Vanguard encirclement and suppression, demonic flames counterattack

The former Jia-36 Patrol Station had now been renamed 'Nidao Outpost One'.

This fortress, built on the edge of the Grandmist turbulent zone and constructed from sturdy star-core alloy, had become Nightmare's first stable stronghold in the Black Wind Desert.

The fortress's own defensive Formation was not top-tier, but after Nightmare reinforced it with Demonic Flame and Reverse Path runes, it was sufficient to withstand ordinary Celestial Venerable Realm attacks.

In the observation room on the top floor of the fortress, Nightmare stood with his hands behind his back before the massive, one-way transparent star window, gazing calmly at the grotesque and eternally chaotic desert star sea outside.

The Reverse Path stele mark on the back of his hand maintained a faint, warm sensation, like a silent warning, or perhaps a signpost pointing to even deeper depths.

'Alliance Leader, the analysis results of the residual Divine Court communication fluctuations we just received are out.' Blood Fang strode in, holding a recording Jade Slip, his expression grave.

'Although we destroyed most of the communication nodes earlier, while clearing the residual energy field of that last patrol team, we captured an extremely concealed Divine Soul fragment signal pointing to a specific coordinate.'

'Combined with the internal Divine Court communication coding rules obtained from the intelligence station... it is basically certain that before that patrol team was wiped out, they sent out their final death coordinates.'

Nightmare turned around, took the Jade Slip, and swept it with his Divine Thought.

It contained a detailed record of the analyzed coordinate—it was precisely the location of 'Black Wind Star,' where the Black Wind Branch was located, along with the emergency identifier contained in the signal, representing 'encountered force majeure, all members perished.'

'In other words, the Black Wind Branch already knows something happened here.' Nightmare crushed the Jade Slip casually, turning it into powder.

'Yes.' Blood Fang nodded.

'According to the records in the intelligence station regarding the Divine Court's response speed, the complete annihilation of such an edge patrol team is a major incident.'

'The Black Wind Branch will receive the alert within a day at the latest, and is very likely to dispatch elite troops to investigate and hold someone accountable within three days.'

'One day... three days...' Nightmare walked to the sand table in the center of the observation room (the sand table simulated the terrain of the Black Wind Desert and parts of the surrounding Star Domain), pointing his fingertip at the location of the outpost fortress.

'From Black Wind Star to here, at the conventional starship speed of the High Universe Domain, plus the time required to traverse part of the chaotic zone... if they send troops, the first batch of elites will likely arrive in our area in about five days.'

He raised his head, Chaos-colored light flowing in his eyes: 'We don't have much time left.'

'Alliance Leader, should we proactively withdraw and temporarily avoid their edge?' Blood Fang asked.

Although he was belligerent, he knew clearly that if they faced the encirclement of the Divine Court Branch's elite main force with their current strength, it would probably be very difficult.

Although the Alliance Leader was strong, the enemy would inevitably send existences of the same level or even stronger.

'Avoid?' A cold arc curled at the corner of Nightmare's mouth. 'Why avoid? Them coming is just right.'

He turned and looked at Blood Fang and the several squad leaders who had rushed over upon hearing the news: 'Pass down the order: all Vanguard Army personnel are to stop all external activities and withdraw to the outpost fortress.'

'From this moment on, the fortress enters the highest level of combat readiness, but the external camouflage remains unchanged; keep a low profile.'

'In addition, have everyone concentrate all the Divine Court standard equipment, identity tokens, and Materials containing Divine Court Aura that have been looted during this period and hand them over to me.'

'Alliance Leader, you are going to...' Blood Fang was somewhat puzzled.

'Set up a 'great Formation' and prepare a 'generous gift' for them.' A sharp, murderous intent flashed in Nightmare's eyes. 'Since they are here, don't even think about returning.'

Over the next two days, the entire interior of the outpost fortress fell into a different kind of tense and orderly busyness.

