The inscription on the stele holds hidden secrets and a deadly trap.

In front of the immortal fate stele, twelve light barriers resembled twelve independent golden cocoons, enveloping the Cultivators who had earned qualification. Inside the light barriers, the sound of the Great Dao roared, and Law patterns circulated. Every Cultivator was immersed in a deep state of Dao comprehension, their aura visibly improving and transforming.

On the periphery, the Cultivators who failed to secure seats were unwilling to give up, yet dared not disturb those inside. The three Integration Stage mighty experts still hovered in the air, resting with their eyes closed, seeming to have truly abandoned this Opportunity, or perhaps waiting for something.

Time quietly slipped away in an eerie calm. One day... two days... By the evening of the second day, a change began to occur silently.

The first to show abnormality was the Late stage Lianxu Demonic Cultivator, whose body was wreathed in Devilish Qi. The Devilish Qi around him suddenly rolled violently out of control. His face showed extreme pain and struggle, as if he were fighting against something invisible, and he let out low, guttural roars. The light barrier he was in trembled slightly, causing several nearby people to look over.

Immediately afterward, another Mid-stage Void Refining Elder who occupied a core seat and belonged to a major Sect, suddenly groaned. His face instantly flushed red, then turned deathly pale, and a trace of black blood oozed from the corner of his mouth. His aura became completely chaotic, seemingly suffering a Qi Deviation!

Almost simultaneously, four or five strong experts, including the old woman Money Maple was following and the Yao King of the Yao Race, all showed varying degrees of pain, confusion, or struggle!

Only Nightmare, along with two or three other Late stage Lianxu Cultivators with the most stable auras, seemed unaffected, still deeply immersed in Dao comprehension.

"Something is wrong!" A knowledgeable Deity Transformation Cultivator on the periphery cried out softly. "The Great Dao of the immortal fate stele is too profound and vast. Those with insufficient mental cultivation who forcibly try to comprehend it will suffer an imbalance of their Dao Heart and face backlash!"

"So that's it! No wonder those Integration Stage Seniors didn't participate! They probably anticipated this!"

"Although the Opportunity is good, you must be alive to enjoy it!"

Everyone suddenly understood, and they looked at the abnormal light seats with a mixture of schadenfreude and greed. If these people couldn't hold on... those empty seats... Sure enough, after a few more hours, the Demonic Cultivator who first showed signs of abnormality suddenly let out a sharp scream, his Devilish Qi exploded, and his entire body inflated like a balloon!

"No—!"

Boom!

He was actually unable to control his rampaging power and detonated himself! How terrifying was the self-detonation of a Late stage Lianxu Cultivator? The massive energy impact violently struck the light barrier of the immortal fate stele, causing the entire stele body to tremble slightly!

Although most of the energy from his self-detonation was absorbed and neutralized by the light barrier, it still caused several nearby light barriers to flash violently, interfering with the Cultivators inside who were struggling to resist the backlash, instantly making their situation worse!

The Elder from the major Sect who had already suffered a Qi Deviation suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood mixed with organ fragments. His eyes instantly dimmed, his head tilted, and he actually Passed Away right there on the light seat! All signs of life vanished!

On the other side, a Yao Race strong expert let out an unwilling roar, revealing part of his True Form, but still couldn't suppress his chaotic Yao power. Blood flowed from his seven orifices, severely injured and weak, he was forced to actively leave the light seat, staggering out, and was instantly surrounded by several covetous Cultivators on the periphery. His fate was predictable.

In the blink of an eye, three of the twelve seats were vacant! And the Cultivators in two or three other seats were also in imminent danger!

"Opportunity!"

The eyes of the surrounding Cultivators instantly turned red! Before anyone knew who shouted first, dozens of figures, like sharks smelling blood, rushed toward the three vacant light seats!

An even fiercer melee erupted once again!

And this time, the three Integration Stage mighty experts, who had been resting with their eyes closed, opened their eyes almost simultaneously!

One of them, an Integration Stage old man wearing an Eight Trigrams Daoist robe with the face of a child and hair like a crane, immediately locked his gaze onto the light seat occupied by the old woman Money Maple was following. The old woman's face was pale, and her forehead was sweating; she was clearly struggling to resist the Great Dao backlash, but her cultivation was profound, and she could temporarily endure.

"This Disciple of old friend Xuan Ji still lacks some refinement in her Heart-Nature." The old man in the Eight Trigrams Daoist robe smiled slightly, his voice calm yet carrying an unquestionable meaning. "This seat has fate with this old man."

He did not make a move; he merely flicked his sleeve gently.

An invisible, intangible, yet immensely profound Law power crossed space, gently enveloping the light barrier where the old woman was located.

The old woman suddenly opened her eyes, revealing a look of shock and fury: "Heavenly Derivation Dao Venerable! What are you trying to do?!"

But before she finished speaking, that Law power had already penetrated the light barrier. It wasn't a forceful attack, but rather, in a strange way, it slightly disrupted the balanced Great Dao rhythm around her!

The old woman, who was already barely holding on, had her internal Magical Power instantly lose control due to this interference, and the Great Dao backlash violently erupted!

"Pfft—!" She spat out blood wildly, her aura plummeted sharply, and she could no longer maintain her state of Dao comprehension. She was actively rejected by the light barrier, her face ashen, clearly having suffered damage to her Dao foundation!

Heavenly Derivation Dao Venerable smiled slightly, his figure flickered, and he leisurely sat into the vacant, perfectly positioned light seat, beginning his comprehension as if nothing had happened.

On the other side, an Integration Stage mighty expert wearing Pitch-Black Armor and possessing an aura like a Primordial Demonic God, locked his gaze onto the seat vacated by the severely injured Yao Race Yao King. He didn't need any special methods; he just swept his gaze coldly across the area.

