This was the scene for Lei Dong, who, defying the backlash from the Law of Time against his very soul, forcibly reversed time within a portion of space inside a Void Tunnel. A Void Tunnel, as it was known, was formed by violently twisting and shattering space, temporarily creating a passage to a destination spatial node, allowing one to travel directly to a distant location.

For shorter distances, powerful cultivators at the Integration Stage could barely manage to construct such tunnels. However, the spell known as the Grand Void Tunnel could only be cast by three Supremes in the entire world, and only by paying a significant price.

Yet, to provide their subordinates with hidden trump cards, the three Supremes would refine Jade Talismans of the Grand Void Spell and distribute them among their followers. Even for a Supreme-level entity, forging a single Grand Void Teleportation Talisman required an unimaginably terrifying expenditure of power. Consequently, the surviving Grand Void Talismans were exceedingly rare, each one priceless.

Ji Ziyan, the Palace Mistress of the Vermillion Bird Shrine, had given her treasured Grand Void Teleportation Talisman to her daughter out of deep affection, fearing the insurmountable dangers her child might encounter while adventuring or handling business.

For Ji Ziyan, one of the Ten Great Experts of the Three Realms, this day was utterly unremarkable within the span of endless eons. There was no sudden surge of vital energy, nor any premonition of alarm. Suddenly, above the Myriad Spirit Altar within the serene yet majestic Vermillion Bird Shrine, thunder and lightning erupted. The tranquil space was ripped apart, coalescing into the shimmering outline of a Void Tunnel.

The entire expanse was shrouded in impenetrable darkness, like the prelude to a raging storm.

Even for Ji Ziyan, whose heart had been tempered by countless years into a state of profound calm, her heart skipped a beat upon sensing this event. The destination of the Grand Void Teleportation Talisman she had given her daughter was precisely above the Myriad Spirit Altar.

She trusted her daughter would not deploy such an incredibly precious, heaven-defying means of survival without grave cause. Instantly, Ji Ziyan—tall, possessing peerless grace and bearing, clad in armor blazing like scarlet fire, appearing like a Goddess of War descended from the stars—tore through space. In the next moment, she materialized above the Myriad Spirit Altar, utterly devoid of worldly disturbance.

Seeing Ji Shuangshuang emerge from the other end of the Void Tunnel, somewhat disheveled but clearly not in mortal danger, Ji Ziyan breathed a small sigh of relief. Her greatest fear had been that the tunnel would deliver back the corpse of her daughter.

Though her daughter, at the peak of Void Refinement, possessed ample means of self-preservation while adventuring, there were ancient monsters who had lived for countless years who possessed countless methods to kill her child, even with a treasure like the Grand Void Teleportation Talisman. Ji Ziyan, while confident in her extraordinary strength, was far from invincible in the Three Realms; apart from the Supremes, there were at least nine others of comparable might.

“Shuangshuang, what happened?” Ji Ziyan, being who she was, immediately sensed that the woman held within her daughter's embrace was a human, with a cultivation base only around the early Nascent Soul stage. Such an aptitude might cause ripples in some minor corners of the Three Realms, but within the renowned Vermillion Bird Shrine, an early Nascent Soul practitioner was quite dispensable.

What puzzled her was why Ji Shuangshuang had brought this woman back—and used the exceedingly rare Grand Void Teleportation Talisman to do so?

Just as Ji Shuangshuang prepared to answer, Lei Dong, bleeding from all seven orifices, burst forth from the Void Tunnel like a maddened demon. He unleashed a terrifying Black Dragon Roar with explosive power: “Harlot, release my wife.”

Ji Shuangshuang’s expression shifted. Under normal circumstances, she would have scorned any technique unleashed by someone of Lei Dong’s apparent strength. But she herself had suffered greatly and been injured by that very black dragon. Thus, she dared not meet the attack head-on. Instead, she ignited a fierce blaze around her body, coalescing it into the Extreme Sun Flame Shield.

With a deafening explosion, the hastily gathered Extreme Sun Flame Shield was pulverized. The resulting shockwave violently warped and cracked the surrounding space.

Ji Ziyan could not help but show a flicker of surprise. This newcomer, the young man, seemed to radiate an aura only at the late Nascent Soul stage, not yet the peak. Even if he employed some secret art to temporarily boost his potential, it should be impossible for him to shatter her daughter’s Extreme Sun Flame Shield with a single strike. Let alone a Nascent Soul cultivator, even a mid-to-late stage Void Refinement expert would struggle immensely to achieve such a feat.

“Bitch.” Failing the first strike, Lei Dong’s furious aura intensified. He immediately pulled out a Primordial Spirit Gathering Pill and swallowed it. The potent medicinal properties flowed like fine streams through his body, mending his internal injuries and replenishing his drastically depleted true essence.

Under normal conditions, Lei Dong was a late Nascent Soul expert, bordering on the peak. A single Primordial Spirit Gathering Pill of decent efficacy would suffice to mend his minor wounds and refill his true essence, perhaps even leaving residual power to help him slightly break through his bottleneck.

