After the Great Dao Died

Inside a cliffside cave on Cuojin Mountain.

Chen Lingxi laid the unconscious Lin Longyue flat on the smooth bluestone in the center of the cave, then sat cross-legged beside her.

The cave was dim. Only a small patch of grayish skylight leaked through a crevice in the ceiling, falling across Lin Longyue’s pale face and rendering her features all the more bloodless.

Chen Lingxi reached out, pressing his fingers against her forehead.

Spiritual liquid surged within his qi sea. Wisps of spiritual qi seeped from his palm, flowing through the center of Lin Longyue’s brow and slowly infiltrating her meridians.

The moment his spiritual qi entered her body, he sensed that foul energy.

Chen Lingxi ignored the filth and probed deeper into Lin Longyue’s body.

Then, he suddenly frowned.

’There is something else extraordinary in Lin Longyue’s body?’

He had sensed a vast amount of spiritual qi.Deep within Lin Longyue’s muscles and bones, wedged in the crevices of her flesh and blood, an incredibly extraordinary spiritual qi overflowed.

She had not acquired this spiritual qi through cultivation. It was innate, existing in her very body from birth, and it felt incredibly pure and dense.

’However, to Lin Longyue, this spiritual qi seems to be a burden. She has never cultivated, so she cannot use this spiritual qi to strengthen her roots and body. Furthermore—’

Chen Lingxi’s gaze flickered.

The crown prince’s foul qi had rooted deep into her flesh and bones, drawing out that abundant spiritual qi thread by thread.

’The crown prince’s array seems to only be absorbing the spiritual qi in Lin Longyue’s body, while the true precious qi remains dormant.’

Chen Lingxi raised an eyebrow.

’Could it be that Crown Prince Ying Chi never discovered Lin Longyue’s true extraordinary nature?’ he asked himself.

Reaching this conclusion, Chen Lingxi manipulated his spiritual qi and probed even deeper into Lin Longyue’s body, wanting to investigate that precious qi.

A moment later, a trace of doubt surfaced on his face.

Now that his spiritual qi had probed into Lin Longyue’s body, he could no longer find any trace of that wondrous qi, no matter how hard he searched.

It had disappeared.

Or more accurately, it was lying dormant.

Pushing his spiritual qi to its absolute limits, Chen Lingxi searched Lin Longyue’s body inch by inch.

He examined her dantian, meridians, bones, marrow, and internal organs one by one, but he still could not find any trace of that wondrous qi.

That wondrous qi was like a startled fish. The moment his spiritual qi probed inside, it silently sank into the deepest mud at the bottom of the water, withdrawing all its brilliance and masking its aura until it seemed as if it had never existed at all.

”A bright pearl hidden in darkness,” Chen Lingxi muttered to himself as he withdrew his spiritual qi and opened his eyes.

He looked down at Lin Longyue’s pale face, his brow furrowing slightly as he fell into deep thought.

’This wondrous qi is hidden so deeply. Without a secret technique like the Observation Method, even someone at the Qi Circulation 6th Floor—or perhaps even a higher cultivation level—would struggle to notice it.’

A flash of realization crossed his eyes.

’It seems Crown Prince Ying Chi merely stumbled onto this blindly. He used County Princess Yunhe as a medium to plant an array inside Lin Longyue’s body to devour her spiritual qi. Most likely, he only noticed that this daughter of the Marquis Baosu estate had somewhat special roots and had accumulated more spiritual qi than ordinary people, making her a convenient resource for his cultivation.

’He has no idea that the truly precious thing hidden inside Lin Longyue is far more than just this spiritual qi.’

He paused, and the realization in his eyes grew even sharper.

’Then Lin Suri has definitely noticed it.’

Lin Suri also practiced the Six True Art, and he similarly possessed the Observation Technique.

Spending day and night with Lin Longyue, how could he possibly fail to discover such an astonishing secret hidden inside his own sister?

Chen Lingxi temporarily suppressed these thoughts. Lowering his head again, he brought two fingers together like a sword and pressed them against the center of Lin Longyue’s brow.

His spiritual qi probed inside once more, continuing the search for that dormant wondrous qi.

But it remained completely undetectable.

