Blood Refining Horror

Deep within the dark, cramped, and winding rock crevice, Nightmare gritted his teeth, pushing the Demonic Shadow Evasion Technique to the absolute limit he could withstand.

Behind him, the furious Divine Sense of two Late Golden Core Stage Cultivators clung to him like maggots on a bone, sweeping across the area again and again. The tyrannical fluctuations of Spiritual Energy even caused the surrounding rock walls to tremble, sending loose stones cascading down. Furthermore, several Divine Senses belonging to Early and Middle Golden Core Stage Cultivators assisted in the search, weaving an increasingly dense net of pursuit.

He absolutely could not stop! Once firmly locked onto by any Divine Sense, in such a narrow space, he would have nowhere to hide!

Even more terrifying was that drop of demon heart essence blood inside his body!

The moment he swallowed it, the essence blood erupted, transforming into a violent black evil dragon that rampaged through his Meridians! The unimaginably vast, evil energy surged madly through his limbs and bones, nearly bursting his newly reformed Early Golden Core Stage demonic body!

Even more troublesome was the trace of the demon heart's will remaining within the essence blood. Although mostly worn away by the power of the Seal and no longer possessing clear powers of bewitchment, it had transformed into the purest instinct of madness and brutality. It was like a red-hot branding iron, fiercely scorching and eroding his Divine Soul and Sea of Consciousness, attempting to assimilate him into a mad demon that knew only destruction!

"Ugh...!" A suppressed, pained growl escaped Nightmare's throat, and black blood constantly spilled from the corners of his mouth—a sign that his Meridians were damaged. On the surface of his skin, streaks of pitch-black demonic patterns surfaced and twisted uncontrollably, while his eyes flickered alternately between crimson and pitch black, with reason and madness locked in a fierce tug-of-war.

【Warning! Host's body overload has reached 65%! Divine Soul contamination level 17%! Please stop moving immediately and refine with all your might!】 The System's cold prompt echoed continuously in his mind.

"Shut up!" Nightmare barked in his heart, forcibly maintaining a sliver of clarity. Stopping now meant certain death!

He could only flee for his life while struggling to divert a portion of his focus to circulate the Myriad Poison Demonic Scripture, attempting to guide and refine the torrential, violent energy within his body. This was no different from dancing on the tip of a blade—trying to build a dam in a rushing flood. It was inefficient and extremely dangerous, but it was better than doing nothing and letting the energy destroy him.

The rock crevice grew deeper, winding downward. The air became damp and cold, and he could even hear the faint sound of water.

Nightmare's heart stirred, and he fled desperately toward the sound of the water.

Finally, a faint light appeared ahead. At the end of the crevice, a surging underground river appeared before his eyes! The river water was pitch black like ink, exuding a bone-chilling coldness and dense Yin Qi—it was the perfect place to hide his tracks!

Without hesitation, Nightmare leaped into the underground river!

The bone-chilling river water instantly enveloped his entire body, and the icy Yin Qi actually made his burning Meridians and Divine Soul feel slightly more comfortable. He immediately retracted all his aura, like a lifeless piece of deadwood, and drifted rapidly downstream with the rushing underground river current.

Only a few breaths after he entered the water, several tyrannical Divine Senses swept across the area. They circled the crevice exit and the space above the underground river several times, seemingly hesitant, before finally spreading out toward other locations.

Temporarily... safe?

Nightmare dared not be the slightest bit careless. He continued to drift with the current while sinking the vast majority of his focus into his body, beginning to deal with that drop of demon heart essence blood with all his might!

The Myriad Poison Demonic Scripture operated frantically. The tiny Demonic Essence Infant had a ferocious expression, its hands pressing firmly into the void, struggling to guide the violent torrent of black energy to circulate through the Meridians according to the technique's path. With every cycle, a small portion of energy was refined into pure Demonic Essence, merging into his Golden Core and Meridians.

