Desert exploration and intelligence gathering

Black Wind Desert.

The name was no exaggeration. When the three black warships disengaged from sub-light speed cruise, slowly decelerated, and entered this Star Domain—marked as a "Chaos Zone" on the edge of the High Universe Domain—everyone on the bridge clearly felt the aura of a "desert."

It was not devoid of stars. On the contrary, the shattered star fragments, asteroid belts, and twisted spatial folds here were far denser than in any region they had passed through before.

However, most of these celestial bodies appeared a dead, grayish-black, their surfaces covered in impact craters and traces of energy erosion, with almost no detectable signs of normal life.

Vast areas were filled with violent, colorful, yet destructive "Grandmist Turbulence." These turbulent currents were like sandstorms in the Universe, silently sweeping through and slicing everything. Even the warships' shields would emit sizzling sounds of erosion upon contact with these currents.

Further away, one could occasionally see "bubbles" emitting a faint light—these were relatively stable small Secret Realms or spatial fragments, like oases in a desert, but they were often places where danger and opportunity coexisted. Viewed as a whole, this Star Domain appeared desolate, dangerous, yet possessed a wild, untamed, and primitive feel.

"The intensity of the energy turbulence is 3.7 times that of a standard region, spatial stability is extremely poor, and standard scanning Formation are severely interfered with." Inside the bridge of the ni dao vessel, the Nidao Guards responsible for detection reported in a deep voice.

"Would the Hongmeng Divine Court place an edge intelligence station in a place like this?" Blood Fang's voice came through the communication channel, filled with confusion.

Nightmare stood before the main console, toying with a Jade Slip he had obtained from the Hongmeng Post Captain. The information about the Black Wind Desert inside the Jade Slip was very brief, only marking a few rough safe shipping lanes and potential "Divine Court Outposts," but it did not provide precise coordinates.

"The more chaotic and remote it is, the more suitable it is for doing things that cannot see the light of day, or for hiding things one does not want to be easily discovered," Nightmare said calmly, his gaze sweeping over the bizarre and motley turbulent currents outside the porthole. "Since the Hongmeng Divine Court is the hegemon here, monitoring such chaotic zones, collecting intelligence, and controlling resources is inevitable."

He closed his eyes, and his Divine Thought spread out in all directions from himself like mercury spilling on the ground. His Divine Soul power at the Early Stage of the Hunyuan Celestial Venerable Realm was far stronger and more condensed than when he was at the Dao Master Realm. Although interfered with by the Grandmist Turbulence, it could still cover a considerably vast area.

His Divine Thought, like invisible tentacles, swept across patches of dead meteorite belts, passed through violent energy vortexes, and probed into those glowing Secret Realm "bubbles"...

In most places, there was only desolation, or some strange-looking but low-intelligence interstellar creatures that had adapted to the local environment.

Suddenly, Nightmare's Divine Thought paused slightly as it swept past an inconspicuous "dust cloud" composed of a large amount of fine stardust.

This dust cloud looked no different from anywhere else, but its "movement" trajectory seemed a bit too "regular." Moreover, deep in the core of the dust cloud, his Divine Thought sensed a trace of extremely faint, yet deliberately concealed... energy fluctuation. That fluctuation was very stable, bearing traces of artificial creation, and was completely out of place with the surrounding violent and chaotic natural environment.

"Found it." Nightmare opened his eyes, a cold light flashing in his Chaos-colored pupils. He pointed in the direction of the dust cloud. "Front left, 730,000 miles, at the core of that stardust belt."

"Target locked. Energy reaction is weak but has periodic patterns. Artificial structure confirmed." The ship-borne Formation soon also captured the anomaly.

"Stop the ship. Blood Fang, take fifty elite Vanguard Army members and come with me. The rest, remain on the warship, maintain vigilance, and activate the highest level of concealment Formation," Nightmare ordered.

Soon, a small landing craft ejected from the belly of the ni dao vessel and slid silently toward the stardust belt like a ghost. Inside the craft, besides Nightmare and Blood Fang, there were fifty elite Vanguard Army members at the Peak of the Dao Master Realm, who specialized in stealth and assault.

The landing craft skillfully avoided several obvious energy turbulence areas and used the cover of the stardust itself to slowly approach the target area. When the distance closed to within ten thousand miles, one could vaguely see a pitch-black, low-profile, disc-shaped building with no obvious markings floating in the core of the slowly rotating stardust. The surface of the building was covered with thick stardust, almost blending into the background; it would be extremely difficult to discover if not for deliberate probing.

"It's a small interstellar fortress, or rather... a reinforced intelligence outpost," Blood Fang said in a low voice through the high-precision observation Formation. "Detected internal life signs, quantity... thirty-five. Five of them have strong reactions, estimated to be at the Early Stage of the Celestial Venerable Realm. The remaining thirty are around the Peak of the Dao Master Realm. There is an energy shield outside the fortress, but it is in a low-power concealment state. There is an independent communication array, but it is not currently sending signals."

Nightmare nodded; it was about the same as what his Divine Thought had perceived. He stood up and walked to the landing craft's hatch.

