After the Great Dao Died

Xu Sanchi had thought this Little Martial Uncle had seen through the ploy and come to his senses. He never expected him to actually agree.

”Since that is the case, how about we set it for three days from now? Little Martial Uncle looks travel-worn; you must have just returned and still need a few days to rest.” Xu Sanchi slowly cupped his hands, his tone mild, though an irrepressible glint shone in his eyes.

”Three days from now, I, Xu Sanchi of Illuminating Sword Profound Peak, will seek Little Martial Uncle’s guidance here before the Water Curtain Cave of Slumbering Deer Peak.” He then turned to Chu Zhuo. ”I ask Martial Uncle to bear witness to our wager.”

Chu Zhuo gave a slight nod and bowed to Chen Lingxi with cupped hands. He then took a step back and rose into the clouds alongside Xu Sanchi.

The two figures ascended from before the Water Curtain Cave, crossing the layers of mist on Slumbering Deer Peak. In an instant, they vanished into the churning sea of clouds.

A faint smile touched Chen Lingxi’s lips. He stood before the Water Curtain Cave with his hands claspped behind his back, watching the two figures disappear into the horizon’s clouds. Then, he slowly turned around, parted the water curtain, and stepped into the cave.

High above the Water Curtain Cave, amid the distant clouds of the heavens, a figure in white sat cross-legged in the sea of clouds.

The man was tall and slender, dressed in white robes with a sword at his waist. It was the senior disciple of Slumbering Deer Peak, Shen Xiu’an.

His sword intent was completely concealed, much like an ancient sword sunk into a deep pool, hiding every trace of its edge.

From start to finish, the three people in front of the Water Curtain Cave had never sensed his presence hidden within the mist.

Yet Shen Xiu’an had heard every word of the exchange between Chen Lingxi, Chu Zhuo, and Xu Sanchi.

Now, watching the two figures depart, Shen Xiu’an slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. ”Junior Brother is still young and his cultivation is shallow. It is understandable that he failed to see through the Great Divine Ability, the Raging Tide Method.”

A cold glint flashed in his eyes. ”How interesting. To think you dare plot against a core disciple of my Slumbering Deer Peak. So what if you win, Xu Sanchi?”

He scoffed coldly, the icy glare in his eyes deepening.

In Shen Xiu’an’s view, Chen Lingxi’s Dao Origin was indeed not as profound as Xu Sanchi’s.

Moreover, Xu Sanchi had cultivated the sword Dao for a long time and was the second-ranked figure on the First Profound Celestial Ranking.

Unless one had rare fortuitous encounters, an ordinary Early Dao Foundation cultivator could spend a hundred years and still not match half of his accumulated Dao Origin.

Not to mention that Xu Sanchi had already mastered two Great Divine Abilities.

One was the [Profound Genesis Eye], which saw through illusions and could perceive the flaws in an opponent’s divine abilities. If cultivated to its absolute limit, it could even observe the flaws of heaven and earth.

The other was even more extraordinary, named [Sword Qi Great Prayer]. It relied on one’s own sword Dao conviction to nourish a peerless sword light day and night, possessing terrifying power!

Running both divine abilities in tandem—one for observation and one for slaughter, one for defense and one for attack—made Xu Sanchi a figure with extremely heavy killing power among sword cultivators.

Meanwhile, the second divine ability Chen Lingxi was currently cultivating was the Heavenly Statute Edict.

The Heavenly Statute Edict represented the Dao of the world’s grand momentum. Its methods were obscure and fraught with bottlenecks.

”It is impossible for Junior Brother to master the Heavenly Statute Edict so easily,” Shen Xiu’an murmured. ”Facing two Great Divine Abilities with only one, Junior Brother is bound to lose.”

His brows furrowed slightly. ”Chu Zhuo, you are truly unworthy of being a sword cultivator!”

Chu Zhuo possessed a Fourth Profound cultivation and profound Dao practice, yet he stooped to such despicable methods...

At this thought, the sword qi around Shen Xiu’an grew even more condensed.

He looked down at the churning water curtain below.

Inside the cave, Chen Lingxi’s aura had already settled into silence.

”If I stand as your Dao protector, no one beneath the Golden Portal will be able to plot against you,” he murmured.

