Various parties are in motion

Nightmare's consciousness sank into an endless abyss of darkness and Chaos.

The dark red blood light transformed from that wisp of "demon heart essence Soul" was like the most violent primeval beast, rampaging within his body! The unimaginably massive Demonic Essence Origin crazily assaulted every meridian and every acupoint, with tearing pain everywhere!

Even more terrifying were the fragmented "Demonic Path Law" shards contained within. They were like red-hot branding irons, ruthlessly branded onto his Divine Soul, bringing a horrific sensation from the depths of his Soul, as if he were about to be assimilated and devoured!

Countless chaotic, brutal, greedy, and insane thought fragments, like a burst levee, impacted his Sea of Consciousness, attempting to completely drown his self-awareness!

This was a situation a hundred times more dangerous than refining the demon heart essence blood before! The power and will contained in the essence Soul were far beyond that of essence blood!

If not for the extremely high grade of his Myriad Poison Demonic Scripture, his Myriad Poison Demonic Body already reaching Minor Achievement, and the Wind-Devouring Demonic Vine seedling in his Dantian crazily devouring and diverting a portion of the energy, he would likely have exploded and died the moment the essence Soul entered his body, or been subjected to Possession by the demon heart's will, becoming a demonic puppet that only knew how to kill!

But even so, his situation was precarious! His consciousness struggled on the edge of collapse, like a lone boat in a storm, ready to capsize at any moment.

【Warning! Host is in a crisis of deep energy overload and Divine Soul assimilation!】

【Initiating emergency protocols... Guiding energy to impact the fifth layer barrier of the Myriad Poison Demonic Scripture...】

【Xiangliu Poison Origin activated, countering the erosion of the demon heart's will...】

【Wind-Devouring Demonic Vine operating at overload, accelerating devouring and conversion...】

【life leaf talisman vitality injected at full power, maintaining Host's vital signs...】

The System's notification sounds were intermittent, as if it too were under immense pressure.

Nightmare's remaining consciousness clung desperately to the last shred of clarity. Relying on the tenacious will of a Demon Venerable from his past life, he crazily operated his Cultivation Technique, guiding the violent torrent of energy to launch an assault against the fifth layer barrier of the Myriad Poison Demonic Scripture!

This was an extremely risky move! Succeed, or perish!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The energy torrent slammed against the sturdy barrier again and again. Each collision brought heart-wrenching pain, but it also made the barrier loosen slightly.

Outside, Nightmare's unconscious body was buried by the dust and ruins of the explosion, his aura weak to the point of extinction, as if it could be extinguished at any moment. But within his body, a heaven-shaking transformation was taking place!

Who knows how much time passed; perhaps an instant, perhaps ten thousand years.

When that violent energy was finally barely tamed, with a portion merging into his Demonic Essence, a portion absorbed by the demonic vine, and a portion strengthening his Physical Body...

Crack!

A faint sound, like an eggshell breaking, echoed within Nightmare's body!

Myriad Poison Demonic Scripture, fifth layer—Breakthrough!

Even purer and more massive Demonic Essence surged like a floodgate opening through his Meridians, which had become tougher and wider! His cultivation instantly stabilized at the Peak Golden Core Stage, and he even launched a faint assault against the legendary Nascent Soul barrier!

And those rampaging demon heart will fragments were also forcibly suppressed and extinguished by the Xiangliu Poison and his own Demon Venerable will, turning into the purest Soul nourishment, causing his Divine Sense strength to skyrocket, almost touching the threshold of the Nascent Soul Stage!

Hum!

Nightmare suddenly opened his eyes!

Deep in his eyes, a profound dark red light flashed and vanished. A heart-chilling demonic might radiated from his body. Although it was quickly retracted, it still carried an indescribable sense of oppression!

He slowly sat up from the ruins, feeling the surging power within his body and the fragmented yet profound "Demonic Path Law" insights that had appeared in his mind. A trace of lingering fear appeared on his face, but it was overshadowed by wild joy!

He had survived! And it was a blessing in disguise!

Not only had his cultivation greatly advanced, breaking through to the Peak Golden Core Stage, but his Myriad Poison Demonic Body had also progressed further under the scouring of the demon Soul, not far from Major Achievement. More importantly, the Law shards contained in that wisp of demon heart essence Soul would have immeasurable benefits for his future condensation of a Demonic Infant and comprehension of Divine Abilities!

【Ding! Successfully refined "demon heart essence Soul" (a wisp), cultivation elevated to Peak Golden Core Stage, Myriad Poison Demonic Body significantly enhanced, Divine Sense strength increased, obtained fragmented Demonic Path Law insights.】

【Wind-Devouring Demonic Vine absorbed a large amount of pure Demonic Essence and Law shards, entering a rapid growth phase.】

【Current Status: Recovering from severe injury, Realm needs consolidation.】

【Villain Value: 0】

The System's notification sound returned to normal, but the Villain Value had returned to zero.

Nightmare didn't care; strength improvement was the foundation. He quickly checked his surroundings and found himself buried in a corner of a relatively intact broken house. Outside, sporadic sounds of fighting and roaring could still be heard; evidently, the Chaos had not yet ended.

He retracted all his aura and cautiously peered outward through the gaps in the ruins.

The shantytown was in a mess. The Blood Sacrifice altar had been destroyed, and the space tear had vanished, but that "world-breaking cone" was nowhere to be seen.

In the distance, the battle was still continuing.

The three Law Enforcement Emissaries of the Sky Patrol Alliance seemed to have suffered mutual injuries with the Middle Golden Core Saint Sect Cultivator, and each had retreated to heal.

And the most eye-catching thing was the standoff in mid-air!

