Loosening of restrictions

Although that bloody and eerie image only lasted for an instant, it was deeply branded into the depths of Nightmare's Divine Soul.

That pitch-black, pulsating heart covered in demonic patterns! The aura of evil and deathly silence it emitted was far purer than Nightmare could have imagined, to the point that even his withered Demonic Essence Nascent Soul felt a trace of palpitation and... longing?

"Demonic Heart... Altar..." Nightmare muttered to himself, a faint light flickering in his eyes. "The Sky Patrol Alliance actually sealed a Demonic Heart here? Where did this thing come from? And why choose this place with such barren Spiritual Qi?"

Countless questions swirled in his mind. But Nightmare knew that given his current strength and state, he was simply incapable of delving into the Origin of this Demonic Heart. Just a moment ago, the backlash from his Divine Sense merely touching it had caused his Divine Soul to sting with pain; had he not cut the connection in time, he likely would have been eroded by the terrifying will contained within that Demonic Heart.

Forcibly breaking in would mean certain death.

But giving up just like that was definitely not Nightmare's style. The power emitted by that Demonic Heart was an irresistible tonic for the Myriad Poison Demonic Scripture and the Myriad Poison Demonic Body.

"If I cannot take it by force, then I shall take it by craft." Nightmare steadied his mind and focused his attention once again on the residual Restriction of the Seal.

This time, Nightmare was even more cautious. His Divine Sense no longer attempted to probe deep into the cave, but instead, like the finest threads, slowly coiled around the base of the stone stele and the remnant Formation composed of the nine broken stone pillars.

What Nightmare needed to do was not to break this profound Seal—that was far beyond his current capabilities. Nightmare's goal was to find the minute cracks in the remnant Formation caused by the passage of time and the impact of Devilish Qi, and carefully widen them just a tiny bit.

It was like finding an anthill on a dam and then gently digging it open a little to let more water seep out.

This required an extremely high level of attainment in Formation and extremely precise control over energy. Fortunately, as a Demonic Venerable in his past life, Nightmare had vast knowledge; although he did not specialize in Formations, the foundation remained. Coupled with the Myriad Poison Demonic Body's keen perception of negative energy, he could clearly "see" the nodes on the Restriction where energy flow was obstructed or already clogged and damaged.

Time passed in silence.

Nightmare's fingertips were wreathed in extremely faint Demonic Essence, acting like the most delicate engraving tool. Occasionally, he would gently tap at a break in a stone pillar or a crack in the base of the stone stele, injecting a trace of the corrosive power of the Xiangliu Poison, or guiding a surge of dense poisonous miasma and Death Qi to strike.

This process was extremely slow and required absolute concentration. The slightest mistake could trigger a backlash from the remaining power of the Restriction, or even accelerate the collapse of the entire Seal, which would have disastrous consequences.

Several hours later, fine beads of sweat appeared on Nightmare's forehead, and his face was even paler, but his eyes were becoming increasingly bright.

Success!

Under his ingenious "operation," the resistance at one extremely tiny point on the invisible barrier at the cave entrance seemed to weaken by an insignificant amount. Following that, pure evil energy, significantly denser than before, seeped out in wisps as if it had found an outlet!

In an instant, the multicolored poisonous miasma at the bottom of the sinkhole seemed to boil, frantically gathering toward the cave entrance, only to be repelled by the pure evil energy, forming a small vortex. And Nightmare was right at the center of the vortex!

"Heh..." Nightmare felt the surging, cold, and deathly silent evil energy that nonetheless made his Demonic Essence Nascent Soul rejoice, and he couldn't help but let out a sigh of comfort.

The Myriad Poison Demonic Scripture operated on its own at an unprecedented speed, greedily devouring and refining this massive energy. His parched Meridians were like a long drought meeting sweet rain, crazily absorbing the refined Demonic Essence after conversion. Under the scouring of this power, the Impurities in his Physical Body were further removed, making it even tougher. Even the trace of witheredness on the Nascent Soul's face seemed to have lessened slightly.

At this rate, the time required to recover to the Golden Core Stage would be greatly shortened!

However, fortune hides disaster.

Just as Nightmare was immersed in the pleasure of his rapidly recovering power, a trace of an extremely faint yet unusually sharp and cold intent, mixed within the surging evil energy, attempted to drill into his Sea of Consciousness.

This intent was filled with temptation, resentment, and crazy whispers, as if it were a call from the Nine Nether Hell, enticing one to fall, promising power, and stirring up the Heart Demon.

