After the Great Dao Died

Chen Lingxi headed straight for Yuanjiang Prefecture.

He traveled on the clouds the entire way, having stowed his Heavenly Boat in the Vast Void Pouch to rely solely on the Cloud-Soaring Technique.

Driven by his Qi Circulation 9th Floor cultivation, the mass of pale cyan cloud beneath his feet sped like a cyan meteor, dragging a long tail as it streaked across the sky.

The mountains and rivers below receded rapidly, and in a very short time, the silhouette of Yuanjiang Prefecture appeared in the distance.

A hundred li outside Yuanjiang Prefecture, Chen Lingxi descended from the clouds.

He landed in an uninhabited mountain hollow and canceled his Cloud-Soaring Technique. With a retraction of his spiritual qi, the Myriad Marvels Dharmic Robe shifted to his will, transforming from a flowing blue-gray scholar’s gown into a half-worn indigo short jacket, with a hemp rope tied around his waist and a pair of worn, faded cloth shoes on his feet.

From his Vast Void Pouch, he produced a battered bamboo hat and pulled it low over his head, the brim concealing most of his face.

The Hidden Edge Method circulated silently within him, withdrawing his spiritual qi and vital blood, even slowing his breathing to a crawl.

From the outside, he looked exactly like the most ordinary village youth imaginable.

With his thin frame and dim aura, no one would spare him a second glance even if he was thrown into a crowd.Only after doing all this did he step forward, walking along the official road toward Yuanjiang Prefecture.

He didn’t ride the clouds or command the wind, but simply walked step by step like a true mortal. This was no unnecessary precaution.

He had killed Ying Ju, the King of the East’s heir. The King of the East’s estate and the figures of the imperial court had surely turned the area around Yuanjiang Prefecture upside down by now.

Though his current cultivation meant he no longer feared such figures, this trip was about laying plans for the future; he could not afford to draw powerful enemies before those goals were met.

Three or four months had passed since Chen Lingxi killed the King of the East’s heir, Ying Ju.

In these past few months, Yuanjiang Prefecture had suffered a massive upheaval.

Ying Ju was the legitimate eldest son of the King of the East, one of the few Nine Revolutions experts in the Great Li Dynasty, and a fierce vanguard general under his father’s command.

He had died on Cuojin Mountain outside Yuanjiang Prefecture without even leaving an intact corpse behind. How could such an earth-shattering event be easily glossed over?

For the first two months, the imperial court’s fury had swept through the entirety of Yuanjiang Prefecture like a torrential storm.

Prefect Chu Jizhe had been the first to be demoted, banished to a destitute, miasma-plagued backwater in Haibei.

If Chu Jizhe suffered such a fate, his subordinate officials certainly could not escape implication.

Sub-prefects, assistant prefects, registrars, and archivists—a dozen or so officials of varying ranks were dragged down.

Several generals responsible for the defense passes around Yuanjiang Prefecture were directly charged with ”dereliction of duty and allowing the enemy to escape.” They were stripped of their posts and thrown into prison. Even Lin Suri had been convicted, though it seemed they had failed to capture him.

During that time, the entire Yuanjiang Prefecture was shrouded in an atmosphere of constant dread.

Yet, the turmoil passed as quickly as it had struck.

The important figures in the imperial court likely understood that the ”demonic cultivator” capable of killing a Nine Revolutions heir would not be caught simply by rounding up a few scapegoats.

Such a thunderous crackdown was nothing more than a show to appease the King of the East’s wrath.

By the third month, Yuanjiang Prefecture had mostly returned to its former state.

Chen Lingxi entered the city and took up residence in Wangjiang Tower.

Ten days passed.

On this day, before dawn broke, the Myriad Marvels Dharmic Robe rippled silently across Chen Lingxi’s body, changing from his nightclothes of the previous evening into a black night-traveling suit.

He slipped out of the city and headed straight west, making for Cuojin Mountain.

In a forest twenty li from Cuojin Mountain, Chen Lingxi sat cross-legged, closed his eyes to focus his mind, and activated his Method of Qi Observation.

At this moment, using his True Intent to guide it, he pushed the Method of Qi Observation to its absolute limit. In an instant, the entirety of the towering Cuojin Mountain entered his vision.

He scouted it meticulously.

A full two days passed.

For two days, Chen Lingxi remained seated cross-legged in that forest, completely motionless.

Two days later, only after confirming there were absolutely no ambushes left on Cuojin Mountain, did he finally rise from the forest, cross the open river valley, and slip silently up the mountain.

The moonlight was thin, the starlight dim.

