After the Great Dao Died

Chen Lingxi froze at those words.

He stood rooted to the spot, momentarily at a loss for what to do.

Indeed, just how powerful were cultivators?

’I have only just stepped into the early Dao Foundation realm, yet I can already control lightning and sever hills with sword qi. I can soar ninety thousand zhang into the void, riding the heavenly winds and bathing in starlight.

’Just how many levels higher is a True Monarch compared to an early Dao Foundation figure like me?

’Could the True Monarch of the Que Star Xi Family truly be unaware that the Great Sage Luoyuan’s incarnation slumbers here?’

Chen Lingxi broke out in a cold sweat.

A new thought suddenly sprang up in his mind.

’Perhaps the True Monarch of the Que Star Xi Family knows everything.

’He knows there is an Immortal Slough in this grotto-heaven. He knows a Great Sage’s incarnation slumbers within the Ancestral Mountain. He knows this Weiji Grotto-Heaven is the dojo of Great Sage Luoyuan.

’Yet he still wants to refine this world. Perhaps...

’Perhaps this Immortal Slough and the slumbering incarnation of Great Sage Luoyuan are all part of his calculations.’

For a time, Chen Lingxi fell silent.

Emperor Daye was equally silent.

After a few breaths, Emperor Daye suddenly shook his head.

”It is all merely speculation,” he said.

”Perhaps that True Monarch of the Xi Family truly is unaware of the Great Sage Luoyuan’s incarnation.”

There was a trace of uncertainty in his tone, as if he were only consoling himself.

Yet his eyes showed no relief; instead, they grew even more solemn.

Then, Emperor Daye turned his head and gazed at the churning long river.

”Chen Lingxi,” Emperor Daye spoke again. ”I originally intended to refine you into my third incarnation.”

Chen Lingxi’s pupils abruptly contracted.

He looked at Emperor Daye, only to see the emperor’s expression solemn and his tone candid.

”Within this Weiji Grotto-Heaven, cultivators are incredibly rare, and those possessing innate talent are even fewer.

”I searched the world using the Mirror Listening Cauldron Vessel and screened all living beings with my Delusion-Weaving Golden Eyes. As for those reincarnators I brought into the palace, their souls still temporarily reside in the Great Xuanzhuo Realm after death, making it somewhat risky to refine them into incarnations.

”As for those ordinary vessels I implanted with memories, they are even less worthy of my attention.”

”Only you, Chen Lingxi,” Emperor Daye said slowly. ”You possess the Ancestral Mountain Maternal Qi, extraordinary comprehension, and great fortune. In just seven or eight short years, you have already achieved success in your cultivation.

”With such talent, such fortune, and such a speed of growth...

”Even in the Great Xuanzhuo Realm, I imagine you would be considered [extraordinary].”

Reaching this point, his tone abruptly shifted. ”It is just a pity...”

Emperor Daye turned his head and gazed at the long river. ”It is just a pity that within this grotto-heaven, I have no Daoist friends, no one to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with me.

”Though I have many experts under my command, they are ultimately just reincarnators implanted with false memories, or mortal martial artists forcibly elevated by my Mountains and Rivers Great Array.

”They obey my orders and fight to the death for me, but they have never truly stepped onto the path of cultivation, nor have they ever truly stood beside me as equals.”

Emperor Daye fixed his gaze on Chen Lingxi.

”Having achieved the Dao Foundation, it would not have mattered if you never came to this Ancestral Mountain.

”Though Zhao Duanxuan is strong, he has no direct grievance with you. You could have easily fled far away and sought a path to survival elsewhere.

”Yet you still came.” Emperor Daye’s eyes burned bright. ”Perhaps you came for that sliver of survival atop the Ancestral Mountain, or perhaps you came to repay my grace in protecting your Dao.

”But regardless of why you came, you are here.

”And for that, I will still call you a Daoist friend.”

At these words, he suddenly bowed formally to Chen Lingxi.

The bow was extremely solemn, like an emperor bowing to another emperor, or one Daoist friend bowing to another.

”Chen Lingxi, the True Monarch is peerlessly powerful, and our path to survival is hard to find, but we must still strive together for that sliver of hope.”

With that, Emperor Daye suddenly flicked his finger.

Two streaks of golden light flashed in his eyes, shining into the void and manifesting into an arm.

The arm was entirely pale gold, a full size larger than a normal person’s arm.

It exuded an indescribably ancient Daoist rhyme—it was none other than the Immortal Slough.

”Today, you and I will feed this Immortal Slough to this ancient river.” Emperor Daye held the Immortal Slough, his eyes burning as he gazed at the churning, roaring Luoyuan Long River. ”Let us see if this incarnation of Great Sage Luoyuan will truly awaken, and let us see just what calculations that True Monarch of the Que Star Xi Family has made!”

With that said, Emperor Daye prepared to throw the Immortal Slough into the river.

Standing to the side, Chen Lingxi suddenly took a deep breath.

