After the Great Dao Died

Absolute Perception shattered, returning to reality!

Chen Lingxi stood amidst the churning thick fog of Ancestral Mountain, the roaring Luoyuan Long River surging before his eyes.

Emperor Daye Ying Xian stood with his hands behind his back atop the seven-colored rainbow. He held the pale golden arm of the Immortal Slough, just about to cast it into the river.

Right at that moment, Chen Lingxi stepped forward abruptly, unconcealed alarm and doubt in his eyes.

”Hold on!” he said in a deep voice.

Emperor Daye paused his movements slightly and slowly turned around.

”Why?” Emperor Daye asked. His deep, heavy voice echoed through the silent depths of Ancestral Mountain.

Chen Lingxi’s mind raced.

The apocalyptic scenes he had just witnessed in the Absolute Perception Divine Chamber, the emotionless, ruthless eyes of the True Monarch, the Realm-Refining Furnace that incinerated everything, and the awakened Great Sage’s incarnation failing to deter the True Monarch—instead accelerating the grotto-heaven’s destruction...

Everything frantically churned within his mind.

’If Emperor Daye throws this Immortal Slough into the Luoyuan Long River, this grotto-heaven will immediately be refined...’

’But... I’m the one who told Emperor Daye to cast this Immortal Slough into the river, and now I’m stopping him... How do I make Emperor Daye believe me?’

He took a deep breath, turning the thoughts over in his head.

A few breaths later, the Plundering Dragon Dao Platform within his body suddenly lit up.

Atop the Dao Platform, the Thunder Prison Profound Root trembled violently, and an indescribably majestic dao charm unfurled from his body.

He activated the True Edict of Approaching the Dao. The phantom of the Great Sage Yaotian flickered into existence behind him, stars revolving around it as it exuded a sage’s aura that looked down upon the world.

At the same time, the Method of Qi Observation in his eyes was pushed to its absolute limit. Spiritual qi and true intent intertwined, transforming into two faint streaks of profound light that pierced through the churning fog and the roaring river, as if peering into some unspeakable future.

He suddenly raised his head, staring intently at Emperor Daye.

”Within the Great Sage’s profound mysteries, I suddenly saw the future,” he said in a deep voice.

Emperor Daye furrowed his brows even deeper. The two clusters of golden flames in his eyes flickered slowly, waiting for Chen Lingxi to continue.

”I saw the Great Sage’s incarnation awaken,” Chen Lingxi said in a low voice. ”I saw that the True Monarch had long laid his schemes. Taking advantage of the Great Sage’s awakening, he descended upon us. The Realm-Refining Furnace refined the grotto-heaven, and everything returned to nothingness!”

His words came to an abrupt halt. He looked up, his burning gaze fixed on Emperor Daye’s flaming golden eyes.

”Daoist Friend, do you believe me?” he asked.

Emperor Daye fell silent.

Standing atop the seven-colored rainbow, the deep and mighty fluctuations of Dao Origin surrounding him were as vast as the abyss and the ocean, standing off from afar against the imposing aura radiating from the Great Sage’s phantom behind Chen Lingxi.

After a long while, the two clusters of golden flames in his eyes slowly dimmed a fraction, and he withdrew the pale golden arm of the Immortal Slough into his sleeve.

”It seems this path will not work,” Emperor Daye said, shaking his head, his tone carrying a rare hint of dejection.

Chen Lingxi remained equally silent.

Time quietly slipped by. After a full dozen breaths, Chen Lingxi sighed.

”Does Emperor Daye know what the Immortal Capital is?” he finally asked.

The Immortal Capital?

Emperor Daye shook his head.

Chen Lingxi said no more.

He took a deep breath and sank a strand of divine sense into the Divine Chamber.

Within the void of the Divine Chamber, the thick fog churned as usual.

The single drop of river water he had brought out from the Absolute Perception Divine Chamber hung quietly in the depths of the void.

Within the river water, an extremely profound spiritual flow slowly circulated, exuding an ancient dao charm that made one’s heart palpitate.

Chen Lingxi concentrated his gaze and saw that within that spiritual flow, an incredibly fine and tiny swimming fish was faintly moving about.

The fish was entirely crystalline, like a spiritual entity cast from starlight. It swam freely through the drop of river water, and with every flick of its tail, an indescribably profound dao charm rippled outward.

