The secret incantation is about to begin

Shuttling through the Void Realm, stars shifted and time flowed.

Nightmare, along with Su Wanqing and Mo Yuan and the others, did not return to the valley outside Flowing Cloud Sect. Instead, they arrived deep within a more remote and desolate mountain range on the southern border, a place rarely trodden by humans. Here, miasma permeated the air, Yao Beasts lurked, and Spiritual Qi was sparse and chaotic, making it an excellent place to hide their tracks.

With a wave of his hand, he opened up a temporary Immortal Cave, setting up layers of concealment and Restriction Formations to completely isolate the interior from the outside world.

Inside the Immortal Cave, Nightmare first used pure Demonic Essence to help Mo Yuan and the others completely stabilize their injuries, and bestowed upon them some Medicinal Pills obtained from Sky Patrol Alliance Cultivators, allowing them to quietly Cultivate and recover at the side.

Afterward, his gaze fell upon Su Wanqing, who stood quietly to the side, her face still pale but her eyes calm.

"Do you know who I am? And do you know why I saved you?" Nightmare spoke, his voice flat.

Su Wanqing looked up at him, gently shook her head, and then nodded again. Unable to speak, she raised her finger, dipped it in some clear water, and wrote a few delicate characters on the stone table beside her:

"I know you are very strong, and you are Big Brother Mo's benefactor. I don't know why you saved me, but there must be a reason."

Nightmare glanced at the words on the stone table, gaining a deeper understanding of this woman's intelligence and composure. To maintain such Heart-Nature in such circumstances was truly rare.

"I saved you because I have something I seek," Nightmare said directly, without concealment. "I need your Profound Yin Body as the core to cast a Secret Art. This matter is not entirely bad for you. After the Secret Art succeeds, I will not only help you resolve the threat from the Sky Patrol Alliance and avenge your mother, but also assist you in completely controlling the Profound Yin Body, and even reshape your Foundation, making your future Dao promising."

He paused, his voice turning cold: "Of course, you can refuse. But since I have found you, I will not let you, this perfect cauldron, leave. The choice is yours."

The meaning in his words was clear: cooperate, and there are benefits; do not cooperate, and he will use force.

Su Wanqing was silent for a moment, her long eyelashes lowered as if in thought. The Immortal Cave was quiet, with only the slightly tense breathing of Mo Yuan and the others.

After a few breaths, she raised her finger again and slowly wrote:

"Do I have a choice?"

"What do you need me to do?"

Her tone was calm, even carrying a hint of self-mockery, yet it revealed a resigned frankness and rationality.

A hint of appreciation flashed in Nightmare's eyes. Dealing with intelligent people was simply easier.

"It's very simple, relax your mind and don't resist." Nightmare extended his finger, and a trace of extremely pure Demonic Essence, imbued with the unique imprint of the Myriad Poison Demonic Scripture, condensed at its tip.

This was not ordinary Demonic Essence, but rather contained a trace of the preliminary incantation power of the Secret Curse of Stealing Fate and Exchanging Heaven, intended to initially activate and mark the cauldron, preparing for the subsequent ritual.

Su Wanqing looked at the finger emitting a chilling aura, her body instinctively tensed slightly, but she quickly forced herself to relax again, slowly closing her eyes. Her long eyelashes trembled slightly, revealing that her inner self was not as calm as her surface suggested.

Nightmare's finger gently touched her glabella.

A cold sensation spread.

The next moment, a strange power surged into her Sea of Consciousness and Meridians. It wasn't destructive, but rather spread like a spiderweb, quietly connecting with the Profound Yin Origin deeply hidden within her body. She felt as if her Soul had been branded with a unique mark, and an inexplicable bond was established between her and this mysterious, powerful man.

This process was not painful; instead, it made the Profound Yin Qi, which she had always been unable to fully control, much more docile.

A moment later, Nightmare withdrew his finger and nodded in satisfaction. The preliminary marking of the cauldron was complete, even smoother than expected. This woman's Profound Yin Body was extremely pure and of very high quality, far exceeding his expectations.

"How do you feel?" he wrote on the stone table.

Su Wanqing opened her eyes, sensed the situation within her body, and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes as she wrote: "The Profound Yin Qi seems to have become more docile. What did you do to me?"

"Just made them temporarily more obedient, for easier control in the future," Nightmare said indifferently. "For the next period, you will Cultivate here in peace, trying to guide the Profound Yin Qi within your body. I will give you suitable Cultivation Techniques. Mo Yuan and the others will protect your safety."

After speaking, he tossed Su Wanqing a Jade Slip containing a Profound Yin Breathing Technique suitable for Foundation Establishment of the Profound Yin Body. Although not top-tier, it was perfect for her current foundational training. He also left behind some Medicinal Pills for nourishing the Divine Soul and stabilizing the primordial Yin.

Just then, in Nightmare's mind, the long-silent, cold and mechanical System Notification Sound suddenly rang out without warning:

"Ding! Detected key plot character 'Profound Yin Body - Su Wanqing' has been recorded."

"Secret Curse of Stealing Fate and Exchanging Heaven prerequisite: 'cauldron' is in place."

"Current quest progress updated: Find 'reincarnation wood' (completed); Find 'heavenly mandate flower' (uncompleted); Find 'karma mud' (uncompleted)."