However, more of the energy was like a wild horse that had broken its bridle, completely uncontrollable, wreaking havoc inside his body.

"Xiangliu Poison, devour it for me!" Nightmare hardened his heart, mobilizing the wisp of Origin toxicity lurking deep within his Nascent Soul.

Hiss—!

The Xiangliu Poison, which represented the ultimate deathly stillness and end, seemed to have been provoked. It immediately became active, greedily pouncing on the raging demon heart essence blood energy. Like natural enemies, the two once again began a frantic mutual annihilation and devouring within Nightmare's body!

This process was even more intense and painful than when he had undergone Core Formation! Nightmare's body was like a battlefield; his Meridians were constantly torn apart, only to be barely repaired by the resilience of his Myriad Poison Demonic Body and the newly generated Demonic Essence. His Divine Soul flickered, on the verge of being extinguished under the impact of the frenzied will.

But the benefit was that the intervention of the Xiangliu Poison greatly alleviated the pressure of the energy overload, and the frenzied will was also neutralized and worn away significantly by the toxicity.

【Body overload 58%... 53%... 47%...】

【Divine Soul contamination level 15%... 12%... 9%...】

The System's prompt data began to slowly decrease.

Nightmare held fast to the last sliver of clarity in his mind, enduring the pain of a thousand cuts as he refined with all his might.

He did not know how long he had been drifting in the underground river. When Nightmare felt that the torrent of energy within his body had finally been initially tamed and there was no longer any danger of his body exploding, he suddenly emerged from the water.

This appeared to be a massive underground cavern, where the underground river gathered into an icy pool. Countless stalactites hanging from the ceiling of the cavern emitted a faint, deep blue light, providing dim illumination.

Nightmare staggered onto the bank and immediately sat cross-legged. He formed hand Seals, and Demonic Essence surged out from his body, wrapping him inside like a black cocoon. This time, he could refine with all his strength!

Time passed minute by minute.

The aura around Nightmare became tyrannical, solid, and profound at a speed visible to the naked eye!

The energy contained in that drop of demon heart essence blood was simply too vast—it was almost equivalent to the entire cultivation essence of a Late Golden Core Stage Cultivator! Even though most of the energy had been offset in the previous conflict and by the Xiangliu Poison, the remaining portion far exceeded the capacity of Nightmare's own Early Golden Core Stage!

His cultivation began to climb crazily!

Peak Early Golden Core Stage... Middle Golden Core... Peak Middle Golden Core!

Only when he approached the threshold of the Late Golden Core Stage did this surging trend slowly stagnate. It was not because the energy was exhausted, but because his demonic body and Golden Core needed time to adapt to and consolidate this sudden, powerful strength; otherwise, his Foundation would be unstable, leading to endless future troubles.

Nightmare decisively suppressed the urge to continue breaking through, forcibly compressing and settling the remaining energy into his Dantian and limbs, leaving it to be slowly absorbed in the future.

After a long while, Nightmare slowly opened his eyes.

Pitch-black demonic light flashed and vanished in the depths of his eyes, chilling like an abyss. He lightly clenched his fist, feeling the surging, terrifying power within his body that far exceeded what he had possessed before, and finally, a cold arc curled at the corner of his mouth.

Peak Middle Golden Core! Moreover, his Demonic Essence was far more pure and refined than others of the same Rank! The mutual tempering of the Xiangliu Poison and the demon heart essence blood had instead imbued his power with a unique corrosive and deathly stillness characteristic, further increasing its might!

Although his Divine Soul and Meridians still ached faintly—minor hidden injuries left by the excessive load and the impact of the will that required time to nurture—his overall state had undergone a heaven-turning, earth-shattering change!

【Ding! demon heart essence blood refined! Task "Snatching Food from the Tiger's Mouth" completion rate increased to 85%!】

【Reward settlement: Obtained Divine Ability Comprehension Card * 1, Special Physique Enhancement Opportunity (Elementary) * 1, Top-grade Demonic Essence Pill * 10, Villain Points + 5000!】

【Does the Host wish to immediately use the Divine Ability Comprehension Card and the Physique Enhancement Opportunity?】

The System's prompt tone sounded at the right moment.