’The dao charm inside this river water is truly wondrous... But... in the Absolute Perception Divine Chamber, when the True Monarch destroyed the world, this drop of water fell from the Luoyuan Long River into my hand... Why?’

With a slight shift in thought, he slowly injected a wisp of spiritual qi into the drop of river water.

The instant the spiritual qi entered the water, a massive and complex torrent of information flooded into his sea of consciousness like an erupting flash flood.

The information was ancient and profound. It was as if someone had unrolled an incomparably massive scroll within his mind, depicting the mountains, rivers, seas of clouds, and vast oceans of this Weiji Grotto-Heaven, along with the Four Great Immortal Pivots radiating different lusters.

Right in the center of that scroll, a line of incredibly ancient text boldly appeared:

[The Weiji Grotto-Heaven is the Great Sage Luoyuan’s dao ashram.

Drop this river water into the Four Great Immortal Pivots to trigger the descent of the Great Sage’s true body!]

Chen Lingxi’s pupils abruptly shrank, and he narrowed his eyes.

The Great Sage Luoyuan’s dao ashram.

Drop the river water into the Four Great Immortal Pivots.

Trigger the descent of the Great Sage’s true body.

’Are the words of these ancient entities true or false?’

Chen Lingxi thought about it carefully. He had entered Ancestral Mountain and seen the Great Sage Luoyuan’s incarnation because this Great Sage had summoned him.

While he was within the grotto-heaven, the thought to awaken the Great Sage Luoyuan’s incarnation to deter the Que Star Xi Family’s True Monarch had suddenly sprung up in his mind.

Yet prior to that, he had never known that the Immortal Slough could awaken the Great Sage Luoyuan’s incarnation, nor did he know that the Great Sage’s incarnation could deter a True Monarch figure.

All these ideas had drilled into his head out of thin air, spawning countless thoughts that even led him to persuade Emperor Daye to cast the Immortal Slough into the Luoyuan Long River.

Everything... seemed far too unbelievable.

So, was this current piece of information true or false?

’Based on the secrets I learned previously, the Great Sage’s true body fell into a deep slumber during a battle at the Immortal Capital.’

’Numerous incarnations slumber within many grotto-heaven secret realms, and one of them is right here in the Weiji Grotto-Heaven.’

’But now, dropping this water into the Four Great Immortal Pivots will cause the Great Sage’s true body to descend...’

Chen Lingxi’s thoughts drifted.

Off to the side, Emperor Daye was still gazing into the distance at the Luoyuan Long River, a glint flashing in his eyes.

Chen Lingxi did not reveal everything he had just seen.

He simply gave a slight shake of his head.

’This matter still requires verification,’ he said to himself.

He temporarily pushed the matter of the water drop to the back of his mind.

The apocalyptic scenes from the Absolute Perception Divine Chamber remained vivid in his mind, preventing him from acting rashly.

’I will wait until the next Absolute Perception to verify the authenticity of that drop of river water.’

Chen Lingxi made up his mind.

The two remained in this silence for a long time.

Emperor Daye finally spoke.

”Since you say this path will not work, then I shall use my own method.”

A hint of curiosity rose in Chen Lingxi’s heart.

Emperor Daye was a man of unfathomable depth. He had plotted for decades, and his methods were endless.

If he said he had another method, it was bound to be a monumental scheme.

Emperor Daye, however, did not elaborate. He merely took a deep breath, retrieved a Transmission Jade Slip from his sleeve, and offered it to Chen Lingxi.

”When the time comes, I will naturally tell you,” he said.

Chen Lingxi accepted the jade slip and glanced down at it.

The slip was entirely translucent white, warm to the touch, and had the character ”Ying” engraved on its front.

He could sense that a strand of Emperor Daye’s Dao Origin was sealed within it.

After handing the jade slip to Chen Lingxi, Emperor Daye said no more.

He turned around, and the seven-colored rainbow beneath his feet lit up once again. It carried him soaring into the sky, transforming into a dazzling streak of rainbow light that pierced through the churning fog as he flew swiftly out of Ancestral Mountain.

Chen Lingxi watched the rainbow light disappear into the endless fog. After a moment of silence, he stored the jade slip in his Vast Void Pouch.

