Lei Dong was somewhat perplexed, as the inheritance bestowed upon him by the Demon Emperor contained no mention of the Crystal Ancient Clan. Furthermore, the Demon Emperor's Palace had been constructed gradually across generations of the Demon Emperor Sect. Yet, despite their superficial differences, why were the architectural styles so strikingly similar?

Suddenly, another thought struck Lei Dong: the previous composite-stage puppets. Their appearance had seemed quite familiar, though he hadn't paid it much mind at the time. After all, historical records indicated that all current forms of mechanical arts originated from the Crystal Ancient Clan.

Consequently, Lei Dong hadn't made any significant associations based on the faint familiarity of those golden puppets. But seeing that familiar style in the distant temple within this small space now forced Lei Dong to harbor serious suspicions.

Could the Demon Emperor, or perhaps the Nether King, have some hidden connection to the Crystal Ancient Clan—a mysterious race annihilated countless years ago? Or perhaps someone had obtained some form of their inheritance?

Naturally, dwelling on such matters now was fruitless. Lei Dong redirected his focus to the immediate surroundings. This seemingly tranquil place was unlikely to be simple.

The other three figures in the open also wore grave expressions, refraining from rushing toward the Crystal Ancient Clan temple. Instead, they activated their full defenses and entered a state of high alert.

Bai Mu was the first to lose patience, launching a powerful punch toward the largest of the ancient trees. A streak of white light tore through the air, heading forward with fierce momentum.

Given the strength of a composite-stage White Tiger, even a casual strike should have shattered that colossal tree. Unexpectedly, a shield of green light materialized upon the ancient tree.

With a deafening clash, Bai Mu’s punch scattered in all directions, barely causing a faint ripple on the green shield over the canopy. This single blow from Bai Mu seemed to have disturbed a hornet’s nest. As if awakened by the impact, the beings slumbering beneath the giant trees stirred. One by one, creatures resembling green sprites took flight. Their wings were semi-transparent, thin as cicada husks, and their appearance bore a seven-to-eight-tenths resemblance to human females—both lovely and beautiful.

"Green Sprites?" Everyone present gasped in shock. They hadn't anticipated encountering the Green Sprites here—the very beings who had been entangling the Three Clan Expeditionary Force for so long.

These beings, known as Green Sprites, while individually not possessing immense power, excelled remarkably at healing. When paired with powerful warriors, their combined strength could multiply severalfold. Moreover, these green spirits were masters of spatial laws; attempting to bypass their accompanying warriors to strike them down would prove disastrous and counterproductive.

Because of this, these outwardly frail Green Sprites had caused immense headaches for the three Supreme Races. Not long ago, the Giant Strength Demon King had painstakingly managed to corner a contingent of them, subsequently expending a massive spatial sealing array to trap them all.

The result, however, was that Lei Dong had completely ruined the operation, not only causing the Giant Strength Demon King’s efforts to fail but also leading to the Demon King’s own gruesome consumption by Lei Dong.

No one feared the Green Sprites alone; these weak combatants were mere appetizers. But in all their battles against the Barbarian Ancestral Gods, Green Sprites had rarely appeared independently—the instances were countable, almost impossible.

Generally, where Green Sprites materialized, powerful races were sure to follow.

As expected, those towering trees suddenly came alive. Their massive trunks morphed into supple vines, reaching out like tentacles to ensnare the three strong figures in the air.

"Hmph, I knew this place was tricky. Watch my White Tiger Roar Bomb!" Bai Mu scoffed, his formidable power instilling absolute confidence. He showed no fear of the sudden emergence of enemies, transforming once more into a gigantic white tiger. He opened his maw and spat forth a sphere of white light condensed from intense energy, buzzing audibly with concentration. One blast struck a newly revived giant tree, resulting in a thunderous explosion. The tree’s emanating green shield was shredded to dust, and the entire thousand-foot trunk turned to ash.

The White Tiger was a dominant race within the Demon Spirit Realm, historically counted among the Four Great Divine Beasts. Their strength, needless to say, could not be underestimated.

"Jie jie, do you truly think mere giant trees and Green Sprites can defeat us?" Puxius also sneered repeatedly. "The controller of this paltry strike is rather naive." Immediately, a thick, putrid mist of blood surged around him, spreading outward to form a river of blood that quickly swelled into a vast sea in the sky.

It seemed as if countless vengeful souls writhed, roaring and screaming in agony within the bloody expanse—a truly bizarre and horrifying sight.

