After the Great Dao Died

Chen Lingxi had been sprinting for quite some time, continuously circulating the Six Qi True Method through a grand circulation cycle.

Wherever spiritual qi flowed through his sea of qi, the sluggishness left behind by Imperial Consort Chun’s spiritual sense killing technique quietly dissipated.

His groggy mind felt as if it had been washed in a basin of cool spring water, and his five senses sharpened once more.

He opened his eyes, his gaze piercing through the thick mist to look at the two figures at the end of the mountain path.

Lin Suri was in front, and Xi Yuan trailed behind.

One after the other, the two crossed the ridge of the Third Mountain Peak.

Chen Lingxi did not dare get too close, trailing them from a distance.

He followed until Lin Suri stopped atop a mountain peak, no longer fleeing.

Lin Suri had likely realized that his only pursuer was Xi Yuan.

He turned around. The fierce tiger token still hung at his waist alongside the two-foot Jade Sword, a faint phantom of a celestial crane flowing across its scabbard.He stood before the peak with his hands clasped behind his back, his aura as heavy and stable as a mountain. Xi Yuan arrived, riding the mountain wind.

Xi Yuan still wore that ordinary expression, his Daoist robe snapping in the night breeze. The towering Longevity Bridge divine power beneath his feet had been retracted, leaving only a faint, almost imperceptible spiritual light flowing around him in the dark.

His unfathomable eyes landed on Lin Suri, his face devoid of emotion.

”Daoist Brother Lin isn’t running anymore?” Xi Yuan said. ”If so, then hand over the Mother Qi.”

Lin Suri did not answer.

Xi Yuan wasted no more words.

He took a step forward. The faint spiritual light surrounding him flared with blinding intensity, like a long-suppressed moon finally breaking free from the clouds to radiate clear brilliance in all directions!

Chen Lingxi had just been watching quietly, but the moment the layer of spiritual light around Xi Yuan completely bloomed, his pupils shrank.

Spiritual qi.

The fluctuations of that spiritual qi were far too heavy and dense.

The ripples spread from Xi Yuan wave after wave like the tide, each surge more profound and boundless than the last.

’This is some kind of True Intent mystery. This Xi Yuan is actually at the Eighth Floor of cultivation!’ Qi Circulation 8th Floor.

He couldn’t help but hold his breath.

The records regarding the Qi Circulation 8th Floor within the Six Qi True Method flashed through his mind like a spinning lantern.

For a cultivator at the Qi Circulation 8th Floor, the spiritual liquid in their sea of qi had undergone multiple refinements. Every drop was as heavy as mercury, and when they unleashed techniques, their spiritual qi became a tangible torrent, irresistible and overwhelming.

More importantly, the Qi Circulation 8th Floor successfully cultivated the mystery of True Intent, breeding this True Intent within both spiritual sense and spiritual qi.

This True Intent was a cultivator’s comprehension of their own Qi Circulation path condensed into physical substance. It merged into every strand of spiritual qi and every thread of spiritual sense. Every casual movement contained their understanding of the Great Dao, causing the power of their techniques to skyrocket.

Aside from that, Eighth Floor cultivators also cultivated the mystery of Divine Might.

This Divine Might used their own True Intent as a foundation, fusing spiritual sense and spiritual qi together to form an invisible yet tangible pressure.

Once this pressure was deployed, it acted like an invisible cage, completely blanketing the surrounding space.

If a cultivator caught within this Divine Might possessed a True Intent inferior to their opponent’s, they would be suppressed at every turn. It was like being trapped in a thick mire, where every movement required several times more effort than usual.

’This Xi Yuan really isn’t an ordinary Qi Circulation 7th Floor cultivator.’

While Chen Lingxi’s thoughts churned, Xi Yuan moved. Divine Might filled the air!

It was like an unseen tide explosively spreading from the void, sweeping out in all directions.

Wherever it passed, the air grew as thick as syrup!

Even the flow of the clouds in the sky slowed down significantly.

Divine Might enveloped the surrounding hundred zhang of space.

’This Eighth Floor Divine Might is truly extraordinary.’

Chen Lingxi marveled inwardly.

However, what shocked Chen Lingxi even more was Lin Suri.

Lin Suri stood on the mountain peak, barely a few dozen zhang away from Xi Yuan.

He was dead center in that Divine Might, yet he stood perfectly still.

There was no trace of emotion on his exceptionally pale face, but his eyes were breathtakingly bright.

