The Venerable One descends, and a fierce battle ensues in the void.

Above the Void Realm floating island, the colossal black vortex resembled a giant eye from the abyss, coldly gazing downwards. Several terrifying wills intertwined, condensing into a tangible pressure that made the space of the entire floating island seem to wail and distort. Su Wanqing's face was pale. Under such pressure, she felt like a small boat in a storm; if not for Nightmare's Domain protection, her Divine Soul would have long since shattered.

The hoarse, ancient voice sounded again, carrying a hint of cat-and-mouse playfulness and absolute arrogance:

"Humble Dao stealer, you have stolen the authority of Nirvana and disrupted the Void Realm's order. You shall suffer extreme punishment."

"Offer your rule fragment, and perhaps your true spirit may be allowed Reincarnation."

As the voice faded, three enormous claws, composed entirely of pure shadow and Void Realm energy, slowly extended from the vortex. These three claws differed slightly in form: one was wreathed in countless wailing vengeful spirits and curses, another pulsed with ultimate darkness that devoured light, and the last seemed to be made of twisted space itself, exuding an aura that could tear apart anything. Their might, each one, far surpassed that of the previous Shadow Emperor. They were clearly three Shadow Clan Venerables who had reached the Late Stage Hedao or even Peak!

Their target was clear: Nightmare's rule fragment and nirvana dao seed!

Nightmare's eyes were as cold as ten thousand years of profound ice, yet he felt no fear, only boiling Battle Intent and killing intent. The rule fragment operated at an unprecedented speed, frantically analyzing the opponent's power composition and the stability of the Void Realm vortex.

"Shadowy Specters hiding your faces, do you dare speak of judgment?" Nightmare's voice was calm, yet it carried a decisive sharpness. "You wish to seize my dao foundation? With just a few projections, you are not enough!"

He saw through them at a glance; what had arrived were not the true bodies of the Shadow Clan Venerables, but projected Clones that had descended through some powerful ritual. Although their strength was formidable, they were not unbeatable!

"Arrogant!"

"Seeking death!"

The beings behind the vortex were enraged. The three giant shadow claws no longer hesitated, striking at Nightmare simultaneously with world-destroying power! One claw aimed for his head, to tear apart his Divine Soul; another for his Dantian, to seize his dao seed; and the last for the rule fragment, to forcibly strip it away!

Before the attacks even landed, the terrifying pressure had already caused Nightmare's surrounding Annihilation Domain to violently tremble, and the floating island beneath his feet began to disintegrate over large areas!

"Senior Brother!" Su Wanqing exclaimed, her beautiful eyes filled with worry.

"It's fine, stay put." Nightmare calmly instructed, then a fierce glint flashed in his eyes.

"Nirvana: Three Origins United!"

He formed an abstruse hand seal, the rule fragment shone brightly, the nirvana dao seed above his head pulsed violently, and a massive amount of Nirvana Origin gushed forth, highly condensed with his own magical power and the power of the rule fragment, forming three gray-black Nirvana Divine Lights before him!

These three Divine Lights had distinctly different properties! One contained the ultimate death intent of "all things wither," one contained the purifying power of "Reincarnation and rebirth," and the last was the purest "Void Realm Devour!"

The three Divine Lights precisely met the three giant shadow claws!

Hiss—!

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only intense collisions and erosion at the Law level! Where light and shadow intertwined, space silently annihilated and regenerated, as if engaged in the most brutal tug-of-war!

The vengeful spirit curse claw, struck by the "all things wither" Divine Light, had its countless attached vengeful spirits rapidly dissipate with shrill screams, like ice and snow scorched by the blazing sun. The giant claw itself also became dim and lusterless!

The devouring darkness claw collided head-on with the "Void Realm Devour" Divine Light. The two were like black holes devouring each other, locked in a stalemate, frantically plundering each other's energy!

And the space-tearing claw was entangled by the "Reincarnation and rebirth" Divine Light. The tearing Law upon it was continuously resolved and guided by the power of Reincarnation, falling into a strange cycle, greatly reducing its power!

"What?!"

"He can actually resist the projections of three Venerables simultaneously?"

"What kind of power is that? It can even restrain our clan's Origin Shadow Curse?"

From behind the vortex came several startled and uncertain mental fluctuations. Clearly, the strength and the strange Nirvana Law displayed by Nightmare had exceeded their expectations.

"Hmph! Projections are projections after all! If your true bodies had descended, I might have needed to temporarily avoid your edge, but now... break for me!"

Nightmare let out a long cry, the rule fragment's computing power unleashed fully, instantly finding subtle flaws in the energy circulation of the three giant claws! He fiercely urged the nirvana dao seed, and the power of the three Nirvana Divine Lights surged dramatically!

