After the Great Dao Died

Lu Baizhong stood on a low ridge at the end of the riverbank, one hand resting on his sword and the other held behind his back.

His moon-white long gown remained completely still in the wind, as if the breeze itself dared not offend the three-chi radius around him.

The silver-white longsword at his waist remained sheathed, yet tiny, faint arcs of electricity already danced across the scabbard. Their soft crackling mixed with the wind, almost indistinguishable unless one listened closely.

Then, his indifferent gaze unchanged, the longsword was drawn!

The draw was inconceivably fast.

Even with Chen Lingxi’s eyesight, he could not track the gesture; he only registered a sudden flash of light before his eyes.

A pale golden sword light had already swept across the sky, slashing toward his throat.

The sword light was not particularly thick, merely the width of a stretched golden thread. Yet wherever it passed, the air scorched and burned. The void shimmered with pale golden lightning, crackling loudly as countless tiny lightning snakes danced madly in its wake.

This was an extremely profound Qi Circulation sword scripture!

The strike came too fast, too suddenly.Chen Lingxi did not even have time to draw his saber. He could only push his golden fluid vital blood to the limit, manifesting his Golden Body Astral Canopy to protect himself. Stomping his right foot heavily against the river rock, he retreated explosively.

Unable to bear the force of the stomp, the river rock split down the middle with a deep fissure, sending crushed stone flying.

The pale golden sword light brushed right past Chen Lingxi’s chest. Before the edge even reached him, the lightning leaking from the blade had already scorched a blackened slash into his robes.

Before this lightning, the Golden Body Astral Canopy was as fragile as thin paper. It was silently torn open, and a burning pain spread across his chest!

Chen Lingxi let out a muffled groan. Before he could even steady his footing, the second sword strike arrived.

Lu Baizhong maintained his posture with one hand behind his back, merely twisting his right wrist lightly.

Dozens of pale golden sword lights, fine as hairs, burst forth from the unsheathed longsword. Each was astonishingly fast, shooting toward Chen Lingxi from all directions.

The sword lights wove together into an airtight net of lightning, sealing off all avenues of retreat.

Right at this moment, Xi Mu abruptly raised his right hand and clenched his fingers in the void.

The fog within hundreds of zhang surged violently. In the blink of an eye, it condensed in front of Xi Mu’s palm into an ice wall a full three chi thick and over a zhang high.

The dozens of pale golden sword lights crashed into the ice wall, detonating in a continuous series of blinding golden-white flashes.

Ice shards rained down, but the sword light was forcefully stopped by the wall of ice!

The trace of curiosity in Lu Baizhong’s eyes deepened a fraction.

He tilted his head, looking at the ice wall condensed from the fog, and then at the expressionless Xi Mu standing behind it. Suddenly, he let out a laugh.

”The Supreme Ink Fog Condensation Scripture from Chiyun Courier Station?” he murmured to himself, his tone holding a touch of surprise. He quickly shook his head. ”No, it must be the Fog Devouring Art from the Xi Family’s Whale Devouring Method.”

As he spoke, he leveled his longsword horizontally across his chest.

The pale golden lightning on the blade flared brilliantly.

”Since that is the case,” Lu Baizhong raised his head, a glimmer of seriousness flashing through his eyes for the first time, ”I will cut you both down together.”

As his words fell, his figure moved so fast he blurred into a phantom, and the longsword in his hand slashed down violently.

This strike was completely different from the previous two.

When it fell, the daylight over the entire riverbank suddenly dimmed for a moment.

A blast of pale golden lightning as thick as a water bucket erupted from the blade. Carrying terrifying, world-destroying might, it crashed violently toward the ice wall Xi Mu had condensed.

Wherever the lightning passed, the gravel on the riverbank melted from the intense heat. Reeds were reduced to flying ash before the blast even reached them, and the air itself tore apart, leaving a visible vacuum rift in its wake!

Sensing such immense might, Chen Lingxi could not help but marvel at the power of this Lu Baizhong who wielded the lightning sword scripture, even if the man was an enemy!

He retreated while Xi Mu guarded in front of him like a phantom. Thrusting both hands forward, Xi Mu flicked his ten fingers repeatedly.

Fog pervaded the area, layering over and over to block the path of the incoming thunderbolt.

