After the Great Dao Died

After half a year of bitter cultivation, he had advanced from Iron Body to Bronze-Red, and then from Bronze-Red to Silver Bone. He had taken it one step at a time, and though the path was arduous, he had finally achieved success.

Chen Lingxi stood in the courtyard for a moment. Only when his breathing settled did he turn and head back inside.

Returning to his room, he sat cross-legged on a woven mat, closed his eyes, and sank his consciousness into the Divine Chamber deep within his mind.

The void of the Divine Chamber was still shrouded in uneven mists.

His gaze fell directly upon the line of golden, tadpole-like script—

[Divine Ability: Thorough Awakening (Source Restoration: 99%)]

Chen Lingxi was slightly taken aback.

For months, he had practiced breathing exercises every day and cultivated every night. He had never once paused his use of Dragon-Drawing Powder, medicinal baths, or elixirs.

The restoration progress of the Perceiving Clear Divine Ability had climbed steadily, but once it passed ninety percent, it had slowed down.

The further it progressed, the slower it became.It had been stuck at this final percent for over ten days without budging an inch.

He frowned. As his consciousness lingered in the Divine Chamber for a moment, he noticed another change.

’The scope of the Divine Chamber has expanded.’

Previously, when he powered the Divine Chamber with his Qi Circulation 2nd Floor cultivation, its range was a mere five hundred zhang across. It had barely covered the Baosu Marquis Residence, a few surrounding streets, and a sliver of the Yuanjiang River.

Now that he had stepped into the Qi Circulation 3rd Floor, the Divine Chamber’s space had expanded in a single breath to a massive two thousand zhang across.

Two thousand zhang!

Radiating outward from the marquis residence, it encompassed nearly half of Yuanjiang City. Even the foot of the Ancestral Mountain in the west and the Yuanjiang ferry crossing in the south were now within the Divine Chamber’s range.

Chen Lingxi was overjoyed.

The expansion of the Divine Chamber meant that whenever he cast the Vision Wander Divine Ability in the future, he would be able to see much more.

The next time Lin Suri left the residence, as long as he didn’t head into the eastern or northern parts of the city, Chen Lingxi could track him the entire way and uncover more of his secrets.

Then there was the Perceiving Clear Divine Ability.

He could faintly sense that as he stepped into the Spiritual Qi 3rd Floor, the Perceiving Clear Divine Ability was also quietly transforming.

The transformation was not yet complete, only revealing a subtle hint of its true nature. It was more mysterious and profound—like a tightly shut door hiding something incredible behind it, just waiting for the Source Restoration to reach completion before it blasted wide open.

Chen Lingxi withdrew from the Divine Chamber but did not open his eyes. Instead, he focused his perception on his dantian.

Within his dantian, a wisp of purple qi was slowly swimming around.

Though fine as a hair, it was so condensed it was nearly corporeal. As it darted through his spiritual qi like a purple serpent, the surrounding spiritual qi automatically parted, yielding a clear path.

Three months.

In that time, not only had his Qi Circulation cultivation reached the third floor and his vitality broken through to Silver Bone, but he had also successfully refined the purple qi fragment obtained from Cuojin Mountain.

The refining process had been far more difficult than he had anticipated.

During a Vision Wander session, he had spied on Lin Suri muttering to himself, calling that strand of purple qi the ”Purple True Precious Qi.” He had then watched Lin Suri draw that Purple True Precious Qi into his dantian.

Chen Lingxi merely copied him.

Although he lacked Lin Suri’s profound cultivation, he had the patience to grind away at it.

For over two months, steady and unhurried, day after day, he finally succeeded.

Right now, that strand of Purple True Precious Qi was drifting leisurely through his dantian. It kept to its own path, completely ignoring the hazy cyan spiritual qi without any conflict.

With a shift in thought, Chen Lingxi activated the Purple True Precious Qi.

A sliver of purple light rose from his dantian, traveling up his meridians until it converged at the tip of his right index finger.

The purple light pierced through his fingertip. It was as fine as a hair, yet its sharpness was enough to make his scalp tingle.

The air right in front of his fingertip was torn apart, leaving a microscopic rift with a soft hiss.

