As the footsteps sounded for the eighth time, the world dimmed, and the square spanning several hundred meters dissolved into inky blackness. The silhouettes of the black-robed man named Kou Zhang and Nie Kong had completely merged with the shadows, while the figures of those surrounding them were vague, flickering in and out of sight.

"Thump!"

Another footfall rippled outward.

Instantly, it was as if a fierce gale swept through the void. Endless darkness surged rapidly, and in a blink, two colossal eyes abruptly materialized from the gloom.

"In-Dream..."

Two deep notes seemed to traverse vast stretches of time and space, resonating suddenly in everyone's minds. Almost simultaneously, points of ethereal light burst from those pitch-black eyes, like stars embedded in the dark firmament—profound, bizarre, and dazzlingly hypnotic.

Waves of thick drowsiness swept over the crowd again and again.

Thud! Thud...

On the tiered steps on either side, the remaining hundreds of Spirit Masters could hold on no longer and collapsed, sinking into a deep slumber. On the edges of the square, even the Heavenly Spirit realm powerhouses were mostly struggling against the intense urge to sleep. Only Long Tiangong, Mu Xueyi, Hua Caidie, Yu Qinglan, as well as Kou Xilai and Mo Tian—experts merely half a step from the Spirit God realm—and the five High Gods of the Spirit God Hall remained conscious.

"This time, that boy absolutely cannot escape."

In the darkness, Lu Rong exerted himself to circulate his internal spiritual power, letting out a soft sigh of relief.

Kou Xilai subconsciously nodded, though a flicker of madness crossed his pupils. "Dark Night Divine Venerable... If I can just pass the Spirit Tribulation and enter the Gantai Venerable Spirit Realm Guard, with my aptitude, one day I will surely reach this level."

"..."

Mu Xueyi, Long Tiangong, and Yu Qinglan remained silent, their gazes piercing through the black void, fixed directly upon the two indistinct figures in the center of the square.

In the deeply fissured ruins, Nie Kong and Kou Zhang stood opposite each other, motionless, resembling two sculptures devoid of any life force.

When those immense black eyes appeared, Nie Kong experienced the same sensation as everyone else around him. However, compared to those merely affected, he, being at the epicenter, bore an even more terrifying lethargy—so profound that it extinguished any thought of resistance.

Fortunately, Nie Kong had no intention of resisting. As the sleepiness struck, Nie Kong's physical body quickly succumbed to slumber, but his soul and consciousness entered a strange, isolated space.

There was no ground, no sky, nor any mountains, rocks, or vegetation—only emptiness everywhere. Strangely, though the space was utterly dark, Nie Kong's vision was completely unaffected.

"Truly worthy of being the Dark Night Divine Venerable Guard among the Five Great Divine Venerables of the Gantai Venerable Spirit Realm Guard."

Nie Kong stood suspended in the void, a faint smile touching the corner of his lips, and said calmly, "I presume this is your Gantai Dream Shadow Space Guard?"

A soft sound of surprise echoed in the void. The black-robed man named Kou Zhang materialized without warning some ten meters opposite Nie Kong. A subtle, almost imperceptible change flashed across his fair face. He stared intently at Nie Kong and said in a deep voice, "You actually know of this Venerable?"

"Merely heard whispers," Nie Kong scoffed. "What I didn't expect was that a Divine Venerable of the Gantai Venerable Spirit Realm Moon would be engaging in such sordid, clandestine activities on our Heavenly Spirit Continent. If the experts of the Gantai Venerable Spirit Realm Guard knew you were carrying out the Gantai Soul Sacrifice Guard, even you, a Divine Venerable, would become a rat scurrying across the street, hated by all. Those several Venerables likely wouldn't spare you either."

The moment Nie Kong stepped onto the Heaven and Earth Altar and saw the black-robed man, he had already recognized his identity, knowing this was the 'Dark Night Divine Venerable' Hua Pianxian had mentioned. As for 'Kou Zhang,' that was merely the name of the original owner of his current vessel.

"Hmm?"

The Dark Night Divine Venerable’s eyes turned cold, his killing intent blazing forth. "Nie Kong, you know too much. I brought you into the Gantai Dream Shadow Space Gate intending to refine you into a Gantai Dream Shadow Puppet, to serve me for eternity. But now it seems keeping you alive is out of the question. However, I must admit some curiosity: how can a mere Heavenly Spirit Master like you cause the failure of my millennia of effort?"

"You will know soon enough."

Nie Kong smiled strangely, and the figure, entirely condensed from soul essence, suddenly split into three. One of the figures abruptly swelled to dozens of meters high, its massive body radiating billions of brilliant golden rays that seemed to chase away all surrounding darkness.

"This Spirit..."

The Dark Night Divine Venerable frowned, then suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Gantai Red Star War Body Guard? This is the Gantai Red Star War Body Guard of the Red Star Clan!"

"Your eyesight is correct."

Nie Kong roared with laughter. The nine Nether Stars within the first body rotated rapidly, and streaks of "War God Star Seals" burst forth, flickering wildly in the void.

The second body simultaneously activated the "Yin-Yang Spirit Devouring Art." Its forty-one acupoints vibrated at an unprecedented frequency, and the innate power of nature surged out like a collapsing tidal wave, spinning furiously. In an instant, the entire body seemed to transform into a massive, nearly transparent vortex.

"Innate power containing the paths of Life and Death..." The Dark Night Divine Venerable's expression shifted again. "Hoo!"

The moment the Dark Night Divine Venerable uttered that, Nie Kong's third body transformed into the mental manifestation of the "Purple Luo Phantom Spirit Incense." Stems and leaves spread out in a sky-covering manner, their purple luminescence interweaving with the golden rays of the first body, making the display even brighter and dazzling, almost impossible to look at directly.

Nie Kong possessed three paths of cultivation: the mental manifestation derived from his Yin Ruins bloodline, the forty-one Spirit God acupoints, and the Nine Nether Stars learned from the Abyss of Fall.

These three cultivation methods complemented one another. By dividing his soul into three and isolating the three cultivation methods, Nie Kong aimed to shatter the Dream Shadow Space of the Dark Night Divine Venerable. Once the Dream Shadow Space was broken, the Dark Night Divine Venerable would pose no threat.

"Nie Kong, I did not expect a mere Heavenly Spirit Master like you could cultivate to this extent."

The astonishment in the Dark Night Divine Venerable's eyes dissipated, replaced by sheer greed. He stared intently at Nie Kong's second body. "Condensing the innate power of the Life and Death paths is the power closest to the fundamental nature of heaven and earth. If this Venerable devours it, I will surely cultivate Chaos Divine Power! With Chaos Divine Power, even without soul sacrifice, I can still achieve the Venerable realm!"

"Good! Good! I never imagined this Venerable would have such luck! Nie An, you destroyed this Venerable's Gantai Soul Sacrifice Altar Guard, so this Venerable will take your soul!"

The Dark Night Divine Venerable seemed unable to wait any longer. His figure suddenly dissolved into a mass of black, merging into the surrounding void. A moment later, a pair of massive black eyes emerged from the nothingness. The star-like glow flickered momentarily, and the two black-hole eyes lunged toward Nie Kong.