Five Golden Elixir Encircles, Void Array Activated

Five powerful auras, like five invisible mountains, pressed down from different directions, as if solidifying the space around Nightmare!

Ahead lay the source of that unknown and dangerous spatial fluctuation, while behind and on both sides were lethal pursuers—truly, there was no path to the heavens, no door to the earth!

The leader, a Middle Golden Core Cultivator, was an old man with a sinister face and eyes like a venomous snake. He did not wear gray; instead, he was dressed in a dark purple robe, his aura even deeper and more terrifying than that of Shadow Fiend before!

He locked onto Nightmare with the rule fragment, as if watching a flying insect trapped in a spider web.

"Hand over the fragment and seal your cultivation, and you may keep your corpse intact." The purple-robed old man's voice was calm, yet carried an unquestionable majesty. The pressure from the rule fragment surged toward Nightmare like a tidal wave, attempting to crush his will directly.

The other four Early Golden Core Stage Cultivators (including the archer) dispersed to the four directions, their rule fragments interweaving to completely seal off all possible escape routes for Nightmare. The light from the Magical Artifacts in their hands flickered, filled with murderous intent.

Facing such a desperate situation, Nightmare, with the rule fragment, instead fell into a state of extreme coldness and calm. Fear and despair had been extinguished in his trials of life and death; at this moment, within his rule fragment, there was only calculation and… an indomitable determination!

A direct confrontation meant certain death!

The only chance of survival, perhaps, lay at the source of that spatial fluctuation, and… in this half-fragment in his bosom!

Just as the purple-robed old man's rule fragment pressure was about to descend upon him, Nightmare, with the rule fragment, suddenly triggered the Chaos Seed—not to resist, but to… resonate!

He used the rule fragment to frantically stimulate the "Void Imprint" within the half-fragment in his bosom, while simultaneously using the rule fragment to simulate the Eclipse Moon energy characteristics he had previously devoured and analyzed. Mixing them with his own Chaos Qi, he formed a strange fluctuation that carried the meaning of a "key," slamming it fiercely toward the spatial fluctuation coming from afar!

He was gambling! Gambling that this fragment was the key to opening the land ahead! Gambling that the Eshi Yue Organization had set up a Formation here, one that was not yet fully successful and required this "key"! Gambling that this hasty "door-opening" would trigger some kind of variable!

"Courting death!" The purple-robed old man sensed Nightmare's actions, a cold light flashing in his eyes. Without further hesitation, he triggered the rule fragment, and a giant ghost claw condensed from dark energy, covering the sky and sun, clawed down toward Nightmare!

The claw wind was sharp; before it even touched him, it made the skin all over Nightmare's body feel a bone-chilling coldness and a sensation of being torn apart!

The other four Early Golden Core Stage Cultivators also attacked simultaneously! Arrows, chains, poisonous miasma, and soul spikes—four lethal attacks struck from different directions, completely submerging the space where Nightmare was located!

At this critical moment— Hum!!!

A tremendous humming sound, as if coming from the ancient primordial era and piercing through time and space, suddenly exploded from the source of the spatial fluctuation deep in the Gobi!

The half-fragment in Nightmare's bosom erupted with unprecedented, brilliant silver light! A thick beam of silver light, like a bridge, instantly connected the fragment to the distance!

Immediately following, centered on the source of the spatial fluctuation, a massive, infinitely complex silver Formation pattern suddenly lit up on the Gobi! Countless silver runes seemed to come alive, flying and combining in the air! Violent spatial power raged like a bursting flood, illuminating the entire Black Wind Gobi as if it were daylight!

Rumble—!

The earth trembled violently, and the sky twisted! The ghost claw slammed down by the purple-robed old man, as well as the attacks of the four Early Golden Core Stage Cultivators, were easily torn apart and scrambled like paper in the face of this sudden, terrifying spatial storm! Violent Spatial Turbulence swept in all directions, forcing the five Golden Core Cultivators to use the rule fragment to urge their magical power, stabilizing their figures to resist this indiscriminate spatial tearing!

"Damn it! He forcibly activated the peripheral Formation eye!" The purple-robed old man was both shocked and angry. He had not expected Nightmare to be so resolute, and even less did he expect that the fragment could trigger such a violent Formation reaction! This disrupted their meticulously laid plans!

Meanwhile, Nightmare, who was at the center of the storm, felt an irresistible, tremendous suction force coming from the center of the Formation the moment the fragment's silver light erupted! He used the rule fragment to trigger the Chaos Seed and the spiritual charm of the void lotus seed. Instead of resisting, he went with the flow, using the rule fragment to firmly protect himself and the rule fragment space, like a fish diving into a torrent, following the guidance of the silver light beam, and threw himself fiercely toward the core of the Formation!