The Void Refining and Soul Transformation Cultivators who were frantically fighting for that seat instantly felt like they had fallen into an ice cave. Their movements suddenly froze, their faces showing extreme fear, and they retreated in panic, clearing a path.

The Black-Armored Demonic God snorted coldly, took one step, and occupied the seat.

The last Integration Stage mighty expert was a woman wearing Palace Attire, graceful and charming, yet covered by a light veil. Her gaze swept over the remaining vacant seats and the precarious light seats in the arena, but ultimately landed on the relatively secluded light seat where Nightmare was located.

The System suddenly transmitted a strong warning!

Although Nightmare was in deep Dao comprehension, he always kept a thread of his mind vigilant toward the outside world. He immediately sensed the gaze of the Integration Stage mighty expert!

A hint of surprise flashed in the palace-attired woman's eyes. She seemed astonished that this junior, who only had Late-Stage Transformation Spirit (the surface cultivation she perceived), could comprehend the immortal fate stele so smoothly, and even seemed to be gaining immense benefits.

The corner of her mouth curved into a faint smile. Unlike the previous two, she did not directly seize the seat. Instead, she extended a Slender Jade Finger and lightly pointed it toward the light seat where Nightmare was.

A pink Peach Blossom Phantom appeared out of thin air, ignoring the spatial distance, and drifted lightly toward Nightmare's light barrier!

This Peach Blossom Phantom looked beautiful and delicate, but it contained the power of the Great Dao of Joyful Union, which was extremely sinister, capable of provoking deep-seated human desires, and disintegrating the will! She wasn't trying to forcefully break the light barrier, but rather to disrupt Nightmare's mind, causing him to fall into a state where his Dao Heart failed, thus being repelled by the immortal fate stele!

Her intentions could be called malicious!

"This is bad!" Su Wanqing, who had been anxiously watching the entire scene, instantly turned pale when she saw the palace-attired woman make a move against Nightmare!

The other Cultivators on the periphery also noticed this scene and showed expressions of watching a good show. Being targeted by an Integration Stage mighty expert, this kid was finished!

However, just as that Peach Blossom Phantom was about to touch the light barrier—

Inside the light barrier, Nightmare, who had been comprehending with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes!

In his eyes, there was no confusion, no desire, only an eternal, unchanging cold solitude!

"Disturbing my Secluded Cultivation. You seek death."

He made no movement, but the restrained Nirvana Field around him suddenly expanded slightly outward!

As soon as that seemingly sinister Peach Blossom Phantom entered the range of the Nirvana Field, the power of the Great Dao of Joyful Union contained within it seemed to meet its nemesis, instantly withering, fading, and dissipating into nothingness! It failed to even stir a ripple!

"Hmm?!" The palace-attired woman let out a soft sound of surprise, and a hint of astonishment appeared on her pretty face beneath the veil. Her Law power was actually neutralized so easily by the opponent? And that power... was Annihilation?!

Just as she was about to make another move, she saw Nightmare in the light barrier, his cold gaze locked onto her. In that gaze, there was no fear, but rather a chilling... Killing Intent?

The palace-attired woman's heart froze. A mere Soul Transformation Cultivator dared to show Killing Intent toward her? Moreover, the method he used just now to neutralize her attack was definitely not something an ordinary Soul Transformation Cultivator could possess!

Just as she was filled with shock and uncertainty, the immortal fate stele underwent another change!

Buzz—!

The entire stone stele suddenly erupted with Dazzling Light ten times brighter than before! The Great Dao patterns on the stele body circulated and combined frantically at an unprecedented speed, finally condensing into a Phantom Scripture composed of countless Golden Runes, even more profound and obscure, hovering above the stele's peak!

An aura of the Great Dao, more ancient, more Origin, and seemingly originating from the Creation of Heaven and Earth, permeated the area!

"This is... the deep Mystery of the immortal fate stele manifesting!"

"It's much more profound than the previous Great Dao patterns!"

"Hurry and comprehend!"

All the Cultivators in the light seats, including the three Integration Stage mighty experts, were drawn by this sudden change. They paid no mind to anything else, fully immersing themselves, trying to capture the Supreme Profound Method contained within the Phantom Scripture!

The palace-attired woman was also instantly drawn in. She gave Nightmare a deep look, temporarily suppressed the thought of attacking, and focused all her effort on comprehending the newly appeared scripture. Compared to this Supreme Immortal Fate, the offense of a junior could be set aside for now.

Nightmare was equally attracted by the newly appearing scripture. The System transmitted extremely excited fluctuations. That scripture actually contained a partial explanation regarding the "Origin of Rules," which held immeasurable benefits for perfecting his Great Dao of Annihilation!

He closed his eyes again and fully operated The System to analyze and comprehend it.

The crisis seemed temporarily averted.

But everyone knew this was just the calm before the storm. Once the three days of comprehension time were over and the light barriers vanished, the grudges and conflicts from before would definitely erupt completely! Especially Nightmare; he had been targeted simultaneously by the Grey-Robed Old Man, the old woman (and Money Maple behind her), and the palace-attired Integration Stage woman!

Su Wanqing's heart was in her throat. She tightly gripped the star fixing compass, her palms covered in cold sweat.

Time passed minute by minute; the final period of comprehension felt exceptionally long and tense.

Finally, when the last moment of the third day arrived.

Buzz... The Dazzling Light and Phantom Scripture on the immortal fate stele began to slowly recede and dim.

The twelve pale golden light barriers also became transparent and thin, about to vanish.

All Cultivators in the arena, regardless of whether they were inside or outside the light barriers, opened their eyes at this moment.

Gazes met, and Killing Intent overflowed!

The final struggle was about to begin!