"Wanyan, as you manage things here at home, how is the cultivation progressing for the Fierce Ghost Army and the Submerged Dragon Army?" Lei Dong remained outwardly calm, urging Wanyan to settle down for tea.

Ding Wanyan, influenced by Lei Dong's composed demeanor, felt much steadier. She gracefully sat beside him, brewing a pot of spirit tea, and laughed lightly, "Since sacrificing the stabilizing power of the Celestial Spirit Stone to introduce Chaotic Spiritual Qi into the Grotto-Heaven Paradise, it has been extremely beneficial for Golden Core stage cultivation. Furthermore, we've built a secure base across Kang and Zhao Prefectures, and our resources are quite ample. The Submerged Dragon Army has always enjoyed the best treatment. To date, out of the four thousand four hundred and sixty-nine members of the Submerged Dragon Army, over three thousand eight hundred have achieved Nascent Soul stage. Most of the remaining six hundred are expected to break through within the next six months. As for the Fierce Ghost Army, we still have over eighty-six thousand members remaining, with more than six thousand three hundred having reached the Ghost King of Nascent Soul stage."

"So, we now have over ten thousand Nascent Soul level experts?" Lei Dong’s own mood began to stir upon hearing that number. Over ten thousand Nascent Souls—while the Six Domains and Nine Provinces are vast, excluding wild monsters, the total estimated number of Nascent Soul level cultivators is only around one hundred thousand, certainly not reaching two hundred thousand.

"Our total Nascent Soul combat power should be just over twelve thousand." Ding Wanyan hadn't realized it until she calculated; her mood instantly settled. She smiled charmingly, "That includes the five hundred White Armor Soldiers, plus many of the Submerged Dragon Army's ghost servants who have also reached the Nascent Soul level."

"Good, good." Lei Dong praised her twice heartily. The combat power under his command alone was astonishing. And he wasn't fighting alone; he had numerous allies present. For instance, the Netherworld Ghost Emperor and the Purgatory Demon King had deployed their elite forces entirely. The Purgatory Demon King, the Netherworld Ghost Emperor, Evil Phoenix, Flame Demon King, Demon Dragon, Yaksha King, Elder Li, and the Netherworld Demon Venerable—all had their main forces. Although their combined troop strength was only a mere tens of thousands, the added combat power at the Nascent Soul level reached about four to five thousand.

It was clear that Lei Dong's allies were also pulling their weight, having committed their entire strength for this desperate fight. After all, while the spoils of this operation would be shared, the final division—who got how much—depended on the strength each contributed. Of course, the Netherworld Demon Venerable seemed more like a bystander; he managed to scrape together a force of only a few dozen Nascent Souls and over a thousand Golden Cores. Lei Dong brought him along purely out of consideration for the Yin Fiend Sect, hoping they could share in some of the benefits. Similarly, the Yaksha King’s forces weren't overwhelmingly strong; he had to bring out his true trump cards—only a little over a hundred Nascent Souls and more than three thousand Golden Cores. After all, the Yaksha Clan had long since fractured, and the Yaksha King only led one of the tribes. If he could unify the Yaksha Clan, their overall strength could increase seven or eightfold, making them a formidable power.

The strongest were undoubtedly the two giants, the Purgatory Demon King and the Netherworld Ghost Emperor, each commanding over a thousand Nascent Soul level experts and tens of thousands of Golden Cores in their main forces. The only slight surprise for Lei Dong was the Flame Demon King. Ever since the Flame Monarch perished, this fellow had been consolidating his power and had managed to assemble a truly formidable force: over five hundred Flame Elementals at the Nascent Soul level and over ten thousand Golden Cores.

As for Evil Phoenix and the Demon Dragon, their races were few in number but exceptionally elite. They too were staking everything, managing to gather seven hundred Nascent Souls each—all elites of their respective clans. Elder Li brought a contingent of fiercely loyal subordinates, numbering around several hundred, mostly high-level Golden Cores. However, these people specialized in controlling puppets. The Myriad Puppet Gate was a terrifying sect capable of refining even Deity Transformation stage puppets; refining Nascent Soul stage puppets was clearly not an issue. That mere three hundred-plus personnel could command approximately five hundred Nascent Soul stage puppets, resulting in formidable combat strength.

Furthermore, Elder Li contributed several hundred flying vessels and over ten thousand sect members to pilot them, along with various cannons and consumables. Although the Myriad Puppet Gate excelled most in puppetry, puppets were ultimately the pinnacle of mechanism arts. Consequently, their achievements in cannons and flying vessels were also astonishingly high.

Those terrifying devices, which Elder Li called 'Blazing Fire Cannons,' possessed the power of a full-strength strike from an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator with a single shot. When several hundred cannons fired simultaneously, even Deity Transformation stage powerhouses would be forced to retreat in fear. It was evident that the Myriad Puppet Gate's status as an overlord in the continent of Da Qian, where powerful factions abounded, was well-earned; no one dared provoke them for a reason.

With this tally, Lei Dong's side now boasted a total Nascent Soul combat strength of around sixteen to seventeen thousand, and well over one hundred thousand Golden Cores. In terms of overall power, even facing the so-called Emperor of Dark Night head-on, they would not be at a disadvantage.