But under the influence of the first transformation of his Demonic Heaven Three Changes—Peerless Unrivaled—swallowing that pill was merely a drop in the bucket. It was swiftly consumed by Lei Dong’s utterly berserk state, transforming into power ready to be vented and destroy everything.

It was fortunate that Lei Dong, due to his initially poor aptitude, had creatively used the Peerless Unrivaled state for his cultivation practices, which allowed him to barely maintain control instead of being completely consumed by madness. But now, with his wife seized and the shocking news that she was pregnant, even Lei Dong, who was usually extremely cautious and fiercely protective of his life, had plunged into a frenzy.

One Primordial Spirit Gathering Pill was not enough? Then take another. Lei Dong rapidly devoured the pills. Perhaps no one else dared consume potent elixirs in such a manner, yet he was consuming them as if pouring beans. Moreover, Lei Dong directly swallowed several Chaos Crystals.

The first change of the Demonic Heaven Transformation, the Peerless Unrivaled state, certainly drove one into extreme euphoria and madness. But its effect was undeniably potent: it drained every last trace of strength from the body in an extremely short time, unleashing terrifying and astonishing combat prowess.

Lei Dong had not used this abnormal method for a long time since achieving some mastery in his cultivation. The power within his body instantly turned into a blazing inferno, saturating every corner of his being.

Half-mad, driven by concern for his wife and child, he knew only how to vent his rage. The target, naturally, was Ji Shuangshuang, who dared to abduct his wife and child.

Whoosh!

Lei Dong’s body ripped through the void, leaving streaks of afterimages. In a savage assault, he hurled a punch directly at Ji Shuangshuang.

Although Ji Shuangshuang was shocked by the immense transformation of the seemingly insignificant Lei Dong, she was, after all, at the peak of Void Refinement and a prodigy among her peers, possessing immense pride. How could she fear a mere mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator?

Without hesitation, she met his attack head-on, throwing a punch back. If you want to play, I’ll play with you—and I’ll play with brute force.

But the result sent a shock of horror through her. Lei Dong’s punch met hers, an impossibly savage and powerful force exploding towards her like the shattering of a star.

Pfft!

Ji Shuangshuang was violently blasted backward by the overwhelming, tidal force. She spat out a mouthful of blood, her eyes filled with profound astonishment, yet undeniably steeped in unconvinced frustration. If I weren't so concerned about harming the woman in my arms, how could I be unable to unleash my full power and be sent flying by this mere Nascent Soul brat?

“Mother, watch her for me.” Ji Shuangshuang’s face became as still as water as she tossed Ding Wanyan to Ji Ziyan.

“Give her back to me,” a frenzied, beast-like roar erupted from Lei Dong’s throat. His figure flashed, and heedless of the consequences, he charged toward Ji Ziyan.

Bang!

A scarlet silhouette instantly appeared beside him, delivering a kick directly to his chest. With a thunderous impact, Lei Dong was smashed down onto the Myriad Spirit Altar like a meteorite. The altar’s surface was constructed from countless incredibly hard and dense gemstones, capable of withstanding the full-force strike of a Nascent Soul expert.

Yet, Lei Dong gouged a massive crater into it.

“If you want your wife, you’ll have to get past me first,” Ji Shuangshuang muttered, secretly delighted after knocking Lei Dong away. Wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth, she glared provocatively down into the pit where Lei Dong lay. Hmph, arrogant brat, what do you take me, Ji Shuangshuang, for? Someone you can just hit around?

However, Ji Ziyan, the leader of the Vermillion Bird clan and Palace Mistress of the Vermillion Bird Shrine—one of the Ten Great Experts of the Three Realms—was left utterly perplexed by the scene. What in the world was going on? Still, she could tell that the human-scented Nascent Soul youth did not seem to be a match for her daughter.

Under these circumstances, given her status, it was unthinkable for her to dishonorably attack a junior Nascent Soul cultivator. What baffled Ji Ziyan even more was why her daughter would abduct this man’s wife.

Could it be? Impossible, surely? A string of incomprehensible and chaotic thoughts flashed through Ji Ziyan’s mind. She looked at her daughter with suspicion, then glanced at the human youth. He was encased in dark armor, obscuring his features, but judging by the appearance of his unconscious wife, the young man probably wasn't very old.

His strength was somewhat lacking, but when unleashed, he could apparently manage to tangle with her daughter. Well, that meant the boy wasn’t a complete nobody. Young and potent—perhaps her daughter did have a discerning eye after all.

Nevertheless, Ji Ziyan felt a slight pang of annoyance. Her daughter, who was notoriously proud and had dismissed the young talents of the Demon-Spirit Realm for years, had actually fallen for a married man?

If Ji Shuangshuang could read minds, she would likely have vomited blood from sheer frustration upon hearing her mother's inner thoughts.