Blackrock Mutation

Three black chains, condensed from pure Evil Earth Qi, were tightly coiled around Nightmare. A terrifying devouring force was frantically draining his Demonic Essence and vitality. Even more fatal was the restrictive power, heavy as a mountain pressing down, making his every movement incredibly difficult!

Meanwhile, the remaining five Baleful Corpses (two Middle Stage, three Early Stage) had baleful fire leaping wildly in their eyes. They shrieked and lunged at him, their sharp claws aiming straight for his vitals!

In the distance, Cheng Yuan and the other two watched in sheer terror, as if they could already foresee the gruesome scene of Nightmare being torn limb from limb!

At this critical moment, not only was there no fear in Nightmare's eyes, but a flash of extreme, insane ruthlessness crossed them!

"You want my power? Then have it!"

Instead of resisting the devouring force of the chains, he actively poured his massive Demonic Essence, along with the remaining energy of his demon heart essence blood and a trace of... the Origin of Xiangliu Poison, frantically back into the three chains!

You want to suck? Then suck to your heart's content! Let's see if you can digest it!

This was nothing short of a gamble! If those three Late Stage Baleful Corpses could withstand this power, Nightmare would surely be drained dry! If not...

Boom—! The mixed energy, containing deathly stillness, evil, and potent poison, surged like a breached floodgate, violently rushing along the chains into the bodies of the three Late Stage Baleful Corpses!

The withered bodies of the three Late Stage Baleful Corpses suddenly shuddered violently! Inside their hollow eye sockets, the scarlet baleful fire flickered frantically, waxing and waning!

The extreme deathly stillness and annihilation properties of the Xiangliu Poison were the natural nemesis of these dead things that existed by relying on Evil Qi and lingering consciousness!

And the evil, violent nature of the demon heart essence blood clashed violently with their own Yin Evil attributes!

"Roar!!!" The three Late Stage Baleful Corpses let out a painful and angry roar simultaneously. The chains wrapped around Nightmare instantly became unstable, their light flashing chaotically, and the devouring force was greatly reduced!

Now is the time! Seizing this opportunity, Nightmare let out a thunderous shout, and the power of his Myriad Poison Demonic Body erupted completely!

"Open!"

Crack! The taut chains were forcibly pried open by him just enough to create a gap!

Demonic Shadow Evasion Technique!

Nightmare's figure, like a slippery loach, escaped through the gap in the nick of time!

And the very next second after he escaped!

The foreign energy forcibly poured into the three Late Stage Baleful Corpses completely erupted!

Bang, bang, bang!

The bodies of the three Baleful Corpses swelled violently like over-inflated balloons, eerie grey-black patterns appeared on their skin, and then they exploded!

The terrifying energy shockwave, mixed with foul-smelling bone fragments and rotting flesh, swept through the surroundings like a storm!

The five Early/Middle Stage Baleful Corpses that were mid-lunge bore the brunt of it, instantly swallowed by the shockwave of the self-detonation, and were torn into shreds as if they were made of paper!

Even Cheng Yuan and the other two in the distance were blown away by the airwave, slamming heavily into the edge of the basin, vomiting blood incessantly, and staring in horror at the center of the explosion.

Although Nightmare retreated immediately, he was still caught by the aftermath, his Qi and blood churning, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. But he didn't care, his cold gaze fixed intently on the black altar at the center of the explosion!

The dust slowly settled. The altar still stood, though its surface had a few more charred marks. The ten Baleful Corpses around the altar had all turned into fly ash!

And at the center of the altar, the object shrouded in dense Evil Qi finally revealed its true form—it was not the pearl, jade, or Magical Artifact one might imagine, but a strange stone about the size of a fist, pitch-black all over, covered in natural holes, and seemingly able to absorb all light. Below the stone, where it connected to the altar, extremely pure Evil Earth Qi constantly seeped out like a gushing spring, nourishing it.

【Evil Earth Origin Core】! And... that unknown black stone that made Nightmare's Demonic Nascent Soul palpitate!

Nightmare did not hesitate in the slightest. Suppressing his injuries, his figure flashed onto the altar, and he reached out to grab those two objects!

However, the moment his fingers were about to touch the Evil Earth Origin Core and the black stone!

A sudden change occurred!

The dormant black stone seemed to be awakened by his aura, and it suddenly erupted with an incredibly profound, eerie light! An indescribable devouring force, far more ancient, purer, and more domineering than the demon heart essence blood, erupted from the stone!

Hum!

The Demonic Essence inside Nightmare, and even that wisp of Xiangliu Poison, were uncontrollably trying to leave his body, forcibly pulled away by the black stone!

Nightmare's expression changed drastically. He tried to pull his hand back, only to find his palm seemingly stuck to a magnet, unable to break free at all! The devouring force even began to tear at his Divine Soul and vitality!

This thing was even more eerie and terrifying than that demon heart!

"Want to devour me? Let's see who devours whom!" The ferocity in Nightmare's bones was completely ignited. Demonic light flashed in his eyes. Instead of resisting, he once again circulated the Myriad Poison Demonic Scripture, coordinating with the devouring characteristics of his Myriad Poison Demonic Body, and began a frantic mutual-devouring battle with the black stone!

A strange tug-of-war unfolded on the altar! Nightmare's Demonic Essence and vitality were constantly being drained by the black stone, while a certain extremely pure and ancient Origin power contained within the black stone was also being forcibly torn off in wisps by Nightmare, merging into his own body!