Every spell contained the full cultivation of a Sixth Circulation Floor cultivator, and every single one was enough to smash a Golden Body Consummation martial artist into pulverized bone.

Yet before that lightning bolt, these spells were as fragile as paper.

The lightning shattered the heavy ice barriers and, without losing momentum, blasted straight toward Xi Mu.

Xi Mu’s hollow face showed no expression. He simply raised his right hand and made a light swiping motion in the empty air. A terribly thin, nearly transparent film of ice unfurled silently just a chi in front of him.

The ice film looked impossibly fragile, but it actually condensed more than half the remaining spiritual qi in Xi Mu’s qi sea. Every inch had been compressed and refined a thousand times over, making its toughness far superior to the ice walls and shields from before.

Crashing into the ice film, the thunderbolt finally stalled slightly.

Blinding golden-white light erupted where the lightning met the ice. The ice film melted at a visible rate. Having pierced through the barrier, the residual lightning was much thinner as it struck Xi Mu squarely in the chest. The blast sent him flying backward to smash heavily into a cliff face dozens of zhang away, sending loose stones tumbling down.

Right at this moment, Chen Lingxi made his move.

He had kept his hand on his saber without moving not out of cowardice, but because he was waiting.

Waiting for Lu Baizhong’s attention to be drawn by Xi Mu, waiting for that terrifying thunderbolt to expend a bit of its edge, waiting for an opportunity that would allow him to close within three zhang of Lu Baizhong!

He drew his saber in the exact same instant the lightning exploded.

The moment the Gold-Slaughtering Precious Saber left its sheath, the pale golden patterns on its blade flared brightly, and hair-thin strands of lightning snaked and coiled along its edge.

At the same time, the azure edge of the Cyan Edge Method clung to the blade. Purple True Precious Qi erupted from his mouth, and his golden fluid vital blood surged like the tide.

Lightning, azure edge, purple light, and golden blood—four colors wove together, condensing into a nearly physical four-colored blade edge upon the saber!

He pushed the force-channeling methods of the Mountain-Shattering Force to the absolute limit, alternating with the vital blood circulation techniques of the Sea-Stabilizing Stance and the Jade-Breaking Stance.

Golden fluid vital blood erupted from deep within the bones of his entire body, coalescing completely into his right arm.

His entire body was like a cannonball fired from its barrel. Shattering the river rock beneath his feet, he charged straight at Lu Baizhong.

The sixth stance of the Evil-Slaying Saber Art—Terminate Life!

The saber light swept horizontally. The four-colored blade carved a magnificent yet terrifying arc through the air, aiming straight for Lu Baizhong’s neck.

Lu Baizhong’s brow finally twitched slightly.

He did not retreat, nor did he dodge.

He merely gave the longsword in his hand a light twist. The pale golden lightning on the blade receded like the tide, replaced by an extremely heavy, deep black halo.

Saber and sword clashed.

Thump!

An incredibly muffled, intensely stifled dull thud rang out!

Chen Lingxi only felt a terrifying rebound force pour back through his saber, as if he had slashed into a towering mountain peak.

The power of the Mountain-Shattering Force was completely reflected back. Channeling down the blade and into his right arm, the shock split the webbing between his thumb and forefinger, sending fresh blood dripping down the saber hilt.

Facing this rebound force, the Golden Body Astral Canopy flickered violently, on the verge of shattering.

His entire body was shoved backward by the impact, sliding over ten zhang. His feet plowed two deep trenches into the riverbank before he barely managed to stabilize himself.

Meanwhile, Lu Baizhong simply let his wrist sink slightly, completely dissipating the force behind the slash.

There was not even the slightest hint of exertion on his youthful face with its red lips and white teeth.

”A gap of two floors. If not for Xi Mu, I wouldn’t even have had the chance to draw my saber.”

The disparity between the Sixth Circulation Floor and the Fourth Circulation Floor was laid bare in all its fullness at this moment.

Furthermore, Lu Baizhong was no ordinary Sixth Circulation Floor cultivator.

The lethal power of his spiritual qi, mixed with thunder and lightning, was vastly superior to even Xi Mu’s!

Looking down at the longsword in his hand, and then up at Chen Lingxi, Lu Baizhong suddenly shook his head.

