After the Great Dao Died

The Absolute Perception Divine Chamber shattered inch by inch, like glazed glass falling to the ground.

Through the gaps of that shattering, the ancient gatha echoed in the depths of his consciousness.

”Steal the spiritual perception of heaven and earth, take the spiritual opportunity of past and present.”

”The treasure pagoda...”

Chen Lingxi abruptly opened his eyes.

The deep cave, the jagged stone walls, the whimpering night wind outside, and in the palm of his hand, the Three-Layer Glazed Treasure Pagoda still emitting a warm, gentle light.

Absolute Perception had shattered, but the treasure pagoda remained.

This was the profound mystery of the Absolute Perception Divine Ability’s ”Turning Illusion into Reality.”

Chen Lingxi let out a long breath of turbid air. The intense pain of having his ribs smashed by the giant whale skeleton still seemed to linger.

He looked down at his chest. His ribs were perfectly intact, and the protective lightning safely coiled around him.

”The bottom of the Northern Sea, the giant whale skeleton...”

He muttered to himself, a flash of relief in his eyes.

”Fortunately, I took a trip to the bottom of the Northern Sea while using Absolute Perception.” He still felt a lingering fear.

”Otherwise, if I had gone in the real world to retrieve that precious sword, I probably wouldn’t even know how I died.

”Even though I have now formed a Dao Platform, that giant whale’s strength was truly terrifying. I wonder if Zhao Duanxuan or Ying Xian... could survive such a blow?”

Chen Lingxi speculated inwardly.

”In life, this giant whale must have been a tyrant roaming the deep sea. Even reduced to dry bones, that sudden strike was enough to heavily injure me.

”It’s just... where did such a strange beast come from in this Qi-Depleted Grotto-Heaven?”

Alongside his guesses, Chen Lingxi felt grateful.

”The Absolute Perception investigation saved me from a fatal calamity... As for that precious sword, I’m afraid my current self still can’t retrieve it.”

He shook his head, suppressing the relief and lingering fear, and returned his gaze to the Three-Layer Glazed Treasure Pagoda resting in his palm.

”The most pressing matter is to refine this treasure pagoda as soon as possible.”

He had a premonition that the mighty power of this mysterious Spiritual Artifact from ancient times would far exceed his imagination.

If he could completely master it, his combat strength would undergo a qualitative leap.

Chen Lingxi delayed no further. He immediately sat cross-legged, holding the glazed treasure pagoda in front of his chest with both hands.

With a shift of his will, his towering Plundering Dragon Dao Platform began to slowly rotate.

Wisps of incredibly pure, bluish-green spiritual qi rose from the Dao Platform, traveling along his meridians to slowly flow into the treasure pagoda in his palms.

”Hum...”

The glazed treasure pagoda trembled slightly. The warm, jade-colored glow already covering it suddenly grew brighter, as if injected with new vitality.

Chen Lingxi’s divine sense and spiritual qi seeped into the layered formations like mercury spilling across the ground.

The formations inside this treasure pagoda were more complex than those in any magical artifact he had ever refined.

They possessed a grand, majestic air, yet were intricately profound.

”Truly a fine treasure.”

Chen Lingxi focused all his attention, carefully spreading his divine sense and spiritual qi along the network of the formations.

Time quietly slipped away amid this tedious yet focused refinement.

In the mountains there are no Jiazi markers; in the blink of an eye, over a month had passed.

On this day, Chen Lingxi, who had been sitting cross-legged like a stone carving all this time, finally opened his eyes.

The instant he did, the Three-Layer Glazed Treasure Pagoda in his palms suddenly burst with brilliant light!

A vast, ancient, and majestic aura awakened. Accompanied by the faint, pulsing hum of the Great Dao, it exploded outward, instantly filling the entire cave!

At this moment, a clear mental connection was finally established between him and this treasure pagoda.

”[Return to Void Sword Pagoda]...”

He softly recited the name of this Spiritual Artifact.

As if responding to his call, three streams of spiritual light soared from the Return to Void Sword Pagoda like rising suns, suddenly flaring up before manifesting into three layers of illusory shadows above the pagoda.

The first layer was a desolate Sword Tomb resembling an ancient battlefield;

The second layer was a sword-forging Sword Furnace burning with raging flames;

The third layer was a shadowy void that swallowed all light.

At the same time, information regarding the power of this Spiritual Artifact flooded into his Sea of Consciousness like a tide.

After a long while, Chen Lingxi let out a long breath of turbid air, uncontrollable joy flashing in his eyes.

”To think this pagoda is a purely offensive Spiritual Artifact!”

The Return to Void Sword Pagoda had three layers in total, each possessing a profound function.

The first layer was named [Sword Tomb].

It could store and devour ownerless or broken swords and sword intent, and a cultivator could also nourish it with their own sword qi.

The pagoda would automatically wear them down and dismantle them, extracting the purest ”True Intent of the Sword.”

The second layer was named [Sword Furnace].

Using the extracted ”True Intent of the Sword” as firewood, it condensed an ethereal sword shadow within the glazed pagoda.

