After the Great Dao Died

Early the next morning, before the sky had even fully brightened, Chen Lingxi rose.

He changed into clean indigo short clothes, fastened a leather belt around his waist, and pulled on black-topped cloth shoes.

In his pack, he carried that Incense Burner, a few taels of broken silver, and a Travel Permit.

Pushing open the door, he followed the covered corridor and slipped out through the side gate of the Marquis Residence.

In the early dawn of Yuanjiang Prefecture, the streets and lanes lay silent. Only the breakfast stalls had opened their doors, their steamers puffing white vapor across the stoves, sending the aroma of flatbread drifting through the morning wind.

Chen Lingxi followed the long street northward and left the city gate using his Travel Permit.

Outside the city stretched vast expanses of farmland. The wheat seedlings were green and thriving.

He followed the official highway westward for over two hours before arriving at the foot of the mountain.

Cuojin Mountain.

Seen from a distance, the mountain resembled a reversed sword piercing straight toward the clouds.Only from up close did its true majesty reveal itself—the slopes were sheer and the rock faces bare, with only stunted pines and shrubs growing from the crevices.

Everything above the waist of the mountain was shrouded in swirling clouds and mist, masking it from view. Only the glare of reflecting snow could be faintly seen flashing through gaps in the clouds.

Chen Lingxi headed upward along the mountain trail.

He had never walked this path before. Relying solely on his memory from the Vision Wander that day, he pressed westward toward the direction where the purple qi had fallen.

The mountain track was rugged and strewn with broken gravel, making the walk rather strenuous.

Fortunately, with his cultivation now at Bronze-Red Great Completion, his physical stamina was far beyond what it had once been. He scaled the slope without feeling the least bit fatigued.

Reaching the midpoint of the mountain, he found a flat rock and sat down to rest.

The mountain wind swept down from the heights, carrying the chill of the snow and slightly stirring the loose hair across his forehead.

He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath.

The air was crisp, carrying the scent of pine needles and earth, along with the faint trace of a floral fragrance.

Facing the mountain wind, he closed his eyes and began his breathing exercises.

The spiritual qi within his dantian circulated slowly, cycling continuously through his meridians in time with his breathing.

Yet after only a few breaths, his brow furrowed and he opened his eyes.

”The spiritual qi on this mountain is far too thin.”

So thin it was almost imperceptible.

When he practiced his breathing inside the Marquis Residence, he had also found the spiritual qi of heaven and earth to be meager, but he could at least capture a wisp here and a thread there to slowly accumulate.

Here on Cuojin Mountain, however, the spiritual qi felt as though it had been siphoned away by something. It was completely empty; he could not capture even the slightest trace.

”This isn’t right.”

Chen Lingxi stood up and scanned his surroundings.

A mountain wilderness like this should have been a place of spiritual vitality, lush with vegetation and teeming with life.

For the spiritual qi to be this thin simply defied reason.

”The spiritual qi here is unimaginably thinner than inside the Baosu Marquis Residence.”

”What makes the Baosu Marquis Residence any different?”

He stood where he was and pondered for a moment.

Soon, his thoughts turned to the Incense Burner in the pack on his back.

”Perhaps this is exactly why Lin Suri distributed those Incense Burners.”

He retrieved that bronze-bodied Incense Burner from his pack, cradling it in his hands as he examined it closely.

”He ordered the entire residence to burn incense day in and day out. Maybe that Incense Burner isn’t just for driving away insects or perfuming the rooms, but for forming some kind of array, using the smoke as a medium to pull in spiritual qi from all directions for his cultivation.”

The moment the thought surfaced, he found it completely reasonable.

He did not dwell on it further, packing the Incense Burner away again before resuming his climb.

The mountain trail grew steeper, the woods thicker, and the light dimmer.

Chen Lingxi walked carefully. After roughly four hours, the sun reached its zenith.

With Chen Lingxi’s current physique, he had no need for rest. He crested a mountain ridge, and the view ahead suddenly opened up.

This was a relatively gentle slope blanketed in wild rhododendrons. The flowers were in full bloom—a sea of vibrant red that looked like burning fire.

Standing atop the slope, Chen Lingxi gazed into the distance.

The main peak of Cuojin Mountain rose not far ahead. Its sheer, snow-covered slopes gleamed with a blinding white brilliance under the sun.

At the foot of the mountain ran a winding road—the very same path where he had seen carriages passing during his Vision Wander that day.

He narrowed his eyes and watched it for a moment before pulling back his gaze and continuing west.

”According to my memory of that day, after the swordsman shattered the purple qi, the fragments scattered in all directions. One of the larger wisps should have fallen toward my current direction.”

As he walked, he paid attention to any activity in his surroundings.

The mountain was extremely quiet, filled only with the sound of the wind and the calls of birds.

After walking for another hour, Chen Lingxi could not help but frown.

”I remember that purple qi being slashed into many fragments, falling in all directions like rain.”

”I’ve walked for so long now—why haven’t I seen a single piece?”

He pondered briefly. ”The streak of purple qi inside Lin Suri’s Incense Burner was far from thick. He likely only obtained a single fragment himself, and not even the thickest one. Where did the other fragments go?”

Doubts stirred in Chen Lingxi’s heart. A few breaths later, he suddenly halted.

