Searching for the key in the Ruins, blocking the enemy in the Abyss

The rest and reconstruction of Ten Thousand Demon Valley proceeded in an orderly manner under the Valley Master's coordination.

The Dao Reversing Heaven Extinguishing Array was repaired and reinforced, and the Demonic Flame force field shrouding the Far West Land was more stable and profound than before the great battle, faintly repelling all forces not of the Reverse Path system, including those lingering remnants of Heavenly Dao aura.

Nightmare had thoroughly refined the Origin of the heavenly dao avatar in the quiet room.

His cultivation at the Middle Stage of the Tribulation Crossing Stage was now stable, his aura restrained like an abyss, with only the occasional black starlight flashing in his eyes, revealing the terrifying power of destruction contained within his body.

His comprehension of the Reverse Path Law, especially in terms of restraining and reversing the power of the Heavenly Dao, had reached a new height.

It was time to leave.

There was no fanfare, no farewell ceremony.

On a gloomy morning, Nightmare's figure quietly disappeared from the Dao Palace, and the next moment, he appeared in the high sky thousands of miles away from Ten Thousand Demon Valley.

He identified the direction, the space around his body twisted slightly, turning into a black thread almost invisible to the naked eye, speeding towards the southernmost part of the Mortal Realm like a bolt of lightning.

The Return to Ruins Abyss.

This name was occasionally mentioned in the ancient books of the Mortal Realm, always associated with words like "dead land," "end," and "point of no return."

It was located at the southernmost tip of the Mortal Realm continent, deep within a fragmented sea area shrouded in eternal gray fog.

It was said that this was the final destination of matter and energy, where even space itself was constantly collapsing and returning to nothingness.

The pervasive "Return to Ruins Evil Qi" could ignore most defenses and directly erode the Divine Soul and Origin of living beings, making it a forbidden land that even Tribulation Crossing Stage Cultivators were unwilling to step into lightly.

Nightmare's speed was extremely fast, and a few days later, he approached the sea of death shrouded in gray fog.

Before truly stepping into it, a breath of annihilation, withering, and the end of all things that made the Divine Soul uneasy rushed towards him.

The sea in front was no longer blue but a murky dark gray; the seawater seemed to have lost its vitality, viscous and dead silent.

The sky was covered by thick, rolling lead-gray fog, blocking all heavenly light.

As far as the eye could see, there were no islands or signs of life, only endless, gray darkness that seemed to devour all hope.

Here, the Spiritual Qi was so thin it was almost non-existent, replaced by a more primitive and dangerous "Return to Ruins Evil Qi."

This Evil Qi was formless and intangible, yet pervasive.

Just by being on its edge, Nightmare felt a slight "hissing" sound coming from his body-protecting Demonic Flame, as if it were being slowly corroded and worn away.

Probing with his Divine Sense was like falling into a quagmire, greatly restricted and interfered with.

"It certainly lives up to its reputation."

Nightmare's eyes narrowed slightly, but there was no fear.

With a thought, the silent Nidao Demonic Flame on his body surface rose quietly, its color becoming deeper and more restrained.

The flames no longer flared outwards but clung tightly to his skin, forming a thin, constantly flowing black armor.

When the Return to Ruins Evil Qi touched this layer of Demonic Flame armor, the speed of corrosion slowed down sharply, and there was even a faint tendency for it to be refined in reverse by the "reversal" and "devouring" properties contained within the Demonic Flame.

The Reverse Dao Power could restrain and reverse even the Heavenly Dao, and it had extremely strong resistance to this Return to Ruins Evil Qi, even being able to use it as a kind of alternative energy source, though the conversion efficiency was extremely low and the process was dangerous.

Nightmare did not hesitate, took a step, and his figure submerged into the thick gray fog.

His vision became extremely poor, and his Divine Sense was compressed to a range of dozens of zhang around him.

The seawater was dead silent, with only the gray fog surging silently, as if hiding countless man-eating monsters.

A sense of oppression and panic stemming from the instinct of life quietly sprouted, but it was easily crushed by Nightmare's cold and firm Dao Heart.

