That four-armed Naga, Beryl, was quite renowned even within the formidable six domains and nine continents, having achieved the Spirit Transformation stage centuries ago. Although she remained in the early stage of Spirit Transformation, she was undoubtedly a veteran powerhouse.

Theoretically, Beryl should have possessed an advantage over the Heavenly Demon, who had only recently reached the Spirit Transformation realm. However, the Heavenly Demon was no pushover herself; her cultivation of the Heavenly Demon Great Art was incredibly refined, and she had survived countless battles, large and small, throughout her existence. Pure demonic energy coiled around her, capable of transforming into devastating fists and palms of immense power.

The origin of the Heavenly Demon Great Art stemmed from the higher Demon races. Throughout long and ancient history, cultivation methods from various races have circulated externally. Emulating the cultivation techniques of the higher Demons was one of the mainstream methods adopted by humanity.

The defining characteristic of demonic energy is its astonishing destructive force, often enabling lower-tier cultivators to unleash frightening power. The Heavenly Demon Great Art inherited this trait, capable of shattering mountains and cracking the earth with casual movements.

Nagas are also an extremely formidable race of warriors, naturally gifted fighters. While they also mastered ranged devastation, their unparalleled physical prowess meant that once they reached the Spirit Transformation level, they would sprout an additional pair of strong arms. Wielding incredibly sharp weaponry with four arms, their close-quarters combat resembled a swirling tempest of blade energy; getting near one was pure nightmare fuel.

The Heavenly Demon was also a woman of fiercely domineering temperament. Faced with Beryl’s almost manic close-range assault, she refused to yield even an inch. Instead, she condensed and materialized her refined demonic energy into fists, palms, swords, and blades, staunchly holding off Beryl.

The head-on clash between the two powerhouses resulted in intersecting waves of potent energy that rippled outward in all directions. The weaker cannon fodder forces could not withstand the residual force and were pulverized by the interwoven shockwaves.

Lei Dong watched for a short while and felt that in such a purely hard-and-fast exchange, the Heavenly Demon was at a slight disadvantage. But as she showed no signs of falling behind, Lei Dong refrained from reckless interference, lest he displease her.

The other fierce battlefield involved the confrontation between Dongfang Fu and the one-eyed King, Daga. The One-Eyed King relied on his extraordinary strength, attempting to overwhelm Dongfang Fu with brute force. However, purely in terms of innate talent, Dongfang Fu was among the handful of individuals with peerless gifts Lei Dong had ever encountered. She was extraordinarily formidable.

Although Lei Dong’s origin, the Yinsha Sect, could not compare to the supreme powers of the six domains and nine continents, they possessed considerable skill in nurturing disciples. Under the harsh rules of the jungle, none of them knew only cultivation and were ignorant of combat.

Despite being a core disciple, Dongfang Fu had experienced countless battles throughout her life. Her combat experience was immensely rich; knowing she couldn't match the One-Eyed King’s sheer strength, she engaged him with evasive maneuvers against his strong assaults. Various wondrous Ice Art spells manifested under her hands, beautiful and artistic in their execution.

Her surge of profound icy aura spread out, causing snow to dance and bone-chilling air to sweep across several miles. While this might not inflict substantial damage on the One-Eyed King, it created a favorable home-field advantage for Dongfang Fu.

In the increasingly frigid environment, the bulky and inherently less agile One-Eyed King slowed down with every passing moment. Yet, he could not effectively pursue Dongfang Fu, forcing him to repeatedly unleash his unique sonic roar, generating intensely lethal sound waves to strike at her.

It had to be admitted that the One-Eyed King’s move possessed immense power. However, such wide-area spells required a massive expenditure of energy with every cast, and for cultivators at the Spirit Transformation level, they rarely inflicted fatal damage. Like an ice wind, ethereal and untraceable, she would occasionally coalesce ice blades to deliver sharp, heavy blows to the One-Eyed King.

Even with the One-Eyed King’s body as hard as refined iron, protected by bronze-colored protective energy, he could not withstand the pervasive, highly targeted ice shards and needles. In this prolonged battle, while he suffered no major injuries, minor wounds accumulated constantly. His imposing, ashen-grey body was already riddled with dense, small lacerations.

If the battle continued this way, Dongfang Fu would gradually gain the upper hand and slowly wear the One-Eyed King down to death. Unfortunately, this was a battlefield, not an arena. On a battlefield, change is constant, and anything can happen.

Two grayish-black figures emerged subtly from spatial fissures, weaving through the dense mass of cannon fodder, moving covertly. One headed toward Dongfang Fu’s engagement, and the other naturally targeted the Heavenly Demon. Unless one searched meticulously, finding their mysterious whereabouts would be difficult.

Although Lei Dong had only recently broken through, theoretically his realm was not yet completely stable. However, his divine sense surpassed even the highest tier, exceeding that of the Netherworld Ghost Emperor. Being constantly vigilant, he keenly grasped those two subtle fluctuations.

