After the Great Dao Died

Yu Jiangwei stood suspended in the void. The Dao Origin fluctuations around her acted as a mystic wall, violently forcing back the clouds and mist within a hundred zhang.

She tilted her head slightly. No emotion was visible in her mist-obscured eyes.

And in the distance!

Deep within that vortex!

That massive hand flicked its finger, just as she had!

Blazing radiance shot from the fingertip, condensing into a blinding mystic light. Like divine retribution, it tore through the clouds and the void, carrying terrifying might as it crashed toward the Great Pavilion Ferrying Array!

Chen Lingxi felt his entire body suddenly grow heavy, as if a mountain had plummeted from the sky to press down upon his shoulders!

Under the impact of this oppressive might, the spiritual qi within his body felt as if it had been sealed in ice!

Around the pavilion, the Starlight Restriction that was already tottering under Daoist Huotuo’s fierce assaults trembled violently beneath this pressure.

Jiang Xiu and Wei Qingran both let out a muffled groan, fresh blood trickling from the corners of their mouths.

The profound spiritual stone suspended above their heads grew incomparably dim, looking as if it might shatter at any moment.

They pushed their remaining spiritual qi to the absolute limit to desperately maintain the restriction. Yet the pressure descending from above only grew heavier, threatening to grind them and the Great Ferrying Array into fine dust!

Chen Lingxi raised his head, staring at the terrifying mystic light crashing down from above.

”It seems seeking Emperor Daye’s protection is the only way to survive.”

His right hand already gripped the Golden Finger Bone. With just a light squeeze, the bone would shatter, and Emperor Daye’s spell would violently erupt.

Right at this moment...

In the distant horizon, exactly where the mystic light had originated, seven points of starlight suddenly flared to life!

Seven dazzling streams of starlight poured down from the firmament like seven inverted starry rivers!

Wherever the starlight passed, Dao Origin flowed like a mighty river!

Chen Lingxi instantly understood.

”Daoist Shu Rong!”

The seven streams of starlight interwove in the void, transforming into a massive starlight sword array in the blink of an eye!

Within it hung seven radiant starlight swords.

”Edict!” a clear shout rang out!

The seven longswords flipped simultaneously, their tips pointing to the sky. Seven streams of starlight erupted from the blades!

Like rushing rivers of stars, they crashed head-on into the descending mystic light!

It was none other than Daoist Shu Rong’s Great Divine Ability, [Star-Illuminating Palace]!

Rumble!!!

A heaven-shaking, earth-shattering boom exploded in that instant.

Then, terrifying Dao Origin might violently expanded, sending ripples through the void!

The entire Nanche Prefecture City trembled violently within these ripples!

Right in the center of the collision, the Big Dipper sword array and Yu Jiangwei’s mystic light were still locked in a fierce struggle!

This stalemate lasted for a few breaths of time.

Finally, the beam of light was completely worn away by the Big Dipper sword array!

Jiang Xiu and Wei Qingran, who had been bitterly holding on, felt a surge of joyful surprise.

Lin Suri also stood up, a smile appearing on his face.

They looked up.

In the void that had been obscured by fire and smoke, a crimson figure arrived, treading on the clouds.

The auspicious crimson clouds carried her descending figure, hovering above the ruined pavilion.

The deep, majestic Dao Origin fluctuations around her surged like the roaring tide of a great river.

This person was exactly Daoist Shu Rong, Chi Jianshu!

But before Lin Suri and the others could rejoice for long...

A sudden change occurred.

In the void behind Daoist Shu Rong, a bizarre phantom suddenly began to churn.

The phantom instantly condensed.

Then, an indescribable oppressive might emanated from the phantom!

Daoist Shu Rong’s pupils shrank slightly.

She abruptly turned around, only to see the churning phantom condense into the projection of a great river, mere dozens of zhang behind her.

The great river phantom stretched across the sky, fully several hundred zhang long. The river’s surface was incomparably wide, its waters a deep black, kicking up monstrous waves as they churned.

These giant waves were formed from Calamity Sea Dao Origin condensed to the absolute limit, holding enough terrifying force to topple mountains and uproot peaks.

Even more bizarrely, countless twisted human faces faintly bobbed up and down within the river.

