The three deities joined together, and Nirvana was achieved.

Three Hedao Stage experts! A meticulously planned ambush, a thunderous strike!

An imperial giant claw covered in dragon scales, a cursed spear of twisting shadows, and a skeletal ghost hand erupting from the earth! Attacking from three directions, they sealed off all of Nightmare's paths of evasion; the timing was vicious and cunning to the extreme!

The power of that dragon claw had already surpassed ordinary Hedao, carrying a trace of true Dragon Might and the Imperial Dao Origin—it was clearly one of the Imperial Dynasty's hidden trump cards! That shadow spear was malicious and bizarre, specializing in wounding the Divine Soul! That skeletal ghost hand was cold and deathly still, freezing all life force!

This was a true certain-death trap! Even a Late Stage Hedao powerhouse would face certain death when confronted with such a siege!

The rule fragment shrieked frantically, conveying extreme danger! Nightmare's pupils shrank to pinpricks, and the blood throughout his body seemed to freeze at this moment!

At the critical moment of life and death, his mind instead entered a state of unprecedented, absolute calm. The rule fragment performed calculations and deductions at an unprecedented speed; countless countermeasures were generated and discarded in an instant!

He couldn't dodge! He couldn't block! The only way was... "Nirvana... of Annihilation!"

A flash of madness and determination suddenly crossed Nightmare's eyes! The rule fragment and the nirvana dao seed resonated and burned in an unprecedented manner!

He actually stopped defending and no longer tried to dodge. Instead, he compressed all his power, all his Divine Thought, the deduction power of the rule fragment, the Origin of the nirvana dao seed, and even his own life force... inwards! Condensing! Collapsing!

It was as if the Universe had reached its end and all things were returning to the void; everything condensed inward into a single point!

An extreme singularity containing infinite destruction and... a trace of "new life" so faint it almost didn't exist!

In the next moment, those three terrifying attacks descended simultaneously, violently striking the position where Nightmare stood!

Rumble—!!!

An indescribable, terrifying explosion occurred! Light instantly swallowed everything! Laws fell into complete chaos! Space shattered and was annihilated layer by layer like fragile glass! A massive, chaotic energy vortex expanded frantically on the spot, swallowing everything around it! The entire Dragon Burial Mountain Range shook violently, as if the apocalypse had arrived!

The three Hedao beings who had attacked seemingly hadn't expected their opponent to choose such a resolute method. Their figures appeared at the edge of the explosion, each releasing a powerful Domain to withstand the impact of the blast.

One was a thin old man wearing imperial robes and an imperial crown, with a majestic countenance and substantial Imperial Dao Dragon Qi coiling around him. His aura was unfathomable, having already placed half a foot into the Mahayana realm! He was one of the foundations of the Imperial Dynasty, the Old Ancestor of the Zhao Family!

Another was completely shrouded in a mass of twisting shadows, his form indiscernible except for two flickering points of crimson light. He emitted an extremely uncomfortable, evil aura, clearly a powerhouse from the so-called "Shadow Clan."

The third was a tall skeleton covered in tattered bronze battle armor. Pale blue soul fires danced within its eye sockets, and it held a skeletal war blade. Death Qi soared to the heavens; it was a ghost path Hedao expert who had attained success in his cultivation!

All three beings were forced to reveal themselves by the violent explosion, their gazes solemn as they stared at the center of the frantically expanding energy vortex.

"Hmph, seeking his own destruction!" the Old Ancestor of the Zhao Family from the Imperial Dynasty snorted coldly. His tone carried a hint of disdain, but deep within his eyes was a trace of shock and suspicion. That extreme inward collapse from just now had even made his heart skip a beat.

"A pity for that perfect shell and those peculiar Laws..." the being in the shadows spoke in a raspy voice, sounding regretful.

The skeletal Hedao remained silent, merely staring fixedly at the center of the explosion.

They all believed that under the dual effects of those terrifying attacks and his own bizarre collapse, there was no way the opponent could survive; he must have been utterly annihilated in body and soul.

However, just as the energy vortex expanded to its limit and was about to begin dissipating—

A sudden change occurred!

At the very center of the vortex, amidst that extreme destructive energy, a tiny, almost imperceptible speck of grayish-black light suddenly lit up!

That light was so faint, yet so resilient and immortal! It was as if, amidst endless destruction, a point of absolute "stillness" and "silence" had been forcibly birthed!

In the next moment, that speck of grayish-black light suddenly expanded!

