308: Fifth Incarnation: Heavenly Physician (100)

Every time he guided a Dao Lord's Dao Laws to nourish the world, Xu Yuan, as the creator of the "contract" and the core of the "guidance," had to use his own "humanity golden elixir" as a bridge to endure the impact and assimilation of that violent Origin power!

He also needed to engage in the deepest level of resonance and Fusion with the Laws of Heaven and Earth!

This process certainly brought a rapid increase in strength and gifts from the world, but at the same time, it caused Xu Yuan's "humanity golden elixir" to become more and more deeply bound to the "Order" side of this world's Origin!

Every resonance was like carving a "brand" belonging to this world onto his Dao Foundation!

While these "brands" brought power, they also accelerated the "assimilation" process between his own Dao Fruit and the rules of the world!

That is—dao transformation!

An ordinary Dao Lord who opens a path, even if they do not open a Dao Realm to isolate themselves from the world, can easily resist dao transformation for tens of thousands of years.

Xu Yuan, however, because of this Heaven-Defying act of "Returning the Dao to Supplement the Heavens," had accelerated this process by a thousandfold!

And... it was irreversible!

He looked within himself and saw that deep within the radiant "humanity golden elixir," countless fine, profound Dao patterns—identical to the Origin of the world's Order—had already emerged!

These Dao patterns were growing and spreading spontaneously, like the roots of a plant, seeking to firmly "anchor" his entire being and his entire Dao within this world!

At this rate, at most... a thousand years!

Perhaps even shorter!

His self-awareness would be assimilated and swallowed by this vast world Order, completely "Returning the Dao to Heaven," his body and soul extinguished as he became a part of the operation of the Laws of Heaven and Earth!

This was the ultimate price of forcibly "supplementing the Heavens"—Merging with the Dao and accelerating dao transformation!

A thousand years of time was extremely long for a Mortal or even an ordinary Cultivator, but for a Dao Lord who sat above the ages, it was but a snap of the fingers!

However, facing this cruel and imminent crisis of "dao transformation," Xu Yuan's eyes were exceptionally calm, even... carrying a hint of resolute liberation!

"A thousand years... is enough."

He murmured to himself, without much fear or resentment.

He had long since figured it out!

This life's journey was originally about fighting for a sliver of survival in a desperate situation! Had he not taken this risky move, he would have already died and his Dao would have vanished under the siege of the external Dao Lords!

Now, although dao transformation was accelerated, he had at least won time, won strength, and even won... the supreme opportunity to pave the way for his next life!

"If I can successfully supplement part of the world before I fall in this life, or even... open up the prototype of the 'Soul Transformation' path for this world..."

Xu Yuan's gaze pierced through layers of the Void Realm, as if seeing that distant and glorious future:

"Then, what I have done will be supreme Karma! The Luck and favor of the world I have accumulated will benefit my Reincarnation! My next life's birthplace might be an era where spiritual energy is recovering, Order is beginning to show, and there is more hope!"

"At that time, I will carry my innate wisdom through Reincarnation and retread the path of 'humanity,' and my Foundation will be incomparably solid! Cultivating in this world that has been supplemented, sensing Order, condensing a Golden Core, and even striking for the Nascent Soul... I will surely achieve twice the result with half the effort! There might even be a sliver of possibility... to touch that Soul Transformation realm that I personally participated in opening!"

"To trade a thousand years of longevity in this life for a chance at Soul Transformation in the next... it's worth it!"

"Furthermore..." A cold light flashed in Xu Yuan's eyes as he looked toward the terrifying auras stirring outside the Deep Dream Marsh. "These thousand years might not pass peacefully! How could those old monsters sit by and watch me continuously 'seize the Dao to supplement the Heavens'? They will certainly come to hunt me down at all costs!"

"And this is exactly what I look forward to!"

"The more that come, the better! It's the perfect chance to use your Dao Fruits to pave this path of mine... a path of supplementing the Heavens by sustaining war with war, ending killing with killing, and finally Merging with the Dao!"

