After the Great Dao Died

Chen Lingxi’s mind raced, his eyes burning with intensity.

He exited his Vision Roaming state, stood up, and took out the Jade Slip given to him by Daoist Shu Rong.

”Half a year has passed. I wonder if the locations of the experts on this Jade Slip have changed,” Chen Lingxi muttered to himself, his gaze sweeping back and forth over the slip.

On the Jade Slip, the numerous names still emanated a faint spiritual light.

Chen Lingxi’s eyes flickered. He looked at Bai Qingchuan, who had dropped to twenty-fourth on the Celestial Ranking, and gave a slight shake of his head.

”When he first entered the Celestial Ranking, this Bai Qingchuan was nineteenth. Now, he’s slid to twenty-fourth.”

Back then, Chen Lingxi had been no match for him and was chased relentlessly, only managing to escape by reluctantly discarding Bai Huzhong’s Vast Void Pouch.

But now, having stepped onto the Twelfth Floor of Qi Circulation, his spiritual qi was several times thicker than before. He had also successfully cultivated the Second Profound mechanism of Palace Knocking in the True Edict of Approaching the Dao. If he faced Bai Qingchuan again, the odds of victory and defeat would be completely reversed.

”Bai Qingchuan might be strong, but I’ve already reached the Twelfth Floor of Qi Circulation. He is no longer my match.

”Seeking out Bai Qingchuan and defeating him to seize his Celestial Ranking Spiritual Energy wouldn’t be of much help to my cultivation anyway.”

Chen Lingxi narrowed his eyes, eventually looking at the thirteenth on the Celestial Ranking, Xi Yuan.

Half a year ago, Xi Yuan had been tenth. Since then, new experts had projected their avatars here, dropping him to thirteenth.

”This person... is an excellent choice.”

”It’s just that... anyone capable of holding the thirteenth rank has very likely already formed their Dao Platform, even if they haven’t yet planted a Profound Root.

”I just don’t know if my current combat strength is enough to defeat him.”

Chen Lingxi put the Jade Slip away and closed his eyes in deep thought.

’The path to the Dao Platform is long. If I simply sit in meditation with my eyes closed, who knows how many years of bitter effort it would take.’

’Even if I were willing to spend the time, the great tribulation is looming. I’m afraid I don’t have that much time to cultivate in peace.’

’On the contrary, this Celestial Ranking Spiritual Energy is a monumental opportunity for me.’

’With such an opportunity right in front of me, how can I let the fear of defeat stop me from pursuing it?’

Having figured this out, Chen Lingxi took out the Three Profounds Mirror again.

He checked the locations of Zhao Duanxuan and Bai Lingze to ensure nothing went wrong.

’Hm? Is Zhao Duanxuan really the only one at the Heavenly Gate Sea?’

Gauging the distance between his own starlight marker and the black swirling light on the Three Profounds Mirror, Chen Lingxi deduced Zhao Duanxuan’s location, feeling surprised.

’Could Zhao Duanxuan have discovered the location of that complete Cauldron Vessel, the [Dao-Absorbing Tree]?’

Amidst his thoughts, Chen Lingxi decided to head out and find Xi Yuan.

He took to the skies on an Azure Cloud. The cloud beneath his feet, laced with pale golden lightning, surged upward, launching him thousands of feet into the air.

Riding the clouds, Chen Lingxi traveled all the way to the location recorded on the Jade Slip for Xi Yuan.

But when he arrived above that great river, there was no sign of Xi Yuan.

Chen Lingxi sighed.

”Xi Yuan really did change locations.”

However, Chen Lingxi wasn’t too disappointed.

An expert of that level would never stay cooped up in one place forever.

It was only natural to change abodes after half a year had passed.

”Since I can’t find Xi Yuan, I might as well head closer to Lin Suri and wait for that Great Divine Ability to be completely ferried over.

”I’ll make further plans after I’ve obtained the Great Divine Ability Spiritual Wall and the divine ability’s spiritual item.”

With that, Chen Lingxi flew off again, heading toward Nanche Prefecture.

Three days later, he arrived at a nameless hill located six hundred miles from Nanche Prefecture City.

He sat cross-legged on the small hill, closing his eyes to cultivate.

It wasn’t until night fell that Chen Lingxi suddenly frowned and looked into the distance.

He saw a soaring pillar of fire slowly rising from the direction of Nanche Prefecture City.

”Hm? What happened over there?”

Without hesitation, Chen Lingxi immediately unleashed his Vision Roaming Divine Ability, casting Vision Roaming on Lin Suri!

His perspective plunged into Nanche Prefecture City.

In the city’s central plaza, he saw Lin Suri sitting cross-legged in front of the Great Ferrying Array, pouring spiritual qi into the formation to maintain its operation.

But Nanche Prefecture City itself had already been plunged into a sea of fire!

