Nightmare

Biodata

Power Progression

Appearance

Nightmares resemble small black crows whose bodies look as though they were crafted from black diamond rather than ordinary flesh and feathers 58.

• Initial size: Approximately half a meter with the wings spread 58.
• Eyes: Brilliant black eyes that flash blood-red during attacks; level 6 individuals are also described with blood-red eyes 59 90 91.
• Feathers: Level 6 Black Ice Feathers are solid, ice-crystal-like objects with exceptional piercing power 91.
• Fused form: The level 7 Nightmare measures one meter across without spreading its wings 231.

Habitat & Behavior

• Territorial range: Nightmares occupy even the northern outskirts of Desolate Town, unlike powerful beasts Cao Fengqi previously encountered mainly near the center. Their territory also extends west and northwest 59 90.
• Lair: The Demon Hunters’ Home houses a large flock, including five level 6 Nightmares during Cao Fengqi’s assault 104 108 116.
• Territorial boundary: A roughly one-thousand-meter empty zone separates Nightmare territory from the Wraith Remains in the town center 104.
• Detection: Level 5 Nightmares can sense an approaching target from approximately five hundred meters away 102 131.
• Cooperation: They call companions for support and assist injured flock members. One abandons its pursuit of Cao Fengqi to remove nails from another Nightmare’s wings 59 90.
• Persistent pursuit: After Cao Fengqi enters the underground chamber, the flock remains nearby for more than ten hours 112 113 116.
• Bait response: Hundred Souls Liquid attracts large numbers of Nightmares, allowing Cao Fengqi to divert them or draw them into traps 90 98.

Abilities & Skills

Soul Siphoning

Soul Siphoning is the Nightmare’s documented talent and a means of increasing its spiritual power 140 231.

• Absorbing energy from Wraith Remains raises the contracted flock to level 6 and substantially increases its spirit 160.
• Cao Fengqi tests further growth by feeding Mirage Rat corpses to his pets 181 184.
• He calculates that each additional Nightmare in the altar fusion contributes 100 spirit—twice the gain from Soul Siphoning an evil spirit or beast of the same level 231.

Mental Smite

Mental Smite envelops a target in spiritual power and strikes it directly. Damage depends on the user’s spirit and how much is mobilized; its cooldown ranges from thirty seconds to two minutes 140.

• Early Nightmare attacks overwhelm Cao Fengqi unless blocked by his Blessed Moon God Stone 58 90.
• A level 6 individual attacks while approaching from roughly a kilometer away, cracking the stone and causing bleeding from his eyes, nose, and ears 90.
• The contracted flock’s combined mental assault disables Liu Zhihu, Hu Lan, and Chen Minghui, leaving them vulnerable to Zhang Mo’s attacks 125.
• Strong mental defenses can resist it: Mirage Rats block the flock’s Mental Smites with ripples of energy 172.

Earth Burial Bone Claws

This skill summons skeletal claws from beneath a target. Damage depends on the user’s spirit and the amount committed; its cooldown ranges from one to three minutes 140.

• Used to seize Cao Fengqi’s leg and attack him from below during his early encounters 59 90.
• The emerging claws can be evaded: Cao Fengqi avoids them with advance warnings, while Mirage Rats leap clear as they appear 59 172.
• The skill is also called Earth-Hidden Bone Claws in Cao Fengqi’s list of learnable beast skills 140.

Nightmare Group Assault

Nightmare Group Assault summons illusory Nightmares to attack a target. Both their number and damage depend on the user’s spirit and expenditure; its cooldown ranges from one to three minutes 140.

• A phantom Nightmare blocks Cao Fengqi’s arrow during his first encounter 58.
• A level 6 Nightmare creates more than a dozen identical figures to conceal its real body during an attack. Cao Fengqi’s script identifies the original 104.
• The contracted flock uses its phantoms to intercept and weaken three blood-red arrows fired by the archer Wraith Remains 144.

Twin-Wing Guard

Twin-Wing Guard concentrates spiritual and physical power into both wings for defense. Its cooldown ranges from one to three minutes 140.

• Nightmares instinctively fold their wings against arrows, nails, and gunfire 59 91 98 104.
• A level 6 Nightmare withstands two Abyss-Patterned Evil-Binding Nail Cases; their combined 198 nails delay it for only two seconds 91.
• The guard is not impenetrable. Black Ice Feather-tipped arrows enhanced by Emberfire pierce level 5 wings, while the Gold Fire Blast Gun penetrates a level 6 individual’s defense 98 104.

