“Crack.” Lei Dong’s action was brutally decisive; he crushed the creature's head with a single, savage squeeze, seizing its soul and wrenching it out with sheer force. His expression, usually cold, now radiated a terrifying cruelty, especially as a thin film of Nether Ghost Fire burned on his hand. This fire subsisted entirely on souls, using them as fuel, which allowed it to burn indefinitely.

The lizard monster’s soul writhed in ultimate agony, letting out whimpers as it begged Lei Dong for mercy, pleading for its life. At the Void Refinement (Lianxu) level, as long as the Nascent Soul remained intact, resurrection was possible in a new body at any time, though most races—excluding high-tier demons—preferred finding a body of their own kind.

“Aaaah!” Ming Ji shrieked again, trembling uncontrollably. “Master, you are too cruel, too terrifying! I love it! Ahhh, I’m practically about to climax from excitement.”

At that moment, Lei Dong suppressed an almost indescribable aura of tyrannical violence within him. His wife had been captured, his child was facing soul-snatching—yet he could only watch, utterly powerless. Worse still, in this savage, desolate realm, he hadn't even found a path back home.

All of it—everything—caused the suppressed violence within Lei Dong to erupt in this environment of slaughter. It was as if only by killing could he vent the madness and fury boiling in his heart.

“It’s yours as a reward.” After extracting the lizard monster’s soul, Lei Dong tossed it away.

The Underworld King Banner automatically flew out from Lei Dong’s spirit, trembling slightly with agitation. Its dark, inky surface coiled once, instantly swallowing the Void Refinement-level Nascent Soul. As it returned to Lei Dong’s spirit, Ming Ji seemed unable to wait another moment to begin torturing the wretched soul, emitting a string of maniacally elated laughter that mixed with the lizard monster’s soul’s desperate roars of terror.

“Crack.” Lei Dong flung the lizard monster's corpse into the midst of his Ghastly Ghost Army. These troops, previously maintaining rigid military discipline, lost all control upon seeing such high-grade flesh and blood, swarming forward in a tide, morphing into various visages of green faces and monstrous fangs. They began brutally and savagely fighting over and devouring the lizard monster’s remains.

Lei Dong’s Chaos Crystals were immensely valuable strategic resources, granted only to a select few soldiers with truly exceptional aptitude. For the majority of the Ghastly Ghost Soldiers, advancement and increased power came either through meritorious service earning Chaos Crystal rewards, or through diligent personal cultivation, or by consuming the flesh and blood left on the battlefield.

Consequently, after defeating enemies, the Ghastly Ghost Army often fed directly on the fallen on the field to replenish their consumption. This battlefield, as cruel as Hell itself, instilled fear and trembling even in the notoriously ferocious demon armies.

Caught in a pincer attack, and having lost four Void Refinement-level Demon Generals in succession, the demon forces began to suffer low morale and flagging fighting spirit. Conversely, Lei Dong’s side and the Black Giants were surging with morale, driving the demon armies into full retreat. Before long, the two allied forces had successfully linked up.

The remaining twenty-odd Black Giants began specifically targeting the enemy’s top experts. Meanwhile, Lei Dong’s puppets, the Ghastly Ghost Army, and the Submerged Dragon Army engaged the regular demon forces. The coordination between them was flawless, especially with the large contingent of green-skinned beings positioned behind them, experts in spatial teleportation and long-range healing, which brought courage and confidence to all the allied troops.

As for the enemy’s Void Refinement experts, they seemed terrified of Lei Dong, the ‘pig pretending to be a tiger’ who was secretly a Devouring Demon King. Not one dared approach him within half a step, allowing Lei Dong, free from heavy defense, to unleash one devastating ultimate move after another, clearing out swathes of low-tier demons from the ranks.

Firing off ultimate moves like this would have completely drained the true essence (Zhen Yuan) of any normal Void Refinement expert, making sustained combat impossible. But Lei Dong functioned like a ferocious, domineering perpetual motion machine. If his true essence ran low, he could simply devour the Nascent Souls of a few Spirit Transformation (Huashan) level experts, using the Chaos Spiritual Qi within to effortlessly replenish his own reserves. Furthermore, his body, having undergone repeated tempering via the Underworld King Body Quenching Technique, was far superior to ordinary experts, ensuring it wouldn't collapse under the strain of such frantic aggression.

“Roar!”

Under such rampant slaughter, the Demon King of the Integration (Hetai) stage—who had retreated to supervise after killing a few Giants—could no longer tolerate the mounting casualties. Hating Lei Dong to the core, the immense figure moved, its form flashing rapidly as it charged onto the very front line of the battle. In its hand, a colossal Demon-Slaying Sword swung down toward Lei Dong from the air.

The power of the Demon-Slaying Sword was extraordinary, especially wielded by an Integration-stage master, where it unleashed terrifying combat prowess. The condensed black energy transformed into the sharpest, most solid blades of air, slicing through space as easily as cutting tofu, revealing the dark void beneath.

The massive aura locked onto Lei Dong as if physically binding him, rendering him immobile.

