After the Great Dao Died

Chen Lingxi stood atop a high mountain peak. The surrounding fog surged like ocean waves, wrapping the near and distant mountains in a hazy gray chaos.

He pushed the Method of Qi Observation to its absolute limit in his eyes. Spiritual qi flowed from his qi sea, traveling upward along his meridians and pouring into his pupils. His gaze pierced through layer after layer of dense fog, looking toward the extremely distant Nanche Prefecture.

At that very moment, his pupils suddenly contracted.

An indescribably terrifying aura was surging into the sky from the direction of Nanche Prefecture.

This aura was majestic and domineering, rising high like a blazing sun, mixed with unimaginable fluctuations of Dao Origin.

Sensing this sun-like Dao Origin aura, Chen Lingxi felt his breath catch.

”This aura... it’s Emperor Daye,” Chen Lingxi muttered to himself.

He had secretly observed Emperor Daye, Ying Xian, countless times through Vision Roaming.

Ying Xian!

—The emperor who had cultivated to the Dao Foundation realm in this Qi-Depleted Grotto-Heaven with the body of a local mortal!

—That ruthless man who used the mountains and rivers as a formation, plundering the life essence of hundreds of millions of living beings for his own use!

”Compared to the last time I saw him in Vision Roaming, he has actually advanced again in such a short time!”

Chen Lingxi carefully scrutinized him with the Method of Qi Observation.

He could feel that Emperor Daye’s aura surging from Nanche Prefecture City today was deeper, vaster, and more... perfect than anything he had ever sensed in his previous Vision Roaming.

’He has stepped into the Dao Foundation middle stage,’ Chen Lingxi thought.

Right then, Lin Suri, who had also been gazing distantly at Nanche Prefecture, turned his head.

He looked toward Nanche Prefecture with the Method of Qi Observation, remaining silent for a moment before slowly speaking, ”This aura... is it that Emperor Daye?”

Chen Lingxi nodded, his gaze still resting on the distant sky that had already been dyed golden.

”The Dao Foundation middle stage,” Lin Suri said in a low voice, his tone taking on a heavy gravity. ”To think that someone could actually cultivate to the Dao Foundation middle stage in this Qi-Depleted Grotto-Heaven... Even in those Noble Sect Immortal Gates of the Great Xuanzhuo Realm, he would be called a breathtaking genius.”

Chen Lingxi did not reply.

He stared toward Nanche Prefecture, watching the increasingly blazing golden sky, before suddenly turning to look at Lin Suri. With a solemn expression, he said, ”I must ask you, Daoist Brother, to send a message to Senior Chi and tell her to retreat as soon as possible.”

Hearing this, Lin Suri flipped his palm and brought out a jade slip.

He poured spiritual qi into the jade slip, closed his eyes to focus his mind, and sent out a divine sense message.

—

High above Nanche Prefecture City!

A seven-colored rainbow streaked across from the edge of the horizon.

Wherever the rainbow light passed, the clouds and mist retreated on their own, revealing a straight and unimpeded path.

Above that rainbow, a war chariot could faintly be seen driving forward.

The entire chariot shone with resplendent golden light, pulled by the phantoms of nine flood dragons at its front.

Though they were merely phantoms, an imposing might descended from the sky.

The nine dragons flew in unison, pulling the golden chariot along the rainbow that crossed the vast sky, galloping madly toward Nanche Prefecture.

The chariot’s speed was incomprehensibly fast. One moment it was at the edge of the sky, and the next it had turned into a golden shooting star, trailing a long tail as it crashed straight into the void already enveloped by numerous Dao Origin auras!

At this moment, the battle between the several Dao Foundation figures was still ongoing.

Yu Jiangwei’s two Substitute Dao Bodies fought against three opponents without losing ground in the slightest.

The Substitute Dao Body on the left wielded a longsword of fog. Her sword momentum was incomparably fierce; every slash sent out a fog sword beam stretching for dozens of zhang across the sky. It chopped into the phantom river beneath Luan Shu, causing the waves to surge and Ehai Dao Origin to splash down like rain.

The Substitute Dao Body on the right used the surging fog around her as a shield, completely blocking the fierce attacks of Daoist Shu Rong’s Big Dipper Seven-Star Sword Array three zhang away.

