After the Great Dao Died

Chen Lingxi fled into the distance. Upon arriving in Changhe Province, he sank to the deepest depths of a river, sitting cross-legged on the riverbed to refine the Celestial Ranking Spiritual Energy.

A season passed in a flash. Deep at the bottom of that long river, Chen Lingxi refined the spiritual energy of the Celestial Ranking’s twenty-third place and fully stepped onto the Twelfth Floor of Qi Circulation!

The Twelfth Floor of Qi Circulation was the absolute peak of the Qi Circulation Realm!

Upon stepping into this realm, Chen Lingxi felt the spiritual qi within his Qi Sea rolling like a monstrous tide. What had once been a mere pond had expanded into a mighty river.

Within his Qi Sea, the spiritual qi had completely transformed into a vast and sweeping spiritual river.

The river was broad, its currents surging ferociously.

”The Twelfth Floor of Qi Circulation is truly formidable.”

Chen Lingxi could feel that his spiritual qi was several times thicker than it had been on the Eleventh Floor.

With a slight shift in his intent, the spiritual river churned, responding as effortlessly as the arm commanding the fingers. Surging spiritual qi flowed through his meridians, circulating through his entire body with absolute smoothness, without the slightest hint of sluggishness.

”Stepping into the final stage of Qi Circulation brings another profound mechanism.”

Sensing the profound mechanism birthed by this brand-new realm, Chen Lingxi felt a growing sense of certainty in his heart.

This profound mechanism was the [Seed of the Dao Foundation]. As his cultivation deepened, this Dao Seed would gradually transform into a Dao Platform!

The Dao Seed hung barely three chi above the spiritual river, rotating slowly.

It was only the size of a grain of rice and pale gold throughout, with countless microscopic, profound patterns faintly circulating across its surface.

Chen Lingxi probed it with his divine sense and felt an indescribably heavy dao charm welling inside the Dao Seed, as if the deepest and most profound truths of heaven and earth had been sealed within.

’Moreover, with this Dao Seed, any spiritual qi passing through it will become even heavier and more condensed.’

’Beyond that, the Dao Seed has also replaced the dao-deriving profound mechanism, allowing it to deduce divine abilities and spells.’

Chen Lingxi pondered this and tried injecting a strand of spiritual qi into the Dao Seed. The Dao Seed gave a slight shudder before its pale gold light suddenly flared, illuminating his entire Qi Sea in resplendent gold.

When that strand of spiritual qi circulated through the Dao Seed and emerged, it was noticeably more condensed than before, and the spiritual energy it contained had grown even heavier.

’So this is the Dao Seed,’ Chen Lingxi thought. His eyes filled with pleasant surprise as he felt his own strength reach an unprecedented height.

He did not end his seclusion, instead keeping his eyes closed to continue his cultivation.

”Stepping onto the Twelfth Floor of Qi Circulation means the Palace Knocking Realm of the True Edict of Approaching the Dao will also birth a third profound mechanism.”

The first two profound mechanisms of the Palace Knocking Realm in the True Edict of Approaching the Dao were distinct. The first was Great Sage Breathing. As the Great Sage phantom inside the Inner Divine Palace slowly breathed in spiritual qi, it allowed Chen Lingxi’s own spiritual qi to nourish his physical body, transforming into surging Great Sage essence.

The second was Heaven-Inviting Momentum, which reflected the Great Sage’s imposing aura and was equally extraordinary.

Today, wielding his terrifying reserves of spiritual qi, Chen Lingxi cultivated the True Edict of Approaching the Dao. He continuously visualized the phantom inside the Inner Divine Palace, integrating Great Sage Yaotian’s aura into himself to incite an even more profound transformation within his physical body.

As he cultivated, the Great Sage phantom sitting cross-legged on the high platform inside the crude palace slowly opened its eyes.

Those eyes were as deep as the abyss, faintly swirling with stars and exuding a terrifying, heart-palpitating pressure.

