Black Mist Devouring God

Nightmare's figure was like a phantom, speeding through the lower levels of the dense, primeval forest where moonlight struggled to penetrate.

After achieving Minor Achievement in the Myriad Poison Demonic Body, his perception and adaptability to the surrounding environment greatly increased. The oppressive feeling brought by the dense Demonic Qi was significantly lessened; he could even strip away beneficial energy from it and absorb it subtly. His steps on the thick layer of decaying leaves were soundless, his aura perfectly contained, merging him completely with this dark jungle.

His direction was clear—southeast, toward the dangerous area marked by the System as "Suspected Ancient Cultivator Ruins," with an energy rating ranging from Peak Golden Core Stage to Early Nascent Soul Stage.

After running at full speed all night, Nightmare finally stopped when the daylight barely managed to pierce the layers of tree canopies, casting dappled spots of light onto the forest floor.

The scene ahead had become bizarre.

The trees were still tall but exhibited an unhealthy gray-black color, their branches twisted as if suffering some invisible pressure. The ground was no longer soft humus but hard, black rock that gleamed with a metallic coldness. The pervasive Demonic Qi in the air was gradually replaced by a more ancient, denser, and heart-stopping Deathly Silence Qi.

This deathly silence was different from the wicked frenzy emanating from the Demonic Heart in the Black Mountain Range; it was more like... an eternal coldness and decay.

He had arrived.

Nightmare became even more cautious, retracting his Divine Sense to a radius of a few zhang around him, using it like a tentacle to carefully sense everything ahead.

There was no trace of Yao Beasts, not even the chirping of insects or birds—only absolute silence. The only sound was the mournful cry of the wind passing through the twisted trees and rock crevices, like the whispers of departed souls.

He cautiously felt his way forward.

The terrain began to slope downwards, forming the entrance to a massive basin leading underground. The basin was shrouded in a faint Gray-Black Mist that seemed capable of absorbing light.

Nightmare attempted to probe a wisp of his Divine Sense into the mist.

Hiss!

That wisp of Divine Sense was instantly corroded and devoured by an invisible force, losing contact with him! Furthermore, a surge of cold, deathly silent intent counterattacked along the connection of his Divine Sense, causing a slight pang in his Divine Soul!

"What bizarre mist! It can actually devour Divine Sense!" Nightmare's expression changed slightly, and he immediately severed the connection.

This mist was more troublesome than the Wind Fiend of the Rift Wind Demon Valley. The inability to use Divine Sense meant that navigating inside would be like a blind man feeling an elephant, greatly increasing the danger.

He circulated his Demonic Essence to protect his body and cautiously touched the Gray-Black Mist.

When the mist contacted the Demonic Essence, it emitted a faint sizzling sound, slowly eroding his protective Demonic Essence! Although the speed was not fast, the cumulative consumption over time would certainly be astonishing.

Nightmare's gaze was solemn. After pondering for a moment, he retrieved the core metal shard he had obtained from the black fiend puppet from his System space and flicked it into the mist.

The metal shard visibly dimmed and lost its luster, and after flying only a few zhang, it shattered with a *kacha* sound, turning into dust and dissipating.

What powerful corrosiveness!

This mist could not only devour Divine Sense but also erode energy and physical objects!

No wonder there were no Yao Beasts occupying this place; this was fundamentally a Life Restricted Zone!

Nightmare frowned deeply. The ruins must be deep within the basin's mist, but this natural barrier was truly troublesome. Forcing his way through would entail too great a consumption, even if he managed to endure it, and encountering danger inside would lead to unimaginable consequences.

He tried walking along the edge of the basin, searching for areas where the mist was thinner or for a potential safe path.

After walking for about half an hour, Nightmare discovered an anomaly beneath an inconspicuous rock wall covered by massive, twisted roots.

The Gray-Black Mist here seemed thinner than elsewhere, and... it was faintly flowing with a rhythmic pattern, as if something behind the rock wall was breathing, driving the circulation of air currents.

