Hongmeng Heavenly Realm, Heavenly Guards Sweep Away

The feeling of passing through the Reverse Path passage was completely different from any previous spatial travel.

There were no kaleidoscopic streams of light, no violent Spatial Turbulence, and not even a clear sense of direction or the passage of time. There was only an eternal, absolute darkness and silence. The only thing that could be felt was the incredibly stable passage barrier beneath his feet (or rather, surrounding him), composed of pure Dao Reversal Origin, as well as the increasingly clear and heavy oppressive feeling of "Order" coming from the other end of the passage.

It was as if he were traveling from the extreme point of "Reverse" toward the root of "Conformity."

He did not know how long had passed; perhaps it was an instant, perhaps a millennium.

At the end of the boundless darkness ahead, a point of light suddenly appeared. That light was faint at first, then rapidly expanded, transforming into a rotating exit with edges burning with Chaos flames.

Nightmare's figure flashed, and he shot out from the exit!

Feet on solid ground... no, not solid ground. He landed on a "ground" that could not be accurately described in words.

This was the Hongmeng Realm—the peripheral area where the heavenly dao core resided.

What he saw before him completely subverted Nightmare's understanding of a "world."

There was no sky, no earth, no sun, moon, or stars. Above, below, and all around was a boundless "ocean of light" that flowed slowly, emitting a soft yet supreme golden glow. This ocean of light was not static; it pulsed and flowed in a grand and rhythmic cadence, as if a colossal heart were beating. With every pulse, it emitted vast, pure, and extreme... power of the Heavenly Dao Origin!

This power was omnipresent, filling every inch of space. It was sacred, majestic, and orderly, representing the most fundamental rules and will of this Universe. For any non-Heavenly Dao system, especially for "Reverse Path" existences, the environment here was in itself the most terrifying suppression and rejection! An ordinary Reverse Path Cultivator stepping here would likely be instantly dissolved and assimilated by this endless power of the Heavenly Dao Origin, or have their Divine Soul crushed by that supreme oppressive force of Order!

As soon as Nightmare appeared, he felt his whole body sink! It was as if billions of invisible mountains were crushing in from all directions! That pure power of the Heavenly Dao Origin was like scorching radiance, trying to pierce through his protective Demonic Flame and purify the Reverse Path foundation within him! Furthermore, a feeling originating from the Soul level—as if he were being "loathed" and "rejected" by the entire Universe—surged toward him, attempting to disintegrate his will and force him to kneel in submission!

However, Nightmare only furrowed his brows slightly, and the chaotic-colored Hongmeng Reverse Dao Demonic Star Flame within him automatically rose with a "boom," forming a thin film of light on his body surface.

A strange thing happened.

The omnipresent Heavenly Dao suppression and rejection force, capable of crushing a Peak Undergoing Tribulation Cultivator, met its nemesis the moment it touched this layer of chaotic light film. Not only could it not penetrate, but it was quietly "disrupted" and "neutralized" by the Reverse Path runes circulating on the surface of the light film, and even... a small portion was devoured and converted into energy to nourish the light film!

The Hongmeng Reverse Dao Demonic Star Flame, having gathered the essence of three dao reversal keys to Major Achievement, had initially acquired the characteristic of "going toe-to-toe" with the Heavenly Dao Origin, and even "reverse devouring" it! The environmental suppression here was less than one-tenth effective against Nightmare!

"The periphery of the heavenly dao core... it really is interesting." Nightmare looked around at the golden ocean of light, feeling the intense confrontation and subtle balance between the Reverse Dao Power within him and the environmental order, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. He could clearly perceive that in the deepest part of this vast ocean of light, there existed an even larger, more condensed entity that radiated ultimate order fluctuations like a sun—the main body of the heavenly dao core!

But obviously, the heavenly dao core would not let him approach easily.

Almost the very next instant after he adapted to the environmental pressure and locked onto the core's location—

"Hum!!!"

In the slowly flowing golden ocean of light ahead, ten dazzling golden halos suddenly exploded! As the halos dissipated, ten tall figures clad in brilliant golden full-body heavy armor, with their faces covered by golden faceplates and holding standard-issue golden halberds, seemed to condense out of the ocean of light, blocking Nightmare's path directly in front!

Heavenly Dao Garrison Troops! The outermost and most direct defensive force of the heavenly dao core!

