Luck exhausted, destiny ended

In the depths of the Nether Cave, a cage of Demonic Flame.

The pitch-black flames burned silently, simmering and peeling away Lin Hao's remaining life and son of destiny status bit by bit.

He curled up in the corner of the cage like a pile of discarded rags, his breath so faint that he was almost indistinguishable from a corpse.

His eyes, once as bright as stars, were now murky and hollow, reflecting no light, holding only the deepest despair and... a faint longing for a complete end.

The torture had lasted too long.

Footsteps sounded again, steady and cold, like the tolling of a funeral bell.

Lin Hao's body spasmed uncontrollably, his remaining consciousness emitting a final instinctive shudder.

He knew who had come.

Nightmare's figure appeared outside the cage, his pitch-black eyes calmly watching the person inside.

This time, he did not act immediately, simply watching in silence.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment. There was only the faint sizzling sound of the Demonic Flame burning, and Lin Hao's intermittent, wheezing breath that sounded like a broken bellows.

"This is the end," Nightmare finally spoke, breaking the dead silence.

His voice held no emotion, as if stating a fact unrelated to himself.

A raspy sound came from Lin Hao's throat; he seemed to want to say something, but could not even piece together a complete syllable.

In his eyes, fear and despair intertwined, eventually turning into a dead ash.

Resistance? That had long been an extravagant hope. Begging for mercy? Pointless.

He knew his fate had been sealed the moment Nightmare stepped into the Legacy hall.

Nightmare said no more. He raised his right hand, spread his five fingers, and aimed at Lin Hao in the cage.

This time, there were no black threads, no complex rituals.

It was merely a pure, domineering will, mixed with the vast magical power of the Tribulation Crossing Stage and the destructive Origin of the Dao Reversal Demonic Star Flame. Like an invisible hand, it lunged into Lin Hao's body and grabbed that last, teetering "Core of Destiny" that flickered like a candle in the wind!

"Urgh... Ah—!!!"

Lin Hao let out the last cry of his life, the most miserable and hollow shriek!

This scream did not stem from physical pain—that had long since numbed—but from the ultimate void of having his Soul completely drained and his Foundation of existence uprooted!

He could clearly "feel" that the thing maintaining the last shred of his special connection to this world, the "Destiny" that had once brought him supreme glory, endless Opportunity, and eventually ultimate disaster, was being ruthlessly ripped from the "Origin" of his life by an irresistible force!

Whoosh—!

A golden stream of energy, larger and purer than any before, yet appearing "thinner," surged out from Lin Hao's seven orifices and every pore of his body like a burst river!

This stream of energy was no longer brilliant; instead, it carried a dimness and a mournful sound of imminent dissipation. It was the final 60% of his Luck!

The moment the Luck left his body, Lin Hao collapsed completely, as if all his bones and essence had been instantly drained. Dark, filthy blood flowed from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, and his skin lost its last trace of luster at a rate visible to the naked eye, becoming like dead, withered tree bark.

The last trace of "Golden Light of Destiny" around him, faint and lingering, flickered once like a burnt-out candle flame, then completely extinguished and dissipated.

He was no longer any son of destiny.

He was just a dying man with all his cultivation destroyed, his Origin withered, and worse off than an ordinary Mortal.

The last spark of light in his eyes also completely vanished, leaving only boundless emptiness and dead silence.

[Final Plunder Complete! Successfully plundered the remaining 60% of Luck from the son of destiny Lin Hao!]

[Cumulative Plunder Progress: 100%!]

[Warning: The target's son of destiny halo has completely dissipated! Heavenly Dao favor has been severed!]

[System Prompt: This session of the 'son of destiny' plan has ended!]

[The Heavenly Dao's direct control over the Mortal Realm's order has weakened by 30%!]

[Host has obtained the exclusive title 'Heaven-Defying Destiny'!]

[Effect: Permanently increases resistance to Heavenly Dao power (including but not limited to Heavenly Tribulation, Heavenly Dao Spells, Heavenly Dao suppression, etc.) by 50%; self-Luck is stabilized and less susceptible to interference from Heavenly Dao trends; damage dealt to Heavenly Dao-related entities is increased by an additional 20%.]

A series of cold, clear prompts rang in Nightmare's mind, announcing the complete end of Lin Hao's "Destiny" and a significant milestone in his own "Heaven-Defying" path.

Nightmare slowly withdrew his hand, feeling the surging power within him that was more rounded, more stable, and as if it had broken free from an invisible shackle.

The insights and blessings brought by the "Heaven-Defying Destiny" title deepened his understanding of his own Reverse Path.

He lowered his head and looked at the cage.

Lin Hao lay there, motionless, with only a very faint rise and fall of his chest proving he still had a breath left.

But he was already completely "dead"—dead as a son of destiny, dead as a Cultivator, and even dead as a person with independent will.

What remained was only a shell about to completely rot away.

Nightmare looked at this shell; there was no joy of revenge in his eyes, no pity, and no disgust.

Only a pure, cold indifference.

Past life grudges, present life hatred, the struggle for Opportunity, the plundering of Luck... all Karma had reached its end with the extinguishing of that light of destiny.

Lin Hao had no value left.

Nightmare extended his right index finger, where a wisp of the Dao Reversal Demonic Star Flame, refined to the extreme, quietly danced—pitch-black as ink, silent as an abyss.