He tried overlapping the Cyan Edge Method with the Purple True Precious Qi.

The moment the cyan edge of the Cyan Edge Method seeped out of his fingertip, the Purple True Precious Qi automatically clung to it, enveloping the cyan edge like a thin coat of purple glaze.

The edge instantly turned viciously sharp. Cyan and purple intertwined, radiating a blinding light. The rift in the air deepened, emitting a faint hum.

Chen Lingxi hastily pulled back and withdrew the sharp edge.

’The Purple True Precious Qi is vastly stronger than the Cyan Edge Method.’

He estimated that in terms of sheer sharpness alone, the Purple True Precious Qi was at least several times more potent than the Cyan Edge Method.

’With this precious qi and the Cyan Edge Method combined, I wonder if I can handle an expert at Silver Bone Great Completion.’

Chen Lingxi thought to himself.

The gap in power within the Silver Bone Realm was immense.

At Silver Bone entry, vitality slowly began converting into silver marrow, and a faint silver sheen would appear on the surface of the bones. While it had not yet penetrated the marrow itself and the cultivator still carried copper-fire vitality, their combat strength was still leagues above someone at Bronze-Red consummation.

At Silver Bone Small Success, silver marrow formed at the extremities of the limbs. The joints of the fingers and toes were the first to complete the transformation. When punching or kicking, the silver marrow would flood the fingertips, allowing them to pierce right through iron and stone. In the martial world, this was known as the [Silver Marrow Finger].

By Silver Bone Great Completion, the limbs, torso, and spine all transformed into silver bone. Silver marrow surged, causing the bones to ring out. With every move, [Bone-Piercing Force] reverberated outward, capable of bypassing skin and flesh to directly attack an enemy’s bones, fracturing bone and snapping tendon.

Silver Bone Consummation was even more terrifying.

All two hundred and six bones in the body would completely transform into silver bone, the skull being no exception.

A silver film would coat the pupils. Wherever they looked, the flow of an enemy’s vitality and the weak points of their coalesced force were clear at a glance. This was known as the [Silver Pupils].

Hearing would be drastically enhanced, capturing minute sounds that ordinary people could not. Even the beating of an enemy’s heart or the flow of their vitality could be heard clearly. This was known as the [Frost Hearing].

At this stage, an opponent’s attack paths had almost nowhere to hide.

Chen Lingxi was currently only at Silver Bone entry; he had not even mastered the Silver Marrow Finger yet.

If he faced someone at Silver Bone Great Completion, a single blast of their Bone-Piercing Force would fracture the bones throughout his entire body. His chances of winning were extremely low.

But if he added in the Cyan Edge Method and the Purple True Precious Qi...

’If Guest Elder Jiang Yuan were at the residence, I could find an excuse to see his true strength.’

Chen Lingxi thought to himself.

Jiang Yuan was a figure at Silver Bone Consummation. His silver marrow was as thick as mercury, and all two hundred and six bones had been completely tempered like silver. When the Mountain-Collapsing Force was unleashed in his hands, a single punch across the air could crush a boulder to powder.

If he could get Jiang Yuan to demonstrate with full power, he would be able to directly see exactly how strong Silver Bone Consummation truly was, allowing him to make an accurate judgment of his own combat strength.

Only...

’Ever since Guest Elder Jiang and Instructor He Duan were sent to the capital by Lin Longyue, several months have passed and they still have not returned. I wonder what exactly they went there to do.’

He had not known Jiang Yuan for long, but Jiang Yuan had ultimately taught him the Mountain-Collapsing Force, which had significantly boosted his combat strength.

Now that Jiang Yuan was missing, Chen Lingxi was genuinely a little worried.

’I will not overthink it. I’ll take it one step at a time.’

Chen Lingxi reined in his thoughts, settled into his seated posture, and began his breathing exercises.

Between breaths, threads of the thin spiritual energy from heaven and earth seeped into his body, merging into the cyan qi within his dantian.

The sensation of spiritual energy entering his body was much clearer than it had been a few months ago. After reaching the third floor, his meridians had widened considerably and his perception had grown sharper, allowing him to capture roughly thirty percent more spiritual energy than he could at the second floor.

Yet even so, he still felt it was not enough.

Far from enough.