There was no contempt or mockery in the motion, only an extremely pure, undisguised disappointment.

”Is that all?” he spoke, his voice as clear as striking jade chimes, yet his tone as flat as if discussing something that had nothing to do with him. ”That person sent me to kill you, so I thought you would be a much more interesting figure.”

He casually twirled his longsword into a flourish, leaving the tip pointing diagonally at the ground.

The black halo faded from the blade, and the pale golden lightning lit up once more, even brighter than before.

The lightning spread from his sword-wielding right hand up his entire right arm, and from his arm across half his body. From afar, he looked like a bizarre divine statue—half golden lightning, half moon-white—standing on the ridge at the edge of the riverbank. His robes fluttered wildly, the lightning blazed fiercely, and his imposing aura was temporarily unmatched.

”Never mind,” Lu Baizhong said. ”I’ll cut you down early so I can head back early.”

Before his voice even faded, his figure vanished.

Too fast!

It was so fast that Chen Lingxi’s eyes could only catch a pale golden afterimage streaking through the air. It was so fast that even Xi Mu’s Sixth Circulation Floor senses could barely track his trajectory.

Lu Baizhong transformed into a humanoid thunderbolt. Sweeping across a distance of dozens of zhang, he closed to within three zhang of Chen Lingxi in the blink of an eye.

Holding his longsword high above his head, the pale golden lightning on the blade reached its absolute peak brilliance at this moment.

Even before the strike fell, Chen Lingxi felt its terrifying, world-destroying pressure.

The riverbank beneath his feet trembled. Caught in the grip of the sword force, fine gravel actually floated up from the ground, quivering faintly in midair.

The air was warped and twisted by the scorching lightning leaking from the blade. Everything in sight was shaking, vibrating, and wailing.

Chen Lingxi took a deep breath. Instead of retreating, he advanced.

He knew he could not retreat, nor could he dodge.

The momentum of this strike had already locked firmly onto him.

His only chance of survival was to clash with it head-on alongside Xi Mu.

He brought the Gold-Slaughtering Precious Saber horizontally across his chest and pressed his left hand flat against the spine of the blade. In this instant, the stream of spiritual liquid inside his qi sea churned madly.

He pushed the Six Qi True Method to the limit. Spiritual qi roared, surged, and burned.

The azure edge of the Cyan Edge Method pierced out from the saber blade, three parts stronger than before.

Purple True Precious Qi erupted from his mouth, condensing into a purple pillar of light as thick as an arm that coiled and flowed around the blade.

Golden fluid vital blood exploded from the depths of his entire skeleton, solidifying across the surface of his body into a Golden Body Astral Canopy several inches thick.

Mountain-Shattering Force, Sea-Stabilizing Stance, Jade-Breaking Stance, Qi-Unifying Stance—all the vital blood circulation methods within the Seven Forms of Halting Weapons were activated simultaneously. The golden fluid vital blood in his body was like a long-suppressed volcano, finally erupting violently at this moment.

At the same time, Xi Mu strode out from the fog, spiritual qi likewise surging in his body!

[Fog-Refining Ice Pavilion].

Using spiritual qi as a guide, he completely drained the moisture and fog within a radius of hundreds of zhang, condensing it into an indestructible ice crystal barrier that clung to Chen Lingxi like an invisible suit of armor.

It wrapped every inch of his skin and every vital spot under a layer of impossibly thin and tough ice crystal.

The very moment the Fog-Refining Ice Pavilion formed, the Thunder-Concealing sword light fell.

The longsword Lu Baizhong held high cleaved down ferociously.

The golden-white sword shadow, over a zhang in length, crashed down from the high heavens like a true bolt of heavenly lightning, striking straight toward the top of Chen Lingxi’s head.

Wherever the sword shadow passed, the sky was torn with a visible rift. Blinding golden-white light lined the edges of the tear, and a thick scorched scent filled the air, as if heaven and earth themselves had been burned with an unhealable wound by this strike.

The sword shadow slammed into the Fog-Refining Ice Pavilion.

In that instant, heaven and earth went dead silent.

Every sound vanished.

Immediately following, an absolutely terrifying shockwave exploded from the point where sword met ice, sweeping out in all directions.

The gravel on the riverbank was hurled into the air by the blast. The surface of the nearby Yuanjiang River was forced down several chi by the oppressive shockwave, causing the waters to flow backward and churn up towering white waves.

