After the Great Dao Died

Chen Lingxi’s eyes flickered.

He already knew through Vision Roaming that Emperor Daye was a native of this world.

Yet hearing the emperor say it himself still left him surprised.

Despite his surprise, his gaze grew increasingly calm. He simply stared at Emperor Daye in silent thought before suddenly asking, ”If I am not mistaken, aside from what you just said, the Mirror Listening Cauldron Vessel can likely use some method to mark reincarnators?”

Emperor Daye shook his head. ”The Mirror Listening Cauldron Vessel Fragment can only mark those who possess great providence. It is just that the vast majority of those with great providence happen to be reincarnated Seekers of Truth.”

Chen Lingxi took a deep breath and continued to ask, ”With your profound cultivation, no one in this realm should be your match.

”If so, why did you exterminate the clans of those hundred families?

”How could those ordinary Seekers of Truth possibly threaten you?”

Emperor Daye’s expression remained as placid as ever, as if those countless lives were not worth mentioning. ”The Mirror Listening Cauldron Vessel can calculate who in this realm possesses great providence.

”It is just a pity... when the vast majority of reincarnators are divined by the cauldron vessel, they are still dormant.

”Later, I realized that these reincarnators often need to experience great turmoil and great calamity, their minds collapsing into chaos, before they awaken their memories of the Great Xuanzhuo Realm.”

Chen Lingxi suddenly understood. He nodded and said, ”So you had to exterminate those hundred families, deliberately leaving only one or two bloodlines behind.

”And those bloodlines were either people with great providence or those seeking truth and inquiring about the cauldrons.

”Instead, the Seekers of Truth who had already awakened their memories were the ones whose clans were wiped out.”

Emperor Daye nodded slowly. He stared at Chen Lingxi, his gaze growing ever deeper.

”The Linchuan Chen clan was a minor household, while the Wandering Zhuchen Family could be considered a generational scholarly clan, but... whether family affairs or clans, what do they count for in the face of cultivation and eternal life?

”If I did not kill them, they would still die. Along with this Grotto-Heaven, they would all be reduced to ashes.”

”If I did not kill them, you might never have obtained that mysterious providence, nor stepped onto the path of cultivation.”

”Chen Lingxi... once you step onto the path of eternal life, onto the path of the Dao Foundation, you should discard everything from the past. Otherwise, with a tainted Dao heart, how can you achieve eternal life?”

With that, he slowly stood up, stepped down from the rock, and walked to the seaside with his hands clasped behind his back.

In the distance, the sun was slowly setting, and the night gradually swallowed this vast expanse of sea.

The sea breeze blew fiercely, scattering Emperor Daye’s words so they arrived in broken fragments.

”You and I are both people of this realm, natives to this land!

”Those reincarnators view you and me as ants, view this realm as a hunting ground, and view its billions of living beings as worthless weeds.

”Even the ultimate fate for the two of us would likely be to be refined into Realm Essence by that True Lord along with this Grotto-Heaven, becoming cultivation resources for the geniuses of the Que Star Xi Family.

”These things... every reincarnator knows, and I imagine you already know them as well.”

”I... am unwilling to accept this!”

”I imagine you are also unwilling, which is why I want to leave this realm, and you want to leave this realm as well.

”Since that is the case, you and I...”

The flames dancing in Emperor Daye’s eyes grew even more intense. ”Why don’t you and I join forces?”

’Join forces?’

Chen Lingxi fell silent for a moment, the images from the Mirror Listening surface still flowing through his mind.

He remembered the scene of his parents being beheaded.

Those images were so vivid, causing ripples to stir in his heart once again.

However... Chen Lingxi raised his head and glanced at the void above, already shrouded in the night.

There, two bright mirrors hung high, casting blazing gold and silvery-white hues upon the sea, adding an air of mystery to the Heavenly Gate Sea.

’Emperor Daye is undoubtedly a ruthless man,’ Chen Lingxi’s thoughts flowed beneath the glow of the bright mirrors. ’During Vision Roaming, this man was clearly scheming against me, seemingly intending to use me as some kind of cultivation resource once I stepped into the Heaven-Facing Realm.

’And yet now, he wants to join forces with me...’

Chen Lingxi’s eyes flashed.

In this Absolute Perception Divine Chamber, whether he agreed or resisted, the Divine Chamber would eventually shatter, leaving absolutely no trace behind.

Since that was the case, Chen Lingxi still wanted to scheme a little of his own.

Thus, Chen Lingxi slowly raised his head, meeting Emperor Daye’s eyes that burned with golden flames. ”A Dao Foundation cultivator is a great cultivator; within this Grotto-Heaven, you have no rival.

”If you wished it, you could perhaps annex all the nations of the world in an instant. The Great Zhou, which has always stood as an equal against Great Li, could likely be broken with a snap of your fingers... You are vastly stronger than me.