Like the Rebirth of the Big Bang's singularity! Endless Power of Annihilation erupted from that point, suddenly spreading in all directions! Wherever it passed, the violent and chaotic explosion energy actually became calm and quiet as if meeting its sovereign, eventually being completely annihilated and turning into the most primitive void!

A larger, more solid, and more terrifying grayish-black Domain replaced the original explosion vortex, suddenly descending!

In the center of the Domain, Nightmare's figure slowly emerged!

His black robes were slightly damaged, his face was as pale as paper, and golden blood hung from the corner of his mouth. His aura fluctuated unsteadily, clearly indicating he had suffered extremely severe injuries. But his eyes were brighter and colder than ever before! The rule fragment hovered above his head; though its light was somewhat dim, it had become more profound, and the patterns on its surface were more complex and mysterious, as if it had experienced Rebirth after destruction!

Nirvana of Annihilation! Within an absolute death trap, he had glimpsed a trace of the ultimate Profound Truth of "seeking life within death." The rule fragment and the nirvana dao seed had completed their most critical transformation at the moment of life and death!

Although the price was enormous and he was heavily wounded, he... had survived! Furthermore, his understanding of Annihilation had reached an unprecedented height!

"What?!"

"This is impossible!"

"He actually didn't die?!"

The expressions of the three Hedao beings changed drastically at the same time, their eyes filled with unbelievable horror! Under the combined certain-death strike of the three of them, the opponent had actually survived?! This simply overturned their understanding of reality!

"This boy cannot be allowed to live!" The Old Ancestor of the Zhao Family was the first to react. Killing intent exploded in his eyes, and without any further reservation, he performed hand seals. Imperial Dao Dragon Qi soared into the sky, transforming into nine solid, ten-thousand-zhang golden dragons that roared as they charged toward Nightmare! Their power was several times greater than before!

The Shadow Clan Hedao also shrieked. His body completely merged into the shadows, and countless twisting shadow tentacles tainted with poison and curses lunged at Nightmare from all directions, making them impossible to guard against!

The skeletal Hedao violently swung its skeletal war blade, and a pale-white blade light that tore through the Void Realm, carrying the Law of Death that froze everything, slashed toward his waist!

They didn't dare give Nightmare any more time to catch his breath!

Facing these even more ferocious attacks, a trace of cold mockery flashed in Nightmare's eyes.

If it were before, he might have only been able to close his eyes and wait for death. But now... although the rule fragment was damaged, it was closer to the Origin! Although the nirvana dao seed had been heavily consumed, it was more condensed and pure!

He slowly raised his hands, and the power of the rule fragment along with the post-Nirvana Annihilation Origin frantically poured into the surrounding Domain.

"Annihilation · Reincarnation!"

As his calm voice rang out, the nature of that grayish-black Domain suddenly changed! It was no longer simple termination and void, but had taken on a more mysterious Law rhythm, as if all things were being born and dying in a cycle of Reincarnation!

The boundaries of the Domain became hazy, and the concepts of time and space twisted within it!

The nine roaring Imperial Dao golden dragons, upon entering the Domain's range, saw their massive bodies become illusory and aged at a speed visible to the naked eye. Finally, as if having experienced countless Reincarnations, they wailed and turned into pure Dragon Qi energy, which was absorbed by the Domain!

The countless coiling shadow tentacles seemed to fall into an endless time loop, constantly growing and then withering, eventually dissipating completely. The power of the curses upon them was also ground away by the Law of Reincarnation!

When that pale-white death blade light slashed into the Domain, the Law of Death upon it was actually covered and assimilated by the stronger "Annihilation · Reincarnation" Law. Its speed dropped sharply, and it finally vanished silently into annihilation!

The three great killing moves were once again easily neutralized by this bizarrely transformed Domain!

"This... what Law is this?!" The Old Ancestor of the Zhao Family was struck with horror. He felt his own Imperial Dao Law being eroded and weakened by the strange power within the opponent's Domain!

The Shadow Clan Hedao and the skeletal Hedao were also terrified; their attacks were actually completely ineffective!

Nightmare gave a muffled groan, and another trickle of golden blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth. Forcing the activation of this not-yet-fully-mastered "Reincarnation" power was a huge burden on him. But the light in his eyes grew even more brilliant.

The rule fragment frantically calculated the positions and states of the three, as well as the limit the Domain could withstand.

Now is the time!

His rule fragment suddenly locked onto the skeletal Hedao, who was relatively the weakest of the three and whose attributes were countered by his Power of Annihilation!

