Survival of the fittest

Nightmare pushed his speed to the extreme, even burning his vital blood essence again, which was already depleted from provoking the Void Demon Whale. The Demonic Shadow Evasion Technique, combined with the profound evasion principles of the Flowing Cloud Illusory Annihilation Art, allowed him to weave through the shattered Void Realm and energy storms like an elusive phantom.

However, the pursuers behind him were equally terrifying!

Elder Mo Sha was, after all, an old monster at the Soul Transformation Stage. Although he was tightly entangled by the Void Demon Whale and couldn't pursue in person, he furiously separated an incredibly condensed Divine Sense Incarnation!

The Incarnation was entirely black, with a blurry face, only a pair of eyes burning with rage clearly visible. Its strength had surprisingly reached the Peak Nascent Soul stage, clinging to Nightmare relentlessly and continuously unleashing streaks of black energy that tore through space!

Even more troublesome was that the Void Demon Whale seemed to have recognized Nightmare, the 'little bug' who had initially provoked it. While frantically attacking the altar and Elder Mo Sha's main body, it also diverted some of its attention, occasionally unleashing a torrent of Void Realm energy capable of annihilating mountains!

Blocked from the front (Divine Sense Incarnation), pursued from the rear (aftermath of the Demonic Whale), and surrounded by an extremely treacherous chaotic environment!

Nightmare was in an unprecedented crisis!

He could only push his Divine Sense perception to its limit, dancing on the edge of a knife, narrowly avoiding attacks from all directions. Each dodge was heart-stopping, and his Demonic Essence was consumed wildly like a flood breaking its dam.

This can't go on! He'll be exhausted to death sooner or later!

Nightmare's eyes glinted fiercely as he quickly scanned his surroundings, trying to find a glimmer of hope.

His luck seemed to have finally run out. Ahead was an extremely wide, unobstructed void, with no ruins or debris to utilize. Behind him, Elder Mo Sha's Divine Sense Incarnation was already closing in, a black Sky-Rending Slash spanning a thousand zhang already unleashed, sealing off all his evasion space!

There was no avoiding it!

"You little bastard! Stay here for this Venerable One!" the Divine Sense Incarnation roared hoarsely.

A trace of desperate madness flashed in Nightmare's eyes. He was about to recklessly detonate part of his Nascent Soul cultivation and use a forbidden evasion technique!

Just at this critical moment—

A seemingly ordinary, inconspicuous gray stone slab floating with the energy currents beneath his feet suddenly vibrated slightly!

Immediately after, countless intricate ancient runes, similar in style to the flowing cloud secret edict and the Cang Clan ruins, lit up on the slab's surface! A faint but exceptionally pure spatial fluctuation emanated from it!

"This is?!" Nightmare's heart leaped. An idea struck him, and without thinking, he stomped his foot heavily in the center of the stone slab, frantically injecting his remaining Demonic Essence into it!

Buzz—!

The runes on the stone slab instantly flared brightly, erupting in dazzling white light, forming a small teleportation light array that enveloped him!

"Trying to run?! Don't even think about it!" Elder Mo Sha's Divine Sense Incarnation was shocked and enraged, and the black Sky-Rending Slash accelerated its descent!

Boom!!!

The massive black light slash struck the teleportation light screen fiercely!

The light screen twisted and flickered violently, emitting cracking sounds of being overwhelmed! But it ultimately resisted for a moment!

And it was this momentary delay that allowed the teleportation to complete!

Swish!

Nightmare's figure, along with the stone slab, instantly vanished into the white light!

Elder Mo Sha's Sky-Rending Slash ultimately only struck the Void Realm, churning that space into even greater Chaos.

"Ah!!! You little beast! No matter if you flee to the ends of the earth, this Venerable One will surely extract your soul and refine your spirit!!" The Divine Sense Incarnation let out an unwilling roar, but could no longer sense any trace of Nightmare, and finally had no choice but to dissipate... A dizzying sensation, a tearing feeling of distorted space, came over him.

Nightmare desperately maintained his clear mind, feeling as if he had been thrown into a rapidly spinning drum. After an unknown duration of bumping, he was suddenly 'thrown' out, heavily crashing onto the hard ground.

Pfft!

He spat out another mouthful of blood, feeling as if all his bones were about to fall apart. His Meridians were stinging, and his Nascent Soul seemed somewhat listless. The continuous high-intensity escape and the final activation of that strange stone slab had almost exhausted all his strength.

He forced himself to sit up, cautiously surveying his surroundings.

This seemed to be a completely enclosed stone chamber. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all constructed from that inconspicuous gray stone, seamlessly fitted, without any doors or windows. The stone chamber was empty, with only the stone slab he had just used to teleport embedded in the center of the floor. The runes on the stone slab were now completely dim.

