Digesting the origin, breaking through the primordial chaos.

Above the ruins of Nidao Outpost One, the last embers of energy from the self-destruction slowly dissipated into the cold Grandmist turbulence.

Apart from a few misleading traces intentionally left behind to point in other directions, it was difficult to see that a one-sided massacre had occurred in this area, and no clues related to the 'Nidao Alliance' could be found.

Three black warships had long since quietly withdrawn and were currently navigating through a deeper, more violent desert region of energy turbulence.

This place was known as the 'Soul-Devouring Dark Vortex,' one of the famous forbidden lands in the Black Wind Desert, which ordinary Cultivators avoided at all costs, making it the perfect temporary hiding place.

The core cabin of the 'ni dao vessel' had been completely transformed into a closed-door cultivation chamber.

The four walls, floor, and ceiling were inscribed with dense Reverse Path runes, forming an absolute Domain that was stable internally and isolated externally.

In the center, Nightmare sat cross-legged with his eyes slightly closed.

In front of him, three things were suspended.

A ball of Origin light, the size of a human head, appearing Chaos-colored yet faintly revealing pure golden light—this was the Hunyuan Celestial Venerable Realm Origin stripped from Huo Gang's body. Although it had lost some energy due to its owner's fall, it still contained vast energy and a trace of Law insights from the Hunyuan Realm.

Dozens of smaller origin crystals of various colors—these came from the Celestial Venerable Realm Divine Court Cultivators who had been slain. These Origins were of slightly lower quality, but their sheer number added up significantly.

Finally, there were the mountains of High Universe Domain origin crystals plundered from various Divine Court strongholds over this period, emitting an alluring energy luster.

Nightmare adjusted his breathing, and the 'Grandmist Reverse Path Scripture' slowly circulated within his body.

The Hongmeng Chaos Nirvana Anti-Dao Demon Star Flame flowed through his Meridians, like the most loyal guard and the most famished hunter, transmitting a strong desire for the 'food' outside.

'Hunyuan Realm Origin...' Nightmare's intent shifted slightly, and he first locked onto the ball of Chaos golden light Origin left behind by Huo Gang.

Without hesitation, he inhaled, and a wisp of condensed Chaos golden light was drawn out and entered his mouth.

Boom—!

It was as if cold water had been dripped into a calm pan of oil! As soon as that wisp of Hunyuan Realm Origin entered Nightmare's body, it exploded!

Unlike the Dao Master Realm and Celestial Venerable Realm Origins he had absorbed in the past, this power was more solid and 'heavier,' and the Law fragments contained within were more complete and closer to some underlying structure of the Universe.

It violently impacted Nightmare's Meridians, attempting to assimilate his original power, and even faintly stirred a trace of restlessness in his own Origin.

'Suppress!'

Nightmare shouted coldly in his heart, and the Hongmeng Chaos Nirvana Anti-Dao Demon Star Flame, which had long been prepared, rushed up from all directions like a pack of wolves that had smelled blood! The pitch-black Demonic Flame collided, intertwined, and eroded the Chaos golden light violently!

This time, it was not a simple devouring. The quality of the Hunyuan Realm Origin was extremely high, and its resistance was exceptionally stubborn.

The Demonic Flame needed to first 'decompose' and 'shatter' it, stripping away the personal marks and Divine Soul residue belonging to Huo Gang, and refining away the violence and Impurities within, before it could convert it into the purest energy and Law nutrients to nourish itself.

This was a slow and delicate process, and also a test of Nightmare's own control and the level of his Cultivation Technique.

The sizzling sound of burning rang out inside Nightmare's body; that was the sound of the Demonic Flame refining the Impurities.

Fine beads of sweat seeped from his forehead, his body trembled slightly, and wisps of chaotic golden light or pitch-black flames occasionally flashed uncontrollably on his skin.

But his mind remained steady, like a reef. No matter how the energy within his body surged, the circulation of the 'Grandmist Reverse Path Scripture' maintained a specific rhythm, guiding the Demonic Flame to erode and convert the foreign Origin step by step.

Time passed quietly during the closed-door cultivation.

One day, two days, three days...

The Hunyuan Origin left behind by Huo Gang was gradually refined and absorbed, and Nightmare's aura began to climb at a visible speed.

The Origin that had been slightly depleted due to killing a strong enemy across Realms and deploying the lethal Formation was not only quickly replenished but also continuously strengthened and solidified.

The seemingly solid barrier between the Dao Master Realm Mid-stage and the Hunyuan Celestial Venerable Realm began to loosen and crack under the dual impact of this high-quality Origin and his own deep accumulation.

When nearly half of Huo Gang's Origin had been absorbed, Nightmare began to guide the energy of the Celestial Venerable Realm origin crystals and the High Universe Domain origin crystals. Like trickles of water merging into a river, they continuously impacted that Bottleneck.

The seventh day of closed-door cultivation.

Hum—!!!

The Reverse Path runes in the secret chamber suddenly shone brightly! A terrifying pressure, far exceeding anything before, erupted uncontrollably from Nightmare's body!

