Shocking Secrets

The night in Black Mountain City seemed exceptionally quiet due to the anomalies in the Black Mountain Range.

Entertainment venues that usually had some music and singing closed early, pedestrians on the streets were sparse, and only the heavy footsteps of patrol squads and the occasional barking of dogs broke this suffocating silence.

Nightmare, like a ghost blending into the night, shuttled silently between the shadows of the buildings, his target pointing directly at the heavily guarded building complex in the center of the city—the City Lord's Mansion.

The closer he got to the City Lord's Mansion, the denser the patrol guards became, with open sentries and hidden posts standing everywhere, and even the faint light of simple warning Formations flickering in the darkness. Clearly, the City Lord's Mansion also knew that the current situation was tense and had strengthened its defenses.

But for Nightmare, who possessed a powerful Divine Sense and was equipped with the Demonic Shadow Evasion Technique and the Wind-Devouring Demonic Vine, this was not insurmountable.

He avoided the main entrance and circled to a relatively remote wall at the side and rear of the mansion. The wall was three zhang high and inscribed with simple reinforcement and warning runes, which might be effective against low-level Cultivators, but were useless against Nightmare.

He held his fingers like a knife, Demonic Essence condensing at his fingertips, and like a hot knife through butter, he silently cut a gap in the rune nodes of the wall. Then, his figure flickered, and he drifted into the courtyard like a fallen leaf, landing without a sound.

Inside the mansion, there were guards every five steps and sentries every ten steps, with several Divine Senses of varying strengths sweeping across from time to time.

Nightmare pushed his stealth skills to the limit, his Divine Sense acting like the most precise radar, pre-judging all patrol routes and gaps in the Divine Sense scans, dancing on the tip of a blade as he crept bit by bit toward the depths of the mansion.

His goal was very clear—the study, the secret room, or any place where important documents might be stored.

According to the habits of mortal government offices and the preferences of Cultivators, such places were usually located in the most heavily guarded area on the central axis of the mansion.

Sure enough, after avoiding a patrol squad led by a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator, Nightmare arrived in front of an independent courtyard. Two guards with steady auras of the Late Foundation Establishment Stage stood at the entrance of the courtyard, and spiritual light flowed on the courtyard gate, clearly indicating that a not-so-weak Restriction was set up.

This was highly likely to be the City Lord's study or an important reception room.

Nightmare hid in the shadows of a large tree outside the courtyard and observed carefully. Forcing his way in was unwise and would inevitably alert everyone.

His gaze swept over the two guards, a faint light flashing in his eyes. The Soul Shattering Finger might be able to kill one person instantly, but the other would definitely be able to sound an alarm.

A more secure method was needed.

With a thought, the Wind-Devouring Demonic Vine seedling in his Dantian trembled slightly, and a trace of extremely subtle, colorless, and odorless "paralyzing poison gas," mixed with a trace of the spiritual erosion fluctuation unique to the demonic vine, drifted silently toward the two guards as if delivered by a gentle breeze.

This was one of the new abilities derived after the demonic vine evolved, combining the paralysis of the Xiangliu Poison with the spiritual contamination of the demonic vine, with excellent results.

Those two guards were only at the Foundation Establishment Stage, and they inhaled the poison gas without realizing it. Their eyes instantly became somewhat dazed and sluggish; although they were still standing, their vigilance had dropped to the lowest point, and their perception of the outside world had become blurry.

Now!

Nightmare's figure swept past like a ghost, and in the dazed eyes of the two guards, he passed directly through the Restriction of the courtyard gate—the Demonic Shadow Evasion Technique combined with precise destruction of the Restriction nodes allowed him to pass through as if walking through a wall, without triggering any alarms.

Inside the courtyard was a small garden, and opposite it was a brightly lit study.

Nightmare approached quietly and probed the study with his Divine Sense.

There was only one person in the study. A middle-aged man wearing the official uniform of the City Lord, with a haggard face and a look of deep worry, was sitting at the desk, sighing at a Jade Slip. His cultivation was at the Early Golden Core Stage, and his aura was somewhat floaty, clearly built up by relying on Medicinal Pills.

This person should be the City Lord of Black Mountain City.

Nightmare did not disturb him and carefully scanned the study with his Divine Sense. The study was furnished with several bookshelves, mostly containing ordinary books such as local chronicles and government records. However, in a secret compartment behind the desk, Nightmare sensed faint Formation fluctuations and several items with unique energy reactions.

He waited patiently.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the City Lord seemed to have made up his mind, stood up abruptly, walked behind the desk, skillfully opened the secret compartment, and took out three things: a black Jade Slip, a scroll depicting a complex map, and a... "black compass" almost identical to the one in Nightmare's embrace!

So it really exists!

The City Lord held those three things, the look of struggle on his face deepening, and he muttered to himself: "...Tomorrow... the 'key' will arrive... the heavenly timing is just three days away... is this act... a blessing or a curse... sigh..."

His voice was extremely low, filled with unease and fear.

Key? heavenly timing? Three days later?

Nightmare's heart suddenly tightened! The Sacred Sect's operation was actually this fast!

Just then, footsteps and a guard's report came from outside the study: "Lord City Lord, Master Liu requests an audience."

The City Lord's face changed, and he hurriedly stuffed the three items back into the secret compartment, composed his expression, and said in a deep voice: "Come in."

An old man with a goatee and shrewd eyes, at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, pushed the door open and entered, bowing respectfully: "My Lord, Special Envoy Zhantai of the Sky Patrol Alliance has sent someone to ask about the investigation of the strange Cultivators in the city, and... when the 'batch of supplies' they requested will be ready?"

The City Lord rubbed his temples and said wearily: "Tell Special Envoy Zhantai that the investigation is still ongoing, and report immediately once there are any findings. As for the supplies... tomorrow, at the latest by noon tomorrow, they will definitely be gathered and sent!"