He quietly activated his Absolute Perception Divine Ability.

[Absolute Perception]!

In the void of the Divine Chamber, the two bright mirrors suddenly lit up—one blazing gold like the great sun, the other silvery white like the bright moon.

Two pillars of light descended simultaneously, shining onto his consciousness-condensed body and bathing him in a glow of interwoven gold and white.

The void shattered, light and shadow inverted, and heaven and earth flipped.

High above, the two bright mirrors hung suspended.

Chen Lingxi once again stepped into the Absolute Perception Divine Chamber.

In this simulated world, the ”Emperor Daye” had already hurled the Immortal Slough from his palm into the Luoyuan Long River!

Instantly, the river’s waves churned wildly, and a dazzling, profound light bloomed from the Immortal Slough.

An indescribably ancient and ferocious power erupted from the Immortal Slough, pouring into the long river.

That power seemed to carry an aura of utmost holiness!

It was neither spiritual qi nor Dao Origin, but a purer, far more ancient mighty force.

At this moment, the Luoyuan Long River began to violently churn.

The river roared, its waves surging toward the sky!

At the same time, the world suddenly turned white.

The entire Ancestral Mountain shook violently!

Rain even began to fall across the entire grotto-heaven!

A torrential downpour fell, as if the heavens and the earth were weeping for the Great Sage’s awakening.

Fierce winds howled, sweeping up a sky-spanning curtain of rain and churning the sea of clouds above the Ancestral Mountain into utter chaos.

At the same time!

High in the sky, within the Storm Immortal Pivot, the churning Weiji lightning was expanding madly. The lightning poured out in all directions like a rainstorm, scorching the surrounding sea of clouds into a blazing white.

On the isolated island overseas, within the Lake Immortal Pivot, the originally mirror-calm lake suddenly swelled with monstrous waves. A warm, bright light shot out from the depths of the lake, reflecting the entire body of water in a dazzling emerald hue.

Deep in the Northern Sea, within the Volcano Immortal Pivot, the volcanic crater that had been dormant for an unknown number of years violently erupted. Scorching magma shot into the sky, boiling hundreds of miles of seawater into a vast, white expanse of steam.

The Four Great Immortal Pivots mutated simultaneously, as if the entire grotto-heaven were welcoming the Great Sage’s return!

And atop the Ancestral Mountain, nourished by the Immortal Slough, that ancient long river roared and raced ever more madly.

As the river water churned, it began to evaporate in a bizarre manner, transforming into countless streams of incredibly dense water vapor.

Instead of drifting away, the vapor frantically gathered above the long river. It grew thicker and denser, ultimately condensing into the silhouette of a person.

The figure was exceptionally tall, standing a full two or three heads taller than a normal person.

Endless pale golden mist wreathed around him, flowing slowly like living creatures. It framed him like a celestial immortal stepping out from the ancient eons!

His face was indistinct, obscured by the churning mist. Only a pair of eyes, profound as the abyss, could faintly be seen slowly opening.

Meanwhile, in Yuanjiang Prefecture’s Xuanhuo Temple.

Inside the guest room concealed by illusions, the perpetually slumbering Liu Changle suddenly opened his eyes.

The gentle lethargy on his face vanished without a trace in that instant.

In its place was a cold, mysterious, and unfathomable expression.

Deep within his pupils, the reflection of a churning, rushing ancient river actually appeared, as if the Luoyuan Long River were roaring and racing right inside his eyes.

He slowly sat up. His face showed no emotion whatsoever, like an awakened ancient god retaking control of this mortal shell.

At this very moment, the incarnation of Great Sage Luoyuan had fully awakened!

Within the Absolute Perception Divine Chamber!

Chen Lingxi and Emperor Daye simultaneously looked up toward the sky above the long river.

They saw that figure standing in the void, wielding a power that warped everything around him.

Just by standing there, the natural aura exuding from his body was enough to distort and deform the surrounding void, causing the three peaks of the Ancestral Mountain to tremble!

This was an innate, terrifying power stemming from the very essence of a Great Sage.

He was like a brilliant, blazing sun suspended on high; even without deliberately shining, it was enough to make all creation bow its head!

A silver light flickered in his eyes.

That light was extremely pure and incredibly ancient.

He slowly turned his head. His gaze pierced through the churning mist, through the body of the Ancestral Mountain, and through every obstacle within the grotto-heaven to look toward the distant horizon, as if watching something, or perhaps merely confirming his own location.

”This is... the Great Sage’s incarnation?”

”This is merely an incarnation?”

Emperor Daye sighed in admiration, a fiery yearning flowing in his eyes.

’What realm of cultivation must one reach to contend with a Great Sage like this?’ Chen Lingxi murmured in his heart.

’With such a terrifying expert here, and with this Weiji Grotto-Heaven being the birthplace of the Great Sage, the True Monarch of the Que Star Xi Family surely wouldn’t dare to refine this grotto-heaven now, right?’ Chen Lingxi rejoiced inwardly, feeling as though a sliver of hope was right before his eyes.

