Nightmare Rampage; Let the Chosen One Take the Lead

The moment that corner of the pitch-black remnant lifted, the entire underground cavern felt as if it had been gripped by an invisible giant hand.

The air suddenly grew heavy.

It wasn't just simple pressure.

It was something more disgusting, colder, like filth seeping out of countless rotting nightmares, drilling into everyone's bones through their skin.

Those with weaker cultivation immediately felt their vision darken, their chests tighten, and even breathing felt like swallowing knives.

"Step back!"

Shen Xue spoke out immediately, the chill spreading, and a frost-white sword aura formed a curtain, forcibly carving out a safe zone ahead for everyone to catch their breath.

Yun Meng rolled up her sleeves, layers of illusory light protecting a group of cultivators at the back whose divine souls were already unstable.

But even so, the scene remained chaotic.

Because in the crack of the altar, that thing was still "growing" outwards.

Yes, not crawling, not rising.

But like some kind of malignant tumor that had been sealed for too long, bulging out little by little along the crack, bone armor and rotting flesh interlaced, with dense black and red textures, making one's scalp tingle just looking at it.

"Nightmare Remnant..." An older generation cultivator swallowed, his voice dry. "It really is this ghost."

Wang Hao stood at the very front, his eyes much calmer than when he had just obtained the True Blood.

In his mind, the system's appraisal prompts had already flooded the screen.

[Warning: The True Blood sealing core has left its original position.]

[Nightmare Remnant activity increased to 27%.]

[Current target possesses large-scale mental pollution, flesh assimilation, and shell parasitism abilities.]

[Suggestion: Prioritize suppression using the environment, it is not recommended for the host to fight alone.]

Wang Hao cursed inwardly, couldn't his Emperor's Qi Observation Technique see that?

Nonsense.

This suggestion was as useful as "wear more clothes when it's cold".

Of course he knew he couldn't fight alone, the problem was that in this situation, he had to fight even if he didn't want to.

And the most troublesome part was—this blame was already crawling up to his feet along the crack in the ground.

He had taken the Martial God True Blood.

The altar had cracked in front of him.

The Nightmare had been released by him after taking the opportunity.

Even if he hadn't done it actively, once they got out, as long as someone was quick-mouthed, three versions would immediately appear in the martial world.

Version 1: The Great Zhou Emperor snatched the True Blood, causing the seal to shatter.

Version 2: Wang Hao disregarded the world for the sake of opportunity, releasing the ancient evil.

Version 3: The dog emperor ate and wiped his mouth clean, leaving the Nightmare to foot the bill.

Could he tolerate this?

Of course not.

So Wang Hao's first reaction wasn't "how to fight", but "how to throw this blame away".

A breath later, he had an idea.

And it was a very dirty idea.

"Yu Huatian."

"This old servant is here!"

"Are the West Factory's recording jades ready?"

Yu Huatian was taken aback, then his eyes lit up: "They've been ready for a long time."

Wang Hao nodded in satisfaction.

Very good.

At times like this, loyalty wasn't important; what mattered was being able to keep up with the boss's train of thought immediately.

Yu Huatian clearly understood.

At this moment, a loud explosion came from the front of the altar!

That piece of the Nightmare Remnant suddenly whipped out, and the stone platform tens of meters around the crack instantly shattered. Three rogue cultivators who couldn't dodge in time were swept by the black ripples before they could even scream, their flesh instantly shriveling up as if all their vitality had been drained.

"Form a formation! Quickly form a formation!"

Someone shouted sternly.

But shouting was one thing; when it came to actually stepping up, everyone hesitated.

This thing was too evil.

The three old monsters turning into monsters earlier were just a warning, but now that the Nightmare Remnant's main body moved, it was an actual one-shot kill.

Wang Hao scanned the crowd, his mind clear.

Relying on self-awareness was useless at a time like this.

He had to call roll.

So he waved his hand, his voice echoing across the field:

"Great Zhou's Ten Men of Destiny, form up and advance!"

Ten figures stiffened at the same time.

Especially Xiao Chen, whose face darkened completely.

Here we go again.

The Great Zhou temp workers again.

It was one thing to be roped into the establishment during the martial arts tournament, but to have to take on this kind of dirty and tiring work in the secret realm?

Wang Hao looked at them, his gaze as kind as a good emperor who sympathized with his subordinates: "You are all dragons and phoenixes among men, with outstanding talent and destiny. This dangerous situation can only be broken by you."

The Ten Men of Destiny: "..."

If these words were said in a different setting, they might have felt a surge of hot blood.