This process was incomparably painful, as if his Soul were being torn apart! Nightmare's body grew thin at a visible rate, his skin losing its luster, but his eyes grew brighter and brighter. Because he could feel that with every wisp of the black stone's Origin he devoured, the quality of his Demonic Essence was undergoing a subtle yet fundamental improvement! Even the Xiangliu Poison became more refined!

The black stone seemed not to have expected to encounter such a "fierce" existence that would dare to devour it in return! The eerie light flickered violently, and the devouring force suddenly increased again!

Just as they were deadlocked, and it looked like Nightmare was about to be sucked dry first—

【Unknown high-dimensional energy detected... analyzing... attempting compatibility...】

【Myriad Poison Demonic Scripture operation overloaded... simulating optimization... guiding energy to impact the Bottleneck...】

The System's cold, urgent prompt sounded frantically!

The next moment, Nightmare felt the Demonic Golden Core inside his Dantian tremble violently! The wisps of black stone Origin that had been forcibly absorbed, mixed with the previously devoured Evil Qi, the remains of the demon heart essence blood, and the Xiangliu Poison, were, under some strange guidance from the System, formed into a brand new, more violent force that slammed fiercely against the barrier of the Late Golden Core Stage!

Rumble!

It was as if something inside Nightmare had shattered!

His cultivation, which had already been at the Peak of the Middle Golden Core, under the immense pressure of this internal and external predicament and the plundering of the black stone's Origin, had actually broken and then stood firm, forcibly breaking through the pass and stepping into the Late Golden Core Stage!

Although his Realm was not stable and even somewhat floating due to the massive consumption of energy, he had truly stepped into the level of the Late Golden Core Stage!

His power instantly surged by a notch! His devouring ability also increased accordingly!

With the ebb and flow, the devouring force of the black stone was immediately suppressed!

Nightmare seized this fleeting opportunity and exerted force!

"Come here!"

Crack! The black stone was forcibly pried off the altar by him! Along with the Origin core spring below that was constantly gushing out Evil Earth Qi, it was pulled away together!

The moment the black stone left the altar, the entire altar shuddered violently, and the runes on it rapidly dimmed. The dense Evil Qi in the basin seemed to have lost its source and began to become chaotic.

Nightmare didn't even look, directly stuffing the black stone and the Evil Earth Origin Core, which were still trying to struggle and devour, into the System space! The System's power instantly completely isolated and suppressed the auras of both! The world was suddenly quiet.

Nightmare stumbled, almost falling off the altar. He was now gaunt, his breath unstable, and the confrontation just a moment ago had consumed more than all his previous battles combined!

But his eyes were filled with an excited glow.

It was worth it! So worth it!

Not only did he break through to the Late Golden Core Stage, but he also obtained the Evil Earth Origin Core and that incredibly mysterious black stone! He had a premonition that the value of that black stone was far beyond imagination!

【Ding! Hidden task "Seize the Baleful Altar Core" completed! Evaluation: Excellent!】

【Rewards distributed: Obtained the Earth Rank High Grade Divine Ability "World Devouring Demonic Vine" cultivation method, Villain Points +30000!】

【Ding! Successfully broke through to the Late Golden Core Stage, reward Villain Points +5000.】

【Current Villain Points: 39500 (debts deducted)】

The System's rewards arrived in time, which was an unexpected joy! An Earth Rank High Grade Divine Ability! And a huge sum of 39500 Villain Points!

Nightmare quickly took out a few High Grade Demonic Essence Pills and swallowed them, then took out some healing Medicinal Pills and consumed them, barely stabilizing his injuries and his floating Realm.

His gaze swept toward the edge of the basin, to the three Qinglin Sect Disciples struggling to get up.

When the three of them, including Cheng Yuan, met his gaze, they immediately trembled all over, hurriedly lowering their heads, not daring to look directly at him. The earth-shattering battle just now and the eerie confrontation on the altar had long since scared them out of their wits.

Nightmare took a step and instantly appeared in front of the three.

"Se... Senior..." Cheng Yuan's voice trembled.

"This place is not suitable for a long stay; the Secret Realm is about to collapse." Nightmare said coldly, "If you want to live, follow me."

After saying this, without waiting for the three to respond, he sped off in a certain direction according to the System's faint guidance. The altar core had been taken, and this Secret Realm, which existed by relying on the Yin vein of the earth, had already begun to become unstable, with subtle cracks appearing in space.

How could Cheng Yuan and the others dare to stay? They hurriedly tried their best to keep up.

Nightmare led the three of them, quickly traveling through the collapsing Secret Realm, occasionally striking out to defeat some Evil Qi vortexes or remnant Puppets that had lost control due to the unstable space.

Finally, at a distorted light curtain ahead, Nightmare sensed the aura of the outside world.

"The exit!" Cheng Yuan said with pleasant surprise.

The four of them rushed into the light curtain one after another.

The scenery before their eyes changed, and they returned to the valley full of poisonous swamps. The ground fissure entrance behind them fluctuated violently, the colorful light dimmed rapidly, and finally disappeared completely, as if it had never appeared.

Just as Nightmare breathed a sigh of relief and was preparing to deal with these three burdens—

【Warning! High-intensity spatial fluctuation lock detected! A Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator is tearing through space to arrive! Estimated time of arrival: ten breaths!】

The System's alarm sound suddenly became incredibly sharp!

Nightmare's pupils contracted sharply!

Nascent Soul Stage?!