33: Shadow Nightmare appears, and the first roar of chaos resounds.

Shadow Nightmare's figure was like condensed darkness, floating above the gate of the dilapidated stone hall. It was merely a blurry outline, yet the pressure it emitted was like a physical mountain, heavily weighing on the hearts of every Prodigy at the edge of the basin. It was an extreme darkness—cold, deathly silent, as if it could swallow all light.

"You thing that hides your head and shows your tail, are you finally willing to show yourself?" Mo Yuan spoke first, his voice low, carrying the unique arrogance and Battle Intent of a Demon Scion. His Demonic Yuan was restrained but not released, yet it caused the surrounding air to twist slightly, forming a stance of equal rivalry against Shadow Nightmare's dark aura.

Su Zhiqing did not speak, but the sword-shaped jade talisman in her robes was already humming. A clear Glazed Sword Intent soared into the sky, like a divine sword partially unsheathed, silently cutting through the encroaching dark aura. The Buddha Scion of the Lesser Leiyin Temple pressed his palms together and recited a Buddhist Invocation. Pure and vast golden Buddha Light erupted from his body, dispelling the sinister evil. The Elf Race Woman condensed emerald-green natural brilliance in her hands, while the Giant Clan Warrior let out a low roar, his blood energy rising like wolf smoke.

Every top Prodigy was resisting Shadow Nightmare's omnipresent and terrifying pressure in their own way.

Lin Fan stood at the edge of the basin, his gaze sharp as a hawk's, locking onto that shadowy outline. He could feel the Dark Beacon Fragment in his robes vibrating violently; its aura, being of the same Origin as Shadow Nightmare, made it almost burst out from his body. At the same time, the strand of Innate Chaos Qi within him also began to circulate faster of its own accord, emitting an instinctive restlessness as if it had encountered an "alien object" and desired to assimilate and return it to the Origin.

"Jie jie jie, such fine blood energy, such fine soul light." Shadow Nightmare let out a raspy laugh, its gaze like a cold probe sweeping over everyone, finally lingering for a moment on Lin Fan, Mo Yuan, Su Zhiqing, and a few others. "Killing you and extracting your Origin will be enough to significantly advance the process of my Lord's descent!"

Before its voice had even faded, the dilapidated stone hall beneath Shadow Nightmare shook violently! The ancient runes upon the hall's gate suddenly lit up, but instead of the sacred brilliance they should have possessed, they turned a murky, pitch-black color! One after another, thick black chains shot out from within the gate like venomous snakes. The tips of the chains were condensed into hideous ghost heads, letting out ear-piercing shrieks as they swarmed toward all the prodigies at the edge of the basin, intending to entwine and bite them!

These dark chains not only possessed powerful physical binding force but also carried the terrifying properties of eroding the Divine Soul and polluting one's mana!

"Attack!" someone shouted, and all the prodigies moved instantly!

Mo Yuan snorted coldly and pressed his fingers together like a saber, slashing out a highly condensed jet-black saber beam. His Saber Intent contained the power of devouring and destruction, directly severing several chains. At the points where they were cut, black gas sizzled, actually devouring each other. Su Zhiqing pointed her fingers like swords repeatedly, sending out crisscrossing Glazed Sword Qi like a woven sword net, shredding all the chains that attacked her. The Buddha Scion spoke a mantra, and golden Swastika Buddhist Seals smashed into the chains like meteors. The extremely yang and rigid Buddha Power and the dark energy collided fiercely, neutralizing each other.

Zi Linger's nine tails danced and her Purple Flame reached the heavens, burning and twisting the approaching chains until they snapped. Ethereal Moon's figure was ethereal as the Power of Reincarnation transformed into invisible ripples; when the chains touched the ripples, they seemed to experience eons of erosion, quickly becoming dim and fragile before finally weathering away into nothingness.

The other prodigies also displayed their Divine Abilities, either performing powerful Spells or manifesting protective Magic Treasures to engage in fierce battle with the countless dark chains. The edge of the basin instantly transformed into a chaotic battlefield, filled with the constant roar of energy collisions and the shrieks of the chains.

Facing the dozen or so chains swarming toward him, Lin Fan's gaze remained calm. He did not use any fancy Moves, but simply threw a straightforward punch! Upon his fist, that chaotic and hazy light emerged once more, as if a single punch had struck out a miniature scene of the dawn of Chaos!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Wherever the punch force reached, those chains infused with powerful dark energy seemed to have met their nemesis. They instantly stiffened, and then, starting from the point of contact with the fist, their structures collapsed and their energy dissipated, turning into the most primitive black airflow, which was directly swallowed and assimilated by that strand of Chaos Qi within the punch! With one punch, more than ten chains were completely annihilated!

This scene once again attracted many gazes. Even Shadow Nightmare's blurry outline seemed to fluctuate slightly.

"An interesting ant... your power is very special." Shadow Nightmare's voice carried a hint of surprise and greed! "I'll take your Origin!"

