After the Great Dao Died

Four other guests were seated in the hall.

Chen Lingxi had never seen any of them before, but judging by their clothing and bearing, they were certainly not locals from Yuanjiang Prefecture.

One was a young woman of about seventeen or eighteen. She looked frail and delicate, yet breathtakingly beautiful.

She wore a moon-white jacket with faint orchid patterns embroidered on the cuffs. A white jade hairpin secured her chignon, its dangling tassels swaying gently against her temples to make her face look even fairer.

She sat with a straight back, her hands resting in her lap. Her posture was so dignified it bordered on stiff; she only occasionally lifted her eyes to smile softly at the person beside her.

Another was a young man, roughly twenty-one or twenty-two.

He wore a moon-white brocade robe bound by a white jade belt and wore a jade crown on his head. Holding a folding fan, he possessed striking features—red lips and white teeth—that gave him a refined, scholarly air.

Right now, he had his head slightly turned as he listened to Commandery Princess Yunhe. The folding fan tapped lightly against his palm in an unhurried, rhythmic cadence.

A young man sat beside each of them.

These two were equally well-dressed—one in a sapphire-blue straight gown, the other in a black brocade robe. They spoke with appropriate decorum and were likely companions brought by the first pair.However, the youth in the black brocade robe seemed a bit absentminded when he spoke, his gaze drifting repeatedly toward the beautiful young woman.

The youth in blue, meanwhile, sipped slowly from a teacup. He looked completely at ease, occasionally chiming in with a perfectly timed remark.

When Lin Longyue stepped into the hall, everyone inside looked up at her.

Chu Linzi stood up, cupped her hands toward Lin Longyue, and revealed a trace of a smile.

”Miss Longyue,” Chu Linzi said with a smile. ”When we were younger, many things happened between us that displeased you. I hosted this garden banquet today specifically to offer my apologies.”

This garden likely belonged to Chu Linzi.

She spoke gracefully and sounded sincere, as if she were truly making amends for past grievances.

Lin Longyue glanced at her, expressionless. With a slight nod, she took a guest seat.

Commandery Princess Yunhe smiled and introduced the two distinguished figures to her. ”This sister is the daughter of the Palace Directorate’s Junior Supervisor. Her name is Liu Yuqing.”

”This scholarly young master is the son of the National Academy’s Director of Studies, Jiang Runian—”

”And the other two young masters are their good friends—”

After Commandery Princess Yunhe finished her introductions and everyone exchanged greetings, she added, ”I specifically invited several dancers and musicians from the Entertainment Bureau to liven the mood.”

Everyone drank wine, watched the dancers, and listened to the music.

The dancers possessed exquisite figures and moved through enchanting routines, their fluttering long sleeves stirring up fragrant breezes.

Several musicians sat in the corner of the hall, playing decadent melodies. Mixed with the aroma of wine and the warmth of a charcoal fire, the music enveloped the entire main hall in an enchanting, almost dreamlike atmosphere.

After three rounds of drinks, the dancers and most of the musicians left, leaving only a single zither player strumming in the corner.

The zither music was faint and ethereal, drifting slowly through the air like a wisp of smoke refusing to dissipate.

Surprisingly, everyone seemed a little drunk. One by one, they slumped in their chairs with unfocused eyes.

Chen Lingxi silently retreated a few steps, bypassing the main hall to hide outside a moon gate.

With his back pressed against a carved stone screen, he concealed his presence and intent, peering into the courtyard through the hollowed-out gaps.

”As I thought—”

Chen Lingxi witnessed a terrifying scene, yet he did not feel the slightest bit surprised.

The courtyard looked like a feeding ground for demons!

The crowd was drinking.

The zither player was still strumming.

Commandery Princess Yunhe slumped lazily in her chair, yet with every breath she took, an incredibly thin, faint wisp of qi drifted from Lin Longyue and silently vanished into the princess’s nose and mouth.

It was not just her.

Behind Chu Linzi stood two young guards. Both wore sturdy martial attire; their muscles were knotted and their auras dense.

Now, however, their faces were flushed and their eyes glazed, their heads drooping as if they were drunk.

As Chu Linzi breathed, a similarly thin, faint wisp of qi drifted from the two men and was silently absorbed into her body.

She wore a calm, intoxicated smile. A red light even flickered in her eyes, making her look just like a demon.

The same was true for Jiang Runian and Liu Yuqing.

The two companions they had brought were now slumped in their chairs, groggy and unconscious.

Strands of qi were also being drawn from their bodies, blending into Jiang and Liu’s breaths.

The scene was incredibly bizarre.

Four conscious people sat there wearing identical, intoxicated smiles, as if enjoying a silent feast.

Meanwhile, the five unconscious people sat like empty shells drained of their souls.

The faint zither music only made the bizarre scene more terrifying.

”Devouring vital qi again.”

