Secrets of Reincarnation, Fragments of the System

The System's sudden sharp warning made Nightmare's mind instantly highly alert!

High-dimensional homologous energy? System component residue?

These two phrases combined revealed a huge and extremely horrifying amount of information! He had always thought the "System" in his mind was a unique, supreme existence that transcended the Laws of this world. He never expected to perceive so-called "homologous" energy fluctuations in a native divine object like the reincarnation wood!

Moreover, the System itself seemed "suspicious and uncertain" about this, even prompting "Insufficient permission" and "Extremely dangerous"?

This completely overturned his understanding!

Nightmare's gaze was fixed firmly on the heavily sealed reincarnation wood stump in the jade box, his eyes shifting uncertainly. Danger is often accompanied by opportunity; something that could make the System so flustered was definitely not an ordinary item!

He took a deep breath, suppressing the waves in his heart. His Divine Sense carefully probed toward the reincarnation wood again, but this time, he was not attempting to refine it, but rather using all his might to sense the "homologous energy fluctuation" the System had prompted.

His Divine Sense was like the finest carving knife, peeling away layers of Seals and the aura of the reincarnation wood itself, penetrating toward the very core of the withered wood stump.

The process was extremely difficult. The fluctuation was unusually obscure and was layered and covered by the powerful Reincarnation Law aura of the reincarnation wood itself and the power of the ancient Seal from before. If not for the System's prompt, he would never have been able to detect even a fraction of it.

Time passed bit by bit. Fine beads of sweat even seeped from Nightmare's forehead; the consumption of his Divine Sense was immense.

Finally, when his Divine Sense reached the very center of the withered wood stump, at that point of almost completely carbonized wood—

Hum!

An extremely faint, yet incomparably strange feeling suddenly arrived!

That was not energy; it was more like a kind of... pure, highly condensed information stream or, in other words... a rule fragment? The feeling it gave Nightmare was shockingly similar to the fluctuation when the System in his mind issued tasks or provided rewards! But it was more ancient, incomplete, and... deathly still?

It was just like a... System fragment that had lost its vitality?

"Is this the 'homologous energy' the System mentioned? A... broken 'System' component?" A stormy sea surged in Nightmare's heart. Could something like the System actually be broken? Could fragments drift into various worlds, and even merge into native divine objects?

He attempted to use his Divine Sense to touch and read that strange rule fragment.

Boom!

The moment he made contact, a complex, chaotic, and fragmented stream of images and information violently forced its way into his Sea of Consciousness!

...

**Endless Void Realm**, not the starry sky he knew, but a more vast, deathly silent, unknown Realm filled with various bizarre colors and distorted Laws.

An indescribable, incomprehensible, and terrifying war! One side of the battle consisted of countless light clusters or rune aggregates of various shapes, all emitting a cold, mechanical, and rule-based aura similar to the System in his mind (perhaps that was the complete "System"?). The other side was a deep, chaotic, and all-consuming darkness (somewhat similar to the ancient devil aura under the Soul Burying Valley, but more primordial and terrifying)!

**The outcome of the war seemed to be mutual destruction.** Countless light clusters and runes were shattered and annihilated. Large swathes of darkness were also purified and torn apart.

**A "System" fragment flickering with faint light** splashed out during the explosion, penetrating countless spatial barriers, and finally... fell into a vibrant world (suspected to be the world he was in).

The location where the fragment fell was exactly the core of a giant tree (the complete reincarnation wood) that reached the heavens and connected the cycle of life and death!

The fragment attempted to devour and analyze the Reincarnation Law of this world to repair itself, but it had a violent conflict and Fusion mutation with the Origin power of the reincarnation wood! This mutation seemed to have accidentally greatly enhanced the power of the reincarnation wood, even allowing it to touch upon certain Realms that should not have been touched—for example, forcibly communicating with the true Netherworld!

The scene shifted: A glorious civilization (the Abandoned Capital civilization) discovered the abnormally powerful reincarnation wood. They began to build a civilization around the reincarnation wood and attempted to use this enhanced Reincarnation power to conduct various experiments, and even... build a door, a forbidden door attempting to truly open the Netherworld and control the cycle of life and death!

