Within the chaotic void, a black river encircled a small piece of land. On this land stood cultivation caves and tens of millions of lives—a truly minuscule place by any measure.
Whoosh.
A young man clad in thick white robes appeared in the air above the black river, gazing down at the distant land. In an instant, an illusion descended. Without the suppression of the Sacred Realm, the range of Dongbo Xueying’s illusion was vast beyond measure—this land and river combined were less than a billionth of the limit of his illusion’s reach.
Of course, aside from Dongbo Xueying’s formidable strength, the main reason was that the river and land were indeed incredibly small.
A lone Unity realm cultivator who had secluded himself here, along with his tens of millions of subjects, all fell into the illusion.
“Hmm? Still not them?” Dongbo Xueying shook his head slightly.
“Based on the gathered intelligence, the probability of them hiding in this vast region was indeed higher,” he mused inwardly with a sigh.
The Annihilation Fiends lacked ultra-long-distance teleportation.
Traveling through the Sacred Realm or the chaotic void was arduous for them. Large-scale operations targeting Chaos realm experts might require them to traverse vast distances over countless years. But for smaller-scale killings, it was unlikely they would spend too much time traveling. Thus, based on this reasoning and the concentrated areas of their ‘devouring massacres,’ Dongbo Xueying had narrowed down his search.
Now, his focus was on investigating these regions—yet, so far, he had found nothing. The chaotic void was simply too vast.
“Hmm.”
Dongbo Xueying peered through the apertures of the black mist sphere, scanning the surroundings for the next place harboring life.
His investigations always targeted inhabited areas.
If the Annihilation Fiends were hiding somewhere, they would be extremely cautious. Yet, under the gaze of the black mist sphere, nothing could remain concealed.
Scene after scene unfolded before his eyes…
…An explosion rocked a secluded valley. “Another failure! The experiment failed again!” roared an enraged sorcerer who had secluded himself there…
…Inhabitants of a chaotic land lived peaceful lives…
…Within a universe, devotees worshipped the Mother Goddess Sect…
…
On a vast chaotic land teeming with countless lives, outside a dilapidated shrine, knelt a dense crowd—hundreds of thousands strong.
“Lord Tianfeng, we beg you to save our world!”
“Lord Tianfeng, we beseech you to descend!”
“Lord Tianfeng!”
The hundreds of thousands pleaded desperately, all of them cultivators, the weakest among them at the deity level.
“Great Mother Goddess, mighty Sacred Lord, all exalted beings—if you can save our world, we pledge our faith to you!”
“Mother Goddess! Sacred Lord!”
“Save our world!”
Among them, many cried out in near-delirium, their eyes filled with despair. While universes were relatively isolated, chaotic lands maintained some communication with the outside world. They knew of the ultimate cultivation realm—the Cosmic God level. They also knew of the legendary ‘Sacred Lord’ and ‘Mother Goddess,’ who accepted worship.
Yet, though invoking their names within a universe might elicit a response, the boundless chaotic void was infinitely vaster, and the supreme laws far more profound and inscrutable than the laws of any universe. Merely uttering their names would not summon the Sacred Lord or Mother Goddess.
“Hahahaha—” Mist slowly coalesced in the sky, revealing the faint outline of a colossal figure.
“It’s here!”
“It’s here!”
“No—”
The kneeling supplicants paled in terror.
“You’re begging for Tianfeng, that old coward? Hahaha! Tianfeng fled long ago, too afraid to return, and yet you still call for him?” The booming voice of the colossal figure within the mist echoed across the land. “I’ve been merciful—each time, I only devour a small portion, never harming the world’s foundation.”
“You fiend!”
“You treat all of us as livestock—devouring some, raising others!”
“Sacred Lord, Mother Goddess, we beg you—slay this demon!”
Their pleas were desperate, their voices filled with despair. The gap in power was too vast; resistance was impossible. Faced with death, they could only turn to futile prayers.
“Pray? Hah! No one will answer your prayers!” The colossal figure in the mist laughed mockingly.
…
Through the black mist sphere, Dongbo Xueying witnessed this scene.
Whoosh.
First, he teleported to a nearby location to avoid alerting his prey. Then, in a flash, he descended upon the chaotic land.