Inside his pack, the Incense Burner had trembled faintly.

That tremor was so slight that, had he not been paying constant attention, he would hardly have noticed it.

He hurriedly pulled the Incense Burner from his pack and cradled it in his hands.

At the bottom of the Incense Burner, that layer of dark-gold viscous liquid was sluggishly flowing—like a slumbering living creature that had been awakened and was squirming uneasily.

And the milky-white mist was condensing above the Incense Burner, tilting slightly toward a single direction as if being pulled by something.

”This Incense Burner actually responds to it.”

Chen Lingxi rejoiced inwardly and followed the direction the mist tilted.

Pushing through a dense forest and crossing a dried-up stream, he arrived before a rock cliff.

The cliff was not high, roughly two to three zhang, and was covered with vines and moss.

The mist inside the Incense Burner pointed perfectly straight toward this cliff face.

Setting the Incense Burner aside, Chen Lingxi reached out and parted the vines on the cliff.

Behind the vines lay a shallow stone crevice.

The crevice was extremely narrow, only wide enough to fit two fingers.

He slipped his fingers into the crevice and felt around for a moment until his fingertips touched something.

The object was extremely small, no larger than a peanut. It felt icy to the touch, like a tiny stone.

Yet the moment his fingertips touched it, an incredibly razor-sharp aura transmitted from his fingertips, stinging the pads of his fingers.

Chen Lingxi took a deep breath and drew the object out of the stone crevice.

It rested in his palm, faintly glowing with purple light.

It was a fragment.

A fragment of purple qi.

It was only the size of a peanut, and had been wedged inside the crack of the stone.

Yet the aura radiating from it made Chen Lingxi shudder.

That razor-sharp, fierce, overbearing aura shared the exact same origin as the purple qi that had erupted from the Treasure Bottle of the youth on Cuojin Mountain.

It was merely much weaker.

Not daring to delay, Chen Lingxi hastily lifted the Incense Burner and placed the purple qi fragment inside.

The instant the fragment fell to the bottom of the burner, that layer of viscous dark-gold liquid boiled over—like a starving beast that had finally waited out its prey.

Milky-white mist surged from the burner, wrapping the purple qi fragment layer upon layer.

The fragment instantly transformed into purple qi that slowly darted through the mist, thrashing left and right, yet fundamentally unable to break through the mist’s bindings.

”If this purple qi fragment were any larger, I’m afraid my Incense Burner wouldn’t be able to trap it.”

He abandoned the thought of searching for more fragments, carefully sealing the Incense Burner shut, wrapping it in coarse cloth, and stowing it back into his pack.

He stood up and exhaled a long breath.

Dusk had arrived.

The clouds along the horizon were dyed a deep dark gold by the setting sun, and the silhouettes of the mountains gradually blurred in the evening mist.

Standing before the cliff, he looked back at the path he had traveled.

The mountain road twisted away, vanishing into the depths of the dense forest.

The sound of the wind blew down from the mountain peak, carrying the chill of the snow and whipping his clothes until they snapped and fluttered.

He turned and began his descent down the mountain.

Inside his pack, that Incense Burner rested quietly.

At the bottom of the burner, a wisp of purple qi drifted slowly through the milky-white mist—like a tiny, trapped purple snake with nowhere to run.

”To think it went so smoothly?”

By the time Chen Lingxi reached the foot of the mountain, he saw the sun setting. The distant peaks loomed as shadowy silhouettes, and the Yuanjiang came winding into view.

Seeing the mountains and the flowing water, his long-suppressed yearning for freedom suddenly flared hot.

”Why don’t I... just flee Yuanjiang Prefecture right now!”

Chen Lingxi stood blankly in the countryside for a long time.

Only when clarity returned to his eyes did he shake his head slightly.

”It is just as Liu Zhu said. The world is in turmoil, the imperial court has checkpoints set up everywhere, and the Baosu Marquis Residence has many powerful experts.

If I flee, and Lin Longyue sets her mind on killing me, I’m afraid I won’t get far.”

”Even if I truly did manage to escape the prefectures and provinces controlled by the court, where could I go? Beacon fires of war burn everywhere across the realm—where is there freedom?”

Chen Lingxi’s gaze gradually grew clear.

He thought of Lin Longyue and County Princess Yunhe, who never opened their mouths without calling him a ’slave.’

He thought of Zhao Yong, who wanted to use him as a medicinal catalyst.

And finally, he thought of Imperial Consort Chun, who had ruined his family!

”I now have a period of breathing room, and I have obtained the purple qi!

With the Dragon-Drawing Powder in hand, I can leave the residence to purchase supplies for medicinal baths. In less than three months, I will certainly be able to break through to Qi Circulation 3rd Floor.

Qi Circulation 3rd Floor, the Silver Bone qi and blood cultivation, the Cyan Edge Method, plus this peerlessly formidable purple qi!

By that time, I will no longer be left to the slaughter. If there are other opportunities, I can become even stronger. Why must I flee?

Why not... stir up the winds and clouds right here in Yuanjiang Prefecture, in Jingji Province, and even in the capital, in order to exact my revenge?”

Chen Lingxi drew in a deep breath.

”Gather the flowers, return to the city, return to the residence!”