The two main forces clash, and Zidian falls.

“Crack—!!!”

The loud sound, like the core of a star shattering, overwhelmed the roars of energy explosions in the Void Realm.

The Purple Lightning Sky Shield, the ultimate barrier that had guarded the Purple Lightning Main City for countless years and remained unmoved through numerous foreign attacks, ultimately could not fully withstand the resolute impact of Nightmare, who had transformed into a flame and concentrated all his Reverse Dao Power and Middle Sovereign cultivation.

Centered on the point of impact, countless thick, hideous black cracks spread like a spiderweb, rapidly covering a large portion of the light shield! Within the cracks, viscous black Demonic Flame crazily seeped and eroded, engaging in a violent annihilation reaction with the Violet Lightning Origin that constituted the sky shield, emitting a scalp-numbing “sizzle” sound. The entire Purple Lightning Sky Shield trembled violently, its light dimming at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the phantom images of Lightning Dragons wandering on its surface let out mournful cries before dissipating one by one.

“No—!” Thunder Command's eyes were splitting with rage. Before the thunder halberd he had just swung could fully fall, Nightmare had already violently broken through the shield! Watching his own strongest defense crack, the shock, anger, and a trace of unbelievable fear in his heart instantly climbed to the Peak. This person actually had the ability to shake the Purple Lightning Sky Shield head-on?!

“Domain Master! The core of the sky shield is damaged by more than thirty percent! Quickly stop him, don't let him break it completely!” The anxious telepathic voice of the elder holding the staff rang in Thunder Command's ear, his voice trembling.

“Get lost!” Thunder Command roared. No longer caring about anything else, he forcefully twisted the trajectory of the halberd. Following the halberd, he transformed into a purple lightning bolt tearing through the Void Realm, lunging fiercely toward Nightmare, who had just revealed his figure from the gap in the broken shield, his aura slightly fluctuating from the impact! Lightning light condensed to the extreme at the tip of the halberd, faintly forming a black-purple lightning ball that devoured everything— “Violet Lightning World Extermination · Lightning Devour”!

This strike contained Thunder Command's lifelong cultivation and furious killing intent; it was one of his trump card techniques, powerful enough to severely injure or even kill someone of the same rank! He wanted to take advantage of the moment when Nightmare's follow-up strength was lacking after breaking the shield to kill him in one blow!

At the same time, the elder holding the staff knew it was a life-or-death moment and no longer held back. He spat out a mouthful of essence blood onto the purple wooden staff, and the purple thunder bead embedded at the top of the staff shone brightly! He held the wooden staff high, drawing upon the main city's earth veins and the power of the remaining sky shield. Countless thick purple thunderbolts, as if summoned, surged backward from all directions, even from the cracks in the disintegrating sky shield, crazily pouring toward the area where Nightmare was located, forming a destructive Thunderstorm Sea purgatory, coordinating with Thunder Command's attack to carry out an indiscriminate carpet bombing!

“Die!” Thunder Command's face was ferocious. The lightning ball at the tip of his halberd had locked onto Nightmare, and he thrust it out violently!

Facing this pincer attack, a near-certain kill, Nightmare stood at the edge of the broken shield gap. His clothes rustled in the violent energy turbulence, but there was not a trace of panic on his face.

He didn't even look at the Thunderstorm Sea purgatory triggered by the elder holding the staff. His gaze was calmly locked on the lunging Thunder Command and the heart-stopping black-purple lightning ball at the tip of his halberd.

“three keys of dao reversal — Resonance!”

He silently recited in his heart, and the three core Reverse Dao Powers of Devouring, Reversal, and Destruction inside his body instantly achieved perfect coordination! A more profound, more primitive, terrifying aura that seemed to make all Laws retreat rose from Nightmare's body! The black Demonic Flame around him suddenly became incomparably deep, with pure dark golden light spots jumping at the heart of the flames, and the flame form became more solid and aggressive, as if it possessed its own will of life.

“Hongmeng Reverse Dao Demonic Star Flame — Absolute Barrier!”

Nightmare drew a circle in the void in front of him with both hands.

In an instant, a huge black flame barrier with profound dark golden patterns flowing on its surface condensed and formed in front of him! The barrier was not static but spinning at high speed, forming a deep vortex that emitted a terrifying aura of devouring everything and reversing all Laws.

Thunder Command's world-exterminating “Lightning Devour” black ball slammed into the spinning Demonic Flame barrier!

The earth-shattering explosion expected did not occur.

The moment the black-purple lightning ball touched the vortex of the Demonic Flame barrier, it seemed to fall into a quagmire, its speed dropped sharply, and the violent destructive lightning light on its surface was actually stripped away, devoured, and reversed by the spinning Demonic Flame bit by bit! The lightning ball shrank and dimmed at a speed visible to the naked eye!

“What?!” The ferocious grin on Thunder Command's face froze completely, transforming into extreme horror. He could clearly feel that the Violet Lightning Origin Law contained in his attack was being forcibly twisted, disintegrated, and even... reverse-absorbed by the opponent's strange flames?!

