"Not good, this region is about to collapse." Yi Tianxing's pupils contracted, instinctively feeling a surge of danger. He saw the void twisting, the surrounding heaven and earth like a fragile painting that could shatter into nothingness at any moment. It was precisely this sense of peril that caused the ferocious beasts and monsters hidden in the swamp to go mad, frantically fleeing outward. Their movements made it clear—if they were a second too late, death was certain, instant annihilation. And indeed, that was exactly the case.
The scene was no different from an entire world suddenly collapsing into destruction.
Once caught in the destructive force, survival was slim. This was the Nightmare World—a top-level world in no way inferior to Eternal Night or the Eternal World. The Nightmare World was defined by its bizarre, ever-changing nature, where collapse could happen at any time, or entirely new regions could be born. Yet the destructive force unleashed during a collapse drew upon the Nightmare World's own essence, an unfathomable might. Even if there was some attenuation, it was never much.
Enough to kill even a Dao Proving–realm powerhouse on the spot.
Every collapse within the Nightmare World inevitably resulted in massive casualties. Countless lives would flee in madness, yet whether they could escape was entirely a matter of luck and strength. For once the collapse began, its speed was utterly shocking. Only those at the very edges had a greater chance of survival.
Yi Tianxing did not hesitate. With a single thought, his body turned into a stream of light, piercing through the air and shooting outward.
With one step, space itself shrank—near and far reversed.
In the next breath, he was already at the edge of the collapsing region, leaving the swamp behind. Standing upon the void, he could clearly see countless creatures surging outward like a tidal wave. Yet even more had no chance to escape before they were swallowed by the collapse, their bodies instantly shattering like glass, reduced to fragments before vanishing completely. Divine powers and spells alike were shredded into nothingness.
Among them were not a few Dao Proving–realm beings—yet even they failed to escape annihilation.
Even at the moment of their end, their unwillingness and despair could still be felt.
In but an instant, billions of lives were obliterated. A true world-ending sight.
Even those who escaped were stricken with terror after witnessing such horror, fleeing even further with all their might.
"What a pity. If all of them could have been refined with the Yin-Yang Treasure Bottle, I would have obtained an unimaginable number of Yin-Yang Pills." Yi Tianxing secretly shook his head with a sigh. To refine billions upon billions of lives—the harvest would have been immeasurable.
Still, he did not leave.
He continued standing silently in the void, concealing his presence, his aura hidden so thoroughly that none could detect him. His gaze never left the collapsing region, where he could sense an immense tide of Nightmare Power surging and roaring.
Then suddenly, within it, a vortex began to form.
Upon closer inspection, it was a massive funnel of Nightmare Power, endlessly rotating as streams of power gathered and rushed toward its center.
A chest.
A treasure chest.
"A Nightmare Treasure Chest."
Even Yi Tianxing's eyes flickered with surprise.
Beneath the vortex lay a colorless Nightmare Treasure Chest. Its material was unknown, as if born directly from heaven and earth itself, flawless and whole, with mysterious patterns etched across its surface. These formed a strange, eerie face—just one glance was enough to stir deep, instinctive fear in the heart, like staring into an endless abyss, or feeling the gaze of a nightmare itself.
The chest was like a bottomless pit, endlessly devouring the Nightmare Power born from the annihilation of billions of lives. No matter how much there was, it consumed it all.
As it did, the chest began to transform, radiating increasing brilliance.
One color!
Two colors!
…
Time passed without anyone knowing how long.
At last, when the final wisp of Nightmare Power was absorbed, the chest metamorphosed completely, becoming seven-colored, as radiant and dazzling as a rainbow.
"A Seven-Colored Nightmare Treasure Chest… there must be an unimaginable supreme treasure within!"
Yi Tianxing's heart gave a sharp jolt.
The ranks of Nightmare Treasure Chests followed strict patterns. Black was the most mysterious, its grade indeterminable, containing anything of any level. White was the lowest, the most common. Beyond that were multi-colored chests, with each additional color raising the grade dramatically. When the seven colors—red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and violet—were all present, it became the supreme Seven-Colored Nightmare Treasure Chest, with greatly heightened chances of birthing top-tier treasures.
