After the Great Dao Died

Chen Lingxi had been waiting for Chi Jianshu to bring the matter up.

Showing just the right amount of gratitude on his face, he agreed. He stood, cupped his hands to Chi Jianshu and Lin Suri, and turned away. The Azure Cloud beneath his feet, laced with pale golden lightning, surged silently. It carried him into the sky, tearing through the rolling sea of clouds as he flew toward Cuojin Mountain.

—

Within the Under-Dao Academy of the Nine Quarters in the Great Xuanzhuo Realm.

Chi Jianshu’s true body opened her eyes, her expression solemn.

She sat cross-legged deep within a palace suspended above the sea of clouds. The profound, majestic fluctuations of Dao Origin surrounding her were vast as an ocean, immeasurably more powerful than her projected avatar in the Weiji Grotto-Heaven.

She stood, her crimson robes fluttering slightly in the void as she stepped out of the palace. She sought out Daoist Mingzhu, and the two went together to meet the Chi Soul Master, Jing Shijue.

Jing Shijue was feeding the fish in front of a small pond.

The pond was barely a zhang square, its water as clear as jade, with a faint, thin spiritual mist curling over the surface.

A few silver fish swam within, their scales catching the light and shimmering through the mist.

Jing Shijue sat cross-legged on a bluestone beside the water. Holding a small celadon bowl, he tossed spiritual grains into the pond, one by one.

He had a refined face and the steady, resolute air of someone who had long held authority. Clad in a plain white Daoist robe, he looked more like a cultured, well-read scholar than a Golden Palace True Person presiding over an entire courtyard.

Chi Jianshu and Daoist Mingzhu landed behind him and bowed respectfully.

Jing Shijue didn’t look up. He simply scattered the rest of the spiritual grains from his celadon bowl into the water. Only after watching the silver fish scramble for the food did he brush off his hands and slowly turn around.

The moment he turned, two incredibly majestic and mysterious strands of divine sense brushed over Chi Jianshu’s and Daoist Mingzhu’s Seas of Consciousness like a spring breeze.

Chi Jianshu surged her own divine sense to report the matter.

After receiving Chi Jianshu’s message, the leisurely expression on Jing Shijue’s face gradually turned serious.

He fell silent for a moment. Looking up into the depths of the cloud sea, he finally spoke. ”The Dao Teacher will emerge from seclusion in half a year. He will ask about it then.”

Hearing this, Chi Jianshu frowned.

She felt a pang of worry, afraid they would run out of time.

The situation in the Weiji Grotto-Heaven was changing by the minute. Half a year wasn’t particularly long, but it wasn’t short either. If the Cauldron Vessel found an owner within that half a year, and the Que Star Xi Family’s True Lord stepped in to refine the grotto-heaven...

At this thought, she wanted to speak, but upon meeting Jing Shijue’s abyssal eyes, she swallowed her words.

”This matter concerns the game between the Dao Palace and a True Lord’s immortal clan. It is no longer something I can influence alone,” Jing Shijue said.

”Even as the Chi Soul Master, I wouldn’t dare act independently. We must request instructions from the Dao Teacher before a decision can be made.”

Chi Jianshu sighed.

She had no choice but to wait.

Half a year passed by in a flash.

On this day, Chi Jianshu and Daoist Mingzhu came to meet the Chi Soul Master again.

Jing Shijue maintained his unhurried demeanor. He stood by the small pond, still holding that celadon bowl.

However, Chi Jianshu sharply caught a hint of something unusual. In Jing Shijue’s usually tranquil eyes, a very faint ripple circulated, much like the spiritual mist over the pond.

Her heart tightened. Just as she was about to ask, Jing Shijue set the celadon bowl by the pond, smoothed his white Daoist robe, and rode a cloud upward. He flew toward the highest palace of the Under-Dao Academy, suspended above the nine heavens.

Chi Jianshu and Daoist Mingzhu stood by the pond, watching the white-clad figure vanish into the depths of the cloud sea.

About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the sea of clouds churned once more. A streak of white light plummeted from the nine heavens and landed back by the pond in the blink of an eye.

The light faded, revealing Jing Shijue.

He looked exactly the same—a refined face and a plain white Daoist robe.

But Chi Jianshu’s heart sank at that moment, because she saw the look on his face.

Jing Shijue stood by the pond in long silence before suddenly letting out a heavy sigh.

Then, he slowly shook his head.

