Returning with a full load, the star map has changed.

Deep within the Void Swamp, the spatial storm triggered by the Great Annihilation slowly subsided, leaving behind a pitch-black hole that was still slowly mending, proving the brief yet intense battle that had just occurred. The floating island had collapsed, and the silver spring eye had dried up and vanished.

Nightmare used the rule fragment to scoop up the head-sized silver lotus seed, which contained the lifelong essence of the Void Ancient Lotus, as well as the three mature void lotus seeds. Feeling the majestic and pure spatial energy and life Origin within them, he was quite satisfied. The harvest this time far exceeded expectations; not only had he found the void lotus seeds needed for Su Wanqing's healing, but he had also obtained this lotus seed with infinite potential. If he could refine or cultivate it, it would be of great benefit to his comprehension of spatial Law and even his future opening of his own Small World.

"This place is not suitable for staying long." Nightmare scanned the surroundings; the commotion of the battle just now was too great, and he feared it had already attracted the attention of other powerful existences deep in the swamp. He pulled Su Wanqing up, used the rule fragment to trigger spatial Law, and without caring about energy fluctuations, directly tore through space and teleported toward the outer perimeter of the swamp.

The return journey was much smoother than the journey there. Perhaps it was the lingering might of the Void Ancient Lotus's fall, or perhaps because Nightmare was no longer deliberately hiding his aura, the majestic pressure of his Late Stage Hedao made the void creatures that sensed him along the way retreat, not daring to approach. Occasionally, a few blind idiots tried to intercept them, but they were turned into fly ash by the Annihilation Finger Force that Nightmare casually struck out.

Before long, the two rushed out of that bizarre Void Swamp and returned to the relatively "normal" outer starry sky of the chaotic Star Sea.

Nightmare took out the gray-black flying boat, and the two entered it. The flying boat started and sped away in the direction of Thousand Streams Star Port.

Inside the cabin, Nightmare handed the three void lotus seeds to Su Wanqing: "This item contains pure spatial power and life essence, which is very beneficial for stabilizing your cultivation and nourishing your Soul. Keep it safe, and refine it after returning to a safe place."

"Thank you, Senior Brother!" Su Wanqing happily took the void lotus seeds. She could clearly feel the gentle and vast energy within them, which indeed had a miraculous effect on repairing the Soul Power she had previously depleted.

Nightmare himself held the silver lotus seed and used the rule fragment to investigate it deeply. The internal structure of this lotus seed was extremely complex, as if it contained a miniature void Universe, and at its core, there was a trace of extremely weak Innate spirituality belonging to that ancient lotus that had not yet been completely extinguished.

"rule fragment, analyze the best plan for refining or cultivating this lotus seed."

[Command confirmed. Analyzing... Target: Void Ancient Lotus Seed (Innate Spiritual Object).]

[Plan 1: Direct refinement. Can extract the spatial Origin and life essence within, significantly enhancing the Host's spatial Law comprehension and life level, with a chance to obtain the 'Void Affinity' Physique. Risk: May waste its growth potential, and the refining process requires resisting the backlash of the residual spirituality within.]

[Plan 2: Find a suitable carrier (e.g., Small World prototype, life planet core, high-level cave paradise) for cultivation. Can cultivate a new Void Ancient Lotus, with higher long-term returns, but requires consuming a large amount of resources and time, and the cultivation conditions are harsh.]

[Plan 3: Based on the rule fragment space, inject the world tree seedling's life Origin for catalytic cultivation. Success rate: 78%. Advantages: Can perfectly control its growth direction and form a symbiotic and complementary relationship with the rule fragment and the world tree seedling. This plan is recommended.]

Cultivating in the rule fragment space? Nightmare's heart stirred. This was a good idea. The internal space of the rule fragment was mysterious and incomparable, and the life Origin of the world tree seedling was the top-tier nourishing object in the world. If successful, this lotus seed might become a great help to his rule fragment space in the future, or even evolve into a real void world.

"Execute according to Plan 3. rule fragment, start building the cultivation environment and call upon the world tree seedling's Origin for gentle catalysis."

[Command confirmed. Starting to build 'Void Hotbed'... Calling upon World Tree Origin (trace amount)... Injecting into lotus seed... Catalytic program started... Estimated initial activation time: 30 standard days.]

Feeling the silver lotus seed inside the rule fragment space wrapped in soft emerald light, floating in a complex Formation composed of Annihilation runes and spatial Law, and starting to slowly absorb energy, Nightmare nodded with satisfaction.

After finishing with the harvest, Nightmare turned his attention to the star sequence compass. After a hundred years of seclusion and the trip to the Void Swamp, it was time to check the monitoring logs.

He used the rule fragment to connect to the compass and retrieved the records from the recent period.

Most of them were routine energy fluctuations in the marked areas deep in the Chaos Frontier, with no abnormalities. However, when his gaze swept over the monitoring runes representing the area near the "Meteorite Belt," his eyes narrowed slightly.

He saw that the energy markers in that area presented an extremely strange, intermittent "highlight" state! It was not a continuous energy explosion, but rather as if something was intermittently "devouring" the energy of that area with extremely high efficiency, causing the monitoring runes to dim briefly the moment they were "devoured," and then light up again due to energy replenishment, repeating this to form a strange flashing pattern!

This pattern was by no means a natural phenomenon! It was more like a conscious, high-efficiency energy collection behavior! Moreover, its "devouring" efficiency was shockingly high, far exceeding that of ordinary Cultivators or even known void creatures!

Thinking of the "weird shadow in the Meteorite Belt" that Angelica had mentioned before, as well as Ector's warning about the "god devourer," Nightmare's heart sank slightly.

Could it be... that Ector's unfortunate prediction had really come true? Had an unknown existence, suspected to be a "god devourer," already extended its tentacles to the edge of the Myriad Laws Star Domain?

"rule fragment, deeply analyze the abnormal energy pattern of the Meteorite Belt and compare it with the records of high-dimensional energy collection characteristics in the primal cube and Ector's database."

[Command confirmed. Analyzing... Pattern matching degree: 31% similarity with the operating characteristics of the 'Low-Efficiency Dimensional Energy Extraction Device' recorded in the 'Primal' database... 65% matching degree with the suspected 'god devourer' activity residual shadow (rapid energy disappearance phenomenon) recorded by Ector...]

[Warning! Cannot be fully confirmed, but there is a high risk! It is recommended to be vigilant and avoid direct contact!]

Cannot be fully confirmed, but the risk is high!

Nightmare's eyes became sharp. He had originally planned to find a way to other big worlds or collect items like star tears with the help of Hundred Knowledge Pavilion's intelligence after obtaining the void lotus seeds. But now, this potential threat forced him to reconsider his plan.

He had to go and confirm it! At the very least, he had to figure out what that thing was! If it really was a "god devourer" or its creation, then its threat level would far exceed that of the Imperial Dynasty or the Shadow Clan, and it might even endanger the entire Myriad Laws Star Domain! He could not sit idly by, and furthermore, this might also be related to his own future safety.

"Change course." Nightmare ordered the rule fragment, "Target, outer perimeter of the Meteorite Belt. Maintain the highest stealth state, we... are going to take a look."

The flying boat drew an imperceptible arc in the starry sky, changed its course, and like a ghost, silently sailed toward the Star Domain that might be hiding a huge crisis.

A new storm seemed to be brewing. And Nightmare was about to step into it voluntarily.