For countless cultivators, such a chest was a priceless, coveted treasure.
Whenever collapse occurred in the Nightmare World, there was always a high chance that colorful Nightmare Chests would be born from the released Nightmare Power.
But the one before him was the very highest tier.
Almost as soon as the chest finished forming, a silver-white claw suddenly tore down from the sky without warning. Vast enough to grasp the entire heavens, it blotted out the sun as it swept downward, its clear goal to seize the treasure chest.
Under the claw's pressure, even the flow of time itself seemed to warp, speeding up chaotically, descending into disorder.
With his Innate Yin-Yang Eyes, Yi Tianxing could clearly see the truth—a colossal Western dragon coiled within time itself. Its scales glistened like inverted triangles, each resembling a crystalline hourglass that shimmered with strange light. This was among the most unique of the Western dragons—a Time Dragon.
Time Dragons possessed a terrifying bloodline talent: the power to control time. They could freely swim within the currents of past, present, and future, and to even glimpse them was exceedingly rare. Each was unimaginably strong—and the one before him was a Dao Proving–realm existence.
Bang!
Before Yi Tianxing could intervene, a massive serpent's tail suddenly lashed forth from the void, slamming against the dragon's claw and halting its attempt to seize the chest.
"A Soaring Serpent!"
Yi Tianxing's eyes narrowed. He saw another terrifying beast—a giant serpent with wings. Soaring Serpents were said to be of the dragon's kin, no weaker than true dragons, and capable of battling them directly. The one that appeared now was likewise at the Dao Proving realm. At once, it engaged the Time Dragon in battle, both vying for the Seven-Colored Nightmare Treasure Chest.
Boom!
The ground trembled as a colossal leg, thick as a pillar that could prop up heaven itself, stomped down. An overwhelming aura followed in its wake.
"A Hecatoncheires Giant…"
Yi Tianxing's pupils contracted again.
A towering giant appeared, so vast it seemed to connect heaven and earth. In its hand was a ferocious spiked mace, which it swung toward the Time Dragon, while its other fist punched at the Soaring Serpent. The power behind its every move made the Nightmare Power all around surge in frenzy.
Yi Tianxing remained hidden in the void, his presence completely erased. The three top-tier beings failed to notice him.
"Strong as they are… in the end, they're still weak. The Seven-Colored Nightmare Treasure Chest—I want it as well."
A cold light flashed in Yi Tianxing's eyes. With a flicker, a long banner radiating five-colored divine light appeared in his hand. Its surface was covered in endless profound runes, talismans appearing and vanishing, each radiating an aura of unimaginable might.
It was none other than the World-Opening Divine Artifact—the Ten Thousand Talisman Banner!
The banner had already advanced to the level of Supreme Treasure, containing countless innate talismans as its foundation.
Swish!
Yi Tianxing shook the banner.
The void erupted in divine light. Billions of talismans flew forth, merging into chains of talismanic light, like divine dragons weaving through the air. In an instant, they appeared before the giant, the Time Dragon, and the Soaring Serpent.
Roar!
The three mighty beings all felt a deadly threat and roared, unleashing attacks at the talisman chains. Yet just before impact, the chains blurred, turning ethereal—and pierced straight through their bodies, drilling through their pipa bones, through their vital points.
The next moment, the chains wildly coiled around their bodies.
Boom!
In the collision's aftermath, both the Time Dragon and the Soaring Serpent suddenly lost their strength, plummeting from the sky to crash upon the ground, eyes filled with both terror and rage.
"Seal!"
With a light shout, Yi Tianxing caused the three mighty beings to vanish instantly, sealed within the Hongmeng Heavenly Emperor Pagoda.
The Ten Thousand Talisman Banner, now an Supreme Treasure, could form countless talismanic divine powers. The technique he just used was the Sealing Divine Chains. Once pierced and bound by them, all strength was sealed, making escape nearly impossible.
Now sealed within the Hongmeng Heavenly Emperor Pagoda, escaping was even more hopeless.
"They came fast. This place has already become a battlefield."
Yi Tianxing glanced into the distance, waved his hand to collect the Nightmare Treasure Chest, and in a flicker of light, vanished into the void.