Something was fishy!

Nightmare carefully pushed aside the twisted roots and vines, revealing a narrow entrance sloping downwards, just wide enough for one person to pass! The edges of the entrance were smooth, showing signs of artificial excavation! The thin mist was being drawn into the cave in wisps!

"A passage!" Joy sparked in Nightmare's heart.

This was likely the safe passage into the ruins! Although still dangerous, it was much better than forcing his way through the boundless sea of mist.

He did not enter immediately, but patiently observed the outside for a long time. Only after confirming that there were no Restrictions or traps at the entrance and that the mist absorption was stable and orderly did he take a deep breath, his Demonic Essence surging around him, and cautiously step into the entrance.

Inside the cave was a roughly excavated, winding passage extending downward. The further he went, the darker the light became, but the Gray-Black Mist grew thinner, seemingly absorbed into the depths by some force.

Faint murals began to appear on the walls of the passage. The murals were ancient and vigorous in style, but they did not depict scenes of Human Race Cultivators flying through the skies or performing Alchemy and Artifact Refining; instead, they showed scenes of... sacrifices.

Countless tiny human figures knelt on the ground, bowing devoutly toward massive, bizarre, and indescribable shadows. Those shadows were twisted and chaotic, filled with an unspeakable strangeness and... malice.

The content of the murals made him extremely uncomfortable; it felt as if looking at them for too long could contaminate his Divine Soul.

"These ruins... seem not to have been left behind by Righteous Path Cultivators." Nightmare's vigilance heightened, and he quickened his pace.

At the end of the passage, a faint light was vaguely visible.

Nightmare approached silently, and his vision suddenly opened up.

He felt as if he were inside a massive, hollowed-out mountain belly. In the center of the mountain belly stood an Ancient Stone Hall constructed entirely of that black rock that shone with a metallic coldness.

The stone hall's style was rough and ferocious, consistent with the murals, and filled with a savage, evil aura. The main door had long since collapsed, revealing the profound darkness within. And the Gray-Black Mist that permeated the entire basin originated from this stone hall! Wisps of pure Deathly Silence Qi continuously emanated from the doorway, converging into the mist outside.

Scattered around the stone hall were some massive, long-decayed and weathered skeletons, both humanoid and large beast-shaped, suggesting a fierce battle had taken place.

Nightmare's attention was drawn instead to a relatively intact stone stele in front of the stone hall.

The stele was made of the same material as the stone hall and was covered in twisted, bizarre ancient script. Nightmare did not recognize the script, but when he focused his Divine Sense upon it, the characters seemed to come alive, transforming directly into understandable conceptual information in his mind:

[**Hall of Eternal Sleep**]

[**Those who disturb the slumber of the dead...**]

[**Shall have their flesh and blood become sacrifices... and their Divine Souls eternally imprisoned...**]

The cold warning intent, carrying a dense aura of death, slammed into Nightmare's Divine Soul.

Simultaneously, the System's urgent warning tone rang out again:

[Warning! High-intensity Undead Grudge Aggregations detected! Energy reaction: Peak Golden Core Stage! Quantity: Three! They are waking up inside the Stone Hall!]

[Recommendation: Retreat immediately!]

Nightmare's expression changed, and without hesitation, he turned to retreat the way he came!

But it was already too late!

Woo—!

A hair-raising wail, as if billions of departed souls were howling simultaneously, suddenly erupted from the darkness deep within the Stone Hall!

Immediately afterward, three masses of Massive Black Fog, so dense they seemed solid, composed of countless twisted and tormented faces, roared out from the main doorway like fiends rushing out of Hell!

The aura emanating from these three masses of black fog was chilling, deathly silent, and filled with endless malice and madness. Their intensity had clearly reached the Peak Golden Core Stage! They had no fixed form but could transform into countless sharp claws and tentacles, lunging directly at Nightmare. Wherever they passed, even space seemed to freeze and corrode!

