Old Enemy's Hidden Blade, Desperate Counterattack

That streak of Eerie Blue Saber Light was viciously insidious, its timing exquisitely cunning, and it even contained a strange chill that could freeze the Divine Soul. It was clearly a high-grade Sharp Weapon for sneak attacks!

And the person holding the curved saber who launched the sneak attack was none other than that somewhat familiar face—Elder Liu Jin of the Star Raft Sea Market Branch!

It was actually him!

Nightmare's eyes instantly erupted with monstrous killing intent! He never expected that Liu Jin, who had seemed respectful and enthusiastic all along, even gifting him a void submersible boat, would suddenly launch an attack at this moment, when he was at his weakest!

That's right! The void submersible boat! He must have tampered with it to be able to track him so precisely! And all his previous enthusiasm and help were probably for this moment of sneak attack! Was it to seize his gains from the Ancient Battlefield? Or did he have other motives?

In a flash of lightning, countless thoughts raced through his mind, but Nightmare had no time to ponder!

That Eerie Blue Saber Light had already reached him!

If he were at his peak, such a sneak attack could be easily broken, but at this moment, he was severely injured and on the verge of death, his Demonic Essence was in disarray, and the Sword Intent of the broken sword still raged within him, making his movements more than twice as slow as usual!

Cannot dodge!

Cannot block!

Between life and death, a look of extreme madness flashed in Nightmare's eyes!

Instead of retreating, he advanced, deliberately meeting the Eerie Blue Saber Light with his left shoulder! At the same time, the power of the rule fragment condensed at his right fingertip with unprecedented speed, and the Nirvana Star Evil was compressed to its extreme, pointing towards Liu Jin's glabella!

Trading injury for life!

Pfft!

The Eerie Blue Saber Light cut into Nightmare's left shoulder without hindrance, and a terrifying cold burst forth instantly, freezing his entire left arm and half of his body into ice crystals! Moreover, a strange corrosive energy furiously drilled towards his heart meridian from the wound!

But Nightmare seemed to feel no pain; his right finger, at the same time, pointed before Liu Jin's glabella!

The sneer on Liu Jin's face instantly froze, turning into immense shock and disbelief! He never expected Nightmare, in such a state, to still react so swiftly and viciously, even employing such a mutually destructive fighting style!

He wanted to retreat, but it was already too late!

"No—!"

He only had time to let out a short, terrified scream!

Puff!

Nightmare's fingertip easily pierced through his protective spiritual light, puncturing his glabella, as if poking a rotten watermelon!

The terrifying power of the Nirvana Star Evil instantly surged in, annihilating all his vitality, and not even his Nascent Soul managed to escape!

The light in Liu Jin's eyes instantly dimmed, his body stiffened, his face retaining the shock and confusion from before death, and he fell backward rigidly.

A Nascent Soul Perfection Cultivator, despite having the upper hand, was counter-killed in one blow by the severely injured and dying Nightmare!

Clatter.

The eerie blue curved saber fell onto the cold ground.

Nightmare staggered back two steps, violently spitting out a large mouthful of black blood mixed with ice shards, his face instantly turning ashen. The cold qi at the wound on his left shoulder continued to spread, and that corrosive energy, like a parasite in the bone, frantically destroyed his vitality.

He endured the dizziness, quickly searched Liu Jin's corpse, and soon found a Storage Pouch and a bronze compass emitting faint fluctuations.

The compass needle was pointing firmly at himself! It was indeed a tracking device!

Nightmare didn't hesitate; the power of the rule fragment surged out, instantly shattering the compass into dust. Then, without even looking at Liu Jin's corpse, he turned and frantically fled towards the outskirts of the Ancient Battlefield.

Must leave immediately! Liu Jin's death will surely be known to the Star Raft Sea very soon, and there might even be subsequent pursuits!

As he fled, he fully circulated his Cultivation Technique, mobilizing the Nirvana Star Evil and the power of the rule fragment, painstakingly expelling the cold poison and corrosive energy from his left shoulder.

