After the Great Dao Died

Lightning cascaded around Chen Lingxi like a tide as the Thunder Prison Heaven spread across the void.

The moment the Thunder Prison formed, the clouds within a radius of several hundred zhang were scorched into nothingness.

Lightning churned endlessly as thunder dragons wove through it and roared!

The crisscrossing bolts of lightning dyed this stretch of the sky a brilliant gold.

Chen Lingxi stood at the center of the Thunder Prison, hidden energies surging around him.

He raised his hand and brushed the air. In an instant, his Dao Origin seized the Innate Jade deep within the stone forest!

Instantly, the accompanying profound light wrapped around the Innate Jade flashed brilliantly and erupted straight out!

Wherever it passed, boulders split silently in two, the cuts as smooth as mirrors!

Vegetation was reduced to dust and scattered by the wind before it could even sway!

”What an overbearing edge.” Chen Lingxi narrowed his eyes, though his mind remained completely clear.

This beam of accompanying profound light was equivalent to the full-force strike of a Dao Foundation Middle Stage cultivator.

Standing within the Absolute Perception Divine Chamber today, he could use this to test his own foundation.

”Jade Tiger Rebellious Sea Sword Light.”

With a single thought, the Abyssal Heaven Spiritual Sword chimed as it unsheathed.

The moment the sword appeared, the residual patterns of the hundred restrictions on its blade lit up simultaneously, and an incomparably violent sword intent shot into the sky from its edge.

Chen Lingxi turned his wrist and swung the sword in a diagonal upward slash.

The Jade Tiger Rebellious Sea Sword Light erupted from the Abyssal Heaven Spiritual Sword like a pale golden rainbow stretching across the sky.

Where the sword rainbow passed, the tens of thousands of lightning bolts in the Thunder Prison Heaven surged and converged entirely into the sword light. At that moment, the light swelled wildly, transforming into a jade-white tiger that had broken its chains and roared to devour the four seas.

The sword light and the profound light crashed together in the void!

The instant the two lethal forces collided, a terrifying wave of sound exploded from the point of impact, sweeping frantically in all directions.

Struck by the aftershocks, countless pillars in the stone forest beneath Chen Lingxi’s feet snapped in unison. Rubble rained into the valley, kicking up clouds of dust that filled the sky.

The sword light forcibly ground away a small half of the accompanying profound light, but its edge remained aggressively sharp. Its momentum undiminished, it chopped straight down at Chen Lingxi’s head.

”Dragon Transformation!” Chen Lingxi shouted.

Within the Inner Divine Palace inside his body, the coiled phantom of the cyan-gold true dragon snapped its eyes open.

A boundless surge of vital essence erupted from the depths of the palace, flooding through his limbs and bones.

A cyan-gold luster circulated just beneath his skin, and his bones cracked and popped. A bone ridge resembling a dragon’s spine faintly arched across his shoulders and back, and the vital essence throughout his body roared like a rushing river, washing over every inch of his muscles and bones!

He took a half-step forward, looking like an ancient god with the head of a dragon and the body of a man, his energy instantly skyrocketing.

As the profound light fell, he raised his right arm and punched outward.

Lightning and cyan-gold vital essence intertwined over his fist, condensing into an incredibly pure fist aura that crashed straight into the residual profound light.

Boom!

Another massive explosion ripped through the air!

The profound light was forcibly halted in midair by the punch. Cyan light and lightning frantically tore at each other in a mutual war of attrition.

Chen Lingxi felt a sharp pain in his arm bones. A bloody gash tore open the webbing between his thumb and forefinger, and the chilling sharpness hidden within the profound light drilled into his meridians through the wound, swimming through his bloodstream like countless tiny ice blades.

Chen Lingxi violently flexed his arms, forcefully pushing the Dragon Transformation vital essence inside him to the limit and driving that invasive sharpness out of his meridians inch by inch.

A mist of blood sprayed from his hand. It mixed into the lightning and was ground into nothingness by the Thunder Prison Heaven.

With that, the accompanying profound light finally disintegrated, turning into a sky full of cyan fragments that drifted down over the ruins of the stone forest.

Chen Lingxi stood where he was, panting.

He lowered his head to look at the unhealed wound on his hand, then glanced at the stone forest that had been leveled to the ground, arching an eyebrow.

’The full-force strike of a Dao Foundation Middle Stage cultivator is truly extraordinary. If I had not been fully prepared, or if it had been any more sudden, I am afraid I would not have been able to take it so easily.’ A sense of understanding rose in his heart.

’Thunder Prison Heaven is a massive lethal force, the Jade Tiger Rebellious Sea Sword Light pushes killing power to the extreme, and the Dragon Transformation and treasure aspect augment my flesh... My foundation might not be vast and complex, but it perfectly balances offense and defense.