"I'll start by sacrificing you!"

A fierce glint flashed in Nightmare's eyes. Guided by the rule fragment, the power of the Annihilation Domain highly condensed into a grayish-black giant hand that seemed to contain the endless birth and death of Reincarnation. Ignoring the distance in space, it instantly appeared above the skeletal Hedao's head and clawed down violently!

The skeletal Hedao's soul fire jumped wildly as it sensed a fatal crisis. It roared, holding the skeletal war blade horizontally above its head as Death Qi erupted from its body, transforming into a massive skeletal shield!

Crack!

The grayish-black hand clawed down, and that skeletal shield and war blade shattered instantly like paper! The giant hand seized the skeletal Hedao's skull without any resistance!

"No—!" the skeletal Hedao sent out a terrified mental fluctuation.

"Reincarnation... Annihilation!"

Nightmare's five fingers suddenly clenched shut!

The skeletal Hedao's massive frame suddenly stiffened. The soul fire in its eye sockets flickered violently, as if it were seeing countless scenes of past and present lives and the cycles of birth and death. Finally, that soul fire, like a candle burning out, rapidly dimmed and was extinguished!

Clatter!

Its skeleton instantly lost all luster and energy, scattering across the ground like ordinary dry bones, then turning into powder under the power of the Domain and being completely annihilated!

A Hedao Stage ghost cultivator had fallen!

An instant kill!

The remaining Old Ancestor of the Zhao Family and the Shadow Clan Hedao were scared out of their wits, completely losing their Battle Intent!

This boy was too bizarre and terrifying! He could actually kill a Hedao even while heavily injured?! This was simply a monster!

The two looked at each other and, without hesitation, turned and tore through the Void Realm, wanting to flee!

"Do you think you can leave?"

Nightmare's cold voice sounded like a death-knell.

His rule fragment burned as he disregarded his worsening injuries to forcibly activate the Domain once more!

"Reincarnation... Imprisonment!"

The two fleeing figures only felt the time and space around them suddenly freeze, as if they had fallen into a quagmire; their speed dropped sharply!

Nightmare pointed his fingers like a sword. The rule fragment condensed all his power, and he slashed out with a sword strike from a distance toward where the Shadow Clan Hedao was fleeing!

"Annihilation · Severing Karma!"

A fine, almost invisible grayish-black thread ignored all defenses and instantly caught up with the Shadow Clan Hedao who had merged into the shadows, lightly slicing through him!

The Shadow Clan Hedao let out an incredibly shrill scream as his body was violently forced out of the shadows. As if struck by an invisible blade, his body split open, and thick shadow energy leaked out frantically. At his core, a point of Origin mark let out an unwilling shriek before completely dimming and disappearing!

The Shadow Clan Hedao, dead!

After forcibly killing two Hedao experts in a row, Nightmare could no longer hold on. He violently spat out a large mouthful of golden blood containing fragments of internal organs. His aura instantly withered to the extreme, the light of the rule fragment dimmed, and the Domain became shaky.

Taking this opportunity, the Old Ancestor of the Zhao Family finally broke free from the imprisonment. Scared to death, he no longer cared about anything else and burned his essence blood and Origin, turning into a streak of bloody light that instantly vanished into the Void Realm!

Nightmare's rule fragment locked onto the direction he fled, but he no longer had the strength to pursue.

He forcibly suppressed the roiling blood within him and his nearly shattered Meridians. The rule fragment swept over the messy battlefield, and with a wave of his hand, he collected the storage Magic Treasures left by the two Hedao experts and that speck of Shadow Clan Origin.

Not daring to stay for even a moment longer, his rule fragment drew upon the last of his strength to tear open space, and he staggered into it, disappearing.

He had to find a safe place to heal immediately! The severity of his injuries this time far exceeded anything in the past!

Not long after he left, several powerful auras hurried over from the direction of the Imperial Capital. Seeing the carnage at the scene, they were all struck with horror.

Three Hedao experts took action, and one died, one fled, and one was heavily injured? That Nightmare... just what kind of sacred being is he?!

The Imperial Dynasty has really kicked a steel plate this time!

And at this moment, Nightmare was holding on with his last breath, struggling through the Void Realm. The rule fragment instinctively guided him toward an extremely distant and hidden coordinate he sensed deep within the rule fragment.

There, something seemed to be calling to him... faintly resonating with the new "singularity" deep within his rule fragment... A healing and transformation concerning life and death was about to begin.