After the Great Dao Died

March brought warmer weather. The biting winter chill had quietly faded, and a few peach trees in the garden had sprouted tender red buds that trembled gently in the night breeze.

The moonlight was exceptionally clear tonight, spilling like liquid silver to bathe Chen Lingxi’s small courtyard in brilliant radiance.

Many days had passed since Jiang Yuan, a guest minister of the estate, had departed on a long-term assignment under Lin Longyue’s orders.

Chen Lingxi was practicing.

He stood alone in the courtyard, his posture straight as a pine, slowly executing the starting stance of the [Mountain-Collapsing Force].

After another dozen days of cultivation, Chen Lingxi had gained much insight into the [Mountain-Collapsing Force], finally grasping its basics.

The blood and Qi throughout his body surged like a churning tide, rushing ceaselessly beneath his skin.

As the [Mountain-Collapsing Force] circulated, a faint, low hum echoed from within him.

”[Mountain-Pulling Fist]!”

Chen Lingxi opened and closed his arms in wide, sweeping arcs, as if he were bracing a collapsing mountain. With every movement, his blood and Qi surged, unleashing impressive might.The [Mountain-Collapsing Force] was not a fist technique itself, but a profound method of channeling and detonating blood and Qi. It only displayed its true power when paired with the fist techniques of the [Seven Forms of Halting War].

The reason the [Mountain-Collapsing Force] is so powerful is that, with the augmentation of this profound method, the channeling of blood and Qi becomes incredibly fast and fierce! The resulting explosive force is even greater.

Even though Chen Lingxi had only just grasped the basics of the [Mountain-Collapsing Force], he could already sense a significant increase in his fist technique’s lethality.

He completed a routine of the [Mountain-Pulling Stance], clearly feeling the restless, scorching heat of his own blood and Qi, a sense of anticipation rising in his heart.

My internal organs have also forged an iron-like nature. I can now be considered to have achieved a truly perfect Iron Body.

It won’t be long before I can ignite my blood and Qi, transforming iron into copper.

He estimated that at this pace, within three to five days, he would be able to use the power of the [Seven Forms of Halting War]’s second movement—the [River Entering Form]—to smash through the bottleneck in one fell swoop and step into the Bronze-Red Realm.

I can hardly wait.

Chen Lingxi withdrew his stance, shook his head, and returned to his room.

He was in no rush to rest. Instead, as he did every day, he sat cross-legged on his bed, restraining his breath and focusing his mind. His body curved like a drawn bow as he began to operate that profound breathing method—pausing three times on each exhale, and stopping five times on each inhale.

The moonlight seemed exceptionally bright tonight. Wisps of clear radiance filtered through the window lattice, wrapping around his body as if possessed by a spirit of their own.

Hm? Tonight’s breathing exercises feel somewhat different.

Chen Lingxi realized that the moonlight falling from the sky seemed to blend with the clear, worldly Qi drawn in by his breathing. It transformed into silver streams invisible to the naked eye, slowly seeping into his body through his breath and open pores.

In his dantian, the spiritual Qi—which had already grown as thick as a baby’s arm—trembled with joy, like parched earth encountering sweet rain. It took the initiative to welcome this abundant spiritual energy, a mixture of moonlight and clear Qi, guiding it through his limbs and bones.

It really is different!

Surprised but not daring to slack off, Chen Lingxi controlled the spiritual Qi, letting it flow throughout his entire body.

Wherever the spiritual Qi passed, his skin, muscles, and bones felt as if they were being ironed by warm jade, transmitting waves of a crisp, numbing pleasure.

His internal organs felt as if they were being washed by a clear spring, cleansing all impurities away;

Even deeper within, the spiritual Qi drilled into his bones, thread by thread, piercing straight into the depths of his marrow.

At first, it was only a slight itch, but it soon transformed into a bizarre ant-biting sensation, as if countless tiny creatures were gently gnawing and laboring within the cavities of his bone marrow.

”Phew...”

This sensation almost made Chen Lingxi cry out in sheer comfort.

He simply felt the old congestion and sluggishness being meticulously scraped away and dissolved, bit by bit, giving birth to brand new, vastly more vigorous blood and Qi.

Though the process brought a slight, aching numbness, there was no pain. Instead, he felt a lightness and clarity akin to being completely reborn—as if a riverbed choked for years had been thoroughly dredged, allowing the mighty spring waters to surge forward without obstruction.

Chen Lingxi’s mind trembled, unable to suppress his overwhelming joy and surprise.

This is quite similar to when I first drew Qi into my body and reshaped my flesh, yet the effect is more than ten times stronger!

Could this be... the Qi Circulation 2nd Floor?

He pondered this silently but didn’t dare let his focus slip for a second. He devoted all his effort to maintaining the rhythm of his breathing, guiding that abundant spiritual energy to wash through his entire body.

The night quietly slipped away.

When the eastern horizon took on the pale gray of a fish’s belly, the faint, cyan-jade luster enshrouding Chen Lingxi slowly retracted into his skin. He exhaled a long breath of foul air, the exhalation astonishingly drawn out.

He opened his eyes, a brilliant light flashing within them.

”I succeeded?”

Chen Lingxi gently flexed his limbs. He felt perfectly comfortable all over, so light he felt he could fly. Deep within his bone marrow was a faint sense of lucid emptiness, and his blood and Qi flowed smoother and freer than ever before.