He withdrew his fingers and sat in silence for a moment.

”It seems forcefully taking it is completely impossible,” he muttered softly.

He stared at Lin Longyue’s pale, indifferent face.

’She lost her mother at a young age. Her father cultivates behind closed doors all year round and ignores worldly affairs, while her brother is domineering and vicious. Her interactions with County Princess Yunhe are mostly driven by the princess’s status—growing up in such an environment forged her cold personality.

’It is impossible to tell if she harbors special feelings for anyone or anything.

’Her sole desire is most likely to advance her cultivation so she can take charge of the household and legitimately inherit the title of Marquis Baosu.’

In Great Li, women could also inherit noble titles; this was not without precedent.

’In that case, I might be able to use Lin Longyue’s personality to my advantage and plot to acquire this precious qi.’

Chen Lingxi calculated in his mind.

’This precious qi is far more valuable and extraordinary than I imagined.’

A burning light flashed in Chen Lingxi’s eyes. ’With a treasure like this, I will have the foundation to secure my life and walk the path of the Dao.’

He took a deep breath, weighing these thoughts over and over in his mind before finally making his decision.

He stood up and cast a glance at the still-unconscious Lin Longyue.

With a shift in his thoughts, the spiritual chamber in his mind gave a sudden shudder. The void shattered, and light and shadow twisted.

Everything within the Thorough Awakening Spiritual Chamber began to disintegrate, turning into countless specks of fine light that fluttered and dissolved into the void.

Chen Lingxi snapped his eyes open.

He was still sitting cross-legged in the cliffside cave on Cuojin Mountain.

The cave remained dim. Water droplets condensed on the stalactites occasionally dripped down, hitting the bluestone floor with an extremely faint, crystalline plink.

He had returned from Thorough Awakening.

Along with him came the bamboo slip recording the Pure Wondrous Qi Pivot Array.

Chen Lingxi took the bamboo slip out of the spiritual chamber, though his mind was elsewhere. ’The most pressing matter right now is to capture that injured Qi Circulation 6th Floor figure alive.’

Amidst his thoughts, Chen Lingxi’s fingers rubbed against the bamboo slip, involuntarily injecting a wisp of spiritual qi.

Then, he suddenly raised an eyebrow.

The aura of the bamboo slip seemed slightly different, as though something had been erased, yet the contents recorded within seemed unchanged.

His gaze shifted slightly, and he didn’t dwell on it, assuming he had simply remembered wrong. He only felt that his gains from this Thorough Awakening had been tremendous.

He had acquired the Six True Art and the Pure Wondrous Qi Pivot Array, and had also learned of a precious qi and a fortuitous encounter.

As he circulated the Six True Art, his aura grew deep and steady, and he absorbed the surrounding spiritual qi in quite an extraordinary manner.

A long while later, Chen Lingxi opened his eyes.

’Let me make preparations to capture him alive.’

He took out that Soul-Felling Pill and set it aside.

The Soul-Felling Pill was no larger than a longan and entirely dark purple. Its surface was perfectly smooth without a single flaw, giving off a cold gleam in the dimness of the cave.

Just by placing it on the bluestone, the strange fragrance of the pill already drifted out in delicate wisps, like invisible tentacles slowly writhing through the air.

The moment the scent reached his nose, a wave of desire swept up from the depths of his soul, making Chen Lingxi gulp.

His Adam’s apple bobbed. As if possessed by a demon, he reached out, wanting to pick up the pill and send it into his mouth.

Right at that moment, the spiritual chamber in his mind gave a faint tremble. A crisp, translucent coolness spread from the center of his brow, sweeping away the greedy desire that had tangled around his heart.

Chen Lingxi violently snatched his hand back. A layer of fine cold sweat had already beaded across his forehead.

”Such potent medicinal effects,” he muttered softly, lingering fear in his heart.

This Soul-Felling Pill was truly demonic and bizarre. Just its ambient fragrance alone was enough to make a person lose their sanity.

’This pill can also serve as a hidden countermeasure.’

Chen Lingxi formed a plan in his mind. He tucked the Soul-Felling Pill into his robes, then took out a small copper incense burner. He placed a few common medicinal herbs inside and lit the flame.

