Chapter 172 Void Remains, Annihilation Source Mark

Nightmare continuously traversed the endless Void Realm, his core acting like the most precise compass, guiding his direction.

Surrounded by eternal darkness and silence, only distant stars emitted a cold radiance.

Occasionally, chaotic spatial storms or Void Realm undercurrents would sweep past, only to be quietly smoothed out and absorbed by the Annihilation Domain surrounding him, transforming into resources for his advancement.

He did not know how many tens of thousands of miles he had crossed, nor how many desolate Star Domains he had traversed, but the surrounding scenery began to turn eerie.

Giant, broken remains, composed of unknown Materials, began to appear in the Void Realm.

They were not fragments of stars, but rather more like the remains of some massive creation, their surfaces covered in thick cosmic dust, emitting an incomparably ancient and deathly aura.

On some remains, one could still see massive, unnatural tearing marks, as if they had experienced an unimaginably brutal war.

His core's sensing grew clearer and clearer; that wisp of Dao Rhyme of Annihilation, originating from the same source as the Nine Serenities but even more ancient and pure, acted like a lighthouse in the darkness, guiding him to his final destination.

Finally, after tearing through space once more, the scene before him suddenly opened up, causing Nightmare's core to jolt violently!

Ahead, it was no longer the empty Void Realm. Instead, it was an incomparably massive, almost boundless — shattered continent!

This continent floated silently in the Void Realm, its scale far exceeding any star or Secret Realm Nightmare had ever seen.

On the continent, mountains had crumbled, riverbeds were dried up, and everywhere one could see collapsed giant palaces, broken pillars reaching to the heavens, and various bizarre, massive skeletons that had long since lost all vitality and luster!

Some skeletons stretched out like mountain ranges, others maintained postures of struggling in battle, and there were even some that were not humanoid, but rather resembled multi-limbed insects or flowing slime monsters, clearly originating from different races.

The entire continent was shrouded in an atmosphere of extreme deathly silence and destruction; there were no signs of life, not even microbes existed, only an eternal, unchanging coldness and nothingness.

The spatial structure here was also extremely unstable, filled with tiny, constantly forming and vanishing black cracks that emitted a dangerous aura.

His core transmitted an unprecedented, intense resonance and... a hint of sorrow? The feeling of the source of the Power of Annihilation he was pursuing was coming from the very depths of this continent!

This was the ruin of an ancient battlefield! And its Rank was so high that it far exceeded imagination! It might even involve multiple races and civilizations!

Nightmare restrained all his aura, his core's power highly concentrated, and cautiously crept toward the depths of the continent.

The further he went, the more brutal the traces of battle became, and the Rank of the skeletons and broken Magic Treasures appearing also became higher.

He even saw a relatively well-preserved, thousand-zhang-tall golden giant skeleton, its chest cavity pierced by a terrifying force, with heart-palpitating traces of the Law of destruction still remaining at the fractures of its ribs; its strength in life must have far exceeded the Hedao Stage!

There was also a Dragon skeleton covered in seven-colored scales that had been severed in two, with a rusted bronze battle spear—still emitting endless Evil Qi—pierced through the center of its brow!

His core continuously absorbed the residual Law fragments and information streams from these skeletons and remains, supplementing its own database, making his understanding of Laws such as Annihilation, destruction, and slaughter increasingly profound.

Finally, he arrived at the very center of the continent.

The scene here caused him, even with his current state of mind, to be moved.

The center of the continent was not a palace or an altar, but an incomparably massive, bottomless pit! The edges of the pit were smooth as a mirror, as if vaporized and eroded instantly by some unimaginable force!

And directly above the pit, an object was floating.

It was not a complete object, but a fragment.

A metal fragment only the size of a palm, with irregular edges, pitch-black all over, seemingly capable of devouring all light...?

It floated silently there, as if it had been there since eternity. There were no rune carvings on it, yet it naturally exuded an extremely pure Dao Rhyme of "Annihilation" and "End"!