But saying it now, it sounded like he was picking the most durable ones to throw to the front.

Ye Guyun stepped forward expressionlessly, hugging his sword.

Rong Xiaotian gritted his teeth, his bones cracking.

Gu Han kept a cold face and didn't utter a word.

Bai Zhantang's mouth twitched: "Your Majesty, how about I take charge of mobile support in the rear?"

Wang Hao glanced at him: "You have the best Qinggong, you're perfectly suited to draw fire at the front."

Bai Zhantang: "..."

You really dare to use me.

Xiao Chen eventually stepped forward anyway.

He had no choice; he could curse the dog emperor ten thousand times in his heart, but he didn't dare to turn around and leave at a time like this.

Because everyone was watching.

If he retreated, his reputation would be half ruined.

Not to mention there were contract constraints.

And what Wang Hao wanted was exactly this effect.

Aren't you Children of Destiny?

Aren't you protagonist templates?

Come on, prove it.

Step up.

"Imperial Guards, press forward thirty meters! Bring up the Rune Cannons!" Wang Hao continued to issue orders. "The Factory Guards on both wings, cut off the spread of pollution. Anyone invaded by the Nightmare's Qi, control them first then investigate. Those who lose control are to be executed on the spot!"

A series of orders fell, and the chaotic Great Zhou camp instantly sprang into action.

This was the biggest difference between the imperial court's military formations and sect rogue cultivators.

Even if not everyone was unafraid of death, as long as the orders from above were clear, those below would move accordingly.

At the front, the Ten Men of Destiny met the first wave of impact.

The black and red textures on the surface of the Nightmare Remnant suddenly lit up, and a mental shriek swept out.

Buzz!

Ye Guyun let out a muffled groan, his sword intent vibrating, forcibly withstanding it.

Rong Xiaotian let out a low roar, pale gold hair appearing on the surface of his body, and his stature grew taller.

An exotic fire exploded in Xiao Chen's palm, the flames turning into a wall, blocking the front of the crowd.

However, in the next second, the wall of fire was forcibly penetrated by the black gas.

"This thing counters true essence, no, it counters vitality!" Gu Han's expression changed drastically.

"Cut the crap, chop it first!" Rong Xiaotian threw a punch, a giant ape phantom appearing behind him, crashing down onto the protruding bone armor of the Nightmare Remnant.

Bang!

A deafening crash.

A crack appeared in the bone armor.

Everyone felt a surge of joy.

It could be fought!

But in the next instant, countless tiny black whiskers drilled out from the crack, wrapping back along Rong Xiaotian's fist force.

"Get lost!"

Rong Xiaotian roared in anger, his Qi and blood vibrating violently, forcibly shattering more than half of them, but a few strands still pierced into his flesh, causing the veins on his forehead to bulge with pain.

At the back, Wang Hao watched very attentively.

He even commented: "Not bad, indeed more durable than ordinary people."

Yu Huatian lowered his head beside him, not daring to reply to this.

He was afraid he would laugh out loud inappropriately.

"Fire."

Wang Hao raised his hand.

The next moment, over a hundred Rune Cannons in the rear lit up simultaneously.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Crimson-gold cannon light connected into a line, ruthlessly blasting onto the surface of the Nightmare Remnant.

The stone platform shattered, and air waves rolled.

The Ten Men of Destiny at the front were shaken and staggered. Bai Zhantang dodged while cursing: "Own people! This is friendly fire coverage!"

Wang Hao's expression was calm: "If I don't cover you, how are you going to separate from it when you're sticking so close?"

Bai Zhantang: "..."

It actually sounded somewhat reasonable.

It's just that something felt wrong.

After several rounds of artillery fire, the Nightfiend's mangled body convulsed violently. Much of its black carapace cracked open, revealing the dark, writhing flesh beneath.

Before the crowd could even celebrate, the flesh rapidly regenerated, swelling to an even larger size than before.

"The artillery fire has limited effect," an Imperial Guard commander reported anxiously.

"I can see that," Wang Hao said.

He narrowed his eyes, sweeping his gaze over the surrounding sect factions.

The Ice and Snow Divine Palace, the Phantom Sea Immortal Sect, and the experts from various sects who had followed them all the way here were currently just watching from the sidelines.

It wasn't that they genuinely just wanted to watch the show.

Rather, without unified command, no one was willing to be the first to sacrifice their sect's core strength to fill the gap.

Seeing this, Wang Hao smiled.

It was time for him to put on a show of authority.

"Everyone."