Crack! Crack! Bang!

The three giant shadow claws almost simultaneously emitted groans of unbearable strain, then shattered one after another, turning into chaotic shadow energy filling the sky!

"Pfft!"

"Damn it!"

Muffled grunts and angry shouts came from behind the vortex. Evidently, with their projections destroyed, the opponents also suffered some backlash.

Nightmare, having gained the upper hand, showed no mercy. The rule fragment instantly locked onto the massive black vortex itself!

"You hit me and now you want to run? Leave something behind for me!"

He cupped his hands, and the power of the rule fragment and the nirvana dao seed converged frantically. A gray-black energy sphere, within which countless miniature Universes seemed to be born and destroyed, and which emitted an aura that made the entire Void Realm tremble, rapidly took shape!

"Nirvana... Grand Annihilation!"

He fiercely pushed this terrifying energy sphere towards the black vortex!

"Not good! Quickly cut the connection!" The beings behind the vortex roared in alarm and anger.

However, it was too late!

The Nirvana energy sphere silently submerged into the center of the vortex. The next moment—

Buzz!!!

The entire vortex suddenly stagnated, then began to frantically collapse inward at an incredible speed! It was as if all the energy, Laws, and even the concept of existence within it were forcibly swallowed and annihilated by that Nirvana energy sphere!

"Ah—!"

"Rule thief! We will remember you!"

"When our true bodies descend, we will make you sink into eternal damnation!"

Amidst roars and curses filled with pain and unwillingness, the massive black vortex was forcibly collapsed into an insignificant black dot, eventually disappearing completely!

Only three extremely pure, but largely spiritless, wisps of shadow Origin energy, and a few faintly glowing crystals containing special spatial fluctuations, remained. Nightmare's rule fragment swept them up and collected them.

The Void Realm returned to calm, as if the terrifying vortex and the Shadow Clan Venerables had never appeared.

Only the severely damaged floating island beneath their feet proved the brief but perilous battle that had just occurred.

Nightmare slowly exhaled a turbid breath, his face slightly pale. Simultaneously confronting the projections of three Late Stage Hedao or higher beings and forcibly annihilating their descent channel had been extremely taxing for him. The rule fragment's light had even dimmed a few shades.

"Senior Brother, are you alright?" Su Wanqing quickly flew forward, asking with concern, her beautiful eyes filled with shock and lingering fear. The level of that battle had completely surpassed her comprehension.

"I'm fine, just a bit exhausted." Nightmare shook his head, the rule fragment scanning the spoils of war in his hand. The three wisps of shadow Origin energy were of extremely high quality, enough to elevate the rule fragment's analysis of shadow Law to a higher level. The few spatial crystals were even better Materials, crucial for stabilizing ultra-long-distance spatial channels: "Void Anchors," priceless treasures.

"This place is not safe for long. The Shadow Clan suffered a loss and will certainly not let it go. They might use other means to track us." Nightmare's rule fragment scanned the surrounding Void Realm. The battle fluctuations just now were too great and likely attracted the attention of some Void Realm creatures or other entities.

He glanced at the mine, and the rule fragment fiercely sucked, forcibly stripping the remaining large portion of the Void Realm crystal mine, along with the Void Gazer stones, into the rule fragment space, leaving only some dregs.

"Let's go."

He took Su Wanqing's hand, and the rule fragment activated the spatial Law.

However, just as he was about to tear space and leave, the rule fragment and the System once again issued a warning!

[Warning! Detecting extremely high priority distress signal! Signal source encoding: Qianyuan Pavilion Highest Emergency Order!]

[Signal content: Imperial Capital upheaval! Zhao Wuji gone mad! Activating Blood Sacrifice... Su... flee quickly...]

[Signal source coordinates: Tianxuan Continent, Imperial Capital, Qianyuan Pavilion Headquarters underground... Signal extremely weak, about to be interrupted...]

Nightmare's movement abruptly paused, and a cold glint burst forth in his eyes!

Qianyuan Pavilion? The organization that provided him with information? Why would they issue a distress signal? And the Highest Emergency Order? The content seemed to be related to Su Wanqing? Zhao Wuji gone mad? Activating Blood Sacrifice?

A very ominous premonition surged in his heart.

"Senior Brother?" Su Wanqing felt Nightmare's suddenly chilling aura and asked uneasily.

Nightmare's gaze was as sharp as a blade, instantly changing the spatial coordinates and locking onto the direction of the Tianxuan Continent's Imperial Capital!

"Something happened in the Imperial Capital! We're going back immediately!"

Space was forcibly torn apart, and their figures instantly disappeared into it, rushing towards the Imperial Capital, where new turmoil had arisen!

The recently calmed storm seemed to be sweeping back with even greater intensity!