Evil winds erode the soul; cleverly seize the spiritual herb.

Leaving the valley where the Lava Earth Dragon resided, Nightmare followed the guidance of his rule fragment and crept toward the place of extreme Yin marked on the map—the Yin Wind Ravine.

As he drew closer, the surrounding temperature dropped significantly, and a faint, pervasive scent of decay filled the air; even the chirping of insects and birds had completely vanished, leaving a heart-palpitating, dead silence.

According to ancient records, the Yin Wind Ravine was a bottomless rift valley that was lashed year-round by bone-eroding Yin winds, giving rise to soul-eroding mist and Corpse Puppets transformed by the contamination of Yin Qi.

This place caused immense damage to both the Divine Soul and the Physical Body, and ordinary Cultivators avoided it at all costs, but it was precisely this extreme environment that could nurture the holy medicine capable of nourishing and repairing the Divine Soul—the yin marrow grass.

Nightmare restrained his aura, and his Chaos Dao Foundation slowly circulated, containing the sliver of vitality originating from the world tree seedling, while simultaneously slightly releasing the Dao Rhyme of Annihilation to simulate a dead silence similar to the surrounding environment, making him seem as if he had merged with this eerie place.

He cautiously arrived at the edge of the Yin Wind Ravine.

Looking down, he saw black mist swirling within the deep ravine; the black mist was not stationary but slowly wriggled like a living creature—it was the soul-eroding mist!

Within the mist, one could vaguely see some stiff, twisted figures wandering aimlessly; they moved sluggishly, dressed in rags, with exposed skin that appeared cyan-black, and their eyes held no luster, only an instinctive craving for the blood and Qi of the living—Corpse Puppets!

The bone-chilling Yin wind surged up from the bottom of the ravine, blowing against his face, yet it was not a physical cold, but an icy chill that directly eroded the Divine Soul!

Nightmare's rule fragment stirred slightly, and a thin layer of Chaos halo spontaneously protected his Sea of Consciousness, isolating most of the discomfort brought by the Yin wind.

"The soul-eroding mist can corrode the Divine Soul, the Corpse Puppets have immense strength and fear no ordinary damage, and the Yin wind disturbs the spirit... truly a dangerous place," Nightmare's rule fragment calmly analyzed.

Charging in was by no means a good strategy; his power had not yet recovered, and if he were to be entangled by the Corpse Puppets and then surrounded by the soul-eroding mist, the consequences would be unimaginable.

His rule fragment locked onto a protruding platform on the side of the ravine wall, about a dozen zhang from the cliff top.

There, several small, pitch-black plants, shaped like bone marrow and flowing with a dark luster on their surfaces, swayed gently in the Yin wind—these were the yin marrow grass!

However, around that platform, there were no fewer than ten Corpse Puppets wandering, and the soul-eroding mist was even denser there than elsewhere.

"I need to lure them away..." Nightmare's rule fragment quickly deduced.

In his rule fragment space, he still had a small amount of Wind Wolf flesh and blood, and Corpse Puppets were most sensitive to fresh blood and Qi.

He took out a piece of wolf meat, and his rule fragment channeled a faint trace of the Dao Rhyme of Annihilation to attach to it, covering up most of the vitality aura while retaining only the purest temptation of blood and Qi.

Then, he sighted the wind direction, his rule fragment stirred, and he threw the piece of wolf meat in the opposite direction of the platform, toward an area with relatively more Corpse Puppets!

The wolf meat traced an arc and landed on the rock, making a slight sound.

Instantly, as if a stone had been thrown into a calm lake, the nearby Corpse Puppets paused in unison, their stiff necks turning toward the direction where the wolf meat landed, and a hint of bloodthirsty red light flickered in their hollow eyes!

"Hrr... hrr..." Low, guttural roars sounded, and the nearby Corpse Puppets, like sharks that had smelled blood, stumbled yet moved with considerable speed as they lunged toward the wolf meat!

Even the few Corpse Puppets near the platform were attracted by the commotion and shifted their feet.

Opportunity!

The moment the Corpse Puppets were lured away, Nightmare moved!