A timeless, deathly silence permeated the stone chamber, yet the air was unusually fresh, containing a peculiar and gentle energy that brought a sense of comfort to his parched Meridians and Nascent Soul.

"Where is this...?" Nightmare was filled with doubt and surprise. That random teleportation had actually sent him into such a confined space?

He tried to probe the walls with his Divine Sense, but found that his Divine Sense couldn't penetrate the gray stone. He then used all his strength to strike the wall; a force capable of splitting mountains and rocks had no effect, not even leaving a white mark!

The sturdiness of this stone chamber was beyond imagination!

Had he become a turtle in a jar?

Nightmare didn't panic. Instead, he sat cross-legged, first taking out a few Medicinal Pills for healing and consuming them, then fully circulating his Cultivation Technique to restore his Demonic Essence and injuries.

During this process, he carefully sensed the stone chamber. Soon, he discovered something unusual.

The gentle energy within the stone chamber seemed to slowly seep out from all directions, and ultimately, it subtly flowed towards the embedded stone slab in the center.

His gaze once again fell upon the stone slab that had saved his life.

He walked to the stone slab, squatted down, and carefully studied the runes on it. These runes were more ancient and complex than any Formation runes he had ever seen, yet he could vaguely discern some traces of Immortal Master Flowing Cloud's Formation system and Cang Clan patterns.

He tried to inject a trace of Demonic Essence into the stone slab again.

The stone slab remained unresponsive.

He then tried injecting Azure Qi and Blood.

This time, the stone slab glowed faintly, but then dimmed again.

"Is it because there isn't enough energy? Or is the method wrong?" Nightmare pondered for a moment, recalling the critical moment before the teleportation. At that time, in his desperation, he had poured in all his power without reservation.

He pressed his palm against the stone slab again. This time, he simultaneously mobilized Demonic Essence, Azure Qi and Blood, and even a trace of the Power of Annihilation he had just refined. The three forces carefully fused together and slowly injected.

Buzz—!

The stone slab suddenly erupted with brilliant light! Even more dazzling than during the previous teleportation!

The ancient runes on the stone slab seemed to come alive, rapidly flowing and combining, finally projecting a hazy star chart that floated above the stone slab!

This star chart was vast and boundless, with most of its areas dark and unlit. Only at the edges were three light points faintly shimmering.

One of the light points appeared dark gold, giving Nightmare an incredibly familiar resonance, clearly originating from the same source as the Azure Qi and Blood within him! Its position seemed to point towards... the direction of the Lost Village Forbidden Ground!

The second light point appeared chaotic, constantly shifting, its position blurry, but to Nightmare, it felt similar to the depths of the Gui Xu Sea Eye!

And the third light point displayed a 'nothingness' color he had never seen before, as if transcending all colors. Its position... was actually beneath this stone chamber?! Or rather, this entire stone chamber was this light point?

Just as Nightmare was shocked, a fragmented stream of information from within the star chart surged into his mind through his palm.

The information was fragmented and filled with an ancient sense of vicissitude:

"...Observation...Positioning...anchor points..."

"...Where the 'Source' lies...Opportunity for transcendence..."

"...Three keys in place...The gate opens..."

"...Beware...the 'Sky Patrolmen'..."

The information abruptly ended there.

The star chart also dissipated, and the stone slab returned to its plain, unadorned appearance.

Nightmare stood rooted to the spot, his heart churning with stormy waves!

This stone slab, this stone chamber, was not a sanctuary at all, but an ancient teleportation array, or rather, a locator and control node!

The three shimmering light points on the star chart represented three crucial 'anchor points'?

Was the Cang Clan finger bone in the Lost Village Forbidden Ground one?

Was a certain place deep within the Gui Xu Sea Eye the second?

And was this stone chamber itself the third?

"Three keys in place... The gate opens..." Could it be that collecting some kind of key from these three anchor points would open a gate? A gate leading to where the 'Source' lies, to the 'opportunity for transcendence'?

And what did the last phrase, "Beware the Sky Patrolmen," mean? Sky Patrolmen... it sounded like some kind of existence that maintained order? Did it refer to The Fisherman, or to... something even more terrifying?

Too little information, too many mysteries.

But Nightmare at least understood one thing: he had stumbled upon a clue concerning the ultimate secret of this realm! This secret was likely closely related to the fragmented Heavenly Dao, the ancient war, and the annihilation of the Cang Clan!

And he was now trapped within the third anchor point.

He once again tried to study the stone slab and the stone chamber, attempting to find a way out. Since he could get in, he must be able to get out.