These ten people were silent, yet they radiated an aura of slaughter that was more condensed, purer, and colder than the three golden-armored envoys at the entrance of the Xianqiong Forbidden Land! Their auras were completely identical, and they were all at the Peak Undergoing Tribulation cultivation level! Moreover, they were by no means ordinary Peak Cultivators; they were killing machines forged through thousands of tempers by the Heavenly Dao Origin, their minds and wills completely merged with the Heavenly Dao, existing solely to guard the core! The positions where the ten stood seemed casual, but actually contained a profound Formation, completely sealing off all of Nightmare's routes forward.

No words were needed; the hostility was already tangible.

The ten golden-armored heavenly guards moved simultaneously, as uniform as a single person! They raised their golden halberds high, the tips pointing at Nightmare!

"Grandmist Suppressing the Reverse—Activate!"

A low, hoarse, emotionless voice, as if chanted in unison by the ten, echoed in this ocean of light.

"Rumble—!!!"

The golden ocean of light beneath the ten people's feet (or rather, beneath them) suddenly boiled! Boundless, unparalleled power of the Heavenly Dao Origin was frantically extracted and gathered, using the ten people as nodes, instantly sketching out a massive three-dimensional golden Formation in the air covering dozens of miles! The Formation was extremely complex and profound, with countless Heavenly Dao runes circulating and flickering within, emitting a terrifying power that could suppress eternity and seal all rebellious heretics!

Grandmist Reverse-Suppression Formation! One of the ultimate Formations used by the heavenly dao core to suppress all "Reverse" and "Chaos"!

The moment the Formation took shape, the space around Nightmare was completely solidified and sealed! Even the chaotic light film on his body felt a heavy pressure. Immediately after, inside the Formation, light condensed, transforming into countless golden divine spears purely composed of the Heavenly Dao rules of "Punishment" and "Suppression." The spear tips flashed with a cold light capable of piercing all laws and annihilating Divine Souls. Dense as a torrential rain, they shot toward Nightmare in the Formation from all directions! The power of each divine spear was enough to easily severely injure or even kill an ordinary Peak Undergoing Tribulation Cultivator!

This was a death trap! Ten perfectly coordinated, top-tier Heavenly Guards, invoking the environmental power of the Hongmeng Realm, had set up a peerless killing Formation specifically to suppress the Reverse! If it were any Peak powerhouse from the Immortal Realm here, they would likely perish instantly, with no possibility of survival!

Facing this ultimate Formation encirclement, for the first time, a faint, almost mocking smile appeared on Nightmare's face.

"Using Order to suppress Chaos?"

"Using Heavenly Dao to judge the Reverse Path?"

He slowly shook his head, as if evaluating a clumsy joke.

"You... simply don't understand what true 'Reverse' is!"

The instant his voice fell, Nightmare moved!

He did not attempt to dodge the endless divine spears—within this Formation, the space for dodging was greatly compressed, so it was of little significance.

What he chose was... the most direct, most brutal, and most fitting way to break the situation for his current state of mind—

Head-on collision! Crush!

"Grandmist Reverse Path Domain—Open!!!"

"Boom—!!!"

A completely different yet equally vast and majestic chaotic-colored Domain erupted from Nightmare as the center! Within the Domain, it was no longer just pure dark red Demonic Flame, but a strange scene of countless phantom chaotic stars emerging and vanishing, and circulating chaotic Dao runes! This Domain carried the ultimate will to negate all established rules and reverse all shackles of Order. The moment it appeared, it engaged in the most intense, rule-level collision and erosion with the golden "Grandmist Reverse-Suppression Formation"!

"Sssss—!!!"

Where the Chaos Domain and the golden Formation light screen touched, a harsh sound of energy dissolving erupted! The golden Formation shook violently, its light flickering uncertainly! Those countless golden divine spears shooting toward Nightmare, the moment they entered the Chaos Domain, saw their speed plummet, the Heavenly Dao runes on their surface rapidly dimming and disintegrating, their power reduced by seventy to eighty percent!

And Nightmare, amidst this weakened rain of divine spears, took a step forward!

His target was not some base of the Formation, but... the ten Heavenly Guards themselves who were setting up the Formation directly in front!

"Formation backlash? I'll make you... not even have the chance for backlash first!"

