293: Fifth Incarnation: Heavenly Physician (85)

However, the hint of joy in Xu Yuan's eyes had not yet fully spread before it quickly retracted, turning into an almost inaudible sigh.

He gazed at the lifelike phantom body whose aura was almost identical to his own, feeling the exquisitely interwoven Order and dreamlike Dao Rhyme within it, yet his mind remained as clear as a mirror.

"Such methods might be enough to deceive Golden Core Cultivators or even catch an ordinary Fruit Position True Person off guard for a moment."

"But if I want to use this to deceive a Dao Monarch who wields the Great Dao and whose thoughts can pierce through reality and illusion... it is still too naive."

The realm of a Dao Monarch has already transcended the mundane; their perception is no longer limited to form, Qi, and spirit, but points directly to the Origin of the Great Dao and Karmic connections.

Although Xu Yuan's phantom body was ingenious, it was ultimately 'wood without roots, water without a source,' and its flow of Dao Rhyme lacked deep support from the source of the Great Dao.

In the eyes of a Dao Monarch, it might pass for the real thing at first glance, but with even a little attention, they could perceive its internal 'illusory' nature and subtle flaws in the rules. More likely, they could use the unseen threads of Karma to trace it directly back to his true self!

"My current temporary safety is entirely due to the chaotic rules of the Deep Dream Marsh itself and the mutual restraint of the Dao Monarchs outside, none of whom are willing to exert their full power for a thorough investigation. Once the balance is broken and a Dao Monarch disregards the cost to sweep this place with their Divine Thought, my phantom body probably won't even delay them for a moment..."

A strong sense of crisis coiled around Xu Yuan's heart like a cold snake.

The time he had bought using the Deep Dream Marsh was far more limited than he had imagined!

The patience of those ancient existences outside was by no means infinite.

Their current lack of movement was merely a temporary choice based on weighing pros and cons. Once the balance broke, or a Dao Monarch decided the time was right, a thunderous strike would arrive in an instant!

"To truly gain a sliver of life and find a way to interfere with or even temporarily block a Dao Monarch's perception... the insights from this peripheral area are far from enough!"

Xu Yuan's gaze rose again involuntarily, piercing through layers of blurred dreamlike halos toward the deepest part of the Deep Dream Marsh.

The scenery there was even more bizarre and grotesque, the colors rich to the point of being eerie. The fluctuations of the rules were like a boiling ocean—chaotic, violent, yet containing a heart-palpitating pressure originating from the Origin of the Great Dao!

It was as if a sleeping primeval Vicious Beast was entrenched in the center of that area; its mere aura was enough to shatter the Divine Soul of an ordinary Golden Core Cultivator.

That was the true core where the Illusory Dream Dao Lord had fallen!

It was the source of 'Dao Sorrow,' where the Great Dao was shattered, resentment condensed, and rules were twisted to the extreme!

The dangers contained within were more than a hundred times more terrifying than the peripheral areas.

Rushing in blindly would mean certain death!

But... Xu Yuan's pupils constricted slightly. In his mind flashed the tangible malicious lock-ons from the Dao Monarchs in the Void Realm outside, and the seemingly protective but actually inscrutable, indifferent gaze of Dao Lord Shang Qing.

He knew deep down that he was like meat on a chopping block, only temporarily spared from the blade.

Continuing to stay in the relatively 'safe' peripheral area was just like boiling a frog in lukewarm water; the only outcome would be exhaustion and capture, or being easily plucked out once the Dao Monarchs outside reached some kind of tacit agreement.

"No other choice..."

Xu Yuan slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the cold air, which carried scents of both dreams and decay. When he opened them again, all hesitation, weighing of options, and even the slight instinctive fear of the unknown had vanished, replaced only by a determination as cold as eternal ice!

"A dangerous place might also be a place of life! A desperate situation might hide a sliver of Opportunity!"

"That core area, where the rules are chaotic to the extreme, can even twist and weaken a Dao Monarch's thoughts, making it the best hiding place! The remaining Origin fragments of the Illusory Dream Dao Lord there, though containing great terror, also hold the ultimate mysteries of 'transforming between reality and illusion' and 'dreams interfering with reality'!"

"If I can gain some insight from it, I might truly be able to refine a supreme secret technique that can deceive the heavens and even briefly twist a Dao Monarch's perception!"

"Staying here is waiting for death. Entering the core is a near-certain death! But within those nine deaths, there is still one life to fight for! Whereas staying here means ten deaths and zero life!"

"No other choice..."

Xu Yuan's Dao Heart was like a deep well, reflecting the cold reality.

He truly did not fear the destruction of his body and soul, for he carried the secret of Reincarnation. Even if this body perished, an undimmed strand of his true spirit could escape into Reincarnation to start a new life.

This had once been his greatest source of confidence in countless dangerous situations.

Yet at this moment, that confidence seemed so pale.

"Is it easy to open a new Dao, especially a core Dao that points directly to the Origin of the Great Dao and is equal in status to a Dao Monarch?"

Xu Yuan's mind was clear as a mirror. "In this life, I was able to first open the 'Human Dao' because I gathered thousands of opportunities—several lives of innate wisdom, an Innate Dao Body, the Shang Qing lineage, and even a thread of Luck favored by the world—into one body. Only then did I succeed by Luck! The dangers within were such that the slightest mistake would have meant eternal damnation."

If he were to try again, he had no confidence in replicating such a miracle.

"Moreover..."

Xu Yuan's gaze pierced through the misty fog, as if seeing the greedy and cold eyes in the Void Realm outside the marsh. "Even if I luckily opened a new Dao again, could I avoid the covetousness of these ancient existences? The world is in decline, the Dharma-Ending Age is approaching, and these Dao Monarchs on the verge of dao transformation will swarm like sharks smelling blood toward any 'seedling' of a new Dao that might extend their existence! In the next life, I might not be able to find a dangerous place like the Deep Dream Marsh to temporarily avoid their edge!"

Reincarnation was not a retreat, but a gamble with even bleaker hopes!

"The Dao of this life is what I chose after experiencing tribulations and Rebirth, and seeing my true nature! This humanity golden elixir carries the insights of my several lives and my great aspirations for the world and all living beings! This body and this Dao are my 'present,' my 'Foundation'! If I cannot even grasp the present or protect this life, how can I talk about Reincarnation? How can I talk about the future?"

An incredibly strong belief of 'My Dao is only the present' erupted from the depths of Xu Yuan's Dao Heart like a volcano!

The experiences of past Reincarnations were no longer excuses to escape the present, but instead became a powerful motivation to grasp this life and surpass his previous lives!

Every Reincarnation should be a transcendence, not a repetition!

"In this life, I must fight! I must carve out a path to survival!"

"The core of the Deep Dream Marsh is a situation of certain death, but it is also the only place where I might find life after death! The rules there are chaotic to the extreme and can block a Dao Monarch's perception; it contains the Origin mysteries of the Illusory Dream Dao Lord, which might help me perfect my methods of concealment and transformation; and more importantly... there might exist a 'variable' that even the Dao Monarchs have not noticed or dare not touch!"

This 'variable' could be a hidden move left by the Illusory Dream Dao Lord, a strange node created by the distortion of worldly rules, or perhaps... traces left by other experts who had fallen here.

Regardless, it was the only light in the despair!

"Only by grasping this sliver of life and pushing the Dao of this life to a higher peak will I be qualified to contend with those ancient existences in the future struggle for the Great Dao, and even... defeat them!"