After the Great Dao Died

Once the azure-gold sword light dissipated, silence returned to the wilderness.

Chen Lingxi stood in the void, his robes snapping in the wind.

He looked toward where Lord Xiuyun had just stood. Now, only a few wisps of lingering sword qi remained, slowly fading into the wind.

”No wonder the Heavenly Statute Edict is so difficult to cultivate. Its power is truly extraordinary.”

Chen Lingxi coughed a few times. A dull ache throbbed across many parts of his body, and the dao yuan within his dao was nearly depleted.

Yet undeniably, Chen Lingxi felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment at this moment.

”Defeating a Dao Foundation Middle Stage expert with my Early Dao Foundation cultivation is enough to be proud of.”

Although Chen Lingxi had cultivated two Great Divine Abilities, his second Profound Root had not yet taken root within his dao. Compared to a true Dao Foundation Middle Stage cultivator, the disparity in their dao yuan was immense, almost impossible to bridge.

Yet, he had still killed Lord Xiuyun.

”In that battle just now, if I hadn’t successfully cultivated the Heavenly Statute Edict, there would have been absolutely no way to defeat Lord Xiuyun.”

Lord Xiuyun’s two Great Divine Abilities, Sea Within Qi and Heaven-Illuminating, complemented each other. Supported by three Fourth Grade spiritual artifacts, she had been flawless in both offense and defense, advancing and retreating with perfect measure.

If he had not used the Heavenly Statute Edict to completely cut off the sky’s light and render her Heaven-Illuminating divine ability useless, he would have had absolutely no chance of breaking through the blockade of her Sea Within Qi Great Divine Ability.

Thinking of this, Chen Lingxi slowly let out a breath of stale air.

Wisps of cloud gathered beneath his feet, supporting his body as he slowly descended to the desolate wilderness.

Lord Xiuyun’s corpse had already been reduced to nothingness beneath that sword strike.

However, her spiritual artifacts and Vast Void Pouch had not dissipated along with her.

Chen Lingxi swept his gaze over the wilderness using the Method of Qi Observation. Very soon, behind a rock, he found an entirely blue-grey Vast Void Pouch, along with several scattered spiritual artifacts.

As Lord Xiuyun was a Dao Foundation Middle Stage figure from the Sandalwood Cloud Peak Lineage, the items she possessed were naturally extraordinary.

First were the three Fourth Grade spiritual artifacts.

The first was the Void-Stirring Damask.

This damask was grey and only about a zhang in length. When unfurled, it was as soft as smoke and clouds, capable of churning the void within a radius of several tens of zhang.

Any spell, divine ability, or sword light disturbed by this damask would deviate from its original trajectory, shedding off several degrees of its lethal power.

The second was the Origin-Repelling Great Banner.

That plain white banner was engraved with complex patterns in silver thread. The moment it was unfurled, an irresistible and overwhelming repulsive force would spread in all directions from the banner’s surface, capable of pushing away all of an opponent’s spells, magical treasures, and even their physical body.

Then there was the Flowing Light Shuttle.

That jade-green flying shuttle was barely three cun long, yet the speed of its strike was unbelievably fast. Once driven by dao yuan, it would flash like a fleeting beam of light, moving so fast it left the opponent with no way to dodge.

”If these three spiritual artifacts can be used in tandem with the Heavenly Statute Edict and Thunder Prison Heaven, my combat strength will definitely reach a higher level.”

Chen Lingxi took out the three spiritual artifacts one by one and carefully inspected them with his divine sense. Only after confirming that they carried no dao yuan brand left by Lord Xiuyun did he store them in his Chaos Pouch.

Aside from these three Fourth Grade spiritual artifacts, Chen Lingxi also found a very unique item within the Vast Void Pouch.

”This is a Cauldron Vessel Fragment?”

Chen Lingxi raised an eyebrow, staring at the object in his hand.

A familiar ancient aura slowly emanated from the fragment.

He slowly injected his dao yuan into it. In the blink of an eye, a very faint phantom surfaced above it.