He slowly closed his eyes, his sword intent quietly flowing out into the surrounding mist.

—

Three days passed in a flash.

Outside the Water Curtain Cave, sunlight drifted down through the gaps in the clouds.

The phantom of the divine deer above Slumbering Deer Peak still hung high in the boundless void. Rosy light spilled down, illuminating the sea of clouds until it was bright and clear.

The thousand-foot waterfall cascaded from the cliff’s peak, its rushing waters sounding like thunder.

The water curtain parted.

A figure in black slowly walked out from the shimmering waters.

He wore a profound black brocade robe embroidered with gold patterns. His aura was calm and deep.

With every step, his aura seemed to blend seamlessly with heaven and earth.

It was Chen Lingxi.

At the same time, many figures from Illuminating Sword Profound Peak had come to watch the sword fight. They hovered above the distant clouds, looking down at the scene.

All of their eyes were fixed on Chen Lingxi.

Chen Lingxi ignored them. He simply raised his head and gazed into the churning sea of clouds.

From the depths of the clouds, a white-clad figure slowly descended from the void.

It was Xu Sanchi!

He still wore the same white robe today, spiritual patterns flowing across its fabric. The sword intent swirling around him was even more concentrated than it had been three days ago.

He landed from the clouds onto the other end of the stone steps, facing Chen Lingxi from a distance, and bowed with cupped hands.

”Little Martial Uncle,” Xu Sanchi said slowly, his voice clear. ”Today is not about victory or defeat, but merely a discussion of the sword. Little Martial Uncle, there is no need to hold back.”

Chen Lingxi nodded.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Xu Sanchi took a step forward!

With that single step, he resembled a drawn treasure sword, completely unfurling the sword intent around him!

Xu Sanchi had cultivated the sword Dao for untold years!

The moment he made his move, surging sword light shot into the sky, bursting with radiant brilliance.

At the same time, two faint glimmers flickered in his eyes as he stared straight at Chen Lingxi!

It was the Great Divine Ability named [Profound Genesis Eye]!

This profound Great Divine Ability saw directly through illusions. When cultivated to extreme depths, it could glimpse the flaws in an opponent’s divine abilities in a split second, and even peer into the gaps in the world’s operation!

Now, as the faint glimmer in Xu Sanchi’s pupils landed on Chen Lingxi, he instantly saw the Dao Origin flowing around him. It surged like a river and tide, clearly visible.

But when he focused the double pupils of his [Profound Genesis Eye] to inspect the Weiji Thunder Radiance born from Chen Lingxi’s Thunder Prison Heaven Divine Ability, his brow furrowed.

’Thunder Prison Heaven, a Great Divine Ability of killing power,’ he murmured inwardly.

He had previously witnessed Chen Lingxi’s sword strike before the Dragon Transformation Immortal Roll and knew his killing power was extraordinary.

Yet Thunder Prison Heaven was ultimately a slaughter-oriented divine ability. Meeting killing with killing and attack with attack usually meant its internal structure hid many flaws.

However, Chen Lingxi’s Thunder Prison Heaven was entirely seamless. The thunder patterns upon it resembled dragons, and every peal of thunder and wisp of lightning had been harmonized so tightly and solidly that not a single flaw could be found.

This divine ability had already reached sheer perfection in Chen Lingxi’s hands.

The clear light in Xu Sanchi’s eyes condensed slightly before scattering.

’No need to worry. A flaw will naturally reveal itself once the clash begins!’ he thought, and without hesitation, he activated his second Great Divine Ability!

”Great Prayer.”

In an instant, countless fine strands of sword qi rose from the void around him.

At first, the sword qi was merely a series of threads, thin as silk, drifting like gossamer in the wind.

But in just a few breaths, they surged like a mighty river, spreading out around him in massive swathes.

The sword qi crisscrossed, its sharp edges fully bared.

That field of sword light was exactly what he had cultivated by constantly feeding his own sword Dao conviction into a single strand of sword qi through thirty years of great prayer—the [Great Prayer Sword Qi]!

Xu Sanchi had cultivated this sword light for thirty years.

Praying with his sword Dao conviction, he had spent day and night pouring thousands of conceptualizations of that strike into that single strand of sword qi.