The spiritual qi around his body boiled and flowed. The Six Qi True Method circulated within him to its absolute limit. As the spiritual pool in his sea of qi churned, a peerlessly sharp aura erupted from his body, forcibly tearing an invisible rift into the Divine Might blanketing him!

Qi Circulation 7th Floor.

Lin Suri was clearly only at the Qi Circulation 7th Floor.

Yet the imposing aura he displayed was nothing like that of a Seventh Floor cultivator.

He raised his right hand, spreading his five fingers slightly, his palm facing the sky.

A stream of Purple True Precious Qi gushed from his palm. That purple qi was as thick as an arm and condensed to the point of being almost tangible. It resembled a purple true dragon that had been imprisoned for ages finally breaking its chains, roaring and thrashing in his hand.

The purple light was blinding, so radiant that the entire valley was stained with a magnificent purple halo.

Following the Purple True Precious Qi, a misty azure spiritual qi surged from his body.

That spiritual qi shared the same origin as the Six Qi True Method he cultivated, but it was far purer and sharper than ordinary spiritual qi.

The spiritual qi circulated around him like countless fine azure sword threads, each one pulsing with a biting, icy edge.

Following the azure qi, a heavy, dark profound aura rose from the depths of his dantian.

That aura was as dense as a mountain, solidifying into a faint dark light barrier on the surface of his body. Countless intricate patterns flowed across the barrier’s surface, overlapping layer by layer like the patterns on a tortoise shell, utterly indestructible. Three entirely distinct types of precious qi brewed simultaneously upon him.

The purple qi was sharp as a sword, the azure qi was continuous as a river, and the profound aura was heavy as a mountain.

The three intertwined and echoed each other, yet did not infringe upon one another. They were like three rivers from different sources converging into the same vast ocean, flowing side-by-side within him, making him look like an immortal god simultaneously wielding three distinct powers.

Chen Lingxi watched in shock.

’This Lin Suri also refined that Purple True Precious Qi into his own Six Qi True Method! Combined with the sharp precious qi he just obtained...’

Those three streams of precious qi each contained an incredibly astonishing spiritual essence.

What amazed Chen Lingxi even more was the two-foot Jade Sword hanging at Lin Suri’s waist.

The Jade Sword was not yet drawn, but the pattern of the celestial crane preparing to take flight on its scabbard had already lit up. It was as if a real celestial crane had been awakened and was flapping its wings on the sheath.

There was also that fierce tiger token.

The engraving of the tiger descending the mountain on the token had fully illuminated. Amidst the flowing golden light, the phantom of a divine general faintly surfaced behind Lin Suri.

The phantom wore golden armor and a golden helm. Its face was a blur, with only a pair of majestic eyes faintly visible, slowly opening within the golden light.

The moment the phantom appeared, Lin Suri’s aura abruptly shifted. A towering, blazing presence erupted from him. He looked like a divine general commanding thousands of troops descending to the mortal realm, possessing an unyielding majesty without anger. Standing on the stone bridge, Xi Yuan looked at the opponent who was clearly one floor lower than him, and his brows finally creased slightly.

He said no more, simply raising his right hand and loosely clenching his five fingers in the empty air.

With this grasp, piercing spiritual light shone from behind him.

Then, a towering Longevity Bridge extended out from it. The bridge spanned more than ten zhang in length, constructed entirely from spiritual light condensed to the absolute extreme.

The surface of the bridge was carved with intricate, ancient patterns. These patterns slowly flowed across the structure like living creatures, pulsing with heavy, dense spiritual light.

The instant the Longevity Bridge appeared, it crashed toward Lin Suri with a deafening boom.

Where the bridge passed, the air was squeezed into visible white rings that rippled outward layer by layer.

Lin Suri did not retreat.

He moved at the exact moment the Longevity Bridge was about to strike him.

His right hand brushed past his waist. The two-foot Jade Sword was drawn, transforming into an azure sword light that shot into the sky.

The sword light was only two feet long initially, but in the blink of an eye, it violently swelled to over a zhang. The hazy azure light pulsed unsteadily, its sword intent so intense that even Chen Lingxi, watching from afar, felt a stinging pain in his eyes.

Lin Suri gripped the Jade Sword, his figure flashing as he met the crashing Longevity Bridge head-on. His sword strike was incredibly simple and unadorned, lacking any flashy movements. He merely swept the Jade Sword diagonally upward from the bottom right to the top left, carving a magnificent and cold arc through the night.

