"A cunning little brat," the Emperor of the Night hissed, momentarily flustered but utterly helpless against Lei Dong's maneuverings. Despite his vastly superior power, he was hampered by an army composed entirely of mindless Heart-Devouring Demons.

In a straight confrontation, the Emperor of the Night was certain he could crush Lei Dong’s coalition into dust. But Lei Dong, sly beyond measure, had maximized his advantages perfectly. If this continued, inevitably, the brat Lei Dong would amass enough Chaos Spiritual Qi resources to forge a legion far surpassing even the Emperor of the Night's might.

Poor Emperor of the Night; all planning and command had to fall on his solitary shoulders. Unlike Lei Dong, who could summon a host of strategists and counselors to debate tactics, and whose subordinates were a collection of agile and thinking powerhouses.

The Emperor of the Night felt a pang of regret for not striking Lei Dong down while his wings were still young. However, the Emperor of the Night was far from out of true killing moves. In the location he had meticulously cultivated as his stronghold, the Emperor of the Night slowly retrieved a communication formation that had lain dormant for ages.

...

Within Lei Dong's main camp, inside a hastily erected fortress. Mei'er, whose skin was porcelain white and whose charm was bewitching enough to mesmerize demons, felt her delicate frame tremble. A bitter smile touched her lips as the long-silent Communication Talisman finally gave a faint quiver. Was this day finally upon them?

With trembling hands, she retrieved the talisman, channeling her True Essence into it. The talisman emitted a soft glow, the various colors finally coalescing into a near-solid phantom projection.

The phantom fixed its sharp gaze upon Mei'er. "Little succubus. Why did you fail to report to Me when Lei Dong launched his operation against the Lord of the Abyss and the Holy Radiance King? Otherwise, I could have swooped in like the oriole catching the mantis, capturing them all and seizing their entire army."

"Reporting to Your Highness," Mei'er’s long lashes fluttered slightly. "Commander Lei's arrangements for that action were swift and fast. By the time I knew, he was already on the battlefield; there was absolutely no time to report to Your Highness." The phantom, undeniably, was the Emperor of the Night.

"Hmph. You, a dignified Nascent Soul level succubus, spending so much time, and still failing to win Lei Dong's favor. You truly disappoint Me," the Emperor of the Night scoffed coldly, displeased. "You must remember. Once I unify the Six Domains and Nine Continents, you shall be My Empress, and your succubus race will finally be free from generations of bullying, ascending to become a truly noble race."

Mei'er shivered slightly and quickly responded, "Your Majesty, Mei'er understands. It is just that Lei Dong’s wives and concubines are all exceptionally outstanding; even though I am a Nascent Soul succubus, finding an opportunity to please him is exceedingly difficult."

"Say no more. Immediately report your current location; I will personally lead the main army to crush him." The Emperor of the Night was losing patience. While a direct assault on Lei Dong would surely result in victory, the subsequent losses would be immense—not his original intention. But matters had reached this point; Lei Dong had grown too powerful and might be beyond subjugation now. Furthermore, this situation was like a virulent disease; delaying further meant the Emperor of the Night himself might be consumed.

Mei'er quickly interjected, "Your Majesty, please hear me out first. Commander Lei’s allied forces encompass the Abyss Domain, the Purgatory Domain, the Nether Ghost Realm, the Bright Holy Domain, as well as the human races of the Nine Continents—powerful races and elites all. If we engage in a head-on collision, even if Your Majesty wins, the self-inflicted damage will be severe. It would be better to execute a decapitation strike: capture or eliminate Lei Dong and the key members of the allied forces, and consolidating their power will become simple. Moreover, within the coalition, there are many of Your Abyss Demon kin; some generals can be promoted to share Your Majesty's burdens."

This plan was precisely what the Emperor of the Night desired. If he hadn't intended to gather a group of elite powerhouses within the Chaos Otherworld to conquer the realms for him, why would he cultivate a Nascent Soul level succubus to sow chaos and trick so many into entering the Chaos Otherworld?

It was just that plans rarely kept pace with reality. That brat Lei Dong was too cunning, too dominant, managing to integrate the complex trifecta of forces under his control in an extremely short time, forging them into a single entity to directly oppose the Emperor of the Night.

The Emperor of the Night was thus forced into a painful direct attack to annihilate Lei Dong. As for how many remaining troops would submit afterward, that was no longer within his primary considerations. After all, having absorbed the forces of the two Demon Realm generals, his immediate need for troop numbers was not so acute. What he truly required now were counselors and generals loyal only to him.

The Emperor of the Night naturally welcomed Mei'er’s suggestion and his eyes brightened. "Tell Me, what is your plan?"

"Lei Dong is as cunning as a fox. To trick him into falling for a trap, we naturally need a bait enticing enough to achieve that," Mei'er stated calmly.

"Bait? Heh heh. You mean for Me to become the bait, to lure Lei Dong into a trap?" The Emperor of the Night roared with sinister laughter. "Little succubus, your audacity is immense, daring to betray Me. Don't forget, I placed a restriction upon you; should I die, you cannot live either. I could create you, elevating a weak Golden Core level succubus to the Nascent Soul level; I can also annihilate you with a single thought."