The entire 'ni dao vessel' trembled slightly; had it not been for the layers of Restrictions laid out in advance, this fluctuation would likely have leaked out long ago!

Around Nightmare, the Demonic Flame, which had originally tended toward a deep Chaos color, began to undergo subtle changes in color.

The blackness at the core of the flame became purer, as if it could swallow everything, while the outer edge of the flame began to circulate with faint wisps of 'Nirvana gray light,' as if mixed from countless colors and finally returning to nothingness!

The temperature of the flame did not increase significantly, but the will of 'destruction,' 'ending,' and 'reversal' contained within it suddenly became several times stronger! As the flame swept across the Void Realm, even space emitted a faint, mournful sound as if it were being 'erased'!

The Hongmeng Chaos Nirvana Anti-Dao Demon Star Flame, evolution complete!

And Nightmare's cultivation, at this moment, naturally crossed that crucial threshold—

Hunyuan Celestial Venerable Realm, Early Stage!

Vast power surged within his body, and his Divine Soul perception expanded and condensed at an astonishing speed!

His Divine Thought, which had been severely interfered with by the Grandmist turbulence, now had greatly increased penetrating power, its coverage expanded several times, and his perception of energy and Law became clearer and deeper!

Nightmare slowly opened his eyes.

Deep within his pupils, the scene of the Chaos nebula birthing and dying was more realistic, and the rotation of the nebula seemed to contain a more profound rhythm.

With a slight shift of his intent, a wisp of the evolved Demonic Flame danced on his fingertips. Feeling the destructive power contained within, which was enough to make a Hunyuan Celestial Venerable Realm Middle Stage Cultivator feel palpitations, a satisfied arc curled at the corner of his mouth.

'Finally... stepped into this level.' He whispered to himself. In the High Universe Domain, only at the Hunyuan Celestial Venerable Realm could one truly have the qualifications to gain a foothold and participate in the game.

He did not immediately end his closed-door cultivation, but continued to stabilize his Realm, and refined and absorbed all the remaining Origin resources, until his cultivation was thoroughly stabilized at the Early Stage of the Hunyuan Celestial Venerable Realm, and even faintly took a small step toward the Middle Stage, before finally ending this closed-door cultivation.

When he pushed open the door of the secret chamber and reappeared on the bridge, Blood Fang, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately stepped forward, his eyes full of excitement and awe.

He could clearly feel that the aura on the Alliance Leader had become more unfathomable; just a trace of pressure inadvertently revealed was enough to make him, a newly promoted Celestial Venerable, feel that his breathing was stagnant.

'Congratulations to the Alliance Leader for the Breakthrough!' Blood Fang and all the Nidao Guards and Vanguard Army core members on the bridge bowed in unison.

Nightmare nodded slightly and walked to the main console: 'How is the situation outside during my closed-door cultivation?'

Blood Fang reported quickly: 'According to your instructions, we have been lurking in the Soul-Devouring Dark Vortex and have not gone out. However, through passively receiving stray energy signals from the outside and feedback from the few hidden monitoring points we set up, the Black Wind Desert seems a bit 'livelier' than before.'

'Oh?' Nightmare raised his eyebrows.

'The news of the total annihilation of Huo Gang's troops, although we cleaned up the scene, the Divine Court Branch must have become suspicious after being unable to contact them for a long time. In these few days, several small-scale Divine Court reconnaissance teams have appeared on the edge of the desert, but they are all operating on the periphery and have not yet penetrated into our area.'

Blood Fang paused, a strange look flashing in his eyes: 'In addition, according to the analysis of some scattered encrypted Divine Thought fluctuations captured that are not of the Divine Court system, some originally hidden forces in the desert seem to have begun to become active. They seem to be secretly probing the truth of the destruction of Huo Gang's troops, and... our existence.'

A flash of light appeared in Nightmare's eyes, and his powerful Divine Sense poured out like a flood again. This time, the coverage and clarity were far beyond what they were before the closed-door cultivation.

He was no longer limited to the surroundings of the warship but spread out toward the wider Black Wind Desert.

Chaotic energy turbulence, dead star fragments, dangerous natural traps... all kinds of information flashed by rapidly. Soon, he captured the 'active' fluctuations mentioned by Blood Fang.

Those were not the uniform auras of the Divine Court, but rather mixed, hidden, and fluctuations carrying vigilance and wildness. They were like scorpions lurking in the desert, deeply hidden on weekdays, but now, because of the sudden disappearance of the 'tiger' (Divine Court troops), they were cautiously sticking out their tentacles.

There were quite a few of them; a rough perception showed at least a dozen groups, scattered throughout the desert. The scales varied; the strong ones seemed to have two or three Celestial Venerable Realm experts sitting in command, while the weak ones might only have some Dao Master Realm Cultivators huddling together.

They did not seem to be monolithic among themselves, each having their own hidden strongholds, guarding against each other, but all were extremely sensitive to the movements of the Divine Court.