Daoist Shu Rong and Daoist Mingzhu were greatly surprised.

Chi Jianshu took a deep breath, stepped forward, and asked, ”Senior Brother, why did the Dao Teacher refuse?”

She spoke rapidly, her voice carrying an undisguised urgency. ”That Chen Lingxi has extraordinary talent. To be able to cultivate to the Dao Foundation realm within the Qi-Depleted Grotto-Heaven—even among the many disciples of our Under-Dao Academy, he could be called a breathtaking genius.

”Moreover, he holds the secret of the Immortal Slough. If our Dao Palace can acquire that Immortal Slough, the Pool Soul Courtyard could forge a Nine-Transformation Precious Body. Our courtyard’s strength would surge drastically.

”Why would the Dao Teacher turn down a matter that yields such dual benefits?

”Even if we must negotiate with the Que Star Xi Family, our Dao Palace doesn’t necessarily fear them!

”The Dao Teacher only needs to write a decree of heavenly fate with the Heaven-Determining Brush. No matter how tyrannical that Xi Family True Lord is, he would have to think twice!”

Listening to her words, a trace of helplessness flickered through Jing Shijue’s refined eyes.

He looked up into the depths of the cloud sea, remaining silent for a long while before speaking slowly. ”How could you and I possibly fathom the thoughts of a True Lord?”

He said only this single sentence and spoke no more.

Daoist Shu Rong was deeply disappointed and hesitated to speak.

After a long time, she sighed inwardly.

’Since the Dao Teacher has spoken, there is no room to maneuver,’ she thought. ’It seems our Under-Dao Academy cannot give Chen Lingxi that sliver of survival.’

—

Within the Weiji Grotto-Heaven, in the King of the East’s Traveling Palace on Cuojin Mountain, Chen Lingxi sat cross-legged on the red sandalwood throne.

The lightning winding around him circulated slowly. With every breath, an incredibly heavy and domineering thunder Dao charm permeated the air.

At this moment, Chen Lingxi was looking at the two objects suspended in the void before him.

One was a streak of ink-black Myriad Breeding Dao-Seeding Marvelous Lotus Qi, and the other was a pale golden Immortal Slough arm.

The precious qi slithered slowly through the air like a tiny black snake, radiating an extremely profound and eerie Dao charm.

The Immortal Slough arm gave off a warm, bright, and ancient glow. The boundless essence it contained was like an inexhaustible spiritual vein, surging ceaselessly into his body.

Using the Myriad Breeding Dao-Seeding Marvelous Lotus Qi, Chen Lingxi continuously refined the spiritual energy of numerous experts that he had plundered through the Method of Life Devouring, and then he absorbed the profound power from the Immortal Slough.

Nourished day and night by the Dao Origin within his Plundering Dragon Dao Platform and irrigated by the essence of the Immortal Slough, the Myriad Breeding Dao-Seeding Marvelous Lotus Qi was like a dormant seed that had finally received sweet rain and fertile soil, taking root and sprouting at a visible rate.

An unknown amount of time passed. Deep within the precious qi, a set of three souls and seven spirits finally coalesced.

This set of three souls and seven spirits flickered with a faint light, looking just like a cluster of essence.

Chen Lingxi studied the three souls and seven spirits, his eyes filled with both pleasant surprise and curiosity.

”These three souls and seven spirits are truly marvelous,” he murmured.

Chen Lingxi felt a deep sense of wonder.

Having cultivated these three souls and seven spirits, it was as if he had suddenly gained many new senses.

With a light stir of his will, the three souls and seven spirits floated out of the King of the East’s Traveling Palace and hovered above the sea of clouds.

At this moment, without needing to open his eyes, he could see the churning sea of clouds outside the palace.

Without needing to strain his ears, he could hear the roaring waves of the Yuanjiang River.

It was an incredibly wondrous experience. It felt as though his consciousness had been split in two, yet remained mutually connected, inextricably linked.

”If these three souls and seven spirits possessed a body, it would be equivalent to my single mind controlling two bodies.

”I could see two different scenes at once, hear sounds from two places, and command two bodies simultaneously.

”Each body, and the three souls and seven spirits within it, would all be me,” he said.

Chen Lingxi was greatly amazed.

”This Myriad Breeding Dao-Seeding Marvelous Lotus Qi is too profound. It might be one of the greatest strokes of fortune I’ve encountered in this Weiji Grotto-Heaven,” he mused.