After the Great Dao Died

The Method of Qi Observation circulated endlessly in Chen Lingxi’s eyes.

He looked down at the vast sea, taking in the scattered archipelago of volcanoes and the invisible array patterns converging from all directions to sink into the deepest crater.

He took a deep breath, his emotions surging like the tide.

’Emperor Daye, Ying Xian...’ he thought. ’The sheer scale of his work is truly astonishing.’

To use a volcano as an array core and the rivers and mountains of an entire grotto-heaven as its meridians to lay down this colossal formation...

The complexity of the array and the sheer volume of spiritual energy it plundered far exceeded his imagination.

He had seen his share of formations while cultivating in the Weiji Grotto-Heaven. He had witnessed the Great Ferrying Arrays that projected experts used to connect to the Great Xuanzhuo Realm, and he had seen the killing arrays laid down by Xi Ming.

But compared to this colossal array—with a volcano as its core and the rivers and mountains as its network—those were like fireflies compared to the bright moon.

’No wonder Emperor Daye could cultivate to the Dao Foundation Middle Stage as a native mortal in this Qi-Depleted Grotto-Heaven...’

’With an earth-shattering array like this to rely on, plus the Immortal Slough and that Cauldron Vessel... how could he not be tyrannical?’

’I suspect even the experts of the many profound sects in the Great Xuanzhuo Realm would be hard-pressed to match this kind of foundation.’

He shook his head, pushing down these chaotic thoughts. With a blur of motion, he descended toward the crater again.

He passed through the billowing smoke and searing magma.

The deep, heavy thud of a heartbeat grew clear again, vibrating so fiercely that the entire volcano shook.

Chen Lingxi landed on a protruding ledge. His gaze crossed the churning magma and locked onto Xiao Changlv in the center.

Xiao Changlv still sat cross-legged in the magma, his eyes shut and his expression serene.

The pale golden halo surrounding him had grown a fraction thicker since Chen Lingxi left moments ago.

It draped over him like a tangible garment of golden gauze, keeping the scorching magma entirely at bay.

Beneath him, the array pattern continued its slow rotation.

With every rotation, a majestic wave of spiritual energy was plundered from the volcano’s array core and funneled into his body.

’This Xiao Changlv... Emperor Daye’s clone. Just how powerful is he now?’ Chen Lingxi wondered.

This was the space of Absolute Perception, so Chen Lingxi had no reservations. He reached out and slowly channeled a wisp of spiritual qi into the churning magma.

The spiritual qi silently probed into the depths, spreading toward the array core beneath Xiao Changlv.

Following that wisp, his divine sense attempted to investigate what was hidden inside the core.

But the moment his spiritual qi came within three feet of the array core, a formless barrier blocked its path.

The barrier was incredibly profound. It was neither condensed from Dao Origin nor formed from spiritual qi, but consisted of an older, far more obscure power.

It felt as if an invisible Great Sage were coiled inside the array core, refusing the gaze of any outsider.

’It seems my Dao Platform cultivation alone isn’t enough to see through the secrets of this array core...’

Chen Lingxi withdrew the wisp of spiritual qi, but he did not leave.

A thoughtful gleam flashed through his eyes. After a moment, he suddenly looked up, his gaze fixing on Xiao Changlv.

’Emperor Daye should be healing in the Great Zhou Imperial Palace right now, with no time to worry about this place.’

’Xiao Changlv hasn’t awakened yet, and although the array core’s defensive restrictions are strong, they aren’t constantly active.’

’It would be a pity to let such an excellent opportunity slip by.’

He hesitated no longer. He lightly flipped his right hand, turning his palm toward the heavens.

’A place this profound, a location this mysterious—who knows if it holds the essence of heaven and earth or the providence of good fortune!’

Even as he thought this, the Plundering Dragon Dao Platform inside his body slowly began to glow.

The profound patterns across the Dao Platform lit up, and the mysterious aura coiled at its center blossomed.

With that blooming aura, a terrifying suction force surged from the Dao Platform, madly grabbing at the churning magma.

Chen Lingxi’s eyes lit up.

’Just as I thought!’

He continued channeling the Dragon-Stripping Dao-Transforming One Qi True Incantation!

The Plundering Dragon Dao Platform!

Plundering the essence of heaven and earth, seizing the providence of good fortune!

Chen Lingxi intended to use the Plundering Dragon Dao Platform to forcibly extract the spiritual energy from the volcano.

The Dao Platform spun, its suction force like a tidal wave.

Under this immense pull, the boiling magma began to tremble violently.

