The core of the Spirit Abyss, an ancient guardian

Deep within the Lingyuan Forbidden Land.

The Evil Qi here had become so dense that it had condensed into a tangible substance, churning and rolling like ink, eroding and warping the surrounding space, emitting faint tearing sounds.

If an ordinary Cultivator were to step foot here, they likely wouldn't even last three breaths before being completely devoured by the Evil Qi, their Divine Soul utterly destroyed.

Nightmare wore a black robe, his body enveloped in a layer of dark red Demonic Flame, isolating himself from the encroaching Evil Qi.

His steps were steady, his gaze sharp as a knife, as he advanced precisely in one direction through the pitch-black, thick fog of Evil Qi.

Within his body, the star dao fruit trembled slightly, guiding his direction.

That sensation became increasingly clear, as if something ahead was calling out to him.

He did not know how long he had walked, but suddenly, the view before him opened up—not because the Evil Qi had dissipated, but because an eerie "vacuum" had appeared ahead.

A massive, pitch-black stone platform floated in mid-air. Its surface was covered in dense, ancient runes that slowly flowed, emitting an aura of the Reverse Path that was of the same Origin as the surrounding Evil Qi but far purer.

"This is it."

A cold light flashed in Nightmare's eyes; the lingyuan reverse key was within this stone platform.

Just as he was about to step forward, the runes around the stone platform suddenly lit up with a blinding black light!

"Hum—!"

The space trembled, and a tall figure clad in heavy Evil Qi armor slowly coalesced from the runes.

It held a pitch-black spear condensed from pure Evil Qi. Two points of scarlet light beneath its helmet locked onto Nightmare, and the violent pressure of a Late Tribulation Crossing stage Peak expert erupted, dispersing some of the surrounding Evil Qi.

An ancient Lingyuan Guardian.

Without a word, not even the slightest fluctuation of a Divine Soul, the Guardian flicked its spear, transforming it into a streak of black lightning that pierced directly toward the center of Nightmare's brows!

Wherever the spear tip passed, space was easily torn asunder. The Evil Qi possessed a property that allowed it to pierce through all laws, something ordinary protective spiritual light could not block.

"You are courting death."

Nightmare's gaze was icy. Facing this spear strike capable of killing an ordinary Late Tribulation Crossing stage expert in an instant, he neither dodged nor retreated.

"Boom!"

The dark red Dao Reversal Ultimate Kill Domain suddenly expanded with him at its center!

The Demonic Flame soared to the heavens, colliding fiercely with the encroaching pitch-black Evil Qi, erupting with a deafening roar. The violent energy shockwave instantly pulverized the surrounding floating boulders into dust.

The Guardian's spear momentum paused slightly.

In that very instant of hesitation, Nightmare's figure vanished from where he stood.

The next moment, he appeared beside the Guardian, his speed so fast that not even an afterimage remained.

The Guardian reacted extremely quickly; its armor emitted a dull grinding sound as it swung its spear horizontally, carrying the weight of ten thousand jun of Evil Qi, enough to slice a mountain in half.

Nightmare still did not dodge.

He raised his left hand, and Demonic Flame surged out, instantly condensing into a dark red shield covered in Reverse Path runes before him.

"Clang—!!!"

The explosive sound of metal clashing rang through the core!

The spear slammed into the Demonic Flame shield, not moving it an inch.

Instead, fine cracks appeared at the tip of the Evil Qi spear.

The Guardian's scarlet eyes seemed to flicker.

Nightmare's right hand had already formed a sword finger. At his fingertips, a point of extremely condensed dark red light, radiating the aura of destroying stars, suddenly flared—Dao Reversal Demon Star Pierce!

"Pfft!"

There were no flashy Moves, no superfluous movements.

At the very moment the spear was blocked, Nightmare's right finger pierced with absolute precision into an almost imperceptible gap in the armor on the Guardian's chest!

That was exactly the weakest point of connection between this Evil Qi armor and its internal core energy.

Under the perception of the star dao fruit, no weakness could remain hidden.

The dark red light submerged into the armor, piercing straight to the inside!

"Roar—!"

The Guardian let out a dull, painful roar for the first time, its massive body trembling violently.

The Evil Qi armor on its surface instantly began to flicker, its internal core having suffered a fatal blow.

It suddenly spread its arms, and the Evil Qi around its body began to surge backward frantically, compressing inward. A destructive fluctuation rapidly brewed—it was going to detonate its core and perish together with the intruder!

"Want to self-destruct? Did you ask me first?"

Nightmare snorted coldly, having long since guarded against this Move. With a thought, the Dao Reversal Demon Star Pierce that had pierced into the Guardian's body exploded, transforming into countless fine threads of Demonic Flame that instantly invaded every vein of the Guardian's energy core!

At the same time, the Dao Reversal Ultimate Kill Domain wrapping the exterior suddenly contracted, turning into an airtight dark red fireball, tightly imprisoning the Guardian along with its internally raging energy.

"Suppress!"

"Crack... Boom!"

Inside, the Demonic Flame threads forcibly severed the energy connection for the self-destruction; outside, the Demonic Flame fireball suppressed the energy riot with absolute power.

The Guardian's bloated body, like a punctured balloon, instantly withered, and its scarlet eyes rapidly dimmed.

Nightmare did not delay any longer; he turned his left palm into a fist, condensed Demonic Flame upon it, and punched directly into the small hole pierced in the Guardian's chest!

"Bang!"

After the dull thud, the Guardian froze completely.

The Evil Qi armor on its surface shattered inch by inch, turning into black smoke and dissipating.

Its tall body disintegrated rapidly, and in the end, only a ball of pure, constantly writhing pitch-black energy remained floating in the air. At the center of the energy, a palm-sized, strangely shaped black rune floated quietly.

Lingyuan Rune.

Nightmare reached out and summoned it; the rune landed in his palm. It felt cold to the touch, containing an extremely dense Lingyuan Origin and the power of a Seal within.

He did not even look at the dissipating remains of the Guardian, turning instead to face the floating Lingyuan stone platform.

In the center of the stone platform, where it had originally been wrapped in layers of Seals, a stronger resonance was now faintly emanating.

The second dao reversal key—the lingyuan reverse key—was close at hand.

Nightmare held the Lingyuan Rune and looked at the groove on the stone platform that perfectly matched the shape of this rune. Without hesitation, he pressed the rune into it.

"Click."

A soft click, as if some ancient lock had been opened.

The stone platform began to shake violently.