The sword light slammed into the bridge.

The supposedly indestructible Longevity Bridge was actually cleaved open by this single strike.

The flowing spiritual light on the bridge shattered inch by inch as the sword light swept past, transforming into a sky full of light fragments that scattered down like snow.

Xi Yuan frowned slightly. He pressed his right hand into the void once more, and the shattered bridge instantly mended itself like a living creature. An even more blistering spiritual light surged from the repaired fissure, pressing back against Lin Suri.

Lin Suri’s sword momentum did not stop.

With the sword in his right hand, his left hand had already formed a hand seal.

The three streams of precious qi flowing within him lit up simultaneously. The three colors—purple qi, azure qi, and profound light—intertwined, rushing down his arm and into the Jade Sword.

The azure sword light on the Jade Sword abruptly changed, transforming from pure azure into a magnificent three-layered radiance.

The outermost layer was the sharpness of the Purple True Precious Qi, the middle layer was the continuity of the azure qi, and the innermost layer was the heaviness of the profound aura.

The three layers of radiance overlapped into a three-foot-long tri-colored sword astral.

He struck again. This sword was faster, heavier, and more absolute than the last.

The sword astral cleaved into the Longevity Bridge. This time, it didn’t just carve a rift; it sliced the entire bridge right down the middle, splitting it in two.

The Longevity Bridge broke apart with a loud crash. Spiritual light wildly leaked from the severed ends, bursting forth like two breached floods of energy, dyeing half the sky a blinding silver-white.

Xi Yuan’s expression finally darkened.

He thrust both hands out, his ten fingers repeatedly flicking into the void. With these motions, the two broken halves of the bridge abruptly exploded, transforming into countless spiritual light chains as thick as a child’s arm, slithering toward Lin Suri from all directions to bind him.

The chains were like thousands of giant silver-white pythons waking up all at once, each containing a terrifying amount of force.

At the same time, the mountain peak beneath his feet lit up.

When Xi Yuan poured his True Intent and Divine Might into it, the entire mountain seemed to come alive. The moss on the peak rustled and peeled away, transforming into ancient patterns. These patterns layered over one another, faintly forming an incredibly complex array.

As the array operated, a pressure even denser and heavier than before descended from the sky, shrouding Lin Suri.

Lin Suri’s aura briefly stagnated.

He looked up, his gaze sweeping over the spiritual light chains surging from all directions, and then up at the mountain peak that had turned into an array. For the first time, a trace of solemnity flickered in his eyes.

His left hand pressed lightly on the fierce tiger token at his waist, and the phantom divine general behind him immediately solidified a bit more. The phantom raised its hands and pressed into the empty air, instantly generating a thick golden light barrier around him. It blocked all the incoming spiritual light chains three feet away.

The chains slammed into the golden barrier, emitting dull, thunderous thuds. The barrier trembled violently but never shattered.

Meanwhile, his right hand raised the Jade Sword high.

Even before the sword was swung, the sword intent alone made the distant Chen Lingxi’s heart skip a beat.

The tri-colored sword astral on the Jade Sword completely retracted. All of the radiance, sharpness, and might were compressed to the absolute limit. The entire blade looked like a dull piece of unsharpened mundane iron, completely devoid of light.

But Chen Lingxi could see it clearly: the power contained within that blade was several times more terrifying than the strike that had cut the Longevity Bridge in half.

Lin Suri compressed all of the sword intent into the blade, like sealing an erupting volcano inside a tiny box. The moment the lid opened, it would unleash world-destroying devastation.

Xi Yuan’s pupils contracted slightly.

A hint of seriousness surfaced in his unfathomable eyes for the first time.

He brought his hands together in front of him, interlocking his fingers. The spiritual light leaking from the broken Longevity Bridge rushed together like all rivers running into the sea, condensing in his palms to form a heavy spiritual light shield.

The shield was octagonal, its surface etched with intricate patterns. Every line emitted a dense, heavy spiritual light.

Simultaneously, the mountain array beneath his feet operated to its peak. The patterns on the peak lit up all at once, and a thick pillar of spiritual light descended from the heavens, engulfing Xi Yuan entirely. Lin Suri’s sword finally came down.

The Jade Sword silently carved a natural, flawless arc through the void, slashing straight down at Xi Yuan.

Where the edge passed, the void was torn into a visible rift, its edges shimmering with a faint golden glow.

The blade struck the spiritual light shield.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a very light, very fine... rip.