Daoist Shu Rong, Chi Jianshu, had barely managed to recover from the impact of the deity of the Deity Reverence Altar.

Within her sea of consciousness, the phantom formed by her Dao Teacher aura had completely suppressed the deity of the Deity Reverence Altar, shattering it inch by inch.

Daoist Zhuxu sat cross-legged before the nine-tiered sacrificial altar, his expression as dark as still water.

The failure of his Deity Reverence Altar great divine ability had left him with deep wariness toward this Yu Jiangwei.

Dao Origin circulated around his body, morphing into all sorts of divine abilities and spell techniques that pressed down toward Yu Jiangwei.

As for Bai Lingze, who had not yet intervened in the struggle between the Dao Foundation experts, he had just broken free from the golden cage locking him down. His white clothes were slightly disheveled, and a rare gloom showed on his jade-like, handsome face.

He stood at the edge of the roiling fog. The sonic waves of the Hymn of the Divine Being rippled outward from him layer by layer, shattering any fog that tried to approach him.

Chen Lingxi had already retreated. Bai Lingze naturally knew what was most important; he turned to look at that Dao Foundation battlefield and was just about to strike...

This figure of unimaginably formidable combat strength suddenly changed his expression and looked up into the distance.

Suddenly, a rainbow lit up the distant horizon.

Nine dragons pulling a chariot, paving a road of rainbow light!

Atop the chariot, a figure slowly stood up!

Instantly, an abnormal fluctuation rippled through the void where countless divine abilities and spells had been blooming one after another.

Many streams of divine sense swept past, landing on the patch of void where the chariot arrived.

And then, these Dao Foundation experts all saw the figure standing upon the chariot!

It was a man in the prime of his life.

He wore a dark dragon robe. Embroidered on it in gold thread were nine five-clawed golden dragons, their heads held high and their eyes wide open, so lifelike they seemed real.

He stood atop the chariot with his hands clasped behind his back, his robes flapping wildly in the wind. The deep, vast fluctuations of Dao Origin surrounding him were like ocean waves and violent tornadoes, defying imagination.

He looked incredibly heroic and martial. His sword-like eyebrows extended to his temples, his eyes were like stars, his nose was high as a mountain peak, and his lips were sharply drawn as if cut by a knife. That sharply contoured face was like a divine statue carved from ten-thousand-year cold jade, naturally exuding a majestic aura that disdained the world and could suppress eternity!

But what made hearts palpitate the most was the sheer aura around him.

It was far too deep, far too vast, and far too domineering.

Even more bizarrely, with his descent, the spiritual qi of heaven and earth around Nanche Prefecture began to thicken at a terrifying speed.

That spiritual qi, originally so thin it could barely be sensed, surged madly from all directions as if answering some sort of summons.

In just a few short breaths, the concentration of spiritual qi around Nanche Prefecture City had skyrocketed several times over, and it was still continuously climbing at a visible rate.

It was as if the man on the chariot was the absolute master of this patch of heaven and earth.

With his descent, this world had to welcome him with its grandest ceremony!

At the same time, muffled peals of thunder began to echo from among the great mountains and rivers surrounding Nanche Prefecture.

That thunder did not come from the sky above, but welled up from the depths of those mountains, the sources of those rivers, and the crevices of those canyons.

It sounded like a thousand massive drums being beaten simultaneously deep underground. The muffled thunder gathered together, turning into an invisible sound wave that rolled out in all directions.

The thunder carried a certain indescribable momentum of the world. These great mountains and great rivers were humming in submission to his arrival!

High above the prefectural city, those Dao Foundation experts locked in fierce battle stopped their attacks at almost exactly the same moment.

Yu Jiangwei’s two Substitute Dao Bodies withdrew their swords and stood upright simultaneously, raising their heads to look at the golden chariot and the heroic man in the dark dragon robe standing upon it.

No expression could be seen on her fog-obscured face, but a flash of surprise crossed those deep eyes.

”Who is this man? Such terrifying Dao Origin fluctuations...” Daoist Zhuxu stood up from his altar and gazed into the distant void.

”Ranked fifth on the Celestial Ranking... Dao Foundation middle stage.”