He repeatedly tried injecting different energy combinations into the stone slab, but the star chart no longer appeared. It seemed that each activation required immense energy, or had special conditions.

Just as he was at his wit's end, the Treasure-Seeking Spirit Weasel on his shoulder suddenly jumped down, sniffing vigorously at a floor tile in the corner of the stone chamber, then extended its small paw and scratched at that floor tile.

"Hmm?" Nightmare's heart stirred, and he walked over.

He carefully examined the floor tile and found that it seemed slightly looser than the surrounding tiles. He pressed down firmly.

Click.

A faint mechanical sound.

Immediately after, on the opposite wall, a piece of gray stone that had been seamlessly fitted silently slid open, revealing a narrow passage just wide enough for one person!

Behind the passage was not an exit, but an even smaller secret chamber!

Nightmare's heart filled with joy, and he cautiously stepped into the secret chamber.

Inside the secret chamber, there was nothing else but an ancient stone altar placed in the center.

On the stone altar were three items:

A damaged, dark gold crown, seemingly woven from fragments of stars. Although severely broken, it exuded a terrifying, ancient aura, resonating with Azure Qi and Blood.

A white token, neither gold nor jade in material, with a surface as smooth as a mirror and swirling mists seemingly within. On the back of the token was carved an ancient character for 'cloud'.

And a Jade Slip.

Nightmare first picked up the dark gold crown. The moment his fingers touched it, the crown transformed into a stream of light and directly merged into his glabella, appearing above his Nascent Soul. Although damaged, it cast specks of dark gold light, nourishing his Nascent Soul and Divine Soul!

[Obtained the incomplete 'Cang Star Crown' (???), slightly increasing Divine Sense strength and Azure Qi and Blood vitality.]

Next, he picked up the white token. The token felt warm and smooth to the touch, but he couldn't refine it or inject energy into it, so he didn't know its purpose. He temporarily put it away.

Finally, he picked up the Jade Slip. His Divine Sense sank into it.

The content of the Jade Slip was not a Cultivation Technique, but rather like a diary or experimental record. The text on it was an extremely ancient Cang Clan script. Fortunately, he had mastered some of it when he received the Azure Qi and Blood Legacy.

The recorder called himself "Starscar" and seemed to be a "observer" of the Cang Clan.

The record was intermittent:

"...Third hundred seventy-ninth observation of the epoch... 'Source Sea' fluctuations abnormal... 'Sky Patrolmen' activity frequent..."

"...They have accelerated the harvesting process... All spirits of the myriad realms are food..."

"...The 'Reverse Scale Plan' initiated... We are commanded to forge 'three gates'... To create 'places of refuge from tribulation' in the cracks of the myriad realms... To continue the spark of civilization..."

"...This is the 'Third Observation Post' and also the foundation of the 'third gate'... However, the 'gate key' is lost... Fearing changes to the plan..."

"...The great tribulation is approaching... I shall fall into slumber here... Future generations... If you can reach this place... Gather the three 'gate keys'... Restart the three gates... There may be a glimmer of hope..."

"...Beware... beware... the 'Fishermen'... or perhaps... the 'Shepherds'..."

The record ended completely here.

Nightmare put down the Jade Slip, speechless for a long time.

The amount of information was immense, deeply shocking his mind.

Source Sea? Sky Patrolmen? Harvesting? Myriad realm food? Reverse Scale Plan? Three gates? places of refuge from tribulation? Fishermen? Shepherds?

Every word contained astonishing secrets!

He now roughly understood. The Cang Clan seemed to have foreseen some kind of "great tribulation" sweeping across the myriad realms (very likely related to the fragmented Heavenly Dao and the ancient war), formulated the "Reverse Scale Plan," and built the so-called "three gates" and "places of refuge from tribulation," attempting to preserve the spark of civilization. And the stone chamber he was currently in was the foundation or observation post of the third gate.

And the "gate key" seemed to be the key to activating these three gates. The Lost Village, the Gui Xu Sea Eye, and his current location each had an anchor point, perhaps corresponding to a gate key?

Was the white token in his hand one of the so-called "gate keys"? And where were the other two?

"Fishermen" and "Shepherds"... This instantly made him think of The Fisherman organization! Could it be that their so-called "fishing" truly aimed to find these lost "gate keys"? Or were they themselves the pawns of the "Sky Patrolmen," responsible for thwarting the "Reverse Scale Plan"?

All the clues seemed to gradually connect, pointing towards a grander and more terrifying truth.

Nightmare felt an unprecedented sense of urgency and mission.

He must quickly find a way out, gather the three gate keys, and uncover the truth of all this!

His gaze once again turned to the narrow passage and the stone chamber outside.

The way out must be here!

The way out must be here!