Through Lin Suri’s perspective, Chen Lingxi discovered just how thoroughly the city was engulfed in flames.

These were no ordinary flames. They were a pale gold, radiating an extreme, blistering heat that blanketed the entire city in a blinding glare.

Thick smoke billowed into the sky, dyeing half the heavens a dark, murky red.

The commoners in the city ran and wailed. Their continuous screams mingled with the crackle and roar of the flames, carrying far into the distance.

Chen Lingxi’s pupils shrank slightly.

”Daoist Shu Rong is nowhere to be seen... A powerful expert has attacked Nanche Prefecture City.”

Through Lin Suri’s eyes, Chen Lingxi saw that a protective restriction was slowly operating outside the ferrying array.

It was likely set up by Daoist Shu Rong.

This restriction was exceedingly profound. As starlight flowed across it, the phantom image of the Big Dipper flickered faintly within, exuding an awe-inspiring pressure!

But right now, that Starlight Restriction was trembling violently.

A cultivator wreathed in flames was breaking the array.

This cultivator was exceptionally tall, towering more than two heads over an ordinary person.

He was bare-chested, his skin a dark red hue. Crimson flames burned around his body, shrouding him in a blinding halo of fire.

He stood before the Starlight Restriction with his arms spread wide and his fingers splayed like claws, looking like an evil spirit that had just walked out of a sea of fire.

The spiritual qi bursting from his body transformed into profound spells that continuously bombarded the Starlight Restriction.

Watching the fire-controlling cultivator through Lin Suri’s perspective, Chen Lingxi frowned.

Immediately, he recalled the description of a certain cultivator recorded on Daoist Shu Rong’s Jade Slip.

’This person is Daoist Huotuo from Ehai...’

Chen Lingxi projected his consciousness into the Celestial Ranking in the void!

Daoist Huotuo, who had originally been ranked ninth—one spot higher than Xi Yuan—was now ranked fourteenth, one spot lower than him.

But regardless...

’This Ehai cultivator’s cultivation must be extremely powerful. It’s highly likely he has already formed his Dao Platform!’

Chen Lingxi’s mind raced.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the grand array, several other figures were locked in a fierce battle!

Jiang Xiu and Wei Qingran were relying on a special profound stone Dharma treasure to unleash a combined-attack array, holding off two other cultivators.

That spirit stone, purely white and translucent, hovered above their heads, radiating an extremely heavy and profound spiritual fluctuation.

It seemed to house an extraordinary array within it. Once activated, countless runes flew out from the spirit stone, unfurling layer upon layer to form a highly troublesome defensive restriction in front of the two.

Runes circulated across the restriction as spiritual light flickered unsteadily, barely managing to withstand the onslaught of the two cultivators.

Those two cultivators were also from Ehai. While their cultivation wasn’t as terrifying as Daoist Huotuo’s, they were still incredibly tyrannical.

One wielded a water-colored long saber. Aquatic light flowed along the blade, and every slash carried the momentum of a reversing river.

The other practiced some sort of extremely eerie sonic divine ability. With a single roar, countless invisible sound blades tore through the air, their sharpness unmatched.

Relying on the restriction deployed by their spirit stone, Jiang Xiu and Wei Qingran desperately blocked the attacks of these two cultivators.

However, the spiritual energy within the stone was ultimately limited. Under the relentless assault of the duo, cracks had already begun to spiderweb across the restriction. It wouldn’t last much longer.

’I’ve been cultivating for half a year. It seems these experts from the Great Xuanzhuo Realm have already begun attacking each other, destroying those numerous ferrying arrays to eliminate rivals vying for the Immortal Slough.’

Realizing this, Chen Lingxi’s eyes suddenly radiated murderous intent.

’This ferrying array is currently ferrying over my Great Divine Ability. If those Ehai cultivators destroy it, getting my hands on another Great Divine Ability will likely be harder than ascending to the heavens.’

’I have to intervene!’

Chen Lingxi immediately withdrew from Vision Roaming. Using his Method of Qi Observation, he looked toward Nanche Prefecture City.

’Wait... on a mountain outside Nanche Prefecture City, there are other experts lying in wait.’

Chen Lingxi gazed over, feeling that those auras were extremely obscured.

But a moment later, he let out a soft sound of surprise.

’Two of these auras... I’m actually quite familiar with them.’

Peering closely, he realized one of the auras belonged to none other than Lin Longyue!

Her aura was much stronger than before, with spiritual qi faintly circulating around her. Surprisingly, she had already reached the Qi Circulation Realm.

Although she was merely at a superficial Fifth Floor, she was no longer that mortal martial artist who could only barely protect herself relying on her Golden Body blood qi.

Chen Lingxi had seen the other aura in Emperor Daye’s Mirror Listening Treasure.

In the vision shown by the Mirror Listening, a fisherwoman had been sitting on a seaside reef, holding a half-woven fishing net. She looked like the most ordinary fisherwoman imaginable.