This cold poison and corrosive energy were extremely strange and difficult to deal with, of extremely high grade, certainly not something Liu Jin could possess. There must be a mastermind behind it! But at this moment, Nightmare had no time for deep thought.

Just as he was about to rush out of the core area of the Ancient Battlefield, the rule fragment once again sent a warning!

In the Void Realm ahead, space rippled like water, and three slender 'Sky Patrol Star Rafts', cast entirely from stellar metal with the Star Raft Sea's emblem carved on their bows, slowly emerged, forming a 'pin' shape, perfectly blocking his path!

On each Star Raft stood several powerful Cultivators, the three leaders of whom were all Early Spirit Transformation Stage Cultivators! One of them even bore some resemblance to Liu Jin!

Their gazes, like cold blades, instantly locked onto Nightmare, who was covered in blood and had a weak aura!

"Nightmare! You killed my brother Liu Jin, a crime punishable by death! Surrender now!" The Soul Transformation Cultivator who resembled Liu Jin shouted sternly, his eyes filled with hatred and killing intent.

As expected, they came! And so quickly!

Nightmare's heart sank completely.

With powerful enemies blocking him ahead, dangerous terrain in the Ancient Battlefield behind, himself severely injured and on the verge of death, and alien energies raging within him... this was an almost unsolvable death trap!

On the Star Rafts, the three Soul Transformation Cultivators had already attacked simultaneously!

One conjured a large net of starlight, covering the sky and earth as it enveloped Nightmare!

One activated the Star Main Cannon, condensing a pillar of starlight powerful enough to severely injure a Soul Transformation Cultivator!

The last one formed hand seals, activating a Formation in the Void Realm, sealing off the surrounding space!

The three cooperated tacitly, clearly having planned this long ago to completely eliminate Nightmare!

Facing this deadly situation, an extreme coldness and madness flashed in Nightmare's eyes.

He no longer tried to expel the alien energies from his body; instead... he violently drew them out, forcefully fusing them with his remaining Nirvana Star Evil, the power of the rule fragment, and the essence of the evil spirit he had just devoured but not yet fully refined!

An extremely unstable, destructive, chaotic, and terrifying energy furiously accumulated within his body!

Cracks instantly covered the surface of his body, as if he could explode at any moment! Black blood flowed from all seven orifices!

"Since none of you want This Sovereign to live... then let's all... perish together!"

Nightmare let out a hoarse and frantic roar, transforming into a streak of light. Instead of retreating, he charged desperately towards the three Star Rafts!

He intended to self-destruct! To drag these people down with him!

The three Soul Transformation Cultivators' faces changed drastically; they never expected Nightmare to be so resolute as to self-destruct! The self-destruction of a peak Mid-stage Soul Transformation Cultivator was powerful enough to severely injure or even kill them!

"Retreat quickly! Activate the strongest defense!" The leading Soul Transformation Cultivator shouted in horror, frantically activating the Star Net Defense Formation!

However, just as Nightmare was about to rush into the Star Raft's attack range, and the destructive energy within him was about to completely explode!

Another anomaly occurred!

The black Star Palace fragment in his chest, which had been dormant, obtained from Yang Yan, and the god-slaying sword grass he had just collected but not yet consumed, suddenly trembled violently at the same time!

Immediately after, the Void Realm not far in front of him violently twisted and collapsed, forming a small, extremely unstable... spatial vortex!

This vortex appeared without warning, and the spatial fluctuations it emitted actually resonated slightly with the Star Palace fragment and the god-slaying sword grass!

The destructive energy within Nightmare, which was about to erupt, was pulled by this spatial vortex and suddenly paused!

And Nightmare himself, due to inertia, crashed headfirst into the suddenly appearing spatial vortex!

Whoosh!

His figure instantly vanished!

The terrifying energy that was about to erupt was also swallowed by the spatial vortex along with his disappearance!

Rumble rumble rumble!!!

The spatial vortex suddenly expanded violently, then exploded with a roar! A terrifying spatial storm swept in all directions, tossing the three Star Rafts around, their Formation light screens flickering violently, and the Cultivators on board were thrown into disarray, a scene of utter chaos!