Over thirty years, he had visualized it daily and chanted silently nightly, bit by bit tracing the phantom of the ”peerless sword light” in his heart onto that wisp of sword qi.

By now, this Great Prayer sword light was incomparably sharp!

Once this sword was unleashed, no one in the Early Dao Foundation realm could stop it.

’This is my proudest sword,’ he thought silently.

The next instant.

Xu Sanchi raised his hand!

The Great Prayer Sword Qi slashed straight down at Chen Lingxi’s head.

The moment the sword light left his hand, it rocketed into the sky.

In the blink of an eye, it swept across the vast sky, transforming into a dazzling arc capable of tearing the heavens apart, and fell directly toward the black-clad figure before the Water Curtain Cave.

Wherever the sword light passed, the daylight was plowed open down the middle by its qi.

The void shattered inch by inch beneath the strike, revealing countless fine cracks edged with the silvery-white glow of sword qi.

”What fine sword qi!” cheered one of the Illuminating Sword Profound Peak disciples watching from the clouds.

This sword strike was far more terrifying than the rumors suggested.

Yet Chen Lingxi still stood exactly where he was.

His spiritual sense circulated, clearly perceiving the Great Prayer sword light crashing toward him from the sky like an inverted milky way.

The might of this sword qi was overwhelming—so overwhelming that it drained the color from the heavens above.

Yet Chen Lingxi’s expression remained as calm as ever.

The next moment!

He lightly flicked his finger!

At his fingertip, a wisp of pale gold lines slowly flowed out from the depths of his Dao Platform before dissipating into the air!

The Great Divine Ability: Heavenly Statute Edict!

”Edict!” Chen Lingxi said. ”The sword light in this place! Above, it shall not inherit the light of heaven; below, it shall not absorb the qi of the earth. All that is not born of my Dao shall not remain bright!”

Deep within the clouds, Chu Zhuo’s expression shifted slightly as he watched.

Xu Sanchi’s pupils contracted, and even heaven and earth seemed to tremble slightly!

Just then, Xu Sanchi’s Great Prayer sword light—capable of tearing the heavens—fell into the midair space right above Chen Lingxi’s head.

Before it could get within half an inch of Chen Lingxi, the sword light abruptly stalled.

Xu Sanchi’s face finally underwent a drastic change. He clearly felt that the sharp intent flowing endlessly from his sword Dao conviction onto the Great Prayer sword light he had tempered day and night for thirty years was actually beginning to weaken!

In a split second, the sharpness of the sword light faded a fraction.

And in the next instant, it faded another fraction.

The Great Prayer sword light that illuminated the surroundings and struck fear into onlookers, the peerless sword light condensed to its absolute limit, was now like a blade whose source spring was gradually being severed. Its edge remained, but its brilliance had already dimmed!

A violent shock ran through Xu Sanchi’s heart.

Three instants later, the light of the strike had already dimmed by a third.

Five instants later, its sharpness was halved.

”What kind of divine ability is this?” Xu Sanchi was inexplicably shocked. He had never seen such a method before.

Before he could steady his thoughts, he tried to activate his other divine abilities and other sword lights!

But the next moment, the Abyssal Heaven Spiritual Sword suddenly shot out from beside Chen Lingxi!

The residual lines of the hundred restrictions on the blade lit up all at once, and an unparalleled, violent sword intent erupted into the sky from its edge.

The Jade Tiger Rebellious Sea Sword Light spewed forth from the Abyssal Heaven Spiritual Sword!

Meanwhile, deep within his Sea of Consciousness, the Great Prison Furnace abruptly rose.

Tens of thousands of lightning streaks from the depths of the Thunder Prison Heaven surged out of the furnace and entirely poured into the Jade Tiger Rebellious Sea Sword Light.

The sword light skyrocketed.

From one streak it became ten, from ten it became a hundred, and from a hundred it became millions.

The sword light swept across the sky. Like a cyan-gold tiger that had broken free from eternal shackles, roaring to swallow the four seas, it carried tremendous thunder power and murderous aura as it slashed directly toward the Great Prayer sword light that had already weakened by half.

