor side hall often spanned several hundred zhang in width.

Lei Dong’s ghost soldiers had diversified significantly by now. There were the Belly Cannon Ghosts responsible for long-range firepower output, the Sacrificial Ghosts functioning as expendable resources, and the Blade and Shield Soldiers tasked with conventional combat—though the latter were purely bait in this scenario, given that the enemy’s main force consisted of Nascent Soul cultivators.

"Boom! Boom~"

The dense mass of Belly Cannon Ghosts floating in the air commenced a furious barrage of fire. Their targets were naturally the Dawn Personal Guards attempting to charge into this side hall. The fierce explosions shook the walls of the side hall violently.