A clash of destiny, a storm in the waning realm.

Lin Hao's rage erupted in his chest like a volcano, yet it had to be suppressed by the power of heaven and earth before him.

That Remnant World storm was no ordinary energy turbulence; it was mixed with fragmented Law shards, space-time rifts, and the violent killing intent remaining from an ancient battlefield, with enough power to tear apart the protective spiritual light of a Nascent Soul Cultivator.

With one hand, he tightly cradled the unconscious and weakly breathing Su Wan, while with the other, he swung the qingyang sacred sword, cutting through the oncoming chaotic energy currents.

The pale golden Power of Heavenly Dao favor formed a thin yet resilient barrier around his body, barely resisting the erosion of the storm.

Fairy Qing Xuan followed closely behind; her moon-white dress was already torn in several places, and her face was pale, but her eyes remained firm as she swung her sword to assist Lin Hao in carving out a path.

"Senior Brother Lin, that Devil Head's methods are strange, his strength is growing too fast, and he seems to have a special control over the Power of the Stars... This is no place to linger, the storm is getting stronger!" Fairy Qing Xuan transmitted, her voice carrying a hint of imperceptible trepidation.

The power Nightmare had just displayed, especially that eerie Demonic Flame which easily severely injured Su Wan and withstood the combined strike from her and Lin Hao, had left a deep shadow in her mind.

Lin Hao gritted his teeth, the veins on his forehead throbbing.

How could he not know the crisis at hand?

But watching helplessly as Nightmare snatched away the meteorite jade pendant and strode away after severely injuring Su Wan, this humiliation and sense of frustration almost made his Dao Heart unstable.

Since receiving the favor of the Heavenly Dao, when had he ever suffered such a great loss?

"Heavenly Dao guidance... could it also be flawed? Or is this Nightmare truly my destined tribulation?"

A trace of subtle doubt uncontrollably sprouted in the depths of Lin Hao's heart, but it was quickly suppressed by his stronger conviction, "No! I am the one destined by fate, following the Heavenly Dao! This devil acts in a Heaven-Defying manner and will ultimately meet his own destruction! This setback must be the Heavenly Dao tempering me! Wan'er... I will definitely save you, and I will definitely kill Nightmare with my own hands to take everything back!"

He looked down at the pale-faced Su Wan in his arms, a flash of heartache in his eyes, which immediately turned into deeper determination.

He took out a cherished life-saving Spirit Pill and carefully fed it to Su Wan to temporarily stabilize her injuries.

"Let's leave the storm's range first and find a safe place to treat Wan'er's injuries," Lin Hao said in a deep voice, forcing himself to calm down, "Nightmare must still be in the Core Zone of the Remnant World. Since he obtained the meteorite jade pendant, his goal must be the deeper star treasure trove. We still have a chance!"

Driven by the storm, the two of them struggled to fly away towards an area in a different direction from where Nightmare had fled.

And this Remnant World storm, triggered by their fierce battle, continued to expand and rage in the Core Zone, not only further destroying the already fragile spatial structure but also awakening many ancient beings lurking in the shadows from their slumber, or causing them to cast prying gazes...

Meanwhile, Nightmare had already escaped several hundred miles, found a natural cave half-hidden by huge star remnant bones, and after setting up several layers of concealment and protective Restrictions, settled down for the time being.

The cave was silent, with only the meteorite jade pendant at his waist emitting faint starlight, reflecting against the Starfall Demonic Flame slowly receding around him.

He sat cross-legged and carefully examined himself.

The brief clash with Lin Hao, although it seemed he had the upper hand, actually consumed quite a bit of energy, especially the final activation of his Clone and using the jade pendant to escape, which was a burden on both his Divine Soul and spiritual power.

However, the energy from devouring the Golden Core of the Qingyang Sect Elder was still continuously nourishing his dao seed, and his cultivation had instead become even more stable.

"Lin Hao's power of Heavenly Dao favor is indeed troublesome," Nightmare recalled the brilliant righteous energy on the qingyang sacred sword, "It has a natural suppression effect on my Devilish Qi. If it weren't for the fact that my dao seed merged with the Power of the Stars after returning to the void, causing its nature to transform, I fear I wouldn't have received that sword strike so easily. The Power of the Stars seems to be able to, to a certain extent, neutralize or even erode that 'Order' power blessed by the Heavenly Dao..."

This was an important discovery.

