"I can't vouch for anyone else, but as long as you don't try to fool me with your answers, I can preserve your primordial spirit. In a hundred years, I'll let you choose a body among your kin to possess. Afterward, as long as you don't oppose me, you can do as you please." Lei Dong stated his terms calmly. "If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do. The Soul-Searing Great Technique, while prone to data loss, is not a bad option when there's no alternative."

Soul-Searing Great Technique!

At these words, the King of Dawn was instantly chilled to the bone. The Great Radiance Art also contained similar moves. Among them, the move most skilled at torturing the soul belonged to the King of Judgment among the Kings. The King of Dawn had not studied this technique deeply, but he was well aware of its terrifying power. Once one's soul was directly searched, never mind the agony that ordinary people could hardly endure; even if they survived, the intelligence within their spirit would be largely extinguished—bluntly put, they would become an imbecile. A primordial spirit wandering outside would be as miserable as a mindless, lonely ghost.

Even if his primordial spirit managed to cultivate sentience again through some chance encounter in the future, it absolutely would not be the 'him' he was now.

In that case, it would truly be better to have his form and spirit annihilated completely.

At this moment, the King of Dawn felt he possessed no trump cards left to mount a desperate resistance. Life and death rested entirely on the other's whim. He looked utterly dispirited. "Fine. Ask whatever you wish, and I will tell you everything. However, before that, I still hope you can swear a solemn oath on this: in a hundred years, release my primordial spirit to its freedom, and I will not oppose you, nor can you trouble me further." The King of Dawn had never trusted oaths. But one careless move had cost him everything. Reduced to this state, what standing did he have to negotiate? Given the current situation, even if he didn't believe it, he had to.

In response, Lei Dong, in front of his few Deity Transformation companions, solemnly delivered an oath according to their agreed terms. His grave expression somewhat reassured the King of Dawn, especially considering that if Lei Dong broke the oath, his unified Deity Transformation companions would certainly harbor resentment, which might make them hesitant or disbelieving of his words in the future. He hoped this fact would give Lei Dong some pause. For now, that was the only comfort he could find.

"The first question..."

Several days later, Lei Dong was already seated upon the throne that once belonged to the King of Dawn. Standing below him was a contingent of those formidable White-Armored Soldiers. Due to the conflict with Lei Dong, their numbers had dwindled from over a thousand to nine hundred and fifty. Yet, even so, they remained a well-organized, powerful army. Their allegiance now belonged to Lei Dong, completely subject to the fluctuations of his divine will.

Gazing at this powerful army, Lei Dong fell into deep contemplation. Before interrogating the King of Dawn, Lei Dong had prepared himself psychologically for facing complex situations. However, he had never anticipated that the situation would immediately become so extraordinarily intricate.

This matter not only implicated the most powerful monarch in the Bright Domain, the King of Sacred Radiance, but the convoluted circumstances also extended into the Abyss Domain—the most complex and comparatively mysterious of the Six Domains.

Due to the unique characteristics of the Abyss Domain and its minimal external communication, in the eyes of the world, it remained the most enigmatic and least understood of the Six Domains.

It wasn't just low-level beings; even powerful Deity Transformation experts might not possess an in-depth understanding of the Abyss Domain.

Originally, Lei Dong's understanding of the Abyss Domain's structure was rather superficial and shallow. He only knew that the racial structure there was diverse and complex, filled with darkness, bloodshed, and violence. Compared to other regions, the law of the jungle in the Abyss Domain was nakedly and brutally severe.

For instance, the Abyssal Demons, a traditional race of the Abyss Domain, are oviparous. However, these demon eggs are not incubated by a mother or father but are entirely gathered in a massive incubation facility for unified hatching. Each hatching event yields tens of billions of eggs. The newly born demons instinctively consume their own eggshells before beginning to devour the unhatched eggs around them.

Once all the eggs are consumed, they then turn to attacking other newly hatched young demons, using their flesh to nourish themselves and grow stronger and more robust. This is because the hereditary memory embedded in their life factors informs them that if they fail to become stronger, even by a fraction of a second, they will ultimately become sustenance for their siblings.

In this manner, those nascent demon hatchlings must spend a full year within the demon incubation grounds. After one year, those tens of billions of eggs will yield a few million, up to ten million, juvenile demons. Do not underestimate these one-year-old hatchlings; every single one of them has already endured countless battles, large and small, existing in constant deceit or naked slaughter throughout their first year of life.

The amount of killing many individuals in other races experience in their entire lifespan does not equal that of the young demons in their first year. Every surviving little demon is one in ten thousand, robust and cruel.

Subsequently, the Abyssal Demon Lords send representatives to select these young demons. The most powerful Abyssal Lords naturally select the largest number, and the best quality. The weakest Abyssal Lords are left with only a few thousand of the worst specimens.

But emerging alive from the incubation facility marks only the beginning of a cruel life for an Abyssal Demon. In the days to come, the main theme of their existence will be endless slaughter, slaughter, until they themselves are slain. To summarize the life of an Abyssal Demon in one sentence: they slaughter their entire lives, only to be killed in the end.

Precisely because of this, even within the Abyss Domain, the Abyssal Demons are considered one of the traditional powerful races.

All this, Lei Dong learned from ancient texts. For human cultivators of the Nine Continents, the Abyss Domain among the Six Domains is the place they are least willing to venture into. Compared to it, the fiercely xenophobic Bright Domain is practically paradise.

Before questioning the King of Dawn, Lei Dong had not anticipated that the secret to forging these White-Armored Soldiers would actually involve the Abyss Domain. The refining method for the Winged Folk White-Armored Soldiers originates from the Abyss Domain, and specifically from the current Lord of the Abyss. The reason for specifying 'current' is that this individual only recently usurped the position of Lord of the Abyss, mere decades ago. More importantly, his takeover was not entirely clean; he allowed the former Lord of the Abyss to escape.

Such incidents frequently occur in the Abyss Domain. A usurper may succeed, but the escape of the predecessor presents a major problem. However, similar issues in the Abyss Domain do have established rules and procedures for resolution. As for the predecessor, for the rest of his fugitive life, he will certainly try every means possible to stage a comeback and then end the usurper who has become his greatest enemy with the cruelest methods. Even though he, perhaps, also ascended through usurpation.

And for the current Lord, the task is simple: he must do everything possible to finish the incomplete job. Kill the fleeing predecessor, remove a thorn, and defuse a bomb that could explode at any moment. Otherwise, even sitting on the throne of the Lord of the Abyss, he would never feel secure. Because his predecessor hides in the shadows, capable of launching a fatal strike at any time.

It must be admitted that the current Lord of the Abyss possesses some capability. He managed to ascertain the whereabouts of his predecessor in a very short time. But what troubles him is that the former Lord of the Abyss seems to have colluded with the King of Sacred Radiance of the Bright Domain.

The King of Sacred Radiance is no simple character. Even if he is not the King of the Bright Domain, his status is not far from it. Especially since the Twin Kings of Brilliant Radiance are two brothers, rumored to be quite united. The current Lord of the Abyss feels that no matter how powerful he is, he cannot simply march over and demand that the King of Sacred Radiance hand over the person.