With a flicker, Lei Dong vanished into thin air, taking the Immortal and Demon serving maids with him. "Vanishing into thin air" is relative, of course. Cultivation arts, having flourished for countless eons, encompass myriad evasion techniques—be they illusions, spatial escapes, or the merging of self with the environment. The efficacy varies depending on the cultivation level.

However, the Dark Demon Emperor, having dominated the heavens and earth for tens of millions of years, was ancient and possessed unique methods. What evasion technique had he not encountered? To completely mask his presence from his acute senses, even an (Sub-Saint) would struggle, leaving behind at least a trace of evidence.

Yet, this human, along with the two Immortal and Demon maidens, had simply disappeared before his eyes. Even with his tens of millions of years of experience and formidable power, he could not locate the faintest sign.

"A formidable foe." A look of utter horror crossed the Dark Demon Emperor’s fiercely cruel demonic face. He dared not engage. Dark demonic qi surged torrentially around him, and as it spun, he too vanished, his body, now a dense mass of demonic energy, fleeing deep into the void. He seemed to merge with the cold, shadowy emptiness, escaping hundreds of li in an instant, his speed increasing exponentially.

The Dark Demon Emperor felt a flicker of smug satisfaction. His Dark Demon Art, diligently cultivated over millions of years, had refined his demonic qi to the absolute peak. He was particularly confident in his escape techniques; otherwise, living freely to this day amidst countless enemies would have been impossible. He possessed the skill to perfectly integrate his Dark Demon Art with the laws of space, a feat that even the Phoenix Emperor of the Monster Spirit Realm—who claimed to be the Child of Space—could, at best, only match.

"Hmph. Showing off before an expert." Lei Dong’s ethereal figure abruptly materialized ghost-like a few li ahead of the Dark Demon Emperor, a sneer curling his lip. "Your grasp of spatial laws is barely three or four tenths of the essence. You think you can flee before this Young Master? I decree that space shall be frozen."

Lei Dong was equally adept in the laws of space, having later absorbed the Nether God's insights and comprehension of those laws. The combination elevated his mastery of spatial laws to a level of perfection. Compared to the Dark Demon Emperor, he was superior by at least several measures.

As the True Word Edict Technique took effect, the space within several hundred li began to collapse and contract inward at extreme speed. Lei Dong’s current cultivation was vastly superior to his former self; under the True Word Art, he wielded the laws he mastered with effortless precision and complete freedom.

While he had not yet reached the supreme state of 'words becoming law' (), it was more than sufficient to deal with a peak expert of the Integration Stage.

The Dark Demon Emperor was instantly struck with terror. Just as he prepared to flee through a spatial rift, he discovered that the surrounding space seemed entirely subjugated by a single ruling force. Normally, executing an escape technique felt as harmonious as a fish in water.

But now, space felt like his adversary, viscous and sealing off every avenue of retreat. Constantly squeezing inward, in the blink of an eye, his massive demonic body was sealed within a colossal crystal coffin of solidified space.

Of course, this spatial crystal coffin could only restrain him for perhaps ten breaths. Under the surge of the Dark Demon Emperor’s power, kaka-kaka, the spatial coffin was beginning to fracture.

But those few moments were enough for Lei Dong. The pure Nether Ghost Qi enveloping him transformed into a black dragon that roared with sound, crashing against the spatial crystal coffin.

The crystal coffin exploded under the immense impact. Countless razor-sharp spatial shards tore the Dark Demon Emperor limb from limb, severely damaging his primordial spirit along with his physical form.

The Dark Demon Emperor could scarcely believe the sheer might of this mysterious Young Master who had appeared. He considered that even if the strongest among the Ten Great Peak Experts, the Sub-Saint Azure Dragon Emperor, were to attack him, it would take more than a dozen exchanges to secure victory.

Could it be that this inconspicuous human boy was even stronger than the Azure Dragon Emperor? Who exactly was he? A Sub-Saint? Or perhaps a Supreme? Suddenly, the Dark Demon Emperor recalled someone—the Demon Emperor Yan Chixing, who had caused bloody chaos across the Three Realms only tens of thousands of years ago.

Could this boy be related to the Demon Emperor Yan Chixing? And had that Supreme, Yan Chixing, not died after all?

At this thought, the Dark Demon Emperor's will to fight utterly evaporated. He pleaded bitterly, "Young Master, it was Darknis who was blind and dared to offend Your Excellency. This subordinate is willing to pledge allegiance to the Young Master and charge into battle for you." Although his own master, the Demon Venerable, was also a terrifying entity whose wrath the Dark Demon Emperor could not withstand, the Demon Venerable was far away, while death was immediate.

Under the threat of extinction, the Dark Demon Emperor chose surrender without hesitation.

"What use is a waste like you?" Lei Dong flickered, arriving before the Emperor's mangled corpse. His potent divine sense, like a mountain range, pressed down, rendering the Emperor immobile. He extended a hand and placed it directly upon the Dark Demon Emperor's head.

The divine sense manifested the Eye of Reincarnation, its immense suction slowly drawing out the Emperor's primordial spirit, grinding it into dust. This essence was then transformed within the Eye of Reincarnation into pure, vast Chaos Spiritual Qi and Origin Essence.