He followed the vague guidance transmitted by the star dao fruit, penetrating towards the Core Zone where the Evil Qi was most intense and the spatial fluctuations were the most chaotic.

After traveling for about an hour, the surrounding gray fog suddenly became turbulent, as if stirred by an invisible giant force!

The originally dead-silent dark gray seawater beneath his feet suddenly set off monstrous waves without warning!

These waves were not driven by the wind but originated from the awakening of some massive existence deep in the seabed!

Roar—!!!

A low, ancient roar, as if coming from the end of the prehistoric era, came from the depths of the seabed, shaking the surrounding gray fog and causing the seawater to roll backward!

A huge black shadow, larger than a mountain, broke through the sea surface and slowly rose!

It was a Giant Kun!

Its entire body presented a dark gray color that blended with the surrounding environment, its skin as rough as rock weathered by eons, and its massive body almost blocked out the already dim heavenly light.

The most heart-palpitating thing was its eyes, hollow and dead, without any of the brilliance that life should have, only pure Return to Ruins Evil Qi circulating and boiling within!

It opened its giant mouth, and there were no sharp teeth inside, only a rotating dark vortex that seemed to devour all light—the very manifestation of highly condensed Return to Ruins Evil Qi!

Return to Ruins Mysterious Kun!

An ancient guardian Vicious Beast that fed on Return to Ruins Evil Qi, sleeping in the periphery of the abyss, with strength comparable to the Early Tribulation Crossing Stage, and in this home-field environment, its difficulty was far beyond those of the same rank!

It clearly regarded Nightmare, this intruder, as an alien object invading its territory, or... a delicious snack?

Without any probing, the Return to Ruins Mysterious Kun's massive tail swung violently, carrying earth-shattering force and rich Return to Ruins Evil Qi, slamming down on Nightmare's head!

The seawater was stirred by it, forming countless dark gray water tornadoes containing corrosive power, sealing off Nightmare's retreat from all directions!

Faced with this massive attack, Nightmare's expression remained unchanged.

"Beast, you dare to block my way?"

He gave a cold snort, neither dodging nor avoiding, raised his right hand, spread his fingers, and made a virtual grasp in the air towards the falling giant tail and the incoming water tornadoes!

"Reverse Path—Burning Evil!"

Boom!

The Nidao Demonic Flame clinging to his body surface erupted suddenly!

But this time, the flames did not spread, but turned into countless finely interwoven black fire nets, centering on him, and suddenly opened towards all directions!

Wherever the fire net passed, the Return to Ruins Evil Qi water tornadoes containing terrifying corrosive power, as if meeting their nemesis, made violent "hissing" sounds, and were quickly cut, burned, and purified by the fire net!

The fire net did not diminish in momentum, accurately meeting the giant tail slammed down by the Mysterious Kun!

Sizzle—!!!

It was like a red-hot branding iron pressed against oil-soaked leather!

The moment the dark gray giant tail touched the black fire net, it made a teeth-grinding sound!

The Mysterious Kun's tough skin, which could withstand the bombardment of ordinary Magic Treasure, actually quickly became charred and cracked under the burning of the Nidao Demonic Flame!

Even more terrifying was that the "reversal" property contained in the flames began to reverse-decompose and neutralize the source of the Return to Ruins Evil Qi that it relied on for survival within its body!

"Roar!!!"

The Return to Ruins Mysterious Kun let out a painful and angry roar, and for the first time, an emotion similar to "terror" appeared in its hollow, dead eyes!

It instinctively wanted to retract its giant tail and break free from the fire net.

But would Nightmare give it a chance?

"Bind!"

Nightmare's five fingers tightened suddenly!

The huge black fire net contracted violently, like the toughest beast-trapping net, tightly entwining and binding the Mysterious Kun's giant tail and even half of its body!

The Demonic Flame burned and eroded crazily, drilling into its body through the gaps in its skin, destroying its Evil Qi circulation!

