After the Great Dao Died

In the void, Yu Jiangwei opened her eyes. Behind her, two disciples of Zhuran Star and Lin Longyue, who was cultivating beside her, did the same.

The peak radiance of the Immortal Slough’s aura reflected in her abyssal eyes, and a hint of surprise flashed in their depths.

In another expanse of ice and snow, a rooster stood proudly atop the clouds. Its comb like fire, it opened its eyes and suddenly crowed.

The crowing pierced the sea of clouds and echoed across the sky!

Above the Heavenly Gate Sea, Zhao Duanxuan opened his eyes, his aura radiating terror.

His majestic, hellish gaze pierced through layers of the void, landing in the direction of the Ancestral Mountain.

Immortals whispered in Bai Lingze’s ears.

The Hymn of the Divine Being abruptly rose in pitch, as if thousands of deities were chanting in unison.

Sword qi surged around Liu Chengfeng.

Countless fierce streams of sword qi suddenly swirled around the Dragon-Revering Sect’s Dao Foundation avatar, pulsing with a chilling, heart-palpitating light.

Daoist Shu Rong parted the clouds and mist in the void.

The phantom image of the Big Dipper suddenly lit up around her. Seven streams of starlight poured down, circling her in a continuous hover.

All these many experts fixed their gazes on the Ancestral Mountain.

Their divine senses shot toward the Ancestral Mountain like invisible arrows, saturated with undisguised covetousness and greed.

Chen Lingxi stood at the peak of the mountain, sensing the overwhelming waves of divine sense.

At the same time, the clouds of blood and qi surrounding Emperor Daye quietly arrived to envelop Chen Lingxi.

They perfectly concealed his tracks, without revealing a single trace.

Chen Lingxi, however, was still marveling at Emperor Daye’s methods.

Among those descending divine senses were terrifying Dao Foundation Middle Stage existences like Zhao Duanxuan, noble cultivators with profound foundations like Bai Lingze, and peerless geniuses like Yu Jiangwei, who could fight three opponents at once without losing ground.

Any single one of them was an expert capable of stirring the winds and clouds.

Yet now, Emperor Daye had lured them all here at exactly the same time.

’Is Emperor Daye’s courage... truly this grand?’ Chen Lingxi asked himself.

Xiao Changlv—or rather, Emperor Daye—still maintained that unhurried demeanor.

He stood on the mountain peak with his hands clasped behind his back. The oceanic blood and qi that had previously surrounded him was now entirely restrained within his body.

He slowly turned around, his eyes burning with golden flames as they landed on Chen Lingxi.

”Since I promised to protect your dao and help you step into the Dao Foundation Realm, I naturally won’t go back on my word.”

”I will hold off these Dao Foundation figures.”

He paused, two piercing rays of golden light suddenly flaring in his eyes.

The golden light pierced through the layers of clouds and the vast distance of the world, landing squarely on the distant horizon.

”And you...” Xiao Changlv suddenly flicked his finger.

A sliver of divine sense shot from his fingertip, landing on Chen Lingxi’s glabella like an invisible thread.

Chen Lingxi felt his Sea of Consciousness tremble violently as an incredibly detailed map unfolded in his mind.

The map marked an ice plain in the extreme north. Deep within the ice plain, a faint undulation of spiritual qi slowly circulated.

He instantly learned the location of the Southern Heaven Region’s eleventh-ranked figure, [Ou Ningzi].

”Go and seize that Celestial Ranking Spiritual Energy! I will wait for you to step into the Dao Foundation!” Xiao Changlv said softly.

Chen Lingxi immediately rode the clouds into the air.

Cloud qi mixed with lightning gathered beneath his feet, carrying him up into the sky.

Standing on the cloud, he glanced down at Xiao Changlv, who still stood at the peak with his hands behind his back.

Mountain winds poured in from the valley entrance, snapping Xiao Changlv’s dark robes and sending his loose hair dancing wildly in the gale.

He just stood there, his aura calm and heavy as deep water, unmoving as a silent mountain.

Looking at that figure, a deeply complex emotion welled up in Chen Lingxi’s chest.

This man was his enemy.

His parents had died on the execution ground precisely because of the Mirror Listening Cauldron Vessel wielded by Emperor Daye.

Yet this man was also his Dao protector. Had Emperor Daye not intervened to save him time and again, he would have long since died at the hands of Bai Lingze and Zhao Duanxuan.

An enemy, yet also a Daoist Friend.

Ultimately, Chen Lingxi sighed. Standing on the cloud, he gave a solemn bow to Xiao Changlv.

”I wonder, can Emperor Daye fend off so many Dao Foundation cultivators alone?” he asked.

Zhao Duanxuan, Bai Lingze, Yu Jiangwei, Liu Chengfeng, Daoist Shu Rong... even in the Great Xuanzhuo Realm, these were extraordinary figures.

Although they had only sent their avatars to this Weiji Grotto-Heaven, their methods and divine abilities still eclipsed those of many experts within the same realm.