Immortal Master Yuheng's Divine Thought Clone had a much dimmer aura; evidently, slashing the demonic claw and maintaining its existence had consumed a huge amount of energy. Opposite him, Lin Langtian's clothes were tattered, blood at the corners of his mouth, but his eyes were even crazier. He held a black banner in his hand, from which devilish, sinister Qi emanated, manifesting countless phantom ghosts, actually managing to temporarily resist the attacks of Yuheng's Clone.

"Yuheng! You destroyed the grand plan of my Saint Sect! This hatred is irreconcilable!" Lin Langtian roared hoarsely, "Even if I fall here today, the Saint Sect will never let you go! The Demon Lord will eventually descend upon this world once more!"

"Demonic heretic, wishful thinking!" Yuheng's Clone coldly retorted. With a sword gesture, he directed the cyan sword aura again. Although not as sharp as before, it still carried a sense of righteous awe as it struck toward Lin Langtian.

The two tangled again, but it was clear that both were at the end of their rope.

Nightmare's gaze flickered, calculating rapidly in his heart.

The world-breaking cone was gone? Was it blown away? Or was it snatched by someone in the Chaos?

Yuheng's Clone and Lin Langtian were both severely injured; this was a perfect opportunity to pick up some cheap gains! Whether it was killing Lin Langtian to obtain Villain Value and Saint Sect intelligence, or... attempting to devour that wisp of Yuheng's Clone that was about to dissipate...

But as soon as this thought arose, he suppressed it.

The risk was too great. Even a weak Yuheng's Clone would not be easy to deal with in a desperate counterattack. Moreover, once he made a move against the Clone of a Sky Patrol Alliance Nascent Soul Cultivator, it would be an irreconcilable blood feud, with no room for turning back.

The most important thing now was to leave this place of trouble as quickly as possible and consolidate his cultivation.

He cast his gaze further afield. Other parts of Black Mountain City were also ablaze, with sounds of slaughter shaking the sky. Clearly, although the Saint Sect's Blood Sacrifice had been disrupted, the Chaos it triggered had only just begun. Violent explosions were coming from the direction of the City Lord's Mansion; it was unknown which faction was attacking it.

The waters had already been muddied; it was time to escape.

Nightmare did not hesitate. Spotting a direction, his figure merged into the shadows like a ghost, avoiding the combat zones, and sped toward the outside of the city.

Along the way, he saw many Saint Sect Cultivators fighting with guards from the City Lord's Mansion and some Cultivators who had suddenly appeared wearing the attire of other Sects. The entire Black Mountain City had fallen into complete Chaos.

It seemed that many factions had been lurking in the dark, just waiting for this moment to come out and snatch benefits!

Nightmare had no intention of participating. He unleashed his full speed and soon rushed out of Black Mountain City, disappearing into the vast night.

Days later, news of the Black Mountain City turmoil began to spread, causing vibrations in the surrounding regions.

It was said that after that night, Saint Sect Cultivators suffered heavy casualties, and their leader, Lin Langtian, fled with severe injuries, whereabouts unknown. One Law Enforcement Emissary of the Sky Patrol Alliance died, two were injured, and Immortal Master Yuheng's Divine Thought Clone dissipated due to energy exhaustion.

The City Lord's Mansion was almost razed to the ground in the turmoil, and the Black Mountain City Lord was missing. There were rumors that he died in the chaotic army, and others said he had long been controlled by the Saint Sect and was secretly executed by the Sky Patrol Alliance afterward.

As for that key "world-breaking cone," it was said that it was eventually snatched away by a group of mysterious people during the Chaos, and its whereabouts remained unknown.

After this battle, the power structure of Black Mountain City was reshuffled. The Sky Patrol Alliance increased its control over the area, but the hidden danger of the Devilish Qi in the depths of the mountains was not eliminated. Instead, stimulated by the Blood Sacrifice, it became more active, becoming a huge hidden danger.

Nightmare heard these scraps of news in a hidden mountain cave thousands of miles away from Black Mountain City, from the conversations of a few passing Cultivators.

He did not care about this. At this moment, he was fully concentrating on consolidating his Peak Golden Core Stage cultivation and digesting the benefits brought by that wisp of demon heart essence Soul.

Inside the cave, Devilish Qi swirled.

Nightmare slowly opened his eyes and opened his palm, revealing a foot-long black vine. The vine was no longer a seedling but had grown several jet-black, shiny leaves. The wind patterns on the edges of the leaves were clearer, and the holes on the vine body opened and closed from time to time, devouring the surrounding Spiritual Qi, emitting a powerful fluctuation comparable to the Late Golden Core Stage!

The Wind-Devouring Demonic Vine had officially entered the "Growth Stage"!

"It is time to leave here." Nightmare stood up, his eyes filled with restrained brilliance.

The storm in Black Mountain City had temporarily come to an end, but his crisis had not been resolved. The Qinglan Sect's kill order was still effective, and the Saint Sect and the Sky Patrol Alliance would likely not let it go.

He needed stronger power and a safer, more stable environment to digest his gains and impact the Nascent Soul Dao!

His gaze turned toward the vast region in the central area of the continent, which was more prosperous yet more dangerous, as shown on the System map.

There, Sects were numerous, experts were as common as clouds, and opportunities were countless, which also meant greater risks.

But only there could he improve faster, hide better, and... deal with those enemies more effectively!

"Gu Qingying... Qinglan Sect... Saint Sect... Sky Patrol Alliance..." Nightmare whispered these names, the corners of his mouth curling into a cold arc.

"We... will meet again very soon."

With a flicker, he turned into a faint demonic shadow, rushed out of the cave, and sped toward the center of the continent.

A new journey began. And all the happenings in the Southern Wasteland Demon Domain and Black Mountain City seemed to be just a prelude to this grand opening.