Though Integration-stage experts were formidable, Lei Dong was no pushover. With his strength vastly amplified, his confidence had grown exponentially. A direct clash would be foolish. In a flash, his figure shifted, easily slipping out of the Demon King’s oppressive lock.

Swish. The Demon-Slaying Sword struck empty air, cleaving a long, several-mile-long scar across the void that refused to heal quickly.

Hiss... Lei Dong materialized at the Demon King's flank like a phantom, landing two quick strikes with the Netherworld Immortal Slaying Finger. Lei Dong had previously disliked the Immortal Slaying Finger because its golden light was too conspicuous; those who had suffered at the hands of the Demon Emperor might recognize it. Therefore, he had integrated the Law of Annihilation into the Netherworld Finger.

This modification brought numerous advantages. Aside from concealing the true origin of the Immortal Slaying Finger, the surrounding environment in this outer void was already pitch black, making the Netherworld Immortal Slaying Finger incredibly stealthy. Caught off guard, the Demon King was struck twice. The attribute of Annihilation tore through his precious battle armor and plunged several inches into his body, causing bright red blood to spray out.

The defense of an Integration-stage expert’s armor and body was indeed unparalleled. Had it been a Void Refinement expert, they would surely have been pierced through by Lei Dong’s enhanced Immortal Slaying Finger. Against this Demon King, however, it inflicted only minor, inconsequential injuries.

“Aargh!” Even among high-tier demons, he was a figure of significant standing. Yet, he was being toyed with and wounded by a mere human—and one only at the Void Refinement level. Such humiliation was an extreme insult to a Demon King possessing immense pride and arrogance.

Relying on the superior physique and terrifying regenerative abilities inherent to high-tier demons, a mere surge of demonic energy caused the two small wounds to seal instantly.

“Boy, you are finished! You have enraged me, the great Might Demon King, Zagu!” The high-tier demon roared in fury, lunging savagely toward Lei Dong. His eyes spewed forth raging demonic flames, consumed by the desire to incinerate Lei Dong.

“What a boastful fool,” Lei Dong said coolly, flicking a challenging glance. “I am here. I await your attack.”

“Roar!” Demon King Zagu roared in response, his several-zhang-tall body suddenly swelling outward. Black muscle bulged in massive slabs, forming an Adamantine War Physique brimming with infinite strength. His body, now several dozen zhang high, moved with startling agility, tearing through space as he charged Lei Dong.

Lei Dong, of course, was not foolish enough to engage him head-on here. Never mind whether he could win; even if he did, how many casualties would his army sustain during the clash? His eyes betrayed deep mockery and disdain. With his hands clasped behind his back, he drifted backward.

This retreat seemed slow yet was incredibly fast; passing through spatial rifts, he soon appeared hundreds of miles away.

But Demon King Zagu was not slow either. His body moved like a massive battleship through the void, crashing and tearing forward toward Lei Dong. Wherever his body passed, the fragile space could not withstand the ravage, shattering continuously in his wake.

The pair engaged in this chase for nearly an hour until Lei Dong found a frigid meteor, roughly a hundred miles in diameter. He landed atop it, converting the Chaos Spiritual Qi within his body into a ceaseless stream of true essence.

After waiting barely ten breaths, Demon King Zagu smashed through the void. He descended like a mountain range, pressing down with overwhelming pressure, his Demon-Slaying Sword swinging down in a furious streak of demonic light toward Lei Dong.

“Being large doesn’t mean you are powerful,” Lei Dong murmured softly, his figure shifting to easily dodge the strike.

Yet, an Integration-stage Demon King was not so easily fooled. Failing the first strike, he immediately spewed a stream of demonic energy from his mouth. This energy condensed to near-solidity, twisting and transforming into a giant serpent, moving with extreme speed to wrap around Lei Dong.

Lei Dong executed the Ghost Shadow Evasion Technique, his form flickering between substantial and ethereal, leaving behind illusory afterimages. Fusing with the perfected Law of Space, his Ghost Shadow Evasion Technique had reached a level utterly incomprehensible to ordinary observers.

However, Zagu’s attack proved incredibly bizarre. The snake-like, agile demonic energy seemed imbued with sentience, chasing Lei Dong like maggots clinging to bone. No matter how he maneuvered or twisted, he could not escape the assault using sheer movement skill.

Seeing this, Zagu laughed wildly in triumph. “How could you escape My Bone-Clinging Demonic Tether? Even if you fled to the ends of the earth or into subspace, my Tether would pursue you until you were bound.”

“In that case, I’ll stop dodging,” Lei Dong stated calmly. He stabilized himself in the void, allowing the Demonic Tether to bind him.

“Hahahaha, boy, perish!” Demon King Zagu tightened the void, intending to reel in the Tether and devour Lei Dong whole. This infuriating brat had already consumed several of his elite generals.

“I command: Demonic Tether, shatter,” Lei Dong spoke quietly.

“The Command True Word Art (Lüling Zhenyan Shu)?” Demon King Zagu paused, then burst into loud laughter. “Is the True Word Art so fearsome?”

As his words finished, the extraordinarily sturdy, highly resilient Demonic Tether—capable of binding even an Integration-stage expert for a moment—visibly cracked, shattering into countless fragments.

……(To be continued...)