Their attacks were not physical; they struck directly at the Divine Soul and devoured life force!

Nightmare felt his Divine Soul violently shake, as if it were about to be torn apart by the wailing of the departed souls. The vitality and life force in his body uncontrollably threatened to leave him and rush toward the three masses of black fog!

"Get lost!" Nightmare roared, instantly unleashing the Soul Shattering Finger. The finger-wind, imbued with the deathly silent aura of the Xiangliu Poison, shot toward one of the masses of black fog!

Puff!

The finger-wind sank into the black fog, which violently churned and let out an even sharper shriek, seemingly injured. However, its volume only slightly diminished, and it immediately lunged forward again at a faster speed! The Soul Shattering Finger was effective, but its power was greatly reduced!

The other two masses of black fog were already close, and icy tentacles fiercely wrapped around him!

Nightmare instantly felt as if he had fallen into an ice cavern; his Divine Soul felt pierced by countless icy needles, and his consciousness began to blur! His protective Demonic Essence was easily penetrated by the black fog, like paper!

In this critical moment, Nightmare fiercely bit the tip of his tongue. The sharp pain momentarily awakened his Divine Soul, and a brilliant green light of vitality flared in his left eye!

"Plunder!"

He forcibly activated The Azure Nether Life and Death Dao again, but his target was the massive skeletons scattered around the stone hall that had withered untold tens of thousands of years ago!

However, this time, what he plundered was not life force, but the purer, colder Death Qi and resentment remaining within the skeletons!

This power surged into his body. Being of the same origin as the black fog's power, it allowed him to temporarily resist the loss of life force, but the erosion of his Divine Soul persisted!

He couldn't fight for long!

A flash of decisiveness crossed Nightmare's eyes. He actually took the initiative to mix a portion of the plundered Death Qi and resentment with his own Demonic Essence and violently shoved it toward the three masses of black fog!

At the same time, the Demonic Shadow Evasion Technique erupted beneath his feet, and he dashed desperately toward the passage he had entered through!

The three masses of black fog paused slightly after being struck by the power, which was of the same origin but more violent, and then began to devour it even more frantically, giving Nightmare a moment to breathe!

Like a stray dog, he rushed into the passage, fleeing frantically without looking back!

Behind him, the three masses of Peak Golden Core Stage undead black fog let out unwilling roars and pursued closely, but they seemed unable to leave the proximity of the Stone Hall's mist. After chasing near the entrance, they could only let out angry shrieks and slowly retreated.

Nightmare fled all the way out of the basin, only daring to stop when he reached the edge of the twisted, gray-black woods. Leaning against a strange tree, he gasped heavily, his face pale, still shaken by the experience.

That was truly too dangerous just now! The three masses of black fog were incredibly bizarre, specialized in harming the Divine Soul and devouring life force. If he hadn't acted decisively, he might have truly perished inside!

This Hall of Eternal Sleep was countless times more perilous than he had imagined!

He slowly opened his palm. Clutched tightly within his hand was something he had taken.

It was something he had casually gouged out of the eye socket of the closest massive skeleton in the instant he shoved away the Death Qi and resentment and turned to flee.

It was a strange gem, the size of a pigeon's egg, completely black, yet unusually smooth, emitting faint spatial fluctuations.

[Ding! You have obtained "void meditation stone (Contaminated)," which contains a trace of spatial power. It can be used to refine Storage Magic Treasures or comprehend the Law of Space, but due to long-term immersion in Death Qi and resentment, it must be purified before use.]

[Obtained 1000 villain points.]

The System's notification caused Nightmare to pause slightly.

A void meditation stone? And a contaminated one?

He examined the gem, suddenly realizing that its texture and the spatial fluctuations seemed somewhat similar to the void evasion talisman he had previously exchanged for?

Could it be...