205: Fourth Generation: Overlord (101)

"Pfft—!"

As the owner of the self-detonated Magic Treasure, Li Beichen suffered the most severe backlash. He was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, spraying blood wildly. His aura instantly plummeted to the bottom; he was clearly at the end of his rope, heavily injured and on the verge of death!

"Fellow Daoist Li!" True Person Qingluan cried out in alarm.

"A chance!" A sharp light burst from Ling Juexiao's eyes!

Xu Yuan's mind was even more shaken!

He had never expected Li Beichen to be so decisive and ruthless, not hesitating to self-detonate his Lifebound Treasure and damage his own Dao Foundation!

But this was also a silver lining!

Although this explosion didn't truly harm Yuwen Shang's main body, it successfully broke through a corner of the Domain and interrupted the execution of his killing Divine Ability!

This... was the turning point!

"Go!"

Ling Juexiao reacted the fastest, forcibly gathering his remaining Sword Essence and transforming into a piercing streak of sword light, charging recklessly toward the crack in the Domain!

True Person Qingluan also gritted her teeth. A flash of watery light appeared around her as she swept up the heavily injured Li Beichen and followed closely behind!

Xu Yuan dared not hesitate for a moment, violently activating one of the two remaining National Fortune True Seeds in his body!

"Boom!"

The purple-gold Imperial Fortune erupted once more. He transformed into an Imperial Rainbow, his speed soaring to the limit as he rushed toward the crack!

"Trying to leave? Wishful thinking!"

Yuwen Shang recovered from the brief interference. Seeing the four attempting to escape, killing intent surged in his eyes!

With a flick of his sleeve, countless golden chains shot toward the other three like venomous snakes!

"Pfft—!"

Ling Juexiao's sword light was piercing as he forcibly severed several chains. However, his own Sword Essence backlashed, causing him to spit out another mouthful of blood. His face grew even paler, but using the force of the impact, his Sword Evasion speed increased further. He turned into a tiny, almost invisible stream of light and instantly vanished into the distant horizon.

True Person Qingluan gave a soft shout as Deep Blue Water Radiance bloomed around her. That watery light was not for defense but represented the extreme of "softness" and "change," causing the golden chains representing "order" and "Restriction" to sink as if into a mire, their speed greatly reduced.

She took the opportunity to sweep up the dying Li Beichen. Her figure rippled like water, merging into the Void Realm. In the next moment, she appeared a thousand miles away, and with another flash, she completely vanished.

Facing the incoming golden chains, a fierce look flashed in Xu Yuan's eyes. Instead of dodging, he poured all the remaining Imperial Fortune in his body and the violent power from the recently detonated National Fortune True Seed into his right fist and threw a punch!

He wasn't trying to confront the chains head-on but to borrow their force!

The Imperial Punch collided violently with the golden chains, producing a loud metallic clang!

A terrifying counter-shock force struck. Xu Yuan felt a sweetness in his throat and spat out another mouthful of blood. His internal organs felt as if they were being displaced, and his injuries worsened!

But using this massive impact, his body shot backward like a meteor. His speed exploded, and he narrowly managed to rush out of the rapidly closing crack in the golden Domain!

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Four figures shot away in three different directions in a wretched state, instantly putting distance between themselves and the Ten Thousand Laws Heavenly Pool.

Yuwen Shang stood in the center of the Domain, his expression as calm as ever. He wasn't bothered by the escape of the four in the slightest. Instead, he swept his sleeve, collected the celestial heart lotus dew, and refined it on the spot.

In his eyes, the assassination attempt by four Late Golden Core Stage Immortal Masters was far less important than refining this celestial heart lotus dew... Meanwhile, Xu Yuan was enduring tearing pain throughout his body, pushing his flight speed to the limit as he fled madly toward the backup extraction point he had previously agreed upon with Li Beichen.

He didn't dare to stop for a moment, nor did he dare to examine his injuries closely. He only knew he had to leave the Xuandu Dao Realm as quickly as possible!

Blood continuously seeped from the corners of his mouth, staining the front of his robes red.

Many Meridians in his body were damaged, the light of his Purple Mansion's Golden Core was dim, and his Imperial Fortune was scattered.