Before the direct edge of the sword light, the Fog-Refining Ice Pavilion trembled violently.

Yet in the end, it did not shatter.

The Fog-Refining Ice Pavilion, this protective spell manifested using the entirety of Xi Mu’s Sixth Circulation Floor cultivation, forcefully withstood the sharpest split-second of the Thunder-Concealing sword light’s edge!

More than half of the lightning-infused sword shadow was swallowed, melted, and dissolved by the Ice Pavilion. Only less than twenty percent of the residual force pierced through the ice layer and struck Chen Lingxi.

But even this less than thirty percent of residual force made Chen Lingxi feel as if he had been struck by a physical thunderbolt.

He only felt a surge of scalding power flood into his chest.

The Golden Body Astral Canopy held on for less than half a breath against this force before shattering completely, sending golden light scattering into the air.

The scalding power punched right through his astral canopy, skin, and ribs, pouring straight into his internal organs.

His body was blasted backward. Like a kite with a snapped string, he tumbled in the air an unknown number of times before finally crashing heavily into a pile of jagged rocks at the end of the riverbank.

With great effort, Chen Lingxi lifted his head from the rubble and looked toward Lu Baizhong on the other side of the riverbank.

Lu Baizhong was still standing on that ridge, completely unmoved.

The longsword in his hand had returned to its original silver-white color. The pale golden lightning on the blade had entirely dissipated, leaving only a few extremely fine, faint arcs of electricity dancing at the tip.

For the first time, a very faint look of surprise surfaced on his youthful face.

”To think you actually blocked a strike of mine.” He tilted his head, his gaze first falling on Chen Lingxi, then shifting to Xi Mu not far away, who had pulled himself free from the cliff face and was still gathering spells despite being charred completely black. A playful smile suddenly curved the corners of Lu Baizhong’s mouth.

”A pity.” He shook his head gently, a trace of genuine regret in his tone. ”You two won’t be able to play with me for much longer.”

Chen Lingxi struggled to his feet from the pile of rocks, his right hand still locked in a death grip around the hilt of the Gold-Slaughtering Precious Saber.

However, his eyes were calm. They showed not a sliver of fear, nor a sliver of intent to retreat.

His gaze crossed a distance of dozens of zhang to land on Lu Baizhong’s careless, youthful face, and then on the right hand Lu Baizhong held behind his back.

The fingers of that hand were idly tapping against the back of his hand, over and over, as if keeping track of some incredibly boring rhythm.

Suddenly, Chen Lingxi understood.

From start to finish, Lu Baizhong had never used his full strength. Those few sword lights, that terrifying thunderbolt, and even that Thunder-Concealing sword strike—they were all nothing but casual actions.

It was just like an adult playing with a toddler. It looked like a lively back-and-forth exchange, but in truth, the man hadn’t even exerted thirty percent of his strength.

He was only playing.

Chen Lingxi took a deep breath.

He had originally thought that with Xi Mu, a figure at the same Sixth Circulation Floor as Lu Baizhong, combined with his own various foundations, even if they couldn’t defeat Lu Baizhong, they would at least be able to escape alive.

But now it seemed—even within the same realm, there were the strong and the weak, and the disparity between them could be immense.

”Very well. Using a talisman to kill you is not a waste!”

With his spiritual qi surging, Chen Lingxi lifted his head to meet Lu Baizhong’s gaze.

His spiritual qi flowed into the talisman kept close to his body!

An oppressive aura began to permeate the air.

Lu Baizhong’s pupils shrank slightly.

Before the talisman was even fully activated, in just a split second, the world shifted. In that instant, heaven and earth changed color.

The waters of the Yuanjiang River suddenly surged backward. Tornadoes spawned in the empty air, and spiritual qi fluctuated madly!

Lu Baizhong’s expression finally changed.

”To think he still has such a trump card to rely on?”

Lu Baizhong gritted his teeth. Lightning rose from his body in the blink of an eye, and a tiny mark appeared between his eyebrows.

Facing this Xi Yu Talisman, Lu Baizhong also had to reveal his true foundation!

However—

Heaven and earth abruptly underwent another change!

Far off in the distance, a terrifying surge of vital blood suddenly erupted!