"Wait here for my signal. Once a battle breaks out inside the fortress, or if any signal attempts to be sent out, immediately storm the entrance and wipe out all perimeter resistance."

"Yes!"

After giving the order, Nightmare's figure vanished directly from the landing craft.

It was not teleportation. In the Black Wind Desert where the spatial structure was unstable, large-scale teleportation could easily trigger unpredictable risks. He used a bizarre movement technique that was almost "blending into space," turning into a dim phantom that was almost impossible to perceive, piercing through the obstacles of the stardust belt, and silently approaching the black disc-shaped fortress.

The fortress's concealment shield was effective against conventional detection, but for Nightmare, who had already locked onto the target and had a profound mastery of energy structures, it was no different from a sham. He easily found a subtle "ripple" node in the shield's energy cycle. The Hongmeng Chaos Nirvana Anti-Dao Demon Star Flame condensed at his fingertips, turning into a Chaos-colored thread thinner than a hair, and gently "tapped" on that node.

Sss.

With a barely audible sound, the shield quietly opened a tiny gap at that point, just enough for one person to pass through. And because of the characteristics of the Demonic Flame, this gap did not trigger any alarms.

Nightmare's figure drifted in like light smoke, and the gap quickly closed behind him, as if it had never appeared.

Inside the fortress, it was not as busy or murderous as imagined; instead, it appeared somewhat... dull. The corridors were a cold metallic gray, the lighting was dim, and the air was filled with a scent of long-term confinement, mixed with energy agents and dust. Occasionally, Cultivators wearing simple gray uniforms hurried past, most of them wearing a look of numbness and impatience from being exiled to the edge of the world.

Their cultivation was indeed not weak, at least at the Peak of the Dao Master Realm; placed in a Middle Universe Domain, they would be enough to serve as Elders of a force, but here, they were just the most ordinary intelligence station guards.

Nightmare traveled through the corridors like a ghost, his figure perfectly blending with the surrounding environment, while his Reverse Dao Power interfered with all detection fluctuations that might touch him. Based on the structure he had perceived in a fleeting glance before entering, he headed straight for the Core Zone of the fortress—that was where energy fluctuations were most concentrated, and it should be the control center and the place where intelligence was stored.

Along the way, he encountered three patrols of guards. Without any unnecessary movements, each time his figure flashed and the Demonic Flame at his fingertips flickered, those guards would silently collapse to the ground, their vitality and Divine Soul instantly swallowed and annihilated by the Demonic Flame, without even a trace of fluctuation being transmitted.

Soon, he arrived before a heavy alloy door engraved with defensive runes. Behind the door was the entire fortress's control center and core database. His Divine Thought penetrated inside, and he could "see" five people within. Three of them were at the Peak of the Dao Master Realm, operating some complex Formation instruments; the other two sat on the central jade throne, their aura significantly stronger, and they were indeed two of the five at the Early Stage of the Celestial Venerable Realm. They seemed to be resting with their eyes closed, or perhaps monitoring the situation in the desert through some means.

Nightmare did not hesitate and raised his hand to press on the alloy door. In his palm, the Chaos Demonic Flame spread silently, like the finest etching acid, instantly invading the door's rune structure, disintegrating and burning its energy circuits and defensive mechanisms from within.

The entire process was silent.

Three breaths later, the heavy alloy door, like a weathered sand sculpture, silently turned into a pile of iron-gray powder and fell with a rustle.

The five people inside were alerted simultaneously! The two Cultivators at the Early Stage of the Celestial Venerable Realm opened their eyes instantly, sharp light exploding from their eyes!

"Who is it?!"

"Enemy attack—!"

However, their warnings and actions were all too slow.

Nightmare's figure had already appeared in the center of the control room. He did not give anyone a chance to activate the alarm Formation or send a message.

"Dao Reversal Ultimate Kill Domain—Open!"

Hum!

A dark Domain, more condensed and with more precise range control than when at the Hongmeng Post, instantly filled the entire control room! Inside the Domain, light was distorted, sound was isolated, and all energy transmission was forcibly interrupted!

Those two Celestial Venerable Realm Cultivators who had just stood up, their Origin not yet fully activated, only felt an irresistible force of cold annihilation instantly wrap around their bodies. Their protective divine light shattered like a fragile eggshell, and the Celestial Venerable Origin within their bodies actually began to flow backward and collapse uncontrollably!

"No...!" One of them showed extreme terror on his face, wanting to self-destruct his core, but found that even this thought had become incredibly slow.

Nightmare did not look at them again. With a thought, the Demonic Flame within the Domain split into several strands, like poisonous snakes choosing people to devour, instantly piercing through the foreheads of the two Celestial Venerable Realm Cultivators and the three Peak Dao Master Realm operators!

Pfft, pfft, pfft!

The five figures stiffened simultaneously, the luster in their eyes quickly dimmed and extinguished, and they fell softly to the ground.

From Nightmare breaking in to all five people in the control room being killed, the entire process did not exceed one breath.

The Domain slowly receded. Nightmare glanced at the flashing Formation runes on the console that had been forcibly interrupted, and ignored them. His gaze turned to the back of the control room, at a jade wall embedded in the wall that emitted faint spatial fluctuations—that was clearly the encrypted database where intelligence was stored.