"Not using them for now." Nightmare suppressed the urge to immediately improve. He was currently in a dangerous place, which was not the best time for seclusion. He sank his consciousness into the System space. The ten top-grade Demonic Essence Pills, each the size of a dragon's eye and wreathed in Demonic Qi, were floating quietly. Each one contained vast energy, sufficient to quickly replenish the consumption of a Golden Core Cultivator. And those 5000 Villain Points were a not-insignificant fortune.

"System, why were you silent before?" Nightmare asked the question in his heart.

【Answering Host: The Host's dao foundation was severely damaged, and the Nascent Soul was on the verge of collapse. The System's energy supply lines were interrupted, unable to maintain basic operation. The Host's strength needed to recover to the Golden Core Stage to reactivate the energy core.】

Just as expected. Nightmare understood. This System was deeply bound to his state.

"What exactly is the ultimate goal of the Mandate of Heaven Great Villain System? Just to make me an enemy of the child of destiny?" Nightmare pursued this core question again.

【Insufficient authority. Please improve your strength and Villain Rank as soon as possible. Current primary mission: Survive, become stronger, plunder the Mandate of Heaven.】 The System's answer remained cold and vague.

Nightmare stopped asking. His gaze swept toward the System Mall. With his increase in strength and Villain Points, the items available for exchange in the mall had also increased significantly. Many Cultivation Techniques, Medicinal Pills, Talismans, and even one-time-use Divine Ability Talisman Treasures suitable for use at the Golden Core Stage had appeared, though they were expensive.

"It seems I need to 'earn' more Villain Points." A bloodthirsty glint flashed in Nightmare's eyes.

He stood up and carefully swept his Divine Sense across the entire cavern, confirming it was temporarily safe. The current of the underground river became gentle here, but it still led into the unknown, dark depths.

"I cannot return the way I came; Zhantai and Lin Langtian must still be frantically searching. I can only continue downstream along this underground river." Nightmare made his decision.

He retracted his aura, his figure once again merging into the shadows, and he slid silently into the cold underground river, diving toward the downstream.

This time, his speed was faster, and his movements were even more stealthy and silent.

The underground river wound on, not knowing where it led. Occasionally, he could feel faint vibrations and blurred fluctuations of Spiritual Energy coming from the rock layers above; clearly, the search on the surface had not yet ceased.

After drifting for about half an hour, faint light and the sound of human voices suddenly came from ahead!

Nightmare stopped immediately, clinging to the rock wall at the edge of the underground river like a gecko, perfectly hiding himself.

He saw that on one side of the underground river ahead, a crude dock had actually been carved out. The dock connected to a manually excavated staircase leading to a huge, brightly lit cavern high above.

Two Cultivators wearing clothing similar to that of the Sacred Sect envoy from the sinkhole earlier, but with cultivation only at the Foundation Establishment Stage, were guarding the side of the dock, bored out of their minds.

"Sigh, what bad luck, being sent to this ghost place to guard the entrance to the water prison, I can't even watch the excitement of the hunt for that demonic Cultivator above," one person complained.

"Say less. I heard that demonic Cultivator is fierce; he was able to snatch things from the two Envoy Lords. If we run into him, it's a dead end. It's safer here," the other person said, cautiously looking at the stairs leading upward. "Besides, those 'blood food' inside still need to be fed medicine on time. We can't have any mishaps, otherwise, if the Envoy Lords blame us..."

Blood food? Water prison?

A cold light flashed in Nightmare's eyes.

It seems that by mistake, he had actually stumbled upon an important stronghold of that so-called "Sacred Sect"?

His gaze landed on the two Foundation Establishment guards, as if looking at two walking "Villain Points."