Wang Yuan never expected that he would be reborn, and then, upon recalling the Hegemon Emperor who had attained the Dao, the power of that same Hegemon Emperor who had killed him appeared in his soul.
This power, akin to the Heavenly Dao, was something Wang Yuan, even in his prime at the peak of the Golden Core realm, could not withstand for even a second. At that time, Wang Yuan was at the peak of the Golden Core realm, and now, he was merely in the Qi Refining stage. How could he possibly...?
Wang Yuan was stunned for a long time.
Instead of being annihilated by the Heavenly Dao killing intent in his soul, the Heavenly Dao killing intent seemed to have lost its target and subsided within Wang Yuan's sea of consciousness, retreating to the side.
"Why is nothing happening?"
"I am still a youth now, no longer a great cultivator of the Golden Core realm, just a mere Qi Refining stage cultivator. This Heavenly Dao killing intent should have annihilated me instantly. Why has it not only failed to kill me but also subsided within my sea of consciousness?"
Wang Yuan was filled with confusion amidst his fear, excitement, and relief at surviving.
However, he soon found an answer from a miscellaneous ancient text he had read in his previous life.
"That's it! The Heavenly Dao killing intent can annihilate any cultivator. No cultivator below the Dao Attainment realm can resist it. This is because cultivators themselves are a part of the Heavenly Dao. How can one block the heavens?"
"However, this is only when that Hegemon Emperor is still alive."
"At that time, the Heavenly Dao killing intent had a target."
"Now, I have returned to the past."
"At this moment, that Hegemon Emperor has not yet attained the Dao with the Heavenly Dao of the Azure Heaven Realm. He is still at the peak of the Nascent Soul realm."
"Since he has not attained the Dao, he cannot wield the Heavenly Dao, and thus the Heavenly Dao killing intent cannot be specifically directed at me."
"Therefore, this Heavenly Dao killing intent has subsided."
Wang Yuan also felt fortunate.
The ancient texts recorded that only when a Nascent Soul cultivator ascended to the Dao Attainment realm could they wield the Heavenly Dao killing intent.
Indirectly, it meant that one had to reach the Dao Attainment realm to use the Heavenly Dao killing intent in combat.
Thus, being able to infiltrate the sea of consciousness with the Heavenly Dao killing intent must have been the work of a Hegemon Emperor, signifying Wang Yuan's inevitable death.
But at this moment, that Hegemon Emperor had not attained the Dao, remaining only at the peak of the Nascent Soul realm.
This also meant that he could not wield the Heavenly Dao killing intent to infiltrate another's sea of consciousness, and thus Wang Yuan could not have glimpsed this Heavenly Dao killing intent.
Now, Wang Yuan could both glimpse the Heavenly Dao killing intent and survive. This contradictory situation was clearly due to the reversal of time.
He just didn't know why this Heavenly Dao killing intent had been carried over from his previous life.
Wang Yuan channeled his Qi Refining stage spiritual power, using his spiritual power and soul force to observe that Heavenly Dao killing intent.
He could only sense that the Heavenly Dao killing intent occupied almost a corner of Wang Yuan's sea of consciousness. Through this Heavenly Dao killing intent, Wang Yuan glimpsed profound Great Daos that, even with his Golden Core stage perspective, he could not comprehend.
"The Xuan Lao Ling Bao Jun Five Talisman True Scripture." This was a cultivation technique Wang Yuan comprehended from this Heavenly Dao killing intent, which contained the power of a Hegemon Emperor. The technique directly pointed towards the Dao Attainment realm and contained immensely profound knowledge.
This was the lineage summarized by that Hegemon Emperor after he attained the Dao!
There had never been anyone in the world who could survive the Heavenly Dao killing intent of a single entity.
Nor had there ever been a cultivator who, after being targeted by the Heavenly Dao killing intent of a Hegemon Emperor for annihilation, survived.
Therefore, no one knew that as long as one survived this Heavenly Dao killing intent, they could obtain the lineage of that Hegemon Emperor.
It was almost the entirety of that Hegemon Emperor's life's insights.