He did not jump down directly, but his rule fragment channeled the spatial charm of the void lotus seed, making his figure become elusive; as if weightless, he slid down the steep ravine wall with minimal disturbance, like a gecko crawling on a wall, heading straight for that platform!

His movements were as fast as lightning, yet silent; the power of his Chaos Dao Foundation was perfectly restrained, leaking not a sliver of vitality.

With a few leaps, he landed steadily on the platform; the yin marrow grass was right before his eyes, emitting an alluring, faint fragrance that was refreshing to the heart, yet carried a hint of icy coldness, holding an inexplicable attraction for the Divine Soul.

He did not delay in the slightest, and under the control of his rule fragment, he carefully plucked the three yin marrow grass plants with the most maturity by the roots and instantly sent them into his rule fragment space.

The entire process was smooth and fluid, without disturbing the spirituality of any of the plants.

However, the moment he plucked the last yin marrow grass—

Deep in the platform, a "Corpse Puppet" that had been curled up in the shadows, almost blending with the rock, suddenly opened its eyes!

Its eyes were not hollow but flickered with two balls of eerie green ghost fire!

The cold, sinister aura emanating from its body was far more powerful than that of ordinary Corpse Puppets, almost reaching the level of the Late Foundation Establishment Stage!

This was a "Corpse Puppet Leader" that had developed faint intelligence!

It had been lurking here all along, guarding the yin marrow grass!

"Roar!" The Corpse Puppet Leader let out a roar that did not sound human, its withered claws carrying a fierce Yin wind, striking directly at Nightmare's face! It was incredibly fast!

Nightmare's rule fragment had long been alerted!

The moment the Corpse Puppet Leader opened its eyes, he had already sensed it!

He did not take the blow head-on; as he retracted his hand from picking the herbs, his body drifted backward like a willow catkin, and his rule fragment channeled the sliver of extreme Yin Qi emitted by the just-harvested yin marrow grass, mixing it with his Chaos Dao Foundation to lay down a layer of distorted force field in front of him!

The Corpse Puppet Leader's sharp claws struck the force field, emitting a teeth-grinding friction sound, and its eerie green ghost fire flickered violently, unable to break through for a moment!

The force field formed by that extreme Yin Qi was of the same Origin as it, and instead interfered with its perception and attack to a certain extent.

Taking this opportunity, Nightmare's rule fragment locked onto a protrusion on the cliff wall above, and the sliver of Wind Origin from the Wolf King in his rule fragment space burned once more, his figure lunging upward violently!

The Corpse Puppet Leader roared angrily, directing the other disturbed Corpse Puppets to close in, but it seemed to be under some kind of restriction and could not leave the platform too far, only able to watch helplessly as Nightmare climbed up rapidly like a nimble ape.

The soul-eroding mist churned, attempting to wrap around him, but when it touched the layer of aura containing the meaning of Annihilation and Chaos around Nightmare, it retreated like snow meeting the sun, unable to get close!

Nightmare successfully climbed back to the cliff top and, without looking back, with the boost of his rule fragment, pushed his speed to the limit and quickly moved away from the range of the Yin Wind Ravine.

Not until he could no longer feel that cold, sinister aura did he stop his steps, using his rule fragment to look inward to confirm that he had not been contaminated by the strange energy of the soul-eroding mist, only then did he heave a sigh of relief.

Although the process was dangerous, his goal had been achieved; in his rule fragment space, three yin marrow grass plants lay quietly, emitting fluctuations that nourished the Divine Soul, and with them, combined with other medicinal materials, the recovery speed of his Divine Soul injuries would be greatly accelerated.

He looked back in the direction of the Yin Wind Ravine, his rule fragment calm; this exploration had once again verified the adaptability and potential of the Chaos Dao Foundation in this realm, as whether it was the earth fire elemental force of the Lava Earth Dragon or the extreme Yin Qi of the Yin Wind Ravine, the Chaos Dao Foundation could, to a certain extent, simulate, resist, and even utilize them.

"Some of the resources have been prepared; next, it is time to return and go into seclusion to repair my rule fragment and Divine Soul in one go, restoring my strength to a level sufficient to deal with Han Li."

Nightmare's figure flashed and disappeared into the dense forest, returning in the direction of Shiquan Village.