Dream Marsh.
Between clouds and mist, Peach Paradise shimmered in the distance.
Chen Cuo sat atop an Azure mountain in Peach Paradise, a cluster of light flickering in each hand.
Each cluster was formed from points of light like stars, countless specks packed close together. Deep within each starlit cluster, a Seal Script character drifted.
Jiu. Yuan.
Two names.
Illusory light and shadow coiled around their edges.
"The Soul Banner's projection worked. Once it seized a true name, even a Deity could hardly resist."
Chen Cuo's Divine Sense moved through the two clusters of light. Fragments of scenes surfaced within them: scraps of memory, scattered and jumbled, recording the two deities' lives and some of their methods. The memories were incomplete, but they were enough.
I stand at the threshold of Longevity. Once I attain it, I'll have a long life and ample time to pursue the Great Dao. But I still need a sound method, efficiency, and lessons drawn from experience. Comparing different paths would surely let me achieve twice the result with half the effort. That will take some skill.
I've gained two true names this time, belonging to opposing camps. Both are deities, though there seem to be differences between them. I can use Incarnation to investigate and test a few things along the way. Even if they fail, little will be lost.
But disguising Incarnation as others and infiltrating two opposing camps might take a long time. The Mysterious Pearl's projections may not last. I might have to replenish them now and then, or find a way to improve them...
Chen Cuo's thoughts shifted.
*Whether projection or incarnation, both fundamentally rely on Little Gourd to connect with Dream Marsh, then use the Three Lives Transform into Sainthood Dao to project into the world. So besides strengthening