After the Great Dao Died

The True Formulas of the Six Qi True Method?

Lin Suri stood rooted to the spot, a fleeting trace of hesitation flashing through his deep, well-like eyes.

The Six Qi True Art was a secret transmission of Daoxia Academy’s Chipuo Courtyard, passed down by Jinque True Person Jing Shijue. By the rules, it could not be taught to outsiders.

Seeing his hesitation, the Credit Peddler did not rush him. He merely stood there grinning, his fingers idly toying with the hemp rope on his woven basket.

After a few breaths, the Credit Peddler suddenly spoke. ”As for the treasures needed to set up the array, if you’re willing to put in the effort, you can find substitutes for most of them.

”But there are two items you will find extremely difficult to procure.

”I’ll only mention one of them—the Layered-Heaven Wood.”

A look of alarm flickered through Lin Suri’s eyes.

The fact that those words came from the Credit Peddler’s mouth proved he already knew exactly what Lin Suri wanted in trade.

Chen Lingxi had been eavesdropping on their conversation the entire time, and he increasingly felt that this Credit Peddler was unfathomably profound!Under the state of Vision Wander, Lin Suri’s every breath and movement could not hide from his eyes.

Even as Lin Suri cast a spell to converse with the peddler via secret voice transmission, condensing his voice into a single thread that landed directly by the man’s ear, Chen Lingxi could hear it all perfectly clearly. In this Vision Wander state, it was as if he were standing right beside them.

From start to finish, Lin Suri never said what he actually wanted in exchange. He never mentioned what treasures were needed to set up that Mountain-Refining Array, yet the Credit Peddler directly brought up the Layered-Heaven Wood.

It’s as if he had long calculated that Lin Suri would come today, calculated that he wanted to set up this array, and calculated exactly what he was missing.

What kind of immortal method is this?

Chen Lingxi suddenly recalled the way the Credit Peddler had pinched his fingers in divination just moments ago.

His thumb had tapped rapidly across his finger joints. It looked casual, yet faintly exuded an indescribable profundity.

His thoughts narrowed, and an idea suddenly surfaced from the depths of his mind.

Could he have calculated that I’m spying on them? And calculated that I’m in need of the True Formulas of the Six Qi True Method?

As soon as this thought arose, Chen Lingxi shook his head slightly.

The Divine Chamber was wondrous. It could even create something from nothing, fabricating a world to simulate the future.

No matter how miraculous the Credit Peddler’s immortal methods were, he shouldn’t be able to divine matters involving the Divine Chamber.

If this Credit Peddler really could sense the Divine Chamber’s prying, then what kind of cultivation realm must he have reached?

Why would an existence of that caliber come to this qi-less realm?

With that, Chen Lingxi’s thoughts began to drift even further.

This grotto-heaven is not a qi-bearing realm.

When cultivators from the greater world come here to seek the truth and vie for the Cauldron, they don’t all arrive in their true forms.

At this, a flash of insight crossed his mind.

Cultivators from the greater world came here to seek the truth, but it seemed not all of them arrived in their true forms.

Lin Suri was the eldest young master of the Baosu Marquis Residence, born and raised here.

Crown Prince Ying Chi was the crown prince of Great Li.

Lu Baizhong was born into the Lu Family.

Are they in disguise? Did they possess these bodies? Or did they reincarnate here?

Chen Lingxi pondered deeply. Since they are here to seek the truth and vie for the Cauldron! The Cauldron is so marvelous that even a mere fragment of it holds unspeakable power.

Why didn’t the Southern Heaven Region, Daoxia Academy, and those many other major sects from the greater world send stronger cultivators to fight for it? Why let Qi Circulation cultivators like Lin Suri, Lu Baizhong, and Ying Chi come, leaving them to rack their brains cultivating bitterly in this qi-less realm?

Did they make some kind of agreement? Or... is it that those more powerful cultivators are simply unable to enter this place?

Countless thoughts flashed through Chen Lingxi’s mind, but suddenly he saw Lin Suri bow to the Credit Peddler once again.

This usually aloof and unsmiling eldest young master of the Baosu Marquis Residence was now bowing respectfully all the way to the ground, his tone solemn. ”Since that is the case, I agree. I hope the Credit Peddler will procure the array items for me.”

Chen Lingxi was speechless.

Didn’t Lin Suri just say that the Six Qi True Art was a secret transmission of the Chipuo Courtyard and couldn’t be taught to others?

Yet now he was selling it to the Credit Peddler. Was he not afraid this peddler would turn around and resell the Six Qi True Art?

The Credit Peddler chuckled. The sound wasn’t loud, but it echoed with peculiar clarity throughout the fog-filled valley.

He reached out, spreading his palm upward with his fingers slightly parted, and said casually, ”You know the rules.”

Lin Suri straightened up and said no more.

Reaching into his robes, he pulled out a jade pendant.

He grasped the pendant in his palm and closed his eyes to concentrate.

Spiritual qi quietly flowed from his body. Like incredibly thin and faint azure silk threads, it extended from his fingertips, his palm, and his wrist, weaving strand by strand into the jade pendant.

The spiritual qi fell at a glacial pace, every single thread meticulously controlled, like an artisan using the finest needle and thread to embroider the most complex tapestry.