The phantom resembled both an ox and a tiger. It had an ox’s body and a tiger’s head, with a single hook-like horn protruding high from the center of its forehead, curving just enough to point back toward its spine.

And right in the center of the ox head’s forehead was a third eye.

That third eye was tightly shut. Its eyelids were deep as a pool, covered in incredibly complex patterns that intertwined and linked together, much like an ancient talisman branded onto the forehead of some primordial mighty figure.

Chen Lingxi focused his attention and looked closely.

At that moment, he felt a very subtle yet distinct gaze slowly falling upon him from the third eye on the Cauldron Vessel Fragment.

That gaze landed on his body, taking in all his movements, all his aura, and all his traces.

With a thought, another wisp of fresh dao yuan flowed out from his dao and slowly injected into the fragment.

The instant the dao yuan entered, the third eye on the Cauldron Vessel Fragment suddenly opened a slit.

Streams of profound information subsequently cascaded into his mind.

Chen Lingxi slowly narrowed his eyes.

”So that’s how it is.”

He now understood the miraculous use of this Cauldron Vessel Fragment.

”[Eye Origin Beast Pupil]... So this is the Cauldron Vessel Fragment Lord Xiuyun used to track my traces and learn that I came here.”

Chen Lingxi lowered his eyelids, using that wisp of dao yuan to carefully sense the fragment’s ancient aura.

Although that aura hadn’t completely dissipated yet, it was already extremely faint.

He made a rough estimate. This Eye Origin Beast Pupil Cauldron Vessel Fragment could be used at most one more time.

’Once is enough.’

He thought.

Though the remaining uses were few, it made up for it with its precision.

Thinking of this, Chen Lingxi stored the Eye Origin Beast Pupil Cauldron Vessel Fragment in his pouch, then continued to inspect the rest of the items in the Vast Void Pouch.

Inside the pouch were several bottles of pills, a few rolls of spiritual materials, and several talismans, all of which were no ordinary goods.

Chen Lingxi put these away one by one, returning them all to the Vast Void Pouch.

But when his divine sense swept through the deepest part of the pouch, he suddenly paused in slight surprise.

Deep inside the pouch was a segment of beast bone.

The beast bone was about half a chi long and completely pale white, bearing inexplicable patterns.

Those patterns were irregular, as if they had grown naturally on that segment of bone rather than being artificially carved.

Chen Lingxi took out the segment of beast bone and examined it carefully.

There was not a single wisp of spiritual light on the bone, nor even a trace of an aura.

It didn’t look particularly special.

But when Chen Lingxi slowly injected a wisp of his dao yuan into that segment of beast bone...

Right at this moment!

Inside Chen Lingxi’s Vast Void Pouch, a mysterious spiritual artifact, the [Tide-Summoning Horn], suddenly trembled!

The Tide-Summoning Horn was a spiritual artifact he had found in his early years within the Immortal Pivot of the Weiji Grotto-Heaven, after observing the entire Weiji Grotto-Heaven.

The Abyssal Heaven Spiritual Sword, Return to Void Sword Pagoda, Spirit-Calming Shuttle, and Profound Binding Decree were all obtained from that same occasion.

Besides those, there was also the [Plain Moon Precious Pearl], [Cold Jade Jue], [Returning Light Shield], [Profound Wind Turtle Spirit Pendant], [Li-Fire Furnace], the heavily damaged ancient sword [Broken Frost], and an [Ancient Pill] sealed inside a crystal.

Even now, Chen Lingxi still didn’t know the grades or exact utilities of these spiritual artifacts and treasures.

And one of them was this Tide-Summoning Horn.

Its exterior was only about a chi long and entirely pale white, with patterns also flowing across its surface.

Ever since he stepped into the Great Xuanzhuo Realm, this Tide-Summoning Horn, along with the other treasures, had always lain quietly in the depths of his Chaos Pouch without making any unusual movements.

But right now, the Tide-Summoning Horn actually resonated from within the Vast Void Pouch, as if answering the call of the beast bone segment in front of him.

Chen Lingxi took the Tide-Summoning Horn out of the pouch and placed it on his palm alongside the beast bone.

