Formation broken, men wounded, a desperate turn of events

The aftershocks of the Dark Star Shield's explosion had not yet fully subsided, and the blood sprayed from Nightmare's mouth was still drifting in the air.

His figure staggered slightly, his internal Qi and blood churning like boiling water, his internal organs feeling as if they had shifted, and his Meridians were transmitting waves of tearing pain.

The Star Demon Flame circled his body dimly, barely keeping him from falling.

The power of the Heavenly Dao Envoy's "Spear of Order" far exceeded his estimates.

Even though he had broken through in the heat of battle, fusing the Star Demon Flame with the Formation, and even forcibly distorting and devouring a portion of the Heavenly Dao's power to reinforce his defense, he had still suffered significant internal injuries.

His cultivation at the Peak Spirit Transformation of the Late-Stage Transformation Spirit still appeared fragile in the face of this blow that touched the world's barrier.

However, his eyes were colder and sharper than ever, like quenched cold iron.

The Dark Star Barrier had completely collapsed.

Although the Ten Thousand Dao Demon-Slaying Array was also in disarray due to the energy clash, and the beams of light it shot out were much sparser, it still maintained its basic structure.

More importantly, the blurred golden figure of the Heavenly Dao Envoy still hovered at the array's eye, radiating a despair-inducing Aura.

"Stubborn resistance is, after all, the strength of an ant."

The Heavenly Dao Envoy's hollow voice sounded again, devoid of any emotion, only a cold verdict, "Source of Rebellion, you shall be thoroughly purified today."

Seeing this, Lin Hao's eyes flared with golden light, and a ferocious, gleeful expression reappeared on his face.

He could see that Nightmare was at the end of his rope; this was the perfect opportunity to slay this fiend and seize supreme merit!

"Nightmare! Your death day has arrived!"

Lin Hao shouted sharply, the Heavenly Dao Sacred Seal between his brows flashing with explosive light.

He no longer relied entirely on the great array, but instead pushed the power of the Sacred Seal to its limit, transforming himself into a golden meteor.

Holding the qingyang sacred sword, carrying fierce and peerless Heavenly Dao Sword Qi, he lunged toward Nightmare, who seemed unable to resist!

He wanted to personally behead Nightmare and establish his supreme reputation as the son of destiny!

"Protect Lord Nightmare!"

Below, Li Xiehe, covered in blood and with a withered Aura, saw this, his eyes splitting in anger, and he roared as he tried to rush up to stop him.

The Old Man of Withered Bones and several other Nascent Soul Elders also forced themselves to raise their final spiritual power, attempting to provide support.

"Hmph! Your opponents are us!"

Void-Comforter and Venerable Xuanming had long since locked onto them and immediately moved to intercept!

The Wudang Cotton Palm transformed into a palm print that covered the sky, and the Xuanming cold Qi froze the Void Realm, trapping Li Xiehe and the others tightly so they could not escape at all!

The remaining Cultivators of Ten Thousand Demon Valley were further divided and surrounded by the chaotic Righteous Path Alliance, trapped in a bitter battle, unable to care for themselves.

Watching as Lin Hao's sword, carrying the Heavenly Dao sacred power and capable of slaying an ordinary Late-Stage Transformation Spirit, was about to pierce Nightmare's back!

Nightmare could even feel the sharp and scorching Heavenly Dao Aura piercing his skin from behind.

However, in this desperate situation on the line between life and death, Nightmare's consciousness fell into an unprecedented state of ethereal emptiness and peculiarity.

Excruciating pain, crisis, anger, killing intent... all emotions seemed to be stripped away in an instant.

His mind sank completely into the depths of his Dantian, into the Origin Devil Star dao seed that was closely connected to the star dao fruit and was beating violently.

Inside the dao seed, it was no longer a simple interweaving of Demonic Flame and starlight, but had evolved into a miniature, constantly birthing and dying starry sky of Chaos.

The silver ball of light formed by the star dao fruit, like the core sun of this starry sky, emitted an ancient, vast, yet unyielding rebellious Origin fluctuation.

Under the stimulation of this extreme pressure and life-and-death crisis, deep within the star dao fruit, a piece of ultimate Legacy information—sealed in layers and only triggered when the inheritor faces absolute Heavenly Dao suppression and their mental state reaches a certain alignment—rushed into Nightmare's Divine Soul like a bursting flood!

