Chapter 821: Chapter 524: All Evil Spirit Descendants Come to Pledge Allegiance, Knowing This Is the First Hardship of the Nightmare
Tao Qian shivered, breaking free from the Dao Nightmare.
He had thought that upon opening his eyes, he would see the splendid scenery within his own Ascending Immortal Island’s Star Aperture.
Yet what he saw almost caused his Dao Heart to lose control.
Floating right in front of him was a broken female corpse, her clothing disheveled. Though she had a childlike face, she possessed a warm and broad chest. It seemed she had been humiliated, with many purplish-black patches on her body and small white spots, and her face was the reason Tao Qian nearly went insane on the spot.
An old acquaintance of Tao Qian, Infant Sect Xiao Meiniang, Master Xiao.
If it were only this, Tao Qian might still be able to barely maintain his calm.
But the more terrifying part was still to come.
After Tao Qian looked around, it was as if his breath stopped instantly.
Corpses!
Hundreds to thousands of corpses, nearly all with an unyielding expression, their bodies broken, floating around Tao Qian.
Besides Master Xiao, there were two neighbors and wife and daughter, Lin Xiaohua, Pan Hongniang, Beautiful Corpse Bodhisattva, Queen of Daughter Country, Zhong Doudou, Aunt Pan Si, Aunt Bai Yin, Aunt Yunhua, Senior Sister Lingji, Duobao Daoist... the people he had killed when trapped in the Dao Nightmare were ’realized’, appearing vividly alive before Tao Qian.
How real was it?
Tao Qian didn’t even need to touch; Xiao Meiniang’s corpse floated straight into his embrace, her breasts, as hard as stone, collided with him... Behind him was the Queen of Daughter Country, Xue Baobao’s bare body, purplish-black lips kissing Tao Qian’s neck... On the left was Aunt Yunhua, her eyes filled with resentment and death staring at him... On the right was Aunt Bai Yin, a cold snake body encircling him.
Amidst the surrounding female corpses, everything experienced in the Dao Nightmare simultaneously surfaced.
In an instant, Tao Qian’s expression changed.
"I’m not out yet?"
Just as he thought this, a familiar hoarse voice came from afar.
It was Spirit Marrow Lady, calling out from a great distance:
"Young Master!"
"Steady your Spirit, these corpses, though they seem real upon touch, are actually false, all transformed from the Nightmare Energy inside you."
Though she revealed the truth.
But anyone could hear the intense fear contained within her voice.
An entity originally a Spirit Marrow Crystal Mountain, having lived for countless years as an Outer Realm alien, yet now plunging into infinite terror because of her young master.
The reason?
Despite her long existence, she had never seen such a sight.
At this moment, an incomparably pure, lucid Divine Light Immortal Qi burst out from Tao Qian’s body.
Streams of light surged, sweeping across the Star Aperture.
All the corpses touched, all dissolved like melting blood under the scorching sun.
At the same time, in Tao Qian’s mind.
An unprecedentedly vast and complex "Record" began to flood out like a deluge.
It lasted several breaths before Tao Qian barely managed to clearly understand all the Records, finally realizing what he encountered without warning.
"Dao Nightmare! This realm’s one and only, perhaps the foremost challenge of the Dao Nightmare!"
"If every person’s encountered Dao Nightmare was like what I experienced, then what is this so-called ’Daoist Transformation Tribulation’ at all?"
"This useless Dao Nightmare should be the ultimate calamity of no return, a supreme death ordeal."
This thought arose, and Tao Qian still felt lingering fear.
The reality within the Dao Nightmare World was a terror he had never imagined.
No!
More precisely, the Dao Nightmare World was also a world that truly existed before.
In his past life, he was aware of concepts like "Brain in a Vat," "True Game," but to think that what he encountered within the Dao Nightmare was akin to a game or false memories tricking the brain and soul—that would be a grave error.
"Other Ultimate Happiness Cultivators, the Dao Nightmare they emit is indeed related to certain nightmares of the ’Great Dao’. If the Nightmare Energy leaks out, it can lead to disastrous calamities, manifesting some twisted scenes and territories, but it’s essentially illusory. Breaking the Nightmare Technique or killing the trapped Ultimate Happiness Cultivator could remove all ensuing troubles."
"But the Dao Nightmare within my soul is different; it’s not illusory, it’s all real."
"The final two choices, no matter which I choose, would lead to that further mutated, more twisted world descending to this realm, merging with it."
"That is a real world, a world nurtured by my Abnormal Soul."
"This means... did I actually do all those things?"
Tao Qian looked at the gradually disappearing corpses, struggling to utter this sentence.
Then, he fell into silence.
He was still gazing at the incredible records in his mind.
At this moment, he finally understood why he could not find any flaw in that world.
"Since it is real, there is no flaw."
"Being trapped in the Dao Nightmare is equivalent to a reincarnation, but after entering that world, I have no dominion power, merely at the mercy of ’Demon Tao Qian’ to wreak havoc."
"He is an Outer Realm abomination, an Original Sky Demon with a high status. Many Demon Gods in that world seem to aid him, assisting him in wreaking havoc, deceiving Duobao, Yunhua, the Sect Master, the Heavenly Venerate... these Great Divine Power holders."
"With such unfathomable great power and evil power, not to mention ordinary Ultimate Happiness Cultivators, even Masters and the Sect Master probably have none."
"Born from a soul capable of exempting cultivation cost? Or has my Abnormal Soul become a gateway to two worlds?"
"This world is bad enough, and that Dao Nightmare World is unimaginable."
