Mundane and turbid air

Not knowing how long he had drifted in the chaotic and violent Spatial Turbulence, when Nightmare regained a sliver of consciousness, the first thing he felt was extreme pain.

It felt as if every bone in his body had been crushed, every Meridian torn apart. The Nascent Soul within his Dantian was dim and lusterless, covered in cracks, and curled up in a withered state. The power of the three gates had long since been exhausted, and only the tri-colored rune on his palm maintained a final trace of warmth, protecting his heart pulse and the core of his Divine Soul.

He struggled to open his eyes; his vision was blurry.

What came into view was a rough wooden roof. The air was permeated with a faint scent of herbs and... a thin, turbid Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi that he had not encountered for a long time.

This was not the Gui Xu Sea Eye, nor the Lost Village, and certainly not any Holy Land of cultivation he knew of. The quality of the Spiritual Qi here was extremely low, mixed with a large amount of turbid Qi, making one feel slightly uncomfortable when inhaling it.

"You are awake?" A hoarse, elderly voice sounded from beside him.

Nightmare was suddenly alert. He wanted to circulate his Demonic Essence, but it triggered excruciating pain from his internal injuries, causing him to cough uncontrollably, black blood spilling from the corners of his mouth.

"Don't move, you are severely injured." A hand covered in calluses and stained with herbal juice gently pressed down on his shoulder. The force was not great, but it carried an unquestionable gentleness.

Nightmare struggled to turn his head and saw an old man wearing coarse linen clothes, with gray hair and a kind but weary face, sitting on a small stool by the bed, still grinding medicine in a mortar.

A... Mortal elder? His aura was weak, and there was only a little shallow internal energy within his body.

"Where... is this?" Nightmare's voice was as dry and hoarse as a broken gong.

"This is Zhang Family Village outside Black Mountain City." The old man said while grinding the medicine, "This old man's surname is Zhang, and I am the village physician. A few days ago, my grandson went up the mountain to gather firewood and found you by the river, carrying you back. You have been unconscious for seven days."

Black Mountain City? Zhang Family Village? He had never heard of these place names.

Nightmare's Divine Sense struggled to probe out of the small house, but the range he could perceive was extremely limited. This was an ordinary mountain village; most of the villagers were Mortals, and occasionally there were a few low-level Cultivators at the first or second level of Qi Refining, like candles in the wind.

He... had actually drifted into a Mortal-inhabited world with low Spiritual Qi?

"Many thanks... for saving my life, old sir." Nightmare suppressed the shock and slight bewilderment in his heart, whispering his thanks. A tiger fallen in the plains, a Dragon trapped in the shallows; now that he was severely injured, any low-level Cultivator or even a strong Mortal could threaten him.

"Sigh, it's not really saving a life, just doing my duty." Physician Zhang sighed, "Your injuries are extremely severe; your internal organs are ruptured, and your Meridians are completely severed. It is a miracle that you survived. My medical skills are shallow; I can only use herbs to barely sustain your life. As for whether you can recover... sigh..."

Nightmare was silent. He knew his own situation. The damage to his Physical Body and Nascent Soul was secondary; the most troublesome thing was the injury to his dao foundation caused by the Spatial Turbulence, as well as the hidden dangers left by forcibly invoking the power of the three gates. Ordinary Medicinal Pills were useless; he needed extremely pure energy and a special natural environment to slowly recover.

In this place where the Spiritual Qi was thin and turbid, the road to recovery would likely be incomparably long.

"You should rest well, don't think too much." Physician Zhang brought over the ground herbal juice, "This is an herb for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. Although the effect on your injuries is minimal, it is better than nothing."

Nightmare did not refuse. He took the medicine bowl and drank it in one gulp. The bitter herbal juice entered his stomach, bringing a faint warm current—better than nothing.

In the following days, Nightmare settled down in this small Zhang Family Village, silently recuperating.

Physician Zhang was kind-hearted and did not ask about his background, only delivering medicine soup and simple meals every day. His grandson, a dark-skinned boy named Zhang Xiaoshan, often ran over to curiously examine Nightmare, occasionally bringing some wild fruits from the mountains.

Most of the time, Nightmare kept his eyes closed and looked inward, trying to guide that thin and turbid Spiritual Qi to repair his damaged Meridians and Dantian bit by bit. The process was extremely slow and painful. The mysteries of The Azure Nether Life and Death Dao seemed difficult to apply here; the transformation of the two energies of life and death required a purer energy environment.

He was like a severely injured giant Dragon, trapped in the shallows, finding it difficult even to turn over.

Through Zhang Xiaoshan's occasional chatter, he also gained a preliminary understanding of this place.

This was a region called "Southern Wasteland," lacking Spiritual Qi, with backward cultivation civilization. Black Mountain City was already the largest city within a radius of a thousand miles. It was said that the City Lord was an "Old Ancestor" at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage. Cultivation Techniques were incomplete, resources were scarce, and the status of Cultivators was far higher than that of Mortals, but that was all.

This was a world of difference compared to the prosperous cultivation world he knew.