In particular, taking the brunt of the residual power from Yuwen Shang's seal and the collision with the chains to borrow force had damaged his Origin.

Had it not been for his solid Foundation and the brief support from the National Fortune True Seed, he would have likely fallen from the sky long ago.

But the physical trauma was far less intense than the shock to his soul!

During his flight, the brief but thrilling scene of the encounter kept replaying in his mind.

The golden Domain that Yuwen Shang had laid down so casually!

That power which absolutely suppressed Great Daos of the same source and greatly weakened foreign Great Daos!

That was the terrifying power of truly wielding the rules of a portion of heaven and earth!

"Fruit Position True Person... Is this the true might of the Fruit Position?"

Xu Yuan's heart felt cold, filled with an unprecedented gravity.

He had originally thought that with his Late Golden Core Stage cultivation, his Imperial Dao, and the support of National Fortune, he could at least contend for a while even if he couldn't defeat a Fruit Position True Person.

But the reality was incredibly cruel!

Within the opponent's Dao Fruit Domain, he could at most exert sixty to seventy percent of his strength!

That omnipresent sense of suppression and rejection was despair-inducing!

"Even gathering four Late Golden Core Stages for a sneak attack still resulted in a crushing defeat!"

Only now did Xu Yuan truly realize how vast the chasm was between the Late Golden Core Stage and Golden Core Perfection!

"If I want to attain the Dao Fruit Position, in the next life... I must never be so reckless again!" A sharp light flickered in Xu Yuan's eyes. "Whether I take the path of 'killing to seize the position' or the even more remote path of 'creating a New Dao,' I must be fully prepared!"

After this defeat, instead of being discouraged, Xu Yuan turned that unwillingness and shock into a clearer understanding and deeper planning.

He saw higher peaks and also saw the thorns beneath his feet.

Failure is not scary; what is scary is not knowing why one failed.

A few days later, relying on the secret route and array map left by Li Beichen, Xu Yuan escaped the Xuandu Dao Realm without further incident and appeared in a desolate mountain range on the edge of the Eastern Region.

He found a hidden cave, set up a Restriction, and finally unable to hold on, collapsed to the ground, coughing up large amounts of blood.

In the battle with Yuwen Shang, he had forcibly detonated a National Fortune True Seed, endured the backlash of the Dao Fruit Domain, and borrowed force by colliding with the Law chains. His injuries were far more severe than ever before.

More seriously, Yuwen Shang's attack contained a trace of foreign Dao power, which, like a maggot on a bone, eroded his Dao Foundation and left a hard-to-remove Dao hidden wound.

Xu Yuan sat cross-legged, swallowed several treasured healing pills, and began to exert his full power to heal.

The brilliant National Fortune surged from the void, nourishing his Physical Body and Divine Soul, but that Dao hidden wound was exceptionally stubborn, like a boulder lodged deep within his Golden Core, constantly hindering the complete recovery of his injuries.

Time flew by; there were no years in the cave.

In the blink of an eye, three years had passed.

On this day, Xu Yuan slowly opened his eyes. The divine light in his eyes was restrained, yet it carried a hint of indelible fatigue.

"A wound of the Great Dao... is indeed troublesome."

Xu Yuan looked inward and felt that tiny but tough grey trace deep within his Golden Core, sighing softly.

Over these three years, he had done everything he could and spent the massive amount of resources he had accumulated, yet he could only suppress the injury and recover seventy to eighty percent of his combat power. That hidden wound originating from Yuwen Shang's Dao Origin remained like a shadow, impossible to eradicate.

However, there wasn't much dejection in Xu Yuan's eyes. Instead, they were calm, even carrying a hint of... relief.

"So be it. To be able to glimpse the secrets of the Fruit Position in this life and personally experience its power is worth it."

"Let this hidden wound be the price paid."

Xu Yuan whispered to himself, his tone revealing a sense of transcendence.

For someone like him with the ability of infinite Reincarnation, the success or failure of a single life had long been viewed with indifference. This crushing defeat allowed him to truly experience the terror of the Fruit Position and see his own limitations, which was more precious than any secluded cultivation.

"It's time to go back."

Xu Yuan stood up, brushed off non-existent dust from his robes, and looked through the cave toward the direction of the Great Shang Imperial Dynasty.