Rune unlocked, Reverse Key obtained

The moment the Lingyuan Rune was embedded into the groove, the entire floating stone platform shuddered violently!

"Buzz—!"

A low, long resonance echoed from deep within the stone platform, as if a Vicious Beast that had slumbered for ages was being startled awake. On the platform, those ancient runes that were originally flowing slowly suddenly accelerated, bursting with a blinding pitch-black light. One complex line after another was instantly lit up, spreading frantically from the edges toward the center.

Nightmare stood in place, his black robes fluttering in the violent turbulence of energy, yet his eyes remained calm and waveless, quietly watching the changes at the center of the stone platform.

"Crack, crack..."

Starting from the rune groove as the center, fine cracks began to appear on the surface of the stone platform. The cracks spread rapidly, covering the entire surface like a spider web, but it was not a sign of collapse; instead, it looked like some kind of outer shell was peeling off.

"Boom!"

Finally, the outermost black rock shell of the stone platform completely exploded, dissipating into black dust that filled the air. What was revealed was a pitch-black core, about ten feet in diameter, formed entirely from condensed pure Lingyuan Evil Qi. Within the core, a strangely shaped "key" flowing with deep black light was quietly suspended.

It was about a foot long, neither metal nor stone, its material seeming both illusory and real. The body of the key wound like a Dragon and resembled a bolt of solidified black lightning, its surface naturally branded with Reverse Path patterns of the same Origin as the Lingyuan Evil Qi. Just by existing there, it emitted a terrifying aura that seemed capable of eroding all laws and throwing rules into chaos.

The second dao reversal key—the lingyuan reverse key.

A sharp glint finally flashed through Nightmare's eyes. He no longer hesitated, reaching out to grasp the reverse key within the core.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch the lingyuan reverse key—

"Buzz!!!"

Outside the Lingyuan Forbidden Land, far away, three incomparably powerful energy fluctuations suddenly erupted! Those fluctuations were pure and vast, carrying a clear sense of "order" and "heavenly might," utterly incompatible with the chaotic Evil Qi of this Lingyuan Forbidden Land. They were tearing through the peripheral Evil Qi at an incredible speed, charging boldly toward the core area!

The Spirit Realm's Heavenly Dao, the last remaining forces! And clearly, they were the core trump card, specifically here to guard this key!

Nightmare's gaze turned cold, yet the corner of his mouth curled into an extremely chilling arc.

"Coming at a time like this... are you seeking death?"

His movements didn't pause for a moment; his fingers had already gripped that lingyuan reverse key!

"Boom—!!!"

As the reverse key entered his hand, it felt like gripping a volcano about to erupt! An unimaginably violent Lingyuan Reverse Dao Power surged into his body through his arm like a bursting flood!

The Meridians throughout Nightmare's body instantly bulged, and countless pitch-black Reverse Path patterns surfaced on his skin, intertwining with the original dark-red Demonic Flame patterns. His aura began to skyrocket at a terrifying speed!

And almost at the same time, those three powerful auras had already rushed to the edge of the black mist near the stone platform.

"Reverse Path scoundrel! How dare you lay hands on the Heavenly Dao's sacred object! Drop the reverse key and surrender!"

Amidst the stern shouts, three figures clad in spirit-light Daoist robes, their bodies flowing with the pure Heavenly Dao Origin aura, broke through the black mist. They surrounded Nightmare and the stone platform in a triangular Formation. All three were in the form of old men, their auras as heavy as mountains, and they were all surprisingly at the Late Tribulation Crossing stage. Their gazes were locked onto the lingyuan reverse key in Nightmare's hand, filled with greed and killing intent.

"The Three Elders of the Spirit Realm's Heavenly Dao?" Nightmare gripped the reverse key, allowing that violent power to impact his body, not even sparing a second glance at the three men. He spoke indifferently, his voice carrying a booming resonance under the infusion of Reverse Dao Power. "I've already destroyed the Spirit Realm's heavenly dao core. With only you three old dogs left, you still dare to come and bark?"

"Arrogant!" The leading White-browed Elder's hair and beard flared out. "Is Reverse Dao Power something you can easily devour? Right now your internal breath is unstable; this is the perfect time to slay you! Form the Formation!"

"Three Talents Dao Reversal Suppression Formation!"

The three elders were clearly in perfect sync, simultaneously performing hand seals and chanting incantations. Vast Spirit Realm Heavenly Dao Origin power surged from their bodies, quickly outlining three massive golden Formation patterns in the air. The patterns rotated and connected, forming a giant triangular cage. Carrying the Heavenly Dao majesty that suppressed all chaos and sealed all laws, it came down toward Nightmare's head!

Wherever the golden light passed, even the dense Lingyuan Evil Qi around it was briefly dispersed and purified. This Formation, clearly created specifically to target Reverse Path Cultivators, possessing an extremely strong restraining effect against Reverse Dao Power.

"A Formation specifically for suppressing Reverse Path?" Nightmare finally looked up, glancing at the descending golden triangular Formation, his eyes full of disdain. "Using the power of Heavenly Dao order to suppress my Reverse Dao Power? A nice idea, but unfortunately..."

He suddenly tightened his right hand, which was gripping the lingyuan reverse key!

"Your power is far too weak!"

"Boom—!"

Even more violent Reverse Dao Power erupted from the reverse key, and at that moment, Nightmare's aura explosively broke through a certain critical point!

Late Tribulation Crossing stage!

A vast pressure swept out from him like a tsunami, causing the descending golden Formation to shake violently under the impact! The dark-red Demonic Flame on his body suddenly deepened in color by several degrees, and the edges of the flames even took on a layer of pitch-black that devoured light—the power of the Dao Reversal Demonic Star Flame had risen by another rank!