The Mysterious Kun struggled frantically, stirring up the sea and sky, boiling the gray fog, but the more it struggled, the tighter the fire net bound, and the faster the Demonic Flame eroded!

"Extinguish!"

Nightmare's eyes turned cold, his left hand clenched into a fist, and he punched into the air!

On the fist front, a point of extreme black starlight condensed, then turned into a highly condensed black fist force, ignoring spatial distance, instantly spanning hundreds of zhang, and accurately bombarded into the giant mouth of the Mysterious Kun, which was wide open due to pain, striking directly at its "Core" located deep in its head, which was composed of highly condensed Return to Ruins Evil Qi crystals!

Pfft!

A muffled sound.

The Mysterious Kun's massive body stiffened suddenly, and its struggle stopped abruptly.

In its hollow eyes, the last bit of Evil Qi light quickly dimmed and extinguished.

Immediately after, with its head as the center, black cracks spread out, and the light of the Nidao Demonic Flame shone through the cracks.

Boom!

The Mysterious Kun's mountain-like body, as if exploded from the inside, burst with a bang!

But it was not flesh and blood flying everywhere, but turned into gray light spots scattering across the sky, which were thoroughly purified, quickly merging into the surrounding gray fog and seawater, and disappearing.

Only a small fist-sized gray crystal core (Mysterious Kun origin crystal) with a crystal-clear texture but emitting pure Return to Ruins Evil Qi fluctuations remained in place, which Nightmare casually took into his hand.

"Not bad as an Artifact Refining Material."

Nightmare glanced at the crystal core and put it away.

The Return to Ruins Origin contained in this crystal core was quite pure.

Although its power attributes did not completely match his, if refined with the Reverse Path method, it might be possible to forge a treasure with special corrosive and annihilation effects.

Killing the Mysterious Kun took no more than ten breaths.

Nightmare didn't even leave the spot.

He continued to move forward, the surrounding gray fog seemed to become thicker and colder due to the death of the Mysterious Kun, as if containing deeper malice.

But his steps were firm, with the Nidao Demonic Flame protecting his body, immune to all evil.

He went deeper for an unknown amount of time, and the surrounding scenery began to change.

The seawater disappeared, replaced by an endless "Void Realm" composed of gray mist, and beneath his feet was a twisted and unstable spatial layer that seemed ready to collapse at any moment.

This was already the middle layer of the Return to Ruins Abyss, where the Return to Ruins Evil Qi was so dense it almost condensed into liquid, and its corrosive power was terrifyingly high.

An ordinary Soul Transformation Cultivator here would probably not be able to last more than a short while before their Divine Soul melted away.

Just in the depths of this chaotic Void Realm, three figures emitting pale golden light, out of place with the surrounding gray deathly silence, floated there quietly, like three stone statues that had waited for eons.

They wore ancient golden armor, similar in style to the previous heavenly dao avatar, but more ancient and simple, and the light was much dimmer, as if their energy was about to be exhausted.

Their faces were shrouded in the shadows of their helmets, making them unclear, with only three pairs of cold, emotionless pale golden eyes locking onto Nightmare, who was walking slowly.

The remaining guardians of the Heavenly Dao!

Peak Spirit Transformation cultivation, the three were connected in mind and connected in energy, faintly forming a battle formation.

They were the back-up plan laid out by the heavenly dao avatar a long time ago, lurking here, guarding the dao reversal key, while monitoring the anomalies of the Return to Ruins Abyss.

"Reverse Dao Practitioner... stop."

The guardian in the center made a mechanically cold voice, using the ancient Heavenly Dao language, "This place... is forbidden. Retreat... or... be annihilated."

The other two guardians raised their arms at the same time, and spears formed by pale golden Heavenly Dao Law condensed in their hands, the tips pointing directly at Nightmare.

Nightmare stopped, his eyes swept over these three guardians, and the corners of his mouth curled into a cold arc.

"Watchdogs left behind by the Heavenly Dao?"

His voice was flat, "Pity, your master was just slaughtered by me."

As soon as these words were spoken, the pale golden eyes of the three guardians shone brightly at the same time!

