After the Great Dao Died

The clouds and mist withdrew. The Dao Origin of the two experts stretched across the void, surging like two mighty rivers with terrifying might.

They stood atop a Heavenly Boat, gazing at Chen Lingxi from afar.

Behind them stood eighteen disciples holding formation flags. Arranged into a grand array, they looked down at Chen Lingxi, glaring like hungry tigers.

Chen Lingxi stood atop the green bamboo hill. Beside him, the Heaven-Seizing Seal still supported the stolen goods.

The two experts stood with their hands clasped behind their backs, watching him from a distance. Their eyes radiated naked killing intent.

”Daoist Friend, you are truly wasting heavenly gifts. Given another hundred years, this green bamboo would grow into Sharp-Net Green Bamboo. By then, with the right opportunity, it could be refined into a third-rank Spiritual Artifact! How precious is a third-rank Spiritual Artifact? Even many Dao Foundation Middle Stage figures don’t possess one,” said the old man, one of the two experts.

The old man’s eyes were calm, but they harbored deep killing intent. His face was ancient. He leaned heavily on a bamboo cane, his back hunched as if weighed down by a crushing burden.

The figure beside him was quite young, looking barely over thirty. Yet, his aura was exceedingly profound, and killing intent surged from his body.

He was highly likely someone who cultivated a killing-power divine ability.

At this moment, the two stood on the Heavenly Boat, watching Chen Lingxi from afar instead of attacking immediately.

”Someone who can reach the Dao Foundation realm naturally isn’t a fool seeking death. And since you have come to the Dragon-Revering Sect, Daoist Friend, you must know that every mountain and hill, every river and stream, and even every blade of grass and tree in this vast world already has an owner. Since that is the case... why do you still commit such an insolent act? Do you not know... that among the peaks of the Dragon-Revering Sect, any grudge must be repaid with life and death!” the old cultivator said softly, his gaze turning increasingly sharp.

The clouds and mist in the surrounding void seemed to bear a heavy pressure, grinding to a complete halt.

At the same time, the formation flags held by the eighteen Qi Circulation cultivators behind the two experts suddenly fluttered and ignited.

These were no ordinary flames. They seemed capable of burning anything, harboring a divine ability within. They were truly extraordinary.

Chen Lingxi finally raised his eyes to the Heavenly Boat and the two experts.

In the next moment, he suddenly asked, ”I wonder, are the two of you from Yellow Luminary Peak?”

He had come specifically for Yellow Luminary Peak.

The two elders instantly grasped this crucial piece of information from his few words.

The old cultivator nodded slightly. ”This is the territory of Yellow Luminary Peak. Daoist Friend... you have crossed the line. These precious green bamboos exhausted the wondrous power of many of Yellow Luminary Peak’s spiritual veins, yet you destroyed them. For this matter... you must give us an explana—”

The old cultivator didn’t finish speaking.

Chen Lingxi looked around, interrupting the old cultivator. ”I heard that the peak master of Yellow Luminary Peak, Zhuo Jiaowu, is a figure who has ascended the Dragon Transformation Immortal Roll. He has already cultivated a Profound Root Wondrous Fruit, and perhaps not long from now, with a second Great Divine Ability, he will reach the Dao Foundation Middle Stage. I wonder, where is your peak master?”

The old cultivator had yet to speak.

The young Dao Foundation cultivator raised his head slightly, a glint of cold intent flashing in his eyes. ”Since you know our sect master’s name, you still dare to come to my Yellow Luminary Peak and act so brazenly?”

Lightning surged in Chen Lingxi’s eyes. He shook his head. ”I’m just afraid that if I kill you, your sect master will catch wind of it and flee, making me waste time hunting him down.”

What?

The old cultivator and the young Dao Foundation cultivator were stunned, having yet to process his words.

In the next instant, Dao Origin fiercely erupted from Chen Lingxi’s body. His surging aura rolled outward, and crackling bolts of fine lightning burst forth.

Tens of thousands of fine lightning bolts shrouded the void, forming what looked like a canopy of heaven.

The Plundering Dragon Dao Platform inside his body spun with a boom, and billowing Dao Origin flooded into the Thunder Prison Profound Root like water from a burst dam.

The Profound Root trembled. The pale-gold Wondrous Fruit nestled among its leaves suddenly lit up, and endless Weiji Thunder Radiance erupted from his body, instantly covering the entire sky.