These faces were male and female, old and young. All of them sported ferocious expressions, their mouths wide open in silent roars as if they were enduring some indescribable agony.

Right in the center of the great river phantom, amid the churning waters, a human figure drifted in and out of view.

The figure had a slender build and sat cross-legged on a Black Lotus Platform in the middle of the river.

He wore an ink-black Daoist robe embroidered with incredibly intricate water patterns in dark gold thread. The water patterns flowed across the fabric as if they were alive.

His facial features were utterly ordinary, neither handsome nor ugly, and his left hand held a whisk.

With this person’s appearance, the great river phantom seemed to gain a soul, churning even more violently.

The river waters roared, its waves soaring to the heavens!

On the mountain peak, the male cultivator with the deep blue imprint on his forehead standing behind Yu Jiangwei stared at the figure sitting on the lotus platform in the river and murmured his identity.

”A Calamity Sea powerhouse... Luan Shu?”

As soon as these words were spoken, the woman beside him, wreathed in pale purple mist, also experienced a slight change in expression.

”To think that the one fighting Daoist Shu Rong is actually him.”

Only Yu Jiangwei reacted differently. This powerhouse of Zhuran Star remained hidden within the mist, her face showing hardly any emotional ripples.

Meanwhile, in the sky above the ruined pavilion, Daoist Shu Rong, Chi Jianshu, wore a heavy expression.

She looked at the great river phantom stretching across the sky, then at the black-clothed woman shrouded in mist on the mountain peak. An incredibly solemn light flashed through her eyes.

’This situation has become rather troublesome...’

She pondered, then turned around to face the great river phantom spanning the sky.

Her crimson robes snapped wildly in the wind, starlight flowing ceaselessly around her. Looking up at Luan Shu sitting cross-legged on the lotus platform, she suddenly spoke.

Her voice acted like a tidal wave, surging toward the great river and resounding through the void.

”Yu Jiangwei is a true heaven-chosen talent of Zhuran Star. She possesses an affinity for the Golden Portal and wields the Cauldron Vessel Dao-Achieving Bamboo. Her foundation is incomparably profound.

”Now that she has appeared today, if we do not join forces and choose to fight her alone instead, I fear we will absolutely not be her match.”

The great river phantom churned slightly.

Luan Shu sat cross-legged on the lotus platform, completely motionless.

Chi Jianshu continued, ”Why don’t we temporarily set aside our grudges with the Calamity Sea and join hands to erase this avatar of Yu Jiangwei? Only then will we have a better chance in the fight for the Immortal Slough!”

The great river phantom surged even more violently.

It carried an undisguised killing intent.

Then, the great river phantom suddenly stagnated.

And Luan Shu, sitting on the lotus platform, finally gave a slight nod!

Just moments ago, the two of them had been fighting to the death in the distant void, yet in the blink of an eye, they had decided to join forces.

A bright gleam flashed in Chi Jianshu’s eyes.

She hesitated no longer. The Big Dipper phantom above her head spun madly at this moment, pouring down seven streams of starlight!

She took a step forward, preparing to strike at Yu Jiangwei on the mountain peak!

Right at this moment!

In the distant sky, a ray of light suddenly flared up in the previously empty void.

Within the light, an altar could be faintly seen slowly rising.

The altar faded in and out of view. It was nine zhang tall and had a total of nine tiers.

Every tier of the altar was densely carved with bizarre runes.

On the very top tier of the altar sat an incense table. There was nothing else on the table, save for a Spiritual Tablet placed as an offering.

Written on that Spiritual Tablet in striking fresh blood were three large characters—Chi Jianshu!

Before the altar, an ash-robed Daoist sat cross-legged.

The Daoist appeared to be in his fifties, with a sallow complexion and a cold, stern expression.

The ash-robed Daoist revealed himself, then brought his palms together and bowed toward the altar in the void!

The exact moment he bowed, the dark red runes on the altar completely lit up!

An indescribable bizarre power emanated from the altar, transforming into an invisible ripple. It pierced through the void, the sky full of starlight, and the layers of Star Palace radiance around Daoist Shu Rong, falling directly into her Sea of Consciousness!

Daoist Shu Rong’s expression drastically changed.

