Whether Lei Dong and the other two managed to flee or not, they were violently ejected from the disrupted passage. But Lei Dong, having endured countless battles in his lifetime, instantly recognized the dire emergency and knew not a moment could be wasted.

He summoned his netherworld specter energy, enveloping the two women. With a flicker of movement, he phased directly through the shattered space, instantly reappearing hundreds of miles away. His form blurred again and again, covering tens of thousands of miles in the blink of an eye, reaching the void where the absence of air resistance allowed him to accelerate relentlessly. His Ghostly Shadow Evasion Technique was pushed to its absolute limit, simultaneously employing his profound comprehension of spatial principles to its fullest extent.

Against an ordinary opponent, Lei Dong would have easily shaken off any pursuer. However, the one behind him, despite having reached the Supreme realm through unorthodox means, was, after all, a Supreme-level entity.

A tyrannical, rage-filled divine sense clung to Lei Dong like maggots to bone, locking onto him with unyielding tenacity. No matter how he fled, the figure behind him relentlessly pursued.

Fortunately, Lei Dong was no ordinary Half-Saint expert. Having absorbed the essence of the (Nether God) for what amounted to hundreds of millions of years, his mastery over spatial laws meant that, purely in terms of spatial comprehension, he was already far superior to Long Aotian, who had only recently ascended to the Supreme realm.

Lei Dong's Void Ghost Shadow Escape in the vacuum of space felt as natural as a fish in water, his speed constantly increasing.

Yet, that Azure Dragon Emperor, Long Aotian, was clearly no pushover. Far behind, he transformed into a colossal azure dragon, his aura majestic and overwhelming, forcing even space itself to yield before him.

“Lei Dong, how can it be you?” In the brief span of time filled with upheaval—where even death eluded her—Ji Shuangshuang cried out in shock. “You—you—weren't you banished to the Barren Lands?”

“The Barren Lands may be far, but one can’t be gone forever, can they? Don't tell me you’re upset that I saved you and your mother? If that’s the case, I’ll just hand you over to that damned dragon.” Lei Dong retorted via a mental projection, his tone sharp. Thankfully, with his current power, multitasking was effortless.

“You dare!” Ji Shuangshuang snapped back, her voice a mixture of shock and fury.

“What is there that I wouldn't dare?” Lei Dong snarled. “My wife and I were enjoying ourselves out in the world, and you snatched her away to the Vermilion Bird Divine Palace, trying to let that so-called Mother of Ten Thousand Spirits usurp my child’s body. Ji Shuangshuang, I hate you to the bone. Don't think I’ll go easy on you just because you’re a Saint.”

Even as he communicated with her, Lei Dong continued to accelerate. Alas, Long Aotian’s speed was also immense, making escape difficult.

Just as Ji Shuangshuang prepared to say more, Ji Ziyan interrupted her, quickly urging Lei Dong, “Lei Dong, don’t waste time arguing with her; she’s still just an ignorant child.”

“What child?” Lei Dong scoffed. “Our human children are self-reliant by their teens. Your child here is already over fifty thousand years old, isn’t she?”

“Regardless, Lei Dong, thank you for saving us,” Ji Ziyan said, still shaken. “That Long Aotian is utterly vile. We couldn't even kill ourselves just now; if he had succeeded, the consequences would have been unthinkable.”

“Hmph, I saved you only because I want information about my wife and child’s whereabouts,” Lei Dong stated coolly. “Ji Ziyan, if you are truly grateful, then please inform me where my wife is.”

Even saying that, Lei Dong’s motivation wasn't entirely transactional. In Lei Dong’s life, the two individuals he felt the deepest gratitude toward, whom he truly recognized as his mentors, were the first, the Old Ancestor of Ten Thousand Ghosts—whose influence on Lei Dong’s character and conduct far surpassed that of his own father, despite his shortcomings in various aspects of power.

To Lei Dong, the Old Ancestor of Ten Thousand Ghosts was both teacher and father, holding an irreplaceable position in his heart. The other was the Demon Emperor. The Demon Emperor merely bestowed his inheritance upon Lei Dong and never exerted any direct or indirect influence.

Clearly, the Demon Emperor did not wish for his established persona to unduly affect his successor, preferring that Lei Dong forge his own path. This act earned Lei Dong both gratitude and deep admiration. Had the Demon Emperor chosen to manipulate the inheritance even slightly, he could easily have warped Lei Dong’s worldview, philosophy, and so forth.

At that time, the younger Lei Dong would have been helpless to resist. It was precisely this selfless manner of inheritance that made Lei Dong profoundly respectful of the Demon Emperor, recognizing him as a true master from the bottom of his heart.

It was because of this history that Lei Dong, who originally came to the Vermilion Bird Divine Palace to rescue his wife, ended up saving the wife and child of his mentor from the hands of a Supreme-level expert.

Given Lei Dong’s nature, he was bound by honor to repay kindness and avenge wrongs. He absolutely could not stand by and watch the wife and child of someone he deeply revered suffer humiliation and abuse at the hands of enemies, even if he currently loathed them intensely.

