304: Fifth Incarnation: Heavenly Physician (Ninety-Six)

"The net has been cast... the bait has been thrown..."

Xu Yuan's mind was tense, closely connected with the remnant soul of Illusory Dream Dao Lord, sensing every ripple from the outside world.

"Now, let's see which fish... is the first to lose its patience!"

Outside Deep Dream Marsh, in the depths of the void.

Several incomparably powerful wills shuddered violently almost at the same time!

"Hmm? This aura... it's that brat!"

"What is he doing? His Dao Foundation is unstable... Is he... going to undergo dao-transformation?!"

"He wants to scatter his Dao and return to heaven! He'd rather be a shattered jade than a whole tile!"

"Bastard! He actually wants to destroy the Dao Fruit!"

"Wait... why is there a strange hint of new Dao Rhyme mixed into this aura of dissolution? It's as if... his Dao Fruit is resonating with some deeper rules of heaven and earth?"

"Could it be... that the dissolution is triggering a feedback from heaven and earth? This is... a perfect opportunity to seize his Dao Fruit's Origin! We might even glimpse the mystery of his new Dao merging with heaven and earth!"

Greed, urgency, suspicion, ecstasy... various emotions churned within the wills of the different Dao Monarchs.

"We can't wait any longer!"

"Strike!"

"Seize his Dao source while his dissolution is still unstable!"

In an instant, several terrifying auras no longer hid themselves. Like awakening primordial behemoths, they tore through the Void Realm, carrying overwhelming killing intent and greed as they slammed into the hazy boundary of Deep Dream Marsh!

The ashen finger-wind of the Dao Lord of Nirvana caused everything to wither and space-time to freeze wherever it passed!

The blood-colored sword qi of the Slaughter Dao Lord cut through delusions, pointing directly at the Origin, with killing intent filling the sky!

The Nether Ghost Hand of the Dao Lord of Decay, entwined with deathly Dao principles that devoured life force, clawed toward Deep Dream Marsh!

Several more powerful wills—some cold, some tyrannical, some devious—followed closely behind, each using their own methods to force a Breakthrough of Deep Dream Marsh's natural barrier!

These ancient beings were ultimately provoked by the illusion of dao-transformation that Xu Yuan had meticulously crafted and the temptation of the "new Dao resonance" within it. No longer able to restrain themselves, they chose to strike boldly!

They wanted to seize this "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity to forcibly take his Origin at the moment when Xu Yuan's dao-transformation was unstable and his Dao Fruit was on the verge of scattering, and even glimpse the secrets of the new Dao's fusion with heaven and earth!

The dreamlike mist on the outskirts of Deep Dream Marsh churned violently, and the Law turbulence was shattered by the terrifying power of the Dao Monarch level, letting out an overwhelmed wail!

The entire forbidden land seemed as if it would be completely torn apart by this combined force in the next second!

However, at this critical moment—

In the depths of the Void Realm, Dao Lord Shang Qing, who had been standing still and restraining several Dao Monarchs simultaneously with his supreme Divine Ability, made a move that surprised all beings!

He did not strike forcefully to intercept as before, nor did he use thunderous methods to protect the boundary of Deep Dream Marsh. The phantoms of the seven Dao Branches that were originally interwoven in the void, exuding the power to suppress the heavens, actually stalled for a moment at the point of impact, and then... quietly withdrew by thirty percent!

Although they still emitted a heart-pounding, majestic Dao Rhyme and maintained a basic state of confrontation to prevent certain Dao Monarchs' true bodies from descending directly, he did not exert full force to obstruct the destructive attacks pouring toward Deep Dream Marsh. It was more like... he was intentionally letting them through, allowing them to strike!

This scene caused the wills of the attacking Dao Monarchs to freeze for a moment, and their offensive slowed down as they felt suspicious and uncertain:

"Shang Qing... what is the meaning of this?"

"Could it be... he changed his mind? Does he also want a share of the spoils?"

