After the Great Dao Died

Chen Lingxi’s consciousness snapped back to reality, his head throbbing with a splitting pain.

He rubbed his temples, sitting on the edge of the bed for a moment before slowly exhaling.

He took that Incense Burner out with him.

Chen Lingxi was puzzled.

Just what exactly was inside that Incense Burner?

He recalled those thirteen Talismanic Seals, the melting incense stick, and the mouthful of blood Lin Suri had spat into the burner.

What is he refining?

The question circled in his mind for a long time, but he could not find an answer.

He shook his head, pushing the thoughts aside. Sitting cross-legged, he began his breathing exercises.

The spring night air was cool as water, carrying the fresh scent of vegetation.With every breath, the thin spiritual energy between heaven and earth seeped into his body, merging into the spiritual qi in his dantian.

The spiritual qi circulated slowly, completely refining the final trace of the Dragon-Drawing Powder he had taken during the day.

Yet, he remained deeply curious about where Lin Suri had gone.

—

The next day, he sank his mind into the Divine Chamber once more and activated the Vision Wander Divine Ability.

Lin Suri had returned. He sat cross-legged on a woven mat in the inner room of the eastern hall, the Incense Burner resting in front of him.

His eyes were closed, his right hand pressed against the burner while golden light swirled in his palm.

But this time, Chen Lingxi’s attention was drawn not to Lin Suri, but to the Incense Burner.

A violet light seeped out from within.

It was a distinct, condensed streak of violet treasure qi, swirling slowly inside the burner.

Chen Lingxi held his breath, drawing his perspective closer to observe.

He recognized that violet treasure qi.

It was exactly the same as the violet qi that had erupted from the Treasure Bottle in the hands of the noble youth on Cuojin Mountain.

Only, it was much smaller.

Barely the thickness of two or three fingers pressed together, it roamed sluggishly inside the Incense Burner. Like a trapped purple snake, it darted left and right, yet could not break free from the burner’s restraints.

As Lin Suri slowly channeled his spiritual qi into the burner, the golden light and violet qi intertwined, emitting a faint hiss.

The violet qi was being devoured bit by bit.

Its edges began to blur, its color dimming slightly, like a block of solid ice slowly melting over a gentle fire.

Chen Lingxi saw it clearly.

He estimated the speed—at this rate, it would take Lin Suri at least a dozen more days to completely refine this streak of violet qi.

A dozen days.

A sudden thought sprang into Chen Lingxi’s mind.

The violet fragments scattered across Cuojin Mountain.

When that youth had used the Treasure Bottle to unleash the violet qi, the bladesman had shattered it with a single slash, scattering it across the wilderness.

Those fragments varied in size—the largest were like small snakes, while the smallest were mere grains of rice.

Those fragments were also treasure qi.

Though not as complete as the streak in Lin Suri’s burner, they were absolutely not ordinary objects.

If I could find one or two of them...

Chen Lingxi’s eyes brightened slightly.

Lin Suri’s slow, strenuous effort to consume that violet qi with his own spiritual qi told him one thing...

Though this violet qi was powerful, it was not impossible to refine.

He had the spiritual qi of the second floor of Qi Circulation.

It was far inferior to Lin Suri’s, but if he could find a much smaller fragment of treasure qi and slowly refine it with his spiritual qi, he might very well claim it for his own use.

The might of this treasure qi is unparalleled, far surpassing many treasured swords, sabers, and arrows.

If I possessed this kind of treasure qi, even a tiny sliver of it, I would have a true trump card.

He calculated silently.

Even if Zhao Yong turns against me, I would still have a chance to escape with my life.

His gaze fixed on the violet qi in Lin Suri’s burner, his eyes growing more determined.

Lin Suri will definitely be in seclusion refining that violet qi for the next few days, and Zhao Yong has gone to the capital to buy supplies and check the accounts. This is the perfect opportunity.

Cuojin Mountain.

He chanted the name silently. But the Incense Burner and Talismanic Seals needed to contain the treasure qi...

Chen Lingxi looked at the Incense Burner resting on his desk.

Almost every room had one of these bronze-cast burners.

What harm is there in trying?

His mind made up, Chen Lingxi wasted no time.

He stood, straightened his clothes, and walked out the door.

The late spring wind blew in from beyond the corridor, carrying the fading scent of the late-blooming flowers in the garden.

He did not pause, passing through the West Courtyard’s moon gate and following the covered walkway all the way south, heading straight for the main courtyard where Lin Longyue lived.

Two young maids stood before the main courtyard gates. Seeing him approach, one of them turned and went inside to announce his arrival.

