Post-war cleanup and reorganization of the Demon Alliance

Nightmare's figure, like a fallen black star, plummeted back into the devastated Ten Thousand Demon Valley.

Both inside and outside the valley, it was a scene of utter ruin.

The earth cracked, mountains collapsed, and the originally swirling Devilish Qi was thrown into Chaos by the scorching Heavenly Dao aura and the lingering, undissipated ripples of the Reverse Dao Power.

The air was filled with a pungent, charred smell, the scent of blood, and wisps of persistent golden Heavenly Dao energy residue.

Like stubborn moss, it clung to rocks, soil, and even the wounds of injured Cultivators, continuously emitting weak yet unsettling corrosive fluctuations.

Besides these energy residues, something more troublesome wandered the battlefield—Yao Beasts that had lost their sanity after being infected by the violent Heavenly Dao energy, as well as a small number of Demonic Cultivators who had been watching the battle or were too close, having had their minds shattered by the shockwaves and also contaminated by the Heavenly Dao aura.

Their eyes were crimson gold, their bodies exuded chaotic and violent Qi, and they attacked every living thing around them indiscriminately, becoming the greatest safety hazard after the battle.

Nightmare stood in mid-air, his pitch-black gaze sweeping across this tragic battlefield.

There was no expression on his face, only a trace of cold determination flashing deep in his eyes.

“Clean up the battlefield.” His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached the ears of every Demonic Cultivator below who could still move, carrying unquestionable majesty.

“All those infected by Heavenly Dao energy who have lost their sanity, whether Yao Beast or Cultivator, are to be executed without exception. Leave no future trouble.”

The order was given without the slightest hesitation or room for negotiation.

Decisive killing was the most direct and effective way to handle this at the moment.

Leaving these infected beings alone would only make them “eyes and ears” for the remnants of the Heavenly Dao, and they might even be reactivated by the heavenly dao core one day, causing destruction from within.

Mercy? In matters involving fundamental survival, it was the most useless thing.

The Valley Master of the Ten Thousand Demon Valley, already injured, had organized manpower and immediately responded upon hearing this: “Obey the Master's decree!”

Soon, teams of elite Demonic Cultivators, led by Soul Transformation Stage leaders, began cold-bloodedly cleaning up the battlefield.

They coordinated perfectly.

For the Yao Beasts and low-level Cultivators who had fallen into madness and acted purely on instinct, they often attacked in groups to eliminate them quickly, avoiding entanglement.

For those infected ones who still retained a shred of reason and tried to struggle or beg for mercy, the Demonic Cultivators' eyes held complexity, but their hands did not hesitate—Nightmare's command was paramount; they knew deeply that any softness now could plant a fatal seed of disaster.

Meanwhile, Nightmare's Divine Sense, like an invisible giant net, covered the entire Far West Land and extended to other regions of the Mortal Realm.

He “saw” more.

In some remote corners of the Mortal Realm, forces that had originally relied on the Heavenly Dao, or had secret connections with the previously destroyed heavenly dao avatar (perhaps through Lin Hao or other channels), were now panic-stricken.

Some small Righteous Path Sects that claimed to “act on behalf of Heaven” kept their mountain gates closed, with their mountain-protecting Formations fully activated.

Sect Masters and Elders gathered together, arguing with pale faces about whether to move the entire Sect to hide immediately or to take the initiative to go to the Ten Thousand Demon Valley to confess their crimes.

Some deeper hidden strongholds, suspected to be left behind by Heavenly Dao Envoys, began to quietly transfer resources and destroy traces, attempting to erase their existence.

These were all potential “lackeys of the Heavenly Dao.”

Perhaps their strength was not great, but like tumors and sores, they had to be eradicated.

“Pass the order.” Nightmare said coldly to the Valley Master of the Ten Thousand Demon Valley standing by, as well as several newly promoted Demonic Path giants who had performed outstandingly in the recent great battle (new leaders of forces like the original Profound Yin Sect and Blood River Sect).