He walked to the jade wall and placed his palm over it. His Divine Thought, carrying the overbearing Reverse Dao Power, slammed into the jade wall's defensive Restriction like a battering ram!

Hum! The jade wall flashed wildly, the internal defensive mechanisms resisting crazily, even attempting to initiate a self-destruct sequence.

"Shatter."

Nightmare's palm flickered with Demonic Flame, and a more violent, more erosive force was injected. The light on the surface of the jade wall quickly dimmed, and cracks began to appear.

Crack!

The jade wall shattered, revealing the dense, star-like flickering Jade Slips and memory crystals inside.

Nightmare's Divine Thought swept through all storage units like a gale, and a massive amount of information was forcibly read, copied, and stored into his own Sea of Consciousness. Most of it was environmental monitoring data, resource point distribution, records of abnormal energy fluctuations, and tracking reports of past intruders regarding the Black Wind Desert and surrounding areas.

Soon, he found the core part he wanted.

An extremely detailed "High Universe Domain · Eastern Edge Star Domain Force Distribution Map (Divine Court System)." It clearly marked the positions and overviews of the Hongmeng Divine Court as the core, with dozens of large and small affiliated forces, hundreds of resource star sectors, and thousands of monitoring outposts and transportation hubs beneath it. The Black Wind Desert was merely insignificant edge dust in the Divine Court's vast ruling network.

A Jade Slip with a detailed explanation of the general cultivation System of the High Universe Domain. Above the Celestial Venerable Realm, there were indeed higher levels: Hunyuan Celestial Venerable Realm (divided into Early, Middle, Late, Peak), Hongmeng Celestial Venerable Realm (same as above), and the Cosmic Supreme Realm that only existed in legends. The Jade Slip also mentioned the gap in strength between different Realms, as well as some iconic ability characteristics.

Several pieces of higher-encrypted intelligence regarding part of the internal organizational structure of the Hongmeng Divine Court, resource allocation rules, and some recent cleanup plans targeting edge resistance forces.

There was also a star chart fragment marked "Top Secret," pointing to a dangerous place deep in the Black Wind Desert called the "Ancient Burial Star Vortex," with the note "Suspected Reverse Path Origin fluctuation, pending further investigation" written next to it.

A light flashed in Nightmare's eyes as he compared this star chart fragment with the slightly heating Reverse Path Stele mark on the back of his hand, confirming its authenticity.

"Reverse Path Origin... there are indeed clues here," he whispered to himself, marking this piece of intelligence as a priority.

After quickly browsing through all valuable information, Demonic Flame surged from Nightmare's palm, burning all the Formation cores, the remains of the storage jade wall, and the five corpses in the control room into nothingness, ensuring no traces that could be tracked were left behind.

Then, he sent a Divine Thought message to Blood Fang, who was waiting outside.

"Perimeter, cleanup begins."

The moment the order was given, the fifty elite Vanguard Army members who had been waiting at the perimeter entrance of the fortress, like tigers released from their cages, led by Blood Fang, fiercely broke through the fortress's fragile entrance defenses!

The remaining twenty-eight Cultivators inside the fortress (three at the Early Stage of the Celestial Venerable Realm, twenty-five at the Peak of the Dao Master Realm) only then reacted to the Chaos of the control room being raided and communications being completely cut off, and hastily engaged in battle.

However, having lost unified command and the early warning System, facing fifty enemies of the same rank or even stronger (Blood Fang had already broken through to the Celestial Venerable Realm) who were well-coordinated, high in Battle Intent, and well-prepared, their resistance appeared pale and powerless.

The battle broke out in various corridors and cabins inside the fortress, but it ended quickly. The Nidao Vanguard Army, with absolute numerical superiority and surprise, slaughtered all resistance in less than half an incense stick of time, with minimal casualties of their own.

"Alliance Master, the interior of the fortress has been cleared, all Divine Court Cultivators have been executed, no stragglers were found, and no information was sent out." Blood Fang, covered in blood but with excited eyes, came to the control room to report.

Nightmare nodded and selected a portion of the core intelligence just obtained regarding force distribution and the cultivation System, condensed them into a few Jade Slips, and handed them to Blood Fang.

"Let everyone circulate and read them, and familiarize themselves with the situation in the High Universe Domain as soon as possible."

"Yes!"

"Then, completely destroy this fortress, do not leave any clues that can be tracked. After finishing, return to the main ship."

After Nightmare finished speaking, his figure merged into space again, returning to the "ni dao vessel" first.

Standing before the bridge porthole, he watched the black fortress in the distant stardust belt, which had begun to flare with fire and whose internal structure was constantly collapsing, his eyes deep.

Hongmeng Divine Court... Hunyuan Celestial Venerable... Hongmeng Celestial Venerable... Cosmic Supreme...

And, the clues to the Reverse Path Origin...

The scroll of the High Universe Domain was slowly unfolding before him, dangerous, yet full of endless possibilities.

"Black Wind Desert..." He whispered the name, a cold arc curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Let it start from here."