Like a sharp blade slicing through silk.

The spiritual light shield split down the middle. The cut was as smooth as a mirror. The intricate patterns on its surface shattered inch by inch, dissolving into a sky full of light fragments.

Xi Yuan grunted, his body gliding several zhang backward.

After stabilizing himself, he looked up at Lin Suri standing across from him. A look of true astonishment appeared in his eyes for the first time.

Lin Suri was not faring much better.

After delivering that strike, his face grew several shades paler.

The radiance of the Jade Sword had dimmed considerably. The celestial crane pattern no longer flowed along the blade, making it look like an ordinary ceremonial jade piece, devoid of its previous heaven-shaking might. The phantom divine general behind him had also thinned out, its golden light flickering faintly, as if it could dissipate at any moment.

The circulation of the three streams of precious qi around him also slowed down. Evidently, activating these treasures took a massive toll on his spiritual qi.

But even so, he remained standing there, his back straight as a pine.

Hiding within the crevice of the cliff, Chen Lingxi had watched this grand battle clearly from start to finish.

His heart surged endlessly, and his thoughts raced.

’The foundations of both these men are extraordinarily deep. I originally wanted to wait until they were both heavily injured before striking with my own trump cards... but looking at it now...’

’If these two are pushed to the brink, even if they are gravely wounded, killing me would still be remarkably easy.’

Chen Lingxi narrowed his eyes. ’Besides, to say that figures like them have no life-saving trump cards left... that would be too laughable.’

Just as Chen Lingxi was deep in thought, the battlefield changed once again.

Xi Yuan seemed to have lost his patience.

He stopped using the Longevity Bridge to entangle Lin Suri. Instead, he brought his hands together in front of him, and his surrounding spiritual qi madly gathered between his palms like water breaking through a dam.

He chanted softly under his breath, his voice extremely low and deep, resembling someone beating a massive drum from a great distance. As he chanted, the spiritual qi between his palms actually began to condense into a tiny spirit bridge.

The spirit bridge was only about a foot long and crystal clear, resembling an exquisite treasure carved from the finest spiritual jade.

Yet the spiritual qi fluctuations radiating from it were terrifyingly intense, several times more condensed than the ten-zhang Longevity Bridge from earlier.

Lin Suri’s pupils contracted slightly.

He moved almost the very moment Xi Yuan condensed that small bridge. With a flip of his right hand, the Jade Sword slashed out, and three streams of precious qi surged toward Xi Yuan, blanketing the sky.

Xi Yuan lightly tossed the tiny spirit bridge in his palms toward Lin Suri.

The moment it left his hand, the spirit bridge grew with the wind. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a Longevity Bridge identical to the previous one.

But this bridge was entirely different.

The patterns on the bridge were no longer flowing spiritual light, but solid, nearly tangible golden runes.

Every single rune gave off an indescribably heavy aura, as if someone had refined the true essence of an immemorial divine mountain into this bridge.

Where the bridge passed, the void collapsed inch by inch, revealing dark, empty rifts beneath.

The Longevity Bridge and the Jade Sword collided. In that instant, a staggering explosion rang out! It made even Chen Lingxi wince slightly!

The Jade Sword and the Longevity Bridge reached a stalemate that lasted for a few breaths of time.

The sword qi of the Jade Sword madly eroded the bridge, peeling off and melting away the golden runes piece by piece.

Meanwhile, the Longevity Bridge relied on its dense, heavy pressure to inch forward, crushing toward Lin Suri.

Finally, the Purple True Precious Qi and the Longevity Bridge detonated simultaneously.

It was like two blazing suns destroying each other. Terrifying shockwaves swept frantically in all directions.

Lin Suri and Xi Yuan were both blasted back dozens of zhang.

A trail of blood leaked from the corner of Lin Suri’s mouth, dyeing the front of his profound brocade robe a dark red.

The phantom divine general behind him had completely vanished, and the golden light on the fierce tiger token at his waist had dimmed to the point of being nearly invisible.

He landed on the mountain peak, panting heavily. The spiritual qi fluctuations around his body were chaotic and weak; clearly, the head-on clash just now had dealt him a severe injury.

The same was true for Xi Yuan.

The front of his Daoist robe was riddled with holes from the Jade Sword’s erosion, revealing the close-fitting spiritual light armor beneath. That armor was also covered in fine cracks, evidently damaged by the residual might of the sword qi.

However, the Divine Might surrounding him had not dispersed; instead, it felt a few degrees heavier than before.