And Nightmare's movements were incredibly fast.

His left hand continued to guide the power of the lingyuan reverse key into his body, stabilizing his skyrocketing cultivation. His right hand, however, pointed his fingers like a sword and jabbed into the air toward the three elders.

"Reverse Path Certain Kill—Threefold Demonic Shadow!"

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Three Clones, identical to his main body and composed entirely of extremely condensed dark-red Demonic Flame, suddenly shot out from behind him! Each Clone emitted a terrifying fluctuation no less than the Late Tribulation Crossing stage, wielding blades formed of Demonic Flame as they pounced toward an elder.

"What?!" "The Clones also have such strength?!"

The three Heavenly Dao elders were pale with shock; they hadn't expected that while absorbing the reverse key and reaching a new Breakthrough in his Realm, the opponent could still manifest such powerful Clones to attack!

The originally perfectly functioning "Three Talents Dao Reversal Suppression Formation" experienced a microscopic stagnation due to the instant mental shock of the three men and the incoming Clones.

In the instant that stagnation appeared—

Nightmare's main body moved.

He still stood in place without moving, but his right hand, which held the lingyuan reverse key, suddenly opened its fingers and made a grasping motion toward the center of the golden triangular Formation in the air.

"Break."

As the word was uttered, the law followed!

At the center of the golden triangular Formation hovering above him, a pinpoint of extreme dark-red light suddenly flashed, then exploded violently!

"Crack—Boom!!!"

That Three Talents Dao Reversal Suppression Formation, specifically designed to restrain Reverse Path, actually shattered inch by inch like glass struck by a giant hammer, starting from the center point! Violent Nidao Demonic Flame frantically eroded and backlashed along the cracks in the Formation!

"Pfft!" "Ah!"

The three elders who formed the Formation were struck as if by lightning, simultaneously vomiting blood. The Heavenly Dao Origin light around them instantly dimmed, and their auras withered by more than half! The backlash from the violent destruction of the Formation left them instantly and severely wounded!

"He... how could he..."

The White-browed Elder's face was full of unbelievable horror. The opponent was clearly in the critical period of absorbing the reverse key; how could he still erupt with such terrifying power to instantly break the grand Formation they had meticulously prepared?

He never had the chance to ask his question.

Because those three Demonic Flame Clones had already reached them. There were no screams, no pleas for mercy, not even any redundant energy collisions.

The dark-red Demonic Flame blades, like a hot knife through butter, easily pierced the Heavenly Dao protective divine light they had hastily condensed, impaling their Dantians and Purple Mansions.

The Demonic Flame surged in through the wounds, spreading through their entire bodies in the blink of an eye.

The Spirit Realm Heavenly Dao's final trump cards, three experts at the Late Tribulation Crossing stage, didn't even have time to self-destruct their Divine Souls before they were silently incinerated into three human-shaped torches. After a few breaths, the torches went out, leaving only a bit of drifting ash; their Divine Souls were utterly extinguished.

Nightmare's three Demonic Flame Clones completed their task and returned to his main body as streaks of light.

And Nightmare, from beginning to end, had not moved his feet a single inch. In his right palm, the light of that lingyuan reverse key had completely withdrawn, turning into a black Reverse Path mark branded on his palm, which then slowly sank beneath the skin and disappeared.

The second dao reversal key was completely fused!

The surging power within him gradually calmed, stabilizing at the Peak of the Late Tribulation Crossing stage. Feeling the Dao Reversal Demonic Star Flame, which was several times stronger than before, as well as the absolute sense of control over Lingyuan Evil Qi and all "Yin-attribute" or "chaotic" energies brought by the reverse key in his palm, a hint of satisfaction flashed in Nightmare's eyes.

He waved his hand, and the Storage Pouches left behind by the three elders flew into his hand. With a sweep of his Divine Sense, he found they indeed contained many pure Spirit Realm Heavenly Dao origin crystals. Though useless to him, they would be good to reward his subordinates or use for refining certain special items.

Stowing the Storage Pouches, Nightmare didn't spare another glance at the messy battlefield. He closed his eyes, and his mind sank into his body.

The star dao fruit rotated slightly, emitting a hazy starlight. With two dao reversal keys (the mortal realm reverse key and the lingyuan reverse key) collected, its sensing of the third dao reversal key became clearer than ever before.

A blurred image with a clear sense of direction appeared in Nightmare's perception—it was a vast world, infinitely high and distant, wreathed in Immortal Qi, yet filled with an aura of endless majesty and danger. The image rapidly zoomed in, locking onto a forbidden land deep within that world, shrouded in layers of immortal path Restrictions and terrifying heavenly might.

The Immortal Realm, the Xianqiong Forbidden Land.

The third dao reversal key—the immortal firmament path-reversal key, was right there.

Nightmare opened his eyes, dark-red and pitch-black light flashing alternately in his pupils. His gaze seemed to pierce through the many obstructions of the Lingyuan Forbidden Land, looking toward that higher-level world.

"Immortal Realm... immortal firmament path-reversal key..."

He muttered to himself, his voice cold and firm.

"The next one is you."

Without staying, Nightmare's figure moved, turning into a streak of dark-red light that sped toward the outside of the Lingyuan Forbidden Land. The matters of the Spirit Realm were settled; it was time to go back and prepare to step into that so-called "Upper Realm."

Little did he know, at the moment he fused the lingyuan reverse key and broke the Formation to kill his enemies, in a supreme hall somewhere in the Immortal Realm, a pair of eyes that seemed to contain endless heavenly might slowly opened, looking toward the Spirit Realm, their brow furrowing slightly.

"The aura of Reverse Path... has appeared again, and it is even stronger..."