Chen Lingxi headed back to the King of the East’s Traveling Palace.

Arriving before Linyu Terrace, he crouched down and lifted a bluestone floor tile to reveal a small stone box hidden beneath.

Opening the stone box exposed a thin letter.

Chen Lingxi pulled out the letter, tore the seal, and withdrew the flimsy sheet of paper inside.

Only eight characters were written on it.

Ying Xian. Gengshen, Gengchen, Renchen, Jiachen.

The Daye Emperor’s eight birth characters.

Staring at those eight characters, a trace of a smile touched Chen Lingxi’s lips.

”This Xi Ninghe worked quite fast,” he murmured to himself, his tone carrying a hint of approval.

That day in Lunan Prefecture, when he used his spiritual sense transmission to instruct Xi Ninghe to handle this matter, he had assumed the prefect would harbor reservations.

After all, inquiring into the emperor’s birth characters was no ordinary affair. If someone with ulterior motives exposed it, a charge of ”prying into heavenly secrets and plotting treason” would drop on his head, inevitably sparking a disaster.

He had expected Xi Ninghe to hesitate for a few days, or perhaps even feign compliance while doing nothing behind his back.

He never expected that in a mere ten days, the prefect would secure the information, dispatch someone to deliver it, and hide the letter beneath the terrace of the King of the East’s Traveling Palace exactly as instructed.

Such speed and efficiency would be considered outstanding even among the most capable bureaucrats.

’As long as these birth characters aren’t fake, this Xi Ninghe is a man who can get things done.’

’After witnessing my immortal methods, this Xi Ninghe surely wouldn’t dare deceive me.’

Chen Lingxi tucked the letter away, quietly descended Cuojin Mountain, and returned to Yuanjiang Prefecture, to his guest room at Wangjiang Tower.

He reached into his robes, and with a thought, the bright yellow imperial edict flew from the Vast Void Pouch to hover in front of him.

He opened his left hand, cradling the letter Xi Ninghe had sent. The eight small vermilion characters on the paper flickered in the darkness like eight dim red stars.

Imperial edict on the left, eight birth characters on the right.

Chen Lingxi took a deep breath and sank his consciousness into the Divine Chamber.

Within the void of the Divine Chamber, the thick fog churned as usual.

Those lines of golden tadpole-like text hovered high in the void, exuding a warm and brilliant light.

His consciousness settled on the Vision Roaming column, focusing on the still-blank third row.

He silently recited the Daye Emperor’s name and birth characters...

Ying Xian.

Gengshen, Gengchen, Renchen, Jiachen.

And then... the words ”Vision Roaming” in the void of the Divine Chamber gave no reaction whatsoever.

Chen Lingxi frowned slightly.

He tried again.

The void in the Divine Chamber remained deathly still, the two characters for Vision Roaming like a pool of stagnant water, entirely unrippled.

He drew a deep breath, his eyes flickering.

A name, birth characters, and a personally handled object could Vision Roam cultivators below the Qi Circulation 6th Floor, which naturally included mortals.

Yet now, using a handled object from the Sage and the birth characters as a catalyst, he could not Vision Roam the Daye Emperor.

This meant the Daye Emperor’s cultivation exceeded the scope of the Qi Circulation 6th Floor.

’Just as I thought.’ Chen Lingxi sneered internally, putting the imperial edict and the birth characters back into his Vast Void Pouch.

’This Daye Emperor is actually a cultivator as well, and stronger than the Qi Circulation 6th Floor.’

’Perhaps that heaven-shaking feat of using rivers and mountains as a formation array was his doing?’

Stowing the edict away, he recalled the binding conditions for the higher levels of the Vision Roaming Divine Ability. Vision Roaming an Upper Three Floors cultivator required a wisp of pure spiritual qi and a drop of blood.

’Those two items are far too difficult to obtain.’

Chen Lingxi frowned in thought.

The imperial palace was teeming with experts.

Recklessly charging into the palace to seize a wisp of spiritual qi and a drop of blood was simply courting death.

Reaching this point in his thoughts, Chen Lingxi stood up. Over the past few days, he had already considered many paths forward.

Since the binding conditions for Upper Three Floors cultivators could not be met for now, he might as well try the Vision Roaming requirements for the Heaven-Facing Three Floors... or even Dao Foundation Realm cultivators.

[Karmic ties of the deepest entanglement.]

Light flickered in Chen Lingxi’s eyes.

Karmic objects were illusory and ethereal; he initially had no idea where to find such a thing.