”Zhuming Grotto-Heaven, Daoist Zhuxu.”

”Great Divine Ability, [Deity Reverence Altar]!”

When the Celestial Ranking was first established, she had once fought a battle against this Daoist Zhuxu.

Daoist Zhuxu had fled far away with injuries. From then on, he vanished without a trace, leaving no further news.

Yet to think that Daoist Zhuxu had lain dormant all this time, and at this critical juncture, while she was locked in a standoff with Yu Jiangwei and Luan Shu, he ruthlessly ambushed her!

The Deity Reverence Altar Great Divine Ability was a spiritual consciousness offensive technique operating under the chaotic laws of the Shangshe Ruanle Dao!

This technique required erecting an altar and bowing to the opponent.

With a single bow, a deity would descend into the opponent’s Sea of Consciousness to suppress their spiritual consciousness and devour their soul!

If one’s cultivation was lacking and their spiritual consciousness was not firm enough, the deity would steal their body, thoroughly turning them into a walking corpse.

Even if the target’s spiritual consciousness was as powerful as Daoist Shu Rong’s, her Sea of Consciousness would still fall into brief chaos, disrupting the flow of her spiritual sense. It was as if someone had violently struck a thousand-jin bronze bell right inside her skull, causing endless, uncontrollable ringing!

Sure enough!

The very instant Daoist Zhuxu’s bow landed, Daoist Shu Rong felt a violent tremor in her Sea of Consciousness.

An overwhelmingly massive, utterly bizarre force ruthlessly smashed into her Sea of Consciousness.

That force frantically churned, condensed, and transformed within her mind. In the blink of an eye, it morphed into the phantom of an unimaginably colossal deity!

The deity phantom was constructed entirely of mist, standing dozens of zhang tall, looking just like an ancient god stepping out of the primordial era.

Its facial features were blurry and indistinct, and its entire body emanated a nauseating aura of decay.

Upon appearing, it spread its churning, mist-formed arms and ruthlessly bore down on the highly condensed cluster of spiritual consciousness at the very center of Daoist Shu Rong’s Sea of Consciousness!

Under such Divine Might, even with the firmness of Daoist Shu Rong’s spiritual consciousness, she couldn’t help but feel a wave of dizziness!

However...

She was ultimately not an ordinary cultivator.

She was an elder of the Under-Dao Academy’s Pool Soul Courtyard, a figure who had achieved Dao Foundation Perfection and was only one step away from stepping into the Realm of the Golden Palace!

Even in such a desperate situation where she had been plotted against and her Sea of Consciousness was suppressed, she still reacted at the very first moment.

The cluster of spiritual consciousness within her mind abruptly lit up with blinding light.

Right in the center of that light, a blurry phantom could be faintly seen slowly condensing.

The phantom was extremely tall with broad shoulders and back, wearing a simple, archaic Daoist robe. Although its facial features were obscured, it naturally possessed a majestic aura capable of suppressing the ages and establishing universal order.

This aura was so intense that it faintly showed signs of overpowering the deity of the Deity Reverence Altar!

”Dao Teacher!”

Using her own spiritual consciousness as a guide, Daoist Shu Rong condensed the avatar phantom of the Under-Dao Academy’s Dao Teacher within her Sea of Consciousness.

Although it was just a blurry phantom, it bore the Dao rhythm and providence of the Under-Dao Academy’s eight thousand years of heritage!

The Dao Teacher phantom appeared, bringing forth profound might that surged toward the deity!

The deity manifested by the Great Divine Ability instantly trembled, its power shocking the entire Sea of Consciousness.

Even though Daoist Shu Rong’s Sea of Consciousness was incomparably firm, she could not avoid paying a heavy price in a spiritual clash of this caliber!

”Ugh!” Daoist Shu Rong let out a muffled groan, her avatar rippling.

In the exact same instant that Daoist Shu Rong fell into a momentary daze...

Luan Shu, the Calamity Sea Dao Foundation powerhouse who had just agreed to join forces with her, suddenly moved!

Sitting cross-legged on the Black Lotus Platform, he lightly flicked the whisk in his hand.

The great river phantom stretching across the sky beneath Luan Shu violently surged at this moment!

The waves on the river grew higher and higher, roaring as they crashed toward Daoist Shu Rong!