All looted items with obvious Grandmist Divine Court Auras were concentrated in the core Formation hub on the lowest level of the fortress.

Nightmare personally took action, using the Hongmeng Chaos Nirvana Anti-Dao Demon Star Flame as a foundation to strip, refine, and distort the residual Divine Court Origin Auras from these items.

He then mixed in his own pure Reverse Path Power and, in an extremely profound and complex way, engraved them onto the foundation of the fortress's defensive Formation.

He even extended it further, laying down layers of Reverse Path runes that were extremely difficult to perceive by the naked eye or conventional Divine Thought in the Void Realm within a hundred miles of the fortress.

This was not a simple defensive or offensive Formation, but a composite 'Ultimate Kill Trap'.

It possessed extremely strong concealment, capable of perfectly simulating part of the fluctuations of a Divine Court Formation to confuse and attract enemies; once large-scale, high-intensity, and hostile energy entered its range, it would instantly trigger, forming a 'Dao Reversal Ultimate Kill Domain' that covered the entire area, and would prioritize devouring and disintegrating the power belonging to the Grandmist Divine Court system!

'Let's call this Formation the 'Nidao God-Slaying Formation' for now.' Nightmare stood at the core of the Formation, feeling the cold and deadly energy flowing within, and whispered to himself.

This was the first 'killing Formation' in the true sense that he had created by combining his own Legacy, his understanding of Formations, and the energy characteristics of the High Universe Domain.

After completing the Formation, he spent another day personally distributing and adjusting equipment for all the Vanguard Army elites, and taught them a few simple yet practical small battle Formations to coordinate combat within the range of the 'Nidao God-Slaying Formation'.

After doing all this, there was only one day left until the estimated arrival time of the Divine Court troops.

'Everyone, take your positions, conceal your Auras, and wait for orders.' Nightmare issued his final command, then went alone to the observation deck at the very top of the fortress, sat cross-legged, and closed his eyes to rest.

The entire outpost fortress seemed to have completely blended into the background of the desert, dead silent.

The fifth day, early morning (based on the fortress's internal time).

In the observation room, the Nidao Guard responsible for monitoring suddenly opened his eyes and whispered: 'Alliance Leader, large-scale spatial fluctuations detected! Bearing, due east by south! Distance about three million miles! Speed is extremely fast, approaching us!'

Nightmare slowly opened his eyes, and Demonic Flame flashed and disappeared deep within his Chaos-colored pupils.

'They're here.'

He stood up and walked to the star window.

In the distant starry sky, a brilliant silver light was tearing through the obstruction of the Grandmist turbulent zone and rushing over!

It was a massive team composed of over seventy powerful Auras!

They were not riding large starships but were each piloting small flying Magical Artifacts or directly crossing the void, forming a tight battle Formation like a moving silver nebula.

Wherever they passed, the violent turbulence was forcibly pushed aside and suppressed!

Leading them was a man with an exceptionally burly figure, like an iron tower, with a face full of flesh and a hideous scar slashing diagonally from his forehead to his chin.

He was the Deputy Commander of the Black Wind Branch, Huo Gang of the Early Stage of the Hunyuan Celestial Venerable Realm!

He was clad in dark silver heavy battle armor and held a ferocious battle axe the size of a door panel.

His Hunyuan Realm Aura was released without concealment, like a Vicious Beast released from a cage, full of violence and the desire for slaughter.

Behind him were twenty Celestial Venerable Realm Middle Stage Cultivators with steady Auras and sharp eyes, and fifty Celestial Venerable Realm Early Stage Cultivators reeking of Killing Intent!

Seventy-one Celestial Venerable Realm experts in total!

This force was enough to easily sweep through any Star Domain in the Middle Universe Domain, but at this moment, it was just for the sake of encircling the 'unknown enemy' in the Black Wind Desert!