Before long, Liu Zhu emerged. She stood just inside the threshold, looking at him with calm eyes.

”Chen Lingxi, the young miss is resting. What is your business?”

Chen Lingxi bowed respectfully and said, ”Miss Liu Zhu, I would like an audience with the young miss to request leave to go out of the city.”

Liu Zhu raised an eyebrow, a flash of surprise in her eyes. ”Out of the city? Do you know your status?”

”Naturally,” Chen Lingxi said, his head bowed, his voice respectful. ”The young miss ordered that a vase of floral arrangements must be sent to the palace every five days. The style must be fresh, and the meaning clever.

”However, as the arrangements pile up, the flowers in the courtyard have lost their novelty. The shops in the city only sell ordinary blooms, nothing that could be called ’extraordinary.’

”I heard that Her Ladyship the Noble Consort is most fond of ’the charm of the wilderness.’ That is why I thought of leaving the city. If I could search the mountains around Yuanjiang Prefecture for some wild flora, the resulting arrangement might be more pleasing to Her Ladyship’s eyes.”

He spoke earnestly, his head lowered the entire time in a posture of complete submissiveness.

Liu Zhu listened to him in silence for a moment before saying, ”Wait here. I will report to the young miss.”

With that, she turned and walked back into the courtyard, the gates gently pulling shut behind her.

Chen Lingxi stood outside, arms at his sides, waiting quietly.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Liu Zhu returned, holding something in her hand.

She walked up to Chen Lingxi and handed it over.

It was a Travel Permit.

Black ink on yellow paper, stamped with the red seal of the Baosu Marquis Residence. It specified Chen Lingxi’s name, status, and destination, along with a time limit for his return: departing on the third day of the fourth month, to return before the fifth day of the fourth month, void upon expiration.

Chen Lingxi accepted it with both hands, glanced at it, and tucked it into his robes.

”The young miss has spoken,” Liu Zhu said, her tone unhurried. ”You are permitted to leave the residence and forage for wild flora in the surrounding mountains to craft better arrangements. However—”

She paused, her gaze landing on his face.

”Times are troubled right now,” Liu Zhu continued. ”Checkpoints have been set up all over Jingji Province and Lunan Province, with inspections everywhere. Further out in Wuqing Province and Qinghua Province, massive sweeps to check household registers are underway.

”Without a Travel Permit issued by the government, you cannot go anywhere.”

”If you truly go, do not take the wrong path and wander into places you shouldn’t be.”

Chen Lingxi lowered his head. ”I understand.”

Liu Zhu gave a hum of acknowledgment and added, ”There is one more thing the young miss asked me to tell you.

”There is no shortage of Golden Body figures among the residence’s guest ministers. For a Golden Body martial artist, running two thousand li in a single day is an easy feat. Furthermore, the Baosu Marquis Residence has its own businesses in the surrounding prefectures. We have eyes everywhere.”

Her tone was perfectly flat as she spoke.

But Chen Lingxi understood the hidden meaning clearly.

Lin Longyue was telling him not to entertain any thoughts of fleeing.

The power within this residence was far beyond what a lowly official bondservant like him could contend with.

Even if he managed to escape the residence and Yuanjiang Prefecture, there were still checkpoints outside, registry checks, and omnipresent inspections.

And the residence’s experts would be right behind him.

An official bondservant without a household registry could not take a single step in these surrounding provinces.

Chen Lingxi did not show a hint of emotion. He simply bowed and said, ”I understand. Thank the young miss for her guidance.”

Liu Zhu waved her hand. ”Go. Return early, and do not delay the floral arrangement.”

With that, she turned back into the courtyard.

Chen Lingxi headed back.

On the way, he pulled the Travel Permit from his robes to inspect it again, then safely tucked it away once he was sure everything was correct.

Departing on the third day of the fourth month, returning before the fifth day.

Today was the second day.

He could leave tomorrow.

Quickening his pace, he returned to his courtyard, shut the door, and sat down at the table.

As twilight deepened outside the window, Chen Lingxi’s gaze fell upon the Incense Burner.

It was still the same style of burner.

Its bronze color was dark as the night, with a faint ghost-face pattern protruding from the body. A single stick of incense rested at an angle inside, thin as gossamer, its burning tip glowing with a flickering, dim red.

It was completely identical to the one in his previous reverse-facing quarters.

Chen Lingxi cupped the Incense Burner in his hands and studied it intently.

In the Divine Chamber, he had watched Lin Suri inject spiritual qi into the burner, construct an array with Talismanic Seals, turn the incense to ash, mix it with blood, and finally refine a vessel capable of holding treasure qi.