”But... in the eyes of the True Lord of the Que Star Xi Family, even a Dao Foundation expert is probably nothing more than an ant that can jump a little higher.

”How could the two of us possibly escape this Grotto-Heaven?”

Emperor Daye turned around and said, ”The Great Dao is profoundly mysterious. When a realm perishes, a sliver of survival naturally remains.”

He stared straight into Chen Lingxi’s eyes. ”My Cauldron Vessel Fragment can erase all traces of us. Even at the True Lord realm, they will absolutely be unable to calculate our whereabouts.

”As long as the two of us can escape this Grotto-Heaven and head straight to the Great Xuanzhuo Realm...

”From then on, it will be like raindrops falling into the vast sea. Even the figures of the Que Star Xi Family will absolutely never find our tracks.

”Then, the two of us simply need to find a way out.”

Chen Lingxi’s pupils contracted. ”But where is that Cauldron Vessel Fragment?”

Emperor Daye’s expression did not change, but he remained silent, staring intently at Chen Lingxi.

Chen Lingxi understood. Almost without hesitation, he nodded and said, ”I am willing to join forces with the Sage, and signing a Jade Precept Book is perfectly fine.

”But I wonder... what does the Sage want me to do?”

Emperor Daye turned his head to look at Chen Lingxi. ”Within this realm, you will serve me, and in return, I will bestow a great providence upon you.”

’A great providence?’

”What great providence?”

Emperor Daye answered, ”This great providence is extremely precious even in the Great Xuanzhuo Realm. Perhaps even ordinary cauldron vessels cannot be compared to it.”

Chen Lingxi grew even more puzzled. ”If there is such a great providence, why doesn’t the Sage take it for himself? Why bestow it upon me?”

Emperor Daye shook his head and sighed emotionally. ”When I encountered this providence, it was already too late. My path of the Dao is set; such a great providence is no longer fated for me.

”It is exactly because of this that I am handing this great providence over to you!”

”Then what must I pay in return?” Chen Lingxi asked.

The golden flames danced in Emperor Daye’s eyes. ”I am gifting you a great providence. If you grasp the profound secret to escaping this Grotto-Heaven, you must not leave alone; you must take me with you to escape.”

”Before then, neither of us can deal a lethal blow to the other.”

’That’s it?’

For a Dao Foundation figure to make such an agreement with him, wasn’t he taking massive advantage of the situation?

Suspicion rose in Chen Lingxi’s heart, but he frowned and pretended to ponder for a moment before nodding in agreement.

Emperor Daye narrowed his eyes slightly, and with a sweep of his sleeve, a Jade Precept Book appeared.

Just as the two were about to sign the Jade Precept Book, Chen Lingxi seemed to suddenly think of something and said, ”Since the matter of joining forces is settled, I have one more thing I wish to ask the Sage.”

Emperor Daye nodded, signaling for Chen Lingxi to speak.

Chen Lingxi said candidly, ”There are countless Seekers of Truth in the world, and they came to this seemingly desolate Grotto-Heaven for nothing other than to find the cauldron vessel in the Heavenly Gate Sea.

”Sage... I know this cauldron vessel is right here, but I wonder if I might... take a look at it.”

Emperor Daye looked at Chen Lingxi, a trace of surprise appearing on his aged face.

”I originally thought you came to this Heavenly Gate Sea for the Dao Foundation divine ability inscription.

”I thought you lingered in this Heavenly Gate Sea to search for other providences within it.

”I never expected that you actually knew a complete cauldron vessel was hidden in the Heavenly Gate Sea...

”Many of the world’s Seekers of Truth do not even know this... It seems your providence is truly extraordinary.”

Chen Lingxi listened in silence.

Emperor Daye thought about it, and ultimately added another clause to the Jade Precept Book, agreeing to take Chen Lingxi to witness the complete cauldron vessel.

With that, the two signed the Jade Precept Book.

Emperor Daye put away the halved Jade Precept Book. No emotion could be seen in his eyes; they were as unfathomably calm as a windless sea.

He turned around and shakily stepped onto that small cloud-qi boat.

Chen Lingxi stood up and followed, and the two stood on the small boat, one in front and one behind.

The small cloud-qi boat rose into the air, piercing through the clouds and mist as it flew toward the depths of the Heavenly Gate Sea.

There was no dense spiritual qi on the cloud boat; it was like a small patch of cloud and mist, drifting silently in the sea breeze under the night sky.

Yet its speed was pushed to the absolute extreme.

It was countless times faster than Chen Lingxi’s Cloud Soaring Technique at the Wondrous State.

Wherever the small cloud-qi boat passed, the clouds and mist in the sky retreated on their own.

When the small cloud-qi boat plunged into the sea, the seawater parted as if cleaved by a deity’s blade, surging into walls of water dozens of zhang high on both sides of the boat.