The more swords tossed into it, and the stronger they were, the more solid and sharp that sword shadow would become!

And the third layer was named [Return to Void Sword Shadow].

When activated, the sword shadow nurtured within the pagoda could be unleashed to strike down enemies!

”Devour ten thousand swords, condense a sword shadow, and one sword breaks ten thousand dharmas!”

Brilliant light flickered in Chen Lingxi’s eyes.

”What a Return to Void Sword Pagoda! With this pagoda, it’s equivalent to gaining an offensive trump card that can continuously grow with almost no upper limit!”

He stood up abruptly. His aura, which had grown somewhat dormant from days of refining, once again became fierce and imposing.

His confidence surged right along with it.

”With this treasure pagoda’s help, coupled with my own Plundering Dragon Dao Platform cultivation,

”within this Weiji Grotto-Heaven, aside from those at the Dao Foundation realm, I’m afraid no one else is my match anymore.

”That holds true even for those pseudo-Dao Foundation figures who have cultivated a Great Divine Ability but haven’t thoroughly planted a Profound Root!”

Filled with soaring ambition, he was just contemplating whether to set off immediately and head to the Storm Immortal Pivot once more, using the Immortal Pivot’s power to accelerate the refinement of the Thunder Prison Spirit Branch.

However, the exact moment that thought arose, a sudden, indescribable palpitation abruptly gripped his heart!

”Hm?”

He frowned deeply, his eyes instantly turning sharp.

This feeling arrived without warning, yet it was so intense, as if in the unseen depths, a fatal sword was already hanging over his head, ready to slash down at any moment.

’Why this sudden warning sign?’ Chen Lingxi suppressed his unease, forcing himself to calm down.

Having cultivated to this day and gone through the tempering of life and death, he had always firmly believed in this spontaneous intuition of danger.

Frowning in thought for a moment, an idea suddenly struck him. With a flip of his hand, a quaint treasure mirror appeared in his grasp.

It was none other than the [Three Profounds Mirror].

On the Three Profounds Mirror, the black profound light representing Zhao Duanxuan was hovering steadily in the direction of the Heavenly Gate Sea, far away from him.

Meanwhile, the blazing white profound light representing Bai Lingze was flickering violently and moving at an extremely fast speed!

However, the direction of movement was not toward this barren mountain where he was currently hiding.

”He isn’t coming for me?” Chen Lingxi was taken aback.

Since neither of his two great enemies was targeting him, where was this intense, ominous premonition coming from?

He pondered for a moment, carefully studying the Three Profounds Mirror.

Then, he realized...

The white profound light symbolizing Bai Lingze was still moving rapidly.

”This...” Chen Lingxi’s brow furrowed deeper. He observed for a moment, and a ridiculous notion suddenly welled up in his mind: ’Looking at this trajectory, it seems to relate exactly to where I want to go?’

’It’s as if... Bai Lingze is heading toward a path I must take?’

This thought made his heart skip a beat.

He hurriedly put away the Three Profounds Mirror and shook his head slightly.

”I’m probably just overthinking it.

”It might just be a coincidence. Bai Lingze just happens to be making a move in the vicinity.”

Comforting himself in this manner, he took a deep breath, suppressed his unease, and prepared to soar on the clouds and head for the Storm Immortal Pivot.

However, the very next moment he activated the Cloud Soaring Technique, he abruptly stopped his movements.

His expression changed slightly, and he flipped his hand to take out the Three Profounds Mirror again, a trace of solemnity flashing in his eyes.

Because in that split second just now, he suddenly realized in shock...

”If I travel on the clouds right now, my route to the Storm Immortal Pivot seems to exactly intersect with the moving Bai Lingze for a segment of the journey!”

”Could it be... he really is coming for me?” Chen Lingxi’s mind trembled. ”How did Bai Lingze lock onto my position?”

His heart wavered with suspicion, and he considered the matter for a long time.

Ultimately, Chen Lingxi made a decision.

”I cannot take the risk.

”I’ll hold my position for now, lay low right here, and observe the situation.”

Bai Lingze’s cultivation was powerful. Although he had now formed a Dao Platform and possessed treasures and the Cauldron Vessel Fragment for protection, if he truly clashed head-on with such a noble cultivator harboring a Great Divine Ability, his chances of victory were likely slim. Fighting rashly would be extremely unwise.

Thoughts raced rapidly through Chen Lingxi’s mind. Finally, he slowly sat down cross-legged, withdrawing all his aura, and his entire person seemed to merge completely with the cave and the mountain rocks.

He decided to wait here for a few days and quietly watch how things developed.

Three days passed in a hurry.

Over these three days, Chen Lingxi sat perfectly still like an old monk in deep meditation, only taking out the Three Profounds Mirror to observe once every few hours.

That blazing white profound light symbolizing Bai Lingze, after its initial high-speed movement, truly ended up exactly as he had expected. It ultimately stopped at a certain location and made no further movements.

Chen Lingxi shockingly discovered that this location was exactly the inevitable path he must take to reach the Storm Immortal Pivot.