Days passed, and Nightmare's injuries recovered extremely slowly. The external wounds on his Physical Body gradually healed, but the internal injury to his dao foundation and the cracks in his Nascent Soul remained tricky. His cultivation was barely maintained at the threshold of the Soul Transformation Stage, but the power he could mobilize was probably not even as good as a Golden Core Cultivator in his prime.

This sense of powerlessness made him irritable, but he had to suppress it. He had to endure.

On this day, there was a sudden commotion and crying in the village.

Nightmare's Divine Sense stirred, detecting a few Cultivators in silk clothes with arrogant expressions arriving at the entrance of the village. The highest among them was only at the fifth level of Qi Refining. They were berating the villagers, and the leader was holding something like an account book.

"Steward Liu from Black Mountain City is here to collect this year's 'Spirit Grain Tax'!" Zhang Xiaoshan ran in panting, his face filled with resentment and fear, "But the harvest was bad this year, and the locust plague was severe. How can we afford to pay so much Spirit Grain! If we can't pay, they will take people away to work as forced labor in the mines!"

Hearing this, Physician Zhang's face also became sorrowful, and he sighed repeatedly.

Nightmare frowned slightly. Spirit Grain Tax? It seemed that the Cultivator class here exploited Mortals quite severely.

Soon, the noise approached Physician Zhang's house.

"Old Man Zhang! Where is your family's thirty catties of Spirit Grain for this year?" That Steward Liu, who was at the fifth level of Qi Refining, brought two thugs, kicked open the fence door, and broke in. His gaze swept over the destitute house, and a look of disdain appeared on his face.

"Steward... Steward Liu..." Physician Zhang quickly stepped forward, bowing and pleading, "It has been really difficult this year. Could you please grant us some more time, or... reduce it a little..."

"Reduce?" Steward Liu glared, "Are the rules of the City Lord's Mansion something you can bargain with? If you can't pay the Spirit Grain, take your grandson to the mines to pay off the debt!"

As he spoke, a thug behind him grinned hideously and stepped forward to grab Zhang Xiaoshan.

Zhang Xiaoshan was so scared that his face turned pale, and he hid behind his grandfather.

Physician Zhang was in tears, pleading bitterly: "You can't do this, Steward Liu! I only have this one grandson..."

"Get lost!" The thug impatiently pushed Physician Zhang away.

The old man stumbled backward, about to fall to the ground.

Just at this moment, a slightly pale but steady hand supported Physician Zhang.

Nightmare didn't know when he had gotten out of bed and stood behind the old man. His face was still pale, and his aura was weak, but his eyes were as cold as ten-thousand-year ice, sweeping faintly toward Steward Liu and the thug.

"Where did this sickly ghost come from? Want to meddle in other people's business?" Steward Liu felt a jolt in his heart from Nightmare's gaze, but noticing that there was no fluctuation of Spiritual Qi on the other party (Nightmare had deliberately restrained it), he became arrogant again, "Take him away too!"

The thug stepped forward again, reaching out to grab Nightmare.

Nightmare didn't even move.

He just blew a breath of air gently.

A trace of imperceptible, gray-white Annihilation Death Qi, mixed with the turbid Spiritual Qi of this place, like invisible fine needles, instantly sank into the thug's body.

The thug's movements suddenly stiffened, the hideous grin on his face solidified, and then an expression of extreme pain appeared. His whole body seemed to have been drained of moisture, his skin rapidly lost its luster and became gray and defeated. With a "thump," he collapsed to the ground, his life force completely severed!

He couldn't even make a scream!

Killed instantly!

The whole scene was deathly silent!

Steward Liu and the other thug were so terrified that their souls flew away and spirits scattered, as if they had seen a ghost, retreating repeatedly, looking at Nightmare in extreme terror!

They didn't even see what happened! A person who looked sickly just blew a breath, and a third-level Qi Refining Cultivator died instantly?!

What kind of terrifying means was this?!

Nightmare slowly raised his eyelids, his gaze falling on Steward Liu, his voice flat and waveless: "Scram. If you dare to come to this village and make noise again, you will end up like him."

Steward Liu was so scared that his legs went soft, almost wetting his pants. How could he dare to say another word? He scrambled away with the other thug, dragging their companion's corpse, fleeing the village in a disheveled manner, not even daring to look back.

The villagers watched from afar, shocked, fearful, and yet relieved, but no one dared to approach Physician Zhang's house.

Physician Zhang and Zhang Xiaoshan also stared at Nightmare in a daze, as if they were meeting this person for the first time.

Nightmare did not explain, just nodded slightly to Physician Zhang, then turned and slowly walked back into the room, lying down again as if nothing had happened.

But in his heart, there were not many ripples.

A tiger fallen in the plains is still a tiger. Even if severely injured to this extent, crushing a few flies would still be effortless.

However, after this incident, he probably could no longer hide safely in this place.

The news would spread soon.

Trouble would soon come knocking.

He needed to recover some strength as soon as possible, at least, to have the ability to protect himself and leave.

His gaze turned to the rolling Black Mountain Range outside the window, which was said to contain dangers but also potentially unknown Opportunities.

Perhaps, what he needed was there.

A hidden Dragon in the abyss will eventually soar.

And before that, he needed to hibernate, to endure, to seize any possible Opportunity.

A new storm was brewing in this small Mortal village.