The final scene: The forbidden door seemed to have truly been opened by a crack for a short time! But what surged out was not the Reincarnation mystery they expected, but... endless darkness, destruction, and a terrifying, indescribable giant hand (consistent with the contents of the murals in the Abandoned Capital)! The giant hand easily tore the civilization apart, snapped the reincarnation wood... And that "System" fragment that triggered everything was also severely damaged in this impact. Most of it was destroyed, leaving only the core rule fragment, which was deeply embedded in the broken reincarnation wood stump. As the stump was swept into the Spatial Turbulence by the explosion, it eventually landed on that Abandoned Capital in the Yin-Yang Chaotic Abyss, and was mistaken by later civilization survivors (?) as the miraculous nature of the reincarnation wood itself, and a Seal was placed to guard it...

**And that giant hand that destroyed everything, its aura... was of the same Origin and lineage as the ancient devil suppressed by the demon binding chain under the Soul Burying Valley!** That ancient devil was very likely one of the terrifying existences that crawled out from the crack of that "forbidden door" back then! The demon binding chain represented the intervention and suppression of another force (possibly the world's own defense mechanism, or other higher-dimensional existences)!

...

The information stream stopped abruptly here.

Nightmare suddenly withdrew his Divine Sense, his face slightly pale, but his eyes shone with shock and extreme excitement!

So that was it!

All the clues were finally connected!

The abnormality of the reincarnation wood, the rise and fall of the Abandoned Capital civilization, the attempt at the forbidden door, the Origin of the ancient devil, the suppression of the demon binding chain... The source of all this actually pointed to a fallen "System" fragment from outside the world!

It was the arrival of this fragment that changed the reincarnation wood and brought about the catastrophe!

And this "System" of unknown Origin in his mind was "homologous" to that fragment! They came from the same place, or the same type of existence!

"System... what exactly are you?" Nightmare asked coldly in his heart.

The System in his mind was silent for a moment, and its mechanical voice seemed to carry a hint of complexity: [Insufficient permission to answer. Warning the Host, excessively probing high-dimensional information carries unpredictable risks. It is recommended to prioritize completing the current task.]

The System's evasion only confirmed Nightmare's guess even more. This System was definitely not as simple and selfless as it appeared. It must also have its own goals.

"Risk? Heh." Nightmare sneered, "Risk is often accompanied by reward."

His gaze became sharp again as he looked at the rule fragment in the reincarnation wood.

Although this fragment was deathly still, the level of rule power contained within it was extremely high! If he could refine and absorb it...

A crazy plan formed in his mind.

The essence of the Secret Curse of Stealing Fate and Exchanging Heaven was to steal Luck and deceive the Heavenly Dao. And this "System" fragment came from outside the world, and its rule essence was very likely **transcendent of the Heavenly Dao of this world**! If he could integrate its power into the secret curse...

Perhaps he could not only steal Ye Fan's Luck, but even... **deceive or even briefly block the perception of the Heavenly Dao of this world**! Let the Heavenly Dao no longer be able to favor Ye Fan!

In this way, the success rate of killing the child of destiny would be greatly increased!

Moreover, refining this rule fragment would definitely have immeasurable benefits for his own understanding of higher-level Laws!

"System, analyze the feasibility and risks of refining this item." Nightmare ordered.

[Ding! Task accepted... Analyzing...]

[Target: Unknown model System rule fragment (extremely incomplete, vitality lost)]

[Refining feasibility: Low (requires consuming a large amount of the Host's internal System Origin energy for activation and guidance)]

[Risk: High. May trigger backlash from residual information within the fragment; may cause the Heavenly Dao of this world to become alert; may... attract the attention of other "Systems" or their creations.]

[Success rate estimation: 35% (with System assistance)]

[Suggestion: Rejected. It is not recommended for the Host to perform this dangerous operation. It is safer to prioritize searching for the "heavenly mandate flower" and "karma mud".]

A 35% success rate? Indeed not high. And the risk was huge, possibly even attracting the attention of other "Systems"?

The madness in Nightmare's eyes intensified.