’In offense, I can break the enemy; in defense, I can protect myself.’

’Though I am only at the Early Dao Foundation stage, I can already take a Dao Foundation Middle Stage strike head-on.’

A hint of a smile touched his lips as he raised his hand, seizing the Innate Jade in his palm.

The moment the Innate Jade touched his hand, he felt a profound and mysterious energy brewing within it.

Chen Lingxi felt as if he had been pulled into a profoundly deep state.

In that state, heaven and earth were silent, the mountains and rivers were mute. All thoughts of gain and loss, honor and disgrace, and success and failure faded away, leaving only an incredibly still and profound ”rule.”

This was the rule of heaven and earth.

The sun and moon traveled the sky, keeping day and night in order!

The rivers flowed steadily downward, as eternal as the high mountains!

The cuckoo arrived in spring, the cicada was born in summer. All things had their own dao, and each followed its own rules.

Chen Lingxi’s heart gave a fierce jolt.

Seemingly struck by an epiphany, his eyes grew even brighter and clearer.

He nodded in satisfaction and stored the Innate Jade in his Vast Void Pouch.

Right then, he suddenly remembered something, his expression shifting.

He still had two thousand eight hundred streams of Great Encompassing Profound Qi on hand.

Chen Lingxi lowered his head in thought, a faint smile creeping into his eyes.

’Junior Martial Sister Lingyu has been cultivating the [Heavenly Calamity Method] for two years now, but she still has not found the door.

’If I can find a suitable opportunity for her through the Great Encompassing Heaven-Observing Mirror, it would be a good way to repay her for these past two years of tailoring my spiritual robes and watering my bamboo.’

With that thought, he once again sank his divine sense into the Great Encompassing Heaven-Observing Mirror.

The sea of stars was boundless, with dao runes suspended in the void.

Chen Lingxi bowed toward the illusory light of the bright mirror in the sky.

”Chen Lingxi of the Nine Quarters respectfully asks the Great Encompassing Heaven-Observing Mirror to reveal an opportunity for cultivating the [Heavenly Calamity Method],” he requested.

The sky full of stars trembled slightly, kicking up an endless sweep of light motes.

One thousand five hundred streams of Chen Lingxi’s remaining Great Encompassing Profound Qi silently faded away.

A moment later, several messages emerged from the depths of the light in the void, aligning themselves row by row within Chen Lingxi’s Sea of Consciousness.

[There are two opportunities within a radius of one million li.

The first: Three thousand li east of the Dragon-Revering Territory is a stalk of [Yinghuo Moon-Reflecting Mushroom]. This mushroom is three thousand years old; it exclusively absorbs moonflower essence and reflects heavenly secrets. Once a cultivator practicing the Heavenly Calamity Method consumes it, they can catch a glimpse of the calamity dao’s mechanisms.]

[Within the Dragon-Revering Territory, under the jurisdiction of Yang Awakening Upper Peak, there is a place called [Falling Disaster Valley].

The valley is filled with miasma year-round, but it hides a spiritual mechanism. A wisp of [Disaster Energy Stone Marrow] grows at the bottom of the valley.

If this stone marrow is refined into medicine, practitioners of the Heavenly Calamity Method can use it to glimpse ninety percent of the calamity dao’s True Intent.]

Chen Lingxi carefully memorized the information before gathering his focus. He sat cross-legged in the void once more, closed his eyes slightly, and waited peacefully.

He was still holding the Yi Turtle Shell in his hand.

The shell was about two chi wide and dark cyan all over. Countless complex patterns covered its surface, crossing horizontally and diagonally, winding straight and curved. They appeared naturally formed, yet possessed an indescribably profound rhythm.

Chen Lingxi examined it closely with the Method of Qi Observation. He saw a wisp of ancient energy faintly swimming through every fold of the patterns, as if the grand geography of the world’s mountains and rivers had been condensed onto that piece of shell.

’This item was naturally born with the Yi Turtle and contains the rules of heaven and earth.

’If I take it back and study it day after day, it might help me fully comprehend the mysteries within the Heavenly Statute Edict.’

’Such a treasure is the greatest harvest of my Absolute Perception this time,’ Chen Lingxi pondered.

Another day passed.

The tenth day of the Absolute Perception Deduction quietly came to an end!

High in the sky, the radiance of the two bright mirrors suddenly softened.

They simultaneously erupted with one last burst of light before shattering!

With that, the Absolute Perception Divine Chamber completely dissipated.

—

Chen Lingxi returned to reality and slowly let out a breath of stale air.

He turned his palm over.

The Yi Turtle Shell lay quietly in his hand, radiating an ancient and mysterious energy.

Nodding in satisfaction, Chen Lingxi carefully put the Yi Turtle Shell away.

He stood up and walked out of the Water Curtain Cave.

Outside, the sunlight was perfect.