He tapped lightly toward Lin Hao in the cage.

There was no grand momentum, no superfluous movement.

That wisp of black flame seemed to possess life, drifting through the gaps in the cage and landing on Lin Hao's heart.

The moment the flame touched him, Lin Hao's remaining body, like burnt spirit paper, instantly turned into a sheet of black fire.

The flame was not scorching, but it carried an absolute will of purification and annihilation, burning silently.

Lin Hao's final body quickly dissolved and vaporized in the fire, leaving no trace, not even a speck of ash.

His Divine Soul? It had already completely disintegrated and returned to the void along with the end of his identity as a "son of destiny" the moment his Destiny was stripped away.

It took no more than a breath.

Inside the Demonic Flame cage, it was empty.

Lin Hao, this former child of destiny, Nightmare's nemesis of both past and present lives, had thus completely disappeared from between heaven and earth.

His body and Soul were destroyed, his true spirit ceased to exist, and even the chance of Reincarnation had been severed.

It was over.

Nightmare stood quietly for a moment, as if confirming, and as if settling his thoughts.

Then, he turned around, preparing to leave the bottom layer of the Nether Cave.

However, the moment he turned—

BOOM!!!!!!

A Heavenly Dao pressure, ten times, a hundred times stronger than when he had achieved his Breakthrough to the Tribulation Crossing Stage, descended violently as if the entire firmament had collapsed!

It was not limited to the sky above Ten Thousand Demon Valley, but shrouded the entire Far West Land, and even further!

The originally gray sky was now completely drenched in a heart-palpitating dark golden light!

Countless golden thunderbolts, thick as mountains, darted and exploded within the dark golden curtain of light, emitting a deafening roar that seemed intent on destroying the world!

An unprecedented, pure, and supreme anger and killing intent washed over all things in heaven and earth like a tangible wave!

All living beings in the Mortal Realm, regardless of where they were or their level of cultivation, felt fear from the depths of their Souls and an urge to kneel at this moment!

The Heavenly Dao was furious!

Because its "piece," the "son of destiny" it had chosen, had been completely annihilated!

Its plan had been rudely interrupted! Its majesty had been wantonly trampled!

Nightmare looked up sharply, his gaze piercing through the thick rock layers, staring directly at the dark golden firmament filled with an aura of destruction.

He could clearly feel that at the highest point of the firmament, beyond the endless Void Realm, a terrifying will that stood above the Mortal Realm and carried a portion of the Heavenly Dao's authority was rapidly condensing, locking on, and... about to pierce through the interface barrier and descend here!

The heavenly dao avatar was coming!

Moreover, because of Lin Hao's complete fall, this avatar's killing intent and power would likely be even more terrifying than expected!

In Nightmare's pitch-black eyes, the starlight of destruction suddenly flared! Far from feeling any fear, a monstrous Battle Intent rose up instead!

"So... it has finally come."

He muttered to himself, his voice cold and firm.

With a flash, he vanished from the bottom of the Nether Cave.

When he reappeared, he was already standing above Ten Thousand Demon Valley, at the peak of Demon Fall Peak.

His black clothes fluttered violently in the raging dark golden Heavenly Dao gale, but he stood as immovable as an ancient rock.

Below, all the demonic Cultivators in the valley, who were almost unable to move due to the Heavenly Dao pressure, saw that figure standing in the air, facing the Heavenly Dao's might directly, and could not help but feel a faint spark of hope and fanaticism in their hearts.

The Dao Reversing Heaven Extinguishing Array had initially taken shape under the full efforts of the Valley Master and others; the array base flickered with dark light, faintly echoing the Dao Reversal Demonic Star Flame around Nightmare.

Nightmare's gaze swept over the crowd preparing for battle below, over the newly formed array, and finally cast itself once again toward the rift in the firmament that was being slowly torn open by an invisible, massive force, revealing the endless dark golden light behind it.

He slowly raised his right hand, palm upward.

The Dao Reversal Demonic Star Flame—pure black, silent, yet containing power capable of destroying the Universe—rose and condensed in his palm, transforming into a pitch-black phantom spear that seemed to be forged from the light of countless dying stars.

The spear tip pointed directly at the rift in the firmament!

"The Heavenly Dao is unjust..."

Nightmare's voice was not loud, but it seemed to contain some kind of Law power, piercing through the roar of the thunder and ringing clearly in the ears of every living being looking up at the sky, carrying a decisiveness and arrogance that would cut through everything.

"...then I shall defy the heavens!"

"The shackles of destiny..."

"...then I shall break destiny!"

He flicked his wrist, and the pitch-black phantom spear hummed; on the spear shaft, it seemed as if countless stars were wailing in the cycle of birth and annihilation!

"Today—"

A fierce light flashed in Nightmare's eyes, his voice booming like thunder!

"I will let you, this so-called Heavenly Dao, see—"

"Who is the true—"

"Master of the Reverse Path!!!"

The moment his voice fell, the rift in the firmament burst wide open!

A towering figure, formed entirely from dark golden Heavenly Dao Law, its face indistinguishable but radiating a terrifying aura that froze even the Divine Soul of a Tribulation Crossing Stage Cultivator, stepped out!

Golden eyes, like two burning suns, instantly locked onto Nightmare, who stood below holding his spear!

The heavenly dao avatar, descended!

The final battle, at this moment, erupted!