The moment the Great Sage phantom opened its eyes, an indescribably majestic surge of essence crashed down from the high platform, flooding into his limbs and bones.

Scoured by this surge of Great Sage essence, Chen Lingxi finally cultivated the third Palace Knocking profound mechanism.

He felt a brand-new, profound energy slowly congealing within the Inner Divine Palace. It echoed the Great Sage Breathing profound mechanism, the two complementing and mutually reinforcing one another.

The mechanism had yet to fully form, but it already faintly radiated a fearless, awe-inspiring majesty.

His eyes burned brightly as a small smile touched the corners of his mouth.

”This is the third profound mechanism?”

Chen Lingxi let out a long breath, growing increasingly satisfied with the profundity of the True Edict of Approaching the Dao.

”With this third profound mechanism, my physical combat strength has climbed another floor.”

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and continued his breathing exercises.

Inside his Qi Sea, the rolling currents of spiritual qi continuously refined the spiritual energies of several experts to nourish the Myriad Breeding Dao-Seeding Marvelous Lotus Qi.

That strand of Myriad Breeding Dao-Seeding Marvelous Lotus Qi drifted slowly through the spiritual river like a small black snake, swallowing and exhaling the experts’ spiritual energy.

Chen Lingxi could sense that the strange power held within this profound black qi was becoming increasingly extraordinary, as if it were incubating the marvels of the Dao.

Deep within the black qi, a microscopic pulse of life faintly trembled, much like a dormant seed slowly awakening.

At the same time, the connection between the profound black qi and his own divine sense grew stronger. A faint, almost imperceptible sensation of bloodline kinship began to form between them.

Chen Lingxi understood.

”This strand of Marvelous Lotus Qi is not far from giving birth to a brand-new set of three souls and seven physical spirits.”

He slowly opened his eyes.

”Stepping onto the Twelfth Floor of Qi Circulation took about a season. Cultivating the third Palace Knocking profound mechanism and refining the Myriad Breeding Dao-Seeding Marvelous Lotus Qi took another two months and change.”

”Half a year has passed in a flash.”

Chen Lingxi sighed. After a moment of thought, he sank his consciousness into the Divine Chamber and activated the Vision Roaming Divine Ability.

Vision Roaming on Emperor Daye!

His vision jumped to Emperor Daye, only to find that the Space-Disrupting Flower that had originally hovered above the emperor’s head was completely gone.

The flower that had been suspended in mid-air within the palace hall, pulsing with profound dao charm, had vanished without a trace, leaving behind only empty void.

Chen Lingxi’s heart stirred.

’The Space-Disrupting Flower is a divine ability spiritual object required to cultivate the Heavenly Decline Law, a Dao Foundation great divine ability. Emperor Daye has held this flower for quite some time, and now that it is missing... could he have completely refined it?’

Chen Lingxi’s thoughts raced.

If that were truly the case, he feared Emperor Daye was on the verge of stepping into the Dao Foundation Middle Stage.

He continued to look and saw Emperor Daye sitting cross-legged on a meditation cushion, his eyes tightly shut. The pale gold Immortal Slough essence surrounding him was several times denser than before, wrapping around him like a tangible layer of golden gauze.

Countless extremely fine runes faintly circulated across the gauze, each one radiating a heart-palpitating sense of decline.

This aura of decline was exceedingly bizarre. It was like the desolate chill that permeated the world in late autumn when all things withered, or the stench of rot that had settled in an ancient tomb over thousands of years.

Yet, this aura of decline was firmly locked within three chi of Emperor Daye’s body by the Immortal Slough essence, unable to leak out in the slightest.

Emperor Daye’s originally old and withered body was recovering at a visible rate.

His white hair turned black, his wrinkles smoothed out, his hunched spine straightened, and his emaciated limbs regained their flesh and blood.

