After the Great Dao Died

The fog surged. The figure who had struck with the speed of thunder, freezing fog into ice and smashing a courtyard of experts to pieces in mere breaths, slowly faded into the mist and vanished.

Lin Longyue and the two young masters remained in a daze, seemingly unable to believe what had just unfolded before their eyes.

Those thunderous methods, the thick fog born from thin air, the fiend-like figure stepping out of the mist—it had all been like a nightmare. It arrived without warning and left without a trace, leaving behind only a courtyard of blood and corpses.

It was the only proof that none of it was an illusion.

”This person is a subordinate of the Spirit-Wielding General—even his subordinates are this outrageously strong?”

Lin Longyue steadied herself, barely suppressing the turbulent waves in her heart.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped around the zither player collapsed on the ground and hurried toward the backyard.

The scene in the backyard was even more horrifying than the front.

The haphazard sprawl of bodies by the pool remained; the emaciated youths were simply left exposed to the biting wind.

When Lin Longyue’s gaze shifted to the other side of the pool, her breath caught in her throat.Commandery Princess Yunhe lay there.

Both of her arms were severed, the stumps ragged and uneven. Her pale yellow jacket was completely soaked in blood.

But what chilled Lin Longyue to the bone was the center of Commandery Princess Yunhe’s brow.

A hole the thickness of a finger pierced right through it.

The princess’s eyes were wide open, bulging from their sockets. Those phoenix eyes that usually harbored a lazy smile were now frozen in the terror and disbelief of her final moments.

She had died without closing her eyes!

Lin Longyue stood frozen, her entire body running cold.

Right at that moment, she sensed something and snapped her head up.

In the distance, atop the roof ridge, the ghost-masked man had appeared at some unknown time.

The fading winter sun hung behind him, carving his figure into a pitch-black silhouette.

He still wore his saber at his waist. The scabbard was dark and unadorned, yet a biting, soul-stealing aura seeped out from it.

Beneath that ghost mask, a pair of eyes stared calmly at her across a distance of dozens of zhang.

Lin Longyue felt a chill shoot from the soles of her feet straight to the crown of her head.

This man had killed Chu Linzi, Jiang Runian, Liu Yuqing, the zither player, and Commandery Princess Yunhe. The courtyard full of experts had been nothing but clay figures before him, shattering at the first blow.

If he wanted to kill her, it would only take a snap of his fingers.

Amidst her shock and doubt, a voice suddenly echoed by her ear, as if someone were whispering right next to it. ”When the yamen asks, tell them the absolute truth. Tell them the killer was me, the Spirit-Wielding General.”

Lin Longyue shuddered. She subconsciously opened her mouth to ask a question, only to see the figure on the roof turn away. His robes fluttered wildly in the wind, clearly about to depart.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Longyue urgently called out, ”Senior! Commandery Princess Yunhe—was she really draining my vital essence?”

The figure paused slightly.

A few breaths later, that mysterious voice rang in her ear once more. ”You possess a Precious Body, brimming with spiritual qi.

Imperial Consort Chun wants to use you as medicine. Commandery Princess Yunhe drained your vital essence to cultivate. In the future, there will only be more people coveting your Precious Body.”

Hearing this, Lin Longyue’s face turned deathly pale.

She lowered her head in a daze. By the time she looked up again, the figure on the roof had vanished.

By the time Chen Lingxi returned to the cave on Mount Qiaoji, the sky had already darkened.

Outside the cave, the wind howled as it tore through the forest and swept over the rocks. Xi Mu stood motionless on a boulder outside, like a stone statue.

Chen Lingxi sat cross-legged on the flat bluestone in the center of the cave and let out a long breath of stale air.

”A cultivator acts according to their heart. Today, my thoughts are finally a bit clearer.”

He glanced over at Xi Mu again.

The combat power of this Undying Willow Puppet, Xi Mu, far exceeded his initial expectations.

A martial artist at Golden Body Consummation had been like paper before it, crumbling without blocking a single blow.

A Sixth Floor of Qi Circulation killing a blood-and-qi martial artist at Golden Body Consummation is like breaking dead branches and rotten wood, Chen Lingxi calculated silently. I’m afraid even someone at Jade Qi Great Completion wouldn’t fare well against it. It could even fight... a Jade Qi Peak Completion.

Jade Qi Peak Completion was already an extremely high realm on the martial path.

Within the entire Baosu Marquis Estate, the strongest figures on the surface were just the few Golden Body guest retainers in Yin’an Courtyard.

The old man guarding the banner in Xuantong Observatory was highly likely a Jade Qi expert. Chen Lingxi still vividly remembered the terrifying might of his palm strike inside the Absolute Perception Divine Chamber.

