The Secret of Blood Beasts

Inside the deep, dark underground stone cavern, the bloody smell and the violent beast roars almost solidified.

Facing the undisguised terrifying pressure and tempting words of Nightmare, the madness in the six blood-red eyes of the three-headed Blood Beast slightly receded, replaced by a trace of surprise, vigilance, and... monstrous resentment buried deep for a long time!

Its three heads lowered slightly, emitting a deeper whimper from its throat. It was no longer a pure roar, but rather seemed to be scrutinizing and weighing its options.

Nightmare's heart stirred. Sure enough, this Blood Beast was not completely without intelligence; it was merely driven mad by prolonged imprisonment and agonizing torment. It could sense his power and uniqueness.

"I can feel your pain and anger." Nightmare continued to transmit information using Divine Thought, while simultaneously mobilizing the power of the rule fragment within his body, emitting a strange fluctuation that transcended the Restrictions of this place. "These chains, this Blood Pool, the torment day after day... Don't you want to tear apart the Blood Crows that imprisoned you? Don't you want true freedom?"

"Roar...!" The largest head in the center let out a low growl suppressing endless fury. It struggled to rise but was held down tightly by the chains, splashing large waves of blood. The other two heads also bared their fangs, their eyes filled with monstrous resentment.

But it seemed to still be hesitating, its gaze sweeping over Nightmare, then over the unconscious miners in the corner, filled with distrust and bloodthirsty desire.

Nightmare understood that words alone were not enough. He needed to demonstrate strength and sincerity.

His gaze swept over the black chains confining the Blood Beast. The chains were covered in runes, connected to the Formation of the entire stone cavern, drawing the Blood Beast's power to feed the mine pit above, while simultaneously weakening it. Especially the huge iron hook piercing its clavicle was malicious, constantly releasing a strange power that suppressed regeneration and the Demon Soul.

"I'll help you solve a small problem first."

As Nightmare spoke, he pointed his fingers like a blade, and a trace of extreme gray-white Qi condensed on his fingertip—the power of the annihilation nether spring! To deal with this kind of rune Restriction, the Power of Annihilation was the most effective!

Hiss!

His figure was like lightning, instantly appearing before the thickest chain, and his finger swept across it!

The indestructible rune chain, capable of trapping a Nascent Soul Stage Blood Beast, instantly dimmed and was annihilated the moment it contacted the gray-white Qi! The chain itself groaned under the strain and was cut open with a deep gap. Although it wasn't completely severed, the confining power on it was significantly reduced!

"Awoo!" The Blood Beast let out a howl that was both painful and slightly comfortable. The part of its body confined by that chain suddenly felt much lighter! The look in its eyes as it gazed at Nightmare instantly changed! Surprise turned into shock, and vigilance gained a trace of hope!

Nightmare repeated the process, flickering through the stone cavern. His fingertips tapped continuously, and soon he had destroyed most of the runes on several main chains! The entire confining Formation of the stone cavern began to flicker, becoming unstable!

Finally, he looked at the huge iron hook piercing the Blood Beast's clavicle. The hook's material was special, having practically grown together with the Blood Beast's flesh and bone. Forcibly pulling it out would likely cause severe injury.

Nightmare pondered briefly, then took out the segment of the Reincarnation Wood Remnant. He activated the tender sprout, causing a soft, vibrant green light to envelop the Blood Beast's wound.

"Bear with it."

As the green light merged in, the rotten, foul-smelling wound actually began to squirm and heal at a visible speed, growing new granulation tissue! Although it couldn't be healed instantly, it greatly alleviated its pain and suppressed the malicious power on the iron hook.

The Blood Beast's massive body trembled violently, emitting a whimper mixed with pain and extreme comfort. Turbid blood tears even flowed from its six eyes!

It believed completely! This mysterious and powerful existence truly could help it!

"Roar—!" (I believe you! Help me! I want revenge!)

A fragmented Divine Thought, filled with endless resentment and longing, finally actively entered Nightmare's mind.

"Very good." Nightmare stopped moving. "Tell me, how much do you know about this Myriad Demon Blood Pool? Especially the bottom of the pool, is there a certain kind of extremely special 'mud' that can stick to Karma?"

The Blood Beast's three heads shook, and fragmented Divine Thought transmitted information intermittently.

[The Blood Pool... is very big... very deep... connected to... the Underground Fire Vein... and... the Land of Ancestral Spirits...]

[The bottom... has immense pressure... countless Malevolent Souls... and... an ancient... sleeping will...]

[Mud?... There is a lot... Blood Mud... Resentment Mud... but... in the deepest part... there is a strange... area...]

[There... is no blood... only... cold... black mud... Touching it... is like... being entangled by countless threads... binding the Soul... It is terrifying... We... dare not... approach...]

Cold black mud? Touching it is like having the Soul entangled by countless threads?

Nightmare's heart leaped! This description highly matched the characteristics of the "karma mud" mentioned by the System!

"Where is that black mud area? How do I get down there?" Nightmare urgently asked.

