After the Great Dao Died

The night deepened.

Chen Lingxi’s consciousness sank into the Divine Chamber.

Within the void, the deerskin pouch hung suspended in the thick fog. A faint cyan glow radiated from it, casting a deep, spectral green upon the surrounding mists.

With a single thought, the small pouch vanished from the Divine Chamber and materialized in his hand.

It was only the size of a palm, yet warm and smooth as fine jade to the touch. The cyan light flowed endlessly across the leather, resembling a pool of spring water confined within that small space.

Chen Lingxi turned it over in his hand for a few breaths. With another thought, the pouch vanished from his palm and returned to its place, suspended in the void of the Divine Chamber.

I really can store and retrieve it at will, he thought with a surge of delight. This will save me from leaving any glaring flaws.

Delight giving way to focus, he began to tally his spoils.

The first item he brought out was Qiu Chihu’s Gold-Slaughtering Precious Saber.

The weapon felt heavy in his grasp. It was over a chi longer than a standard Goose-Quill Saber, featuring a remarkably thick spine and an edge as thin as a cicada’s wing.Moonlight spilled across the steel. The silver patterns that once traced the metal had entirely shifted to pale gold, stretching from the hilt to the very tip. They resembled a golden snake coiled along the blade, flickering with a dark, chilling gleam.

The weapon was undeniably extraordinary. Its lethal edge felt incomparably sharp, radiating an intensity far greater than when Chen Lingxi had seen it in Qiu Chihu’s hands.

Chen Lingxi channeled his spiritual qi into the metal, carefully sensing its depths.

The moment his qi entered the blade, he clearly sensed two distinct forces lying dormant within. Resting side by side, they were like ice and hot coals sharing the same furnace—never interfering with one another, yet faintly repelling each other.

These two powers must have been bestowed by the Venerable Cauldron of the Beast-Fighting Palace, he deduced.

Chen Lingxi attempted to trigger the first power.

The blade reacted the moment his thought took shape.

Motes of starlight drifted from the pale gold patterns. As fine as fireflies, they floated gently through the night air, settling upon his shoulders, cuffs, and the hem of his clothes. They carried no heat, only bathing his indigo jacket in a faint, ethereal glow.

More starlight gathered, shrouding him in a hazy, mesmerizing halo. From afar, he looked like a celestial immortal descended to the mortal realm, wreathed in stars and emanating absolute authority.

Looking down at the luminous veil surrounding him, understanding dawned in Chen Lingxi’s mind.

This seems to be a power of sheer majesty. He withdrew his spiritual qi, and the starlight slowly dispersed, sinking back into the saber. Channeling it projects an imposing presence. It holds no actual killing power, but it drastically magnifies a person’s aura, clothing them in authority.

It will certainly be useful for intimidating others.

Chen Lingxi mused to himself. Shifting his qi, he triggered the second power.

This time, the blade’s reaction was vastly different.

The pale gold patterns suddenly flared with blinding intensity. Starting from the hilt, threads of lightning as fine as hair erupted from the metal, crackling loudly as they spiraled and wrapped along the weapon’s cutting edge.

In an instant, the entire saber was sheathed in dancing electricity. The blade hummed relentlessly, thrashing in his palm like a newly awakened beast of thunder.

Chen Lingxi’s grip grew numb. The power within the steel was frantic and violent, fighting to tear itself from his grasp.

Taking a deep breath, he raised the saber and gave it a sharp, testing flick.

Several arcs of lightning lashed out, and Chen Lingxi clearly felt their terrifying destructive force.

”Such power... if this struck flesh...” he muttered to himself. ”The Venerable Cauldron’s blessing is profound indeed.” A theory began to form in his mind. Qiu Chihu likely entered the Beast-Fighting Palace just to seize a cauldron’s blessing and strengthen this very saber.

But Qiu Chihu had died by his hand, leaving this precious weapon as a spoil of war.

He looked down at the blade. The raging lightning had already dissipated, and the pale gold patterns had returned to their dormant state, gleaming with a faint, cold light beneath the moon.

”With this blade in hand, if I can master a blood qi saber technique and pair it with this spiritual lightning, my combat strength will skyrocket.” He laid the weapon across his knees, tracing the golden patterns with his fingertips. ”Then, I could overcome anyone at Silver Bone Consummation... and perhaps even trade blows with someone just entering the Golden Body state!”