Pfft, pfft. One by one, these wraiths, coated in foul blood, transformed into Blood Demons. These creatures were hideous, with sharp fangs and claws, reeking abominably. Yet, it had to be admitted that each exuded a powerful aura. Among the thousands of Blood Demons, the weakest were at the Nascent Soul level, some slightly stronger at the Spirit Transformation level, and there were even seven or eight exuding the aura of the Void Refinement stage.

Puxius was known as the Bloody Demon King; his immense power was evident. And no composite-stage High Demon could ever be taken lightly.

The massive army of tens of thousands of Blood Demons began charging downward. Simultaneously, the boundless sea of blood poured down like a torrential rain. The thick, viscous blood struck the trees and the surrounding flora, causing black smoke to rise with a sizzling sound as the vegetation was corroded and withered.

This fellow Puxius might not excel in one-on-one combat, but supported by his Blood Fiend Divine Art, he was peerless in mass conflict.

The trees began to grapple with the surging Blood Demon army, locking in mutual slaughter. At the same time, countless ferocious demonic beasts streamed out from the forest depths, though their overall strength was not great—they were densely packed, with many possessing only Golden Core level combat power.

"Awooo!" Bai Mu roared again, unleashing White Tiger Roar Bombs as if they were free. Each explosion covered an area spanning several miles, leaving behind gigantic craters and devastation in its wake.

Seeing his two companions engage, the Immortal Race’s Fairy Cang Lan could not stand idly by. She brought forth her spiritual treasure pagoda again, unleashing countless white sword beams that darted and weaved like luminous souls, slaying the demonic beasts and the Green Sprites.

The battle instantly erupted into a white-hot intensity. While the defenders of the Crystal Ancient Clan ruins seemed to be at a disadvantage, everyone knew that the Crystal Ancient Clan could not possibly possess only such rudimentary defenses.

Rumble, rumble. The temple of unique style emitted a series of booming sounds. The circular dome overhead split open automatically, and countless crescent-shaped, small metallic flying vessels soared out—their numbers seemed endless.

As each crescent vessel flew through the air, it moved with extraordinary agility. Cannons on both sides unleashed beams of white light. The impossibly arrogant Blood Demons were suppressed by these beams, crying out in agony as they were struck and vanished into nothingness.

"Everyone, be careful! These are the Crystal Ancient Clan’s war vessels; there are too many, they are hard to deal with," Puxius called out with gravity. "Stop holding back, everyone! Release the armies stored in your Soldier Storage spaces!"

Those present were all kings among the joint expeditionary force of the Three Clans. They certainly hadn't ventured out alone. If they were surrounded, there would be no one to call upon for aid.

As powerful leaders of armies, each naturally commanded a loyal force. Without hesitation, Puxius activated his Soldier Storage space, and a dense torrent of demon troops—totaling more than ten thousand—poured out.

Having absorbed the memories of Demon King Zagu, Lei Dong had some understanding of the Soldier Storage spaces used by high-level powerhouses of the Three Realms. For instance, the Giant Strength Demon King possessed one. This term was used because the external appearance of each Soldier Storage space could vary—some resembling towers, others spheres, and some taking on bizarre shapes like banners.

However, Soldier Storage spaces were not omnipotent; they could not allow a Demon King to bring his entire army along for every outing. Most forces still had to move by conventional means. Those qualified to enter a Soldier Storage space were undoubtedly the most direct and strongest core troops of a powerhouse.

Furthermore, based on Lei Dong's knowledge, the spaces used by composite-stage Demon Kings typically held only around ten to twenty thousand troops—far inferior to the Grotto-Heaven and Blessed Land Lei Dong possessed. That space, however, remained in the Chaos Void Dimension.

But Lei Dong was certainly not lacking in Soldier Storage options. For example, the black sphere seized from the Giant Strength Demon King could hold roughly ten thousand troops. For this expedition, Lei Dong followed his usual protocol, loading his ten thousand most elite and direct subordinates into the black sphere.

Then there was Lei Dong’s Demon Emperor Palace, a true superweapon. He dared not estimate precisely how many troops it could hold, but judging by its internal volume, hundreds of thousands or even millions would be more than sufficient. That thing was practically a portable war fortress.

Still, Lei Dong was fortunate he hadn't soul-refined it—or rather, hadn't yet managed to soul-refine the artifact. This allowed the structure to remain intact following that frenzy initiated by Nether Ji.

Seeing this, Bai Mu and Fairy Cang Lan also realized they could no longer hold back. They each summoned their own Soldier Storage spaces, releasing all their elite subordinates. Suddenly, the sky was filled with a chaotic swarm of charging demons, beasts, and the war vessels, engaged in a brutal melee against the entities, monsters, and flying machines emerging from the Crystal Ancient Clan ruins.