Wang Yuan, in his previous life, was a great Golden Core cultivator. Reborn, even his Golden Core stage insights alone were enough to provide various guidance for his Qi Refining stage cultivation path, saving him countless detours.
What if it were the insights of a Hegemon Emperor into cultivation?
Did this mean that from the Qi Refining stage to the Dao Attainment realm, there would be no more bottlenecks?
Wang Yuan was shocked!
This seemed to be an even greater, heaven-shattering opportunity than rebirth!
Realizing that the Heavenly Dao killing intent in his mind was almost equivalent to the Hegemon Emperor's insights into cultivation after attaining the Dao.
Wang Yuan quickly adjusted his future cultivation plan.
"With this Heavenly Dao killing intent lingering in my sea of consciousness, it almost means that in three hundred years, when that Hegemon Emperor reclaims his position as Emperor, it will be the time of my death."
"Once I attain the Dao, the Heavenly Dao killing intent within my sea of consciousness will automatically execute its unfulfilled mission and kill me."
"This is a heaven-sent opportunity now, but it will become a death warrant then."
This also meant that Wang Yuan could not seek refuge with this future victorious Hegemon Emperor. Instead, he had to oppose him.
Only by opposing him would there be a sliver of hope for survival.
Otherwise, his fate would be death.
Wang Yuan had not anticipated that after his rebirth, even with his understanding of the grand historical trends, he would still have to oppose that Hegemon Emperor.
But there was no other way.
With this Heavenly Dao killing intent present, they were already natural enemies.
Enemies who would not rest until one of them died.
Wang Yuan naturally could not count on his second life ending and a third life beginning, as such opportunities would not appear every time.
Therefore, he could only hope that the future Hegemon Emperor, currently a peak Nascent Soul Daoist, would die.
Although his own strength was insufficient, if he could leverage the many events he knew from his previous life to assist the Nascent Soul Daoist of the Lan family, whom he had sought refuge with in his previous life, there was still a chance to prevent that Emperor from attaining the Dao.
History is not immutable.
Just like Fifth Uncle, who could not achieve the Golden Core realm in his previous life, but with Wang Yuan's help in this life, he might not be unable to achieve it.
Since that future Hegemon Emperor had not yet attained the Dao, he was not guaranteed to do so. As his subordinate, Wang Yuan was well aware of most of the events in the struggle for Dao Attainment.
By leveraging these events, he could reduce the Hegemon Emperor's chances of attaining the Dao by several percent.
This would give other peak Nascent Soul Daoists more opportunities to attain the Dao.
In this way, the mortal danger would naturally be resolved.
Even...
Wang Yuan gritted his teeth, feeling the Heavenly Dao killing intent in his mind.
He pondered in his heart, "I now possess all the insights of that Hegemon Emperor after he attained the Dao. My understanding of the Heavenly Dao of the Azure Heaven Realm is incredibly profound."
"As long as I comprehend all the insights contained within, my probability of attaining the Dao will surely surpass that of the current Emperor who has not yet attained the Dao."
"The various peak Nascent Soul Daoists are not the best candidates for Dao Attainment, nor is that Hegemon Emperor."
"Now, I, in this life, possess the insights after attaining the Dao. To re-ascend to the position of Dao Attainment, I am clearly superior to those Nascent Soul Daoists who have not attained the Dao."
"Then, why can't it be me who attains the Dao?"
A strong ambition ignited in Wang Yuan's heart.
Dao Attainment!
This was the supreme realm of the Azure Heaven Realm.
Before sensing the Heavenly Dao killing intent in his sea of consciousness, even with the experience of cultivating to the Golden Core realm in his previous life, Wang Yuan had no confidence. He had envisioned cultivating for three hundred years to then aim for Dao Attainment.
In his previous view, even if he grasped the future grand trends, compared to those who were already Daoist Lords of the Nascent Soul realm, he, a mere Qi Refining cultivator, could only hope to reach the Nascent Soul Spirit Lord realm, the late Nascent Soul stage, at most by the time the Dao Attainment competition began.
It was impossible to reach the Nascent Soul realm in three hundred years, nor would he have the qualifications to participate in the Dao Attainment competition, which was only open to peak Nascent Soul cultivators.