The sheer power emanating from that force was overwhelming, undeniably surpassing anything within his own capabilities. Ilon had no doubt that even at his peak, he could barely parry this devastating blade light; at best, he could only avoid the strike entirely.

Had he truly become this strong? This was power bordering on the Demon King’s level! Sensing this immense might, Ilon felt no fear, no despair. As a Ninth-Rank Demon Lord, he did not dread death; all that occupied his mind was a profound confusion.

Why? If he possessed the power to end him instantly, why subject him to such a humiliating, collective assault? Did he place no value on his own dignity?

The answer came in the searing blade light from Ye Jingyu. The brilliant arc slammed directly into Ilon’s armor. The armor, forged of some unknown material, shattered completely. The terrifying force carved a long gash across his body, while the combined might of lightning, starlight, and flame slammed into his chest. His sternum instantly pulverized, deep fissures fractured across his frame, and golden blood sprayed forth.

His spiritual consciousness was almost entirely obliterated in that instant. His physical body began its total collapse concurrently. From the moment Ye Jingyu launched his first attack, though it felt drawn out, in a duel between masters, it was but the blink of an eye.

Witnessing their strongest expert obliterated in the time it took to draw a breath, Vangus’s eyes bulged nearly out of his sockets. Was this a nightmare? Ilon, one of the top ten retainers serving his father, the Demon King, killed just like that? How could this be possible?

It wasn't just Vangus who was incredulous; the hundreds of guards stood equally dumbfounded. Most of them had been personally nurtured by Ilon. In their eyes, perhaps only the Demon King himself surpassed Ilon in might. For such a godlike figure to be erased so effortlessly—how could they not be shaken?

Yet, what shocked them further was yet to come. They watched as Ye Jingyu suddenly extended both hands, and a pillar of white flame erupted, entirely enveloping Ilon’s corpse. Immediately, Ilon’s body began to rapidly melt. The golden blood started to coalesce, and all of his inherent power slowly drew together.

In the space of a few breaths, a golden elixir, tinged with crimson, materialized before Ye Jingyu—the summation of all of Ilon’s might. Though diminished by the process, it still retained at least seventy percent of Ilon’s strength.

Sensing the ferocious power contained within the Golden Elixir, the onlookers gasped in renewed terror. They never imagined Ye Jingyu could refine Ilon’s vital essence so swiftly.

"Big Brother, catch!" Ye Jingyu roared, hurling the Golden Elixir toward Liang Xiaoke. Liang Xiaoke, who had just torn off the arm of an Eighth-Rank Demon Lord, let out a bellow, leaped into the air, opened his cavernous maw, and swallowed the elixir whole.

His enlightenment and realization had already reached the apex of the Corpse Emperor realm; the only thing missing was pure power. This Golden Elixir entering his body was like a sudden deluge, instantly filling his nearly desiccated pond. While it couldn't fill it entirely, it certainly managed to top up half the basin. His strength had more than doubled.

Seeing Ilon cut down so easily, the remaining eight Demon Lords finally grasped the severity of the situation. They abandoned any thought of attacking Liang Xiaoke and immediately converged around Vangus.

"Your Highness, we must flee!" one shouted, grabbing the stunned Vangus and sprinting backward.

"Trying to leave? Not so easy!" Ye Jingyu sneered. Twelve Bone Stakes shot out, and the Black Chiyou Banner shook violently. Countless demonic specters flashed into existence from the void, instantly encircling Vangus and the five hundred-plus Wolf Clan warriors.

Thick black mist blanketed the sky. All the Wolf Clan felt as if they had been dragged into another dimension. Countless vengeful spirits lunged at their flesh, siphoning their vital blood. They were like fat hogs trapped in a slaughterhouse, awaiting the butcher’s blade.

The Wolf Clan warriors roared in desperation, their forms swelling rapidly until they transformed into immense silver wolves, charging outward at full speed. They struck the Twelve Heavenly Witch Annihilation Array with the full force of their power.

"Brothers! Do you remember how these bastards humiliated you? How they plundered your wealth? How they violated your wives and daughters? Now is the time for vengeance! Take up your axes and cleave these fiends apart!" Ye Jingyu cried out, shaking the Chiyou Banner repeatedly. He tore open a passage, and under the spell of his incantation, over ten thousand Minotaurs had their eyes turn bloodshot. Wielding their battle axes, they charged maniacally into the heart of the Twelve Heavenly Witch Annihilation Array.

Under Ye Jingyu's control, their internal power surged incessantly, while the strength of the Wolf Clan was severely suppressed. Even though those five hundred Wolf Clan soldiers were top-tier experts, their power was now utterly stifled. A First-Rank Minotaur swung a punch at a Second-Rank Wolfman. That Wolfman, whose claws were sharpened into deadly weapons, slashed back at the Minotaur’s fist. Given the Minotaur’s speed, facing a Wolfman of a higher realm, landing a blow should have been impossible. But the Wolfman, affected by the Array, was moving at less than one-third of his normal speed. Caught off guard, he was sent flying by the Minotaur’s punch, every bone in his body likely fractured.

Though his claws left a wound deep enough to expose bone on the Minotaur’s chest, the injury began to close at a visible rate under the aid of the black mist. Conversely, the wound on the Wolfman's chest sizzled as if doused with hydrochloric acid upon contact with the dark vapor, rapidly corroding his flesh.

The Wolfman let out a howl of unyielding rage, trying to rise and fight again, but another Minotaur, now reaching Third-Rank strength, stomped forward. The massive creature brought its foot down directly onto the Wolfman, crushing his body into a bloody pulp...

Such carnage unfolded repeatedly. Often, one Wolfman had to face the assault of dozens of Minotaurs. Even outside the Array, they would have been no match for these Minotaurs, let alone trapped within the confines of the Chiyou Banner’s Twelve Heavenly Witch Annihilation Array.

Against the charge of more than ten thousand Minotaurs, the five hundred-plus Wolf Clan warriors were nothing more than a small skiff in a vast ocean, instantly capsized.