The only problem was that he had never studied the saber.

I need to find a suitable saber art, Chen Lingxi thought. The image of Zhao Yong surfaced in his mind, bringing a brief smile to his eyes as he stored the weapon back inside his Cosmos Bag.

Next, he withdrew the stack of banknotes.

It was a thick stack, with denominations ranging from fifty to a hundred liang. Counting them one by one beneath the moonlight, he found a total of one thousand two hundred liang.

One thousand two hundred liang.

The sheer number left him in stunned silence for several breaths.

Liu Que, the West Courtyard steward of the Baosu Marquis Residence, earned a yearly stipend of barely one hundred and fifty liang.

An ordinary family of five could live comfortably for an entire year on just twenty or thirty liang.

Yet this small stack of paper in his hands equaled eight years of Liu Que’s wages, and rivaled half a lifetime of expenses for a commoner.

Qiu Chihu truly lived up to his status as the son of the Capital Guard Commander. Chen Lingxi tucked the banknotes away, already forming a plan. This silver might not buy the absolute best, but it’s more than enough to guarantee I never lack for medicinal baths and blood qi pills.

He stowed the money in his Cosmos Bag and then drew out a Silver-White Pill.

The pill was perfectly round like a pearl, its surface etched with faintly flowing silver patterns that gleamed coldly in the moonlight.

He had briefly glimpsed the five Silver-White Pills he had looted from Qiu Chihu during his Thorough Awakening evolution, but he hadn’t possessed the time to examine them closely.

Now, holding it in his hand, a rich, medicinal fragrance washed over him. The scent wasn’t overbearing, but rather deeply enduring. Drawing it in felt like a thin, unbroken thread sliding down his nasal cavity, sinking past his chest, and settling deep into his internal organs.

Stimulated by the aroma, the wisp of cyan qi inside his dantian began to circulate of its own accord. It trembled slightly, eager as a hound that had just caught the scent of blood.

This Silver-White Pill contains an abundance of spiritual qi as well.

No longer hesitating, Chen Lingxi popped a pill into his mouth and washed it down with a sip of warm water.

The moment the pill reached his stomach, a massive torrent of blood qi erupted within him!

The vitality was blisteringly hot. It was so intense that Chen Lingxi felt as though a glowing, red-hot iron ball had just been shoved into his lower abdomen.

The searing heat spread outward, rushing from his core to his limbs and bones. Wherever it passed, the native blood qi within his meridians was caught by this foreign force and dragged into a frantic, surging tide.

He immediately circulated the blood qi channeling method of the Seven Forms of Halting War. Thread by thread, he reined in the violent essence, refining it and assimilating it into his own natural circulation.

Half a shichen quietly slipped away.

When Chen Lingxi opened his eyes again, his joints cracked and popped with power. The faint silver-white radiance beneath his skin gleamed significantly brighter than before.

His silver marrow, which had been meager ever since he broke into the Silver Bone Realm, now faintly brimmed with a sense of overflowing. It flowed sluggishly deep within his bones, plating them with a gentle silver sheen wherever it passed.

This pill... it can directly increase silver marrow.

Chen Lingxi rejoiced at the discovery. After a rough estimation, he calculated that if he could fully refine all five Silver-White Pills, he would reach the minor success stage of the Silver Bone Realm and successfully master the Silver Marrow Finger.

Once that happened, his ten fingers would be as tough as solid silver, capable of piercing iron and stone with ease.

Tucking the remaining Silver-White Pills safely inside his robes, he sat cross-legged once more. He settled his mind and began practicing the Dragon Roar Technique.

The technique’s methodology was immensely complex. It progressed in layers, starting from the basic channeling of qi through the throat, all the way up to the profound heights of unleashing a roar like a thunderclap.

The Initial Sensation stage focused on a single principle: ”Qi rises from the dantian, sound exits from the throat.” It required the cultivator to flood their throat with spiritual qi, vibrate their vocal cords, and release a booming shout.

Such a shout might appear ordinary, but it carried the unique, oscillating rhythm of spiritual qi. It could strike terror into a man’s heart, or physically shatter an enemy’s blood qi.