He lifted his head and looked at Lin Suri, who was leaning against the cliff wall. There was not a trace of fatigue in his eyes, only an even denser killing intent.

Using the Longevity Bridge divine power, he had forcefully drained more than half of Lin Suri’s spiritual qi and pushed both of Lin Suri’s exotic treasures into complete dormancy.

Now that Lin Suri’s spiritual qi was heavily depleted and his heavy treasures had dimmed, it was the perfect opportunity to deal the killing blow.

Xi Yuan took a step forward.

He clenched his right fist tightly. The spiritual light over his knuckles condensed to the limit, like a small, bright moon clutched in his palm.

He intended to completely obliterate Lin Suri with this single punch.

Hiding in the crevice, Chen Lingxi took in the entire scene.

He took a deep breath.

’I can’t wait any longer.’

Lin Suri was about to be killed by Xi Yuan! If Lin Suri died, the Mother Qi would fall into Xi Yuan’s hands.

And Xi Yuan, this cultivator at the Qi Circulation 8th Floor, possessed an extraordinary foundation. Even if he was injured, Chen Lingxi feared he wouldn’t be able to fight him for the ancestral qi!

’This Xi Yuan definitely has trump cards, just like... the Xi Yu Talisman that Xi Mu had!’

He had to act now.

Chen Lingxi looked up at the two bright mirrors in the sky.

In his mind, numerous past scenes regarding Lin Suri came rushing back.

Under-Dao Academy, Pool Soul Courtyard, Immortal Slough...

Chen Lingxi took a deep breath.

He was a local cultivator, without support, backing, or a sect.

Everything he possessed had been fought for step by step with his own two hands.

Now, the opportunity of the Mother Qi was right in front of him. If he wanted a piece of the pie, he would have to use his brains!

He hesitated no longer and stood up. The Hidden Edge Method in his body abruptly retracted, and the spiritual pool in his sea of qi churned. All the spiritual qi he had suppressed for so long erupted without reservation in this instant.

His right hand reached into his Vast Void Pouch. With a shift of his mind, the wooden box appeared in his palm.

The lid popped open. Twenty-four dark golden mystic beads lay quietly inside.

The Prefectural Lord’s Demon-Shattering Twenty-Four Mystic Beads!

Chen Lingxi’s spiritual qi fell onto one of the mystic beads. The patterns on the bead looked as if they had been ignited, shifting from dark gold to brilliant gold, then from brilliant gold to blazing white, finally settling into a nearly transparent, pale golden light.

At the same time, the other twenty-three mystic beads in the box lit up simultaneously, like twenty-four tiny stars radiating against the night.

A heavy, powerful force flowed between the Twenty-Four Mystic Beads, like twenty-four small streams converging into a single lake, the water accumulating until it was full and immensely heavy.

The aura of the mystic beads was extraordinary.

Xi Yuan had just been about to punch and obliterate Lin Suri, but at this moment, he abruptly snapped his head around.

For the first time, a flash of genuine shock and suspicion crossed his unfathomable eyes.

He sensed the surge of energy shooting into the sky from the crevice in the cliff wall.

Though that energy was not as dense as Lin Suri’s, nor as boundless as his own, it possessed a towering, unyielding fierceness. What chilled his heart even more was that the energy contained a power that actually made him feel faintly threatened.

Because the threat of Lin Suri was too great, Xi Yuan could not defend against him while simultaneously dealing with this sudden anomaly.

He had no choice but to forcibly pull back his punch. His figure flickered as he turned to face Chen Lingxi’s direction. Bringing his hands together in the empty air, he activated the Longevity Bridge divine power once more.

A towering spirit bridge extended from the void behind him, ready to smash toward Chen Lingxi.

But this was exactly the moment Chen Lingxi had been waiting for.

He had moved the instant Xi Yuan turned his head.

With a wave of his right hand, the Twenty-Four Mystic Beads flew out simultaneously. Like twenty-four pale golden meteors trailing long tails, they shot toward Xi Yuan.

As the mystic beads tore through the air, they emitted a sharp whistle. The sound wasn’t piercing; instead, it carried an indescribable rhythm, like someone chanting an ancient scripture in the void.

”Qi Circulation 6th Floor? You dare covet the Mother Qi and attack me?”

Xi Yuan’s killing intent shook the heavens.

Commanding the Twenty-Four Mystic Beads, Chen Lingxi sneered coldly. ”Why wouldn’t I?”