Nightmare Flying Feathers

Nightmare Flying Feathers releases the user’s feathers as projectiles. Damage depends on the number fired, and the feathers can be recovered 140.

• An ordinary Nightmare launches more than a dozen feathers to cover its injured companion 59.
• A level 6 Nightmare fires two feathers too fast for Cao Fengqi to evade completely, piercing his shoulder and torso 91.

Concealment, Flight & Scouting

• Darkness concealment: A Nightmare blends into the darkness until invisible to the naked eye, then attacks from behind with its beak 90.
• Aerial transport: Seven Nightmares carry Cao Fengqi above pursuing Wraith Remains—four support his feet while three grip his collar 145.
• Remote scouting: Cao Fengqi uses the Gu Thought Shadow Possession Spell to inhabit and control a Nightmare while investigating the Fate Witch Grand Church 171.

Documented Limits

• Spirit-focused attributes: One inspected level 6 Nightmare has 136 constitution and 255 spirit 140.
• Limited brute force: The flock cannot break through Cao Fengqi’s level 6 metal seal. The metal also weakens some of its mental attacks 109.
• Permanent mental injury: Mirage Rat mental nets permanently reduce one Nightmare’s mental power by fifteen points 172.
• Lethal ranged threats: A level 7 arrow from a Wraith Remains kills a level 5 contracted Nightmare outright 131.

History

Early Encounters in Desolate Town

Cao Fengqi first encounters two Nightmares while exploring the northern district. Their mental attacks, phantom attacks, and dark claws overwhelm his defenses within seconds. He escapes after an Abyss-Patterned Evil-Binding Nail Case wounds one bird and its companion stops to help it 58 59.

On a later expedition toward the Demon Hunters’ Home, he uses Hundred Souls Liquid to draw much of the flock away. He kills one remaining Nightmare, but another calls for help. A level 6 Nightmare answers, nearly kills him with mental attacks and Black Ice Feathers, and forces him to escape through West Water Lake 90 91.

Hunting the Flock

Cao Fengqi turns the feathers lodged in his clothing into arrowheads and prepares a Myriad Beast Net. Using Hundred Souls Liquid as bait, he kills successive groups of level 5 Nightmares and gathers twenty-three level 5 souls before attempting his Mystic Artificer breakthrough 97 98.

After advancing, he clears more of the northern district. His Gold Fire Blast Gun kills a level 6 Nightmare with two shots, although its mental attacks still leave him injured and exhausted 102 104.

Defeat and Contracting

At the Demon Hunters’ Home, Cao Fengqi diverts the flock toward another transcendent while breaking into a hidden underground chamber. The returning Nightmares trap him inside, but cannot penetrate the metal barrier he welds across the entrance 108 109 112.

He later returns with the Soul Dream Necklace and uses the chamber’s narrow exit as cover. He kills three level 6 Nightmares, severely wounds the remaining two, and defeats the level 5 flock. By deliberately using weaker ammunition on selected targets, he preserves enough survivors to contract two level 6 and six level 5 Nightmares 116.

The injured pets recover inside the Shepherd’s Beast Robe. Nightmare corpses also become food for Xiaotian Dog and the newly contracted flock 117 119.

Service as Battle Pets

The Nightmares help Cao Fengqi confront Liangmin County’s authorities, disabling three attacking transcendents before Zhang Mo kills them. During later exploration, they defend against Wraith Remains, break a mental restraint, intercept arrows, and carry Cao Fengqi out of reach of ground-based enemies. One level 5 Nightmare is killed during the struggle for a level 7 resource 125 131 133 144 145.

After becoming a Spirit Tamer, Cao Fengqi learns Mental Smite, Earth Burial Bone Claws, and Nightmare Group Assault from his pet. His cheat raises their proficiency to maximum, allowing him to cast them instantly. The wing-dependent defensive and feather skills are incompatible with his body 140.

All seven remaining Nightmares eventually reach level 6 by absorbing Wraith Remains energy. During the Fate Witch Grand Church expedition, one suffers permanent mental damage from Mirage Rats. Another is lost during the encounter with Elder Chen, when Cao Fengqi extinguishes the possessed Nightmare’s life force and withdraws his spiritual power while escaping 160 172 173.

Fusion and Possible Replacement

Cao Fengqi places his six surviving Nightmares in the Gu-Raising Altar. After twelve hours, they fuse into one enlarged level 7 Nightmare with 885 spirit 230 231.

Later, after inspecting a Three-Eyed Crow with 3,099 spirit and substantially stronger skills, he considers giving up Nightmare to free a contract slot. The passage records that decision, but does not establish the Nightmare’s subsequent fate 277.

Harvestable Materials