The foundation is initially laid; sometimes it is time to break free from the cocoon.

Time slipped away quietly in the silent cave: one day, two days...

Aside from necessary foraging and checking the surrounding environment, Medicine Old Man remained almost inseparable from Nightmare's side.

He was astonished to discover that the terrifying wounds on Nightmare's body were healing at an extremely slow, yet unwavering, speed.

It was not the usual scabbing and shedding of ordinary healing, but rather as if the damaged tissues were being directly "corrected" and "mended" by some invisible force. The new flesh possessed a warm, jade-like luster, faintly revealing a hint of restrained toughness.

What made him feel even more mystified was the aura around Nightmare.

It was no longer purely deathly silence or vitality, but had formed a subtle cycle.

At times it was cold and withered, like the end of all things; at other times it was vibrant with life, like the sprouting of early spring. Occasionally, a faint ripple of spatial distortion would emerge. Several vastly different Dao rhymes circulated and collided within his body, yet they were constrained by a deeper, more essential power, maintaining a dangerous balance.

Medicine Old Man could not understand it, but he was deeply shocked.

He vaguely felt that the young man before him was walking a path that no one had ever walked before—a path that should have been completely sealed off in the Land of Absolute Spirit!

Outside the cave, it was not always peaceful.

The lingering aura and the scent of blood from the Rock Bear did indeed attract some uninvited guests: hyenas that came following the scent, circling giant vultures, and even a colorful, obviously highly venomous long snake that slithered in to investigate.

But whenever these creatures approached the cave entrance and felt those interwoven, shifting types of energy inside—especially that faint, elusive trace of Nirvana Internal Qi and spatial fluctuations—they would instinctively feel immense fear and discomfort, ultimately retreating in dejection.

Nightmare's Void Realm space had invisibly become a forbidden zone in this area, where no living being dared to approach.

Deep within Nightmare's consciousness, that integration and deduction regarding his Dao path was nearing its end.

In his "internal observation" vision, it was no longer a broken ruin, but a strange scene:

The dao foundation was still covered in cracks, floating in the center of the Sea of Consciousness, like a cornerstone bearing everything. But within the cracks, it was no longer a void; instead, it flowed with a chaotic-colored energy stream mixed from the vitality of the World Tree, the silver radiance of the void lotus seed, the warm currents of ancient fragments, and his own Nirvana Internal Qi.

These energy streams were not colliding chaotically; rather, following a certain underlying logic provided by the primal cube, they outlined countless intricate, constantly appearing and disappearing strange patterns on the dao foundation surface, as if simulating the birth, death, and composition of the Universe.

His Meridians were no longer dried-up riverbeds; instead, they had been moistened and widened by this chaotic energy stream, becoming tougher. On their inner walls, dense patterns corresponding to the dao foundation also appeared.

Under the alternating tempering of vitality and Death Qi, his internal organs faintly emitted different subtle lights, corresponding to a certain preliminary essence of the Five Elements.

Within the Dantian Qi Sea, that initial wisp of Nirvana Internal Qi had grown, transforming into a slowly rotating Chaos energy vortex. In the center of the vortex, a tiny "origin point," seemingly containing infinite possibilities, floated up and down.

That was the prototype of his new dao foundation—rooted in the dao foundation, with the Primordial Theory as its bone, fusing multiple Laws such as annihilation, vitality, space, and "existence" into one: the Chaos Dao Foundation!

Although this Chaos Dao Foundation was as weak as a candle in the wind, and the energy level it contained was far less than one ten-thousandth of his peak period, its essence was closer to the source of the Great Dao, and it was deeper and... more inclusive.

I do not know how much time had passed, but the vibrations of Nightmare's dao foundation slowly subsided. The erratic aura around his body gradually retracted, finally settling into a profound calm, like the deep sea after a storm.

The largest cracks on the dao foundation had mostly healed. Although still fragile, it was no longer in a state of being on the verge of shattering.

The cracks in his Divine Soul had also been smoothed over significantly, and his consciousness was no longer constantly tormented by excruciating pain.

Slowly, he opened his eyes.

In his eyes, the previous sharpness and coldness were gone, replaced by a depth and tranquility born from experiencing life and death and seeing through illusions, as if they contained a miniature, evolving starry sky.