Safe? Safe meant giving Ye Fan more time to grow, meaning the Heavenly Dao could give him more protection and encounters!

He was never someone who chose the safe path!

"Consume System Origin energy? Fine!" Nightmare did not hesitate, "Start auxiliary refining immediately!"

[Warning! Confirming again! This operation is extremely high risk! Once started, it cannot be reversed! Do you confirm?] The System's voice became unusually serious.

"Confirm!" Nightmare was resolute, "If I don't even dare to take this risk, how can I talk about defying the heavens to change fate and achieving the supreme Demonic Path!"

[Command confirmed. Starting to draw on System Origin energy... Connecting to the rule fragment... Refining program initiated...]

With the System's cold prompt, Nightmare felt a pure and vast energy, completely different from his own Demonic Essence, surge from the depths of his mind, and through his Divine Sense, slowly inject into the rule fragment within the reincarnation wood!

At the same time, the System also flooded his Sea of Consciousness with complex refining techniques and information streams!

Hum!

The originally deathly still rule fragment suddenly lit up with a glimmer of light the moment it touched the System's Origin energy! As if awakened from a deep sleep!

Immediately afterward, a chaotic, complex torrent filled with various unknown symbols and Law fragments suddenly rushed back into Nightmare's Sea of Consciousness along the energy connection!

"Ugh!" Nightmare groaned, feeling as if his head was about to explode! Countless incomprehensible knowledge, chaotic images, and cold rules bombarded his Divine Soul!

This backlash came extremely fiercely!

But he held firmly to the clarity of his spirit. The Myriad Poison Demonic Scripture operated crazily, his Demonic Soul erupted with resilient will, forcibly sorting and suppressing the chaotic torrent! At the same time, the System was also fully assisting, guiding the Origin energy to constantly scour and soothe the riotous fragment.

This was an extremely dangerous tug-of-war!

On the surface of Nightmare's body, magic patterns flickered, sometimes revealing a cold mechanical luster, and sometimes being covered by chaotic symbols. His aura also became extremely unstable, fluctuating violently between the Middle Nascent Soul Stage and a more bizarre and unpredictable state.

Mo Yuan and Su Wanqing and the others in the Immortal Cave were all alarmed by this sudden terrifying aura, watching Nightmare, who seemed to be in a state of struggle, with horror, but dared not step forward to disturb him.

Time seemed to become incomparably long.

I don't know how long it had been, but the resistance of the rule fragment finally gradually weakened, and it began to be forcibly refined and absorbed by the System's Origin power and Nightmare's will...

[Ding! rule fragment refined successfully!]

[Host successfully absorbed "Unknown rule fragment * 1".]

[Host's comprehension of "Stealing Fate", "Blocking", "Analysis" and other related Laws has been greatly improved!]

[Effect prediction of "Secret Curse of Stealing Fate and Exchanging Heaven" improved: Luck stealing efficiency +30%, Heavenly Dao blocking duration +50%, success rate increased to 65%!]

[Warning: Host's aura has attracted slight attention from a higher dimension. Please use the newly acquired power with caution.]

Succeeded!

Nightmare suddenly opened his eyes. Deep in his pupils, countless cold data streams and profound Law runes seemed to flash by! His aura became deeper and more restrained, and there was an added indescribable, strange feeling as if he had transcended the Laws of this world!

Although his cultivation Realm had not directly improved, his understanding and application of power, especially regarding "Stealing Fate" and "Blocking", had reached a whole new level!

A 65% success rate! That was enough!

Moreover, the increase in the Heavenly Dao blocking duration meant he could have more ample time to deal with Ye Fan without worrying about the direct intervention of the Heavenly Dao!

"Ye Fan... your good Luck has come to an end." A cold and confident arc curled at the corner of Nightmare's mouth.

He looked at the worried Mo Yuan and Su Wanqing nearby and said calmly: "It is fine. Prepare yourselves, we can begin the next step of the plan."

His gaze seemed to have penetrated the Immortal Cave, seeing the trap that was about to be triggered, as well as... the desperate figure of the child of destiny.

The hunt was about to reach its climax.