The Jade Tiger Rebellious Sea Sword Light slammed into the half-diminished Great Prayer sword light!

Its terrifying killing power shook everything in all directions!

The two sword lights crashed into each other in midair.

Having already lost half its strength, the Great Prayer sword light only held on for a few breaths under the impact of Chen Lingxi’s overwhelming sword light before disintegrating inch by inch. It shattered into fine specks of light that filled the sky, only to be crushed into utter nothingness by the Jade Tiger Rebellious Sea Sword Light.

The Great Prayer sword light that Xu Sanchi had nourished for thirty years shattered just like that.

Xu Sanchi stumbled back violently in the void, his face suddenly turning pale.

”How is this possible?”

The sword intent around him crumbled. A look bordering on absolute disbelief finally emerged in his eyes.

His peerless sword light had actually been forcefully suppressed and annihilated in midair!

”Two Great Divine Abilities, terrifying killing power... Yuan Zhiling, with such a foundation, why are you only ranked second on the First Profound Ranking?” he asked.

Xu Sanchi stood where he was. Though he still had strength to spare, he already knew he could not defeat this Little Martial Uncle.

Forcing himself to keep fighting would only end in greater humiliation.

The numerous figures above the clouds were also somewhat at a loss.

Xu Sanchi was second on the First Profound Ranking! The number one person in the Early Dao Foundation realm of Illuminating Sword Profound Peak, yet today he had been cleanly and decisively defeated by this obscure Little Martial Uncle.

It inevitably left them astounded.

Sunlight drifted down through the gaps in the clouds, shining onto the stone steps. Chen Lingxi slowly sheathed his sword, then turned and cupped his hands toward Xu Sanchi.

”Martial Nephew Xu,” he said, his tone calm. ”That sword strike of yours was indeed extraordinary.”

Xu Sanchi remained silent for a long time before finally bowing slowly with cupped hands.

”Little Martial Uncle’s sword Dao is profound. I am no match.”

With that, he pulled the Sword-Nourishing Cage from his sleeve and placed it down in front of the Water Curtain Cave.

”I am willing to accept defeat after a gamble. This wager belongs to Little Martial Uncle.” Having said that, he stepped back and looked into the clouds.

The clouds parted, revealing Chu Zhuo’s figure.

He looked at Chen Lingxi, his eyes still holding a hint of surprise.

”To think Little Martial Uncle’s divine ability could order a sword light into decline...” Chu Zhuo said. ”In all my years of cultivation, I have never seen anyone in the same realm break the Great Prayer sword light so easily.”

Chen Lingxi did not reply.

Right at that moment.

Chu Zhuo’s expression suddenly flickered.

He slowly raised his head and gazed deep into the sea of clouds hanging high outside the Water Curtain Cave.

From within those clouds, one stream of spiritual sense after another unexpectedly rose from all over Slumbering Deer Peak, slowly converging toward this location.

It was the spiritual sense of several hall masters from the Six Halls of Slumbering Deer Peak.

The masters of the Law Enforcement Hall, the Opportunity Seeking Hall, and the Dharma Transmission Hall of Slumbering Deer Peak—and even several elders who rarely ventured out—were currently projecting their spiritual sense from their respective immortal caves, letting it descend upon the Water Curtain Cave.

Chu Zhuo’s heart sank slightly.

He looked up toward the further reaches of the cloud sea.

Over there, another stream of spiritual sense fell from the void above a side peak of Slumbering Deer Peak. It faintly rippled with the unique sword intent of the Slumbering Deer Peak lineage.

As the sea of clouds churned, it suddenly burst apart.

The thick, heavy clouds tore open from the center, transforming into mist that scattered across the sky.

From within it, a figure in white slowly revealed himself.

It was Shen Xiu’an.

He sat cross-legged in the void, the layer of sword intent around him soaring high. Like a dense edge capable of severing all things, it unfurled from him in all directions.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked down at Chu Zhuo of Illuminating Sword Profound Peak.

”Dao Brother Chu,” he said. His voice was calm, yet carried a daunting, majestic presence. ”You were defeated by my hands and failed to obtain the opportunity of the Suspended Qi Fruit Projection. To think you would now try to swindle my junior brother’s opportunity using such methods... It is far too despicable.”