Standing in the depths of Ancestral Mountain, he stared at the roaring Luoyuan Long River, his thoughts racing.

Emperor Daye had left. The Immortal Slough would not be cast into the river for now, and the Que Star Xi Family’s True Monarch would not activate the Realm-Refining Furnace for the time being.

’I still have time.’

’That True Monarch of the Que Star Xi Family mentioned the [Immortal Capital], mentioned the [Path of Soul’s Return]...’

’This so-called True Monarch refining the Weiji Grotto-Heaven to forge the Great Profound Golden Palace... It seems there’s a deeper secret hidden inside it.’

’Given this secret, this Great Sage Luoyuan still seems to want to resist, which means I still have a chance of survival.’

Chen Lingxi’s eyes flickered. Atop his Plundering Dragon Dao Platform, strands of Dao Origin were constantly flowing.

’Now that I have reached the Dao Foundation realm, if I want to raise my cultivation further, relying solely on secluded cultivation and absorbing the spiritual qi of heaven and earth will no longer yield any significant progress.’

If Dao Foundation cultivators wanted to advance their cultivation, they either had to slowly polish their Dao Platform and nourish their Profound Root over countless years, or they had to seek out fortuitous encounters containing the fortunes of heaven and earth to use as resources and accelerate their cultivation speed.

’If I want to swiftly advance the Absolute Perception Origin Supplementation, this path of raising my cultivation will become increasingly difficult,’ Chen Lingxi thought to himself.

’Then... I still need to find some treasures. I can use the profound power within them to rapidly advance the Absolute Perception Origin Supplementation.’

Treasures?

A hint of a smile tugged at the corners of Chen Lingxi’s mouth.

While inside the Absolute Perception Divine Chamber, he had previously borrowed the power of the Plundering Dragon Dao Platform to peek at the entirety of this Weiji Grotto-Heaven.

He saw the four Immortal Pivots and the many treasures scattered throughout the grotto-heaven.

Radiating spiritual light, those treasures were embedded on that scroll like shining stars.

Among all those treasures, two items left the deepest impression on him.

One was the Three-Layer Glazed Treasure Pagoda, the [Return to Void Sword Pagoda].

He had already retrieved this pagoda within the Absolute Perception Divine Chamber, and it currently hovered inside his Vast Void Pouch.

However, Chen Lingxi naturally wouldn’t complain about having too many of such treasures. If he had two Return to Void Sword Pagodas, his foundation would deepen yet another fraction.

And now, the Return to Void Sword Pagoda in reality was still in its original place. There were no obstacles or calamities guarding it. Chen Lingxi only needed to make the trip, and he could claim this Spiritual Artifact.

Naturally, he wasn’t going to miss this.

The other item was a precious sword left behind in the depths of the Northern Sea.

The sword was stabbed diagonally into the spine of a giant whale. Although it was rust-mottled and completely inconspicuous, the incredibly pure and overwhelmingly sharp sword light hidden deep within its blade made it unforgettable to Chen Lingxi even now.

’I will go get the Return to Void Sword Pagoda first,’ Chen Lingxi decided.

He stepped into the air. The Azure Cloud beneath his feet, laced with pale golden lightning, silently activated, carrying him into the sky. He pierced through the churning fog and flew rapidly out of Ancestral Mountain.

Flying out of the thick fog, Chen Lingxi turned back to look, only to see Ancestral Mountain returning to its original state—still looking like the same desolate mountain.

Chen Lingxi shook his head and continued flying, heading straight for the mountain range where the Return to Void Sword Pagoda was located.

Time quietly passed. When Chen Lingxi hovered above the mountain range, he looked down.

The mountains looked exactly as they had in Absolute Perception.

The terrain was perilous and fraught with jagged rocks, not a single blade of grass growing on the peaks.

Having already walked this path once within the Absolute Perception Divine Chamber, taking it again now was second nature. In just a short moment, he located the Profound Hero Cave.

The cave dwelling remained exactly the same.

A high-vaulted ceiling, four walls as smooth as mirrors, and a floor paved with solid blocks of blue jade.

Right in the center of the cave, the Three-Layer Glazed Treasure Pagoda hovered quietly, radiating a warm and bright jade-colored luster. Sword qi faintly circulated around the pagoda’s body.