But if one were to ask who in this world shared the deepest karmic ties with the Daye Emperor...

’Wouldn’t the Daye Emperor’s own flesh and blood, the Crown Prince of the Great Li Dynasty, count as having a deep karmic tie?’

’While I’m not fully certain, it is worth a try.’

His mind made up, he didn’t delay any further.

He got up, left Wangjiang Tower, and headed east. After about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, he arrived at the largest apothecary in the eastern part of the city.

Jiren Hall.

The storefront was massive, spanning three bays. A black plaque with gold lettering hung above the door, bearing the three characters for ”Jiren Hall” in vigorous calligraphy—said to be personally inscribed by an imperial physician who had retired to his hometown during the previous dynasty.

Back when he was a slave in the Baosu Marquis Residence, Chen Lingxi often came to this Jiren Hall to buy medicine.

Back then, he was nothing but a Copper-Crimson Realm martial artist with tight finances. Unable to afford any precious pills, he could only pick out the cheapest qi-blood pills and body-tempering salves, never spending more than a few taels of silver each time.

Yet he never hid his face, always arriving as he was, and over time, the shopkeeper of Jiren Hall had remembered him.

The moment he stepped inside today, the shopkeeper recognized him at a glance.

The shopkeeper was a fair-skinned man around fifty with a goatee and small, exceedingly shrewd eyes.

He had been clicking away at an abacus behind the counter, but raised his head at the sound of footsteps. Upon seeing the visitor clearly, a smile piled onto his face.

”A familiar customer!” Setting aside his brush, the shopkeeper hurried out from behind the counter and cupped his hands with a laugh. ”I wonder where you’ve been lately, good sir. It’s certainly been a while since you last visited us.” Treating every customer, big or small, with equal politeness—he was indeed cut out to be a shopkeeper.

Chen Lingxi stated that he wanted to buy a stalk of the great medicine of the common people.

The smile on the shopkeeper’s face stiffened for an instant before returning to normal.

”That medicine is extremely precious,” the shopkeeper chuckled, not a hint of abnormality in his tone, as if discussing the most ordinary transaction. ”Making you stand here while we negotiate the price is no way to treat a guest! Please, follow me, sir!”

Having said that, he made an inviting gesture, leading Chen Lingxi through the curtain at the back of the shop and toward the rear courtyard.

Jiren Hall was the largest pharmacy in Yuanjiang Prefecture. The three-bay storefront was merely a facade; the real business took place in the back.

Following the shopkeeper through the curtain, Chen Lingxi entered a long corridor with a variety of medicinal herbs piled high on both sides.

At the end of the corridor, past the rear courtyard, lay an extremely secluded alleyway.

The alley was incredibly narrow, barely wide enough for two people to walk abreast. Towering courtyard walls flanked it, their plaster mottled, yet the exquisite craftsmanship of their past could still be discerned.

The few large mansions in the alley all seemed to belong to Jiren Hall.

The shopkeeper guided Chen Lingxi into one of these large mansions, leading him straight into the East Hall of the main courtyard.

He personally served Chen Lingxi tea and respectfully invited him to take the seat of honor. ”An esteemed guest has arrived. The young master of our Jiren Hall will be here shortly; please rest and enjoy your tea in the meantime.”

Having spoken, the shopkeeper stood by with his hands by his sides, personally waiting on Chen Lingxi.

Before long, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from outside the hall.

The steps were light and fast, clearly a young man jogging over.

Just a few breaths later, a youth dressed in a luxurious brocade robe rushed in.

He looked around eighteen or nineteen, with refined features. His well-tailored slate-blue brocade robe was cinched with a jade belt, and a small coronet inlaid with an emerald gem rested on his head.

Having apparently jogged the whole way, a fine layer of sweat glistened on his forehead, and his breathing was slightly uneven.

Crossing the threshold, he immediately spotted Chen Lingxi sitting in the armchair.

For a fleeting moment, a look of astonishment washed over his face.

It seemed he truly hadn’t expected the person whom Marquis Zhushan had solemnly ordered him to serve with the utmost care to be so young.

But in the blink of an eye, he quickly reined in his expression.

Not daring to show the slightest neglect, he stepped up to Chen Lingxi, straightened his robes, and gave a deep, respectful bow. ”My lord, my name is Wang Xuan.” The youth’s voice was clear and steady, carrying a maturity unsuited to his age. ”A message regarding the four words ’great medicine of the common people’ has already been transmitted to Qinghua Province. You may stay here and await the reply.”

Qinghua Province was precisely Xiao Changlv’s stronghold.