With a slight activation of his divine sense, Ghost Thorn was summoned directly while invisible. The explosive power contained within his seemingly slight frame indicated that with the aid of Origin Essence and Chaos Crystals, Ghost Thorn had successfully overcome the barrier of being a peak-grade Spirit Ghost and, after consuming resources, successfully advanced to the Ghost Emperor level.

Admittedly, his current Spirit Ghost quality was significantly higher than that of an ordinary peak-grade Spirit Ghost, but he was still leagues away from a Celestial Spirit Ghost. The gap between the two was not something a few wisps of Chaos Origin Essence could bridge.

Fortunately, Lei Dong possessed the Chaos Soul Devouring Pagoda; given sufficient time to gather souls, Ghost Thorn would eventually ascend to a Celestial Spirit Ghost, or perhaps even higher.

Ghost Thorn was the best tracker and infiltrator under Lei Dong. Back when he was only at the peak Ghost King level, with enough caution and opportunity, he could already attempt to ambush a Spirit Transformation expert. Now that he had advanced, his cultivation and strength had surged dramatically. His current stealth was utterly devoid of any trace of energy; if Lei Dong hadn't been able to sense his position, finding him would not have been easy.

Whether it was the Heavenly Demon or Dongfang Fu, even while engaged in fierce battle, they maintained partial awareness of the outside surroundings. However, detecting a stealthy ambush from an equally powerful adversary proved nearly impossible.

Two specter-like figures materialized silently behind them and launched their attacks without hesitation.

“Hmph, I said, the space is frozen,” Lei Dong stated majestically, his hands clasped behind his back.

As expected, driven by Lei Dong’s command, the world's laws caused the shadowy attacker to be abruptly immobilized by the solidified space.

Having prepared thoroughly, Lei Dong thrust his right fist into the void. Accompanied by a fierce dragon’s roar, a vivid black dragon, dozens of feet long, lunged forward with bared fangs and claws. Seemingly swimming through space, it struck the shadow in an instant.

Boom! The area of frozen space shattered, sending countless spatial fragments scattering everywhere. The shadow figure’s form was revealed: a dark, reddish body with a pair of demonic wings—it was Umu, an expert from the Abyssal Demon race.

Suffering Lei Dong’s follow-up strike after the initial assassination attempt, he was immediately severely wounded, vomiting blood and his body sliced by the sharp spatial shards. But what terrified him beyond measure was the fist-sized hole appearing in his chest, pierced through by an unseen finger strike.

That wound was Lei Dong’s handiwork. Deeply aware that his Immortal Slaying Finger, which carried annihilation attributes, might bring immense trouble if observed by the knowledgeable, the naturally cautious Lei Dong had long modified it, making its exterior resemble the Netherworld Finger.

But that was not all. Lei Dong had attempted to combine the Netherworld Immortal Slaying Finger with the Black Dragon Chant, using the latter’s grand sound and respectable power as a diversion to secretly launch a Netherworld Immortal Slaying Finger strike. This way, he not only obscured the enemy’s attention from the actual finger technique but also delivered a surprise attack—a welcome combination, indeed!

Poor Umu, the newly promoted expert of the Abyssal Demon race, felt a sudden, sharp pain in his chest after the ambush and sustained an almost fatal injury. A wound piercing the chest, even for the Abyssal Demon race with their exceptional physique and vigorous vitality, was an extremely difficult injury to endure.

Severely wounded and facing imminent death, Umu dared not linger for a moment longer. After violently spitting out a mouthful of blood, his form dissolved into a blood mist and fled at extreme speed.

“Trying to leave?” Lei Dong sneered, “Too late.”

Lei Dong, with his abundant combat experience, had already anticipated the scenario where he might not instantly obliterate his target, leading to an escape attempt. He extended a claw, and a monstrous claw, seven or eight feet wide, tore through the air. Unlike the normal Netherworld Ghost Claw, this one seemed imbued with life and moved with incredible agility.

Flickering in and out of visibility, it moved through space, deceptively slow yet incredibly fast. Within mere seconds, it seized the blood mist that Umu had transformed into and pulled it back to Lei Dong’s side.

Almost simultaneously, on the other side, Umu’s accomplice, Ushi, whose assassination attempt had just been exposed, immediately abandoned his target. He decided instantly not to engage the Heavenly Demon and turned to flee, his speed even greater than when he arrived.

But in that crucial moment, he encountered Ghost Thorn, who excelled at stealth even more than he did. Ushi, while fleeing, was struck with a resounding crash, and his demonic body was sent flying backward toward the Heavenly Demon, blood splattering violently. Ghost Thorn, striking with Bloodthirsty Critical Hit while invisible, delivered an attack of unimaginable force, instantly crippling Ushi.

But that was not the end. Ghost Thorn moved with incredible speed, leaving streaks of afterimages, arriving first despite starting later. Two daggers, emitting an evil glow, shot toward Ushi.