As for Emperor Daye... although he was a Dao Foundation Middle Stage cultivator, his true body was not here. Blocking so many formidable foes single-handedly, even with the support of the Mountains and Rivers Great Array, would be no easy task.

Hearing this, Xiao Changlv took a deep breath and gently blew it out.

That breath seemed casual, as if he were blowing away the gloom of the world.

But the moment he exhaled, heaven and earth abruptly changed.

Countless threads of spiritual energy surged from the great mountains and rivers at that very moment. Densely packed and overlapping, they draped over the entire Ancestral Mountain like a heaven-encompassing net.

The spiritual energy threads shone with golden light, exuding an incredibly deep and heavy earthly Dao rhythm.

That intense aura poured directly into Xiao Changlv’s body.

The terrifying blood and qi that he had previously withdrawn into his body began to surge once more, roiling constantly like magma in a volcano.

Two brilliant rays of golden light lit up in his eyes.

The light danced, burning in his eye sockets like two miniature suns, too blazing to look at directly.

”If we were in the Great Xuanzhuo Realm, with only my Dao Foundation Middle Stage cultivation, I naturally wouldn’t be able to fight ten Dao Foundation figures alone,” he spoke slowly, his voice carrying a majestic spirit that disdained the world. ”However, this is the Weiji Grotto-Heaven.”

Ying Xian paused. The two clusters of golden flame in his eyes suddenly flared to their absolute brightest, like two blazing suns rising simultaneously.

”I am the true dragon of this grotto-heaven!”

”They wish to steal my grotto-heaven’s fortune, but little do they know, in my eyes, they are fortunes too!”

Chen Lingxi took a deep breath. Then, he turned and rode the clouds northward.

The mountains and rivers below retreated rapidly. The Ancestral Mountain grew further and further away behind him, becoming increasingly blurred until it completely vanished into the roiling sea of clouds.

A heaven-shaking roar from the direction of the Ancestral Mountain still echoed faintly in his ears!

Dao Foundation experts had already arrived, their divine abilities and spells unleashing world-shaking power.

The commotion of Dao Foundation experts clashing could be heard clearly even across such a vast distance.

’Emperor Daye is holding back those Dao Foundation figures. I must find Ou Ningzi as quickly as possible, defeat him, and seize the Celestial Ranking Spiritual Energy to achieve my Dao Foundation in one fell swoop,’ Chen Lingxi thought, continuously circulating the Wondrous State Cloud Soaring Technique.

The heavenly winds howled past his ears. The vast, white ice plain was already visible in the distance.

The ice plain was incredibly vast, stretching endlessly as far as the eye could see.

A thick layer of snow covered the ice. The northern wind swept over the surface, whipping up snow flurries and letting out a mournful wail, like countless evil spirits howling in the gale.

Heaven and earth were a uniform, pristine white, so stark that it was nearly impossible to tell sky from ground.

Chen Lingxi lowered his cloud over the ice plain, sweeping his gaze across the boundless snowy domain using the Method of Qi Observation.

Then, he saw it.

Right in the center of the ice plain lay a leeward valley.

Within the valley sat a massive boulder, and upon that boulder sat a person, cross-legged.

The figure remained entirely motionless, as if quietly awaiting his arrival.

Chen Lingxi landed on the icy surface in front of the valley. He raised his head and looked at the silhouette on the boulder.

It was a young boy who appeared to be only seven or eight years old. He wore a plain white Daoist robe, embroidered with highly complex ice patterns in silver thread.

His face was tender, like a child who had yet to grow, but the worldly weariness and steadiness gleaming in his eyes were absolutely not something a boy this young should possess.

This person was none other than Ou Ningzi.

The avatar of a Southern Heaven Region cultivator, ranked eleventh on the Celestial Ranking.

Seeing Chen Lingxi arrive on a cloud, Ou Ningzi slowly stood up from the boulder.

He patted off a bit of snow clinging to his Daoist robe and offered a cupped-fist salute to Chen Lingxi from afar.

”The wind and snow delivered the message to me, so I knew Daoist Friend Chen would come here,” Ou Ningzi said. His voice, however, was the clear and resonant tone of an adult man, completely at odds with his tender face.

His tone was gentle, like a hospitable host receiving an old friend from afar. ”I had long heard Daoist Friend Chen’s name, and seeing you today, your reputation is well-deserved. To think you managed to forge a Dao Platform in this barren land of the grotto-heaven.”

Meeting Ou Ningzi’s gaze, Chen Lingxi thought for a moment before returning the salute.

”Senior and I have no enmity between us, but the Celestial Ranking is here, and I must seize the Celestial Ranking Spiritual Energy to achieve the Dao Foundation,” he said candidly.

Hearing this, Ou Ningzi smiled faintly and shook his head. ”Such is the Dao Struggle... It is just a pity that you belong to this grotto-heaven. Otherwise, you could have joined my Southern Heaven Region. With your aptitude, if our Southern Heaven Region nurtured you carefully, you would surely achieve greatness in time.”

