Fallen Immortals Exterminated, Investigation Team

The Fallen Immortal Wasteland was desolate and deathly silent, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Nightmare, like a shadow merging into this land, moved silently between massive rock fissures and dried riverbeds.

He suppressed all his aura, his Reverse Dao Power simulating the decaying and barren fluctuations of the surrounding environment; every step he took was as light as a feather, not stirring up the slightest dust.

The star dao fruit revolved slowly within his body, guiding him toward the direction of the Xianqiong Forbidden Land—far to the northwest, in the deepest depths.

However, he did not proceed in a straight line, choosing instead a circuitous and winding route to avoid regions where energy was relatively abnormal in his Divine Sense perception (likely residual Formations or natural dangers), and also to avoid the high altitude—where he was more easily captured by large-scale Divine Sense scans.

However, the Immortal Realm's inspection efforts were clearly beyond the scope of the Lower Realm.

Just as he penetrated the middle of the wasteland, bypassing a jagged stone forest that stood like the skeletons of giants, several faint points of light suddenly appeared in the gloomy sky far ahead.

The points of light were moving extremely fast, conducting a net-like circular search at low altitude, and... they were heading toward the area where he was located.

Nightmare immediately stopped, his figure sliding like flowing water into the depths of the shadow of a rock crevice, his aura completely silenced, merging with the rocks.

The dark red Demonic Flame lay completely dormant within his body, and even his heartbeat and blood flow nearly ceased.

The nine points of light approached rapidly, revealing their forms.

They were nine Cultivators stepping on flying Immortal Artifacts, wearing standard silver-white immortal armor, with solemn and cold expressions.

The leader had a deep and heavy aura, surprisingly possessing a Late Tribulation Crossing stage cultivation, his eyes sharp as an eagle's, constantly scanning the wasteland below.

The eight people behind him were all at the Early Tribulation Crossing Stage, spreading out in a fan shape, each holding a peculiarly shaped bronze mirror, the mirror surface sweeping across the ground below from time to time, stirring up circles of imperceptible probing ripples.

An immortal realm heavenly dao patrol squad.

And looking at this equipment and Formation, it was clearly a professional team specifically used to search for and lock onto "Reverse Path" or "abnormal" auras.

"Captain, three hundred li ahead, in the stone forest area, we just captured a trace of extremely faint abnormal fluctuation, which is vastly different from the Heavenly Dao Spiritual Qi, suspected to be... Reverse Path residue." A Cultivator holding a bronze mirror suddenly spoke, the mirror surface facing the direction of the stone forest where Nightmare was hiding, glowing slightly.

The team leader's eyes sharpened: "Lock the position! Deploy the 'Immortal Domain Soul Locking Formation'! Better to investigate wrongly than to let go! If it is truly a Reverse Path scoundrel, immediately activate the communication talisman to notify the main force of the Patrolling Heaven Agency!"

"Yes!"

The eight Early Tribulation Crossing Stage Cultivators reacted extremely quickly, holding their bronze mirrors high simultaneously, the mirror surfaces bursting with dazzling clear light, eight beams of light intersecting in the air, instantly outlining a massive translucent light shield covering a radius of several dozen li, completely enveloping the stone forest area where Nightmare was hiding!

The moment the light shield formed, the space inside seemed to solidify, the flow of Spiritual Qi became sluggish, and an invisible "soul-locking" power permeated, attempting to suppress and manifest all energy fluctuations that were not orthodox Heavenly Dao!

At the same time, the light shield itself possessed extremely strong isolation and enemy-trapping effects.

"Living beings within the Formation, appear immediately! Accept the inspection of the Immortal Realm Patrolling Heaven Agency! Those who resist are considered Reverse Dao Practitioners and will be killed without mercy!" The team leader hovered above the light shield, his voice cold, containing the pressure of the Late Tribulation Crossing stage, rolling down.

Inside the light shield, there was dead silence, only the wind of the wasteland wailing as it passed through the stone crevices.

Nightmare hid in the shadow of the rock crevice, feeling that "soul-locking" power seeping in like mercury, trying to provoke a "rebound" or "manifestation" of the Reverse Dao Power within him.

However, the Dao Reversal Demonic Star Flame within him had long been deeply integrated with the two dao reversal key marks, and when restrained, it was almost void; although this soul-locking power was exquisite, it was not enough to force him to reveal himself.

But he knew that since the other party had already locked onto this area and set up a Formation, they would never give up without finding something.

Continuing to hide would either lead to being discovered by more precise probing methods or attract an even more powerful team.