'Scattered forces resisting the Divine Court... or rather, marginal exiles struggling to survive under the oppression of the Divine Court.' Nightmare retracted his Divine Sense, and his heart was clear.

The Black Wind Desert had a harsh environment, but precisely because of this, it became a hiding place for these Cultivators who were not tolerated by the Divine Court or who did not want to be ruled by the Divine Court.

The destruction of Huo Gang's troops was undoubtedly like a huge stone thrown into stagnant water, stirring up the curiosity and thoughts of these 'local snakes.'

'Interesting.' Nightmare tapped his fingers lightly on the console, 'Perhaps, we don't have to fight alone.'

He looked at Blood Fang: 'Select a few clever brothers who are good at negotiation and concealment, take my token and some resources, and go to contact the larger and better-reputed ones among these forces.'

Based on his perception just now, he quickly reported several coordinates and force characteristics.

'Tell them that those who slaughtered the Divine Court patrol and Huo Gang's troops are the 'Nidao Alliance'. The Divine Court is vindictive, and the Black Wind Branch will never let it go. The next time they come, it will only be with more powerful force. When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact; they can hide for a while, but not for a lifetime.'

'Those willing to submit and join my Nidao Alliance to fight against the Divine Court together, I can provide protection, resources, and even some Legacy. After the war, rewards will be distributed according to merit, and they will definitely not be short-changed.'

'If they only want to wait and see, or cherish luck, I will not force them, as long as they are not enemies with me, we will mind our own business.'

Nightmare's tone turned cold: 'But if anyone has malicious intentions, tries to probe the reality of our army, or attempts to inform the Divine Court in exchange for benefits... kill without mercy. Send people to the 'Ash Canyon' and 'Howling Wind Stone Forest'. The leaders of the two forces there showed the most obvious malice when my Divine Sense swept over, and they had ulterior motives. Do not contact them, go directly to find their leaders, behead them, incorporate or disperse their core members, and take their resources.'

Show both kindness and power, win over those who can be won over, and eliminate those who are threats. This was the most direct and effective means of integration.

'This subordinate understands!' Blood Fang was energized and immediately took the order to leave.

In the next few days, undercurrents surged in the depths of the Black Wind Desert.

The envoys sent by the Nidao Alliance appeared like ghosts in several large resistance force strongholds, bringing shocking news and proposals that were both tempting and implied threats.

At the same time, short and intense battles broke out in 'Ash Canyon' and 'Howling Wind Stone Forest' one after another. The battles ended quickly. When other forces went to investigate with suspicion, they only saw the destroyed camps and the miserable corpses of the two force leaders and their confidants hanging on the wreckage. Who the murderer was, went without saying.

Thunderous means instantly shocked many who had ulterior motives.

Soon, forces began to make choices. Three medium-sized resistance forces, suffering from the Divine Court's patrols and exterminations, chose to submit after weighing the pros and cons. They brought their respective core members and resources and, according to instructions, moved towards the direction of the Soul-Devouring Dark Vortex.

Nightmare met their leaders. With a simple ceremony, he bestowed some resources and basic methods of Nidao battle Formation coordination, then incorporated them under Blood Fang's command, mixed them with the original Nidao Vanguard Army, and formed a larger 'Resistance Allied Army.' Although their loyalty remained to be tested, at least on the big goal of opposing the Divine Court, their interests were consistent.

During the integration process, there was no lack of thorns who thought highly of themselves or doubted Nightmare's strength jumping out to question and provoke. To this, Nightmare's response was simple and brutal—he made a move personally, using the absolute strength of the Hunyuan Celestial Venerable Realm, and in front of the Allied Army, beat the two most active Celestial Venerable Realm Middle Stage thorn leaders into serious injuries within three moves, abolished their cultivation, and suppressed their Divine Souls. As for their subordinate forces, those who complied were incorporated, and those who resisted were slaughtered.

The iron-blooded means completely established Nightmare's supreme authority in the Allied Army. When the last large exile force also chose to submit, the troops available to Nightmare had expanded to nearly two hundred people, including more than thirty Celestial Venerable Realm Cultivators and over a hundred Dao Master Realm Peak! Although the overall combat power and discipline were still not as good as the pure Nidao Vanguard Army, it was already a force that could not be underestimated.

Standing on the bridge of the 'ni dao vessel,' looking at the Allied Army lined up in the Void Realm outside the porthole, with mixed auras but gradually unified Battle Intent, Nightmare played with the intelligence Jade Slip he got from Huo Gang, which was marked with the detailed deployment map of the Black Wind Branch.

The scattered forces in the desert had been initially integrated, and his own strength had also successfully broken through.

So, what's next...

His gaze turned to the star chart and landed on the star marked as 'Black Wind Star.'

Passively waiting for the Divine Court's next wave of retaliation? That was not his style.

'Order the whole army to rest for three days and familiarize themselves with the new battle Formation coordination.'

'Three days later, the target—'

Nightmare's finger tapped heavily on the position of Black Wind Star, his voice cold and resolute:

'Black Wind Branch.'

'We are going to take out this claw of theirs before the Divine Court's reinforcements arrive!'