Before the Great River Divine Ability even reached her, that deep, dense Calamity Sea Dao Origin was already pressing down from all directions.

He actually intended to take advantage of the momentary daze caused by the Deity Reverence Altar’s deity to completely obliterate her Dao Foundation avatar right here and now!

At this moment, Daoist Shu Rong was beset from within and without. In her Sea of Consciousness, the Deity Reverence Altar’s deity summoned by Daoist Zhuxu’s bow was wreaking havoc; on the outside, there was the opportunistic strike from the Calamity Sea Dao Foundation powerhouse, Luan Shu. She was truly in imminent peril.

”Hmph!” Daoist Shu Rong coldly snorted.

She casually tossed something into the air!

A spiritual light rose into the sky—it was exactly the projection of the Spiritual Artifact Daoist Shu Rong had ferried over, the Big Dipper Jade Ruyi!

A blinding radiance abruptly erupted from the Big Dipper Jade Ruyi.

Rumble! Luan Shu’s Great River Divine Ability viciously slammed into the Big Dipper Jade Ruyi, its momentum finally stalling!

Using the Big Dipper Jade Ruyi, Daoist Shu Rong forcefully blocked Luan Shu’s fatal strike.

The Dao Teacher avatar and the Deity Reverence Altar’s deity were still clashing in her Sea of Consciousness, making the flow of her spiritual sense increasingly sluggish and causing the Dao Origin fluctuations around her to grow more chaotic by the second!

Above the ruined prefectural capital, the addition of the fourth Dao Foundation figure made the already tense situation even more complex and volatile.

”So many Dao Foundation powerhouses.”

Chen Lingxi, watching the battle, couldn’t help but take a deep breath, the Method of Qi Observation circulating in his eyes.

”Hmm?” Right at this moment, Chen Lingxi suddenly looked toward the distant mountain peak.

On the mountain peak, Yu Jiangwei suddenly revealed a smile on her mist-covered face.

Chen Lingxi clearly saw the Dao Origin fluctuations around Yu Jiangwei begin to slowly circulate in an incredibly profound rhythm at this moment.

Then...

Yu Jiangwei spread her arms wide.

The Dao Origin fluctuations around her, which had only been flowing slowly before, violently erupted in this instant!

An indescribably terrifying pressure blossomed from her body.

The intensity of this pressure caused the expressions of the other three Dao Foundation cultivators present to drastically change.

Even Luan Shu, who had remained calm and unhurried this whole time, couldn’t help but stand up from his lotus platform.

After the terrifying Dao Origin fluctuations around Yu Jiangwei spiked to the absolute limit, her figure actually began to blur.

Then, under the astonished gazes of the crowd, her figure began to split in two.

Dividing into two!

Two human figures slowly walked out from the rippling mist.

Chen Lingxi’s pupils shrank!

”What kind of divine ability is this?”

The two figures emerging from the mist possessed identical heights, identical black clothes, and identical mist obscuring their faces. Even the Dao Origin fluctuations radiating from them were exactly the same, without the slightest deviation!

Like reflections in a mirror or twin lotuses on a single stalk, it was fundamentally impossible to tell which was the true body and which was the avatar!

”Avatar divine abilities should logically have a disparity in strength—the true body strong and the avatar weak.

”But these two bodies are exactly identical. There’s no difference between them.”

”[Substitute Dao Body]!” Daoist Shu Rong, Chi Jianshu, forcibly endured the havoc wreaked by the Deity Reverence Altar’s deity in her Sea of Consciousness as she stared at the two identical figures, monstrous waves inevitably surging in her heart.

Daoist Zhuxu took a deep breath.

Luan Shu stared intently at Yu Jiangwei.

He could clearly sense that the Dao Origin fluctuations radiating from both figures were equally deep, equally majestic, without the slightest difference!

”The Dao Substitution Body Great Divine Ability! It is a supreme Constant Fusion Dao great ability, ranking above the twenty-four Great Daos!”

”Under the Dao Substitution Body Great Divine Ability, both are real, and both are fake.

”One must simultaneously kill both Dao bodies to truly kill this person...”

”Just when did Zhuran Star obtain such a profound Great Divine Ability?”