Chen Lingxi’s eyelids twitched slightly, a deeply uncomfortable feeling welling up in his heart.

Suddenly sensing something, he looked behind the main hall.

He quietly retreated, bypassed the moon gate, and walked silently along the covered corridor toward the backyard.

He had just vaguely sensed an abnormal fluctuation of spiritual qi from the backyard. The fluctuation was incredibly faint, blending into the zither music and the night breeze—nearly impossible to notice without close attention.

The backyard was quieter than the front.

The windows of the side rooms were dark. Only a few wind lanterns hung from the eaves of the corridor, their dim yellow halos swaying gently in the night breeze.

Following the spiritual qi fluctuation, Chen Lingxi passed through a moon gate, and everything suddenly became completely clear to him.

A small pool was built in the center of the backyard, exactly identical to the one in Yang Zhuri’s courtyard.

A layer of incredibly faint white mist wreathed the surface of the water.

Eight bronze lamps were arranged along the edge, burning with azure flames that reflected off the water to make it look profoundly green.

Many corpses lay scattered haphazardly around the pool. All were emaciated youths: some faced the sky, some sprawled on the ground, and others curled into tight balls.

Their wrists had all been slit. Dark red blood continuously oozed from the wounds, flowing along grooves carved into the stone slabs to pool in the water.

The corpses’ faces were deathly pale and completely bloodless, yet they still bore the lingering fear and agony of their final moments.

”Exactly the same.”

Chen Lingxi’s gaze swept over the corpses. He quietly retreated, returning to his spot behind the carved stone screen.

Through the hollowed-out gaps, he looked toward the courtyard once again.

Commandery Princess Yunhe, Chu Linzi, Jiang Runian, and Liu Yuqing still wore calm, intoxicated smiles, while the people whose vital qi they were extracting remained heavily sedated.

The zither player was still strumming.

From time to time, looks of total satisfaction spilled onto the nobles’ faces, and a red light flickered in their eyes, making them look just like demons.

Meanwhile, Lin Longyue was still deeply groggy, as if drunk. Her eyes were half-open and her pupils heavily dilated, completely oblivious to everything happening around her.

At today’s banquet, Commandery Princess Yunhe, Chu Linzi, Jiang Runian, and Liu Yuqing were simultaneously executing the Qi-Devouring Method, absorbing vital qi from their respective great elixirs.

Chen Lingxi watched them with furrowed brows. Looking at this group, a trace of irritation suddenly welled up inside him.

That irritation burned brighter and brighter, mixing with sheer disgust until it intensified into a raging fire!

After a brief thought, he was suddenly overtaken by a ruthless resolve.

’I endured when I was an official bondservant. I endured at Bronze-Red. I endured at the Qi Circulation 3rd Floor. Now I have reached the Fourth Circulation Floor with a blazing Golden Body and numerous trump cards to rely on. Do I still need to endure?’

He let out a sudden cold sneer and opened his mouth.

”Hah!”

The light shout rang out like a dragon’s roar!

The sound condensed into a single line, landing exclusively in Lin Longyue’s ears.

The previously groggy Lin Longyue shuddered. Her half-closed eyes snapped open; the dilation in her pupils receded like the tide, replaced by utter clarity and shock.

Looking to the side, she saw Commandery Princess Yunhe with a red light sprouting in her eyes and an intoxicated expression on her face. The princess’s lazy countenance was now filled with satisfaction and greed, looking just like a female beast in the middle of a feeding. She had completely lost her usual mild-mannered appearance!

Chu Linzi, Jiang Runian, and Liu Yuqing were exactly the same.

All four of them wore that bizarre smile, with red light flashing in their eyes. Beside each of them lay one or two heavily sedated companions, as if they were partaking in a silent, demonic banquet.

Lin Longyue was stunned, entirely at a loss for what to do.

She looked at Commandery Princess Yunhe, and then looked at Chu Linzi—

Seeing Lin Longyue wake up, Commandery Princess Yunhe and the others were also somewhat surprised.

The zither player’s fingertips paused on the strings, and the music came to an abrupt halt.

The courtyard suddenly went dead silent.

Right at that moment—

Footsteps suddenly rang out from the moon gate.

Everyone looked over—

They saw a figure wearing a ghost mask with a long saber at his waist. He stepped slowly out from behind the moon gate, entered the courtyard, and approached the main hall!

He wore a black robe, its corners fluttering gently in the wind.

The green-faced, fanged ghost mask looked extremely eerie.

With a saber at his waist, his steps were unhurried and his back was as straight as a pine. His aura was deep and heavy as an abyss. He looked just like a ghost god stepping out from the darkness—his blazing majesty striking fear into anyone who looked at him.

The eyes of everyone in the courtyard fell on him at once.

Jiang Runian frowned. Closing his folding fan, he stood up.