“From this moment on, send out elite squads, holding my ‘Dao Reversal Demonic Seal’, to clear out all known forces and residual strongholds in the Mortal Realm that are attached to the Heavenly Dao.

The list will be given to you later.

If you meet resistance, kill.

If they surrender... abolish their cultivation, concentrate them under guard, and wait for unified disposal after the war.”

He raised his hand and carved into the void.

Black runes condensed from the Dao Reversal Demonic Star Flame fell into the hands of the Valley Master and others.

This rune was not only a token but also contained a trace of Nightmare's will and power, having a very strong sensing and suppressing effect on the Heavenly Dao aura, which could help the cleanup teams identify targets and break Restrictions.

“We respectfully obey the Master's command!” The Valley Master and the others received the order with awe, a ruthless look flashing in their eyes.

This was a great opportunity to consolidate victory and purge the Mortal Realm, and it was also a moment to show loyalty to Nightmare.

Over the next few days, the war machine of the Ten Thousand Demon Valley operated efficiently once again.

Internally, they treated the wounded and repaired damaged buildings and Formations.

Especially the core array base of the Dao Reversing Heaven Extinguishing Array, under Nightmare's personal guidance, combined with the insights from the great battle and the looted heavenly dao avatar fragment Materials, was undergoing deeper strengthening and reconstruction, with its power and stability reaching a new level.

Externally, elite squads led by Nascent Soul and Soul Transformation Cultivators, like unsheathed sharp swords, carried the Dao Reversal Demonic Seal and rushed to all parts of the Mortal Realm.

Wherever they went, they carried out thunderous sweeps against those marked Heavenly Dao affiliated forces.

Those who resisted, under the suppression of the Dao Reversal Demonic Seal, often could not even organize decent resistance before being quickly defeated and beheaded.

Those who surrendered had their cultivation Sealed and were escorted back to the Far West Land like cargo.

These actions not only completely eradicated the potential threats of the Heavenly Dao in the Mortal Realm but also brought massive spoils of war to the Ten Thousand Demon Valley—Spirit Stones, mineral deposits, Spirit Medicines, classics, and Magic Treasures accumulated by various Sects...

Especially those special items related to the Heavenly Dao, broken sacred images, and Jade Slips recording Heavenly Dao sacrifices or sensing methods, although useless or even harmful to ordinary Demonic Cultivators, had no small reference value for Nightmare's research on the Heavenly Dao and the perfection of his Reverse Dao Power.

Nightmare handed these resources over to the Valley Master for unified allocation.

Part of it was used for the reconstruction of the Ten Thousand Demon Valley and the strengthening of the Formations, part was used to reward meritorious officials and compensate for war losses, and another part was taken directly into his own pocket, especially those Materials containing Heavenly Dao aura or special Laws, which would serve as reserves for his subsequent Cultivation and Artifact Refining.

After dealing with these urgent external affairs, Nightmare handed over the daily management and rest of the Alliance entirely to the Valley Master of the Ten Thousand Demon Valley.

He himself returned to the depths of the Dao Palace, to the quiet room where he had set up layers of Restrictions.

In the center of the quiet room, Nightmare sat cross-legged.

Floating in front of him were three things: a small pile of dark golden crystals emitting pure Heavenly Dao aura (refined from the Origin of the heavenly dao avatar fragments), a few broken Magical Artifacts of simple style covered in Heavenly Dao runes but already dim and lusterless (spoils obtained from the cleanup), and the phantom of the star dao fruit that was slowly rotating in his Sea of Consciousness, emitting gentle starlight.

He needed time to completely digest and absorb the massive Origin of the heavenly dao avatar, stabilize his cultivation at the Middle Stage of Undergoing Tribulation, and integrate the insights from the battle and the looted Heavenly Dao mysteries.