Countless deep-sea fish and shrimp tumbled down from within them, making for a truly miraculous sight.

The small boat traveled like this for a while before plunging deeper into the seawater, drifting downward.

The small cloud-qi boat sank all the way down, passing over submarine mountain ranges and underwater volcanoes, until it finally arrived at a gloomy and dark place.

This was the deepest part of the Heavenly Gate Sea, where the light of the sky could no longer penetrate. It was pitch black all around.

At this moment, only the two clusters of golden flames in the eyes of Emperor Daye beside Chen Lingxi were still burning and dancing.

Then...

Emperor Daye flicked his sleeve slightly!

A ripple suddenly extended through the depths of the seawater.

The ripple cascaded outward, as if blowing something away.

Chen Lingxi looked forward.

And then he saw a tree.

It appeared to be a small tree cast from bronze, only about the height of a person. It looked like an ornament from the home of a capital noble, extremely exquisite.

Looking closely, ancient wood grain was clearly visible on the bronze bark, as if it had naturally grown on the bronze.

Its branches stretched out diagonally, resembling true dragons coiled around the trunk.

This ancient bronze tree stood quietly at the bottom of the dark sea. Not a single trace of spiritual qi circulated around it, not a sliver of light burst forth, and it certainly lacked the ancient aura Chen Lingxi had imagined leaking from it.

It was like a rock growing on the seafloor, completely devoid of life.

It was so well-hidden, no wonder Chen Lingxi had not noticed it at all even when circulating his Method of Qi Observation.

Yet when Chen Lingxi’s gaze fell upon this ancient bronze tree, his breath involuntarily hitched.

It was because hanging amidst the many branches and buds of this ancient bronze tree was a single fruit.

That fruit was only the size of a fist. It also appeared to be made of bronze, its color identical to that of the ancient bronze tree.

It hung quietly on the branch, yet it seemed to exude some kind of profound aura. That aura was completely incompatible with this Grotto-Heaven, leaving Chen Lingxi quite amazed.

Emperor Daye stood with his hands clasped behind his back. Looking at the ancient bronze tree before him, he slowly said, ”This is the cauldron vessel in the Heavenly Gate Sea!”

”The many great mysterious sects and minor clans of the Great Xuanzhuo Realm used the Pool of Reincarnation to enter this Grotto-Heaven, all for the sake of this very cauldron vessel!”

Chen Lingxi’s heart trembled slightly. He gazed from afar at this ancient bronze tree and the fruit upon it.

Spiritual qi quietly circulated in his eyes as the Method of Qi Observation sprang into action, gazing toward the ancient bronze tree.

In the next instant, he vaguely sensed a layer of indescribably terrifying power covering the ancient bronze tree.

That power was formless and intangible, yet incomparably violent.

With Chen Lingxi’s current cultivation, he fundamentally could not comprehend such terrifying power.

’This is probably the void turbulence...’

Chen Lingxi’s eyes burned brightly.

Whether a cauldron vessel or a fragment, once it fell into a Grotto-Heaven secret realm, it would retain the terrifying power of void turbulence.

Only when the void turbulence dissipated was it considered the cauldron vessel’s birth into the world, allowing cultivators to claim it.

When the void turbulence dissipated, the cauldron vessel’s aura would also spread out, becoming known to all.

Chen Lingxi was not surprised. Instead, he shifted his gaze to that bronze fruit.

Soon after, his eyes flickered.

’On this bronze fruit... there is no void turbulence.’

Chen Lingxi took a deep breath, stepped out of the small cloud-qi boat, and arrived in front of the bronze fruit.

Emperor Daye thought about it and did not stop him.

A wisp of Chen Lingxi’s divine sense flowed out and entered the bronze fruit.

In an instant, all sorts of profound mysteries flowed back to him from it!

Sensing the information transmitted from the bronze fruit, Chen Lingxi could not help but look astonished.

’This ancient bronze tree is the cauldron vessel, [Dao-Absorbing Tree]!’

’On the cauldron vessel, every so often, a [Dao-Absorbing Fruit] will grow! It is not some cultivation resource... This single fruit can extract the qi of the cauldron vessel’s master!

’When the Dao-Absorbing Fruit harvests the master’s qi, it can absorb the might of that cauldron vessel into the fruit, allowing it to be used once.’

’If there is no master’s qi, one simply needs to let this Dao-Absorbing Fruit grow on the Dao-Absorbing Tree.

’As the fruit slowly matures, it can also absorb the might of some cauldron vessel from between heaven and earth, randomly storing a certain cauldron vessel’s power within itself.

’In other words... obtaining this fruit is equivalent to possessing a cauldron vessel that can be used temporarily.’

’And having this Dao-Absorbing Tree is like having ten thousand cauldron vessels!’

Chen Lingxi murmured in his heart, his eyes shining brilliantly!