The spiritual energy within this profound volcano was forcibly ripped out by the Plundering Dragon Dao Platform. It transformed into streaks of pale golden cyclones that converged madly toward his palm, like all rivers running into the sea.

This spiritual energy was majestic and scorching to the extreme. It was as if countless fire dragons were roaring out from the depths of the magma, surging into his body along the Dao Platform’s pull.

The pale golden arcs of lightning dancing around Chen Lingxi flared, intertwining the scorching influx of spiritual energy with his own power of thunder.

He felt his Qi Sea churning violently under the impact of this majestic energy, while the Plundering Dragon Dao Platform spun like mad.

To his surprise, while this spiritual energy was incomparably vast and searing, it did not seem to align with his Dao.

’This power... isn’t spiritual qi,’ Chen Lingxi thought, furrowing his brows.

He could clearly sense that the energy plundered from the array core was entirely different from any spiritual qi he had ever encountered.

It was a much older, much purer force.

’And it’s not Dao Origin, either...’

Chen Lingxi carefully analyzed this mysterious power. He realized that once the aura entered his body, it began to circulate on its own.

Wherever it passed, it caused his essence to boil and his spiritual qi to surge, leaving even his vital blood roiling from the heat.

Yet, it did not fuse with his spiritual qi, nor did it harmonize with his thunder dao charm.

It acted like an untamed stallion rampaging recklessly through his body, leaving him momentarily at a loss for how to harness it.

’Such profound spiritual energy... and I actually can’t use it.’

’A providential aura like this is like a mountain of treasure sitting right in front of me, yet I have no choice but to return empty-handed.’

Chen Lingxi shook his head. He was just about to stop the Plundering Dragon Dao Platform and expel the untamed energy from his body.

Right at that moment, the volcanic energy extracted by the Dragon-Stripping Dao-Transforming One Qi True Incantation seemed to reach a threshold, and the profound energy within the Dao Platform flooded into Chen Lingxi’s Sea of Consciousness.

Chen Lingxi’s expression turned solemn as something inconceivable happened.

He felt a wisp of divine sense in the very center of his Sea of Consciousness abruptly surge upward!

In a split second, it pierced right through the mountain, broke through the roiling sea of clouds, and shattered every obstacle in the grotto-heaven to ascend straight to the highest peak of the Weiji Grotto-Heaven.

Streams of information immediately poured into his mind.

This knowledge unfolded like a massive scroll unrolling inside his mind, painting the mountains, rivers, cities, villages, seas of clouds, and vast oceans of the Weiji Grotto-Heaven.

But the scroll was not static; it unfurled slowly before his eyes like a living creature.

Chen Lingxi’s pupils shrank, and he drew a sharp breath.

’This...’

After cultivating in the Weiji Grotto-Heaven for seven or eight years, Chen Lingxi could be considered experienced and knowledgeable.

He had seen many Cauldron Vessels, witnessed a Great Sage’s inheritance, and beheld the Great Divine Abilities of countless experts.

Yet the sight unfolding before his eyes still left his emotions surging!

In this moment, Chen Lingxi felt as though he had become the god of the Weiji Grotto-Heaven, looking down upon its many buried secrets!

He saw numerous providential opportunities scattered throughout the realm, and he saw a myriad of treasures.

These treasures radiated spiritual light, embedded in that massive scroll like stars in the sky.

He saw several ancient formations hidden in thick fog, seemingly covered in dust and showing nothing out of the ordinary.

He saw ruined walls hidden in the clouds above, where the bleak heavenly winds blew the dust away from the rubble.

He even saw three other distinct locations.

A tranquil lake, dyed a deep blue and surrounded by blooming flowers. It showed not the slightest hint of danger, instead radiating a soothing serenity.

A fog-wreathed mountain. Its peak was not tall, but it was incredibly unique; everything above its midpoint was perpetually shrouded in thick spiritual mist. As the mist roiled, a hidden rhythm seemed to flow within it.

And an extremely concealed storm high in the heavens.

Gale winds howled within that storm, torrential rains swept through, and countless streaks of thunder flashed. Lightning danced madly within the tempest like silver snakes.

Just by catching a glimpse of it through the divine sense scroll, Chen Lingxi could feel the terrifying might contained within that storm.

’Just how many secrets are hidden in this Weiji Grotto-Heaven?’

’A figure like the Que Star Xi Family’s Golden Core True Monarch—could he really have tried to refine this grotto-heaven without knowing about the secrets hidden inside?’

Chen Lingxi took a deep breath.