He looked Chen Lingxi up and down and immediately rebuked him, ”Who are you? Concealing your identity like a coward—how dare you intrude upon our banquet grounds!”

Liu Yuqing still looked frail and delicate, but the gentle warmth from earlier had vanished from her beautiful eyes, replaced by icy vigilance.

Her right hand hung seemingly casually by her side, but her fingers had already curled slightly inward, a faint golden light flickering around her fingertips.

Everyone looked vigilant because they couldn’t gauge this person’s true strength.

For a person with absolutely no fluctuations of blood qi to silently bypass the heavy guard outside the courtyard and walk right into the main hall—this was highly unusual in itself.

This was especially true for Commandery Princess Yunhe and Chu Linzi. They had seen many grand spectacles and met quite a few overwhelmingly powerful figures—

Seeing the long saber at Chen Lingxi’s waist and the ghost mask on his face, they immediately recalled the massacre that had shocked Yuanjiang Prefecture.

At Qingjiang Villa, all the martial artists in Yang Zhuri’s courtyard had been slaughtered. The one who did it was allegedly a figure wearing a ghost mask and black clothes, carrying a long saber at his waist.

The look of satisfaction on Commandery Princess Yunhe’s face completely receded. A flash of wariness crossed her eyes, yet she kept her smile. It was warm and composed, as if she were receiving a late-arriving distinguished guest.

”Sir,” she said softly. ”Today is a private banquet. May I ask why you have come?”

Pausing, her gaze lingered on the long saber at Chen Lingxi’s waist before she smiled again. ”Since you are here, why not have a few drinks with us? I have some fine wine here that hasn’t been opened yet. It is perfect for sharing.”

After speaking, she suddenly clapped her hands. A maid walked out from the back of the main hall, carrying a bottle of fine wine.

Commandery Princess Yunhe gestured toward an empty chair opposite her. Her posture was completely relaxed, as if she were genuinely inviting a tardy guest to take a seat.

”Please, sir.” She tilted her head slightly, her phoenix eyes brimming with warmth. ”A visitor is a guest. Whatever you have to say, we can sit down and discuss it slowly.”

Lin Longyue was somewhat stunned.

She looked at the masked man, and then looked at Commandery Princess Yunhe.

She wondered why this senior had come.

She naturally remembered this person and remembered his imposing might. But for him to suddenly appear here now, what was his purpose?

Chen Lingxi’s gaze swept over Commandery Princess Yunhe.

After a thought, he actually sat down.

He took a seat in the empty chair, resting the sheathed long saber across his lap.

Commandery Princess Yunhe asked again, ”May I ask why you have come, sir?”

Before she even finished speaking, Chu Linzi shot a glance over her shoulder.

One of the two young guards behind her nodded slightly. Stepping back without a sound, he flashed into the shadows of the courtyard wall and vanished in an instant.

Chen Lingxi saw all of this but ignored it.

He finally spoke, his voice not loud, but every word was clear.

”The world calls me the Spirit-Wielding General,” he said. ”I have come here today for one thing.”

Chu Linzi raised her eyebrows slightly upon hearing this.

She suddenly gestured toward Commandery Princess Yunhe and said casually, ”You may not know this, bold guest, but this is the daughter of the King of the East, a commandery princess of our dynasty.

”Her father, the King of the East, is one of the strongest figures in our Great Li. He is a true Entering Profound figure, truly extraordinary.”

Stopping there, she paused slightly before adding, ”If you have a request, should the princess agree, you will find that success comes effortlessly.”

These words were spoken quite cleverly.

She seemed to be praising Commandery Princess Yunhe’s background, but in reality, she was using the name of the King of the East to intimidate him.

The King of the East, an Entering Profound figure—one of the symbols of the absolute peak of martial arts in Great Li.

It was more than enough to scare off any scoundrels.

Lin Longyue remained completely silent.

She looked at the masked man, at Commandery Princess Yunhe, and at Chu Linzi, the expression in her eyes constantly shifting.

In her heart, however, she recalled the light, dragon-like shout from earlier.

That shout had allowed her to see the eerie red light in Commandery Princess Yunhe’s eyes.

That red light—what was it?

Meanwhile, behind his mask, Chen Lingxi nodded slightly, seemingly paying no mind to Chu Linzi’s words.

He looked at Commandery Princess Yunhe and said, ”I do indeed have one thing I want to ask Commandery Princess Yunhe.”

Commandery Princess Yunhe smiled. ”Please speak, General.”

Chen Lingxi suddenly extended his right hand. His finger moved slowly, pointing in turn at Commandery Princess Yunhe, Chu Linzi, Jiang Runian, and Liu Yuqing.

Extremely rude!

”You are all descendants of nobility with extraordinary backgrounds,” his voice echoed through the hall. ”Yet now you host this demonic feeding banquet, harm your friends, and take the blood of so many youths. Are you not afraid of karmic retribution?”