It was more ancient, more original, and closer to the essence of the "Annihilation" Dao itself than the sword tip he had seen in the Nine Serenities!

His core vibrated at this moment, nearly slipping out of his control, conveying an incomparably strong desire and sense of closeness!

The old wound on his left shoulder, which had long since healed, also transmitted a clear, yet ten-thousand-times weaker, pulsation from the same source!

This was it! This was the source of that wisp of the Power of Annihilation! A fragment of a terrifying weapon from an unknown place!

Nightmare slowly approached; the closer he got, the more he could feel the terrifying power emitted by the fragment.

The surrounding space was slightly twisting and collapsing, and the flow of time seemed to have become abnormal.

If not for the fact that he himself also mastered the Law of Annihilation, and his core was of the same Origin, he would likely have been assimilated into nothingness by the lingering might it emitted the moment he got close.

He extended his finger, extremely slowly and cautiously reaching toward that fragment.

Just as his fingertip was about to touch it— "Hum!"

That fragment, silent for eternity, suddenly trembled slightly!

An incomparably tiny, yet purely condensed, pitch-black stream of light, as if possessing life, actively separated from the fragment and instantly merged into Nightmare's fingertip!

Boom—!!! Nightmare's body jolted violently, his Sea of Consciousness feeling as if it were about to explode!

An endless torrent of information regarding the ultimate mysteries of "Annihilation," like a bursting river, frantically poured into his core and Divine Soul!

That was not a Legacy, not a realization, but the manifestation of the most original Law! It was the underlying code that constituted "Annihilation," this fundamental Law of the Universe!

The light of his core instantly surged to the extreme, and the patterns on its surface frantically evolved and reorganized at an unprecedented speed, becoming more complex, deeper, and closer to the essence of the Dao!

It was absorbing this wisp of Origin, undergoing an unprecedented evolution!

Nightmare's understanding of the Law of Annihilation skyrocketed at an unprecedented speed! The Bottleneck of the Early Stage Void Refining instantly shattered, his cultivation naturally stepped into the Mid-stage Void Refining, and it was still rapidly advancing toward the Late Stage!

That nirvana dao seed spun frantically, becoming more solid, and subtle patterns of the same Origin as the fragment appeared on its surface, as if it were about to evolve into a true core of Annihilation!

His Physical Body, mana, and Divine Soul were all undergoing earth-shattering qualitative changes at this moment! A realization of mastering destruction and becoming the Incarnation of the end welled up in his heart.

He did not know how much time had passed before the torrent of information gradually subsided.

Nightmare slowly opened his eyes, and deep within his pupils, there seemed to be two miniature, constantly forming and vanishing cosmic vortices.

The aura around him was restrained to the extreme, yet it gave people a feeling of being even more dangerous and unfathomable.

Peak of the Mid-stage Void Refining! Just one line away from stepping into the Late Stage!

And his control over Nirvana had already reached an unimaginable height!

Now, facing that woman in palace attire at the Hedao Stage again, he was confident that even without relying on the Heavenly Tribulation, he could confront her head-on and even defeat her!

After separating that wisp of Origin light, the pitch-black luster on the surface of the fragment seemed to dim slightly, but it still emitted terrifying might, floating silently there.

Nightmare could feel that the Origin power contained within this fragment was still vast as the sea, and what he had absorbed just now was merely a drop in the ocean.

But even this drop was enough for him to benefit infinitely. If he were to be greedy for more, he would likely be assimilated by it instantly, losing himself and becoming a part of Annihilation.

He bowed slightly to the fragment and offered a salute. This object had bestowed upon him the grace of the Dao.

After his core evolved, his perception of this place became even clearer. He realized that this fragment seemed to be suppressing some core of this ancient battlefield ruin, maintaining a delicate balance.

If he were to forcefully take the fragment away, it would likely lead to unpredictable consequences.