But compared to Xi Mu, that old man is still lacking.

Reining in his thoughts, Chen Lingxi retrieved the spirit stone he had taken from Xi Mu out of his Vast Void Pouch.

Clutching the spirit stone in his palm, he circulated the Six Truths Method.

The true formulas flowed slowly through his meridians, and the stream of spiritual liquid in his sea of qi surged in response.

The spiritual qi within the stone rushed out like floodwaters breaking a dam, pouring through the meridians in his palm into his limbs and bones before converging in his sea of qi.

This spiritual qi was incredibly pure and docile. It shared nearly the exact same origin as the energy in his sea of qi, blending in without the slightest hint of rejection.

After cultivating like this for an entire night, Chen Lingxi opened his eyes, a look of pleasant surprise shining within them.

”A single night of cultivation is equal to a month of my usual breathing exercises.”

”To think the True Formulas of the Six Qi True Method combined with this spirit stone would have such a miraculous effect.”

Following his surprise, he stood up and looked around.

This cave on Mount Qiaoji was more spacious than the one on Cuojin Mountain. Although the entrance was large, it lacked concealment.

He took the jade-green bamboo slip from his robes and slowly channeled spiritual qi into it.

In an instant, a massive deluge of information flooded his sea of consciousness like a flash flood.

Array diagrams and hand seals intertwined, so complex they made his head spin.

Chen Lingxi sat down cross-legged, focusing all his attention on comprehending it.

This Pure Wondrous Qi Pivot Array was countless times more profound than the crude spirit-gathering array he had previously deduced from that jade pendant.

He had already gained some understanding of this array when using Absolute Perception. Now, studying it again, it took only one shichen before he slowly opened his eyes.

”The Pure Wondrous Qi Pivot Array is profoundly deep. Its layers stack upon one another. Since my cultivation and formation materials are lacking, I can only set up the first layer.”

”That’s fine. I wouldn’t be able to comprehend the second layer or anything higher right now anyway.”

Thinking this over, Chen Lingxi stood up. He took out the sixteen bronze lamps he had acquired from Qingjiang Villa and Chu Linzi’s courtyard, then arranged the many jade pendants according to the array diagram’s positions.

Following the records on the bamboo slip, he used his spiritual qi as a guide, casting hand seals one by one into the bronze lamps and jade pendants.

The spiritual qi flowed between the objects like an invisible thread, linking them all together.

He worked extremely slowly, repeatedly verifying every hand seal and ensuring the amount of energy at each node was precise down to the smallest hair.

Three shichen later, as he cast the final seal into the main array eye, the entire cave suddenly lit up!

A pale green flame ignited simultaneously in all sixteen bronze lamps. The fire wasn’t hot; instead, it exuded a refreshing, cool sensation.

At the same time, all forty-six jade pendants burst with a soft radiance.

An immense suction force erupted from the array like an invisible giant whale swallowing seawater. The thin spiritual qi of heaven and earth within a radius of several hundred zhang was drawn in, gathering wisp by wisp. It surged into the formation, cycled through the array’s lines, and ultimately condensed at the array eye into a pale green spiritual qi vortex.

”The records on this bamboo slip are truly detailed and comprehensive. To think that someone like me, who has never set up an array before, succeeded on the first try.”

Chen Lingxi sat cross-legged in the array eye. He felt the spiritual qi, so dense it was practically tangible, flood in from all directions and envelop his entire body.

He took a deep breath, feeling immensely comfortable from head to toe. Nourished by this spiritual qi, the stream of spiritual liquid in his sea of qi danced with joy, beginning to circulate on its own.

”It’s only the first layer, yet its setup is so simple, and the effects are so miraculous.”

He silently made a comparison in his mind.

Lin Suri had set up a spirit array in the Baosu Marquis Estate to gather spiritual qi.

But the spiritual qi density of that array was simply on a completely different level compared to this Pure Wondrous Qi Pivot Array.

I wonder how it compares to Lin Suri’s new spiritual qi array? Chen Lingxi muttered in his heart.

Suppressing these thoughts, Chen Lingxi shifted his focus to another matter.

Imperial Consort Chun will arrive in Yuanjiang Prefecture soon, he calculated silently. Her cultivation is formidable—she is an expert of the Upper Three Floors. Furthermore, she travels with martial masters at the Jade Qi Realm acting as her bodyguards.

With my current strength, if I clash with her directly, even if I join forces with the Xi Mu puppet, we’d be no match for her. It’s best not to be discovered by her for now.

He looked up at the vast, untamed forest outside the cave.

Mount Qiaoji was far from the official roads, secluded deep within the mountain range. Unless someone specifically searched for it, it would be extremely difficult to spot.