Thunder Prison Heaven Great Divine Ability!

In a snap of the fingers, a radius of a thousand zhang was reduced to a lightning purgatory.

The sea of clouds was scorched into nothingness by the lightning. Swept by the radiance, the flames on the formation flags held by the eighteen Qi Circulation cultivators swayed violently like candles in the wind.

On the Heavenly Boat, the young Dao Foundation cultivator’s expression changed drastically.

His name was Zhao Shuo. He had planted his Profound Root after a mere ninety years of cultivation. Among the three Dao Foundation cultivators of Yellow Luminary Peak, his talent was the most outstanding, and he had always thought highly of himself.

He cultivated a killing-power divine ability, making his lethality extraordinary even among Dao Foundation Profound Root cultivators.

But the moment Chen Lingxi unfurled this thunder prison, his heart violently sank.

This kind of lightning...

With no time to think further, Zhao Shuo formed hand seals. The Dao Origin within his body surged like a tide toward his divine ability Profound Root.

A crimson sword ray burst from his fingertips. Growing rapidly in the wind, it instantly transformed into a hundred-zhang streak of crimson light. Carrying a violent, all-incinerating aura, it slashed toward Chen Lingxi.

Great Divine Ability!

Burning Profound Qi!

Yet, right at this moment, a sudden change occurred.

A flash of golden light sparked at the center of Chen Lingxi’s brow, and a three-inch-long ink-black flying shuttle silently shot out.

Spirit-Calming Shuttle.

The shuttle was unbelievably fast. Almost the instant it appeared, it pierced through layers of the void and stabbed straight into Zhao Shuo’s Sea of Consciousness.

Zhao Shuo felt his Sea of Consciousness violently shudder, as if an invisible mountain had crushed his divine sense. His churning Dao Origin came to a sudden halt.

That strike of Burning Profound Qi, on the verge of slashing out, froze in midair.

The crimson radiance of the sword ray remained blazing hot, but having lost all control, it trembled madly in the air.

Lightning flashed in Chen Lingxi’s eyes as the Abyssal Heaven Spiritual Sword left its sheath.

The sword was crystal-clear throughout. The residual lines of a hundred restrictions on its blade lit up simultaneously, and a peerlessly sharp sword intent soared into the sky.

Sword in hand, lightning exploded beneath Chen Lingxi’s feet. Like a human-shaped thunderbolt, he shot toward the Heavenly Boat.

”Die!”

The sword light swept across the sky. The thunderous roar of the Twelve Chimes of the Heavenly Drum exploded in the void, and the Immortal Smiting Thunder Pool hung high in the air, having appeared at some unknown point.

Weiji Thunder fell from it, merging into Chen Lingxi’s sword light.

Twelve heaven-shaking claps of thunder overlapped, forming a soundwave capable of tearing apart the soul, and pressed down upon Zhao Shuo.

Zhao Shuo’s pupils contracted.

He poured all his strength into breaking free from the Spirit-Calming Shuttle’s suppression...

However, it was a little too late.

The Abyssal Heaven Spiritual Sword shot forth its sword light, piercing straight through the center of his brow.

The moment the sword light vanished into his skull, the Weiji Thunder Radiance and thunder-hidden sword qi flooded his Sea of Consciousness. They shredded his divine sense, Dao Origin, and even that not-yet-fully-grown Great Divine Ability Profound Root into absolute powder.

Without even a chance to scream, Zhao Shuo’s body was impaled by the lightning wreathing the sword light. It violently exploded, turning into a sky full of pale-gold glowing dust that fluttered down through the void.

Aboard the Heavenly Boat, the old cultivator’s face was deathly pale.

Zhao Shuo...

He had died just like that?

An instant kill of a Dao Foundation cultivator?

Zhao Shuo, the genius elder upon whom Yellow Luminary Peak had placed their high hopes, who was expected to take another step forward in a century, hadn’t even lasted a single exchange under this person’s sword.

But Chen Lingxi gave him absolutely no time to be shocked.

The exact instant Zhao Shuo’s body exploded, the Longevity Bridge beneath Chen Lingxi’s feet crashed forward with a boom.

The Longevity Bridge was constructed entirely from Dao Origin condensed to its absolute limit. Spanning the long sky, it resembled an azure mountain ridge dropping from the highest heavens. Wrapped in monstrous spiritual momentum, it slammed into the Heavenly Boat.

