Body Tempering in the Dark Spring

The turmoil of Ghost Cry Gorge had been left far behind. Nightmare's Divine Sense, at the half-step Nascent Soul level, spread out like an invisible tide; although it was still suppressed by the unique environment of the Nether Ghost Domain, its coverage was far greater than before, sufficient to detect most dangers in advance.

Following the hints in the Immortal Cave owner's Jade Slip and the markings on the Heavenly Secret Pavilion's map, he fixed his direction and marched toward the deeper, darker, and more desolate lands.

The further in he went, the harsher the environment became. The Yin evil Qi was almost as thick as ink, and the whistling Yin wind began to carry sharp mental attacks that could directly tear at a Cultivator's Divine Soul. Twisted, phantom remnants of Souls began to appear on the ground; they lacked consciousness, possessing only pure resentment and the instinct to kill, rushing wildly at the scent of any living person.

But to Nightmare, these were still merely supplements. His Myriad Poison Demonic Essence circulated automatically, swallowing and refining all the negative energy that encroached upon him. Occasionally, when swarms of baleful Souls rushed at him, he didn't even need to act; the Wind-Devouring Demonic Vine circling his body would lash out like black lightning, instantly shattering and absorbing those baleful Souls, causing the dark gold patterns on its vines to become even clearer.

The myriad soul soul-devouring banner vibrated slightly, conveying a sense of longing; these pure Soul bodies were a great tonic for it. However, Nightmare did not easily use the precious banner; such a weapon of slaughter should be saved for critical moments.

After traveling for about a day, passing through a petrified forest that stood like giant skeletons, the scene before him changed abruptly.

A vast, bottomless valley appeared ahead. The cliffs on both sides of the valley were steep and sheer, displaying an unsettling dark red color, as if stained by endless blood. The valley was filled with gray-black thick fog, and as the mist churned, it actually condensed into painfully twisted human faces, emitting silent wails.

At the entrance of the valley stood a broken ancient stone tablet, with two large characters carved in ancient script: "Soul Burying"!

Just by standing at the valley entrance, the extremely dense resentment, Death Qi, and an even more bizarre "power of annihilation" caused the Demonic Essence shield around Nightmare to emit a "hissing" sound, as if it were being constantly eroded.

"Soul Burying Valley... it truly lives up to its reputation." Nightmare's eyes narrowed slightly. The level of danger here was far beyond that of Ghost Cry Gorge. That omnipresent power of annihilation had a strong suppressive effect on living beings; I fear even an Early Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator would need to be extremely cautious here.

He took a deep breath and stepped into the valley.

Instantly, it felt as if he had stepped into another world. The pressure inside the valley increased sharply, and that power of annihilation, pervasive and relentless, frantically tried to drill into his body to extinguish his vitality. At the same time, those human faces condensed from resentment in the thick fog seemed to come alive, emitting shrill screams and rushing toward him like a tide, launching a mental assault!

Nightmare let out a cold snort, and his formidable half-step Nascent Soul aura erupted completely!

Boom!

A terrifying Demonic might spread out from him as the center. The rushing resentful faces seemed to encounter a nemesis, instantly emitting terrified screams and scattering in retreat! The surrounding gray fog was pushed back by three zhang!

The "Myriad Poison Demonic Scripture" was pushed to its limit, not only resisting the erosion of the power of annihilation but even beginning to attempt to counter-swallow and refine this strange power! Although the process was slow and arduous, with every sliver he refined, his Demonic Essence seemed to become a fraction more condensed, carrying a kind of annihilation aura of all things withering.

He walked slowly toward the depths of the valley. His Divine Sense was highly concentrated, resisting the environmental pressure while searching for traces of the nine nether soul-returning grass.

The valley was extremely desolate; apart from jagged, strange rocks and the occasional pile of pale white bones, almost no plants could be seen. The Jade Slip mentioned that the nine nether soul-returning grass preferred extremely Yin places and often grew alongside the netherworld ghost lotus, but it usually grew in the core area where the power of annihilation was most dense and dangerous.

Gradually, he ventured deep into the heart of the valley. Here, the power of annihilation had almost turned into a light gray airflow, visible to the naked eye. Nightmare had to continuously consume Demonic Essence to resist it, and his speed slowed down.

Suddenly, his Divine Sense stirred, and he detected a faint spatial fluctuation and a pure energy reaction not far to his left.

He approached quietly, parting the thick fog, and a small pool appeared before his eyes. The pool was only about a zhang square, and the water was a bizarre gray-white. It was calm and waveless, yet emitted a power of annihilation ten times denser than the surrounding area! And in the center of the pool, there grew a palm-sized, strange little grass, crystal clear like jade, with leaves curled like a baby's tiny hand—the nine nether soul-returning grass!

On the leaves, faint light flowed, emitting a vibrant vitality that nourished the Divine Soul and stabilized the source of life, forming a stark contrast with the dead and annihilating environment around it!

"Found it!" Nightmare felt a surge of joy.

But just as he prepared to step forward to pick it, a sudden change occurred!

The gray-white pool water suddenly boiled, and a gray water arrow composed entirely of pure power of annihilation shot out silently and violently from the bottom of the pool, moving with incredible speed, piercing straight at the center of Nightmare's brow!

This strike contained enough power of annihilation to easily severely injure or even kill a Perfected Golden Core Cultivator!

Nightmare reacted extremely quickly, instantly condensing his protective Demonic Essence in front of him!

Chirp!

The gray water arrow struck the Demonic Essence shield, emitting a teeth-grinding corrosive sound! That terrifying power of annihilation was frantically wearing down his Demonic Essence, and the shield became thin at a speed visible to the naked eye!