Nightmare was not a greedy person; having obtained the Opportunity, he would no longer force it.

He took one last look at this deathly silent ancient battlefield and that mysterious fragment, then his core invoked the Law of space, preparing to leave.

However, just as he was about to tear through space—his core suddenly transmitted a strong warning!

It was not coming from the continent below, but from... the distant Void Realm!

Almost simultaneously, an incomparably sharp dark golden arrow, containing the power to pierce through stars, silently tore through the Void Realm, as if it had long since calculated his position and time of appearance, shooting precisely in front of him!

On the arrow, Imperial Dragon Qi and a strange, soul-locking curse power were entwined!

An ambush! And it was a long-premeditated ambush with timing grasped to perfection!

The person who made the move definitely had strength reaching the Late Stage Void Refining, or even higher! And their understanding of the Law of space was extremely profound!

A cold glint flashed in Nightmare's eyes, and the newly elevated Power of Annihilation instantly erupted!

He did not even turn his head, simply raised his hand, spread his five fingers, and the Annihilation Domain highly concentrated in his palm!

"Annihilation."

The dark golden arrow, with power sufficient to kill a Mid-stage Void Refining cultivator and severely injure a Late Stage Void Refining cultivator, the moment it shot into the domain in his palm, its Imperial Dragon Qi, curse power, and the terrifying kinetic energy contained within the arrow body itself were, as if cast into an ultimate abyss, silently disintegrated, dissipated, and annihilated!

In the end, only a wisp of blue smoke remained, drifting from between his fingers.

Nightmare slowly turned around, his core instantly locking onto a figure in the Void Realm thousands of miles away.

It was a middle-aged man wearing dark golden dragon-patterned battle armor, holding a huge bone bow, with a cold expression.

His aura was vast as the sea, the Imperial pressure intense; he was shockingly a top expert of the Imperial Dynasty at the Peak of the Late Stage Void Refining!

Furthermore, the battle armor and bone bow on his body both emitted astonishing Spiritual Pressure, clearly being top-grade Spirit Treasures!

"Imperial Dynasty Consecrated Hall, Deputy Hall Master, Long Si." The man spoke coldly, his voice like clashing metal, "Nightmare, you slaughtered our Imperial Dynasty stronghold, killed our Consecrated Elder, and deserve death! Today, this place shall be your burial ground!"

As his voice fell, four more figures silently appeared in the surrounding Void Realm!

One person wore a pink rosy cape, with a bewitching appearance, but eyes cold as a viper; it was the Joyful Zen Sect woman at the Hedao Stage who had been startled back by Nightmare—Bodhisattva Miaoyin! She was clearly not yet recovered from her injuries, but her aura was still formidable.

Another person was shrouded in a wide black robe, their aura cold and obscure, holding a constantly rotating pitch-black compass in their hand; the needle on the compass swung frantically, locking onto Nightmare's Qi. This person's cultivation was also Late Stage Void Refining!

The last two were martial generals in Imperial Dynasty battle armor with fierce auras at the Mid-stage Void Refining, holding battle halberds, forming a battle formation, sealing off Nightmare's retreat.

One Peak of the Late Stage Void Refining, one Hedao Stage (injured), one Late Stage Void Refining, and two Mid-stage Void Refining!

The Imperial Dynasty and the Joyful Zen Sect had actually dispatched such a powerful lineup to set up a sure-kill trap here!

Clearly, they had used some unknown method to roughly calculate that Nightmare might come in this direction and had been lying in ambush here for a long time!

"No matter how many ants there are, they are still ants." Nightmare scanned the five people, his eyes still cold, without the slightest fear; instead, a monstrous Battle Intent rose, "It is just as well; I will use you to test my sword and sacrifice to This Sovereign's newly acquired power!"

His core hummed, and the evolved Nirvana surged and roared within his body!

The great battle was on the verge of breaking out!