Moreover, with the Pure Wondrous Qi Pivot Array gathering spiritual qi, cultivating here was boundlessly better than sneaking around in the Baosu Marquis Estate to steal spiritual opportunities.

Having made up his mind, he decided to wait here in peace until Imperial Consort Chun left.

With this thought, he pulled the Host Star Stone out of his Cosmos Bag and pondered for a moment.

I just wonder what Imperial Consort Chun’s true name is...

He had never forgotten the reason his parents in this life had died.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Lingxi put the Host Star Stone away. He stood up, walked to the cave entrance, parted the old vines, and gazed into the distance.

Smoke faintly drifted up from the direction of Yuanjiang Prefecture, swaying unsteadily in the biting wind of the winter morning.

That city had probably been turned completely upside down by now.

Chen Lingxi guessed correctly.

More people had died in Yuanjiang Prefecture, and this time, all the bodies belonged to important figures.

Commandery Princess Yunhe, daughter of the King of the East! Chu Linzi, the precious daughter of the Prefect of Yuanjiang! Liu Yuqing, daughter of the Assistant Director of the Palace! Jiang Runian, son of the Director of the National Academy!

The implications of these deaths were far too great. Forget Yuanjiang Prefecture—even the Capital was shaken to its core!

Yuanjiang Prefectural Office, the Interrogation Hall.

Lin Longyue had been in the hall for an entire night.

Throughout the night, she hadn’t closed her eyes or eaten a single bite. Sitting on that stiff wooden chair, she had repeated the events that occurred at the villa over and over again, an untold number of times.

Her interrogators changed in waves. First came the head constables of the prefectural office, then the judicial advisor, and finally, the censors from the Imperial Censorate who had rushed over overnight from the Capital.

The questions changed countless times as well.

At first, they were relatively mild, merely asking where she had gone that day, who she had met, and when she had found the bodies.

Later, they gradually grew sharper, asking why Chu Linzi had hosted this banquet.

After that, the interrogators’ tones turned ice-cold.

Someone asked her: ”Among the courtyard full of corpses, why are you the sole survivor?” Someone else asked: ”Why didn’t the ghost-masked man kill you?” Another demanded: ”Exactly what is your relationship with this Spirit-Wielding General?”

Lin Longyue answered them one by one.

She spoke strictly according to the truth. She said she didn’t know the real purpose behind Commandery Princess Yunhe’s banquet, didn’t know why Chu Linzi’s cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds, and didn’t know the origins of the Spirit-Wielding General.

Her words sounded like evasions, yet paradoxically, every single sentence she spoke was the truth.

Chu Jizhe sat not far away; he hadn’t left since the beginning.

Today, the Prefect of Yuanjiang had changed into a scarlet official robe. With a silver belt around his waist and a ridged crown on his head, he sat upright in a grand armchair, his expression sinking like still water.

On his face—which bore a faint resemblance to Chu Linzi’s—his brows were locked tightly together. His entire face was like a rock blanketed in frost and snow, revealing absolutely no emotion.

But Lin Longyue knew his heart was far from being as calm as his surface suggested.

The one who died wasn’t just anyone; it was his own flesh and blood, the eldest daughter of the Yuanjiang prefectural manor.

Chu Jizhe kept his head lowered. His gaze was aloof, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Right at that moment, the heavy vermilion doors of the Interrogation Hall slowly swung open.

Two people slowly stepped inside.

The pair—one man and one woman—appeared quite young, yet their blood and qi were unfathomably deep.

As the man breathed, his chest barely rose or fell, but his breaths were astoundingly long and drawn out. With every inhalation and exhalation, it was as if several cyclones swirled around his mouth and nose.

The woman was even more impressive. Standing there, an extremely faint jade-like luster subtly flowed beneath her skin, nearly imperceptible without a close look.

Jade Qi Realm, and absolutely not just at the initial stages.

Chu Jizhe lifted his head, his gaze landing on the man and woman. He then stood up, straightened his official robes, and cupped his hands in greeting to them, though he didn’t say a word.

The man gave a slight nod in return.

He didn’t take a seat, merely standing in the center of the hall. Sweeping his gaze over Lin Longyue, he asked, ”Miss Lin, we have come under orders to ask you a few questions.” His voice carried an unquestionable, coercive pressure.

Lin Longyue took a deep breath and recounted everything she had seen at the villa that day.

After listening, the man’s face remained devoid of expression, as did the woman’s.

The man pressed again. ”That Spirit-Wielding General killed everyone. Why did he spare only you?”

Lin Longyue’s fingers curled slightly as she shook her head. ”I don’t know.”