After a moment of thought, Chen Lingxi nodded.

Now, within this grotto-heaven, he no longer needed to walk on thin ice.

With a cultivation at the Qi Circulation 9th Floor, the vital blood of the Nine Revolutions realm, and those extraordinarily powerful treasures at his side, where in this vast world could he not go, so long as he didn’t crash headlong into figures like Yuan Yuan or the King of the East?

His only concerns were the people in the imperial palace, or Entering Profound experts like Xiao Changlv and the King of the East.

And to the imperial palace or the King of the East, if they truly tracked him down, what difference would it make if he was at Wangjiang Tower or this large mansion?

Since that was the case, what did it matter where he stayed?

Thus, Chen Lingxi took up residence in the mansion.

That very day, Wang Xuan ordered servants to clean out the heated pavilion behind the East Hall, swap in brand-new brocade quilts and gauze bed curtains, and bring in a red sandalwood desk and a yellow rosewood armchair.

He came by daily to pay his respects in person, as reverent as a junior serving his own master.

Chen Lingxi paid no mind to these worldly comforts. He simply stayed behind closed doors in the East Hall’s heated pavilion every day, breathing and meditating. He brought out the numerous heavenly materials and earthly treasures from his Vast Void Pouch one by one, slowly refining them with the Six Qi True Method.

Billowing spiritual qi was forcibly extracted from the treasures, flowing along his meridians to converge in his sea of qi, merging into that deep, abyssal spiritual pool.

Even so, the progress of his cultivation remained excruciatingly slow.

The volume of his spiritual liquid grew at a snail’s pace.

With this level of spiritual qi, even if he exhausted his lifespan, he couldn’t hope to step into the Heaven-Facing Three Floors.

Wang Xuan came to pay his respects daily. Once, he subtly hinted to Chen Lingxi, asking if he should send over some entertainment.

Understanding his meaning perfectly, Chen Lingxi simply replied with a mild, ”No need.”

And so, another month passed.

Throughout that month, Chen Lingxi remained within the East Hall’s heated pavilion, never once stepping outside.

Meditating and breathing by day, studying techniques and sword scriptures by night, his days passed like a pool of stagnant water, entirely unrippled.

Having walked the path of cultivation for so long, Chen Lingxi finally understood what it meant to have no concept of time in the mountains.

Although this bustling city mansion was no mountain, it was still his place of cultivation. A month flashed by in the blink of an eye. It felt as though he had just sat down in the East Hall yesterday, yet when he looked up today, the scene outside his window had shifted from the fading winter to early spring.

And despite having an ample supply of heavenly materials and earthly treasures to fuel his cultivation, the spiritual liquid in his sea of qi hadn’t risen much at all.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed in the pavilion, Chen Lingxi couldn’t help but sigh softly in his heart.

’With the aptitude of my spiritual aperture and sufficient spiritual qi of heaven and earth, progressing through Qi Circulation is still this difficult. I can only imagine how ordinary cultivators waste their entire lives without ever hoping to step into the Heaven-Facing Three Floors.’

This continued until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month of the new year...

Chen Lingxi was meditating with his eyes closed in the room, the Dao-evolving profound mechanism within his sea of consciousness slowly deducing the second layer of the Pure Wondrous Qi Pivot Array Formation on its own.

Right then, his spiritual sense caught someone approaching the door.

Chen Lingxi stirred from his breathing exercises, stepped off the bed, and walked slowly into the courtyard to open the gate.

Two people stood at the entrance—it was Xiao Zhushan and Xiao Taozhuo.

Xiao Taozhuo had seemingly just been about to knock.

But Chen Lingxi had already opened the door.

Xiao Taozhuo tilted her face up slightly, her gaze meeting Chen Lingxi’s calm eyes perfectly. Those extremely dark irises held nothing but a tranquility as serene as still water.

His features were already handsome, and now, illuminated by the daylight spilling from behind the door, he looked even more like a jade carving.

Xiao Taozhuo’s breath hitched slightly.

Beside her, Xiao Zhushan stepped forward with a smile, cupping his hands in greeting.

He still looked exactly the same: a burly frame, broad shoulders, and a long saber hanging at his waist that was at least two fingers wider than a standard goose-quill saber.

On his sharply chiseled face, the old scar slanting from his left brow down to his cheekbone didn’t look ugly in the least. Instead, it added a fierce, hardened aura that only a veteran warrior of the battlefield possessed.

Yet right now, a remarkably hearty smile spread across his stern face.

”It’s been about two years since we last met. I trust you’ve been well, Brother Chen?”