The formation is broken, and the old enemy reappears.

The scene in the Core Zone was vastly different from the outskirts. Although it was still broken, large tracts of land floated in the air, with remnants of mountains and rivers upon them. The sky was no longer pure darkness but flowed with starlight like a galaxy, illuminating this dead, silent land into something dreamlike and illusory. The Spiritual Qi was extremely dense; every breath felt like inhaling liquid spiritual energy, mixed with the Power of the Stars that made the dao seed leap with joy.

Nightmare landed, stepping onto the hard, cold rock that shimmered with starlight. He could clearly feel that his dao seed was like a parched land meeting sweet rain, crazily absorbing the surrounding Spiritual Qi of the stars. Deep within its core, a point of silver light was gradually igniting and growing; that was the sign of the Awakening of the star attribute.

"With the Power of the Stars so dense here, the star remnant core must not be far." Nightmare looked around, and based on the dao seed's subtle sensing of the Power of the Stars and the general direction of the star remnant coordinates, he selected a direction where the flow of Spiritual Qi was more concentrated and prepared to move forward.

However, he had not flown even a hundred miles when a sudden, intense fluctuation of spiritual energy burst forth from a broken mountain canyon ahead. Immediately following, a dozen figures rose into the air, quickly spreading out in a fan shape and faintly surrounding him.

The leader was an old man in green Daoist robes with a face like a red date. His aura was thick and powerful, clearly that of a Late Golden Core Stage Cultivator. Behind him followed over a dozen young Disciples, mostly at the mid-to-late Foundation Establishment Stage, wearing uniform green robes with sun patterns embroidered on the cuffs—the mark of the Qingyang Sect!

Nightmare narrowed his eyes; he had not expected to run into "acquaintances" here. His deeds of destroying the Profound Heaven Sect and severely damaging the Qingyang Sect had clearly spread far and wide. Looking at their posture, this was definitely not a chance encounter.

"So it really is you, Devil Head!" The Qingyang Sect Elder’s gaze was like lightning, locked firmly onto Nightmare, his eyes filled with hatred and killing intent. "Nightmare! You slaughtered fellow practitioners and destroyed our Qingyang Sect’s mountain gate; your crimes are unforgivable! Here in the core of this remnant world, let's see where you can escape to today!"

He had clearly recognized Nightmare. The Qingyang Sect belonged to the Righteous Path Alliance alongside the Profound Heaven Sect, and Nightmare’s "evil deeds" had long been exaggerated and spread, so his portrait had naturally circulated widely as well.

Nightmare stood with his hands behind his back, his expression indifferent. "Escape? With just you bunch of motley fools?" He swept his Divine Sense out and had already taken in the other side's strength. One Late Golden Core Stage Cultivator and a dozen Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators were truly insignificant before his Peak Late Nascent Soul Stage strength and his mastery of the Starfall Demonic Flame.

"Arrogant!" The Qingyang Sect Elder shouted angrily. "Disciples, listen to my command! Set up the 'Qingyang Demon-Locking Formation'! Trap and kill this fiend here to avenge our Sect's fallen Disciples and clear the obstacles for Fellow Daoist Lin Hao!"

Lin Hao? A thought stirred in Nightmare's heart. So this group was acting on Lin Hao’s commission, or rather, under the influence of Lin Hao’s "destiny," they had come voluntarily to help him search for treasure.

"What did Lin Hao ask you to find here?" Nightmare asked coldly.

"Hmph, a dead man need not ask! Fellow Daoist Lin Hao is the son of destiny, guided by the Heavenly Dao itself, coming to search for the 'Star Secret Treasure' to increase his cultivation and uphold the Righteous Path! You, this Devil Head, must also be coveting the secret treasure in your delusional dreams!" The Qingyang Sect Elder directed his Disciples to set up the Formation while shouting sternly, "Attack!"