'Commander! Ahead is the former site of the Jia-36 Patrol Station! Weak energy reactions have been detected, and there are traces of building debris and artificial reinforcement!' A Celestial Venerable Realm Middle Stage Cultivator skilled in detection reported loudly.

Huo Gang's bell-like eyes glared at the dilapidated and dead-silent fortress outline ahead, and he sneered: 'So they are hiding here! A bunch of rats in the gutter, thinking they can get away with it after wiping out a few patrol teams?'

He raised his battle axe, the blade pointing at the fortress, and his voice exploded like thunder, rolling towards the front:

'Listen, those inside! I am Huo Gang, Deputy Commander of the Black Wind Branch of the Grandmist Divine Court! You have committed the crime of killing Divine Court Cultivators, a crime punishable by death! Now, roll out immediately, kneel and accept your bonds, and hand over all looted items, and this Commander might consider giving you a quick death! If not, after I break through this place, I will definitely skin you alive and imprison your Divine Souls in purgatory forever!'

The sound waves, mixed with the pressure of the Hunyuan Celestial Venerable Realm, impacted the fortress's defense like a tsunami.

A faint layer of light, carrying the unique fluctuations of the Divine Court standard Formation, lit up on the surface of the fortress, barely resisting, appearing precarious.

Inside the fortress, there was silence; no one responded.

'Humph! You don't weep until you see the coffin!' The flesh on Huo Gang's face twitched, and fierce light appeared in his eyes. 'Blast it open for me!'

'Yes!'

Behind him, twenty Celestial Venerable Realm Middle Stage Cultivators stepped forward simultaneously, each offering up their Magic Treasure.

The majestic Celestial Venerable Origin gathered, turning into twenty destructive beams of light of different colors but equally terrifying, like twenty roaring Dragons, slamming fiercely towards the fortress ahead!

A joint strike from twenty Middle Stage Celestial Venerables was powerful enough to instantly turn a small planet into powder!

Boom—!!!

Amidst the deafening roar, the 'faint' layer of light on the surface of the fortress flickered violently, and then... shattered with a bang!

The outer structure of the fortress collapsed and shattered in large swaths under the impact of the energy aftermath, and dust filled the air!

"Hahaha! Pathetic!" Huo Gang laughed wildly, waving his hand, "Charge in! Take them alive! I want to crush their bones with my own hands!"

The seventy-one Divine Court Cultivators, like sharks smelling blood, wore cruel smiles as they transformed into streaks of light, scrambling to charge into the dark, internal area of the fortress that had been revealed by the broken outer layer!

Huo Gang followed behind, carrying his battle axe, unhurriedly.

In his mind, the enemy had at most one or two in the Early Stage of the Hunyuan Celestial Venerable Realm, plus some small fry in the Celestial Venerable Realm; before his elite army, they were destined to be crushed.

He was already contemplating which torture method to use once he captured the ringleader, to best vent his anger and simultaneously intimidate any other riffraff.

However, the moment the last Divine Court Cultivator rushed into the fortress range, and Huo Gang himself stepped into the airspace above the seemingly broken metal ruins—

A sudden change occurred!

Hum—!!!

The entire fortress ruin, along with the Void Realm for a hundred miles around, shook violently!

The next moment, countless pitch-black Reverse Path runes, exuding a cold, deadly, and chaotic, subversive Aura, suddenly lit up and emerged like long-dormant vipers from the shattered walls, the ruins beneath their feet, and even from the Void Realm itself!

These runes instantly intertwined and connected, forming a massive and complex three-dimensional Formation network! It completely enveloped the seventy-one Divine Court Cultivators who had charged in, along with Huo Gang himself!

An indescribable power of "stripping" and "devouring" descended instantly!

All the Divine Court Cultivators were horrified to discover that the Origin cultivated from their Divine Court Cultivation Technique had begun to agitate and drain away uncontrollably!

It was as if they were being frantically drained by this bizarre Formation!

