The imperial court bowed its head, and Wanqing returned.

Nightmare walked through the Void Realm with every step, pacing toward the Imperial Capital unhurriedly.

His footsteps appeared light and slow, yet they seemed to tread upon the very pulse of the Imperial Dynasty's fate.

Each step caused the walls of the Imperial Capital to tremble, leaving countless Imperial Dynasty Cultivators terrified to the core.

The Dragon Soul was annihilated, and the Shadow Emperor was swallowed!

Two Peak foundations of the Dao Integration Stage could not even last ten breaths under his hand!

What a desperate gap in strength this was!

The Imperial Capital's defensive Formation had long been fully activated, a brilliant light barrier shrouding the entire city.

However, under the erosion of the Power of Annihilation permeating from Nightmare, the barrier was dimming at a speed visible to the naked eye, emitting groans of being overwhelmed.

On the city walls, those Imperial Dynasty secret guards and elite armored soldiers, who usually acted with arrogance, were now all pale-faced, their hands gripping their weapons trembling, their eyes filled with fear.

Deep within the palace, Zhao Wuji's face was as pale as gold paper, his Qi chaotic; the backlash from the Dragon Soul being slain just moments ago was extremely severe.

Listening to the footsteps outside the city that sounded like a funeral knell, and watching the figure in the water mirror that was drawing ever closer—like a demon god—the last vestiges of his luck and pride were completely shattered.

"Your Majesty! We cannot stop him! Please make a decision quickly!" the old eunuch beside him cried out, prostrating on the ground.

"Old Ancestor... let us surrender..." several royal clansmen also advised with trembling voices, their courage completely shattered by fear.

"He only wants that woman... if we hand her over, we might be able to preserve the Imperial Dynasty's foundation..." a minister whispered his suggestion.

Zhao Wuji's chest heaved violently, his fingernails digging deep into his palms, drawing golden blood.

Humiliation! Endless humiliation!

He, the dignified master of the Imperial Dynasty and Old Ancestor of the Zhao family, was actually forced to this point!

But he knew better than anyone what the consequences of not handing her over would be.

The Imperial Dynasty's ten-thousand-year foundation could not be destroyed in a single day!

As long as he was still alive, as long as the plan could ultimately succeed...

The footsteps stopped.

Nightmare's figure was now hovering outside the Imperial Capital's defensive Formation, level with the city wall.

His cold gaze pierced through the Formation's light barrier, landing directly on Zhao Wuji in the deep palace.

There were no words, no threats; he simply raised his right hand slowly.

The Power of Annihilation condensed at his fingertips, and a point of extreme pitch-black began to shine.

The destructive energy contained within caused the entire Imperial Capital's defensive Formation to emit a piercing wail, its light flickering violently, on the verge of collapse!

The final ultimatum, silent yet more pressuring than any words!

Zhao Wuji slammed his eyes shut and took a deep breath.

When he opened them again, only defeat and a trace of deeply hidden malice remained.

His voice was dry and hoarse, but using his magic power, it spread throughout the entire Imperial Capital: "...Open the Formation."

"Your Majesty!" "Old Ancestor!" Countless exclamations rang out.

"I said... open the Formation!" Zhao Wuji practically roared through gritted teeth.

The Cultivators operating the Formation dared not disobey and tremblingly cast the incantation.

Hum... The light barrier shrouding the Imperial Capital flickered violently a few times before slowly dissipating.

Nightmare withdrew his hand and flashed, appearing in the next moment directly inside the Imperial Palace's main hall, standing before Zhao Wuji and a group of shivering royal relatives and ministers.

An invisible pressure permeated the area; no one dared to look him in the eye, and they all lowered their heads, some even collapsing directly to the ground.

"Where is she?" Nightmare's voice was calm, yet carried an unquestionable majesty.

Zhao Wuji's face was ashen, and he raised his hand with difficulty, pointing toward the depths of the inner palace: "The... the Nine Underworld Soul-Devouring Prison... at the very bottom... beside the core altar... sealed with ten-thousand-year profound ice..."

Nightmare's divine sense instantly swept in the direction indicated.

Sure enough, deep underground, he felt a faint yet exceptionally pure Nine-Orifice Exquisite aura, sealed by powerful ice energy and evil runes.

He cast a cold glance at Zhao Wuji: "Lead the way."

Zhao Wuji's body trembled; he dared not refuse, so he stumbled to his feet and led the way.

A group of high-ranking Imperial Dynasty officials followed behind like quails, silent as cicadas in winter.

Passing through layers of heavily guarded passages and going deep underground, the further down they went, the heavier the Yin evil Qi became, mixed with a rich smell of blood and Void Realm energy.

Finally, they arrived at an extremely vast underground space.

The scene here was even more terrifying and shocking than the altar in the Dragon Burial Mountain Range.