Only after roughly half a ke did Lin Suri open his eyes.

He handed the jade pendant to the Credit Peddler. The pendant was no longer a lustrous white; instead, it shimmered with an incredibly faint and soft azure glow. Countless dense patterns could vaguely be seen slowly swirling inside, resembling an azure spirit snake sealed in amber.

The Credit Peddler took the jade pendant, weighed it in his hand, and held it up to his eyes to inspect it. He nodded in satisfaction.

He took a step back, and his body acted like melting fog, sinking inch by inch into the boulder behind him.

His silhouette gradually blurred and dissipated on the stone’s surface, eventually turning into a few wisps of extremely faint gray mist before completely vanishing into the rock.

”Please return, Young Master Lin. We will meet again once I procure the treasures.”

The voice echoed from deep within the stone, sounding heavily muffled, as if separated by a thick layer of water.

Lin Suri stood in front of the boulder in silence for a moment.

Then, he turned and stepped into the dense fog.

Mountain winds blew past, churning the heavy fog and leaving his figure flickering in and out of sight. After taking a few steps, he suddenly closed his eyes.

With Lin Suri at the center, ripples of movement broke out in the dense fog.

Ring after ring of invisible ripples spread outward from his body, radiating in all directions.

The ripples pierced through the fog, the boulders, and the ancient trees, acting like an invisible hand inching through and probing every crevice of this Ancestral Mountain.

Through the perspective of his Vision Wander, Chen Lingxi could clearly sense the spiritual fluctuations contained within those ripples.

They were extremely weak, yet incredibly dense, blanketing every inch of space within a radius of several hundred zhang like a spiderweb.

A long time later, Lin Suri opened his eyes.

A rare trace of helplessness appeared in his deep eyes.

”Still nothing...”

He muttered to himself—a rare occurrence. His voice was incredibly light, as if speaking to himself, or perhaps to the fog itself.

Then he turned around and, without stopping his pace, strode out of the Ancestral Mountain. Before long, he exited the Ancestral Mountain and returned to the Baosu Marquis Residence.

Inside the inn, Chen Lingxi opened his eyes.

His gaze gradually cleared. His temples were still throbbing violently, and his head felt as though dozens of needles were piercing it simultaneously. The pain made him gasp sharply.

Activating Vision Wander twice in a single day was too much for him to handle, even if he had now stepped onto the Qi Circulation 4th Floor and possessed a much more resilient mind than before.

Massaging his temples, he borrowed the moonlight spilling in through the window to stare silently at the mottled plaster on the wall for a long time.

”The Credit Peddler... the Six Qi True Art...” His lips moved slightly as he muttered to himself. ”Could it be a coincidence? The Credit Peddler just happened to want it, and I just happened to need it.”

As his thoughts reached this point, a hint of wariness crept into his eyes. ”Or perhaps he already calculated that I would go to him to trade for the True Formulas of the Six Qi True Method?”

He leaned against the bedpost, repeatedly sorting through everything he had seen and heard during his Vision Wander.

The Six Qi True Art was something he absolutely needed.

After reaching the Qi Circulation 4th Floor, his spiritual qi liquefied and settled into his qi sea, slowing his cultivation growth. In the simulation of his Thorough Awakening, he had obtained the complete methods for the latter three forms of the Seven Forms of Halting War, giving his blood and qi martial arts a direct path to Nine Revolutions perfection. However, for his Qi Circulation path, he still only possessed a basic breathing and energy circulation method, lacking a True Formula.

Chen Lingxi could already sense that without a True Formula, the Qi Circulation 4th Floor would be his limit. Taking even a single step further would be extremely difficult.

Not to mention, the figures surrounding him were all peerlessly strong. Lin Suri was at the Qi Circulation 6th Floor, Ying Chi’s cultivation was unfathomably deep, and Lu Baizhong could kill with lightning at the snap of his fingers.

Furthermore...

This grotto-heaven is about to be refined into the Cauldron by a True Monarch to serve as cultivation resources. Without a True Formula, I’m afraid I won’t be able to escape this calamity.

A trace of longing flashed through Chen Lingxi’s eyes.

This longing was deeply profound, much like a traveler who had trudged through the desert for a long time suddenly spotting the silhouette of an oasis in the distance.

Even if that oasis turned out to be a mirage, he still had to go over and see it for himself.

His opportunity to obtain the True Formulas of the Six Qi True Method most likely lay with the Credit Peddler.

But immediately after, he took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the urgency surging in his chest.

”There’s no rush,” he told himself. ”I’ll wait for the next Thorough Awakening.”

The Perceiving Clear Divine Ability could simulate the future and allow him to scout the way using a virtual realm. It enabled him to risk his life without bearing the true consequences.

If he wanted to scheme for the True Formulas in front of a truly unfathomable existence like the Credit Peddler, Thorough Awakening was his greatest source of confidence.

Once his Thorough Awakening fully replenished its essence, he could probe the waters in the virtual realm first.

He could test the Credit Peddler’s methods and see if he could actually trade for the True Formulas of the Six Qi True Method from his hands.

Chen Lingxi temporarily suppressed these thoughts and quietly returned to the residence.