”To think a figure like this could be born in this Qi-Depleted Grotto-Heaven.”

Luan Shu sat cross-legged on his black lotus platform, laying his horsetail whisk horizontally across his lap.

His ordinary face betrayed no emotion, yet his abyss-like eyes reflected the golden chariot and the figure in the dark dragon robe. A deep wariness flashed in the depths of his pupils.

Daoist Zhuxu was even more decisive.

The very instant the golden chariot appeared, he silently shifted his nine-tiered sacrificial altar backward by hundreds of zhang.

Sitting cross-legged before the altar, he wore a gloomy expression, the light in his eyes flickering uncertainly as he rapidly calculated the situation.

Bai Lingze stood at the edge of the billowing fog, staring at the golden chariot and the figure in the dark dragon robe. The gloomy look between his brows grew even heavier.

Daoist Shu Rong, Chi Jianshu, lifted her head and gazed toward the golden chariot.

She had once fought Emperor Daye and knew full well how terrifying this man was.

At that time, Emperor Daye had only been at the early Dao Foundation stage, yet he could fight her early Dao Foundation perfection avatar to a standstill, even faintly suppressing her.

Now that he had stepped into the Dao Foundation middle stage, his combat strength had likely skyrocketed to an utterly dreadful degree.

Right then, the jade slip at her waist suddenly lit up faintly, and a divine sense message dropped into her sea of consciousness.

It was Lin Suri’s voice.

”Martial Aunt, Daoist Brother Chen asked me to send a message to you. Please retreat as soon as possible, Martial Aunt.”

Daoist Shu Rong froze slightly before a flash of understanding passed through her eyes.

She raised her head, taking one last look at the golden chariot and the figure in the dark dragon robe upon it, and then... without a moment’s hesitation, she turned around.

With a sweep of her sleeve, the Big Dipper Seven-Star phantom above her head suddenly lit up. Seven streams of starlight poured down, transforming into a resplendent starlight rainbow beneath her feet that lifted her into the sky, carrying her rapidly away into the distance.

Chi Jianshu retreated with absolute decisiveness, not dragging her feet in the slightest.

The four others—Yu Jiangwei, Luan Shu, Daoist Zhuxu, and Bai Lingze—naturally noticed Daoist Shu Rong’s departure.

But right now, their attention was entirely captivated by the figure on the golden chariot. They had no time at all to bother with a retreating Chi Jianshu.

Emperor Daye, Ying Xian, stood with his hands behind his back atop the golden chariot. His gaze swept over the four Dao Foundation experts present, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

Utterly condescending!

It was like an emperor scrutinizing his ministers, or a deity looking down on the ants of the mortal realm.

”Quite lively,” he spoke softly. ”So many Dao Foundation avatars gathering here... We are quite surprised, and quite... satisfied.”

He paused, his gaze falling upon Yu Jiangwei and those two identical Substitute Dao Bodies. A spark of deep interest flashed in his eyes.

”Such a divine ability is truly inconceivable,” he slowly said, his tone carrying approval. ”The Great Xuanzhuo Realm indeed holds tens of thousands of fortuitous encounters!”

Yu Jiangwei’s two Substitute Dao Bodies raised their heads at the same time, meeting Emperor Daye’s gaze.

Right at this moment!

Bai Lingze stepped through the void and arrived, laughing softly. ”So what if he’s at the Dao Foundation middle stage? Fellow Daoists, we are all avatars from the Great Xuanzhuo Realm, projecting ourselves here for the sake of that Immortal Slough!

The grotto-heaven possesses a spirit. By not coming in our true bodies but projecting avatars, achieving early Dao Foundation perfection is already extremely difficult.

”Since this Ying Xian has Dao Foundation middle stage cultivation... I’m afraid we really won’t be able to obtain that Immortal Slough.”

Reaching this point, murderous intent surged in his eyes. ”Now that Daoist Shu Rong has retreated, even so, there are still four of us.

Fellow Daoist Yu of Zhuran Star’s Substitute Dao Body Great Divine Ability is incredibly formidable, and my Great Brilliance Jade Perfection Dao’s [Immortal Elucidation Dao] Great Divine Ability naturally has its own profound marvels.