Three massive suns occupied different corners of the sky, their pure radiance illuminating the entire sea of clouds around Slumbering Deer Peak with crystal clarity.

Chen Lingxi did not hesitate in the slightest. That very day, he rode the clouds and flew straight toward Origin Eye Peak.

The journey was uneventful.

It was not until Chen Lingxi reached the low mountain three hundred and seventy li west of Origin Eye Peak that he once again withstood the lethal profound light and retrieved the Innate Jade.

Armed with the experience from his Absolute Perception Deduction, Chen Lingxi blocked the profound light this time without suffering even a minor injury.

Back in the Water Curtain Cave!

With the Innate Jade strapped to his waist, Chen Lingxi sat cross-legged and meticulously studied the Yi Turtle Shell!

Morning turned to evening, and the sun and moon rose and fell outside the cave!

The natural patterns on the Yi Turtle Shell did not seem like much at first glance.

But when Chen Lingxi used his dao as a furnace and his Dao Origin as the fire to imprint those patterns, thread by thread, onto his Dragon-Stripping Dao, he realized they contained profound mysteries.

’The flow of these patterns is like rivers and mountain ridges, or the swirling of wind and clouds and the orbit of stars.

’Each one is an independent pattern, yet they all interlink, like a grand formation of heaven and earth condensed into a few square inches.’

’Truly extraordinary,’ Chen Lingxi sighed in admiration.

He continued using his Dao Origin as a guide to carefully study the Yi Turtle Shell.

”So that’s how it is,” Chen Lingxi murmured, suddenly opening his eyes after a long time, a wide smile brimming in them.

”If I reconstruct my dao using these patterns, I can deepen my connection with heaven and earth. It will be easier to grasp and wield the Heavenly Statute Edict.”

”It will also be much easier to execute this profound Great Divine Ability in the future.”

Without further hesitation, Chen Lingxi sank his entire mind into it, meditating day and night.

More than a month quietly slipped by.

Outside the Water Curtain Cave, the flow of the thousand-zhang waterfall swelled and receded several times. The bamboo leaves on the mountain grew greener and greener as new shoots sprouted.

Inside the cave, Chen Lingxi remained completely motionless.

Until this day.

The morning light filtered into the cave, falling across his handsome, refined face.

He slowly opened his eyes.

The next instant, two patterns suddenly surfaced in the depths of his eyes.

They were like flowing streams of light, slowly trickling from the depths of his pupils before transforming into two marks swirling with dao rhythm.

In that moment, Chen Lingxi felt as though he could see the three massive suns revolving in their orbits across the sky. He saw the maps of countless mountains and rivers in the Land of Nine Palaces spread out beneath his feet, and he traced the flow of spiritual veins winding out from deep underground, connecting to endless lakes and peaks.

It was as if he himself were a part of heaven and earth, as if he had finally forged a complete connection with the world.

Chen Lingxi’s heart jolted, and the two patterns deep in his eyes slowly faded away.

He took a deep breath and muttered to himself, ”I’m only one step away from mastering the Heavenly Statute Edict.”

”But before that, I still need a little help.”

His gaze shifted toward Southern Brightness Peak.

Just like the opportunity he had discovered during his Absolute Perception.

There was a Daoist Qiaohe on Southern Brightness Peak.

This man was exceptionally skilled in alchemy.

And in his possession was a pill recipe.

The pill was called the [Heaven-Sensing Spiritual Medicine].

If one consumed this medicine, they would temporarily gain spiritual perception. When a cultivator tried to comprehend a Great Divine Ability like the Heavenly Statute Edict, the sudden enlightenment they would get from glimpsing the workings of heaven and earth would far surpass days of sitting in dry meditation.

”If I can get this medicine, I’ll have much more confidence in breaking through this bottleneck and thoroughly mastering the Heavenly Statute Edict,” he concluded.

He slowly stood up, washed the grime from his body, and changed into a dark gold robe tailored by Yuan Lingyu. Then he parted the water curtain, stepped onto the clouds, and headed straight for Southern Brightness Peak.

Southern Brightness Peak and Slumbering Deer Peak both belonged to the Fenglong Inner Peak, separated by a mere twenty thousand li.

With Chen Lingxi’s Wondrous State Cloud Soaring Technique, it didn’t take long for him to reach Southern Brightness Peak!

He brought the clouds down and slowly ascended the peak on foot.

The terrain grew steeper along the way, and the number of disciples he saw on the mountain gradually increased.

Chen Lingxi asked around as he went, simply stating that he was visiting an old acquaintance. Soon enough, a disciple from the foot of the mountain respectfully guided him to the front of a valley.

The valley was located on the western side of the peak. Its entrance was wide, flanked by several extremely old medicinal maples.

In front of the entrance, a faint wisp of smoke rose from the valley into the void, condensing into a grayish-white array screen three zhang above the top of the valley.