When the spatial storm subsided, Nightmare's figure was long gone, leaving only a slowly closing spatial black hole.

The three Soul Transformation Cultivators clumsily stabilized their Star Rafts, looking at the empty Void Realm with extremely grim expressions.

"He... he was swept into the spatial turbulence?"

"With such severe injuries, having activated such terrifying energy, and then being torn apart by the spatial storm... he must be dead!"

"Search! We must see him alive, or find his corpse! We absolutely cannot let him escape!"

However, they all knew in their hearts that being swept into that level of spatial turbulence, especially while suffering such severe injuries, the chances of survival were negligible... Cold, twisted, torn... this was Nightmare's last consciousness.

The moment he rushed into the spatial vortex, the violent spatial power almost tore his body apart. The out-of-control destructive energy within him partially erupted prematurely during its collision with the spatial power. Although it failed to completely destroy the enemy, it did counteract some of the spatial tearing force, preserving his last shred of vitality.

But his consciousness continued to rapidly sink and dissipate in this endless spatial turbulence... It felt like an instant, yet also like ten thousand years.

When he regained a trace of faint consciousness, he found himself floating in a cold lake.

Around him was an extremely dense, incomparably pure... grand yin qi?

He struggled to open his eyes, and what greeted him was an unfamiliar, tranquil valley shrouded in hazy moonlight. In the center of the valley was the deep pool he was in; the water was bone-chchillingly cold, yet it contained astonishing Grand Yin energy.

And not far from him on the water surface, there was actually... a woman floating?

The woman was dressed in white, with an exquisite face. Her eyes were tightly closed, seemingly in a coma, but the aura emanating from her made Nightmare suddenly tremble!

This aura... is Su Wanqing?!

How could she be here?! And what place is this?!

Nightmare tried to move, but found that he was too severely injured, making it extremely difficult even to lift a finger. The rule fragment was dim, the Nirvana Star Evil was almost depleted, his Physical Body was severely damaged, and the cold poison and corrosive energy in his left shoulder were still slowly eroding him.

What alarmed him even more was that he felt a powerful and cold Divine Sense rapidly sweeping in from outside the valley!

Someone is coming!

Alarm bells rang in Nightmare's heart. He used his last ounce of strength to bite the tip of his tongue, forcing himself to stay awake. The rule fragment squeezed out its last bit of power, distorting the light and aura around him, while his body slowly sank into the pool, using the dense grand yin qi to conceal himself.

Just as he submerged, a powerful streak of escape light landed by the pool, revealing a beautiful middle-aged woman in a moon-white palace dress with a stern face.

The beautiful woman's gaze was like electricity, sweeping over the surface of the pool, and she immediately discovered Su Wanqing floating on the water.

"Hmm? A Profound Yin Body? And she's unconscious here?" A hint of surprise flashed in the beautiful woman's eyes, then she raised her hand to lift Su Wanqing out of the water and examined her.

"Indeed, good material for Cultivating the Supreme Art of Forgetting Emotion..." The beautiful woman murmured to herself, a satisfied expression appearing on her stern face. She seemed not to have noticed Nightmare submerged at the bottom of the pool.

After a moment of contemplation, she picked up the unconscious Su Wanqing, transformed into a streak of escape light, and disappeared into the valley.

Beneath the pool, Nightmare felt the powerful aura disappear, and only then did he slightly relax, but his mood became even heavier.

Su Wanqing seemed to have been taken away by a powerful Cultivator who practiced emotionless Dao? Was it a blessing or a curse?

And himself... he felt the extremely terrible injuries and empty power within him, and then perceived the unfamiliar environment around him... This time, he was probably truly in a desperate situation.

He slowly closed his eyes, fully absorbing the dense grand yin qi in the pool, painstakingly maintaining that last shred of undying vitality.

He must first survive... only then will he have a chance to figure out where this place is and find Su Wanqing.

The cold pool water seemed to be his last straw of hope.