"I wanted to pass quietly..." A cold glint flashed in Nightmare's heart, "Since you delivered yourselves to your deaths, I will fulfill your wish."

He no longer hid.

In the shadow of the rock crevice, that "dead silence" aura, indistinguishable from the rocks, suddenly disappeared!

Replacing it was a cold, domineering, and terrifying pressure that seemed to want to reverse the heavens, like a sleeping Vicious Beast suddenly opening its eyes!

"Boom!"

The dark red Dao Reversal Demonic Star Flame shot into the sky from the rock crevice where Nightmare was hiding without warning!

The flames were not scorching, but carried the destructive aura of burning ten thousand Laws and shattering rules; as soon as they came into contact with the clear light of the "Immortal Domain Soul Locking Formation," they made a violent "chi chi" corrosive sound!

The light shield of the Soul Locking Formation shook violently, and the clear light dimmed at a speed visible to the naked eye!

"It really is here! It's a Reverse Dao Practitioner! Activate the communication—" The team leader was both shocked and angry, shouting sharply, while his hand had already reached for a golden communication talisman at his waist.

His order had not yet finished, and his voice stopped abruptly.

Because a dark red figure had already penetrated the collapsing Soul Locking Formation light shield like a ghost and appeared before him!

The distance was so close that he could even see the cold, indifferent eyes beneath the other's black robe that lacked the slightest human emotion.

So fast! How is it possible?! The captain's pupils shrank, his protective immortal light instinctively erupted to the extreme, and the immortal sword in his hand had already been unsheathed by half an inch!

But, it was still too slow.

Nightmare's fist had already imprinted on his chest.

On the fist, there was no dazzling light, only a layer of dark red Demonic Flame condensed to the extreme, and in the center of the Demonic Flame, a point of pitch-black ghostly light swirled—the annihilation power of the lingyuan reverse key.

"Pfft!"

A soft sound, like piercing a thick piece of leather.

The protective immortal light on the captain's body, which was enough to withstand a full-strength blow from the same rank, was easily pierced through like paper.

The fist submerged into his chest without obstruction, precisely grasping the beating "Immortal Heart" within his body, which was condensed from pure immortal realm heavenly dao Origin.

"Ugh..." The captain's eyes bulged, his face filled with unbelievable horror and despair.

He felt a cold, chaotic, and destructive force instantly invade his limbs, bones, Purple Mansion, and Divine Soul, violently cutting off and crushing all his life force and connection to his immortal essence.

Nightmare retracted his five fingers.

"Bang!"

The captain's body shook violently, then went soft as if all support had been drained.

The immortal realm heavenly dao Origin within his body was forcibly plundered and devoured by the Demonic Flame on Nightmare's fist, turning into a trace of pure energy replenishment.

And the captain's Divine Soul instantly collapsed under the erosion of the Reverse Dao Power.

A Late Tribulation Crossing stage Immortal Realm inspection captain, in one encounter, without even being able to launch a single move, was instantly killed!

All of this happened too fast; from Nightmare appearing and breaking the Formation to the captain falling, it was only a breath or two.

"Captain!!" "Not good! Quickly send the signal!!" The eight Early Tribulation Crossing Stage Cultivators above only then reacted, their faces turning pale with horror!

Some scrambled to activate the communication talisman, while others flew backward in panic, trying to escape.

"Want to leave?"

Nightmare's cold voice sounded in everyone's ears like the whisper of death.

He didn't even look at the captain's corpse (the corpse had been wrapped in Demonic Flame and quickly turned to ashes), raised his right hand, and made a virtual grasp at the eight Cultivators in the air who were like frightened birds.

"Dao Reversal Ultimate Kill — Star Fall."

"Hum—!"

With him as the center, the dark red Dao Reversal Ultimate Kill Domain expanded violently, instantly covering a radius of several li!

Within the Domain, the space became viscous and heavy, and those eight Cultivators seemed to have fallen into an invisible quagmire, their flight speed dropping sharply!

Immediately after, within the Domain, countless dark red "Star Blades," as thin as ox hair but incomparably sharp, condensed out of thin air!

These Star Blades were composed entirely of condensed Dao Reversal Demonic Star Flame, carrying the terrifying aura of tearing apart Divine Souls and annihilating Laws, shooting toward the eight Cultivators like a torrential rain!

"No!!" "Block it!!"

The eight people hastily used their various means, immortal light, Magic Treasures, and defensive shields lighting up one after another.

But the gap was too large.