”Since that is the case... why don’t we join forces? What is there to fear from a newly advanced Dao Foundation middle stage?”

Hearing this, Yu Jiangwei, Daoist Zhuxu, and Luan Shu didn’t even have time to respond.

They only saw Emperor Daye standing on the chariot, a smile curling the corner of his lips. He suddenly raised his hand...

And then, pressed down!

In an instant! The world changed color!

Within a radius of a hundred li, the spiritual qi of heaven and earth—which had already grown rich because of his arrival—acted as if it had received some irresistible summons, converging madly toward his palm.

The speed of the converging spiritual qi was too fast, so fast that it formed a giant, visible vortex in the void.

The vortex spun madly, completely devouring the surrounding clouds, moisture, fog, and even the smoke and dust rising from the ruins.

Immediately after, fog began to spread from the very center of the vortex.

The fog was grayish-white, identical in nature to the deep, vast Dao Origin emanating from Emperor Daye’s body.

Once the fog appeared, it expanded madly in all directions at a terrifying speed.

In just a few short breaths, the fog had enshrouded the area for a hundred li, wrapping the entire Nanche Prefecture City, along with the surrounding mountains and rivers, completely within it.

The fog looked ordinary, but the power contained within it made one shudder with cold.

It harbored an extremely bizarre power of decay—like the desolation that permeated the world in late autumn when all things withered, or the stench of rot that had settled in an ancient tomb for thousands of years.

It was none other than the [Heavenly Decline Law]!

Yu Jiangwei’s two Substitute Dao Bodies sensed that something was wrong the exact instant the fog spread over.

She slashed her fog longsword through the empty air in front of her, and a fog sword beam flew like a bolt of silk to chop at the encroaching grayish-white fog.

Wherever the sword beam passed, a rift was actually torn open in the grayish-white fog. However, the rift lasted for less than a breath before it was filled in again by more fog surging in from all sides.

Luan Shu’s reaction was equally fast.

He flicked the horsetail whisk in his hand through the void. The vast phantom river beneath him instantly roiled, turning into a thick water curtain that shielded him within.

But the moment the grayish-white fog touched the water curtain, a bizarre scene occurred.

The water curtain began to turn murky and dim at a visible rate, and then began evaporating inch by inch.

Under the erosion of this fog, the originally hyper-condensed Ehai Dao Origin became incredibly fragile. In just a few breaths, the water curtain protecting Luan Shu was riddled with holes, looking as if it would completely collapse at any second.

Daoist Zhuxu activated the nine-tiered sacrificial altar. The dark red runes on the altar lit up simultaneously, deploying a blood-colored defensive ward around his body.

But the moment the grayish-white fog touched the ward, the runes upon it began to disintegrate in an eerie fashion.

The dark red runes that had originally circulated endlessly peeled right off the ward, dissipating into the fog one after another.

Bai Lingze pushed the sonic waves of the Hymn of the Divine Being around him to their absolute limit.

The golden sonic waves acted like tangible ripples, spreading outward in all directions with him at the center, shattering all the grayish-white fog trying to approach him.

Yet, to his shock, the shattered fog didn’t simply vanish. Instead, after retreating several zhang, it condensed once more, pouncing at him with even greater ferocity.

Furthermore, every time the fog collided with the sonic waves around him, the spiritual qi contained within the sound would melt away silently by a fraction, as if it had been devoured by the fog.

”The Heavenly Decline Law... is actually this terrifying?” Bai Lingze frowned.

Right at this moment, Emperor Daye slowly stepped down from the golden chariot.

He walked right into the grayish-white fog that permeated for a hundred li!

Strolling as leisurely as if in a quiet courtyard, he walked right into the encirclement of the four Dao Foundation cultivators. The deep, vast fluctuations of Dao Origin around him pressed out in all directions like an invisible mountain.

”You came from the Great Xuanzhuo Realm, thinking this Weiji Grotto-Heaven was nothing but an abandoned wasteland with depleted spiritual opportunity. You thought the living beings of this world were merely ants left for you to slaughter.”

He spoke slowly, his voice echoing. ”But it never occurred to you that not only are there ants in this grotto-heaven, but there are also... true dragons like Us!”