"Or... has he noticed something? Does he think the brat is about to dissolve and is no longer worth saving, so he's unwilling to fight us to the death over it?"

"..."

Even the few Dao Monarchs hidden in the shadows who had not yet acted felt a ripple in their thoughts, closely watching Dao Lord Shang Qing's movements.

The attitude of this being, who controlled seven paths and possessed unfathomable strength, was of paramount importance!

As for Dao Lord Shang Qing himself, he remained shrouded in a hazy Dao Rhyme, his face obscured. However, his eyes, which seemed to contain the birth and death of the heavens, did not look at the violent attacks, but instead... pierced through layers of space to gaze deeply toward the core of Deep Dream Marsh!

His gaze was no longer the indifferent and majestic one of the past, but carried an extremely complex and indescribable depth!

There was inquiry, scrutiny, a hint of extremely subtle fluctuation, and even a trace of... realization and suspicion, as if touching upon some distant memory!

"That aura just now..."

Within Dao Lord Shang Qing's heart, a slight ripple arose.

"The phenomenon of dao-transformation is realistic, but that fleeting rhythm... of guiding the Dao Fruit to resonate with the rules of heaven and earth... and that extremely subtle fluctuation of dreamlike Dao principles, almost integrated with the Origin of Deep Dream Marsh..."

"This feeling... doesn't seem like a hasty backlash from dissolving into the Dao, but rather... a carefully woven inducement? Moreover, why does the way that dreamlike Dao Rhyme operates... carry a trace of familiarity? It's like... that fellow's handiwork?"

"Illusory Dream... is it you?"

A name long buried in the past drifted across Dao Lord Shang Qing's heart, stirring a slight ripple.

"You... actually still have a remnant soul that hasn't perished? And you're secretly guiding this boy?"

This discovery caused Dao Lord Shang Qing to instantly overturn some of his previous judgments.

Xu Yuan's dao-transformation was very likely a trap!

A scheme laid out together by the remnant soul of the long-fallen Illusory Dream Dao Lord and Xu Yuan, who bore the new Dao!

The targets were these ancient beings who were blinded by the source of the new dao!

"Interesting..." A faint glint flashed in Dao Lord Shang Qing's eyes. "Illusory Dream, you've been dormant for ten thousand years. Now that you've appeared, do you intend to use this boy's power to perform a golden cicada shedding its skin, a move of Nirvana and Rebirth? Or... do you have other plans?"

"And this boy... actually cooperated with Illusory Dream's remnant soul? Was he coerced, or... did he enter the game willingly? What is his goal? Merely survival? Or... has he also glimpsed the secret of Soul Transformation?"

In a flash, countless thoughts crossed Dao Lord Shang Qing's mind.

He made an instant decision—to wait and see!

If Xu Yuan was indeed taking a risky gamble under Illusory Dream's guidance, his forceful intervention might instead disrupt the plan and even drive Xu Yuan into a true dead end.

Better to go with the flow and use their strength against them!

This would allow him to see Illusory Dream's true purpose and take the opportunity to weaken or even heavily damage several potential competitors!

As for Xu Yuan's safety... if he couldn't even pass this hurdle, he wouldn't be worthy of carrying his expectations and... that Karma.

More importantly, Dao Lord Shang Qing also wanted to see how far Xu Yuan, this chess piece, could go in this extremely dangerous game.

Could his Human Dao withstand such a test of life and death?

"Rumble—!"

In the brief interval while Dao Lord Shang Qing's thoughts turned and his offensive slightly eased, those terrifying attacks slammed violently onto the boundary mist of Deep Dream Marsh!

An earth-shaking explosion erupted!

The dreamlike mist churned violently, and vast swathes of rules were forcibly torn apart and annihilated!

The entire Deep Dream Marsh trembled violently, as if it might collapse at any moment!

A tiny fissure leading to the core area was forcibly torn open under the combined bombardment of several Dao Monarchs!