He turned around, his voice not loud, yet perfectly clear to all present.

"Once this evil creature breaks out of the mystic realm, none of you here—whether from sects, noble families, or rogue cultivators—will be able to escape."

No one argued.

Because it was the truth.

"Therefore, I ask everyone to act as supervisors and provide support," Wang Hao said with high-sounding rhetoric. "My Great Zhou's forces will hold the front line, but if anyone dares to retreat in the face of battle, intentionally preserve their strength, or sit back and watch this evil grow—"

He paused, revealing a smile that was far from friendly.

"They will become the public enemy of the world."

This was practically hijacking the moral high ground in broad daylight.

Yet, no one could say he was wrong.

After all, the Great Zhou's people were indeed holding the front line right now.

Yun Meng took a deep breath and was the first to speak: "Disciples of the Phantom Sea Immortal Sect, heed my command! Assist in suppressing the soul corruption."

Shen Xue also said coldly, "Ice and Snow Divine Palace, form the Frost Seal Array."

Ren Mingyue could only stare blankly, as no one from the Ren family had come. Old Man Ren had taken his people to patrol the Nine Borders with Wang Jingyuan; Old Man Ren was really going all out so his legitimate granddaughter could become the Empress.

With these two factions taking the lead, the rest, no matter how reluctant, could only step forward one after another.

The situation finally stabilized somewhat.

Right at that moment, a flash of inspiration crossed Wang Hao's mind.

He looked at the flickering, broken array patterns at the edge of the altar, his eyes gradually lighting up.

It wasn't malice.

It was joy.

"It's still there," he rejoiced inwardly.

He had previously tampered with the traps left by the Tianji Pavilion, but they hadn't been fully utilized yet.

Now was the perfect time.

"Yu Huatian, go and trigger the modified array pattern in the northwest corner of the third layer."

"Now?" Yu Huatian was taken aback.

"Right now," Wang Hao said in an amiable tone. "Make it look natural, like it erupted on its own."

Yu Huatian's eyelids twitched.

He understood.

His Majesty was about to dig a grave... no, scapegoat someone.

He immediately withdrew quietly.

Meanwhile, at the front, the Ten-Man Vanguard was almost beaten numb.

Although only a portion of the Nightfiend's mangled body had emerged, every whip-like strike and mental attack carried an incredibly bizarre corrupting power.

As Xiao Chen burned the black mist with his strange fire, the impact left his vitality churning. Only one thought remained in his mind—

This dog emperor was absolutely doing this on purpose.

Anyone could see that Wang Hao had pushed the ten of them to the front not just because they could fight, but because they were tough to kill.

To put it bluntly, he was using them as high-end expendables.

"Brother Xiao, on your left!" Ye Guyun shouted.

Xiao Chen raised his hand and struck out with his palm. The strange fire transformed into a dragon, shattering an incoming black tentacle.

Rong Xiaotian seized the opportunity, grabbing the edge of the mangled body and roaring as he tore at it.

"Get the hell out here!"

Crack!

He actually managed to forcefully snap off a piece of the bone armor.

But what sprayed from the broken edge was not blood, but a burst of black mist.

"Careful!" Gu Han shouted sternly.

It was too late.

The black mist instantly lunged toward several cultivators in the rear. The moment they came into contact with it, their expressions twisted, the whites of their eyes turned pitch black, and they raised their blades to hack at their comrades.

The scene descended into chaos once again.

Right at that moment, a sudden, thunderous tremor shook the northwest corner!

A large patch of originally dim array patterns suddenly lit up. The lines were twisted and bizarre, completely out of sync with the surrounding ancient sealing array. Instead, they exuded a sinister aura of having been maliciously altered later on.

Everyone saw it.

This was exactly the moment Wang Hao had been waiting for.

His expression darkened instantly. Pointing fiercely at the array patterns, he roared in anger:

"I knew it!"

This roar was filled with intense emotion, sounding both heartbroken and like he had finally caught the true culprit.

The crowd subconsciously looked toward him.

Wang Hao said coldly, "This is an unsealing array path forcefully embedded into the sealing core by later generations! All the previous anomalies in the mystic realm were not natural imbalances at all, but the result of someone's deliberate sabotage!"

A deathly silence fell over the area.

Wang Hao continued to up the ante:

"Such methods could only be executed by a major power highly skilled in divination and array formations. Looking across the entire Eastern Wasteland, the one most proficient in this path is—"

He paused, building up the suspense to the maximum, before decisively spitting out three words.

"Tianji Pavilion!"

The crowd: "!!!"