But...

In the very next instant, a pair of eyes emerged within the void.

Those eyes were still emotionless and devoid of belief, hanging high in the void like two suspended stars, carrying an unimaginable Daoist rhyme.

Whether it was the Ancestral Mountain or the grotto-heaven, all lay beneath the gaze of these eyes.

”The True Monarch of the Que Star Xi Family!”

Emperor Daye and Chen Lingxi had just seen these eyes moments ago, so they were naturally familiar with them.

”The True Monarch...” Chen Lingxi looked up at those eyes, then looked at the vaporous figure in the distance. ”The Great Sage’s incarnation... which of them is truly stronger?”

He was filled with curiosity.

And at this moment, those eyes looked down at the madly churning Luoyuan Long River and the figure condensing from the water vapor.

Then, those originally emotionless eyes actually revealed a clear, visible trace of joy!

Chen Lingxi’s pupils abruptly shrank.

’Why is the True Monarch rejoicing?’

Right at that moment, palaces faintly emerged in the distant horizon!

The cluster of palaces hung above the sea of clouds, towering and ancient, yet completely dilapidated!

Glazed tiles were shattered, white jade steps were cracked. Everywhere were broken walls and ruined foundations, bearing the mottled marks of time.

It was then that the True Monarch of the Que Star Xi Family let out a cold snort.

That cold snort was like divine retribution descending upon the world, like heavenly tribulation lightning!

He murmured softly, yet his voice carried the weight of ten thousand jun, exploding with a thunderous boom between heaven and earth.

”In death, the soul must return to the Dao remains! You remnants of the Immortal Capital, vainly attempting to escape the path of soul return...

”Is this not a betrayal of the old order of the Immortal Capital?”

Chen Lingxi and Emperor Daye both froze in shock!

Before his voice had even faded, a vast furnace slowly emerged from the void.

The furnace was massive in the extreme, as if it could swallow the entire grotto-heaven.

As the furnace spun, the void turned white, and an indescribably terrifying refining power swept out from it, blanketing the sky and the earth.

Wherever that refining power passed, the sea of clouds evaporated, the heavenly winds dissipated, rocks melted into magma, and rivers boiled into nothingness.

Under the spinning of that furnace, the entire Weiji Grotto-Heaven began to disintegrate inch by inch!

All of this caught Chen Lingxi and Emperor Daye completely off guard.

”This is fucking wrong, isn’t it?”

Chen Lingxi gritted his teeth.

Emperor Daye also turned to look at him.

The awakening of the Great Sage Luoyuan’s incarnation had not only failed to deter the True Monarch of the Que Star Xi Family, but it seemed to have actually accelerated his timeline for refining this world with the Realm-Refining Furnace.

Suddenly, streaks of flame plummeted from the Realm-Refining Furnace.

Like meteors tearing through the sky, those flames fell into the vast void and scattered across the world.

Some flames plunged into the Northern Sea, boiling the freezing seawater into a sky full of white mist.

Some flames landed in Nanche Prefecture, reducing the already ruined prefectural city and hundreds of miles of surrounding mountains and rivers into a sea of molten lava.

Some flames crashed into the Great Li Nation, toppling buildings and raising towering infernos!

It was an apocalyptic scene of world destruction!

Yet the vaporous figure suddenly flicked his finger.

A single drop of river water plummeted toward Chen Lingxi.

The droplet fell at blinding speed. Chen Lingxi raised his right hand, and it landed perfectly in his palm.

He looked down.

The drop of river water was like a crystal-clear gemstone, hovering quietly in his palm.

With no time to examine it closer, Chen Lingxi stored the droplet in his Great Void Pouch, then looked up at his surroundings.

Everything around him had already begun to burn.

The Ancestral Mountain, the long river, the Great Sage’s incarnation, the ruined Immortal Capital, the void, the Celestial Ranking high in the sky!

Everything, absolutely everything, was disintegrating inch by inch and turning into nothingness under the terrifying refining power of the Realm-Refining Furnace.

The recently awakened incarnation of the Great Sage looked up, his silver-shining eyes fixed on the Realm-Refining Furnace and the lofty True Monarch, yet he made no move.

Like someone who had just woken from a deep slumber, his mind had not yet fully recovered before witnessing the arrival of the apocalypse.

In the very next instant, everything around them was refined.

The Weiji Grotto-Heaven dissipated entirely.

Absolute Perception shattered in an instant.

”Steal the spiritual perception of heaven and earth, seize the spiritual opportunities of past and present.”

The ancient mantra echoed deep in Chen Lingxi’s consciousness.

Chen Lingxi’s consciousness returned to the Divine Chamber.

Within the void of the Divine Chamber, thick fog churned as usual, and that line of glowing golden tadpole text flashed by in sequence.

Amidst the clouds and mist of the void, only one thing remained suspended in the very center of the Divine Chamber.

It was that single drop of river water.