294: Fifth Incarnation: Heavenly Physician (86)

At this moment, his resolve condensed to the extreme, without the slightest wavering!

Crack!"

As if sensing the desperate, life-from-death determination in his heart, the humanity golden elixir within his body trembled slightly. The nascent illusory-colored patterns on its surface suddenly lit up, reflecting the 'contract · Order' rune at its core, emitting a strange and harmonious Dao Rhyme.

His perception of the surrounding Dream Rules seemed to become a bit clearer, and the effect of his stealth enhanced slightly.

This was the feedback brought by the advancement of his Dao Heart!

“Good!”

A sharp light burst from Xu Yuan's eyes; he no longer had the slightest hesitation.

He took one last look at the phantom body that was still 'Cultivating,' and then his form completely blurred, achieving a perfect Fusion with the bizarre dreamlike background. Like a silent ghost, he sped toward the core area where the Laws were boiling and emitting heart-palpitating fluctuations!

His speed was not fast, but he was exceptionally steady and cautious.

With every step, he felt as if he were treading on the edge of life and death. His Divine Sense was highly focused as he fully activated the humanity seal, sensing the increasingly chaotic and dangerous rule turbulence ahead, searching for a relatively safe path.

The surrounding scenery began to become distorted and fragmented.

It was no longer beautiful memories or simple illusions, but spatial faults, time fragments, and even bizarre entities condensed from various negative emotions and mad obsessions.

Wailing soul shadows, twisted monsters, and space-time corridors that constantly repeated a certain tragic moment... it was bizarre and filled with hidden dangers.

Xu Yuan's mind was tense as he pushed his newly understood Dream Concealment technique to the limit. Simultaneously, he used the 'Order' Dao Rhyme to protect himself, avoiding obvious dangers as he trudged forward.

Every step Xu Yuan took was like walking on a mountain of blades or a sea of fire.

The rule chaos in the core area had reached its extreme. Space was no longer continuous; it folded and tore at times, revealing bottomless void cracks. Time was even more fragmented; one moment might be the extreme cold of eternal ice, and the next would turn into the boiling heat of lava. There were even time fragments flowing backward, bringing all sorts of disordered lights, shadows, and perceptions.

The wailing soul shadows had turned into tangible storms of curses, sweeping through the thoughts of all living beings. The twisted monsters were no longer illusions but physical demonic creatures condensed from dense resentment and broken Dao Laws, possessing terrifying killing power. Those looping space-time corridors were even more lethal traps; once entered by mistake, one might be trapped forever in a desperate moment until their Divine Soul was exhausted.

Xu Yuan combined Dream Concealment and Order's Protection to the absolute limit.

He was like a highly skilled tightrope walker, struggling through the gaps between violent rule turbulence and physical attacks.

He did not dare to resist head-on and could only rely on his keen perception of rule fluctuations to avoid them in advance.

He had several narrow escapes: a spatial crack nearly cut him in half, a wisp of reversed time almost aged him a thousand years, and a demonic creature condensed from the 'Delusion' Dao Law nearly tore apart his protective Dao Rhyme... It was entirely thanks to the extremely high status of the humanity golden elixir, which had a natural resistance to chaotic rules, and the trace of 'Dream' true intent he had newly refined, allowing him to better integrate into the environment and predict danger, that he was able to survive time and again.

But the price was heavy. His Daoist robes were shredded, several deep wounds that reached the bone and were difficult to heal due to Law erosion marked his body, and his Divine Soul pulsed with weakness and sharp pain from the continuous high-intensity deduction and resistance.

Yet the light in his eyes grew sharper and more determined!

The deeper he went, the more he could feel the terrifying Dao Rhyme fluctuations coming from the heart of this area, as if they could swallow all methods and silence everything!

Within those fluctuations, there was both endless malice and resentment, as well as a supreme aura belonging to the Great Dao's Origin that transcended ordinary Laws!

“Almost there... the core is just ahead!”

After an unknown amount of time, when Xu Yuan finally struggled through a region composed of countless broken Dream Crystals that resembled a storm of blades, the scene before him suddenly changed!

All the bizarre sights, all the rule turbulence, all the shrieks of demonic creatures... at this moment, they all abruptly vanished!

In their place was a field of absolute... deathly silence and void!

This was an empty land of indescribable size.

There was no up or down, no past or future. Beneath his feet was a pure, dark void that could swallow even light, and the same was true above his head. Only in the center of this void did a single object float—

A set of... withered bones.

A massive humanoid skeleton, its entire body presenting a dim luster, like dusty glazed glass!

The skeleton maintained a cross-legged sitting posture. Its bones were covered with countless fine, profound, yet broken and dim natural dao patterns.

Even though these dao patterns were damaged, they still emitted a supreme Dao Rhyme that made the Divine Soul tremble!

It was as if what they once carried was the rise, fall, and mysteries of a complete Great Dao!

The skeleton's head was slightly lowered, its hollow eye sockets staring into the endless darkness below. An indescribable sense of sorrow, resentment, and a majesty that transcended all things emanated from these withered bones, filling the entire void space.

It simply floated there quietly, yet it seemed to be the absolute center of this void, the starting point and end point of all rules, all energy, and all existence!

All illusions, all chaos, and all rule turbulence were silently swallowed and calmed by this skeleton the moment they reached the edge of this void, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea.

It was like a black hole, absorbing all the 'motion' and 'chaos' of the Deep Dream Marsh, while it itself presented the ultimate 'stillness' and 'silence'!

“This... this is...”

Xu Yuan's pupils shrank, and his mind shook so violently he almost stopped breathing!

Even though he had never seen it before, and even though this skeleton had been fallen for countless tens of thousands of years, the residual Origin aura belonging uniquely to a Dao Monarch, and that Dao Rhyme which shared the same source as the Divine Soul Dream Dao but was far more profound and vast, told him the answer with absolute clarity—

This skeleton was the very source of the Deep Dream Marsh, the starting point of the collapse of all rules here, and the Immortal Dao Corpse of the Illusory Dream Dao Lord who had been slain here by Dao Lord Shang Qing!

The source of all illusions!

The ultimate manifestation of all Dream Rules!

The corpse of a true Dao Monarch!

Xu Yuan could feel the humanity golden elixir inside him trembling slightly, emitting an instinctive warning!

Within this Dao corpse lay unimaginable, terrifying power and... danger!

“After going through so many hardships... I've finally... arrived!”

Xu Yuan suppressed the shock and trepidation in his heart, his gaze locked firmly onto that Dao corpse.

Xu Yuan knew that the sliver of survival he sought, the opportunity that might help him deceive the heavens and cross the sea, was perhaps... hidden within the corpse of this fallen Dao Monarch!