When using Vision Wander, not only do I observe every minute detail without missing a flaw, but I also possess a perfect memory.

He remembered those thirteen Talismanic Seals with absolute clarity.

He also remembered the exact routes the spiritual qi had traveled without the slightest deviation.

I’ll try it.

Placing the Incense Burner on the table, he sat cross-legged and calmed his mind.

The stream of azure qi in his dantian slowly circulated. Under his urging, it flowed out, traveling up his meridians until it gathered in the palm of his right hand.

He pressed his hand against the burner.

Spiritual qi pierced through his palm and flowed into the burner.

The burner trembled slightly, emitting an incredibly faint hum.

Joy sparked in Chen Lingxi’s heart. Not daring to slacken, he used his spiritual qi to trace the Talismanic Seals along the inside of the burner, following the paths from his memory.

He guided a wisp of spiritual qi down into the burner.

The first Talismanic Seal—like a twisting snake.

But his spiritual qi was too weak. A single wisp was not enough. Halfway through the tracing, it ran out of strength. The seal’s shape collapsed mid-formation, and the spiritual qi backlashed, jarring his palm until it went numb.

Gritting his teeth, Chen Lingxi pushed the remaining spiritual qi in his dantian and started over.

This time, he brought forth a thicker strand of qi. It roamed across the burner’s inner wall like a slender snake, coiling left and spinning right, darting forward and retracting. Finally, right before the qi ran dry, he completed the first Talismanic Seal.

Chen Lingxi did not dare stop, immediately moving on to trace the second seal.

The third.

The fourth.

His face grew paler and paler, cold sweat beading on his forehead. The spiritual qi in his dantian was nearly depleted.

But he did not stop.

The fifth.

The sixth.

The seventh.

When he reached the seventh seal, his spiritual qi finally ran completely dry.

Less than half of the final seal had been formed before it collapsed, the spiritual qi vanishing into nothingness.

Chen Lingxi’s entire body jerked. His right hand slipped off the burner as he gasped heavily for air.

He looked down at the Incense Burner.

The dim red tip of the incense stick had gone out. The burner returned to its original appearance, dark and heavy like rotten wood.

”Only seven.”

He muttered to himself, his tone carrying a hint of frustration, ”I wonder if seven Talismanic Seals can hold that violet qi.”

But on second thought, Lin Suri had relied on a cultivation of the fifth floor of Qi Circulation, or perhaps even higher, to trace those thirteen complete Talismanic Seals.

He was merely at the second floor. Being able to trace seven was already no small feat.

I just don’t know if seven seals will work.

He took a short break. Once the spiritual qi in his dantian had recovered slightly, he started again.

This time, he did not bite off more than he could chew. He focused purely on practicing those seven Talismanic Seals repeatedly, until he could form each one in a single stroke without the slightest delay or hesitation.

The seven Talismanic Seals roamed across the burner’s inner wall, a faint resonance forming between them. They were like seven chess pieces—though they had not linked into a complete formation, they were already set exactly where they needed to be.

Chen Lingxi bit the tip of his tongue and spat a mouthful of blood into the Incense Burner.

The moment the blood hit the bottom of the burner, the seven Talismanic Seals flared with light.

The stick of incense began to turn to ash from the top down. The ash fell to the bottom, mixing with the seals, the spiritual qi, and the blood, gradually melting into a small pool of dark golden, viscous liquid.

The liquid flowed slowly across the bottom like spilled quicksilver, though it was only a thin layer that barely covered the base of the burner.

Then, smoke began to rise.

It was incredibly faint—not the blue smoke of ordinary burning incense, but a milky-white, thick mist that gathered into a cloud above the burner, refusing to disperse.

Looking at that mist, Chen Lingxi’s heart suddenly settled.

The violet qi in Lin Suri’s burner was trapped by this exact kind of mist.

It seems seven Talismanic Seals are enough to be of use.

His cultivation was far inferior to Lin Suri’s. The burner he refined could naturally only trap a fraction of the treasure qi that the other man had caught.

But as long as it could trap a sliver, just a single wisp—

Even a strand as thin as a hair would be enough.

He carefully wrapped the Incense Burner in coarse cloth.

The night outside was deep. There was no moon in the sky, only a few stars flickering through gaps in the clouds, casting a cold, eerie glow.

Chen Lingxi sat on the edge of his bed for a moment. He checked over his travel pack, and once he confirmed everything was ready, he lay down.

He did not resume his breathing exercises. He simply closed his eyes and listened to the wind outside.

The wind blew in from afar, passing through the bamboo grove in the garden with a rustling sound, like people speaking in hushed whispers.