It was not a specific Divine Ability technique, but an ultimate realization of the essence of "stars," the shackles of "order," and the true meaning of "rebellion"!

It was the crystallization of the Lord of the Stars' understanding of the deepest rebellion and distortion of the Laws of the Universe when he fought against the Heavenly Dao back then!

"Stars... are not eternally fixed... their trajectories can be changed, their light can be extinguished, their... order can be reversed..."

"The Heavenly Dao uses the Ten Thousand Dao as locks to bind all living beings... yet, chains all have nodes, and order also has loopholes... By using the 'change' of the stars to induce the 'disorder' of the Ten Thousand Dao, one can briefly... reverse order!"

Nightmare's tightly closed eyes snapped open!

His left eye churned with a sea of blood, and his right eye held an inverted galaxy, but at this moment, in the galaxy eye, the originally regular trajectories of the stars suddenly became chaotic, distorted, and reversed!

An unprecedented, strange power that was diametrically opposed to the Heavenly Dao's power of "order" and filled with the meaning of "Chaos," "distortion," and "negation," erupted from within his body!

This power was intangible and shapeless, yet it instantly formed a distorted, blurred, and strange Domain about ten zhang in diameter around him!

Inside the Domain, light refracted strangely, space wrinkled slightly, and even the most basic rules of spiritual power flow seemed to have fallen into disarray!

The first to bear the brunt was Lin Hao's sword, which contained the Heavenly Dao sacred power, as well as the golden light condensing on the Heavenly Dao Envoy's arm in the distance, which was raised again as if to deliver the final blow!

Szz—!

Lin Hao's sword, with its rainbow-like Aura and brilliant golden light, plummeted in speed a hundredfold the moment it pierced into this distorted Domain, as if it had fallen into the thickest swamp!

The Heavenly Dao sacred power and order patterns flowing on the sword seemed to have encountered their natural nemesis, beginning to fluctuate, distort, and disintegrate violently!

The power of the sword light decayed crazily at a speed visible to the naked eye!

The ferocious grin on Lin Hao's face froze instantly, replaced by boundless horror and confusion!

He felt that his connection to the Heavenly Dao Sacred Seal became extremely weak and sluggish within this Domain!

On the other side, the golden beam condensing on the Heavenly Dao Envoy's arm, capable of easily obliterating a Peak Spirit Transformation, actually deflected and scattered on its own while shooting toward this distorted Domain.

Its power was greatly reduced, and in the end, less than thirty percent of its power barely penetrated the Domain and landed on Nightmare, but it only caused the dim Star Demon Flame around him to flicker again, failing to cause fatal damage.

"What... is this power?!"

The Heavenly Dao Envoy's hollow voice carried a hint of imperceptible fluctuation for the first time; was it... confusion? Or even a faint trace of... apprehension?

It could feel that this distorted Domain was not a simple confrontation of power, but a brief interference and negation at the level of Law!

The object of negation was precisely the foundation of "Heavenly Dao order" upon which it relied for existence!

Although the range was extremely small and the duration extremely short, it had indeed interfered with its control over the "rules" of this area!

This was precisely one of the core Legacy Divine Abilities of the star dao fruit—Star Reversal!

Within a very small range, it briefly distorts and reverses local Heavenly Dao rules, forming a zone of "order vacuum" or "rule disorder," greatly weakening and shielding against Heavenly Dao power that has "order" as its core!

It was an ultimate life-saving and counter-attack method created by the Lord of the Stars specifically to counter Heavenly Dao suppression!

The duration of the Domain was extremely short, less than a breath.

But this one breath was enough for Nightmare!

Just at the moment when Lin Hao's sword momentum was weakened to the extreme and he appeared briefly rigid due to the disorder in his connection with the Sacred Seal, Nightmare moved!

Suppressing the churning injuries within his body and the immense Divine Soul burden brought on by casting "Star Reversal," he erupted with unprecedented ruthless killing intent in his eyes!

"Demon Star... Annihilation!"

He held nothing back, condensing all the remaining Star Demon Flame in his body, the power of the Origin dao seed, and even that portion of the complex Heavenly Dao power that he had just swallowed, converted, and not yet fully tamed, all into the palm of his right hand!

A fist-sized "point of light," presenting a pitch-black color of extreme destructiveness, appeared in his palm.

Inside this point of light, it seemed as if countless stars lived out their lives in an instant—born, shining, expanding, collapsing, and finally returning to deathly silence!