And those Formation runes, after absorbing the Divine Court Origin, grew even darker and deeper, their dangerous Aura surging exponentially!

"Not good! It's a trap! The Formation is strange!" a Middle Stage Celestial Venerable Realm Cultivator screamed in terror.

"What are you panicking about! It's just a Formation, break for me!"

Huo Gang was also startled, but immediately flew into a rage. He unleashed his full Hunyuan Celestial Venerable Realm Origin, swung his battle axe in a full arc, and a massive axe beam that seemed to tear the heavens apart slashed fiercely toward the core area of the Formation!

However, his axe beam, capable of splitting mountains and shattering stars, upon touching the light barrier of the Formation, acted as if a clay ox had entered the sea; it was entangled, divided, and devoured by the countless Reverse Path runes!

Not only did it fail to break the Formation, but after the Formation absorbed part of his power, it operated even more violently!

"What the hell is this?!" Huo Gang's expression finally changed.

Just then, a cold, calm voice rang out clearly in the ears of everyone within the Formation:

"Welcome to... the Reverse Path God-Slaying Formation."

As the voice faded, Nightmare's figure slowly emerged in the center of the Formation, as if coalescing from nothingness.

He was still wearing the same simple black clothes, and there was no earth-shattering Aura around him, but those Chaos-colored pupils made every Divine Court Cultivator who saw them feel a stinging pain and icy chill in their Divine Soul.

"Early Stage Hunyuan Celestial Venerable Realm... so you're the one who killed our men?" Huo Gang stared intensely at Nightmare, holding his battle axe horizontally in front of him, as his Hunyuan Realm pressure fiercely resisted the devouring power of the Formation.

"Yes." Nightmare answered simply and directly.

"Good! Very good!" Huo Gang laughed in extreme anger, "Hiding your head and showing your tail, setting up an ambush—you really are a sinister villain! However, do you think you can trap this Commander with this strange Formation? Today, I will let you know that in the face of absolute power, all tricks are a joke!"

He no longer held back, letting out a roar toward the sky. His body actually expanded again, hideous beast markings appeared on his skin, his Aura surged violently, and he vaguely touched the threshold of the Middle Stage of the Hunyuan Celestial Venerable Realm!

This was a Body Refining secret technique he cultivated, which could significantly boost his combat power in a short time, but at a high cost.

"Divine Court Battle Technique—Wild Beast Heaven-Opening!"

Huo Gang gripped the battle axe with both hands, his entire being merging with the axe, transforming into a destructive hurricane that tore through everything, charging violently toward Nightmare in the center of the Formation!

Wherever it passed, even the Reverse Path runes formed by the Formation were violently twisted and shattered!

This strike contained his lifelong cultivation and the bonus from his secret technique; its power was enough to severely injure or even kill a Cultivator of the same rank!

Facing this violently peerless strike, Nightmare finally moved.

He did not retreat, but instead took a step forward.

He raised his right hand, his fingers joined like a blade.

At his fingertips, a wisp of Chaos-colored Demonic Flame, refined to the extreme and so deep it seemed capable of devouring Souls, jumped quietly.

"Reverse Path Hunyuan Blade—Slash."

The light words were uttered.

Nightmare's arm seemed to disappear for an instant.

The next moment, a thin line, as fine as a hair, pitch-black and devoid of light, yet seemingly capable of "severing" all colors and Laws in the world, extended from his fingertips and silently met the violent hurricane of destruction.

There was no earth-shattering collision.

Only a slight "chi" sound, as if cloth were being torn.

The "Wild Beast Heaven-Opening" hurricane, unleashed with all of Huo Gang's might and terrifying momentum, was, the instant it touched the pitch-black thread, split in two from the middle!

Like a hot knife cutting through butter.

The axe beam dissipated, the energy storm annihilated.

Huo Gang's expanded body suddenly froze in mid-air; he lowered his head, looking at his chest in disbelief.