Nightmare's speed was extreme; under the augmentation of the Chaos Domain, it was as if he had teleported, appearing directly in the center of the Formation formed by the ten Heavenly Guards! The ten Heavenly Guards clearly did not expect the opponent not to play by the rules, not breaking the Formation, but instead striking directly at the core! The operation of the Formation experienced an extremely brief, imperceptible moment of stagnation.

For Nightmare, this bit of stagnation was enough.

"Reverse Path—Star Explosion!"

He slammed his hands together in front of his chest, and the chaotic-colored Hongmeng Reverse Dao Demonic Star Flame was compressed to the extreme in his palms, turning into a Chaos light sphere only the size of a fist, yet emitting earth-shattering fluctuations, and then... it exploded with a boom!

It was not a shockwave spreading outward, but an inward... precisely targeted annihilation storm!

"Hum—!!!"

The chaotic-colored light explosion, with Nightmare as the center, instantly swept across the area where the ten Heavenly Guards were! Within the light explosion contained extreme rules of Chaos and destruction, specialized in breaking all defensive orders and devouring the Heavenly Dao Origin!

"Pfft!" "Urgh!"

The brilliant golden armor on the ten Heavenly Guards, under the scouring of the Chaos light explosion, quickly dimmed, peeled off, and disintegrated like weathered sand sculptures! The protective divine light on their bodies, tightly connected to the Heavenly Dao Origin, evaporated instantly like dew under the sun! The light explosion penetrated their bodies without obstruction, frantically destroying the Meridians, Purple Mansion, and Divine Soul they had constructed from the Heavenly Dao Origin!

The ten let out muffled groans simultaneously, and their uniform Formation collapsed instantly! Each person was like being struck by a heavy blow, their aura plummeting, golden blood seeping from the gaps in their faceplates; they had clearly suffered unprecedented, severe injuries! They tried to stabilize their figures again, urging the remaining Heavenly Dao power to counterattack or defend.

But Nightmare would not give them any chance to catch their breath.

"Die."

A cold word was spat out.

Nightmare's figure flickered like a ghost in the not-yet-dissipated Chaos light explosion. Each flicker was accompanied by a flash of an extremely condensed Chaos blade light.

"Pfft!" "Pfft!" "Pfft!" ...

Ten soft sounds, almost forming a single line.

The movements of the ten Heavenly Guards froze simultaneously.

In the center of the foreheads of their incredibly hard, Divine Soul-connected golden heavy armor, a tiny, Chaos-flame-burning hole appeared simultaneously.

Although the hole was small, it completely severed their vitality. The Reverse Dao Power invaded along the hole, instantly eroding, shredding, and annihilating the Heavenly Dao Nascent Soul and Divine Soul core within their Purple Mansion!

The ten pairs of eyes hidden behind the faceplates, originally cold and ruthless, quickly dimmed and extinguished.

The ten golden shells that had lost all life aura, like puppets with cut strings, slowly fell toward the boundless golden ocean of light below, soon to be engulfed by that soft yet all-consuming golden light, disappearing from sight.

Ten Peak Undergoing Tribulation Heavenly Dao Guards, the first barrier of the heavenly dao core, were annihilated—crushed like dry weeds and rotten wood—under Nightmare's absolute strength and tactics after his Breakthrough!

Nightmare hovered in the air, slowly retracting the Chaos Domain. He raised his hand in a beckoning motion, and ten points of the purest energy, resembling solid golden droplets, flew up from the ocean of light below and landed in his palm.

This was the "Grandmist Heavenly Dao Origin" forcibly plundered and purified from the dissipated Origin after the ten Heavenly Guards fell. Each drop contained extremely pure and high-level Heavenly Dao Order power, which was originally highly toxic to Reverse Path Cultivators, but under the wrapping of the Hongmeng Reverse Dao Demonic Star Flame, it could be slowly refined and absorbed, becoming valuable nourishment for stabilizing cultivation and even further understanding the dialectical relationship between "Order" and "Chaos."

Nightmare put away the ten drops of Origin, casting his gaze deeper into the ocean of light.

The order fluctuations there, because of the fall of the ten Heavenly Guards, seemed to ripple ever so slightly, but soon returned to that grand and rhythmic pulsation. And at the source of that fluctuation, the outline of a more solid, thicker pale golden barrier, as if isolating two worlds, flickered in the deepest part of the ocean of light.

The heavenly dao core barrier!

The final checkpoint leading to the ultimate goal!

Nightmare's eyes were sharp as knives, and the Chaos Demonic Flame around his body rose again.

"Next."