In just one short night, it was as if my rivers were dredged and my marrow cleansed. My whole body feels unbelievably light and brisk!

The Qi in my dantian has also grown a full circle thicker, and it flows even faster.

As he pondered, he gave a slight mental command.

The spiritual Qi moved as easily as his own arm, instantly traveling through his whole body to nourish and warm every inch of his muscles, bones, and flesh.

I must have broken through! Chen Lingxi suppressed his agitated emotions.

Although he had no one to guide him and didn’t know the specific names and characteristics of the [Twelve Floors of Qi Circulation] spoken of by the Venerable Cauldron of the [Time Candle], the experience of the spiritual Qi cleansing his marrow and dredging his meridians this time was absolutely not something that ordinary breathing exercises and accumulation could achieve.

He was already seventy or eighty percent certain that he had stepped into a new stage on the path of Qi Circulation.

Perhaps this is the Qi Circulation 2nd Floor! Cleansing the marrow, dredging the rivers! Strengthening the spiritual Qi!

And my blood and Qi also seem to be growing faster because of the changes in my body.

With that thought, Chen Lingxi suddenly leaped out of bed. His eyes filled with pleasant surprise, he stepped into the courtyard and struck the opening stance of the [Seven Forms of Halting War]’s second movement—the [River Entering Form].

In the past, whenever he practiced this movement, his blood and Qi had never been thick enough to truly simulate the intent of a mighty river diverging and surging forward; he had merely copied the form.

But now, the moment he focused his mind, the completely renewed blood and Qi inside him—having been refined by spiritual Qi all night—suddenly surged and roared, as if some invisible shackle had been broken!

As his movements unfolded, there was no longer the slightest sluggishness!

As his body shifted, he moved like a flood dragon parting the waters; as his arms swept out, they struck with the unstoppable force of a torrential river!

His turbulent blood and Qi naturally circulated along with his techniques, washing over every inch of his fascia and bones. Not only was the flow incredibly smooth, but as it circulated, it spontaneously absorbed the lingering remnants of spiritual Qi in his body—snowballing, continuously growing stronger and purer!

The temperature of that blood and Qi also rapidly spiked during the exercise, rising from a warm stream into a boiling, scalding geyser!

It’s like warm water turning into boiling water, and boiling water turning into a scalding current of molten copper...

Chen Lingxi finished the nine variations of the [River Entering Form], withdrew his posture, and stood quietly in thought. The blood and Qi in his body continued to course endlessly on their own, a blazing heat radiating out from his flesh.

With a thought, he attempted to control this scorching blood and Qi, slowly gathering it into his right index finger.

Instantly, the skin on his fingertip flushed a deep red. A strand of crimson Qi force—solid as a needle and aggressively searing—shot out from his finger with a hiss. Though only a tiny sliver protruded, it burned the air so intensely that it crackled softly, giving off faint wisps of blue smoke.

”[Bronze Slurry Qi]!”

Chen Lingxi was overjoyed!

This was exactly what Jiang Yuan had described as the hallmark of minor completion in the Bronze-Red Realm: the fiery nature of one’s blood and Qi condensing like a slurry, capable of being projected outward to wound an enemy!

In a single day, by ascending a floor in his Qi Circulation, his martial cultivation had followed suit. It crossed the threshold of a perfect Iron Body and stepped straight into the minor completion of the Bronze-Red Realm!

The nourishment and elevation the Qi Circulation 2nd Floor brought to his physical body far exceeded his expectations.

He even had a strong premonition that, using this as a foundation, it wouldn’t take long. With just a little polishing, he would be able to set the blood and Qi throughout his body ablaze, condensing it into a protective armor of Qi, and stepping into Bronze-Red Great Completion!

Following his pleasant surprise, Chen Lingxi tamped down the surging emotions in his chest and finally exhaled a long breath. As the crisp morning breeze entered his lungs, he felt even more refreshed and clear-headed.

After cultivating for a little over a month, I’ve finally moved past the Iron Body and entered the Bronze-Red Realm.

At this stage, I am no longer someone who can be slaughtered at will.

His mind buzzing with thoughts, Chen Lingxi turned and went back inside.

He didn’t need to arrange flowers today, so he had plenty of time on his hands.

I was so busy breaking through yesterday that I didn’t use the [Vision Wander] divine ability. I wonder if I missed anything last night.

Thinking this, Chen Lingxi closed his eyes and concentrated, letting his consciousness sink into that profound [Divine Chamber] deep within his mind.

The moment his consciousness entered the model-like void of the Divine Chamber, before he even had time to activate the [Vision Wander] divine ability as usual, Chen Lingxi’s attention was firmly grabbed by another anomaly!

The second line of tadpole-like text—which had always sat beneath [Vision Wander] in a dim, unusable state—was now swirling with golden light. It was dazzlingly bright, without a trace of its former dullness!

[Divine Ability: Thorough Awakening (Ready)]

Those simple six words sent a violent tremor through Chen Lingxi’s mind, as if a great bronze bell had been struck within his spiritual altar.

Thorough Awakening!

This second divine ability granted by the Divine Chamber—after his Qi Circulation had ascended a floor and his martial arts had advanced—seemed... finally ready to use!