"You... are awake?" Medicine Old Man had been guarding by his side and, seeing this, hurried forward, his voice filled with surprise and a trace of imperceptible awe.

Nightmare shifted his gaze to look at Medicine Old Man. Seeing the bloodshot eyes and the exhaustion on his face, his Sea of Consciousness stirred, and he realized that during his coma, it was this seemingly ordinary old man who had been guarding him.

"Many thanks to you, sir, for your protection." Nightmare spoke; although his voice was still a bit hoarse, it was much more resonant. He tried to rise to salute, but his body remained weak, and he stumbled.

Medicine Old Man quickly steadied him: "No need for formalities. It is good that you are awake, it is good that you are awake!" Feeling the temperature radiating from Nightmare's arm—no longer cold and deathly, but containing a restrained vitality—he was even more astonished.

Nightmare leaned against the rock wall, his Sea of Consciousness observing himself, feeling the newly formed, vastly different Chaos Dao Foundation, and the massive Rock Bear corpse within the Void Realm space; a myriad of emotions stirred in his heart.

Finding life in a desperate situation; breaking through to establish something new.

He had lost his cultivation of the Dao, but in this Land of Absolute Spirit, he had unexpectedly laid the foundation for a brand-new path with infinite potential.

"Sir, how long was I unconscious?" Nightmare asked.

"About seven days," Medicine Old Man replied, then added with a solemn tone, "This place is not suitable for a long stay. Although these past few days, relying on... hmm, relying on the faint aura radiating from your body, we scared off some wild beasts, it is hard to guarantee that more troublesome things won't be attracted. Furthermore, if the Rock Bear corpse disappears, after a long time, it will inevitably attract the attention of those with ulterior motives."

Nightmare nodded, his Sea of Consciousness stirring as he sensed the outside world. Indeed, he could feel some prying gazes hidden in the shadows, as well as several not-weak auras faintly coming from further away. This Land of Absolute Spirit was far more complicated than he had imagined.

"You are right, sir." Nightmare looked at Medicine Old Man with sincere eyes. "I am Nightmare, a Junior. I will never forget your life-saving grace. I wonder what your plans are for the future, sir?"

Medicine Old Man looked at Nightmare, pondered for a moment, and said: "I intended to spend the rest of my life here on Cangwu Mountain. Meeting you now can be considered fate. If you have nowhere else to go, why not come with me to the small village at the foot of the mountain for a temporary stay? Although it is meager and difficult there, it is at least safer than this deep mountain forest, and it will be more convenient for you to continue recuperating."

Nightmare weighed his options quickly. He had just arrived in this world and was a stranger to everything. His Sea of Consciousness and dao foundation were not yet stable, and he truly needed a relatively safe environment to transition. Medicine Old Man was kind-hearted and seemed to know some secrets of this world; traveling with him was currently the best choice.

"Then I shall impose on you, sir." Nightmare cupped his hands.

"It is no trouble." Medicine Old Man smiled, looked at Nightmare, hesitated, but finally could not help asking: "Young Friend Nightmare, have you... found a way to cultivate in this place?"

Nightmare met Medicine Old Man's gaze, which was filled with both expectation and trepidation. Countless thoughts flashed through his deductions in an instant. He nodded, not hiding the truth, but not revealing everything either:

"I was fortunate enough to glimpse a glimmer of life and stepped onto a... perhaps different path. The road ahead is long and uncertain."

Upon hearing this, Medicine Old Man's eyes erupted with unprecedented radiance, and his lips trembled with excitement. He had searched his whole life and lived in disappointment his whole life. Now, finally, he had seen with his own eyes the dawn of the possibility of cultivation reappearing in this Land of Absolute Spirit!

"Good! Good! Good!" He said the word "good" three times in a row, feeling greatly comforted. "Heaven does not cut off the path of man! Young Friend Nightmare, let us head down the mountain now!"

The afterglow of the setting sun filtered through the cracks in the cave entrance, bringing a touch of warmth to the dim cave.

With the support of Medicine Old Man, Nightmare stood up with some difficulty and took his first step out of the cave that had witnessed his brush with death and his rebirth.

Behind him were the broken cave and the desperation of the past.

Ahead were the unfamiliar mountain forest and the unknown world.

The journey in the Land of Absolute Spirit had officially begun.