”Audacious thief!”

The old cultivator let out a furious shout. Reaching out, he forcefully slammed his bamboo cane down into the void.

Within his Dao Platform, his Profound Root—which had already grown into a tree—trembled incessantly!

His cultivation base was vastly stronger than Zhao Shuo’s.

Dao Origin surged around the old cultivator, and a heavy layer of earthen-yellow light suddenly blazed upon his seemingly ordinary bamboo cane.

An indescribably heavy Dao rhyme began to spread from his body, blanketing the sky and covering the earth.

Great Divine Ability!

[Supporting Supreme Mountain].

The Supreme Mountain Suppresses All Spirits!

Once this divine ability was unleashed, everything in the world could serve as a mountain.

If an ordinary cultivator was merely brushed by that Dao rhyme, they would feel as though they were carrying a thousand jun, unable to move a single inch.

And by empowering a Spiritual Artifact with the might of this divine ability, that artifact would truly become like a descending supreme mountain, suppressing everything in its path.

The radiance on the bamboo cane erupted brightly, instantly transforming into the phantom of a towering, majestic mountain.

The mountain was a dark azure color, marked by overlapping ridges and peaks. Every ridge and line of rock upon it was visible down to the finest detail. It was as if a true primordial divine mountain had been forcibly condensed by the old cultivator’s Dao Origin.

But that was merely secondary.

Opening his mouth, the old cultivator spat out a flawlessly white precious bead that hovered in front of him.

The bead was no larger than a fist. It spun weightlessly in the air, looking like a willow catkin caught in the breeze, utterly devoid of mass.

But the moment the earthen-yellow glow of the [Supporting Supreme Mountain] Great Divine Ability fell upon this bead...

The world changed color!

The Drifting Feather Precious Bead suddenly became heavy to the extreme.

”Go!”

With a low shout from the old cultivator, the Drifting Feather Precious Bead crashed down on Chen Lingxi’s head like a star falling from the sky, bringing terrifying, world-destroying might.

Wherever the bead passed, the air stagnated, and the sea of clouds collapsed!

At this moment, Chen Lingxi was standing right inside the grand array of the eighteen Qi Circulation cultivators.

Those cultivators had long since been left pale and bloodless by the lightning and killing intent radiating from Chen Lingxi. Yet, they still forced themselves to wave their formation flags, attempting to impose the array’s locking power onto him.

But Chen Lingxi didn’t even spare them a glance. He merely looked up, watching the Drifting Feather Precious Bead crushing down toward him.

He did not dodge or evade, seeming entirely oblivious to it.

Seeing him act like this, a fierce light sparked in the old cultivator’s eyes.

’Even a Wondrous Fruit cultivator would be heavily injured if smashed by my precious bead coupled with this Great Divine Ability.’

’Not to mention, this person just deployed so many methods to instantly kill Zhao Shuo!’

’His Dao Origin must have suffered some depletion.’

’If this strike lands solidly, it will take his life in an instant!’

The old cultivator’s thoughts surged wildly.

Right at this moment...

Right in the split second the Drifting Feather Precious Bead was about to touch his body...

Chen Lingxi moved.

He raised his right hand, extending only a single index finger.

Thick Dao Origin intersected with his physical body’s vital essence. The True Edict of Approaching the Dao’s Palace-Knocking Finger was explosively triggered.

He didn’t know how many times he had used this finger strike. From killing his way out of the Grotto-Heaven to the Great Xuanzhuo Realm, from slaying Qi Circulation cultivators to Dao Foundation cultivators, he had long since honed it to the point of pure mastery.

At the tip of his finger, a stream of golden light condensed to the absolute peak suddenly flared up.

The instant his fingertip collided with the precious bead, heaven and earth went completely still.

Then, the earthen-yellow radiance upon the Drifting Feather Precious Bead was shattered inch by inch by this finger strike.

Beneath Chen Lingxi’s fingertip, the mighty power of that Great Divine Ability was like thin ice meeting a blazing sun. In a flick of a finger, seventy to eighty percent of it was burned away.

But the bead itself was, after all, a Spiritual Artifact that the old cultivator had nurtured for over a century. Even having lost the empowerment of [Supporting Supreme Mountain], its peerlessly fierce momentum remained.

Chen Lingxi felt his fingertip sink as the bead pressed against his finger, still attempting to crush downward.