But suddenly, she had opened her eyes, which shone with a brilliant light, seemingly harboring an indescribable profound mechanism!

Later, as Chen Lingxi slaughtered numerous projected figures, he had tried to track down this fisherwoman, but found nothing.

’It’s a good thing I didn’t find her back then...’ he thought, taking a deep breath and secretly rejoicing.

Under his Method of Qi Observation, Chen Lingxi clearly perceived that this fisherwoman’s cultivation was intensely formidable—even more overwhelming than the imposing aura exuded by Daoist Shu Rong.

’Dao Origin...’

As his thoughts spun, Chen Lingxi looked up at the Celestial Ranking, his eyes finally landing on the figure currently ranked fourth: ”Yu Jiangwei of Zhuran Star.”

’That fisherwoman is undoubtedly Yu Jiangwei.’

She was hiding on that mountain without making a move, likely observing the situation and waiting to reap the spoils.

However...

He could not leave the Daoxia Academy to its fate.

Chen Lingxi immediately stood up and rode the clouds toward Nanche Prefecture City.

The Azure Cloud beneath his feet, laced with pale golden lightning, erupted with a boom. It transformed him into a resplendent pale golden rainbow, tearing through layers of clouds and mist as he shot rapidly toward the blazing city.

The heavenly winds howled past his ears, and the mountains, rivers, and landscape below blurred backward.

The silhouette of Nanche Prefecture City grew closer and closer. Even from afar, he could see the soaring pillar of fire and the thick, lingering smoke enveloping the sky above the city!

—

Meanwhile, atop a mountain peak outside the city!

On Southern Thicket Peak, four figures stood.

Before the four figures, a screen of spiritual qi floated in the air, reflecting the scene inside Nanche Prefecture City.

The city was already ablaze, flames surging violently as commoners fled in all directions.

Lin Suri sat cross-legged in front of the Great Ferrying Array, using his own Tenth Floor spiritual qi to stabilize the formation.

His eyes were tightly shut. Spiritual qi cascaded from his body like a tidal wave, pouring entirely into the grand array.

However, his face was pale, and a fine layer of cold sweat beaded on his forehead. Clearly, this level of consumption was extremely strenuous for him.

Jiang Xiu and Wei Qingran were using their combined-attack method to hold off the two cultivators from Ehai.

And Daoist Huotuo of Ehai was in the midst of dismantling a restriction.

”In recent years, with the Dao Teacher in seclusion, the Daoxia Academy has gradually weakened. This is especially true for the Pool Soul Courtyard, where fewer and fewer new experts have emerged,” a man with an azure mark on his forehead said softly.

Standing before the light screen, his gaze lingered on the blazing city for a moment before shifting to Lin Suri’s pale face, a trace of indifference flashing through his eyes.

”They’re relying entirely on the Chi Soul Master, Golden Palace True Person Jing Shijue, to forcibly prop them up. Aside from him, they only have three figures at Dao Foundation Perfection, and no other Golden Palace True Persons.” He shook his head.

Beside him, a woman surrounded by swirling mist nodded slowly.

The mist was a faint purple, draping around her like a thin veil and making her look like a fairy stepping out of a sea of fog.

She was incredibly beautiful, but the look in her eyes held none of a woman’s tenderness. Instead, it was the cold apathy of someone who had weathered countless slaughters.

”There are rumors that the Daoxia Academy has had its destiny locked away by a certain profound Cauldron Vessel, and that it is bound to continuously decline from here on out... I wonder if that’s true,” she said softly.

”If the Dao Teacher can form a Mystic Throne after going into seclusion, then nothing more needs to be said,” the man with the azure mark chimed in. ”But if the Dao Teacher fails, the Daoxia Academy will undoubtedly face a great calamity.”

Standing in front of this man and woman was another woman dressed entirely in black. Profound spiritual light radiated from her body like a gauze net, obscuring her face and figure.

She stood there on the mountain peak, gazing at Nanche Prefecture City from afar.

This person was none other than Yu Jiangwei from Zhuran Star!

The fourth-ranked figure on the Celestial Ranking.

And standing behind these three, Lin Longyue was frowning as she watched Lin Suri in the mirror.

She stood on the other side of the peak, the still-thin spiritual qi around her body swaying gently in the wind.

Her face was somewhat more haggard than it had been at Marquis Baosu’s Manor, but the lingering exhaustion between her brows had faded significantly. In its place was a resilience born from enduring hardships.

Lin Longyue stared at the mirror’s surface, already well aware that the Lin Suri in the reflection was no longer her elder brother.

Her thoughts churned as she raised her head to look at the Celestial Ranking in the sky.

Now that she possessed spiritual qi, and with the Celestial Ranking being a spiritual object, she could naturally see the names upon it.

Lin Longyue’s gaze swept over the Celestial Ranking before landing on the twenty-eighth position...

”General...”