How is this possible?! The Violet Lightning Origin is one of the highly aggressive and destructive high-level powers in the Hongmeng Universe; how could it be so restrained?!

Just at the moment when Thunder Command's mind was shaken and his offensive was frustrated, Nightmare moved.

Maintaining the rotation and devouring of the Demonic Flame barrier, his figure flashed out from behind the barrier like a ghost, actively meeting the Thunderstorm Sea purgatory covering him from all directions!

“Child's play.”

Nightmare didn't even adopt a defensive posture; he just drove his Reverse Dao Demonic Flame to the limit. The dense thunderbolts, capable of severely injuring an ordinary Middle Sovereign, struck the Demonic Flame wrapping around him, sounding like raindrops falling into a red-hot iron pot, emitting “sizzle” sounds, and were quickly evaporated and absorbed and assimilated by the Demonic Flame. Not only did they fail to hurt him in the slightest, but they actually replenished a little energy for him!

Seeing this, the elder holding the staff's face turned pale as paper, his eyes filled with despair. His strongest auxiliary attack was actually ineffective against the enemy?!

And Nightmare had already passed through the thunderstorm, instantly approaching Thunder Command, whose mind was lost and whose aura was briefly disordered because his ultimate move was broken!

“Demonic Star Shattering Heaven Fist — Combo!”

Nightmare's eyes were cold. Dark golden Demonic Flame was highly compressed on his fists, turning into two solid black crystal gauntlets. His punches were like meteors falling to the world, so fast that they left a trail of afterimages in the air. Dense fist shadows, like a storm, smashed toward the vital points of Thunder Command's body! Every punch contained the terrifying power to shatter stars, as well as the special attribute of reversing the Violet Lightning Origin!

“Roar! Violet Lightning Thunder Shield!” Thunder Command, in horror, could only crazily drive his Origin, instantly condensing dozens of layers of stacked purple lightning shields on his body in an attempt to resist.

“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang—!!!”

The dense, bean-popping sound of bombardment exploded in the Void Realm!

Nightmare's fists smashed onto the lightning shields, and the condensed dark golden Demonic Flame possessed unparalleled penetrating and erosive power! Layer after layer of shields were easily pierced and shattered like paper! Thunder Command was beaten back step by step, the lightning battle robe on his body was torn by the fist force, his protective Origin shook violently, and blood was already overflowing from the corners of his mouth!

“Bastard! I'll fight you to the death!” Thunder Command was completely crazy, a flash of ruthlessness and determination in his eyes. He knew that if this continued, he would definitely lose! The opponent's power attribute completely restrained him, and he had an overwhelming advantage in close-quarters combat.

He suddenly retreated hundreds of feet, stopped defending, and crazily formed seals with both hands. The rotating Violet Lightning Dominator core in his body began to vibrate violently, emitting destructive, unstable fluctuations! A heart-stopping, terrifying aura that seemed to want to drag the entire Void Realm down with him surged out from his body crazily!

He wanted to self-destruct his core! With the self-destruction of a Peak Middle Sovereign's cultivation, the power would be enough to severely injure or even kill someone of the same rank and completely turn this area into a dead zone! At the same time, his Divine Thought moved, and a deep purple Jade Talisman carved with complex thunder patterns appeared in his palm, about to be crushed—that was the secret treasure he had long prepared to send a final distress and mutual destruction signal to the Domain Masters of Golden Wind, Azure Frost, and Green Water!

“Want to self-destruct? Want to call for help?” Nightmare's cold voice sounded like the whisper of the Grim Reaper in Thunder Command's ear, “Did I allow it?”

Just at the critical moment when Thunder Command's core was about to detonate and the Jade Talisman was about to be crushed!

Nightmare's left hand, which had been hanging by his side, had been quietly raised at some point, his five fingers aimed at the direction of Thunder Command, gripping the void.

“Reverse Path — Absolute Domain Seal!”

Hum!

An invisible, intangible, yet terrifying imprisonment force that transcended ordinary space locking and pointed directly at the Origin of Laws descended instantly, completely shrouding Thunder Command and the hundred feet of Void Realm around him!

Thunder Command discovered with horror that the core Origin in his body, which was about to explode, seemed to be tightly grasped by an invisible giant hand, and all the rampaging energy was forcibly suppressed and reversed! That destructive self-destruction fluctuation, like a snuffed-out flame, instantly dissipated! And the hand holding the Jade Talisman was also stuck as if it had fallen into ten-thousand-year black ice, unable to move, and even his Divine Thought was frozen in the Sea of Consciousness, unable to activate the Jade Talisman at all!

“No... Impossible! What is this power?!” Thunder Command shouted in despair in his heart. He felt that his existence, his will, and even his connection with the Violet Lightning Origin Law were being forcibly stripped and imprisoned by this weird and peerless power! What kind of terrifying Law control power is this?!