”Unfortunately, there is still much karma in this world. It involves noble orthodox sects, True Lord figures, and the Golden Palace Dao Fruit! Daoist Friend, we are destined to have no fate as fellow disciples.”

”Since that is the case, I, Ou Ningzi, seek your guidance!” Having said that, he suddenly flicked his sleeve.

His broad Daoist robe sleeves snapped open in the wind and snow, and a bone-chilling cold instantly surged from all directions.

The cold pierced straight into the mind and stabbed right into the Dao Platform. It was absolute, freezing cold!

Heavy snow suddenly began to fall all around.

Chen Lingxi focused his gaze, only to see that the snow wasn’t falling from the sky. Instead, it was spawning out of thin air from the roiling spiritual qi around Ou Ningzi.

The snowflakes were crystalline blue and as large as a hand. Their edges were sharp as blades. They danced madly in the air, emitting ear-piercing whistles as they tore through the wind.

A terrifying aura bloomed from Ou Ningzi’s body.

That aura was deep and vast, like an abyss or an ocean, making him seem as if he were a completely different person from his gentle and polite self a moment ago.

There was not a trace of a smile left on Ou Ningzi’s tender face. In its place rested a murderous intent as freezing as ice.

”Daoist Friend, let me see your Dao Platform! Let me see your Great Divine Ability!” His words fell into the void, and the wind and snow seemed to carry the message for him, echoing directly in Chen Lingxi’s ears.

The surrounding snow fell upon Ou Ningzi.

Those countless crystalline blue snowflakes surged madly into his body, like all rivers running into the sea, converging and transforming around him!

His body, originally the size of a seven- or eight-year-old child, suddenly skyrocketed in size.

His bones continuously cracked, and his muscles swelled madly. The plain white Daoist robe was torn to shreds, revealing skin as translucent and clear as ice crystals beneath.

His frame grew taller and taller, shifting from a young boy to a sturdy youth, and then from a sturdy youth into a towering giant.

The flesh of this giant was composed entirely of extreme-cold profound ice. He stood several zhang tall, his entire body glittering like crystal, shining brilliantly in the blizzard.

Extreme-cold storms swirled around him. Those crystalline blue snowflakes danced frantically about, and with every rotation, they froze the surrounding air into a thick layer of white frost.

This was the Great Divine Ability of the First Emperor Xiaomang Dao—[Cold Mirror Deity]!

Circulating this Great Divine Ability transformed his body into a deity.

In the form of the Cold Mirror Deity, the caster’s strength, defense, and the power of their ice-attribute divine abilities would all multiply several times over.

Even the mere act of breathing would freeze the surrounding air, and a single footstep would cover the earth in a layer of ice.

At this moment, this deity stood in the void, the extreme cold radiating from his body bearing down on Chen Lingxi in an overwhelming wave.

He lowered his head. Those transparent, ice-crystal eyes locked onto Chen Lingxi, a cold glint flashing within them.

The Cold Mirror Deity raised his right hand and clenched it into a fist!

With that grip, the churning crystalline blue snowflakes furiously converged, transforming in the blink of an eye into an extreme-cold ice sword that was several zhang long.

The ice sword was entirely translucent, bearing no carvings on its blade, yet it radiated a heart-palpitating, piercing cold light amid the blizzard.

He slashed down with the sword, bringing the terrifying cold capable of freezing all matter straight toward Chen Lingxi’s head.

Wherever the blade passed, countless fine ice crystals condensed in the air, pouring down from the vault of heaven like a waterfall of ice.

Chen Lingxi looked up at the sky-obscuring ice sword, but there was not a trace of fear in his eyes.

He took a deep breath. In that instant, the lightning Profound Root within his body suddenly lit up.

The Plundering Dragon Dao Platform spun frantically, and a majestic wave of spiritual qi flooded into the Profound Root like water bursting from a broken dam.

’Bring it,’ he muttered internally.

Lightning flickered around his body.

At first, there were only a few extremely thin arcs of lightning slowly wandering around him.

But in an instant, they swelled drastically. Countless pale golden bolts of lightning erupted from his body, madly churning, condensing, and compressing around him.

He clenched his right hand in the void, and the churning pale golden lightning wildly gathered at his grasp. In the blink of an eye, it took the shape of a lightning sword several zhang long.

Lightning patterns flowed across the blade, and with their every revolution, an incredibly pure and overbearing lightning Dao rhythm permeated the air.

At the same time, the lightning on Chen Lingxi’s body was expanding...

This was the Thunder Prison Heaven Great Divine Ability!

Seizing the moment, Chen Lingxi stepped forward, advancing instead of retreating, and fiercely slashed out with the lightning sword in his hand.

The two highly lethal Great Divine Abilities crashed together!

The great battle had begun!

Two figures wielding Great Divine Abilities were clashing upon this ice plain!