Plumes of green smoke curled up from the copper burner, carrying a very faint medicinal aroma that mingled with the scent of the Soul-Felling Pill in his robes. Unless one inspected it carefully, it was impossible to detect anything amiss.

’If I truly prove to be no match, I can still calmly retreat. That man is heavily injured, and his state of mind has very likely collapsed. He will be highly inclined to swallow the pill.’

He placed the copper burner deep in the cave. The glow of its fire made the stalactites on the cavern walls flicker. Then, he took out that spirit arrow and held it in his palm.

The spirit arrow felt slightly heavy in his hand, its fine patterns faintly visible in the dim light.

He channeled an extremely thin, faint wisp of spiritual qi into it. A pale cyan light lit up at the fletching, but the glow was extremely weak. It flashed just once before he suppressed it using the Concealed Edge Method, leaving no trace behind.

’The spiritual energy within this spirit arrow is incredibly sparse. Unless one actively probes it with spiritual qi, it is like a mortal arrow, impossible to detect.’

He weighed the spirit arrow in his hand, his gaze shifting to the surging sea of clouds outside the cave.

’Whether or not I can capture that man alive will depend on this spirit arrow.’

He already had a plan in mind.

During the Thorough Awakening that day, he had engaged in a spell battle with that young man. Despite being severely injured, the youth had still calmly executed a barrage of spells—ice blades, ice spears, frigid blasts, and sword intent—in an endless stream.

Even with the Gold-Slaughtering Precious Saber, Purple True Precious Qi, Cyan Edge Method, and the spirit arrows at his disposal, Chen Lingxi had still failed to close within three zhang of his opponent.

’Someone at the Qi Circulation 6th Floor, even with a heavily injured body, is absolutely not someone I can take down in a head-on clash,’ Chen Lingxi silently reasoned. ’If I want to capture that bastard alive, I must land a direct hit with this spirit arrow.’

With a slight shift in his thoughts, his consciousness sank back into his qi sea.

Within his qi sea, the hazy cyan stream of spiritual liquid was slowly circulating.

Suspended above the stream was a verdant willow twig. The twig was about three cun long and as thin as a bamboo chopstick. It was entirely green, looking just like a tender branch plucked fresh from spring waters—warm to the touch and supple as silk.

The Undying Willow Twig.

After bringing this item back from his Thorough Awakening, he had followed the information he gained that day and refined it into his dantian.

Later, Chen Lingxi’s dantian transformed into a qi sea. This Undying Willow Twig was no ordinary item; it rooted itself right into the spiritual liquid of his qi sea. Just like a real willow branch planted by a riverbank, it showed absolutely no signs of withering. Instead, it grew even more vibrantly green, with a very faint, gentle green glow flowing across its surface.

Chen Lingxi pondered, ’If I find myself outmatched, I can deliberately take a fatal blow from him—trading injury for injury, life for life—and use that to defeat him.’

The Undying Willow Twig could substitute for him to absorb one fatal injury. This was his greatest source of confidence.

Though that youth possessed a multitude of spells and ruthless methods, he was still severely injured and running low on spiritual qi. By taking one of his killing strikes head-on with the Undying Willow Twig, the youth would inevitably drop his guard.

Having made thorough preparations, Chen Lingxi closed his eyes and resumed his meditation.

The only sounds left in the cave were the bubbling of the medicinal soup in the copper burner and the occasional drip of water from the stalactites on the ceiling.

He closed his eyes and concentrated, allowing the Six True Art to slowly circulate through his body.

The stream of spiritual liquid within his qi sea surged silently through his meridians. At the same time, he kept a single thread of his consciousness extended outward, sensing the fluctuations of spiritual qi around the cave.

Time quietly slipped away, until a fluctuation of spiritual qi rippled out once more from the distant sea of clouds.

The fluctuation was incredibly faint; had he not been paying full attention, it would have been nearly imperceptible.

Chen Lingxi opened his eyes.

’Time to reel in the net.’

He stood up and straightened his robes. Pushing the Concealed Edge Method to its absolute limit, he completely retracted his aura until he seemed like nothing more than an inanimate rock.