As soon as the two spiritual items drew near each other, a trace of resonance faintly sparked between the innate patterns on their surfaces.

”Interesting, these two things are actually resonating with each other.”

Chen Lingxi looked closely using the Method of Qi Observation and saw that between those two pale white patterns, a faint connecting line was being sketched out from the void.

An aura slowly circulated along that connecting line, resembling two spiritual beasts that had shared the same origin in ancient times, now whispering and responding to each other in the void after reuniting.

Chen Lingxi slightly raised his eyebrows.

Using his dao yuan as a guide, he tried to slowly bring the beast bone segment closer to the Tide-Summoning Horn.

But right at the exact instant the two spiritual items were about to touch...

That connecting line sketched out from the void suddenly trembled, turned into a sky full of motes of light, and scattered away.

The beast bone and the Tide-Summoning Horn remained quietly hovering over his palm, but they could no longer draw even a fraction closer to each other.

Chen Lingxi urged them with his dao yuan a few more times, but the result was always the same.

’It seems many pieces are still missing?’

He thought, guessing that the beast bone and the Tide-Summoning Horn must definitely share the same origin.

But merging them into one would probably not be that simple.

”I’ll just keep them away for now.”

He carefully stored the beast bone in the pouch and put the Tide-Summoning Horn away along with it.

The inventory of his spoils was complete.

Chen Lingxi closed the Vast Void Pouch and slowly stood up.

He was in no rush to leave, instead looking carefully toward that Solitary Mountain with Yinghuo hanging high above it!

During the exchange with Lord Xiuyun just now, he had circulated his Dragon-Stripping Dao and his Dragon-Stripping Dao-Transforming One Qi True Incantation at full power from beginning to end.

Precisely because of this, during the battle, Chen Lingxi had actually faintly detected...

...that within the Yinghuo Solitary Mountain, an extremely deeply hidden and profoundly mysterious aura was slowly flowing.

Surprised, Chen Lingxi looked closely at the Solitary Mountain.

The Solitary Mountain was like a dark red iron pillar, thrusting straight into the heavenly vault.

At the mountain’s peak, the lingering star of Yinghuo still hung high, spilling down an aura of ferocious slaughter!

Chen Lingxi thought for a moment and once again activated the Dragon-Stripping Dao-Transforming One Qi True Incantation.

’The true incantation I cultivate is a true incantation of stripping, stripping the essence of heaven and earth, and seizing the opportunities of creation.’

’Yet for so long, I have never encountered a treasure capable of nourishing my true incantation. Only today seems to be different.’

He thought. Using the true incantation as a guide, the dao yuan circulated around his body, sensing every wandering spiritual wisp in the world one by one before capturing the location of that mysterious aura among them.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths!

Chen Lingxi suddenly opened his eyes. Cloud qi gathered beneath his feet, carrying him slowly toward that location.

The waist of the Solitary Mountain!

A very narrow stone crevice was hidden amidst the jagged, dark red rock face.

Outside the stone crevice, a layer of ferocious slaughter qi still covered it. If an ordinary person were to walk past this place, they would only treat it as an ordinary fissure in the mountainside and would not harbor the slightest suspicion.

By carefully sensing with the Dragon-Stripping True Formula, Chen Lingxi clearly detected a mysterious aura coming from within that stone crevice!

”It’s right here.”

Chen Lingxi’s eyes lit up as he stepped into the stone crevice.

Inside the stone crevice was a world of its own.

It was a tiny cave, no more than a zhang in radius, with all four walls made of dark red mountain rock.

Deep within the cave, a silvery-white radiance circulated from a depression in the rock, breathing quietly like miniature moonlight.

Chen Lingxi slowly approached and looked down.

Only then did he see clearly where this silvery-white radiance was coming from.

It was a silver thread! It was about three cun long, entirely silvery-white, and radiating light. It looked just like an ordinary silkworm thread, yet an ancient, pure aura naturally emanated from it.

”This is the aura sensed by the Dragon-Stripping Dao.”