"Stop him!" The purple-robed old man roared. He used the rule fragment to force his way against the spatial storm, the rule fragment transforming into a giant hand that grabbed toward Nightmare, but it grabbed at nothing! Nightmare's figure had already been swallowed by the brilliant silver light, disappearing into the center of the violently operating Formation!

The next moment, the massive silver Formation erupted with one last blinding flash, and then all the runes suddenly contracted inward, along with the violent spatial power, collapsing toward a single point at the core, and finally disappeared completely!

On the Gobi, only a smooth, mirror-like circular scorched mark with a diameter exceeding a hundred zhang remained, along with five Eshi Yue Golden Core Cultivators whose faces were livid and whose rule fragments were damaged.

Nightmare, along with that half-fragment, had vanished together.

"Elder… he… he entered the 'Void Rift'…" The Early Golden Core Stage archer looked at the empty, scorched ground, his voice carrying a trace of trembling.

The purple-robed old man's face was so gloomy it seemed it could drip water. He used the rule fragment to sweep over the traces where the thick spatial fluctuation remained, his rule fragment filled with shock and anger, and even a trace of disbelief.

The Void Rift was an unstable spatial channel that they had been trying to stabilize and control by utilizing ancient, remaining Formation bases and expending countless resources. It connected to an unknown Secret Realm that could contain great Opportunity or be filled with great terror! Originally, they had planned to take several more days to collect enough Star-Shining Sand and void stones to completely stabilize the channel, but they had not expected Nightmare to use the fragment as a guide to forcibly activate it early and break in!

"This brat… must not be left alive!" The purple-robed old man's rule fragment was boiling with murderous intent. "Pass down the order: send more men to collect Star-Shining Sand and void stones! We must stabilize the channel as soon as possible! Having entered inside, he may not necessarily survive! Even if he does survive, we must lay a net of heaven and earth before he comes out!"

…Wrapped in endless silver light, Nightmare felt himself rapidly traveling through a bizarre channel filled with spatial fragments and Spatial Turbulence. His rule fragment bore immense pressure, and the Chaos Seed spun frantically, resisting the squeezing and tearing of the surrounding space. The fragment in his bosom emitted a stable silver glow, like a lighthouse, guiding the direction and neutralizing most of the spatial damage.

He did not know how much time had passed—perhaps an instant, perhaps an eternity.

Bang!

He fell heavily onto the solid ground, his bones aching as if they were falling apart, and a wave of weakness came from his rule fragment.

He used the rule fragment to vigilantly sweep the surroundings instantly.

Before his eyes was not the expected Secret Realm paradise, but a land… incomparably desolate, dead silent, and broken!

The sky was dark red, without sun, moon, or stars; only twisted ribbons of light hung like wounds. The earth was cracked and dry, covered in bottomless ravines, and in the distance were continuous, broken mountain ranges that looked like the spines of giant beasts. The air was filled with a dense energy fluctuation that was of the same origin as the rule fragment, but was older, more chaotic, and filled with a destructive aura! The Spiritual Qi (or rather, some unknown energy) here was far more active than in the Land of Absolute Spirit, but it was filled with violence and ominousness!

The rule fragment's perception was greatly suppressed here, only able to extend a few hundred zhang.

"Is this… the place the Eshi Yue Organization was trying to connect to?" Nightmare's rule fragment felt heavy. From this world, he sensed a kind of decay and despair that was nearly that of a "world wreck." This was by no means some blessed land, but more like a… ruin of an ancient battlefield? Or perhaps, a fragment of a world on the verge of destruction?

He used the rule fragment to look at his hand. After entering this place, the silver light of the half-fragment had retracted, but the patterns on its surface had become clearer, even faintly resonating with the energy of this world.

Suddenly, the rule fragment issued a warning!

From a pile of rubble on the left, a black shadow lunged out like lightning! It was a monster shaped like a lizard, but its entire body was covered in black bone armor, and corrosive mucus dripped from its mouth! Its aura was ferocious, shockingly reaching the Foundation Establishment Peak!

Nightmare's rule fragment was cold, and he used the rule fragment to trigger his attack, just preparing to strike.

Swish!

A sharp, crimson sword aura carrying a scorching aura, like a celestial immortal flying from beyond the heavens, arrived after, yet struck first, shooting with pinpoint accuracy into the monster's wide-open mouth and piercing through its skull!

The monster let out a wail, fell heavily to the ground, twitched twice, and then lost all sound. Nightmare's rule fragment moved slightly, and he turned his head to look.

He saw that on a broken hill not far away, standing there at some unknown time was a woman dressed in crimson tight-fitting attire, holding a flaming longsword, her features picturesque yet carrying a cold, heroic spirit. She used the rule fragment to sweep over Nightmare, a trace of surprise and scrutiny flashing in her eyes.

"A newcomer?" The woman spoke, her voice crisp but carrying a trace of imperceptible fatigue and vigilance. "To be able to survive passing through the 'Chaotic Rift,' your luck is not bad. However, in this place, luck won't keep you alive for long."