’Two Return to Void Sword Pagodas, two layers of reliance. Rather interesting.’

While pondering, Chen Lingxi stepped forward and grasped the treasure pagoda in his palm.

In that instant.

An unexpected change occurred!

The very moment he grabbed hold of the pagoda, the Return to Void Sword Pagoda he had brought out from the Absolute Perception Divine Chamber unexpectedly flew out of his Vast Void Pouch on its own!

The two identical glazed treasure pagodas hovered in the void, facing each other as the warm jade-like luster on their bodies simultaneously flared.

Two streams of sword qi that shared the same origin, yet were starkly different, began to frantically resonate.

Then, under Chen Lingxi’s astonished gaze, the two pagodas actually began to slowly approach each other, followed by a resounding fusion!

Chen Lingxi couldn’t help but swallow hard.

”They merged into one?” he said.

The crisp chime of colliding glaze echoed throughout the cave.

At the point of fusion, countless streams of incredibly pure and razor-sharp sword qi surged out like a tidal wave.

When the light scattered, a brand-new Return to Void Sword Pagoda sat in Chen Lingxi’s palm.

The sword pagoda was still entirely cast from glaze, but it was no longer three layers tall. It had six!

Along the pagoda’s body, a bean-sized jade bead hung from each of the upturned eaves on all six floors, radiating an even warmer and brighter light than before.

Chen Lingxi probed a strand of his divine sense into the pagoda. A moment later, he slightly furrowed his brows.

’A six-layer sword pagoda... yet I can only use the first three layers.’

The top three layers of the brand-new sword pagoda were firmly sealed by an incredibly profound restriction.

That restriction was extremely ancient and obscure. With his current cultivation, he couldn’t shake it in the slightest.

In other words.

With his present cultivation level, he was still incapable of refining the top three layers of this new sword pagoda.

He could only faintly sense that a terrifying sword dao might was sealed within those top three layers, far beyond anything the first three could compare to.

’However, even if I can only use the first three layers, the power of this Return to Void Sword Pagoda has still more than doubled.’

A hint of satisfaction flashed in Chen Lingxi’s eyes.

He could clearly sense that, with the fused Return to Void Sword Pagoda, neither the speed at which the ”Sword Tomb” devoured sword qi nor the efficiency with which the ”Sword Furnace” tempered the sword’s True Intent could be compared to what they were before.

This Spiritual Artifact had grown stronger.

’So that’s how it is... If a treasure I took from Absolute Perception encounters its [True Body] in reality, they will forcibly fuse together.’

’And its power will reach an even higher level.’

Chen Lingxi nodded in satisfaction, feeling that this piece of information was quite a substantial harvest as well.

He stored the Return to Void Sword Pagoda in his Vast Void Pouch. Not lingering any longer, he turned and stepped out of the cave, flying rapidly in the direction of the Northern Sea.

’I should go retrieve that sword left behind in the Northern Sea.’

Logically speaking.

Chen Lingxi should have waited quietly for the next Absolute Perception to go to the Northern Sea and retrieve that sword.

That way, once Absolute Perception shattered and returned to reality, the two swords could merge into one.

Chen Lingxi would then obtain a precious sword of even greater power.

But right now... the Weiji Grotto-Heaven was in imminent danger, facing the constant possibility of being refined at any moment.

And during the next Absolute Perception, Chen Lingxi would still need to traverse all Four Great Immortal Pivots. He wouldn’t necessarily have the time to go searching for that sword.

’Furthermore, my cultivation isn’t invincible within this grotto-heaven. If I run into an expert, I still face the risk of perishing.’

The reason Chen Lingxi had been able to defeat Bai Lingze was largely due to the Enemy-Slaughtering Spirit Wall.

However, this Cauldron Vessel could not be used indefinitely. Moreover, if he encountered a Dao Foundation expert whose spiritual flow hadn’t been refined into the Enemy-Slaughtering Spirit Wall, he wouldn’t be able to unleash the Cauldron Vessel’s power.

’It’s better to raise my combat power as fast as possible to protect myself... In case an opportunity for survival suddenly appears, I will be able to do my utmost to grasp it.’

Chen Lingxi headed straight for the Northern Sea while turning these thoughts over in his head.