Although they were only residual guardian programs with thin emotions, the information that "the master was slaughtered" clearly touched their core instructions!

"Blasphemy... Heavenly Dao... Die!"

Without any nonsense, the three guardians moved instantly!

Extremely fast, they turned into three pale golden streamers, stabbing towards Nightmare in a triangular formation!

On the spears, Heavenly Dao Law circulated, although far less pure and vast than the heavenly dao avatar, in this Return to Ruins Evil Qi environment, it could faintly trigger a trace of the "End" Dao Rhyme in the environment, and its power could not be underestimated!

However, Nightmare just shook his head gently.

"An arm trying to stop a chariot."

He didn't even use the Dao Reversing Heaven Extinguishing Array.

He just had a thought, and centering on him, a nearly absolute "pitch-black" Domain with a diameter of no more than thirty zhang quietly unfolded—the ultimate compressed version of the Dao Reversal Ultimate Kill Domain!

Within the Domain, all Laws were reversed and chaotic, and the Spiritual Qi was dead silent!

The pale golden streamers stabbed by the three guardians, once entering the range of the Domain, their speed plummeted!

The light of the Heavenly Dao Law circulating around them was like a fire doused with cold water, quickly dimming and flickering!

What terrified them even more was that their connection to the trace of the "End" Dao Rhyme in the surrounding environment was completely cut off!

Even the operation of the Heavenly Dao Origin that maintained their actions in their bodies became extremely sluggish!

With the ebb and flow, Nightmare was like a fish in water within the Domain.

The power of the Nidao Demonic Flame was maximized here!

His figure flashed, appearing like a ghost behind the guardian on the left, his index finger tapped lightly, and a highly condensed black fire line—"Demonic Star Pierce"—was shot out silently, instantly piercing through the back of its neck where the armor protection was weakest, and sinking into its core.

The guardian's body stiffened, the light in its pale golden eyes quickly extinguished, turning into an empty set of armor, and was then swept into the Demonic Flame within the Domain, burning into nothingness.

The guardians in the middle and on the right saw this, their souls flew away (if they really had souls), and they wanted to retreat, but found that they were struggling in this pitch-black Domain!

Nightmare's figure flashed again, repeating the same trick.

Pfft! Pfft!

Two more slight piercing sounds.

The remaining two guardians, without even being able to make an effective resistance, followed in their companion's footsteps, their cores destroyed, and their bodies turned into fly ash.

In no more than three breaths, the three Heavenly Dao guardians, who were at the Peak Spirit Transformation, guarded in formation, and occupied the geographical advantage, were completely wiped out.

Nightmare put away the Domain, and the surrounding intense Return to Ruins Evil Qi surged over again, but was easily pushed away by the Demonic Flame on his body surface.

He looked up at the deepest part of this chaotic Void Realm, where the induction of the star dao fruit reached its strongest.

"It should be there."

He didn't stop, his figure turned into a streamer, and he sped towards the direction where the induction was strongest.

Passing through the last wall of dense gray fog that couldn't be dissolved, the scene before his eyes suddenly opened up.

It was a relatively stable ancient ruin floating in the endless Return to Ruins Void Realm.

Broken giant stone pillars and fractured star reliefs formed a circular plaza.

In the center of the plaza stood a half-collapsed, extremely ancient and magnificent temple.

The temple was built of a dark silver material that was neither gold nor jade, and its surface was covered with complicated star and Return to Ruins runes.

Although it was broken, it still emitted a heart-palpitating aura of time and... a faint trace of Reverse Path fluctuation that faintly resonated with the power in Nightmare's body!

The Return to Ruins Temple!

The first dao reversal key was inside!

However, outside the temple's only remaining giant door, which was covered in cracks, a faint, transparent barrier with light halos of intertwined stars and Return to Ruins covered the entire temple.

Ancient Restriction!

Nightmare stopped in front of the barrier, his eyes falling on those mysterious runes, and a flash of understanding flashed in his pitch-black eyes.

"The power of the same Origin as the star dao fruit... as expected."