’That was close!’ Chen Lingxi inwardly gasped.

”If I didn’t have this Three Profounds Mirror and had ridden the clouds toward the Immortal Pivot according to my original plan, I would have definitely passed through Bai Lingze’s current position and bumped right into him!”

He was almost certain that Bai Lingze had used some profound method—perhaps a Great Divine Ability or a special Spiritual Artifact—to roughly circle his area of movement without being able to pinpoint his exact location.

Therefore, the man had simply guarded that critical pass, like a spider weaving its web, waiting for him, the prey, to deliver himself to the door!

”Such a strange method must be either a Great Divine Ability or some kind of Cauldron Vessel Fragment!”

”To kill me, this Bai Lingze first used the Great Divine Ability Profound Blessing Burial, and now he makes these calculations... He’s truly gone to great lengths.”

”What an honor for me.”

Chen Lingxi grew a bit more wary of the methods of that Yutai Bai Family disciple.

He looked down at the Three Profounds Mirror in his hand.

Without this mirror, he would likely have been doomed this time.

”Since you’re weaving a web here, I’ll just go around you,” Chen Lingxi sneered, having made his decision.

This Weiji Grotto-Heaven was boundless and vast. He didn’t believe that by bypassing this one pass, he couldn’t reach the Storm Immortal Pivot.

Waiting another day to confirm that Bai Lingze’s profound light was still in its original spot without the slightest sign of movement, Chen Lingxi hesitated no further.

He quietly stood up, silently leaving the barren mountain he had hidden in for so long, and chose an extremely remote path that detoured for a full several thousand li.

With the Hidden Edge Method circulating, locking all his aura firmly inside his body, his entire person became like a faint glimmer, silently blending into the churning sea of clouds as he set out toward the Storm Immortal Pivot once more.

With this detour, the journey was lengthened by far more than a thousand li.

Neither rushing nor dawdling, Chen Lingxi concealed his aura and focused his mind. Along the way, he passed many great rivers and streams, and crossed several rolling, desolate mountain ranges.

On this day, halfway through his journey, a stretch of low hills shrouded in mist and clouds appeared ahead.

As usual, he swept the area with his divine sense and scrutinized it with the Method of Qi Observation, yet he didn’t discover any anomalies. He was just about to ride his cloud through it.

Suddenly, his gaze slightly narrowed.

He saw that on a distant hill, standing proudly atop a jutting, jagged mountain rock, was actually a person.

The man wore spotless cyan robes, his figure standing tall and straight as a pine.

On his forehead surprisingly grew a pair of branching antlers like coral, emitting a faint luster in the mist, adding a touch of something demonic and ancient to his presence.

At his waist, much like a mortal swordsman, hung an antique longsword.

He had originally been sitting cross-legged in the void, his eyes tightly shut.

His aura was completely withdrawn, flawlessly merged with that rock, with these hills, and with the surrounding heaven and earth.

To the point that Chen Lingxi’s previous divine sense probe had failed to detect his existence at all.

Only when Chen Lingxi rode the clouds over and stepped within several dozen li of him did he abruptly open his eyes.

The instant he opened his eyes, a terrifying imposing aura, heavy as towering mountains, suddenly erupted from his body!

Streaks of Dao Origin aura shot into the sky.

Under this single glance, the clouds and mist within a radius of dozens of li violently shattered and scattered!

”Dao Foundation!” Chen Lingxi’s pupils shrank.

He clearly sensed that the deep, vast, and terrifying power circulating around this man—a power on a completely higher level than his own spiritual qi—was exactly Dao Origin!

This was a genuine Early Dao Foundation cultivator!

Right at this moment, the Three Profounds Mirror inside his Vast Void Pouch also transmitted a violent tremor.

Chen Lingxi sent a wisp of divine sense into the mirror, and his heart immediately sank.

On the mirror’s surface, the blazing white profound light symbolizing Bai Lingze actually moved at this very second, speeding toward his current location at an unbelievable velocity!

’This person... is connected to Bai Lingze,’ Chen Lingxi’s thoughts spun rapidly in his mind.

And at this moment, a smile full of interest appeared on the pale, demonic face of the cyan-robed, antlered man atop the mountain rock.

With a calm gaze and a smile playing on his lips, he looked across the vast distance, his gaze landing on Chen Lingxi as if it were something tangible.

”Are you that Chen Lingxi?” His tone carried a hint of curiosity.

Right after, he shook his head slightly, a flash of undisguised disappointment and contempt passing through his eyes, as if sighing over something rather dull.

”A mere Dao Platform figure who hasn’t even condensed a Profound Root is actually worth Bai Lingze going to such lengths? Truly...”

Before he could finish, Chen Lingxi asked in a deep voice, ”Who are you, Daoist Friend? Why are you blocking my path here?”

The man lifted his head, his smile undiminished. He spoke leisurely, stating his origin.

”I am Liu Chengfeng of the Dragon-Revering Sect.

”Having received a few benefits from Bai Lingze, I came here merely to trap you for a while.”