The array screen neither trembled nor dispersed, naturally possessing a profound momentum in its operation.

Chen Lingxi looked at it with the Method of Qi Observation. He could sense that the screen contained over ninety profound restrictions, interlocking and resonating with each other. It was definitely not something an ordinary Dao Foundation cultivator could casually pass through.

This was [Medicine Weaving Valley], the place where Daoist Qiaohe cultivated.

Chen Lingxi landed outside the grand array.

Sure enough, two disciples stood before the array. One stood to the left with his arms by his sides, while the other stood to the right with his hands behind his back.

Seeing Chen Lingxi land from the clouds, the two disciples were momentarily startled before adjusting their robes and bowing.

”Greetings, Immortal,” they said.

”May we ask why the Immortal has come?”

Chen Lingxi returned the bow and said, ”My name is Yuan Zhiling, a disciple under True Person Xiangshu of Slumbering Deer Peak. I have come today specifically to visit Daoist Qiaohe of your esteemed estate.”

”A True Person’s disciple?” The two disciples were instantly filled with reverence. The older of the two said, ”Please wait a moment, Immortal. I will enter the valley and announce your arrival at once.”

With that, he turned and vanished into the array screen, leaving the other disciple waiting outside.

A short while later, the disciple emerged from the array. With an apologetic look on his face, he bowed to Chen Lingxi and said, ”Immortal! Our Valley Master is currently entertaining an esteemed guest.”

Chen Lingxi raised an eyebrow.

The disciple continued, ”That esteemed guest is Immortal Shi Xi from Azure Sky Peak.

She is ranked second on the Third Profound Ranking, making her incredibly distinguished even within the Dragon-Revering Sect.

”She has been here refining medicine these past few days, and our Valley Master is personally accompanying her.

”Because of this... it is inconvenient for him to see you, Senior.”

”Inconvenient to see me...” Chen Lingxi murmured.

’Shi Xi?’

That name was not unfamiliar to Chen Lingxi.

Years ago, when he first used the Vision Roaming Divine Ability to spy on Liu Changle, he had seen Sun Observation Peak in the images of the Great Xuanzhuo Realm.

At the time, Sun Observation Peak was being harassed by Yellow Luminary Peak.

Liu Changle had mentioned an old friend who grew up on Sun Observation Peak but left to cultivate at Azure Sky Inner Peak. Her name was Shi Xi.

Later, Liu Changle personally went to Azure Sky Inner Peak to request a meeting with Shi Xi.

He had hoped she would intervene and save Sun Observation Peak for the sake of their past ties as fellow disciples.

But that time, Liu Changle never got to see Shi Xi.

’In just a few short years, this Shi Xi has actually cultivated to second place on the Third Profound Ranking, to the point where even an expert Daoist alchemist has to personally accompany her.’

’Number two on the Third Profound Ranking... no wonder Daoist Qiaohe treats her with such importance.’

Reaching this conclusion, Chen Lingxi decided not to press the issue. He simply gave a slight nod to the array-guarding disciple and asked, ”Since that’s the case, I won’t impose.

”Do you know when the medicine refinement in the valley will be finished?”

The disciple looked troubled and shook his head. ”We do not know.”

Chen Lingxi frowned slightly.

Just as he was lost in thought, the wind and clouds in the sky suddenly howled.

The boundless, cloudless blue sky was suddenly swarmed by massive banks of clouds surging in from all directions.

The clouds churned and gathered at blinding speed. In the blink of an eye, they had condensed into a dark, sun-blotting mass over Southern Brightness Peak.

From beneath those clouds, several terrifying auras slowly pressed down from the void.

Chen Lingxi couldn’t help but look up.

He saw two powerful experts already hovering beneath the dark clouds.

One wore the standard Daoist robes of Southern Brightness Peak. Their aura was like concealed blazing flames; despite a graceful bearing, there was a constant, underlying trace of unrevealed killing intent.

This was Zhu Mi of Southern Brightness Peak.

The other was dressed in casual clothes with a longsword strapped to his waist, his features exceptionally sharp.

This was Qi Chuan of Illuminating Sword Profound Peak.

Aside from them, several other people stood behind each of them.

Every single one of those people possessed extraordinary cultivation and profound auras!

They stood atop the clouds, looking down from above.

The two converging auras pressed down simultaneously, more heart-palpitating than the howling winds and clouds of earlier.

And at this moment, Qi Chuan from Illuminating Sword Profound Peak was peering down from on high, his eyes locked dead onto Chen Lingxi.

He spoke slowly, his cold, clear voice echoing across the entirety of Southern Brightness Peak, ”A chance encounter in the mountains. Who knew Little Martial Uncle would also be here.”

Chen Lingxi tilted his head up to meet that gaze, his eyes narrowing slightly.