Misty Swamp

Thirty thousand miles southwest of Starfall Pavilion lies the Cloud Dream Great Marsh.

This is a vast, boundless wetland marsh, with ancient trees reaching to the sky, vines like Dragons, and year-round thin but deadly five-colored poisonous miasma. Puddles are scattered like stars, bottomless, concealing unknown fierce creatures beneath. The air is mixed with the rich scent of decaying leaves, mud, and strange flowers and plants, with hidden dangers lurking in the silence.

A figure, like a ghost, silently weaved between the gnarled tree roots and dense miasma. It was Nightmare.

He had left Starfall Pavilion several days ago, traveling at high speed, relying on the Demonic Shadow Evasion Technique and the Breath Concealment Art to avoid most troubles, finally arriving at this legendary dangerous land.

The flowing cloud secret edict in his hand reacted even more strongly after reaching this place. The faint dark beam of light no longer pointed fixedly but began to sway slightly, like a compass needle, guiding him in a more precise direction.

“It seems to be in this area,” Nightmare’s gaze swept over the strange surroundings, not daring to be careless in the slightest. He had long heard of the Cloud Dream Great Marsh’s notorious reputation.

The Treasure-Seeking Spirit Weasel on his shoulder also became unusually quiet, its dark eyes vigilantly scanning its surroundings, its small paws tightly clutching his collar, clearly also sensing the omnipresent danger of this place.

Nightmare consumed a self-made Stealth Pill, and his figure became even more blurred, almost merging with the surrounding environment. He cautiously proceeded according to the secret edict's guidance, his Divine Sense spread out to its maximum extent, avoiding areas with particularly powerful auras.

Even so, danger still arrived unexpectedly.

As he passed through an unusually dense patch of blood-red reeds, the seemingly solid ground beneath his feet suddenly collapsed!

Splash!

A huge vortex instantly formed, with a powerful suction force coming from below, and at the same time, several pale white tentacles covered in mucus and suckers suddenly shot out, wrapping around his legs! A chilling aura capable of paralyzing the Divine Soul assailed him!

“Marsh Bottom Nightmare Octopus!” Nightmare’s heart tightened as he recognized this fierce creature lurking deep within the marsh. Its strength was equivalent to the Late Golden Core Stage, and it was extremely troublesome!

If it were his former self, he would probably have to expend some effort. But now he had advanced to the Late Golden Core Stage and had Cultivated many powerful methods!

“Soul Shattering Finger!”

Nightmare remained calm in the face of danger, his body twisting strangely in mid-air, avoiding the entanglement of two tentacles. His right index and middle fingers were pressed together, and dark golden Azure Qi and Blood along with pure Demonic Essence condensed at his fingertips, striking out like lightning with a sharp edge capable of piercing through anything!

Puff! Puff! Puff!

His fingertips precisely struck the center of the suckers on the other tentacles!

The finger force, containing the power to break through defenses and injure the Soul, instantly penetrated!

“Screech—!” A sharp, painful shriek came from beneath the marsh. Those tentacles, as if struck by lightning, twitched violently and retracted, with spiderweb-like cracks appearing on their surface, clearly severely injured!

Seizing this opportunity, Nightmare's feet ejected Demonic Essence, and the Demonic Shadow Evasion Technique was executed. His figure floated backward as if weightless, landing steadily on a large, withered log exposed above the water in the distance.

The marsh churned a few times, releasing a string of large bubbles. The Marsh Bottom Nightmare Octopus, in pain, dared not show its head again and slowly sank into the depths of the mud.

One strike repelled the enemy!

Nightmare looked at his fingers, quite satisfied with the power of the Soul Shattering Finger. This Low Grade Spirit Rank finger technique, in his hands, displayed power far exceeding its peers.

He did not stop, continuing forward.

The deeper he went, the denser the poisonous miasma became, even beginning to erode his protective Spiritual Qi. Nightmare had to continuously consume Demonic Essence to resist it. The Treasure-Seeking Spirit Weasel also began to appear somewhat listless.

Just as he was considering whether he needed to find a place to temporarily avoid the poisonous miasma, the Spirit Weasel on his shoulder suddenly let out another soft cry, its small paw pointing towards an area ahead and to the left, shrouded in dense purplish-black miasma, where faint, strange energy fluctuations could be heard.

“Another discovery?” Nightmare’s spirits lifted, and he cautiously approached.

Passing through the dense miasma, the scene before him suddenly opened up. It was a rare small patch of dry land, where a peculiar plant grew in the center — entirely semi-transparent and purple, its leaves gently fluttering like butterfly wings, with three longan-sized silver fruits at its tip, emitting a pure, fragrant scent. A small Domain formed around the fruits, repelling the deadly poisonous miasma.

“illusory miasma silver fruit!” Nightmare recognized this item. This was an extremely rare Spirit Fruit, growing only in the core areas of highly poisonous miasma. It could detoxify all poisons, greatly enhance a Cultivator’s resistance to illusions and poisonous miasma, and even slightly nourish the Divine Soul!

It was truly a coveted treasure in the Cloud Dream Great Marsh!

However, any heaven and earth spiritual object must have a guardian.

The moment Nightmare’s gaze fell upon the fruits, a lightning-fast silver-pink shadow shot out from the shadow of a twisted ancient tree nearby, directly attacking his face!

Its speed was far greater than that of the previous Marsh Bottom Nightmare Octopus!

Nightmare’s internal alarm bells rang loudly, and the Demonic Shadow Evasion Technique was instinctively employed. His figure flickered, narrowly avoiding the attack.