Feeling pleasantly surprised, Chen Lingxi used a strand of dao yuan to grasp the silver thread and activated the Dragon-Stripping Dao-Transforming One Qi True Incantation!

As the true incantation circulated, the Thunder Prison Profound Root and the Heavenly Statute Profound Root above his dao trembled, retracting this silver thread into his dao!

The silver thread entered his dao!

Like a fine grain of sand, it hung silently in the void of his dao. It did not dissipate, nor did it move, and it was not refined in the slightest.

Chen Lingxi activated the Dragon-Stripping True Formula several times, but the result was always the same.

”This is rather strange.”

Chen Lingxi muttered to himself, and then tried to refine it directly with his dao yuan.

But the silver thread still did not budge.

It did not reject his dao yuan, but neither did it accept his dao yuan.

It was like a star suspended in the void, merely guarding its own ancient and pure aura, refusing to associate with him in the slightest.

After trying several times, Chen Lingxi shook his head in resignation.

”I can’t refine it.”

”Perhaps my mastery of the Dragon-Stripping Dao-Transforming One Qi True Incantation is still lacking.”

”Never mind. Since this silver thread treasure is now inside my dao, I’ll just study it slowly.”

Chen Lingxi no longer dwelled on it and rose into the clouds.

”Time to head back.”

—

Inside a secluded cave dwelling halfway up a mountain on the Illuminating Sword Profound Peak, Qi Chuan sat cross-legged.

Floating before him was that Bamboo Slip Cauldron Vessel, the Anger-Devouring Bamboo Husk.

The bamboo’s body was as dark and heavy as deep water, and a layer of ancient aura slowly circulated over it.

And at this moment, on that bamboo slip, the three radiantly golden characters of the name [Yuan Zhiling] suddenly bloomed with bright light.

The golden light surged abruptly from deep within the bamboo body, then spread out from both sides of the bamboo like a tidal wave, bathing the entire cave dwelling in radiant gold.

Within that golden light, countless dense and profound mysteries could faintly be seen circulating, intertwining and connecting with one another, like an invisible river sealed deep within the bamboo slip that was now churning.

Qi Chuan opened his eyes and gazed at the golden light.

”Finally!”

He muttered to himself, his tone carrying a hint of a smile that was nearly satisfied after long suppression.

”This Little Martial Uncle got angry after all.”

That bamboo slip had fed on that wisp of anger.

”It seems Lord Xiuyun has already made her move. Before long, our Little Martial Uncle will die filled with shock and anger by Lord Xiuyun’s hands.”

Qi Chuan flicked his sleeve and raised his hand, gathering that patch of golden light into his palm.

The golden light entered his palm!

It carried its own profound mystery!

The smile on Qi Chuan’s face grew even clearer.

”This sort of profound mystery is actually even more extraordinary than I thought.”

”This Little Martial Uncle, Yuan Zhiling, truly has an incredibly mysterious foundation to be able to bring me such an opportunity.”

Qi Chuan sighed in admiration, still anticipating the other subsequent Cauldron Vessel Opportunities.

But right at this time.

Within the golden light, Yuan Zhiling’s name dimmed.

The golden light retracted, and the bamboo slip returned to silence.

The cave dwelling once again returned to darkness.

Qi Chuan’s expression froze.

He slowly lowered his head, staring at the now-silent Bamboo Slip Cauldron Vessel in his palm.

”That’s it?”

Qi Chuan couldn’t help but mutter to himself, a trace of disbelief still lingering in his tone.

That wisp of anger had suddenly retracted; it was so thin and so fleeting.

Although the anger the bamboo slip had fed on was profound, it was far from enough to help him break through his bottleneck.

”I’ll wait a bit longer.”

Qi Chuan sat in place, waiting for a long time.

But the cauldron vessel still showed no signs of movement whatsoever!

”Could Lord Xiuyun have failed? How is that even possible?”

Qi Chuan frowned and pondered for a moment. Suddenly feeling somewhat irritated and frustrated, he couldn’t help but flick his finger!

The churning sea of clouds outside the cave was sliced into pieces by Qi Chuan’s chilling sword intent...