"Before I completely undergo 'dao transformation' and return to the world, I will definitely drag enough 'Fellow Daoists'... to go on the road together!"

His determination was set, and his Dao Heart grew even firmer!

The accelerating spread of the "dao transformation" patterns no longer looked like a death warrant in Xu Yuan's eyes, but a witness to his practice of the Great Dao and his sacrifice to supplement the Heavens!

He slowly looked up at the Remnant Spirit of Dao Monarch Huanmeng beside him, which was growing dimmer but carried a strange sense of "satisfaction" and "anticipation" in its aura, and said in a deep voice:

"Senior, how do you feel?"

The Remnant Spirit of Dao Monarch Huanmeng let out a weak chuckle, but its thoughts were full of liberation and joy: "Good! Very good! Returning three paths in a row, the world's feedback is so intense... Though this remnant spirit of mine is on the verge of dissipating, I can feel that mysterious 'new opportunity' becoming clearer and clearer... Little friend, continue! Do not stop! Before you completely 'merge with the Dao,' supplement this world as much as possible!"

"Naturally!" Xu Yuan nodded, his gaze like lightning as he swept it outside the Deep Dream Marsh. "The prey... is already impatient!"

Before his voice had even faded—

"Rumble—!"

The entire Deep Dream Marsh shook violently!

The border mists were ruthlessly torn apart by a terrifying power far exceeding anything before, one that contained the meaning of great annihilation and the ultimate end!

A solid figure, radiating an aura of overwhelming malice and madness and carrying the Dao Laws of annihilation that could destroy everything, crashed directly through layers of space and descended into the core!

"Junior! Old ghost Huanmeng! This seat... wants you both to have your bodies and souls extinguished!"

The Dao Lord of Nirvana... had descended in his true body!

He was clearly completely enraged, disregarding the risk of accelerated dao transformation to crush these two ants who had destroyed his Incarnation and shaken his Dao Foundation with his original power!

Immediately after, another terrifying aura full of slaughter and decay also tore through the Void Realm, arriving in tandem!

The true bodies of the Slaughter Dao Lord and the Dao Lord of Decay had clearly reached an agreement to join forces and suppress this prairie fire spark!

Facing the terrifying pressure of the three Dao Lords' true bodies, Xu Yuan did not fear. Instead, he took a step forward, the "dao transformation" patterns shining all over his body as his resonance with the world's Order reached its Peak, and he laughed loudly:

"Good timing! I was just worried about not having enough resources! Today, I invite you three Fellow Daoists... to supplement the Heavens with your bodies!"

Xu Yuan laughed heartily, his voice shaking the fields and his heroic spirit soaring to the skies!

But deep in his eyes, there was a bone-chilling coldness, calmness, and determination. He knew better than anyone what the arrival of the true bodies of these three ancient existences meant!

This was by no means an ordinary Dao struggle or resource plunder!

This was... a fight to the death!

For ancient Dao Lords like Annihilation, Slaughter, and Decay, who had lived for countless tens of thousands of years and had long since deeply fused their own Great Dao with their Dao Realms, their greatest enemy was never an external foe, but... dao transformation!

It was the ultimate fate of their own consciousness being gradually assimilated and erased by the Great Dao they wielded!

To delay dao transformation, they almost never stepped out of their own Dao Realms in their true bodies, staying hidden deep within the core of the Dao Realm, using the power of the entire realm to nourish and stabilize the connection between their consciousness and the Great Dao, resisting the assimilation power of the world.

Even if there were matters to attend to, they mostly dispatched Incarnations to walk the world.

Moving in one's true body meant leaving the protection of the Dao Realm and being exposed to the assimilation of the Laws of Heaven and Earth, which would drastically accelerate the dao transformation process!

Unless it was absolutely necessary, they would never resort to such a plan!

And now, they had not only moved in their true bodies but had come together as three great Dao Lords, their killing intent filling the sky!

This could only mean one thing—

They had been pushed to a dead end!