Rip!

Behind where he had originally stood, on the trunk of an ancient tree that required two people to embrace, three bottomless cuts appeared, their surfaces smooth as mirrors! At the same time, a sweet, strange fragrance permeated the air, making one dizzy upon smelling it.

Nightmare looked closely, and the attacker was surprisingly a palm-sized little fox with silver-white fur tinged with a faint pink blush!

Its eyes were like the purest amethyst, nimble and cunning, and it dragged a fluffy large tail behind it. It was currently suspended in mid-air, baring its teeth, letting out threatening growls at Nightmare. Its body emanated Yao power fluctuations not weaker than the Late Golden Core Stage, and even carried a strong illusion aura!

“Phantom Cloud Fox?” Nightmare was slightly surprised. This was a rare Yao Beast known for its illusions and speed, possessing extremely high intelligence, and usually very uncommon. He hadn't expected to encounter one here, guarding the illusory miasma silver fruit.

The little fox seemed somewhat surprised that Nightmare could evade its sneak attack. A hint of curiosity flashed in its amethyst-like eyes, but more so vigilance and the fierce gaze of protecting its food. With a flick of its small paw, several more invisible, sharp wind blades with hallucinatory effects slashed towards Nightmare.

Nightmare did not want to get entangled with it, nor did he want to cause too much commotion. With a thought, the Treasure-Seeking Spirit Weasel on his shoulder let out a “squeak,” seeming to have some inexplicable fondness for the beautiful little fox, yet also a little afraid.

Nightmare smiled slightly and said to the Phantom Cloud Fox, “Little one, I mean no harm. This fruit is useful to me; I can exchange it with you.”

As he spoke, he took out a small jade bottle from his storage ring and poured out a few Beast Essence Pills, which he had refined earlier using leftover Materials and were quite attractive to Yao Beasts. The Medicinal Pills emitted a pure energy aura, and at the same time, he quietly circulated a trace of Azure Qi and Blood, emitting an ancient and noble aura.

The Phantom Cloud Fox’s movements paused. Its small nose twitched a few times, it looked at the Beast Essence Pills on the ground, then vigilantly at Nightmare. A clear hesitation flashed in its purple eyes. It could feel that the Medicinal Pills would benefit it, and also sensed that the aura from the creature before it seemed very unusual, making it instinctively feel a trace of awe, yet it was reluctant to part with the Spirit Fruit it had guarded for so long.

The moment it hesitated, Nightmare moved!

It wasn't an attack, but rather the exquisite footwork of the Demonic Shadow Evasion Technique. His figure seemed to transform into several afterimages, but his true body had silently appeared beside the illusory miasma silver fruit!

He moved like lightning, not being greedy, only plucking two of the fruits. At the same time, he placed the small bottle of Beast Essence Pills and several other Spirit Stones, obtained from the back mountain of Starfall Pavilion, next to the plant.

Then, without lingering, his figure retreated explosively again!

The Phantom Cloud Fox finally reacted, letting out a “chu” cry in anger, seemingly not expecting the other party to be so “cunning”! It glanced at the two plucked Spirit Fruits, then at the bottle of Medicinal Pills and Spirit Stones beside it, and a human-like look of conflict flashed in its purple eyes.

It ultimately did not pursue, but quickly embraced the Medicinal Pills and Spirit Stones, then vigilantly glanced in the direction where Nightmare had disappeared, and with a flicker of its figure, vanished into the dense miasma, as if it had never appeared.

【Ding! Obtained 'illusory miasma silver fruit' x2, greatly increasing poison resistance and illusion resistance. Gained villain points +400.】

Nightmare only stopped after he had moved far away from that area, a smile appearing on his face. Obtaining two illusory miasma silver fruits was an unexpected bonus, and he didn't want to make a mortal enemy of that intelligent little fox.

He immediately consumed one illusory miasma silver fruit.

The fruit melted upon entering his mouth, and a cool, sweet juice flowed into his abdomen, then transformed into countless tiny silver light points, integrating into his limbs, Meridians, and Sea of Consciousness.

Immediately, he felt his body lighten, and the corrosive sensation from the dense poisonous miasma around him suddenly weakened by more than half! His Divine Sense also became clearer and more transparent, perceiving the subtle, hallucinatory energy fluctuations in the environment more distinctly.

“Good stuff!” Nightmare exclaimed, carefully putting away the other one. With this item, his safety in the Cloud Dream Great Marsh was greatly increased.

He took out the flowing cloud secret edict again, and the light beam on the token became stable once more, pointing deeper into the great marsh.

After a short rest, Nightmare continued his journey.

With the illusory miasma silver fruit enhancing his resistance, his speed was much faster. After traveling for about half a day, passing through a huge, maze-like forest of withered bones, the scene before him made him suddenly stop.

Ahead was a vast, calm black body of water, like an inland sea. Gray dense fog, which never dissipated, permeated the water's surface, making visibility extremely low.

And the flowing cloud secret edict’s reaction at this moment was intense to the extreme! The light beam pointed straight into the depths of the dense fog, and the entire token felt slightly hot, with the Flowing Cloud patterns on its surface swirling frantically!

“This is it... Immortal Master Flowing Cloud’s true Legacy site is within this sea of fog!”

Nightmare could feel that this sea of fog was extremely dangerous; his Divine Sense entering it was like a mud ox entering the sea, and countless heart-pounding auras were hidden within it.

He took a deep breath, his eyes sharpening.

The real challenge has just begun.

Marsh Bottom Nightmare Octopus

Stealth Pill

Beast Essence Pill