“Pray! Pray louder! Hahaha!” The colossal figure lowered its head, ready to begin its feast.
But Dongbo Xueying materialized in the sky above.
Boom.
An immense illusion descended, enveloping not just the land but an area a hundred times its size.
Billions of lives—even the void creatures lurking at the edges of the chaotic land—were all drawn into the illusion. Within it, each experienced their own life and trials. Through the illusion, Dongbo Xueying learned of their pasts, their desires, and even granted them opportunities.
Some encountered rare fortunes, even obtaining cultivation legacies.
Others honed their skills over time, mastering formidable sword techniques.
…
When they awoke, most had forgotten the illusion entirely, unaware they had ever been ensnared. But those who had passed Dongbo Xueying’s trials—those who had gained fortunes or training—remembered everything vividly. Their strength had surged, and the legacies they received far surpassed the mightiest teachings of their land.
As for the demon?
Within the illusion, Dongbo Xueying had casually erased it.
“Still no trace of them, but there were some promising talents,” Dongbo Xueying remarked with a faint smile before departing the chaotic land.
Among the awakened masses, only a handful retained memories of the mentors, elders, or experts they had encountered in the illusion.
“Ancestor Snow Eagle?”
“Island Master Dongbo?”
“Wanderer Dongbo?”
…
Dongbo Xueying continued his journey, searching relentlessly for traces of the Annihilation Fiends.
With each illusion he cast, he pushed his limits further. Now, with but a thought, he could weave unique destinies for countless billions, each thread perfectly ordered, each life as real as reality itself. The rules governing his illusory worlds were nearly indistinguishable from those of a true universe.
What was learned and achieved within the illusion was real growth.
A mere moment in the illusion could span a century—a century of genuine cultivation. This was an utterly transcendent form of ‘time acceleration.’
“Hmm?”
Standing alone in the boundless chaotic void, Dongbo Xueying casually waved a hand, constructing an illusory world that enveloped a distant hermitage of cultivators.
Yet as he did so, he sensed an indescribable beauty in the act.
It was sublime.
Drawing upon his experience in creating ‘Flower of Destruction,’ Dongbo Xueying’s lips curled into a smile. The hermitage, like all the others, held no trace of the Annihilation Fiends—yet this time, he felt no disappointment, only elation.
“This illusory world…” Dongbo Xueying trembled with excitement. “Have I… have I finally succeeded?”
This had been his pursuit all along.
To elevate the pure ‘Path of the Illusory Realm’ to the ninth level. Even the pinnacle of the *Vermilion Nightmare Legacy*—the ninth transformation of the Vermilion Nightmare—only reached the eighth level. To attain the ninth level in a single path was an almost insurmountable challenge. After leaving Void Fortress, it had taken him merely tens of billions of years to create the third stance of the Flower of Destruction.
Yet now, trillions of years had passed since his departure. His accumulation was more than sufficient, and his understanding of Cosmic Gods had deepened immeasurably.
But taking this final step was excruciatingly difficult.
“A ninth-level illusory world?” Dongbo Xueying smiled, deeply satisfied. This illusory world already embodied aspects of a Cosmic God’s realm—though in some areas, it still fell short, barely qualifying as ninth-level.
“My Vermilion Nightmare Legacy.”
With a thought, Dongbo Xueying began reconstructing the illusory world within the Vermilion Nightmare Legacy.
Boom—!
Though he had modified the legacy’s illusory world many times before, none had brought about a qualitative transformation. This time, however, was different.
“Rumble—!” His soul quaked.
The qualitative leap in the Vermilion Nightmare Legacy caused his soul itself to grow stronger.
A resplendent cry echoed through the endless void as a magnificent, colossal ‘Vermilion Nightmare’ manifested behind Dongbo Xueying. Its vast wings of crimson flame stretched across the heavens, its majesty so overwhelming that countless phantom worlds flickered into existence across millions of miles. Within the illusory world, life itself began to emerge—for these nascent beings, the illusion was reality.
Dongbo Xueying’s illusory world now stood shoulder-to-shoulder with a true universe.
“This is the tenth transformation of the Vermilion Nightmare,” Dongbo Xueying murmured, savoring the surge in his soul’s power.
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