The woman suddenly spoke, her voice as cold and hard as a blade. ”Did the Spirit-Wielding General spare you because the two of you are actually cohorts? You used the banquet as bait to lure Commandery Princess Yunhe and the others into a trap, and then you let the Spirit-Wielding General strike, wiping them all out in one fell swoop.”

Lin Longyue’s expression shifted slightly, but she managed to suppress the turbulence in her heart. Shaking her head, she said, ”I have been friends with Commandery Princess Yunhe for over a year, and our bond was deep. Why would I scheme to harm her? I truly do not know why the Spirit-Wielding General didn’t kill me.

”He also didn’t kill those other two young masters.”

The woman stared at her for a few breaths before dropping the inquiry.

Chu Jizhe stood up, seemingly about to speak.

But just then, the doors to the Interrogation Hall were pushed open once more.

An elderly eunuch walked in from outside.

The eunuch had an aged, beardless, and pale face, and he held a horsetail whisk in his hand.

Stepping into the hall, he kept his eyes straight ahead. He gave a slight bow to Chu Jizhe before pulling a token out of his sleeve.

The token was roughly the size of a palm and entirely bright yellow, with the word ”Director” engraved upon it.

Seeing the token, Chu Jizhe frowned slightly but said nothing, merely taking a half-step back.

The eunuch tucked the token back into his sleeve. His gaze bypassed Chu Jizhe and landed on Lin Longyue as he spoke. ”I have arrived under the Crown Prince’s orders to ask Miss Lin a few words.

”I have investigated and found that the Baosu Marquis Estate has an official bondservant named Chen Lingxi. This person disappeared without rhyme or reason at some unknown point. Does Miss Lin happen to know his current whereabouts?”

Lin Longyue’s expression remained unchanged. ”Eunuch might not know, but that official bondservant excels at flower arrangement, and Her Highness the Imperial Consort was quite fond of the vases he arranged.

”Before the Imperial Consort’s arrival, I ordered him to head outside the city to gather some wild flowers.”

Naturally, she wasn’t going to mention that Chen Lingxi had been taken away by the Spirit-Wielding General.

The eunuch narrowed his eyes, staring at her for a few breaths.

Then he nodded slightly, seemingly without suspicion, and didn’t pry any further. Sweeping his whisk, he cupped his hands to Chu Jizhe and turned to walk out the door.

Watching the eunuch leave, Chu Jizhe’s frown deepened.

The man and woman also stood up, cupping their hands toward Chu Jizhe.

”The King of the East is currently confronting the rebel Xiao Changlv in Qinghua Province,” the man said. ”The rebel Xiao commands massive forces, and countless lives hang in the balance of this great war.

His Highness ordered the two of us to come investigate here in Yuanjiang Prefecture. Since the matter has escalated to this point, we must take all case files, testimonies, and autopsy reports back with us.

”Once the war eases up slightly, His Highness will come here personally.”

A look of sheer horror suddenly flashed across Chu Jizhe’s originally cold and gloomy face.

”The King of the East—is coming here personally?”

Chu Jizhe had met the King of the East once in his youth.

At the time, he had just been transferred out of the Capital to serve as vice prefect in Yudu Prefecture. Young and aggressive, he boasted of his accomplishments on the martial path and looked down upon the heroes of the world.

As it happened, the King of the East had been ordered south by imperial decree. Passing through Yudu, he rested in the prefectural office for a single night.

Chu Jizhe remembered it perfectly. That night, as he stood waiting on the steps of the prefectural office, the King of the East stepped down from his carriage and shot him a single glance.

That look wasn’t particularly fierce, yet that single glance made all the blood and qi in Chu Jizhe’s body freeze. His knees went weak, and he nearly dropped to the floor then and there.

It was a pure, unquestionable pressure—like a mere mortal suddenly being locked on by a true dragon, utterly incapable of even mustering the thought to run.

An expert at Entering Profound had already reached the absolute peak of the martial path. All their blood and qi returned to their natural state, rarely showing off their power on normal days, but the moment they flew into a rage, the mountains and rivers would change color and blood would flow enough to float oars.

His Majesty the Emperor had once praised the King of the East: Entering Profound King of the East, Unmatched in the World!

For such a figure to personally arrive in Yuanjiang Prefecture...

However, thinking about it, it made sense. Commandery Princess Yunhe was the daughter of the King of the East. Now that she had died in Yuanjiang Prefecture, it was only natural for the King of the East to come.

It was just that...

Chu Jizhe’s heart turned to dead ashes. ”I will not escape punishment.”

The pair departed.

The hall fell back into silence.

Chu Jizhe stood in place. Only after a long while did he finally say, ”The separate interrogations yielded identical testimonies. The Imperial Consort will arrive soon, and the Baosu Marquis Estate still needs Miss Lin to manage its affairs. Let her return for now.”