The Dark Demon Emperor was already a high-level existence, second only to a Sub-Saint. From his body, Lei Dong extracted spiritual energy equivalent to tens of thousands of Chaos Spiritual Qi units, and a full two-and-a-half units of Chaos Origin Essence.

Simultaneously, his memories and life factor sequences fell into Lei Dong's grasp. After devouring the crucial memories, Lei Qing also found himself somewhat interested in the Dark Demon Emperor's Dark Demon Art and spatial laws.

If these could serve to cross-reference his own cultivation and understanding of spatial laws, it might facilitate further progress for Lei Dong.

Moments later, Lei Dong transmuted his body into that of the Dark Demon Emperor. Visually, and even on the level of the soul, it became extremely difficult to detect any flaw. Dark demonic qi billowed around him, malevolent and powerful.

"Congratulations, Young Master, for slaying the Dark Demon Emperor. This subordinate is also immensely grateful to the Young Master for avenging my great feud." Although he knew the Young Master possessed the terrifying ability to devour souls and mimic bodies, witnessing such a bizarre event firsthand sent a chill down the spine of the Heavenly Palace Sword Emperor. The Young Master's power was now deeply etched into his heart. He regarded the Young Master with ever-increasing reverence and fear, lowering his head deeply, daring not look directly at him.

"Haha, Zhongli Qing, you did well this time." Lei Dong’s arcane ability to mimic enemies via life factor sequences carried a significant drawback: the longer the disguise, the more easily the host body's inherent instincts could influence the primary consciousness's thought patterns.

The brutality and lustfulness ingrained in the Dark Demon Emperor’s personality were completely woven into his very bones and life factors. The moment Lei Dong’s own life factors transformed into the Dark Demon Emperor’s, he felt an uncontrollable surge of violent aggression flooding his chest.

It felt as if he constantly needed to engage in slaughter and pleasure to vent the uncontrollable savagery boiling within. Lei Dong condensed half a unit of Chaos Origin Essence from the essence he had taken from the Dark Demon Emperor and tossed it to the Heavenly Palace Sword Emperor. "Zhongli Qing, this is your earned merit. Cultivate diligently henceforth and become a Sub-Saint soon, so you may serve this Young Master in achieving greatness."

The Heavenly Palace Sword Emperor was overjoyed to receive half a unit. He immediately knelt in mid-air, his body trembling with excitement, and declared, "This subordinate will certainly strive to cultivate hard and absolutely will not fail the Young Master's nurturing and expectations." With this half-unit of Chaos Origin Essence, advancing to Sub-Saint status was truly only a matter of time.

Just as Lei Dong was about to speak, a primal impulse urged him, and a brutal, carnal desire flooded his entire being. Unable to bear it, he lashed out with demonic energy, drawing the nearby Empress of Suffering and the Immortal Maiden Canglan toward him.

"Master, are you going to bully us again in a different form?" Empress of Suffering, Yin Fidei, breathed seductively, her voice laced with languid gasps. "Your servant, your servant refuses." Though her words suggested resistance, her demonic tail was already wrapped around Lei Dong.

"Master, I only accept you now—your true form," Immortal Maiden Canglan stammered, her face flushed crimson. "Also, now there's, there's..."

"Tianque, return and prepare with the Tiger Emperor; we have a grand show to put on next," Lei Dong, influenced by the body’s innate instincts, his mind consumed by wicked thoughts and impulses, his main consciousness struggling for control, waved the Heavenly Palace Sword Emperor away.

He then impatiently ripped away Immortal Maiden Canglan's flowing robes and cackled maniacally, "Canglan, I adore that expression of yours—wanting yet resisting."

"Master, no~"

...

Several years later, under the guise of the Dark Demon Emperor, Lei Dong issued a summons, gathering nearly a hundred Integration Stage experts under his banner. He falsely claimed that the Heavenly Palace Sword Emperor and the Tiger Emperor were jointly attacking him.

Naturally, Lei Dong led the Dark Demon Army into a desperate struggle against the two advancing forces. As a result, due to several severe command errors, his forces were ambushed multiple times. Of the nearly one hundred Integration Stage experts, only about twenty survived.

Fortunately, the opposing side also appeared to have suffered 'heavy casualties' and was forced to withdraw their main army. Because, in the final battle, the Dark Demon Emperor had heroically fought to repel the enemy, using a forbidden technique to forcibly boost his cultivation, he was left severely depleted afterward. Cautiously, he sent messages to some surviving subordinates, instructing them to find a hidden place to heal and enter seclusion.

By employing this method, Lei Dong not only acquired a massive amount of primordial spirit essence in a short time but also successfully concealed the fact that the Dark Demon Emperor had long been eliminated.

Of course, this catastrophe shook the Three Realms. Many allies of the Heavenly Palace Sword Emperor and the Tiger Emperor contacted them to inquire about the situation. But they too were in seclusion due to their "severe injuries."

The consensus among onlookers was that this must have been a war of vengeance waged by the Heavenly Palace Sword Emperor for his wife and children.

No one suspected that after acquiring vast resources, Lei Dong had also entered a state of deep seclusion. A contingent of elite troops traveled with Lei Dong, constantly navigating the void, gradually reaching the periphery of the Chaotic Star Sea.