He was like a piece of uncut jade that had been repeatedly tempered, now glowing with dazzling radiance as the Immortal Slough essence nourished it.

”Moreover... perhaps due to the extraordinary nature of the Immortal Slough, Emperor Daye also seems close to curing the chronic affliction left by the Age-Dial Reversal Divine Ability.”

Chen Lingxi’s eyes flickered.

’Emperor Daye’s combat strength is already unrivaled. Once he cures his affliction and reaches the Dao Foundation Middle Stage, I can’t imagine how powerful he will become. Even Zhao Duanxuan might not be his match.’

He sighed softly in his heart, feeling a newfound respect for a figure like Emperor Daye.

The Vision Roaming abruptly shattered.

Chen Lingxi stood up, stepped out of the river’s surface, and looked up at the Celestial Ranking in the sky.

Six months had swiftly passed, bringing various changes to the Celestial Ranking.

Upon the golden monument, numerous names circulated slowly, pulsing with a formidable light.

On the Celestial Ranking, his own rank had actually dropped from twenty-third down to twenty-eighth.

Several more figures had entered the top ten, hailing from the Southern Heaven Region and Ehai.

Chen Lingxi naturally knew the reason behind this shift.

When the Celestial Ranking had first been set, many experts had yet to project their avatars into this realm.

Even after the ranking was finalized, new experts continued to project themselves over.

These experts rarely took action; until they defeated someone on the Celestial Ranking, they would not appear on the list themselves.

But half a year had passed. Many experts had revealed their tracks, and many factions had likely already begun clashing in all-out war...

This was why the Celestial Ranking had changed so drastically.

Having figured this out, Chen Lingxi withdrew his gaze. ’The sheer number of experts in this Grotto-Heaven absolutely cannot be underestimated right now,’ he thought.

’In terms of personal combat strength, Zhao Duanxuan remains in first place. Perhaps this Zhao Duanxuan... is highly likely capable of exerting the mighty power of the Dao Foundation Middle Stage as well.’

Chen Lingxi silently estimated this in his mind.

He had once seen Zhao Duanxuan inside the Absolute Perception Divine Chamber.

That man had walked out from the afterglow of the setting sun, every footstep shaking the entire ocean.

That overwhelming pressure, that terrifying aura that stifled even the thought of resistance—it was all still vivid in his mind.

Even back then, he had a faint feeling that the strength Zhao Duanxuan displayed far exceeded the boundaries of what an Early Dao Foundation avatar should possess.

’I am at the Twelfth Floor of Qi Circulation and I have the True Edict of Approaching the Dao at my side. I may seem formidable, but I must still tread carefully,’ he muttered in his heart, his gaze growing increasingly solemn.

At this thought, he raised his hand, and a Spirit Wall materialized in his palm.

It was the Killing Power Cauldron Vessel, the Enemy-Slaughtering Spirit Wall.

The Spirit Wall radiated a biting, primeval aura from his palm.

Chen Lingxi stared at the Enemy-Slaughtering Spirit Wall, pondering deeply.

’The Enemy-Slaughtering Spirit Wall is powerful, but it still takes five or six hours to draw an enemy’s qi signature into it. It cannot be done in an instant... Since that’s the case, I must bind up windows and doors before the rain.’

Chen Lingxi’s eyes flickered. He took out the Three Profounds Mirror, extracted the qi signatures of Bai Lingze and Zhao Duanxuan from it, and guided them into the Enemy-Slaughtering Spirit Wall.

Several hours passed.

Two brand-new names slowly surfaced on the Spirit Wall.

Zhao Duanxuan!

Bai Lingze!

The moment the two names appeared, an even thicker aura of murderous intent spread from the Spirit Wall.

A small smile crept onto Chen Lingxi’s face.

He looked down at the Enemy-Slaughtering Spirit Wall, which continued to emanate murderous intent in his hand.