The Blood Beast transmitted feelings of fear: [It's... at the very bottom... next to the Fire Eye... The path is difficult... There are... natural Restrictions... and... terrifying things guarding it... I... only know... the general direction...]

It transmitted a fragmented mental image, showing the extremely complex terrain at the bottom of the Blood Pool, and the entrance to a deep cavern located beside a river of scorching magma, enveloped by a distorted force field.

The image was very blurry and filled with a sense of danger.

"That's enough." Nightmare memorized the location. Having a direction made things easier.

"Now, it's time for you to fulfill your promise." The Blood Beast's three heads looked at him simultaneously, their eyes filled with urgency and ferocity. "Help me... unlock all the chains! I want to get out! Kill all those crows!"

"The chains are easy to undo, but if you go out now, you will immediately alert the experts of the Blood Crow Tribe." Nightmare said calmly. "Do you want to be suppressed again, or even directly killed?"

The Blood Beast's fury halted, and it let out a reluctant growl.

"I can help you completely undo the confinement and give you a chance for revenge." Calculating light flashed in Nightmare's eyes. "But you need to follow my arrangements."

[What do you want me to do?]

"First, endure for now. I will leave a mark on you, allowing you to temporarily disguise yourself as still being confined, thus deceiving the guards."

"Second, I need a drop of your Natal Essence Blood and a trace of your Soul fragment."

"Third, when I return from the bottom of the Blood Pool, I will completely release your confinement. At that time, we will coordinate from inside and out to deliver a 'great gift' to the Blood Crow Tribe! How about it?"

The Blood Beast's three heads looked at each other, struggle flashing in their eyes, but ultimately, the desire for freedom and revenge overcame everything.

[Fine! I promise you! But if you deceive me... I will detonate myself, even if it means ensuring you don't have an easy time!]

"Don't worry, our goals align." Nightmare extended his finger and tapped the center of the largest Blood Beast head's brow, leaving a hidden Demonic Essence Mark that could simulate the illusion that the chains were still intact. Simultaneously, he took a drop of its Natal Essence Blood, which contained vast Qi and blood and a tyrannical will, as well as a trace of its fragile Soul fragment.

After doing all this, Nightmare cleaned up the traces at the scene, moved the unconscious miners near the passage entrance and woke them up, then quickly disguised himself back into the appearance of a guard.

Soon after, those above heard the silence below and sent people down to check. They only saw the "guard" and a few terrified miners, along with the Blood Beast that seemed "exhausted" and no longer struggled, finding no abnormalities.

Nightmare successfully slipped through.

Over the next few days, while continuing to impersonate a miner and a guard, he used the Blood Beast's essence blood and Soul fragments to begin performing a secret technique recorded in the Myriad Poison Demonic Scripture—Blood Soul Tracking!

Using the essence blood as a guide and the Soul fragment as an eye, combined with the power of the rule fragment, he began to remotely sense the specific location and path to the "black mud" area deep within the Myriad Demon Blood Pool.

The process was not smooth. The environment at the bottom of the Blood Pool was extremely complex and harsh, with powerful natural Restrictions and chaotic energy fields interfering. But relying on the profundity of the rule fragment and the general location provided by the Blood Beast, he slowly determined the final route, piece by piece, like peeling silk from a cocoon.

At the same time, through the Blood Beast's perception, he figured out the patrol routine of the overseers above, as well as the time for the next large-scale "blood offering"—that would be when the guards were most relaxed and the commotion was greatest, making it the best time for him to sneak into the Blood Pool!

Finally, late one night three days later.

The opportunity arrived!

A huge uproar and chaos suddenly erupted above the mine pit! It seemed some miners, unable to bear the suffering, had rioted, drawing large numbers of overseers away to suppress the disturbance.

Down in the passage, a new round of "blood offerings" began on time, with several teams of guards escorting large numbers of "blood offerings" down the passage.

Nightmare knew that the Blood Beast was deliberately creating commotion to cooperate with him, as agreed!

Now was the time!

He silently slipped away from the group, like a phantom melting into the shadows, avoiding all sightlines, and reached the edge of the massive Blood Pool churning with viscous blood plasma.

The extremely dense Blood Fiend Qi and resentment almost materialized, enough to drive a Golden Core Cultivator instantly insane. But Nightmare took a deep breath, circulating the Myriad Poison Demonic Scripture, feeling as if he had returned home.

He glanced at the Blood Beast, which was feigning weakness but secretly transmitting urging Divine Thought to him. He no longer hesitated, leaped, and silently submerged himself into the bottomless Myriad Demon Blood Pool, which emanated an aura of endless danger!

Viscous, scorching, icy, suffocating, the impact of countless Residual Souls and resentful wails... all sorts of extreme sensations instantly enveloped Nightmare.

Like a nimble fish, he activated his Demonic Essence Shield and rapidly descended toward the deepest part of the Blood Pool, following the route determined by Blood Soul Tracking!

karma mud, I'm coming!