The dozen Qingyang Sect Disciples moved quickly, each taking their position, casting incantations with their hands. Streaks of green light rose from their bodies, connecting with each other to form a massive cage burning with green flames in the air, which then descended toward Nightmare. This "Qingyang Demon-Locking Formation" was one of the Qingyang Sect’s town-guarding Formations, specifically designed to counter Demonic Path Cultivation Techniques, capable of sealing spiritual energy and burning the Divine Soul.

At the same time, the Qingyang Sect Elder also launched a fierce attack. Knowing Nightmare’s fierce reputation, he dared not be the least bit careless and used a killing blow right from the start. He held his hands in a hollow embrace, and an intensely scorching green ball of light condensed in his palms, emitting a terrifying high temperature capable of boiling seas and burning mountains.

"Qingyang True Fire, burn the heavens and boil the seas! Go!"

The green ball of light transformed into a line of fire, striking first despite being launched later, shooting straight at Nightmare’s face! This Qingyang True Fire was refined from solar essence fire, extremely Yang and rigid, specifically designed to break through Yin-evil Devilish Qi, and possessed immense power.

Facing the descending Formation cage and the incoming Qingyang True Fire, Nightmare did not even lift an eyelid.

"Trifling tricks."

He did not even use a Magic Treasure, just casually raised his right hand and pressed forward lightly.

"Whoosh—!"

The deep, dark Starfall Demonic Flame, dotted with brilliant starlight, erupted from his palm! As soon as this flame appeared, the surrounding temperature did not rise; instead, a cold, nihilistic feeling spread out.

It first made contact with the Qingyang True Fire. That extremely Yang and rigid green flame, the moment it touched the Starfall Demonic Flame, seemed to have met its nemesis! The green flame fluctuated violently, then dimmed and shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye, its solar essence energy being domineeringly devoured and converted by the Starfall Demonic Flame!

"What?!" The Qingyang Sect Elder’s pupils shrank, his face filled with disbelief. His Qingyang True Fire was invincible, yet today it was so easily countered by the opponent?

Immediately after, the Starfall Demonic Flame met the descending "Qingyang Demon-Locking Formation." That green flame cage, set up by a dozen Foundation Establishment Stage Disciples and capable of trapping and killing ordinary Golden Core Cultivators, sizzled the moment it touched the Starfall Demonic Flame like snow meeting a scorching sun, rapidly dissolving and collapsing! The Disciples setting up the Formation all spat out blood simultaneously, and under the backlash of the Formation, they fell to the ground, heavily injured.

In just one exchange, the Qingyang Sect’s long-prepared ambush was effortlessly broken by Nightmare!

"Late... Nascent Soul Stage?! You actually broke through!" The Qingyang Sect Elder finally realized in horror that the Spiritual Pressure radiating from Nightmare was far beyond what the intelligence reports described as Golden Core or Early Nascent Soul Stage; it was clearly the terrifying aura of a Late Nascent Soul Stage, perhaps even nearing the Peak! Coupled with that strange and powerful new flame...

Fear instantly gripped his heart.

"Run!" He made a split-second decision, having lost all Battle Intent, and turned to perform a blood escape technique to flee. As for those Disciples, he could no longer care about them.

"Thinking of leaving now? Too late."

Nightmare’s cold voice sounded like the declaration of the Grim Reaper. He did not move his body, but the shadow beneath his feet suddenly elongated and separated, transforming into several pitch-black Demonic Flame chains that shot out like lightning, instantly wrapping around the escaping Qingyang Sect Elder and several Core Disciples who were further away and also trying to flee.

Starlight flickered on the chains, not only sealing their spiritual energy but also carrying a cold, suppressing Power of the Stars, leaving them unable to move.

"Devil Head! If you dare to kill me, Fellow Daoist Lin Hao will never let you go! The Heavenly Dao will also send down punishment!" The Qingyang Sect Elder roared in shock and anger, his voice fierce but his heart trembling.

"Lin Hao? He will soon be unable to protect himself." Nightmare walked over, strolling as if in a garden. "As for the Heavenly Dao... I am killing its lackey."