”I have stepped onto the Twelfth Floor of Qi Circulation, but I am still extremely far from the Dao Foundation Realm,” he murmured softly to himself. ”Yet, compared to when I was on the Eleventh Floor, has my combat strength merely doubled?”

”With this foundation, if I use the Enemy-Slaughtering Spirit Wall, I should have a sliver of hope to escape even if I am no match for Bai Lingze,” he muttered. ”And they shouldn’t have any Spiritual Artifacts or treasures either.”

”I won’t die instantly, at the very least,” he added, his heart settling slightly.

He stored the Enemy-Slaughtering Spirit Wall back into his Vast Void Pouch, closed his eyes in concentration, and used the Dao Seed to deduce the Thunder-Concealing Sword Scripture.

Chen Lingxi injected a strand of spiritual qi into the Dao Seed. Using his divine sense as a guide, he converted the numerous sword incantations, sword stances, and sword intents of the Thunder-Concealing Sword Scripture into swords of divine sense, channeling them one by one into the slowly rotating Dao Seed.

In that instant, the profound patterns across the surface of the Dao Seed lit up simultaneously.

Chen Lingxi felt the previously obscure supreme truths of the sword scripture suddenly sharpen under the golden light of the Dao Seed. It was like parting the clouds to see the sun; everything was suddenly opening up to wide light.

But just as he was about to brush against the threshold—as if he already had one foot through the door and only needed one final push to master the skill—the speed of the Dao Seed’s deduction ground to a crawl.

The threshold hung right before his eyes, well within reach, yet always remaining a hairsbreadth away.

Chen Lingxi frowned.

”This Thunder-Concealing Sword Scripture is truly profound. The threshold to enter the Wondrous State is simply too high.”

Chen Lingxi wanted to deduce this sword scripture into the Wondrous State so he could execute the Jade Tiger Rebellious Sea Sword Light.

Yet the Wondrous State remained like a tightly shut door. No matter how much he deduced with the Dao Seed or knocked with his divine sense, it didn’t budge an inch.

Chen Lingxi shook his head, deciding not to force the issue.

Soon after, he remembered that his Thunder Radiance Treasure Sword had already shattered.

”This Grotto-Heaven lacks spiritual treasures...” he muttered, a hint of helplessness in his voice. ”As a native cultivator, I’m just too poor.”

Chen Lingxi sighed with emotion.

Right now, he didn’t have many treasures to his name. Only the Delayed Light Flying Dagger could be considered an ever-victorious weapon.

”But thinking carefully on it, when I fought against the Celestial Ranking’s twenty-third place, Qiu Yue, he already saw through the profundity of the Delayed Light Flying Dagger.” Chen Lingxi frowned.

’If not for my Twelve Chimes of the Heavenly Drum and the terrifying physical body of the True Edict of Approaching the Dao locking down the void, he would likely have dodged the Delayed Light Flying Dagger with ease,’ Chen Lingxi reasoned internally.

’Furthermore, when the profound radiance from the Delayed Light Flying Dagger landed on him, it took only a few moments for him to break free.’

’It seems... while this flying dagger is indeed ingenious, it is no longer enough against a Qi Circulation figure who cultivates a Dao Foundation great divine ability, even if they haven’t yet condensed a Dao Platform or planted a Profound Root.’

Chen Lingxi sighed. ”I’m too poor...”

He lamented internally, feeling somewhat helpless.

He was completely alone in this Grotto-Heaven, without a master or a sect to rely on.

”Moreover, there are simply too few Spiritual Artifacts and dharma treasures in this Weiji Grotto-Heaven.”

But a moment later, Chen Lingxi’s thoughts shifted, and a bit more calm returned to his eyes. ”Fortunately, these experts projecting their avatars here also arrived with nothing but the clothes on their backs...”

”However... once the Great Ferrying Arrays of those various sects are completely finished, they might ferry treasures over, like Daoist Shu Rong’s Jade Ruyi. When that time comes... I will naturally be at a disadvantage when fighting them.”

