Ordinarily, once Yi Tianxing and Nannan had their minds clouded by nightmare power, they would fall into a dreamworld. The Nightmare Gate would then exploit gaps in their spiritual defenses, evolving a tailored illusion so real it would become indistinguishable from reality—until they fully surrendered to it.
That was the terrifying aspect of dreams: You would not even realize you were falling.
Stripped of memory, stripped of cultivation—You'd be dropped into a world with no visible flaws, impossible to escape.
And if, within the illusion, your spirit died, you would become part of the nightmare realm, trapped forever as fuel for the Nightmare Gate, feeding it endless nightmare energy.
That was what made nightmares so unpredictable and deeply feared.
But now?
Thanks to their soul-protecting treasures, both Yi Tianxing and Nannan remained clear-headed.The gate could no longer perform its slow-cooking trap.
Still, that was only the simplest method.The Nightmare Gate had much darker tools at its disposal.
Swish!
Layers of grey mist began to gather.In the blink of an eye, the void around them changed dramatically, like a new world being formed.
The sky, the earth, flowers, trees, buildings—they all appeared as if they'd always been there, as if this world had always existed.
"Interesting," Yi Tianxing murmured, eyes gleaming.
"Brother, what is this place?" Nannan asked curiously."Is this the nightmare realm? These tall buildings look just like the ruins I once saw."
She glanced around, puzzled.
To any modern person, the scenery was unmistakable:
A steel-and-glass city, with towering skyscrapers, cars zooming through streets, people everywhere—the buzz of a bustling metropolis.
Fashion was alien to her.Young women strolled openly with exposed skin and short skirts—the shorter, the better.
Nannan frowned at the sight, clearly uncomfortable.
But Yi Tianxing knew:
"This is the modern world."
They were standing on the rooftop of a high-rise.
"Those are cars. That's an airplane."
Yi Tianxing took a deep breath.The setting hit him hard—like stepping back into a time before the Great Cataclysm, before the fusion of worlds.
It felt... like waking from a dream.
"September 23rd, 2019. The day of the Great Cataclysm. The beginning of the World Fusion."
He saw a massive digital screen with the date blazoned across it.
"Nannan, be careful. This nightmare isn't simple."
"Got it."
She nodded solemnly.
The World Fusion wasn't a secret among cultivators anymore.Many knew it marked the birth of the Eternal Era.
To the people of this world, life was real—they had flesh, blood, and emotion.
Even if this was a dream, witnessing this moment was a rare chance.
CRACK!
Suddenly, the sky split open with a horrifying sound.
Everyone looked up.
Above them, the heavens tore like shattered porcelain, revealing gaping black voids.Some wide, some narrow—but all bottomless, terrifying, and unnatural.
The sky was breaking.
Panic swept through the population like wildfire.
"Where's the sun!?"
"Why do I feel so uneasy… is this the end of the world!?"
"Is it an earthquake!? A natural disaster!?"
Screams filled the city.People ran in terror.Some collapsed, crying in fear.
"Brother!!"
Nannan gripped Yi Tianxing's sleeve tightly.
"This is it, Nannan—the Great Cataclysm, the end of the previous era, the birth of the Eternal Era."
Yi Tianxing's voice was calm, but firm.
She nodded silently.
Then—
BOOM!!!
A deafening thunderclap echoed from the sky—like countless bombs detonating at once.
Alarms shrieked, glass shattered, cars leapt off the pavement.
People bled from their ears. Some fainted on the spot.
This wasn't just a regional disaster—it was planetwide.
The heavens themselves were roaring.
Suddenly, from the cracks in the sky, monsters began to pour forth.
"What… what is that!?"
The rifts unleashed a flood of beasts, descending like an army of nightmares.
It was too much—some people fainted just from the sight.
"Death Knights!!"
"Mountain Giants!!"
"Flame Worms!!"
"Soul-Devouring Demon Bugs!!"
Yi Tianxing's face hardened.He recognized every one of them.
Each monster was terrifyingly powerful, falling like meteors across the world:
Into cities
Across highways
Onto forests and fields
No place was spared.The whole world was under siege.
Panic exploded.Screams and chaos reigned.
This was no illusion.
This was hell on Earth.
"Nannan, be alert. These things may be born of dream-energy—but here, they are real."
Yi Tianxing warned her sharply.
Buildings collapsed.Trees grew wild, feeding on corpses.The world descended into a living nightmare.
ROAR!!
A massive bronze giant descended from the heavens.
Thousands of meters tall.An enormous battle axe in hand.
Its very step crushed buildings.People were smashed to pulp beneath its feet.
Without hesitation, it raised its axe toward Yi Tianxing.
That strike tore through the air like a cleaving blow from the heavens.
Its power was on par with a True Spirit Realm cultivator—if not greater.
A single swing would level a mountain.
But before it could connect—
Swish!
A bronze war spear appeared in the air, transforming into a beam of light.
BOOM!
It pierced the giant's heart instantly.A massive hole blasted through its chest.
The monster didn't even get the chance to cry out before it shattered into pieces.
"What a waste it would be to let such pure nightmare energy dissipate."
Yi Tianxing reached out and gathered a crimson mist from the shattered corpse.
But as he did, the energy vanished—
Replaced by a seven-colored butterfly, fluttering gently.
It danced around the fallen monster's remains, silently absorbing the power.
Soon, the butterfly's radiant glow dimmed, turning a dull gray as it faded from notice.
The Nightmare Gate used such energy to birth worlds, monsters, and illusions.
Here, nightmare energy was everything—the currency of reality.
And typically, it only increased.
Rarely did it ever disappear…
But this time—it had been taken.