At the same time, more importantly, he needed to use the star dao fruit to deduce the only path to survival—the feasible method and specific route to attack the “Heavenly Dao Hub” where the heavenly dao core was located!

Attacking the heavenly dao core was by no means as simple as recklessly tearing through space and killing his way over.

It involved Transmigration through boundary walls, sailing through unknown Law Domains, and the inevitable guard forces that were far beyond the level of the Mortal Realm.

He needed as much information and preparation as possible.

Nightmare took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and sank his mind into his Sea of Consciousness to establish the deepest connection with the star dao fruit.

His vast Divine Sense and Reverse Dao Power, like trickling streams, poured into the dao fruit, urging it to carry out deductions and sensing beyond the limits of the Mortal Realm.

Time passed quietly in the quiet room.

I don't know how long it had been, but under Nightmare's closed eyelids, his eyeballs moved slightly, his brows sometimes furrowed and sometimes relaxed.

Vast and chaotic information flows were fed back from the star dao fruit.

Most of it was fragmented, blurry, and dangerous scenes about boundary wall turbulence and the Chaos Void, but a few key information points gradually became clear and stable.

Finally, Nightmare slowly opened his eyes.

In his pitch-black pupils, a deep and ancient star chart phantom was reflected.

On the star chart, three light points were particularly bright, pulling each other along a certain mysterious trajectory.

“three keys of dao reversal...” He whispered the key information interpreted from the star dao fruit.

It turned out that if one wanted to reach and shake the Heavenly Dao Hub relatively safely, it was not without a trick.

The sages of the ancient Reverse Path (perhaps beings at the level of the Lord of the Stars) had left behind a contingency plan, forging the “three keys of dao reversal”, which were hidden in extremely dangerous secret places in the Mortal Realm, Spirit Realm, and Immortal Realm (or different dimensional spaces corresponding to their levels).

Collecting the three keys could open a “Reverse Dao Secret Path” that was relatively stable and could to some extent avoid Heavenly Dao monitoring and boundary wall risks, leading straight to the outside of the Heavenly Pivot!

And according to the clearest sensing of the star dao fruit at this moment, the first dao reversal key was in the Mortal Realm, in a forbidden area called the “Abyss of Return to Ruins”!

A flash of brilliance appeared in Nightmare's eyes.

Abyss of Return to Ruins... He had heard a little about this place.

Located in the far south of the Mortal Realm, it was known as the place where all things ended.

The Evil Qi of the return to ruins filled the air, eroding everything, and even space was extremely unstable.

It was one of the forbidden areas in the Mortal Realm that was recognized as a place of no return.

Hiding the dao reversal key here was consistent with the description of an “extremely dangerous secret place.”

“It seems that the first stop after the rest will be this Abyss of Return to Ruins.” Nightmare made up his mind.

Attacking the heavenly dao core was imminent, but blind suicide was not his wish.

The appearance of these “three keys of dao reversal” undoubtedly gave him a more actionable plan.

He calmed his mind and looked at the Heavenly Dao origin crystal in front of him again.

Before attacking the Heavenly Dao Hub, he needed to become stronger.

And this Origin refined from the heavenly dao avatar was the best resource.

No longer hesitating, Nightmare opened his mouth and inhaled.

The pile of dark golden crystals turned into a stream of light and submerged into his mouth.

Immediately, the Dao Reversal Demonic Star Flame rose from within his body, wrapping him into a pitch-black fire cocoon.

Inside the fire cocoon, the forces of destruction and rebirth collided and merged fiercely.

Inside the Ten Thousand Demon Valley, reconstruction and rest were proceeding in an orderly manner.

Outside the valley, the operation to clear out the remnants of the Heavenly Dao was nearing its end.

After experiencing a catastrophe and a change of power, the Mortal Realm fell into a strange, short-lived calm before the storm.

Everyone knew that the Lord of the Reverse Path would not stop his steps.

A bigger storm was brewing.

And the next stop of the storm would be the one that devoured everything—the Abyss of Return to Ruins.