Lightning fiercely intensified in his eyes!

The Great Sage Precious Phase violently manifested within his body. A majestic surge of vital essence flooded into his arm. Golden light erupted from his finger, forcefully stopping the Drifting Feather Precious Bead midair.

Right then, his left hand swung the Abyssal Heaven Spiritual Sword!

Sword light swept horizontally!

Those eighteen Qi Circulation cultivators desperately maintaining the grand array were severed in half by the sweeping lightning before they could even clearly see the sword light.

Eighteen bodies exploded simultaneously. Blood and spiritual light mixed into a mess in the air before being instantly scorched into nothingness by the churning lightning of the Thunder Prison Heaven.

Eighteen Qi Circulation cultivators, all annihilated with a single sword strike.

The old cultivator had only just recovered from the shock of his bead being stopped by a single finger. Seeing all eighteen disciples perish, his courage shattered. He hurriedly channeled his Dao Origin, seeking to recall the Drifting Feather Precious Bead.

However, Chen Lingxi’s speed was vastly greater than his.

Almost in the same instant the eighteen Qi Circulation cultivators died, Chen Lingxi executed the Wondrous State Cloud Soaring Technique at full power.

He arrived within a hundred zhang of the old cultivator.

He opened his mouth and blew out a breath of lightning. The Immortal Smiting Thunder Pool around him descended once more.

The sky full of churning Weiji Thunder Radiance suddenly shrank, stacking layer upon layer until it transformed into an azure thunder pool merely a few feet wide, hovering three feet in front of Chen Lingxi.

Deep within this thunder mist and thunder pool, streams of immortal-smiting tribulation qi bobbed and churned.

Those streams of tribulation qi stacked together layer by layer, forming a sword as if layers of heaven and earth’s divine punishment had gathered in one place.

Chen Lingxi thrust the Abyssal Heaven Spiritual Sword into that thunder pool. Upon the blade, the Weiji Thunder Radiance and the immortal-smiting tribulation qi explosively intersected. A lightning sword ray a thousand zhang long shot out from the pool, piercing straight through the sky.

The Twelve Chimes of the Heavenly Drum erupted once again.

Twelve overlapping thunderous roars caused the heavens to violently quake.

That lightning sword ray slashed down at the Heavenly Boat. With a single strike, it cleaved the vessel perfectly in two.

The old cultivator leaped into the air, wanting to use this chance to escape. He frantically poured all of his Dao Origin into the bamboo cane, pushing the [Supporting Supreme Mountain] divine ability to the limit in an attempt to block this strike.

Yet, the might contained within that sword light was no longer merely the killing power of the Thunder Prison Heaven.

Immortal Smiting Thunder Pool!

The mechanism to conquer ten thousand dharmas under heaven!

The sword light slashed onto the mountain transformed from the bamboo cane, and the mountain crumbled inch by inch.

The old cultivator only felt an unbelievable force surge through the bamboo cane. The force first felt heavy, and then, like ten thousand thunderbolts firing at once, it blasted his cane-holding arm to pieces.

”Ah!”

The old cultivator let out a miserable scream as he was sent flying backward.

The bamboo cane and the Drifting Feather Precious Bead fell through the void together, only to be swept up by Chen Lingxi using a river of spiritual qi and stowed in his bag.

Before the old cultivator even hit the ground, Chen Lingxi had already arrived on the clouds.

The Abyssal Heaven Spiritual Sword glinted with cold lightning in his grasp. With a slanted slash, the sword cut in from the old cultivator’s left shoulder and emerged from his right waist.

This Yellow Luminary Peak elder, who had lived for over two hundred years and possessed profound foundations, was severed completely in two in the void. His two ruined halves, each still carrying a lingering layer of earthen-yellow Dao Origin, tumbled down from the sea of clouds and were instantly swallowed by the churning thunder prison.

From start to finish, this battle had lasted only a few breaths of time.

Chen Lingxi stood amidst the lightning that had yet to fully dissipate, his black robes snapping wildly in the wind.

He looked down at the sky-filling Thunder Prison Heaven, then glanced at the old cultivator’s ruined body falling into the void. Suddenly, he frowned.

”Hm?” he muttered softly to himself, a hint of unconcealed confusion in his tone.

”Why are the Dao Foundation cultivators of the Great Xuanzhuo Realm all this weak?”