After reaching the Qi Circulation 3rd Floor, his dantian’s capacity had massively increased, and the growth of his spiritual qi required a massive amount of spiritual energy to sustain it.

His current breathing exercises were like using a small bowl to scoop muddy water from the bottom of a dried-out pond. He could scoop for half the day, yet it would still be a drop in the bucket.

’I’ve run out of Dragon-Drawing Powder. From now on, my cultivation progress will plummet.’

’The medicinal baths and elixirs from Jiren Hall are also proving inadequate for the Spiritual Qi 3rd Floor.’

He murmured to himself.

’If I wish to continue climbing the floors of Qi Circulation, my current conditions are no longer sufficient.’

He thought about it carefully.

’Last time I circulated the Perceiving Clear Divine Ability, Lin Suri saw me and remarked that I was cultivating the breathing and qi-circulation path of the Daoxia Academy’s Six Qi True Art, without the true mantra.’

A true mantra.

’If I had a true mantra, my cultivation speed would definitely skyrocket.’

’It’s just... the path of trying to get the true mantra from Lin Suri is likely a dead end.’

Chen Lingxi shook his head.

Lin Suri had obtained the Spiritual Amber and could hover in mid-air. He had probably already reached the sixth floor!

If he dared show even the slightest hint of coveting it in front of Lin Suri, the man could easily crush him.

Just like how Lu Baizhong had killed him in the Divine Chamber—with a flick of a finger and a flash of pale golden lightning, he was dead.

There had been absolutely no room to fight back.

Chen Lingxi then thought of the Time Candle.

’The Time Candle was used by Lin Suri to lure out Lu Baizhong. By now, it is likely no longer in Yuanjiang.’

’I’ll take a look the next time I use Thorough Awakening, but the hope is slim.’

After much deliberation, Chen Lingxi’s thoughts gradually narrowed down to a single name.

Zhao Yong.

’Zhao Yong is in the Golden Body realm, which is much weaker compared to the likes of Lin Suri and Lu Baizhong.’

’Zhao Yong wants to use me as a medicine primer.’

Chen Lingxi narrowed his eyes.

’And he also has a channel for Dragon-Drawing Powder.’

He glanced toward the windowsill.

That Mohe Flower was quietly sitting in the Small Celadon Vase, its deep purple petals gleaming with a cold light beneath the moon.

It had been several months, yet it remained constantly in bloom. It had never wilted nor withered; it was just like a fake flower, forever frozen at the moment of its full bloom.

The golden stamens at its center trembled slightly, as if breathing.

’There’s also the Human Immortal Wu Mohe he mentioned.’

As Chen Lingxi murmured this name, his tone was calm, yet his eyes lit up slightly.

This person’s origins were a mystery, but when Zhao Yong spoke of him, the reverence and fanaticism in his tone did not seem feigned.

’I might be able to use this opportunity to seek a fortuitous encounter from Zhao Yong.’

Chen Lingxi narrowed his eyes.

Since Zhao Yong wanted to use him as a medicine primer, he would not be in a rush to make a move against him.

The toxicity of the Mohe Flower had to accumulate slowly. It would take three to five months, or even a year and a half, to trigger a qualitative change from a quantitative one.

Before then, Zhao Yong would treat him as a useful pawn and would not discard him easily.

This was his opportunity.

He took a deep breath, pressed these thoughts down, and stopped dwelling on them.

’I will continue my breathing exercises.’

The spiritual energy might be thin, but he could not afford to let it go to waste.

Accumulating a little to make a lot was still better than doing nothing at all.

The night passed quietly.

Early the next morning, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, someone came knocking at his door.

Chen Lingxi opened the door, and Liu Zhu was standing outside.

”Chen Lingxi.” She stood outside the threshold, her gaze resting on his face. ”The young lady wishes to see you.”

Chen Lingxi asked, ”Miss Liu Zhu, may I ask why the young lady has summoned me?”

After months of interaction, the two were already well-acquainted.

Liu Zhu glanced left and right, then lowered her voice: ”The Crown Prince has come to the Yuanjiang traveling palace. The young lady wants to bring you along for an audience.”

Chen Lingxi’s heart jolted.

The Crown Prince?