Chen Lingxi sighed over this for a while.

After some thought, he cast Vision Roaming on Lin Suri.

After reaching the Twelfth Floor of Qi Circulation, the range of his Vision Roaming had expanded to forty thousand li across, encompassing nearly half of the Grotto-Heaven.

With such a vast range, he could monitor Lin Suri’s movements at any time.

Through the vision, he caught sight of the distant Nanche Prefecture City.

He saw Lin Suri standing before a grand formation inside a luxurious building.

In the very center of that array, half of a Spirit Wall had already materialized, seemingly on the verge of fully descending.

Seeing this, a sudden surge of pleasant surprise filled Chen Lingxi’s heart.

His perspective settled on Lin Suri, and he noticed a rare trace of a smile on Lin Suri’s exceedingly pale face.

’Over a month ago, Daoist Brother Lin told me that Daoist Mingzhu of the Pool Soul Courtyard had already achieved results in his journey to the Thunder Pool to request a Great Divine Ability.’

Chen Lingxi muttered internally, the delight in his eyes deepening.

Daoist Mingzhu was a senior of the Pool Soul Courtyard of the Under-Dao Academy. According to Lin Suri, this person possessed an extremely high cultivation and shared deep ties with the Thunder Pool.

To secure that Chixuan Thunder Great Divine Ability for him, the Pool Soul Courtyard had not hesitated to offer up Chu Spirit Mountain—which had sat vacant for a long time—as payment, even cashing in a favor with the Thunder Pool.

Thus, Daoist Mingzhu had personally made the trip to the Thunder Pool to request that Great Divine Ability from a prominent figure.

’Even back then, they were already constructing the Great Ferrying Array to ferry over that [Great Divine Ability Spiritual Wall] and that divine ability wondrous object, the [Thunder Prison Spirit Branch].’

Chen Lingxi felt immense gratitude toward Lin Suri and the Pool Soul Courtyard of the Under-Dao Academy in his heart.

’The Under-Dao Academy has been far too dedicated. It truly surprises me.’

The Pool Soul Courtyard naturally possessed other Great Divine Ability Spiritual Walls.

But according to Daoist Brother Lin, while those Great Divine Abilities were also quite extraordinary, a lightning-path Great Divine Ability would be the most suitable.

That was why the Pool Soul Courtyard had visited the Xuanzang Court and gone to the Thunder Pool to request a Great Divine Ability.

’I will carefully remember this friendship from the Under-Dao Academy and Daoist Brother Lin.’

Chen Lingxi’s eyes flickered as he calculated his plans.

’Once I nourish the Dao Seed with my spiritual qi and it sprouts a Dao Platform, I can cultivate a Dao Foundation great divine ability and plant a Profound Root.’

For a Dao Seed to transform into a Dao Platform, it required day and night nourishment from one’s own spiritual qi. Like a seed planted in fertile soil, it had to sprout, branch, bloom, and bear fruit before it could finally solidify into a towering Dao Platform within the Qi Sea.

When that time came, he could use the Thunder Prison Spirit Branch as a catalyst to cultivate the Chixuan Thunder Great Divine Ability, morphing that divine ability into his first Profound Root. By planting it in his Dao Platform, he would fully step into the Dao Foundation Realm.

’But with my current cultivation, I am still a ways off from sprouting a Dao Platform,’ he thought, suppressing the flicker of excitement in his heart.

The Dao Seed had just been condensed. It was still in its infancy; nourishing it to maturity and forming a Dao Platform would require a massive accumulation of spiritual qi and dao charm.

He had already refined the spiritual energy of the Celestial Ranking’s twenty-third place, and although the spiritual qi in his Qi Sea had grown shockingly dense, it was still far from enough to fully nourish the Dao Seed.

He needed more Celestial Ranking Spiritual Energy, and he needed to accumulate far more serendipity.