"Your Majesty, Mei'er dares not betray you. As Your Majesty stated, even my life is held in Your Majesty’s hands; how could I discard my life to betray Your Highness?" Mei'er’s face drained of all color, turning deathly pale. Her vulnerability, born of terror, made her all the more captivating and pitiable.

Across the communication formation, as if sensing the deep-seated fear emanating from the tiny succubus and confirming the restriction remained unbroken, the Emperor of the Night’s expression gradually softened. "Mei'er, as long as you remain loyal to Me and never betray Me, once we eliminate obstacles like Lei Dong, I shall marry you as Empress, placing you above all but Me. I will elevate your succubus race to become a first-rate superior race, never to suffer bullying again. Now, tell Me carefully, how can I serve as the bait to completely wipe out the stubborn element Lei Dong and his core followers?"

Hearing the Emperor of the Night's promise, a glimmer of aspiration shone upon Mei'er's face, and she relayed her plan point by point.

Upon hearing it, the Emperor of the Night erupted in ecstasy. "Excellent, Mei'er, this stratagem is superb. You shall receive the first merit for this endeavor. After success, I shall reward you greatly."

Mei'er was briefly overjoyed and bowed respectfully to the Emperor of the Night. "Mei'er first congratulates Your Majesty on unifying the Six Domains and Nine Continents, counterattacking the Three Realms, and becoming the Lord of this world."

The Emperor of the Night, lonely and empty for countless years, surrounded only by Heart-Devouring Demons incapable of even basic flattery, felt his spirits soar upon hearing Mei'er’s words, and he roared with hearty laughter.

...

In less than a month, the Emperor of the Night led his elite corps, moving with extremely bizarre stealth, to a location near the border of the Chaos Otherworld—a place of extraordinarily harsh environment. Biting winds carrying corrosive spiritual energy swept everywhere; the terrain, sculpted by prolonged erosion from malevolent energy hurricanes, had become exceptionally jagged and strange.

The Emperor of the Night did not deploy a massive army. This was because the reconnaissance capabilities of Lei Dong’s subordinates were frighteningly strong; any significant troop movement from his side would surely not escape Lei Dong's notice. Moreover, the chosen site for eliminating Lei Dong was carefully selected. The fierce winds and malevolent aura here were so potent that even ordinary Nascent Soul level powerhouses could barely withstand them. This ensured the engagement would be a limited conflict between experts. He did not fear Mei'er betraying him and leading Lei Dong's large army to surround and kill him.

Within tens of thousands of miles in every direction, a Nascent Soul expert entering this area would be courting death; without an enemy attack, they would perish within the time it takes an incense stick to burn, swept away by the berserk yin-sha winds. Forget Nascent Soul level—even a Soul Transformation expert would find their strength diminished here, as they would need to expend considerable power merely to resist the sharp, blade-like fury of the malevolent atmosphere.

According to the Emperor of the Night’s intelligence, Lei Dong’s Soul Transformation level powerhouses totaled a mere few dozen. Even if some had recently advanced due to acquiring Chaotic resources, their number would not exceed fifty.

How could such fragile strength compare to the Emperor of the Night? He already possessed over thirty Soul Transformation experts, and after capturing those from the Yin-Sha Elite Troops, even with losses sustained in the war, the total count now exceeded eighty.

What the Emperor of the Night considered his ultimate trump card was the presence of three Void Refinement level powerhouses, including himself.

The Emperor of the Night could not believe that Lei Dong’s side could possibly produce a Void Refinement level expert in such a short time. After all, even for those who were already high-level Soul Transformation experts, after only a year, even with the most abundant supply of Chaotic resources, breaking through to the Void Refinement stage would be impossible.

This was the tragedy of the Emperor of the Night: his subordinates were all Heart-Devouring Demons. They were fine for direct combat, but tasks like intelligence gathering were utterly laughable. And he, the Emperor of the Night, certainly could not travel everywhere himself to collect information.

Lacking an accurate source of intelligence, the Emperor of the Night now had to rely on deduction based on experience and the unilateral reports from his inside agent, Mei'er. Under these circumstances, he was not merely blind, but a blind man being actively deceived.

Even if his experience were vast, using deduction to verify Mei'er's intelligence was futile. After all, the Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands in Lei Dong's possession were world-defying treasures of limitless utility. Who could have imagined that, apart from the supreme experts of the Three Realms, someone else could devise formations that utilized the Law of Time to create temporal lags in cultivation?

Indeed, theoretically, it was highly improbable for any Void Refinement level expert to emerge from Lei Dong's faction in such a short period. Even for supremely gifted high-level Soul Transformation experts, even with abundant resources, it would take at least ten to eight years to break the shackles and achieve Void Refinement. Furthermore, time was needed to consolidate that cultivation.

Never mind Void Refinement; even achieving Soul Transformation was not easy and typically required several years. Alas, this time, the Emperor of the Night was fated for tragedy.

...(To be continued)RQ