… At this moment, Lei Dong, too, began to fight desperately. Already prepared, supreme-grade elixirs were tossed into his mouth like worthless beans, one after another. In his left hand, he clutched a Celestial Spirit Stone, one that Lei Dong had always been reluctant to use.

Relying on the power unleashed by the pills dissolving within his body, and the incomparably pure energy continuously absorbed from the Celestial Spirit Stone, Lei Dong managed to sustain his ascent into the Sovereign State. His already immense Divine Sense, amplified by the Emperor Demon Seed, grew sharper and fiercely potent. While Saint Radiance King undoubtedly possessed trump cards, his reserves could not compare to Lei Dong’s.

Lei Dong’s inheritance stemmed from a terrifying existence that once made the Three Realms tremble, one that single-handedly fought the Three Supremes. Even at its zenith, the Winged God Clan was far from matching such a lineage. In the Sovereign State, Lei Dong’s expression remained devoid of joy or sorrow; the myriad Ghost Kings falling before him were nothing more than passing symbols, incapable of stirring even the slightest ripple within his heart.

His most formidable techniques—the True Word Spell, the Immortal Slaying Finger, and the Indestructible Shield—became several times more potent under this state. Naturally, the accompanying consumption rate also increased by several fold.

“I decree that space is frozen,” Lei Dong once again unleashed the True Word Spell to manipulate the laws of warped space. But this time, the momentum displayed by the spatial law far surpassed Lei Dong’s usual application.

Radiance King, whose movements were like ethereal phantoms, became the epicenter as the space spanning several dozen zhang around him violently collapsed inward, instantly sealing both himself—half gold-winged, half black-winged—and his daughter within. The highly condensed space solidified into a piece of shimmering, brilliant crystal.

The more than a thousand Ghost Kings, already enraged by the demise of dozens of their comrades within the collapsing space, exploded into action. Upon seeing Radiance King sealed, they immediately unleashed their most powerful spells, bombarding the spatial prison. Even if they couldn't shatter the crystal cage and obliterate Radiance King, even striking the crystal would transfer enough force to shock and injure him within.

Furthermore, the Divine Transformation stage '' (Hidden Dragon Soldiers), Evil Phoenix, Thunder Dragon, Zhen Yao, Ghost Thorn, Ghost Nether, Thunder Tiger, Elder Li, Demon Dragon Emperor, Yaksha King, and the rest of the formidable contingent attacking the Holy Hall finally broke free. They paid no mind to the Winged God Clan members who were listlessly fighting small skirmishes with some of the Hidden Dragon Army, their morale completely shattered.

Instead, rallied by the Evil Phoenix, they dragged their exhausted bodies to support Lei Dong. The thirty-odd Divine Transformation experts, witnessing Radiance King’s sealing, all attacked in turn, raining down devastating strikes upon him.

Innumerable forces battered the spatial crystal condensed by Lei Dong, an onslaught comparable to the heavens collapsing and the earth splitting. How could a crystal formed by Lei Dong twisting spatial laws while in the Sovereign State withstand such relentless punishment? In an instant, it shattered.

Even one as mighty as Radiance King, akin to a ghostly deity, could not withstand the terrifying power of such an explosion. Violent energy fluctuations radiated outward from him as the epicenter. Nascent Soul stage experts could not remain stable amidst this shockwave and were forced to execute movement techniques, flying backward in retreat.

When the dust settled, Lei Dong focused his gaze. He saw that Radiance King had curled himself into a sphere, his golden and black wings shielding his body, and what appeared to be a gold-and-black interwoven shield had formed around him at some unknown point.

That shield was damaged beyond saving in the violent blast, less than a tenth of its integrity remaining, and those two pairs of wings, which looked like those of a god or demon, had been largely annihilated.

A monstrous anomaly, Lei Dong defined him. Yet, he had not anticipated that in that battle for possession, Radiance King’s consciousness seemed to have seized the upper hand. What baffled Lei Dong most was that even if Radiance King’s consciousness took control and devoured the essence of the Demon King’s spirit, he should have only advanced to the peak of the Divine Transformation stage, not clearly becoming a Void Refinement level entity as he now appeared.

Lei Dong was unaware that Radiance King's current transformation was entirely different from a normal possession battle. Radiance King, whose body had been controlled by the Heart-Devouring Demon, had his original consciousness compressed to an extreme limit, able only to perceive the world but completely unable to control his own primordial spirit or body.

This meant that, in reality, the will engaging in battle initially was that of the Heart-Devouring Demon. Naturally, how could the will of the Heart-Devouring Demon match the powerful consciousness of the Demon King? In just a few exchanges, the Heart-Devouring Demon’s will was entirely consumed by the Demon King, who then gained control over Radiance King’s primordial spirit and body.

From that moment, following standard theory and sequence, the Demon King’s possession should have been successful. The Demon King then began extracting the residual energy and life essence from the spirit, commencing the process of remodeling Radiance King’s body and primordial spirit. At that instant, Radiance King’s power began to swell rapidly.