There was no dazzling light, only the darkness that devoured everything and the deathly silence that ended all things!

This was precisely the strongest killing move he had comprehended after initially fusing with the deeper power of the star dao fruit and combining it with his own Demonic Path Origin—Demon Star Annihilation!

It simulated the ultimate fate of stars, releasing a Power of Annihilation that transcended the level of ordinary Divine Abilities!

Taking advantage of the fact that Lin Hao had not yet recovered from the influence of "Star Reversal," Nightmare gently pressed the pitch-black point of light in his palm toward Lin Hao, who was within arm's reach.

The movement seemed slow, but was actually as fast as lightning, impossible to avoid!

Lin Hao's pupils shrank to the size of pinpoints, and a boundless shadow of death instantly enveloped him!

He frantically urged the Heavenly Dao Sacred Seal between his brows, wanting to mobilize power to defend or teleport, but under the interference of the "Star Reversal" aftershocks and the Annihilation force field brought by this "Demon Star Annihilation," his reaction was a fraction of a second too slow!

It was this fraction of a second that determined life and death!

Pfft!

There was no earth-shattering loud noise.

That pitch-black "Demon Star Annihilation" point of light, like a red-hot branding iron inserted into butter, easily pierced through the thin layer of Heavenly Dao golden light shield that Lin Hao had hastily condensed in front of his chest, and then, silently and soundlessly, sank into his chest.

Time seemed to stand still for a moment.

The expression on Lin Hao's face froze in extreme terror and disbelief.

He lowered his head and looked at his own chest.

There were no wounds, no bloodstains, only the skin under his clothes instantly turning gray, losing all vitality, and this grayness, like ink dropped into clear water, spread rapidly across his whole body!

"Im... pos... sible..."

He struggled to spit out a few words, his voice hoarse like a broken bellows.

In the next moment, his whole body, starting from the position where the point of light sank into his chest, disintegrated and annihilated silently like a weathered sand sculpture!

Flesh, bones, Meridians, and even the Nascent Soul within his Dantian that was connected to the Heavenly Dao Sacred Seal and struggling frantically... everything was turned into the finest dust under that "Annihilation" power, not even leaving behind fragments of his soul!

Only a pale golden jade pendant (Destiny Jade Pendant, a life-saving trump card) that was dim and covered with cracks, seeming as if it would shatter at any moment, and that qingyang sacred sword (replica) which had lost its master and whose spiritual light was completely dimmed, fell powerlessly from the air.

Lin Hao—this "son of destiny" who bore the destiny, had monstrous Luck, had just received the blessing of the Heavenly Dao Envoy, and was high-spirited and intending to slay Nightmare—in this flash of lightning, was thoroughly... annihilated in body and soul by Nightmare, who was in a heavily injured state, using a newly comprehended Divine Ability, in front of the ten thousand armies!

"Ant! How dare you!!!"

The Heavenly Dao Envoy erupted with an unprecedented roar of fury!

It was no longer a hollow sound of Law, but filled with the rage of being offended, provoked, and even having its plans deviate significantly!

Lin Hao's death was not just as simple as losing a pawn; it was a severe blow to its "Destiny Order"!

The shattering of the Destiny Jade Pendant, which housed a portion of Lin Hao's Divine Soul Origin, even caused the power of the Heavenly Dao Envoy's projection to show obvious unstable fluctuations!

It no longer cared about anything else; its blurred golden figure instantly solidified by several points.

A giant golden palm, composed entirely of pure Heavenly Dao Origin, as large as a small mountain and engraved with countless "Seal," "Suppress," and "Annihilate" dao patterns, carried the power of collapsing the sky and slammed down fiercely toward Nightmare, who had just killed Lin Hao, whose Aura had fallen to the bottom, and who was obviously at the end of his rope!

This palm was struck in anger, its power three parts greater than the previous "Spear of Order"!

It was determined to completely erase Nightmare, along with the large area below him, from the world!

Facing this unavoidable and unblockable killing palm, a crazy and arrogant smile appeared on Nightmare's pale face.

He did not even look at the falling golden giant palm, but instead raised his head and, using his last strength, laughed hoarsely at the furious Heavenly Dao Envoy:

"Hahahaha! Heavenly Dao? Destiny? Nothing more than this! Today I slay your running dog, another day... I will surely trample your Lingxiao Palace into pieces!"

Before the laughter had faded, the golden giant palm had already slammed down with a boom!

Boom—!!!!