“I am sorry, Lei Dong, your wife has been sent to the Palace of Ten Thousand Spirits,” Ji Ziyan confessed guiltily. “The Mother of Ten Thousand Spirits is currently in secluded death-cultivation, and even I cannot enter the Palace to retrieve her. Lei Dong, please do not be impulsive and seek death. Even if the Mother of Ten Thousand Spirits hasn't fully recovered her injuries, she is not someone you can handle.”

“Ji Ziyan,” Lei Dong said, his tone calm. “Thank you for the information. For the sake of my master, I will spare your lives for what happened previously. If there is a next time, do not blame me, Lei Dong, for being ruthless and unforgiving.”

“Lei Dong, I don’t know how you cultivated so quickly, but the Palace of Ten Thousand Spirits truly isn't a place you should try to storm,” Ji Shuangshuang added, sounding worried. “This started because of me; I will find a way to bring your wife back, even if it costs me my life.”

Lei Dong glanced at her coldly, sneering, “If I can’t save my wife, what use is your death? Both of you, silence yourselves. Whether as a husband or a father, I, Lei Dong, have no reason to refuse to save them just because of the danger. I saved you not because I sought your gratitude or friendship. I did it because of my master. If he were alive, and he saw his wife and child in danger or being insulted, he would unhesitatingly step forward, even if the enemy were ten thousand times stronger than him. But he is gone now. Therefore, I, Lei Dong, am fulfilling his duty. Despite the fact that I wish to grind you both into dust.”

Ji Ziyan froze, murmuring, “If he weren’t dead, would he really have come to save us? He was so heartless and ruthless, refusing to listen to my advice.”

“Ji Ziyan, if my master were truly a merciless and heartless person, how could you have kept thinking about him for so long?” Lei Dong scoffed, clearly displeased. “Although I never had the chance to learn directly from him, from the residual images he left in the inheritance, I could see that my master, the Demon Emperor Yan Chixing, was a man of heroic bearing and sweeping ambition. He is one of the few people I, Lei Dong, admire most in this life. Now, enough nonsense. Ji Ziyan, you are more familiar with the environment of the Three Realms than I; where can we shake off this relentless shadow?”

“It’s difficult; any place I know, Long Aotian likely knows as well,” Ji Ziyan mused for a moment before sighing. “If we keep running like this, he will eventually catch us. He is a Supreme-level expert.”

“So what if he is Supreme?” A bizarre eye materialized on Lei Dong’s forehead—the mark of the inheritance from the Demon Emperor Yan Chixing. At this moment, his state had ascended to Dominion Over Heaven and Earth.

He muttered a low command: “I decree: the void is fractured.”

With Lei Dong’s current strength, directly opening a stable void tunnel was nearly impossible; he lacked that specific capability. However, by cleverly utilizing the True Word Art, he could barely manage it.

As expected, another void tunnel materialized. This time without interruption, Lei Dong whisked the two women through. But this was a minor void tunnel, not covering a great distance—only spanning a few billion miles in an instant.

Even so, it left Lei Dong slightly winded, his divine sense momentarily weakened. Before he could catch his breath, a powerful spatial fluctuation echoed from the distance, accompanied by Long Aotian's ferocious and aberrant voice: “You are Lei Dong, aren’t you? Even if you run to the ends of the horizon, you won't escape my pursuit. Hand over your Chaos Tower artifact spirit willingly.”

Lei Dong dared not delay even a fraction of a second now! He immediately resumed his desperate flight, asking as he went, “Ji Ziyan, where does the nearest Supreme reside? I’ll take Long Aotian straight there—let’s see if he dares confront another Supreme.”

Ji Ziyan shook her head with a bitter smile. “How would I know the locations of Supreme experts? Even for the Mother of Ten Thousand Spirits’ Palace of Ten Thousand Spirits, I have to be summoned and travel by flying boat. Moreover, knowing the location wouldn't help, because the residences of Supreme experts constantly shift. They could be anywhere within the Three Realms. Lei Dong, if you discard me, you can increase your speed; just make sure you save my daughter.”

“Stop talking nonsense. If I abandoned you, how could I ever face my master in the next reincarnation?” Lei Dong stated coldly. “That place you mentioned—the Sea of Chaos, the Void Tides—where is it? I heard it is extremely dangerous?”

“Don’t go there…” Ji Ziyan gasped in horror. “Although I don’t know how you cultivated so fast or became so strong, the Sea of Chaos is perilous even for a Supreme to enter. When Chixing went there, it was a matter of life and death, and he only reached the other side through sheer luck.”

“Precisely because it is dangerous, I must go there,” Lei Dong said earnestly. “Otherwise, if it’s a place a Supreme can traverse easily, going there won't help me shake him off. Enough talk; the only option now is the Sea of Chaos. Otherwise, I’ll abandon your daughter to him; she’s just a burden anyway.”

“The Sea of Chaos is about several centuries of travel distance from the Three Realms, but at your current speed, which surpasses the fastest flying boat by more than tenfold, it should only take a few decades to reach,” Ji Ziyan said, transmitting the coordinates to Lei Dong via mental projection.

……(To be continued)RQ