The dark red Star Blades were like a hot knife cutting through butter, easily penetrating the defenses they had hastily set up.

The immortal light was torn apart, the Magic Treasures were pierced through, and the defensive shields shattered like bubbles.

"Pfft pfft pfft pfft..."

The dense, soft sounds of flesh being pierced connected into one.

The bodies of the eight Early Tribulation Crossing Stage Cultivators stiffened in the air simultaneously, and each of their fatal points, such as the center of their eyebrows, their hearts, and their Dantians, had several small, through-and-through holes burning with dark red Demonic Flame.

Their eyes scattered rapidly, and their life force was extinguished instantly like a candle flame blown out by a strong wind.

The dark red Demonic Flame erupted from the wounds, burning the eight immortal bodies along with the Divine Souls within to nothing in an instant, leaving only a little ash to drift away.

From the moment Nightmare actively appeared to the complete annihilation of the nine Immortal Realm inspection Cultivators, the entire process took less than ten breaths.

Over the wasteland, the tattered "Immortal Domain Soul Locking Formation" light shield completely collapsed and dissipated.

Only the faint Reverse Path aura lingering in the air, which was rapidly being assimilated by the decay of the wasteland, and the remains of some Magic Treasures and Storage Pouches falling from the sky remained.

Nightmare reached out and beckoned, and the captain's Storage Pouch (the material was special and had not been completely burned by the Demonic Flame) and several intact probing bronze mirrors flew into his hand.

He did not check them immediately, but fully expanded his Divine Sense to carefully sense the surroundings, and only after confirming that there were no other probing fluctuations or lurkers did he relax slightly.

He first pinched a Dharma spell, and an invisible Reverse Dao Power swept across the battlefield, further disrupting and erasing the residual auras and traces, making them completely fuse with the wasteland environment, making them difficult to track.

Then, he turned his attention to the Storage Pouch in his hand.

His Divine Sense probed in, skipping over the conventional Spirit Stones, Medicinal Pills, and Materials, and soon found what he needed—a few Jade Slips with a warm texture.

He took out the Jade Slips and submerged his Divine Sense into them.

The first Jade Slip was an extremely detailed, massive map covering the known areas of the Immortal Realm!

Mountains and rivers, the spheres of influence of Sects, dangerous lands and Forbidden Grounds, major cities, and even some hidden spatial nodes and teleportation Formation locations were clearly marked!

Compared to the rough maps of the Lower Realm, this map of the Immortal Realm was a treasure.

Nightmare's gaze immediately locked onto a continuous mountain range in the far northwest, marked with special blood-red runes and covering an extremely vast area—"Xianqiong Mountain Range."

At the core of the mountain range was an even more conspicuous mark surrounded by layers of Restriction symbols: "Xianqiong Forbidden Land."

The second Jade Slip contained a detailed description and route map of the periphery of the Xianqiong Forbidden Land!

It not only marked several hidden paths leading to the Forbidden Ground (some even required special tokens or incantations) but also recorded in detail the approximate locations and troop configurations of the three defensive lines set up by the immortal realm heavenly dao around the Forbidden Ground (which might be outdated, but had great reference value) as well as the characteristics of several early warning and defensive Formations!

The third Jade Slip contained brief intelligence regarding the recent mobilization of the immortal realm heavenly dao forces, mentioning content such as "Reverse Path appears, various Heavenly Domains strengthen patrols," "Main force of the Patrolling Heaven Agency assembles toward the Northwest Heavenly Domain," and "Strictly prevent Reverse Dao Practitioners from infiltrating the Xianqiong Forbidden Land."

"Good stuff." A cold glint flashed in Nightmare's eyes.

With these, his understanding of the Immortal Realm became countless times clearer instantly, and the route to the Xianqiong Forbidden Land and the obstacles he needed to deal with were basically clear.

He did not hesitate to deeply imprint the map and route information into his mind, and then the dark red Demonic Flame flickered in his palm, burning the few Jade Slips into nothingness, leaving not even the slightest trace of information.

After doing all this, Nightmare looked toward the direction of the Xianqiong Forbidden Land again, his eyes sharp as knives.

"The patrol squad has gone missing; the immortal realm heavenly dao will soon detect the abnormality in this area and increase the search intensity... This place is not suitable for staying long."

He no longer delayed, his figure moved, turning into a dim stream of light that almost merged with the gray background, and accelerated toward the northwest, following the relatively hidden route he had just memorized.

The Xianqiong Forbidden Land was getting closer and closer.

And the hunt and counter-hunt of the Immortal Realm had just begun.