After experiencing Absolute Perception a few times, he already knew that the Weiji Grotto-Heaven held many secrets, and that it was not nearly as simple as it appeared.

But actually seeing the volcano, the storm high in the heavens, the tranquil lake, and the fog-wreathed mountain with his own eyes still left his mind reeling.

As he gazed at these profound locations, remnant fragments of information trickled into his mind like a babbling stream.

There was not much information, but it was enough to tell Chen Lingxi what these profound locations were called.

’These four locations aren’t ordinary places; they are the grotto-heaven’s Four Great Immortal Pivots.’

’A grotto-heaven’s Immortal Pivot is the central hub where its spiritual energy flows. Just like the Qi Sea and dantian within a human body, they are the source of the grotto-heaven’s life.’

Chen Lingxi’s eyes flickered.

He had a premonition that not every grotto-heaven possessed Immortal Pivots like these.

’Furthermore, the Immortal Pivots themselves are providential opportunities...’

’Emperor Daye occupied the volcano, and here in the Volcano Immortal Pivot, he is using his Dao Foundation avatar as nourishment to feed Xiao Changlv’s clone.’

Chen Lingxi’s gaze fell upon Xiao Changlv.

Xiao Changlv’s aura was withdrawn to the absolute limit, yet with every breath he took, wisps of energy still leaked out. The energy was so unbearably hot that he seemed like a living furnace.

’Xiao Changlv’s current combat strength cannot be underestimated. He likely possesses Dao Foundation battle power as well.’

’Emperor Daye is already incredibly tyrannical. With this Xiao Changlv in the mix, I doubt even Zhao Duanxuan could beat him.’

Chen Lingxi pondered this, and then his eyes shifted.

’But I wonder... what could be hiding inside the high-altitude storm, the tranquil lake, and that fog-wreathed mountain?’

Full of doubt, Chen Lingxi stared at the four Immortal Pivots radiating different lights on the divine sense scroll.

’That fog-wreathed mountain is the Ancestral Mountain. So the Ancestral Mountain was an Immortal Pivot all along.’

Chen Lingxi memorized the coordinates of the Four Great Immortal Pivots, but halfway through, he let out a soft sound of surprise.

’This is a little strange.’

He was surprised to discover that whether it was the volcano, the lake, the storm, or the Ancestral Mountain, they all emitted a unique, ineffable rhythm.

It was like the drawing of breath, the beating of a heart, or the coursing of blood. Everything was perfectly in sync, overflowing with the charm of the Great Dao.

Then, to his utter astonishment, Chen Lingxi realized that this Weiji Grotto-Heaven... seemed to be alive.

’A living grotto-heaven?’

Chen Lingxi found his own thought rather bizarre.

He fell silent for a long time, his gaze darting back and forth between the four Immortal Pivots.

After a long while, he pulled his gaze back, and a smile finally graced the corners of his lips.

No matter what it was, it was a providential opportunity.

’It brings me one step closer to the secrets buried inside this Weiji Grotto-Heaven.’

Amid his thoughts, Chen Lingxi remembered how Emperor Daye, Ying Xian, was relying on this Volcano Immortal Pivot, placing Xiao Changlv’s clone inside and feeding it day and night with his Dao Foundation avatar.

The scale of such a move, the depth of such a scheme, was truly beyond the reach of ordinary men.

’The Volcano Immortal Pivot has already been claimed by Emperor Daye, and he possesses some unique power that allows him to refine the profound energy inside it.’

’He uses it to nurture Xiao Changlv, while I... lack the method.’

A gleam flashed through his eyes.

’But the volcano isn’t the only Immortal Pivot in this grotto-heaven.’

The high-altitude storm, the tranquil lake, and the fog-wreathed Ancestral Mountain were equally part of the grotto-heaven’s Immortal Pivots.

Emperor Daye might have claimed the volcano, but he did not necessarily know the wondrous uses of the other three Immortal Pivots.

And through sheer coincidence, Chen Lingxi had glimpsed the entirety of these four Immortal Pivots. This was his opportunity.

Anticipation welled up in Chen Lingxi’s heart.

He exited the Volcano Immortal Pivot and arrived above the clouds, intending to rely on the Dragon-Stripping Dao-Transforming One Qi True Incantation to explore the other Immortal Pivots.

With a plan in mind and his Absolute Perception still active, Chen Lingxi did not hesitate. He soared into the sky, his body turning into a streak of pale golden light that shot straight into the dense clouds and mist...

After a long time, following his memory, Chen Lingxi crossed the vast sea and the layered clouds, finally arriving at the storm.