A very thin black line started from the center of his brow, going straight down, passing through his nose bridge, lips, chin, throat, chest... and extending all the way to his lower abdomen.

The thick layer of protective divine light on his body, his high-grade dark silver battle armor, and his Hunyuan Realm Physical Body, which had been tempered a thousand times and was comparable to divine metal, were all like nothing before this black line.

"Im... possible..."

Huo Gang made a wheezing, gasping sound in his throat; the violence and ferocity in his eyes were quickly replaced by boundless fear and confusion.

He could feel his vitality, his Origin core, his Divine Soul... all rapidly separating, dissipating, and annihilating along that black line!

That black line had not only sliced through his body but had also severed all his vitality and existence!

Puff!

Huo Gang's massive body slowly split into two along that black line, falling to the sides.

The wounds were as smooth as mirrors; no blood sprayed out, because all the flesh, bones, and even fragments of his Divine Soul had been completely erased the moment they touched the black line by that extreme power of "Nirvana" and "Reverse Path".

The Black Wind Branch Deputy Commander, Huo Gang of the Early Stage Hunyuan Celestial Venerable Realm—

Had fallen!

The entire process, from Nightmare's appearance to Huo Gang's execution, took no more than three breaths.

Inside the Formation, the remaining seventy Divine Court Cultivators were all stunned, as if frozen by invisible ice.

The powerful and invincible Deputy Commander Huo Gang in their minds had actually... been killed in one move by the opponent?!

Fear spread wildly in their hearts like a plague.

However, Nightmare did not give them any chance to react or plead for mercy.

He didn't even look at Huo Gang's split corpse, his gaze turned to the seventy Divine Court Cultivators who were plunged into stupor and fear, and his cold voice rang out again, like the judgment of the Grim Reaper:

"Formation activate—God-Slaying."

Hum—!!!

The Reverse Path God-Slaying Formation became completely violent!

Countless Reverse Path runes blazed with light, and the terrifying power of devouring and absolute killing surged like a tidal wave toward every Divine Court Cultivator in the Formation!

At the same time, hidden doors throughout the fortress opened, and the elite Nidao Vanguard Army, led by Blood Fang, rushed out fiercely like tigers into a flock of sheep, coordinating with the suppression of the Formation to launch a ruthless purge of the chaotic Divine Court Cultivators!

Screams, roars, and desperate wails instantly resounded throughout this death zone shrouded by the Formation.

This was a one-sided massacre.

Having lost their leader, their minds stolen, their Origin constrained, and trapped in a meticulously arranged killing Formation, the seventy Celestial Venerable Realm Divine Court Cultivators, despite having their cultivation, could not unleash even fifty percent of their combat power. Under the methodical slaughter of the Nidao Vanguard Army and the constant weakening of the Formation, they fell one after another like harvested wheat.

In less than half an hour.

Inside the Formation, silence returned.

The seventy Divine Court elites, along with Deputy Commander Huo Gang, were all executed, with none surviving.

The thick smell of blood and the burnt odor of annihilated energy permeated the air, but under the isolation of the Formation, it did not spread very far.

Nightmare stood in the center of the mountain of corpses and sea of blood, reached out, and summoned Huo Gang's huge battle axe, Storage Ring, and several high-level Divine Court tokens into his hand.

His Divine Thought crudely broke the Seal of the ring. Inside, besides a large amount of resources, there was indeed an intelligence Jade Slip detailing the Black Wind Branch's defensive layout, personnel configuration, and resource warehouse locations, as well as a more detailed military map covering the Black Wind Desert and several surrounding Star Domains.

"Clean up the battlefield, clear all traces, and recover all valuable items," Nightmare put away the spoils of war and ordered calmly, "Then, activate the fortress's self-destruct sequence."

"We need to change locations."

His gaze fixed on a highlighted coordinate on the star chart—Black Wind Star.

That was his next target.