It suddenly raised its hand and made a grasping motion toward the space where Lin Fan was! In an instant, the space around Lin Fan seemed to be frozen and compressed! A giant ghost hand, condensed entirely from the purest dark energy, ignored everyone else and appeared directly above Lin Fan's head. Its fingers were like hooks, carrying the terrifying power to imprison the Void Realm and crush the stars as it clawed down fiercely! The power of this strike far exceeded that of the previous chains, already reaching the level of the Peak Purple Mansion Realm!

"Lin Fan, be careful!" Zi Linger and Ethereal Moon cried out at the same time, wanting to help but being pinned down by even more chains.

Mo Yuan, Su Zhiqing, and the others also looked solemn. This strike was something even they would have to face with their full strength.

Facing this certain-kill strike, Lin Fan's pupils constricted as he felt an unprecedented pressure. But there was no fear in his heart, only boiling Battle Intent! He let out a long cry and no longer held back. The Eternal Indestructible Body, Star Sword Seed, war soul mark, and even the preliminarily integrated Innate Chaos Qi—all his powers erupted without reservation at this moment!

His entire aura became incredibly ancient and chaotic, as if he had transformed into that mass of primordial Qi from before the creation of heaven and earth! Both his fists struck out together; it was no longer a simple punch technique, but an integration of all his current understanding of power into these two fists!

The left fist was Eternal, carrying the charm of indestructibility, extremely yang and rigid!

The right fist was Chaos, evolving the Origin of the heavens and embracing all things!

The two fists combined, transforming into a greyish Chaos Fist Aura that seemed capable of resetting the elements of earth, water, fire, and wind, and reenacting the primordial Universe. It rose heaven-defyingly, fiercely striking toward the sky-blotting dark ghost hand!

"Chaos Heavens-Opening!" This was the strongest strike Lin Fan unleashed after a sudden stroke of inspiration allowed him to integrate all his Dao and laws!

"Boom!!!" The Chaos Fist Aura and the dark ghost hand collided without any trickery! There was no energy explosion as one might expect; the moment the dark ghost hand touched the Chaos Fist Aura, it was like snow meeting a blazing sun, or clear water being dripped into ink—it was rapidly eroded, decomposed, and assimilated by that chaotic, hazy light!

Chaos Qi returns all things to their Origin! Although this dark energy was pure and powerful, in the face of the higher-level Innate Chaos Qi, it was still merely an "Acquired being" and could not escape the fate of being assimilated!

The giant ghost hand dissolved and shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye. Finally, less than three feet above Lin Fan's head, it was completely annihilated, turning into a stream of pure dark Origin energy. Instead of harming him, it was partially absorbed by the residual Chaos Qi in Lin Fan's fist aura, replenishing his consumption!

One punch broke a Peak Purple Mansion strike!

The entire field was deathly silent! Everyone stared at this scene in stunned silence, including Mo Yuan and Su Zhiqing! They believed they could also take that grasp, but it would be impossible to do so with such nonchalance, let alone devouring the opponent's power in return!

"Impossible!" Shadow Nightmare's previously blurry and calm outline fluctuated violently for the first time, its voice filled with unbelievable shock and fury. "What kind of power is that?! It's definitely not something that should exist in this world!"

Lin Fan slowly withdrew his fists, feeling his blood energy boiling slightly from the full-power eruption, as well as that strand of Chaos Qi that seemed to have grown a tiny bit stronger. His heart was filled with heroic pride. He looked up, his gaze like lightning, staring directly at Shadow Nightmare.

"The power that will kill you!" As his voice fell, he no longer defended passively but took the initiative to attack! His figure turned into a streak of chaotic light, charging directly toward Shadow Nightmare above the stone hall! He wanted to take advantage of the enemy's uncertainty to actively tear open this curtain of darkness!

"Arrogance!" Shadow Nightmare was enraged. Its shadowy outline suddenly expanded, turning into a sky-blotting dark wave that carried the roars of countless resentful spirits and a pure Nirvana Concept, sweeping toward Lin Fan! It wanted to completely crush this Human Race Prodigy who had repeatedly exceeded its expectations and possessed such eerie power!

The great battle escalated instantly! With his Mid-stage Purple Mansion Realm cultivation, Lin Fan took the initiative to face the unfathomably strong Dark Divine Son, Shadow Nightmare!

At the edge of the basin, Battle Intent burned in Mo Yuan's eyes as he unhesitatingly transformed into a demonic shadow and charged toward the dark wave. "You have me as an opponent as well!"

Su Zhiqing's Sword Qi soared to the heavens as she became one with her sword and followed closely behind! Buddha Light, natural light, and primitive blood energy erupted as the other top prodigies also unleashed their full potential. Various powerful Divine Abilities and Magic Treasures lit up as they all attacked Shadow Nightmare and the dark forces it controlled!

At the core of the Myriad Worlds Battlefield, the final decisive battle was completely ignited because of Lin Fan's bold action!