An even larger, more complex pitch-black altar stood in the center, the runes carved upon it twisting and writhing as if they were living creatures.

Below the altar were nine huge Blood Pools, where the "sacrifices" soaked inside were more numerous and their auras even more powerful, with no lack of Soul Transformation Stage Cultivators!

Their life force and Soul Power were being frantically extracted and injected into the altar.

At the top of the altar, an unstable, small black vortex was slowly rotating, emitting a heart-palpitating suction force.

Beside the altar stood a massive block of ten-thousand-year profound ice, engraved with countless sealing runes.

Sealed within the profound ice was a woman dressed in white, with a stunningly beautiful face but no color in her complexion.

Her eyes were closed, as if she had fallen into a deep slumber, and her body emitted a pure Nine-Orifice Exquisite aura, which was being extracted bit by bit by the altar's power to stabilize that black vortex.

It was none other than Su Wanqing!

Seeing this, the coldness in Nightmare's eyes instantly surged, and the Power of Annihilation around his body leaked out uncontrollably, causing the temperature of the entire underground space to plummet, even causing the burning blood flames to freeze!

Zhao Wuji and the others felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar, scared to the point of their Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.

"Ye... Fellow Daoist Ye... she is right here... we will undo the Seal immediately..." Zhao Wuji said hurriedly, signaling the priests beside him.

"Get lost."

Nightmare said coldly, ignoring the priests completely.

He walked to the profound ice, his divine sense instantly analyzing the structure of all the Seals.

The Power of Annihilation flickered at his fingertips, precisely tapping onto several key rune nodes.

Crack... Crack... Those incredibly sturdy Seals, which the Imperial Dynasty had spent tremendous effort to set up, were like rotten wood under the Power of Annihilation, rapidly disintegrating and dissipating.

Nightmare gently pressed a palm against the profound ice, his power controlled to the pinnacle of perfection.

The ten-thousand-year profound ice instantly turned into powder, yet it did not harm Su Wanqing inside in the slightest.

He reached out and gently gathered the unconscious Su Wanqing into his arms.

His divine sense carefully checked her condition, and his brows furrowed slightly.

Her life was not in danger, but her Soul Power was severely depleted.

Moreover, a deeply hidden tracking mark had been planted deep within her Soul, and it had a vicious connection to the altar.

If he were to forcibly take her away or attempt to erase it, it would immediately alert the existence behind the altar, and might even detonate the mark, severely damaging Su Wanqing's Soul.

What a vicious method!

Murderous intent flashed in Nightmare's eyes as he instantly mobilized his Law power.

More exquisite Annihilation runes quietly surged into Su Wanqing's body, not to forcibly erase the mark, but to use a higher-level Law power to completely isolate, wrap, and freeze the tracking mark, causing it to temporarily lose effect without triggering any reaction.

After finishing all this, he felt slightly relieved.

He held Su Wanqing, turned around, and his cold gaze swept once again toward the silent Zhao Wuji and the others, finally landing on the evil altar that was still operating.

"This filthy thing has no need to exist."

He casually raised his free hand and made a grasping motion in the air toward that massive altar.

"Annihilation... Return to Nothingness."

Hum!

The entire altar, along with the nine Blood Pools, as well as all the sacrifices, energy, and even that twisted Void Realm vortex within, were like being grasped by an invisible hand and violently compressed inward!

There was no explosion, no light, only extreme annihilation!

Amidst a teeth-grinding sound of distortion, that massive and terrifying altar, along with all the evil upon it, was forcibly compressed into an insignificant black dot under the desperate gazes of Zhao Wuji and the others, then disappeared completely, as if it had never existed.

In its place, only a smooth, hemispherical pit remained.

The core altar, which the Imperial Dynasty had spent countless resources and sacrificed countless lives to build, had now vanished into nothingness.

Zhao Wuji's vision went dark, and he spat out another mouthful of blood, his aura completely wilting.

He knew that the Imperial Dynasty's plan was finished! At least for the short term, it was completely finished!

Nightmare didn't even bother to look at them again.

Holding Su Wanqing, his figure slowly faded and merged directly into the Void Realm, disappearing without a trace.

Only the deathly silent underground space remained, along with a group of high-ranking Imperial Dynasty officials who looked ashen-faced and Soul-lost.

The Imperial Dynasty had completely bowed its head today!

And Nightmare, with the rescued woman, drifted away.

In the Void Realm, Nightmare looked at the still-unconscious Su Wanqing in his arms, his cold gaze softening slightly.

"Wan Qing, rest well. By the time you wake up, I will have swept away all filth for you."

His figure headed toward the distance.

After this battle, the Imperial Dynasty existed in name only, the Shadow Clan had suffered heavy losses, and the landscape of this world had been completely altered.

The era belonging to Nightmare had truly arrived.