The great cauldron flew out of the teleportation array, its momentum unabated, and crashed into the Demon Commander Qiong Ku.
Qiong Ku swung his axe, just managing to send the giant cauldron flying back, when a hammer rapidly magnified before his eyes.
No, it wasn't magnifying; the hammer was simply getting closer.
Boom!
The hammer, entwined with lightning, struck Qiong Ku’s jaw. This time, he couldn't block it, and was sent flying back several hundred meters before crashing heavily onto the ground.
Old Fang stabilized his great cauldron with his hand, then suspended it above his head and stood beside Wan Lei.
Behind them, a vast army poured out of the teleportation array. Wan Lei hadn't repaired the array in the old, batch-by-batch manner, but had transformed it into a direct portal.
Leading the charge were the Great Ascension and Nascent Soul cultivators of the Fang family, followed by Core Formation and Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Old Fang had mobilized them quickly. Within the half-day Wan Lei had been in hiding, the army had already been assembled.
Qiong Ku stood up, picked up his great axe, and without even glancing at the puny ants around him, flew directly towards Wan Lei and Old Fang.
"Your brother is far smarter than you."
Wan Lei's words were not unfounded. The outside world didn't know about the sealing of Qiong Shen, but now, with his high position, it was impossible for him not to have access to real intelligence.
The Tribulation Transcenders had claimed that the enemies were too difficult to kill, so they could only seal them and slowly wear down their life force.
Wan Lei, however, knew that back then, they had traded information about the demon race with Qiong Shen and agreed not to kill him.
The Demon Commander Qiong Shen, facing the combined might of nine Tribulation Transcenders and knowing he was doomed, had still managed to persuade them to agree to his terms without killing him. In the end, he had even successfully tempted Liu Naiweng, making him willing to defy heaven and earth to bring the demon race to the Lei Feng Realm.
This demonstrated the terrifying nature of his intellect.
In Wan Lei's opinion, Qiong Ku, who talked too much and was too self-satisfied, was far inferior to Qiong Shen.
"You dare to humiliate me!"
"How have I humiliated you?"
"By comparing me to my brother in terms of intelligence, you are humiliating me!"
Wan Lei paused, realizing that the brothers didn't get along, and likely looked down on each other.
If Qiong Ku, a fool, could look down on the intelligent Qiong Shen, then how could the truly intelligent Qiong Shen possibly look down on a simpleton like Qiong Ku?
This hidden conflict could be noted down; it might be useful later.
"Hahaha, indeed, we cannot compare. Comparing you, this pig, to Qiong Shen is an insult to him."
Wan Lei added fuel to the fire without missing a beat.
"You die for me!" Da Feng Novel Network
Qiong Ku roared, raising his great axe and slashing towards Wan Lei.
Wan Lei didn't move. A figure swept past behind him, a long sword thrusting directly towards Qiong Ku's brow.
"You go and repair the formations at the Yin Yang Sect and Kui Lian Sect. Leave this to us."
Fang Hui, with a single sword stroke that scattered the dust, forced the Demon Commander Qiong Ku to retreat. While engaged in combat, he still managed to command Wan Lei.
Wan Lei immediately retreated, turning to repair the teleportation array.
"Wan Lei, we're here to help you!"
Xu Qing emerged from the teleportation array and came to Wan Lei's side, followed by elders from the Heavenly Formation Pavilion.
Not only the formation masters of the Heavenly Formation Pavilion had arrived, but also the armies of the Four Heavenly Pavilions.
Yes, the Four Heavenly Pavilions. Although their skills were auxiliary—the Heavenly Formation Pavilion for formations, the Heavenly Soldier Pavilion for crafting treasures, the Heavenly Pill Pavilion for alchemy, and the Heavenly Secret Pavilion for celestial calculations—and the Four Heavenly Pavilions were not among the Nine Great Powers, thinking them weak would be a grave mistake.
In the Lei Feng Realm, beneath the Nine Great Powers, two forces held the most transcendent status.
One was the Heavenly Punishers. They were mysterious, ruthless killers and spies, operating in the shadows year-round. You didn't know how strong they were, how many there were, or how many strongholds they had. You didn't know if your good friend raising a wine glass next to you was a Heavenly Punisher.
Imagine, at the Kui Lian Sect, if it hadn't been revealed, who would have thought that the little silly girl named Qi Manyao was a hidden pawn of the Heavenly Punishers?
The Four Heavenly Pavilions, however, were in the open and held a transcendent status, with no one daring to offend them.
The reason was simple: the Four Heavenly Pavilions were very wealthy.
Money could make the ghosts push the mill; with money, one could recruit many, many powerful individuals.
On the surface, the Four Heavenly Pavilions remained neutral, occupying four mountain peaks. But who knew how many armies they secretly maintained?
Xu Qing and other formation masters helped Wan Lei repair the teleportation array, and Wan Lei readily accepted their assistance, directing them to set up the various array formations.
With the arrival of the Fang family's army and the armies of the Four Heavenly Pavilions, the cultivators and demon enemies who had been entangled with Xi Renjun were quickly slaughtered. The injured Xi Renjun finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The Fang family members gave Xi Renjun healing pills and told him to withdraw for recuperation.
Old Fang and Fang Hui focused their attack on the Demon Commander Qiong Ku, with the assistance of the other armies. The four great demon commanders and Liu Zhongwu were driven out of East Desert City.
Seeing their plan fail and the enemy forces consolidated, unable to destroy the teleportation array any further, Liu Zhongwu and Qiong Ku held a brief discussion and turned to retreat towards the desert's center.
After all, according to Qiong Ku, their objective was merely to protect the teleportation channel. As long as the demon race's invading army was large enough, and their Demon Lord could descend, then no matter how many enemies came, they would be mere fodder.
This was their chance to annihilate the enemy's main force in one fell swoop.
The second invasion of the demon race, the first battle, the Battle of East Desert City, concluded with the victory of the Lei Feng Realm.
Old Fang immediately publicized this outcome throughout the entire Lei Feng Realm, specifically highlighting Wan Lei's contributions. He stated that Wan Lei, Fang Xiaoyu, and his three subordinate Tribulation Transcenders had tenaciously repaired and protected the teleportation array under the siege of dozens of enemies, thus guaranteeing the arrival of reinforcements, and that their meritorious service was immense.
Upon receiving this news, unaffiliated cultivators began to gather, awaiting the construction of other teleportation arrays in East Desert City. Some eagerly rushed to the three major forces, requesting the use of their teleportation arrays to travel to the battlefield. The three major forces, naturally, did not refuse anyone.
After repelling Liu Zhongwu, Qiong Ku, and others, Old Fang did not order the army to advance further. Instead, they all assembled outside East Desert City, forming battle formations, awaiting the arrival of other reinforcements.
At this moment, only his family and the Four Heavenly Pavilions had arrived. To rashly charge forward now would inevitably lead to an attack by the demon army and Liu family's forces, potentially resulting in their complete annihilation.
Dividing forces and advancing rashly would only lead to them being defeated individually. Only by consolidating their forces and concentrating their superior strength could they counterattack.