The will of the star remnant was not wrong; the power of the Lord of the Stars indeed has an adversarial relationship with the Heavenly Dao.

Just as he was regulating his breath and reviewing the battle, suddenly, in the depths of his Divine Soul, the dao seed that had completely fused with him began to palpitate violently without warning!

It was not the joy of absorbing Spiritual Qi, nor was it the warning when facing a powerful enemy, but rather a kind of... "resonance" and "warning" as if it had encountered a "kind," or perhaps touched upon some higher-level, more ancient, and forbidden existence!

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The rhythm of the dao seed's beating coincided with Nightmare's heartbeat, but it was ten times heavier.

Each beat caused his Divine Soul to tremble slightly, and an inexplicable chill and palpitation rose from his spine.

Nightmare opened his eyes abruptly, blood-red light and starlight intertwined in his pupils.

He looked cautiously outside the cave, his Divine Sense spreading out like mercury pouring onto the ground.

However, outside the cave, apart from the aftereffects of the Remnant World storm which were still raging but had begun to gradually subside, he did not discover any powerful living beings approaching.

It was not an external enemy.

Nightmare focused his mind inward, sinking all his concentration into the dao seed.

That intense sense of warning clearly pointed in one direction—the deeper part of the Remnant World's Core Zone, a place that seemed even deeper and more hidden than the location guided by the star remnant coordinates.

Through the blurred sensing of the dao seed, he "saw" (or rather, perceived) a fragmented scene: an endless dark abyss, mountains of ancient bones emitting faint starlight, and... at the very bottom of the bone abyss, a mass of... pale flames that were entangled by layers of forbidden chains, burning silently, as if they could freeze time and space?

No, that was not a flame.

It was a type of "power" that was extremely condensed and filled with connotations of death and taboo, its form resembling pale flames dancing.

Around this mass of "pale flames," space was distorted, Laws did not exist, and even the aura of the Heavenly Dao was excluded.

An indescribable feeling of ancient, powerful, and evil (or rather, not tolerated by the current world's rules) nature came through the resonance with the dao seed across endless space, making even Nightmare feel a jolt of fear.

"Ancient forbidden power... far exceeding the Nascent Soul Stage... repelled by the Heavenly Dao..." Nightmare muttered to himself, recalling the "corner of the final battlefield" vaguely mentioned by the will of the star remnant.

Could it be that in the depths of this Remnant World's core, besides the Legacy of the Lord of the Stars, there are also sealed or remaining terrifying existences from other ancient wars who also acted in a Heaven-Defying manner?

The feeling this power gave him was not purely the Power of the Stars, but more like the manifestation of a supreme Law related to death, ending, and annihilation.

Dangerous, extremely dangerous!

But at the same time, besides the warning, the dao seed actually transmitted a trace of obscure "longing"?

It was as if this forbidden power had some irreplaceable role for the subsequent growth of the dao seed.

"Is it a blessing or a curse?" Nightmare's eyes flickered.

Intuition told him that place was a hundred times more dangerous than searching for the star remnant core.

But the path of cultivation is inherently like sailing against the current, fighting against the heavens for one's life.

If one fears danger, how can one speak of changing one's fate against the heavens and opposing Lin Hao and the Heavenly Dao?

"Lin Hao has the help of the Heavenly Dao's 'shackles of order.' If I want to contend with him, and even eventually defeat him, the Legacy of the Lord of the Stars alone might not be enough..." A flash of ruthlessness and determination crossed Nightmare's eyes, "In extraordinary times, one must take extraordinary measures. Although this forbidden power is dangerous, if it can be used by me, it might become a sharp blade to tear open the shackles of the Heavenly Dao!"

He finished regulating his breath and restored his state to its Peak.

The aftereffects of the storm outside had also basically subsided.

"The most urgent priority is still to find the star remnant core first and improve my cultivation Foundation. But this forbidden land... since it was sensed by the dao seed, it is an Opportunity." Nightmare stood up, looked in the direction from which the dao seed's warning came, and silently noted the vague directional sensation, "After obtaining the star remnant core and having a Breakthrough in strength, perhaps I can go and explore it."

He restrained his aura, hid again in the shadows and starlight, and followed the guidance of the meteorite jade pendant and the star remnant coordinates, continuing to advance toward the deeper parts of the Core Zone.

The cave behind him returned to silence, as if no one had ever been there.