It was the will of the Demonic Heart! Even though it was sealed, it was still instinctively spreading its influence outward!

Nightmare abruptly snapped to alertness, a fierce look flashing in his eyes. His Demonic Essence Nascent Soul let out a cold snort, and a pure, original will of the Demonic Path erupted, instantly crushing that trace of foreign intent.

"A mere sealed heart dares to bewitch my mind?" Nightmare's tone was cold, but he became even more vigilant.

The terror of this Demonic Heart far exceeded his estimation. It could not only emit energy but also infiltrate one's will. Cultivating here for a long time required one to constantly guard their original heart; otherwise, it would be extremely easy to be bewitched by it and become a demonic puppet that only knew how to kill and destroy.

But risk and opportunity coexist. This kind of confrontation was, in itself, a form of tempering for the Divine Soul.

Nightmare steadied his mind, accelerating the absorption and refining of the evil energy while dividing a portion of his Divine Sense to guard his spiritual platform, resisting the pervasive whispers of the Demonic Heart.

There is no sun or moon in the cave.

Just as Nightmare was diligently cultivating at the bottom of the sinkhole with the help of the Demonic Heart's evil energy, Black Mountain City was surging with even more turbulent undercurrents due to the death of Wang Teng and the rumors of mutated Yao Beasts.

Inside a secret chamber in the City Lord's Mansion.

The candlelight flickered, illuminating two slightly gloomy faces.

One of them was dressed in the attire of a Black Mountain City garrison general, with a steady aura; he was the City Lord's confidant. The other was draped in a black cloak, their face hidden in the shadows, revealing only a pair of eyes shooting with piercing light. The spiritual power fluctuations radiating from their body had clearly reached the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, and they had even vaguely touched the threshold of the Golden Core!

"Fellow Daoist Lin, what do you think about the matter of that brat from the Wang family?" the garrison general asked in a deep voice.

The Black-Robed Person addressed as Fellow Daoist Lin spoke in a hoarse voice: "Mutated Yao Beast? Hmph, that might fool those idiots in the Wang family. The toxic power remaining at the scene is cold and deathly silent; it is definitely not ordinary beast poison, but rather seems to be... caused by some extremely profound Demonic Technique."

The garrison general's expression changed: "Demonic Technique? Does Fellow Daoist Lin mean that a Demonic Cultivator has infiltrated the Black Mountain Range?"

"Nine times out of ten," the Black-Robed Person said coldly, "And their strength is definitely not weak. To be able to easily kill a Second-Stage Middle Stage Yao Beast and fake it as a mutation backlash, they must be at least at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, or perhaps even... a Golden Core old monster."

"A Golden Core Demonic Cultivator?!" The garrison general gasped, "What is he doing sneaking into this backwater place? Could it be that he is also here for..."

The Black-Robed Person raised a hand to interrupt him: "No matter the reason, we cannot let him ruin our grand undertaking. The 'Holy Sect' envoy will arrive in a few days to receive the first batch of 'blood food.' Before that, there must be absolutely no mistakes!"

The garrison general looked troubled: "But if it really is a Golden Core Demonic Cultivator, with us..."

"It matters not," the Black-Robed Person laughed sinisterly. "Lord Envoy's cultivation is heaven-defying; a mere Golden Core can be extinguished with a flip of the hand. The top priority is to strengthen security and keep a close watch on the movements in the mountain range, especially... the status of those few Seal points; there must be no slip-ups. If that Demonic Cultivator happens to stumble upon them..."

The garrison general's expression tightened: "I understand! I will immediately send more men to monitor all main routes into the mountain and send people to check those places again."

"Proceed with caution and do not alert the enemy," the Black-Robed Person warned, "Once the envoy arrives, all ghosts and monsters will be nothing to worry about!"

The two discussed in low voices for a while longer before the Black-Robed Person silently departed like a ghost.

The secret chamber returned to silence, with only the candlelight crackling, illuminating the garrison general's grave yet slightly fanatical face.

Black Mountain City, a storm is coming.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the sinkhole, Nightmare was still completely unaware of the impending crisis. Nightmare was exerting his full strength to operate his profound technique, with Devilish Qi swirling around his body, and his aura was becoming formidable at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Suddenly, Nightmare frowned, snapped his eyes open, and looked toward the cave entrance.

Just a moment ago, he felt that the evil energy overflowing from the crack he had slightly widened seemed to... become disordered for an instant?

It was as if something down below... had struck the Seal?