Following the manual’s instructions, Chen Lingxi slowly coaxed that wisp of cyan qi from his dantian, drawing it up his Governing Vessel until it flooded his throat.

A wave of heat flared in his throat, as though hot coals were burning within his windpipe.

Holding his breath, he waited for the blistering heat to reach its absolute peak before snapping his mouth open.

”Hah!”

A sharp shout burst from his throat.

Simultaneously, using the subtle control taught by the Dragon Roar Technique, he contained the sound strictly within a three-zhang radius.

The noise wasn’t loud, but it was incredibly deep and resonant. It sounded like a slumbering hatchling dragon being startled awake, rumbling with displeasure deep within its throat.

The air rippled visibly wherever the sound passed. Flakes of loose plaster cascaded from the courtyard walls, and the leaves of the old locust tree in the corner rustled violently, as though battered by an invisible gale.

Chen Lingxi frowned, unsatisfied with the result.

He tried several more times, his execution growing smoother and more harmonious with every attempt.

After numerous repetitions, the shout finally carried a nascent trace of a true dragon’s roar. Though the volume remained low, the sound possessed an indescribable, bone-rattling penetrating power.

Cutting off the sound, Chen Lingxi exhaled a long breath of turbid qi, a glint of realization sparking in his eyes.

And this was barely scratching the surface of the Initial Sensation stage.

The true profundity of the Dragon Roar Technique lay not just in vibrating an enemy’s blood qi, bones, and organs. Far more dangerously, it used the shout as a medium to carry spiritual qi, directly assaulting a foe’s mind, will, and spirit.

He practiced for another half a shichen, only stopping to rest when his throat began to throb with pain.

The profundity of the Dragon Roar Technique far surpasses the Cyan Edge Method. I’ve only just crossed the threshold; I still have a long road ahead.

The more Chen Lingxi experienced the sheer profundity of the technique, the more his curiosity grew regarding the Southern Heaven Region that Crown Prince Ying Chi had mentioned.

Resting in the moonlit courtyard, he began piecing together the scattered clues he had gathered.

First: when Lin Suri struck a deal with the Time Candle, the Venerable Cauldron specifically mentioned a ”Great World.” Sitting cross-legged beneath the locust tree, he dragged his finger across the dirt, carving a shallow horizontal line.

Second: Lin Suri spoke with the black-clad cultivator surnamed Chao. The cultivator came to the Baosu Marquis Residence, yet explicitly told Lin Suri, ”I do not know your origins.” He carved a second horizontal line.

Third: the assassin who attacked Crown Prince Ying Chi claimed that ”there are also Outer Realm demons within the palace.”

Fourth: Ying Chi stated that his memories had not yet fully recovered. Yet, he spoke of Golden Elixirs and Nascent Infants. He named Ehai and the Southern Heaven Region. He mentioned the Dao Masters of Daoxia Academy, and the Heaven-Grafting True Monarch of Ehai.

Fifth: Golden Elixirs and Nascent Infants. The Heaven-Stabilizing Brush that dictates a person’s destiny. And the Heaven-Grafting Ladder that can transfer one’s own karma, disasters, and karmic debt onto others.

Five horizontal lines now lay side by side in the dirt. He stared at them for a long time before slashing a deep, heavy vertical line straight through them, tying every clue together.

The Great World... the Outer Realm... That must be where the immortals gather.

Daoxia Academy, Ehai, the Southern Heaven Region—these names were like a series of tightly barred doors. He had no way of knowing what wonders or horrors lay behind them.

But he knew one thing for certain. The beings behind those doors possessed the power to dictate destiny and transfer karmic debt. Their shouts echoed like dragons, and they floated through the void like gods.

Chen Lingxi felt as though the thick fog obscuring a vast, undiscovered world was finally beginning to clear.

He guessed that this so-called Great World was overflowing with spiritual qi. Cultivators there would never want for ambient energy, and the realm itself likely held countless opportunities for true immortality.

If I could reach a place like that, Qi Circulation would no longer be a monumental struggle, and true immortality would finally be within reach.

He murmured to himself in the quiet courtyard. A fire sparked in his eyes, dancing silently but burning ever brighter, until the sheer intensity of his ambition seemed ready to spill over.

In his past life, he had suffered a premature death. In this life, he wanted to live forever.