"Warning: child of destiny 'Ye Fan' has sensed significant destiny node fluctuations, Heavenly Dao attention has increased. His probability of Breakthrough to Nascent Soul Stage has increased by 15%."

"Suggestion: Gather all Materials as soon as possible, activate the Secret Curse, otherwise the target's Luck will continue to strengthen, and difficulty will increase."

The System's prompt caused Nightmare's gaze to slightly narrow.

Ye Fan actually benefited from this misfortune, increasing his probability of Breakthrough to Nascent Soul? Heavenly Dao attention increased?

Indeed, dealing with such a child of destiny, one must never play by the rules. It must be a quick battle, using absolute power and unconventional means to strangle him before he fully grows!

"heavenly mandate flower... karma mud..." Nightmare muttered to himself. The clues for these two items were one in the Starfall Secret Realm (requires waiting), and one in the Great Thunder Sound Temple or Myriad Demon Blood Pool (extremely difficult to obtain).

Time waits for no one.

Perhaps... he could try a different approach.

His eyes flickered as he looked again at the information about Ye Fan in the System prompt.

"Heavenly Dao attention increased... significant destiny node fluctuations..." A cold arc curved on Nightmare's lips. "Since you benefit from this, then I'll add more fuel to the fire."

He immediately had a plan in mind.

He looked at Mo Yuan and commanded: "Mo Yuan, after your injuries recover, immediately use the remaining channels of your Netherworld Sect to secretly spread a piece of news, making sure it reaches the ears of the Sky Patrol Alliance and Ye Fan."

"Please instruct, Benefactor!"

"The content of the message is:" Nightmare's eyes flickered with calculating light, "'The Saintess's daughter of the Netherworld Sect did not fall into demonic hands, but was taken away by a reclusive Demon Venerable, who intends to Cultivate her to be the next Sect Master of the Netherworld Sect, and will hold the Saintess's succession ceremony at the 'Netherworld Sect's Old Site' three months from now, reopening the sect!'"

Mo Yuan was stunned upon hearing this, then suddenly understood, and excitedly said: "Benefactor's plan is excellent! This is an overt scheme! If Ye Fan hears this news, whether true or false, he will definitely not be able to sit still! Whether it's to capture Young Miss, or to disrupt our sect's reconstruction, he is very likely to go there himself! At that time..."

"At that time, it will be the burial ground carefully prepared for him!" Nightmare coldly interjected. "Netherworld Sect's Old Site, I presume you are familiar with it? It will be perfect for setting up."

"Familiar! More than familiar!" The flames of hatred burned in Mo Yuan's eyes. "That place has a special terrain, with many remnants of ancient Formations. If we can set it up in advance, we can definitely make sure Ye Fan never returns!"

"Very good." Nightmare nodded. "This matter will be your responsibility. Spread the news, set up traps. If you need any resources, just ask."

"Yes! Mo Yuan will not fail Benefactor's trust!" Mo Yuan solemnly accepted the order, his eyes filled with the excitement and drive of revenge.

After arranging all this, Nightmare said to Su Wanqing: "For these three months, you will Cultivate diligently here. At that time, you will also need to make an appearance."

Su Wanqing calmly nodded and wrote: "Okay."

She knew that she had become an important chess piece on the board. But rather than falling into the Sky Patrol Alliance and having her Origin stripped, she would rather choose to cooperate with this mysterious Demon Venerable. At least, there was still hope for revenge.

With everything arranged, Nightmare sat down cross-legged.

He needed to quickly digest the power of the reincarnation wood and further deduce the Secret Curse of Stealing Fate and Exchanging Heaven. At the same time, he also needed to seize the time to Cultivate, striving to advance his cultivation further before the decisive battle.

Inside the Immortal Cave, everyone entered a state of Cultivation or busyness.

And a deadly trap targeting the child of destiny, Ye Fan, had already quietly spread through the underground channels of the Southern Domain cultivation world, leveraging the remaining power of the Netherworld Sect.

A storm was brewing.

Nightmare closed his eyes, his Divine Sense sinking into his body, beginning to make contact with the sealed remnant of the reincarnation wood.

The moment his Divine Sense touched that withered wood and that tender sprout!

An anomaly occurred again!

The System Notification Sound in his mind rang out once more, but this time, it carried an unprecedented urgency and... uncertainty?

"Warning! Warning! Detecting high-dimensional homologous energy fluctuations!"

"Energy source analysis in progress... Analysis failed! Insufficient authority!"

"Suspected... 'System' component residual aura?!"

"Coordinate location: Deep within the reincarnation wood's residual imprint!"

"Extremely dangerous! Suggest immediate stripping! Otherwise, unknown consequences may arise!"

Nightmare suddenly opened his eyes, a terrifying gleam bursting forth!

System component? Homologous energy fluctuations? Within this reincarnation wood?!

This sudden warning completely exceeded his expectations!

That Ancient Demon in Soul Burying Valley... the Ruined Capital civilization in the Yin-Yang Chaotic Abyss... the reincarnation wood... and this so-called "System"... what kind of connection was hidden between all of these?!

His gaze, once again, fell upon that seemingly ordinary withered wooden stump, becoming incredibly profound and vigilant.