"Hmph! Hiding your head and showing your tail!" Nightmare's eyes flashed with severity. Pointing his fingers like a blade, he unleashed a "Myriad Poison Slash" condensed with half-step Nascent Soul Demonic Essence!

The pitch-black Demonic blade tore through the air, accurately slashing onto that water arrow!

Boom!

The two forces collided violently and annihilated each other! The resulting shockwave cleared the surrounding thick fog!

The pool water churned violently, and a bizarre creature with no fixed form, condensed entirely from gray-white spring water, slowly rose from the pool! It had no facial features, only two hollow eye sockets, emitting a pure aura of death and annihilation. Its energy intensity had actually reached the level of "half-step Nascent Soul"!

"Spirit of Annihilation?" Nightmare recognized this thing. It was an elemental spirit that could only be born after countless years in an extreme environment of annihilation; it was the guardian of this area!

The Spirit of Annihilation let out a silent roar, and more gray-white spring water was drawn by it, turning into countless water arrows and water spears, covering Nightmare like a violent storm! Each strike contained terrifying power of annihilation!

At the same time, rustling sounds came from the surrounding thick fog. Seven or eight strange creatures of various shapes, also composed of the power of annihilation, were awakened and surrounded him from all directions, with the weakest being at the Late Golden Core Stage!

Instantly, Nightmare was surrounded!

"Well come! Just in time to use you all to temper my Demonic body and Demonic Essence!"

Nightmare was not alarmed but delighted, his Battle Intent surging in his eyes! He did not use the myriad soul banner but decided to rely on his own strength to confront this group of annihilation creatures head-on!

"Myriad Poison Demonic Body!" He gave a low shout, and dense black Demonic patterns appeared on the surface of his body, instantly raising his Physical Body strength to the limit! At the same time, the Wind-Devouring Demonic Vine danced wildly, actively meeting the few annihilation beasts rushing from the side!

And he himself rushed directly toward the strongest Spirit of Annihilation!

Boom, boom, boom!

The battle broke out instantly!

Nightmare used fists, palms, fingers, and legs, each strike containing massive Myriad Poison Demonic Essence and a trace of the initially comprehended intent of annihilation, violently clashing with the spring water controlled by the Spirit of Annihilation! The sounds of energy explosions were incessant, and the ground around the small pool shook!

The attacks of the Spirit of Annihilation were extremely bizarre; the power of annihilation could constantly wear down his Demonic Essence and even penetrate his defenses to erode his Physical Body. But the "Myriad Poison Scripture" was equally tyrannical, not only resisting tenaciously but also constantly attempting to swallow and transform this power!

This was an extremely dangerous tempering process! His Demonic Essence was being consumed at high speed, his Physical Body was being constantly damaged and repaired, and his Divine Soul was also enduring the impact of the will of annihilation!

But accordingly, his resistance to the power of annihilation was rapidly increasing, the Demonic Essence in his body became more condensed, and that trace of the intent of annihilation became clearer!

The Wind-Devouring Demonic Vine was also fighting fiercely on the other side. The vines lashed and swallowed, trading blows with several annihilation beasts. The vine body was also hissed at by the erosion of the power of annihilation, but it fought more bravely as it went, and the dark gold patterns became increasingly bright.

I don't know how much time had passed, but when Nightmare relied on his pair of Demonic palms to forcibly slap the last annihilation beast into dispersion and finally exploded the half-step Nascent Soul level Spirit of Annihilation, turning it back into pure power of annihilation, the Devilish Qi around him surged. His aura did not weaken but became even deeper and more terrifying!

He stood by the pool. His clothes were somewhat damaged, and shallow gray marks were left on his skin—traces of the erosion by the power of annihilation—but they were quickly repaired by the stronger Demonic Essence.

He opened his mouth and inhaled, drawing all the pure gray-white energy left behind by the exploded Spirit of Annihilation into his body! The "Myriad Poison Demonic Scripture" operated frantically, arduously yet firmly refining it!

Crack!

It felt as if a certain Bottleneck in his body had been broken.

His cultivation was completely stabilized at the Peak of the half-step Nascent Soul! His Physical Body strength, Demonic Essence quality, and Divine Soul resilience had all undergone a thorough baptism and sublimation! At this moment, he was truly only one final Heavenly Tribulation test away from the true Nascent Soul Dao!

"Exhilarating!" Nightmare let out a long roar, the sound shaking the valley and clearing away layers of fog.

He walked to the edge of the pool, carefully collected the nine nether soul-returning grass along with a small amount of gray-white soil from its roots, and put it into a specially made jade box to Seal it.

One of his goals was finally obtained!

His gaze turned to the pool of bizarre gray-white spring water.

"Annihilation Nether Spring... this is an excellent place for tempering the Physical Body and honing the Divine Soul, and it is also a top-tier spiritual material for refining certain special Demonic treasures. How could I miss it?"

He took out several huge jade bottles, performed a spell, and began to collect this precious spring water.

Just as he was collecting the Nether Spring, from the depths of the valley, in the very core of the thick, inseparable fog, there faintly came a sound of… dragging chains that was extremely weak, yet seemed to ring directly in the depths of his Soul?

Nightmare's movements paused slightly, his gaze sharp as a blade, shooting toward the deepest part of the valley.

There, it seemed, an even greater secret was hidden.

Soul Burying Valley, whose Soul was it burying?

Nightmare put away the last jade bottle filled with the Nether Spring, a smile of interest curling the corners of his mouth.

"It seems this trip to the Ghost Domain is getting more and more interesting."

Without the slightest hesitation, he stepped forward, walking resolutely toward the direction where the sound of chains came from—the depths of the valley, where the power of annihilation was most dense and even his Divine Sense could not penetrate.

Risks are often accompanied by opportunities. And with his absolute strength, he feared no risk.