Moreover, the Emperor of Dark Night's subordinates were all puppet troops controlled by Mind-Snaring Demons, meaning they basically wouldn't advance unless under special circumstances. Lei Dong was fully confident in confronting the Emperor of Dark Night directly.//Fastest text updates from Book Fan Tower "What a pity, what a pity. Using Mind-Snaring Demons to control people requires the target to be completely defenseless or unsuspecting," Lei Dong sighed softly, sipping his spirit tea. "Otherwise, having lingered in this Chaotic Void Dimension for so long, I've accumulated quite a few Mind-Snaring Demons, yet I can't use them against that lot like the Radiant King or the Abyss Lord."

"Husband, don't be too greedy," Ding Wanyan calculated, feeling utterly confident in their substantial home base, and she laughed heartily. "If it were that easy to control enemy soldiers with Mind-Snaring Demons, imagine the chaos! The Demon Race would have unified the universe long ago using that method. Besides, the Night Emperor currently entrenched in this Chaotic Void Dimension clearly possesses more Mind-Snaring Demons than you do."

"Heh, let's put that troublesome matter aside for now. What about our high-end Deity Transformation stage combat power?" Lei Dong knew that controlling an enemy who was prepared was unrealistic, so he shifted the topic. After all, in localized, high-level confrontations, they still had to rely on Deity Transformation experts.

"The Submerged Dragon Army is your most direct and highly prioritized force. When selecting members back then, you required not only young age but also at least upper-tier aptitude. You scoured Kang and Zhao Prefectures thoroughly during those years, and I heard you even searched in other provinces for talent," Ding Wanyan chuckled lightly. "Looking back, Husband, you truly had foresight. The first batch selected to attempt Deity Transformation were all the most outstanding in aptitude and the strongest in the Submerged Dragon Army. After passing various tests using the Heart Inquiry Technique, their worship and loyalty to you are unquestionable. Moreover, in just five years within this Grotto-Heaven Paradise, they have successively broken through their bottlenecks and achieved Deity Transformation. What they lack now is only the accumulation and solidification of power."

"All thirty of them have broken through?" Lei Dong asked, extremely surprised.

"Yes. They know the situation they face and have worked tirelessly and desperately. Furthermore, we poured in a significant amount of Chaos Crystals and even utilized the Origin of Chaos refined from this recent smelting," Ding Wanyan stated calmly. "This achievement is therefore natural. After all, you yourself have experienced how convenient these two elements combined make a breakthrough."

"Excellent. With this, our strength has greatly increased; we need fear no one now." Lei Dong laughed heartily. Though the thirty Deity Transformation experts from the Submerged Dragon Army were newly promoted, they were his most reliable trump cards. They had undergone the most stringent military training since childhood, utterly different from ordinary cultivators.

In reality, if a Deity Transformation Submerged Dragon Soldier fought a single cultivator of the same rank one-on-one, they would likely lose. However, in a five-on-five confrontation, the odds would be roughly equal.

And the more numerous the sides became, the greater the power the Submerged Dragon Soldiers could unleash. This was because they emphasized coordinated combat, excelled in various combined attack techniques, especially in terms of spiritual sense—they had mastered the art of coalescing their minds into a single force to repel enemies.

If the spiritual senses of thirty Deity Transformation level Submerged Dragon Soldiers were fused into one mass, even that fellow, the Night Emperor, might not compare to them.

"Because the spoils you brought back from searching for Chaos Crystals externally this time far exceeded our predictions, the second batch of relatively promising Submerged Dragon Soldiers has also begun attempting the Deity Transformation promotion. However, lacking some Origin of Chaos, the cost might be considerable," Ding Wanyan frowned slightly. "Husband, should we allocate a batch of Chaos Crystals to speed up the promotion of those Golden Core soldiers to Nascent Soul? After all, calculated by overall strength, boosting those Golden Core demon generals would increase total combat power more effectively. One Chaos Crystal can, at minimum, help hundreds of Golden Cores advance to Nascent Soul in the short term." Wanyan was also reluctant to see those Golden Cores with great potential die meaninglessly on the battlefield.

One must know that warfare at this stage meant extreme danger for Golden Core level fighters on the battlefield.

"Arrange that as you see fit, Wanyan. I need to temporarily consolidate the Grotto-Heaven Paradise. For now, I require some elites to be stationed within the Grotto-Heaven Paradise, ready to launch surprise assaults at any moment, commanding all our Nascent Soul level combat power." Lei Dong's brow eased slightly. It seemed the Radiant King and the Abyss Lord had recovered and were plotting something sinister.

In truth, from the moment Lei Dong learned the Holy Hall was in the Radiant King's hands and the Abyss Lord potentially held the Scepter Totem, he knew those two would never truly cooperate with him. Everyone was likely nursing the idea of securing their internal affairs before dealing with external threats.

Once the other two factions were absorbed, even if their overall strength lagged behind the Emperor of Dark Night, they would at least possess genuine bargaining chips for negotiation. The Emperor of Dark Night's army consisted entirely of Mind-Snaring Demon controlled troops—a critical flaw so obvious that anyone could grasp it with a little thought.

"Also, notify our allies and instruct them to move their most elite experts into the Grotto-Heaven Paradise." Strange light flickered in Lei Dong's eyes, and he let out a cold laugh. "Since they can no longer hold back, and we are nearly prepared, let us grant their wish: first secure the interior, then repel the exterior."