A more terrifying explosion than any before occurred!

A storm of golden and black energy soared into the sky, completely submerging that area!

The terrifying turbulence of energy shredded everything within a radius of several miles; whether it was the surviving Righteous Path Cultivators or Demonic Path Cultivators, as long as they were swept in, they were instantly obliterated without a trace!

"Lord Nightmare—!!!"

Li Xiehe and the others let out desperate wails.

The energy storm slowly dissipated.

In the original spot, a bottomless, terrifying giant crater with a diameter of over a hundred zhang appeared!

The pit was charred black, with terrifying Heavenly Dao purification power and Annihilation Aura remaining, and all matter had been evaporated.

Nightmare's figure... had disappeared.

Along with his remaining Aura, it had disappeared without a trace.

Was he completely erased by the Heavenly Dao Envoy's palm?

The Heavenly Dao Envoy's solidified golden figure hovered above the giant crater, its cold golden eyes scanning below, as if it were also confirming.

The golden light on its body fluctuated violently; it was clear that the angry strike just now had consumed a lot, and the backlash from Lin Hao's fall also made this projection very unstable.

After a moment, it seemed not to have found any definite traces of Nightmare's survival.

"Source of Rebellion... has been judged by the Heavenly Dao and annihilated in body and soul."

The Heavenly Dao Envoy's voice, now restored to its hollow coldness, resounded across the battlefield again, carrying unquestionable authority, "Remaining Demonic Path, those who stubbornly resist—kill without mercy!"

However, just as its voice fell.

At the bottom of the deep pit, in the charred soil, a faint, imperceptible glimmer of light carrying starlight silver brilliance and the embers of Demonic Flame, like a candle in the wind, flickered gently, and then completely submerged into the depths of the earth's veins, disappearing.

At the same time, in the deepest part of the underground of Ten Thousand Demon Valley, in the corner of a secret room protected by heavy Restrictions, an inconspicuous small teleportation array (the last retreat Nightmare had secretly set up before his seclusion) lit up slightly, then completely collapsed and turned into powder.

The Heavenly Dao Envoy seemed to have sensed something, its golden eyes looking sharply toward the depths of Ten Thousand Demon Valley, but there was only chaotic Devilish Qi and collapsed buildings there, and no clear Aura of Nightmare.

"Hmph."

The Heavenly Dao Envoy snorted coldly, seemingly unwilling to consume too much power here to continue searching for an "already dead" person.

Its blurred figure began to fade slowly.

"Clear all traces of the Demonic Path here, and then... retreat."

After leaving this cold order, the Heavenly Dao Envoy's figure completely dissipated in the air.

The "Ten Thousand Dao Demon-Slaying Array" that had shrouded the sky also slowly stopped running along with it, its light dimming.

Having lost Lin Hao as the core and the direct command of the Heavenly Dao Envoy, and having witnessed Nightmare "fall" under the Heavenly Dao Envoy's palm (in their view), the morale of the Demon-Slaying Alliance was also dealt a blow.

Coupled with the fact that the Ten Thousand Demon Valley Cultivators, led by Li Xiehe and others, were making a final, fearless resistance by relying on the terrain and their grief, the losses would inevitably be greater if they continued to attack hard.

Void-Comforter and Venerable Xuanming looked at each other, both seeing the complexity and intention to retreat in each other's eyes.

Lin Hao was dead, Elder Qingyun was dead, and the Heavenly Dao Envoy had left; what was the point of them continuing to fight?

Who were they fighting for?

"Retreat!"

Void-Comforter finally gritted his teeth and gave the order.

The surviving Righteous Path coalition forces began to retreat like a tide, leaving behind the corpses of their companions and damaged Magic Treasures all over the ground, and retreated from the area of Ten Thousand Demon Valley in a sorry state.

Li Xiehe and the others did not pursue; they had also suffered heavy losses, most of the survivors were injured, and their hearts were filled with the confusion and grief of losing their leader.

The second war ended with the fall of the son of destiny, Lin Hao, the "suspected" annihilation in body and soul of Nightmare, the retreat of the Heavenly Dao Envoy's projection, and heavy losses on both sides.

Ten Thousand Demon Valley turned into a bloody ruin, appearing exceptionally desolate under the setting sun.

And in the depths of the earth's veins, unknown to anyone, that faint Star Demon Flame was wrapping around a nearly shattered, yet still stubbornly beating, Origin dao seed, slowly sinking deeper into the earth...