"Yes." Master Liu responded, hesitated for a moment, and said in a low voice: "My Lord, the quantity of that batch of supplies is huge, and most of them are yin-attribute Materials. Why does the Sky Patrol Alliance need these..."

"Shut up!" The City Lord sternly interrupted him, "Whatever the Special Envoy wants, we just do it! How can you be so talkative? Get out!"

Master Liu trembled in fear and hurriedly lowered his head and retreated. Inside the study, the City Lord slumped back into his chair, his face looking even worse.

Nightmare heard all of this clearly.

The Sky Patrol Alliance is also collecting a large amount of yin-attribute Materials? What are they trying to do? And it seems so close to the timing of the Sacred Sect's operation? Is it a coincidence? Or...

A more terrifying conjecture surfaced in Nightmare's mind. Could it be... the Sky Patrol Alliance and the Sacred Sect... their goals are not opposite? Perhaps even... He dared not think any further.

He must get the things in the secret compartment!

After waiting for a while longer, until the City Lord finished dealing with a few trivial matters and left the study in a state of exhaustion, Nightmare slipped into the room like a wisp of smoke.

He came behind the desk, easily broke the Restriction on the secret compartment, and took out the three items inside.

First, he opened the scroll. It was indeed a more detailed map of the Black Mountain Range than the one he had seen at the Sacred Sect stronghold, with the energy veins, weak points around the sinkhole altar, and several "Blood Sacrifice nodes" drawn in cinnabar marked in detail! There were also small annotations on the side regarding the required quantity and attributes of the sacrifices!

The meticulousness of the plan and the cruelty of the methods were appalling!

Next, he picked up the black Jade Slip and sank his Divine Sense into it. Inside the Jade Slip was not a Cultivation Technique, but a record! It recorded the contents of several secret meetings between the City Lord and a mysterious person known as the "Sacred Envoy"!

From the records, it was known that the City Lord had long been controlled by the Sacred Sect (seemingly threatening him with his Family Bloodline), forced to cooperate with the Sacred Sect's actions. And the Sacred Sect promised that after the matter was accomplished, they would help him Breakthrough to the Middle Golden Core and support his Family.

And the so-called "heavenly timing" referred to three days later, when the Earth Fiend Yin Vein of the Black Mountain Range and the movement of the stars would form a special intersection point, at which time the power of the Seal would drop to its lowest point!

And the "key" was a replica of an ancient demonic treasure called the "world-breaking cone," specifically used to break spatial Seals, and it would be delivered by someone sent by the Sacred Sect headquarters tomorrow!

Finally, Nightmare picked up the black compass. This compass was almost the same as the one he had obtained from the Sacred Sect stronghold, but the needle's trembling was more intense, and the pointing was clearer. When Nightmare tried to inject Demonic Essence, the characters that appeared on the compass were different: "The Demonic Source is about to awaken, the Sacred Artifact is in place, if the Blood Sacrifice is completed, the Demon Lord will return."

The Demon Lord will return?!

Nightmare's pupils shrank suddenly! These lunatics! Their purpose was not as simple as stealing the power of the Demon Heart! They wanted to completely unlock the Seal and awaken that sealed "Demon Lord"?!

Once successful, it would definitely lead to the suffering of all living beings! It might even trigger a catastrophe that would sweep across the entire cultivation world!

And the Sky Patrol Alliance... they are collecting a large amount of yin-attribute Materials at this critical moment, and their purpose is probably not simple either! Perhaps they want to take advantage of the Sacred Sect's Blood Sacrifice and the shaking of the Seal to act like the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, or maybe they even want to... completely purify both the Sacred Sect and the Demon Lord?

No matter which side succeeds, Black Mountain City and even this region will turn into scorched earth! He must stop them!

Nightmare made a decision in his heart instantly. Whether for his own safety or to prevent this catastrophe, he must disrupt this Blood Sacrifice!

He firmly memorized the contents of the map and the Jade Slip, then put the things back into the secret compartment as they were, wiping away all traces.

Just as he was about to leave, his gaze was suddenly attracted by an official document on the desk that had just been sent and had not yet been reviewed. The document was a summary of the recent missing persons cases in the city, mentioning that the missing persons were mostly young and strong men and low-level Cultivators, and the areas where they last disappeared all pointed to... the "West City Shantytown"!

Nightmare immediately thought of that Sacred Sect stronghold! Those missing people were likely already the "sacrifices" prepared by the Sacred Sect for the Blood Sacrifice!

These beasts!

A murderous intent flashed through Nightmare's eyes and vanished. He left the City Lord's study silently, just as he had come, without alerting anyone.

Returning to a safe temporary lodging, Nightmare sat cross-legged, his mind running rapidly, integrating all the information he had obtained tonight.

The Sacred Sect, the Sky Patrol Alliance, the City Lord's Mansion, the "world-breaking cone" that was about to be delivered, the "heavenly timing" of the Earth Fiend and Heavenly Stars intersection three days later, a large number of Blood Sacrifice sacrifices...

The situation was critical, and time was tight! With his own strength alone, wanting to directly disrupt this Blood Sacrifice, which was led by a Late Golden Core Stage Cultivator and had been planned for a long time, was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

He needed to borrow strength, needed to create chaos, and needed to find the best opportunity to intervene!

His gaze turned to the System interface again. Although most functions were still grayed out, the Villain Points column was clearly visible. [Villain Points: 14800]

Perhaps... he could do something with this? A bold plan gradually took shape in Nightmare's heart.

He needed to go to the West City Shantytown again to confirm some things.

His figure blended into the night again, like a ghost claiming lives, heading toward the west of the city. This time, his goal was no longer to investigate, but—slaughter and salvation!