This was precisely why Lei Dong was so astonished by the speed of the Demon King’s possession. However, the possessing Demon King consciousness had not anticipated that the consciousness it had consumed was not that of the body's original owner, but the Heart-Devouring Demon consciousness residing within.

Just as the Demon King was fully focused on elevating his own power, the now-freed Radiance King, sensing his daughter in danger, immediately launched a counter-attack, seizing control of the body. Caught completely off guard, the Demon King consciousness fell into an extremely passive state. While fiercely fighting back, it discovered that this subsequent, inexplicable consciousness was far more difficult to deal with than the one it had so easily devoured earlier.

It was understandable; Radiance King was a true prodigy among the Six Domains and Nine Continents. Though his overall strength lagged far behind the fallen Demon King, in such a vast realm as the Six Domains and Nine Continents, which supreme expert hadn't been forged amid thousands of troops and horses? Every one of them was a dragon among men, the best of the best. Their personalities naturally contained elements of defiance, dominance, toughness, and tenacity.

In practical terms, even an existence like Saint Radiance King was no match for Radiance King. This illustrated how incredible the tenacity of Radiance King's will was. Moreover, he knew clearly that if he could not defeat the Demon King's will, his daughter, who had risked everything for his life, would surely suffer a terrible fate.

Due to these compounding factors, Radiance King’s will gradually gained the initiative. The Demon King consciousness was forced into repeated defensive maneuvers. Of course, a Void Refinement level Demon King was not easy to contend with. In terms of life hierarchy, he was several steps above Radiance King. Furthermore, the higher-level Demon race was inherently proud, formidable, and even remarkably flawless.

Even while trapped in disadvantageous circumstances, the Demon King fiercely guarded his final line of defense, preventing Radiance King from achieving a complete takeover. Yet, Lei Dong’s intervention granted the near-defeated Demon King a glimmer of hope.

Faced with external pressure, Radiance King was forced to abandon his imminent victory and compromise with the Demon King. This resulted in two wills occupying the same body, working together to confront the external threat.

This constituted one reason for Radiance King’s bizarre changes.

However, Radiance King’s stubborn insistence on saving his daughter had led him into mortal peril, which greatly enraged the Demon King’s will. If he failed to complete the possession this time, or if the body were destroyed, the Demon King’s life would truly meet its end.

Lei Dong’s forceful strike finally caused the version of Radiance King prioritizing his daughter to pay a fatal price. Not only was the body grievously wounded, but the Demon King, with whom he had temporarily agreed to a truce and coexistence, seized the opportunity to forcefully take control of the body.

In the Demon King’s view, although the individuals fighting him were individually weak, their sheer numbers were overwhelming. Even at his peak, retreat would have been the wisest course. Now, his immediate goal upon gaining control was to flee. Even if he sought revenge, he would have to wait until his body’s strength was fully recovered before slowly looking to trouble that brat who dared to severely injure him.

The Demon King’s thoughts were pleasant, but whether it was the Demon King’s consciousness or Radiance King’s, both were Lei Dong’s enemies. The battle had reached this point; neither Lei Dong nor anyone else had room to retreat, lest the deaths of their fallen subordinates prove meaningless.

After heavily wounding Radiance King with that thunderous blow, Lei Dong certainly would not stop. His face emotionless, he pointed out several strikes of the Netherworld Immortal Slaying Finger; within the black light, faint wisps of mysterious and majestic golden light could be discerned.

The other powerhouses and the Ghost King army likewise refused to hold back, launching a continuous, torrential assault. This was the demonstration of superior numbers. Even though Radiance King displayed combat power on par with the Void Refinement stage, he could not maintain an air of relaxed composure under the attacks of dozens of Divine Transformation experts and thousands of Ghost Kings. Moreover, more Ghost Kings continued to emerge from the connecting passage.

Even for one as mighty as a ghostly deity, he could only scurry about like a rat crossing the street. After being struck by dozens of potent spells in succession, Radiance King spat out a mouthful of blood. Suddenly, a fierce light flashed in his eyes. He tossed Ajiana, whom he held in his arms, throwing her in front of the incoming spells as a shield.

Lei Dong inwardly cried out a warning. It was impossible for Radiance King’s original will to act in such a manner. It must be that the Demon King’s consciousness had taken the dominant position during the severe injury he just sustained.

Although whether Radiance King’s will or the Demon King’s will was in control, the resulting power was still Void Refinement level. Yet, Radiance King possessed restraints and weaknesses, whereas the Demon King’s consciousness was tied to no one, friend or foe.

A powerful expert is not frightening; a powerful expert without weakness is terrifying.

By comparison, Lei Dong would have preferred Radiance King to retain control. Thereupon, Lei Dong’s form flickered, tearing through space. His right hand formed a claw, grasping out, transforming into a spectral, utterly tangible Netherworld Ghost Claw. That claw seemed to pierce the void, capturing Radiance King Ajiana in the blink of an eye.

… (To be continued)