"This time, saved by the Spiritual Resonance left by Senior Sister, what about the next?"
"Dao Nightmare? Is it truly my Dao, or my disaster?"
When Tao Qian pondered to this point, his thoughts became increasingly chaotic.
His spirit also saw the last two records that changed his complexion:
"Due to the aid of Innate Spiritual Sensing, the original wish of heart and soul was determined in advance, the host fiercely desires to return, thus exempting all costs... successfully survived the first Dao Nightmare, heart and soul returned."
"Although the cost is exempted, when the host was trapped in the Dao Nightmare World, a strand of Nightmare Energy escaped to the edge of Source Sea. Thus, attracted a total of twenty-two Outer Realm abominations and Evil God’s descendants... these evil spirits, brutal and wicked, devoid of any humanity, but deceived by Nightmare Energy, all wish to serve you as their master, to follow you."
These records immediately awoke Tao Qian from chaotic thoughts.
Before he could react, from afar, accompanied by the burst of crystal light, he heard the anguished cries of Spirit Marrow Lady.
Tao Qian looked and saw an extremely long Star Chain disintegrating, a Spirit Marrow Crystal Mountain stretching thousands of miles apart was forcefully breached, with a massive eruption of crystal stones, the clogged opening immediately reappearing.
Millions of rays stained with mutated and twisted Source Qi shot out from the Origin Sea.
Within this tide of light, Tao Qian first reached out a hand to cast, recovering the human form but with tattered clothes, crystal body full of sores and gaps, clutching Spirit Marrow Lady to him.
Afterward, he glanced at the numerous terrifying vast shadows trailing closely behind the Lady...
They were immensely twisted, truly unbearable to gaze upon, merely glancing would invite pollution and backlash.
Creeping toward, they stirred the tide of pure Source Qi, with rustling screeches, mysterious murmurs, vibrant light, lively mist, ancient palaces, books made from flesh and skin... a storm of numerous alien beings blowing toward, enveloping Tao Qian.
Instantly, in his mind, numerous records burst forth:
[Currently encountering Outer Realm evil spirit ’Red Child’... This entity resembles a Human Clan toddler, wearing a bellyband, holding a spear, stepping on a fire wheel, but merely a manifested shell, inside lies an indiscernible lump of meat, prefers devouring humans, often roams outside bubbles of worlds with Humans, opportunity to feast, combat strength akin to Ultimate Happiness Realm Soul Cleansing Pass cultivators.]
[Currently encountering Evil God’s offspring ’Rabbit Immortal’... This entity is the offspring of an Outer Realm Evil God who breeds every ten thousand years, birthing a million Rabbit Immortals, one-third devoured, one-third pound medication, one-third released, this released Rabbit Immortal, weak in physique, combat strength matches Cavernous Mystery Perfection Cultivators.]
[Currently encountering Outer Realm evil spirit ’Snake Lady God’... This entity’s history is mysterious, formed when a powerful female fairy and an abomination snake battled, both illuminated by a beam of Source Sea Divine Qi Light Flow, mutated, fused, into a wandering monster god named after the god, but combat strength equivalent to Ultimate Happiness Realm Absorb Lifespan cultivators.]
[Currently encountering Source Sea deceitful object ’Copper-Mouth Monk’... This entity arises from a great mysterious faction within Source Sea depths, wandering outside, living on alms, bloodthirsty and violent, due to practicing Great Abyss Secret Book "Copper-Mouthed Buddha Scripture", acquired the extraordinary power to roam the Great Abyss, but combat strength matches Cavernous Mystery Realm cultivators.]
[Currently encountering Evil God’s offspring ’Red-haired Ghost’... This entity born from powerful Evil God ’Lord Red’, this god squats within the palace deep in Source Sea, often plucking godly hairs, falling to earth spawning intelligent evil ghosts spirit ghosts, its offspring, roam everywhere with nature both evil and good, this is an evil ghost, combat strength akin to Cavernous Mystery Perfection Cultivators.]
...
[Total twenty-two entities, all deceived by a strand of Nightmare Energy, wish to serve you as master, will you accept?]
[If accepted through sacrificial ceremony, becoming master of all evil spirits and spirit god offspring, you can control them, but must bear the responsibility to feed them, if starved, there’s a chance of backlash.]
[If not accepted through sacrificial ceremony, all evil spirits and spirit god offspring will regard the offering as inadequate, noting the location of Star Aperture, returning to Source Sea to gather offerings, call companions, approaching again to beseech you.]
When Tao Qian saw the last record.
Those twenty-two terrible shadows, all revealed true forms that left Tao Qian’s eyes sore after gazing.
Their forms twisted beyond imagination, any revealing figure impossible to predict.
Regardless of what Tao Qian thinks, riding upon the tide of Source Qi Light, they surged before him, swaying, leaping, singing and dancing.
In an instant, in Tao Qian’s mind, he heard a multitude of shrieking murmurs.
No translation needed, Tao Qian understood.
These Demons, evil spirits!
These Evil God’s offspring!
They all called Tao Qian ’master’.
Simultaneously, filthy palms, unclean tentacles carried and wrapped various bizarre objects, presenting before Tao Qian.
Even though Tao Qian had encountered extensive experiences and knowledge, the scene before him still stood as bizarre.
Not just him, even Spirit Marrow Lady held within his arms, stood frozen at this moment.
Her heart and soul, undisturbed for years, surged with waves now, at this moment casting doubt:
"Young Master, truly Spirit Treasure True Immortal? Or Outer Realm Demon God?"