He stopped wasting words and moved his mind. The Demonic Flame chains wrapped around the Qingyang Sect Elder tightened suddenly, and at the same time, the tips of the chains transformed into fine needles, piercing fiercely into his Dantian and Qi Sea!

"Ah—!" A shrill scream echoed through the canyon. The Qingyang Sect Elder’s Golden Core was forcibly extracted, struggling and wailing in the Demonic Flame. Nightmare opened his mouth and inhaled, and that Golden Core, which contained most of the essence of the Late Golden Core Stage Cultivator, along with his dissipating soul energy, was directly devoured and refined by the dao seed.

The dao seed trembled slightly, the silver light brightening by another notch, feeding back pure energy that solidified Nightmare’s Peak Late Nascent Soul Stage cultivation.

The remaining Qingyang Sect Disciples trapped by the chains also quickly turned to ash under the terrifying Demonic Flame, leaving behind only a few Storage Pouches and Magic Treasures.

Nightmare raised his hand and pulled the Qingyang Sect Elder’s Storage Pouch into his hand. With a sweep of his Divine Sense, he skipped over the ordinary Spirit Stones and Medicinal Pills and quickly locked onto an item with a unique aura—a jade pendant, half a palm in size, pitch black throughout but containing points of starlight, shaped like a crescent moon.

The jade pendant felt cold to the touch, but after holding it, he could clearly feel that his perception of the Power of the Stars drifting in the surrounding space had suddenly become several times sharper! He could even faintly capture a grand, ancient, and familiar call of the stars coming from deeper within the Core Zone.

"meteorite jade pendant..." Nightmare toyed with this pendant, and the System prompt sounded at the right time.

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for successfully intercepting the 'son of destiny' Lin Hao’s important Opportunity item: meteorite jade pendant!]

[meteorite jade pendant: Ancient star secret treasure (replica), can significantly improve the wearer’s perception and absorption efficiency of the Power of the Stars, and is one of the key tokens for locating and entering the main body of the 'star remnant core'.]

[Plundered Luck value from Lin Hao: 10%! Current total Luck value of Lin Hao: (Hidden). dao seed star attribute Awakening degree increased to 30%!]

An invisible, profound power of Luck was stripped away from the void and merged into Nightmare’s dao seed and his own fate. As for Lin Hao, he might suddenly feel a sense of irritation or encounter unexpected twists and turns on his treasure-hunting path ahead.

Nightmare hung the meteorite jade pendant on his waist and immediately felt the gathering speed of the surrounding Spiritual Qi of the stars increase by nearly thirty percent, and the feeling of joy from the dao seed became even stronger.

"Lin Hao is also looking for treasures related to the star remnant core... It seems he also has a sense for the Opportunity here, or rather, the Heavenly Dao is guiding him." Nightmare looked toward the depths of the Core Zone, his eyes sharp. "I must find the star remnant core as quickly as possible; I cannot let him get there first."

Just as he finished absorbing the Golden Core energy, his cultivation was completely stabilized at the Peak of the Late Nascent Soul Stage, and he was preparing to set off. The meteorite jade pendant he had just hung on his waist suddenly transmitted a slight, continuous warmth, and faintly pointed in the direction from which he had come (outside the meteor barrier).

Immediately following, a massive, scorching, and unique aura, full of "correctness" and "order," was approaching the core area of the remnant world at an extremely fast speed, piercing through the meteor barrier (clearly, the other party also had other means or tokens)!

Nightmare was not unfamiliar with this aura—it was precisely that of the "son of destiny," Lin Hao! Moreover, mixed within the aura were two other slightly weaker but equally clear and long-lasting spiritual fluctuations; they should be his female confidantes.

"Coming so fast." A flash of blood-red light appeared in Nightmare’s eyes. Instead of avoiding it, he felt a surge of eager Battle Intent. "Perfect, I have gained new power and haven't fully unleashed it yet. Lin Hao, let you be the first sacrifice for the Starfall Demonic Flame!"

Demonic Flames rose around his body, and he took the initiative to head toward the direction from which Lin Hao’s aura was approaching.