“Your Origin, your struggle, ends here.”

Nightmare's figure appeared in front of Thunder Command, who was absolutely imprisoned and showing endless fear, like a teleportation. His right hand, burning with the purest and deepest dark golden Demonic Flame, slowly raised, his five fingers forming a claw, and gently pressed down against Thunder Command's Dantian Qi Sea.

The movement seemed slow but carried an irresistible sense of destiny.

“It's over.”

Pfft!

The burning demonic claw pierced through Thunder Command's last remaining, weakly condensed protective lightning light without any obstruction, and deeply pierced into his abdomen, accurately grabbing the Violet Lightning Dominator core that was vibrating wildly and trying to break free from the imprisonment.

“Star Devouring Dao — Ultimate Devour!”

A fierce light flashed in Nightmare's eyes, and the suction in his palm was fully opened! This devouring was different from any previous one, more violent, more thorough, and carried a domineering nature of forcibly plundering and obliterating all marks!

“Ah—!!!” Thunder Command let out a miserable howl that exceeded the limit of his Divine Soul's endurance, but the sound was sealed in his throat by the imprisonment force. One could only see his twisted face and his eyes that instantly dimmed, filled with endless regret and fear.

The Violet Lightning Origin he had cultivated for countless years and tempered to the extreme, along with his un-dissipated vitality and Divine Soul imprint, poured into Nightmare's palm uncontrollably like an opened galaxy! He could clearly feel his existence rapidly passing away and returning to nothingness.

Three short breaths.

Thunder Command's burly body completely withered, turned into flying ashes, and drifted away with the wind. The deep purple Jade Talisman also shattered with a “pop” in the palm where he turned into ashes, turning into powder. The distress Divine Thought inside had not yet been sent out before it was annihilated.

The Purple Lightning Domain Master, a Peak Middle Hongmeng Lord Realm powerhouse—Thunder Command, had fallen! Divine Soul destroyed, Origin lost!

A palm-sized core token, crystal clear like purple crystal, with countless tiny electric lights flowing inside, fell from the ashes and was grabbed by Nightmare. Purple Lightning Domain core token!

At the same time, on the other side.

Without the command of Thunder Command and the elder holding the staff (who had long been severely injured by the recoil when Nightmare broke the shield and the subsequent battle aftermath, and was now paralyzed on a platform in the distance with a face like dead ashes), plus witnessing the Domain Master being so cruelly killed and devoured, the morale of the remaining Purple Lightning Guards and those ordinary Cultivators in the main city completely collapsed.

“The Domain Master... is dead?!”

“Run! Run away!”

“Devil! He is a devil!”

Cries, screams, and sounds of fleeing were in chaos.

“Nidao Guards! Clear out all resistance! Control the main city!” The roars of Stone Firm, Iron Edge, and Sand Shadow rang out.

The twenty-three elite Nidao Guards, like tigers entering a flock of sheep, cooperated tacitly and used ruthless means, specifically killing the die-hards who were still trying to organize resistance or flee to important facilities (such as the control center, warehouse). Having lost unified command and Battle Intent, the more numerous Purple Lightning Domain Cultivators could not form effective resistance and fell like harvested straw.

Nightmare stood in the air, holding the Violet Lightning token, coldly looking down at the Purple Lightning Main City, which had fallen into chaos and slaughter. He did not intervene in the specific clearing, just injected a pure Reverse Dao Power into the token.

Hum!

The token vibrated slightly, resonating closely with the thunder territory under his feet. Just like when he controlled the Black Rock Domain, a clear sense of control flooded into his mind—the territory outline of the Purple Lightning Domain, important nodes (especially the entrance to the promotion passage deep in the “Thunderstorm Sea”), the rough distribution of the remaining Cultivators... all were under his control.

[Ding! Detected that Host has seized the core authority of the ‘Purple Lightning Elementary Universe Domain’.]

[Verdict: Host has obtained actual ruling power of this Elementary Universe Domain.]

[Permissions unlocked...]

The familiar System prompt sounded again.

Nightmare put away the token and cast his gaze toward the depths of the Purple Lightning Domain, the area where energy reactions were the most violent and appeared blurry and dangerous even when perceived through the token—the Thunderstorm Sea, where the promotion passage was located.

The Purple Lightning Domain was already in his palm.

The next step was the key to a wider world.

And in the distance, the so-called allied forces of the Golden Wind, Azure Frost, and Green Water domains were on their way.

A cold light flashed in Nightmare's eyes.

They came just in time. It saved him from having to look for them one by one.

The flames of war and wailing in the Purple Lightning Main City gradually subsided, and the Nidao Guards were rapidly controlling various vital points and establishing a new order. The energy turbulence in the Void Realm also slowly calmed down, only that broken Purple Lightning Sky Shield, like a huge scar, told of the fate-deciding duel just now.

A new Dominator had been born. And the landscape of the border region of the Hongmeng Universe would undergo earth-shaking changes from tonight on.