After the Great Dao Died

Vision Roaming shattered, and Chen Lingxi opened his eyes.

The amount of information from this Vision Roaming was immense.

The scenes he had just witnessed played over and over in his mind.

That palace suspended in the clouds, that white crane carrying Lin Suri across the mountains, that woman in red playing a zither atop the peak, and on the opposite floating mountain, amid swirling mists, that figure in green with their back turned, facing the sea of clouds.

He recalled the look in Lin Suri’s eyes as he gazed at the woman in green from afar.

’Is this Lin Suri actually a simp?’

As Chen Lingxi silently mouthed the word in his mind, the corners of his mouth twitched up involuntarily.

Though the thought was a bit crass, it was surprisingly apt.

That usually calm, composed, and unsmiling cultivator of the Greater World, when gazing at the woman in green from that floating mountain, looked exactly like a man suffering from unrequited love.

But who exactly was that woman? Why had Lin Suri looked at her like that? And who was the man stepping out of the sea of clouds beside her? Was he Lin Suri’s rival?These questions swirled in his mind for a few breaths before he suppressed them.

Compared to Lin Suri’s romantic entanglements, there were things far more worthy of his attention right now.

The Immortal Slough.

’The Xi Family doesn’t know about the Immortal Slough opportunity—Lin Suri didn’t come merely for seeking truth and inquiring about the cauldrons.’

’To make an Academy disciple with a chance at the Golden Portal willing to take such a huge risk, the value of this Immortal Slough is probably no less than the Cauldron Vessels in the grotto-heaven.’

’However—the Cauldron Vessel Heaven-Determining Brush is going to redefine the Dao path of Simultaneous Cultivation of All Arts for Lin Suri—’

’Cauldron Vessels are truly profound.’

Thinking of this, Chen Lingxi suddenly recalled another thing the woman in red had said.

’Cauldron Vessels are extremely precious. Even many Golden Portal figures have never had a Cauldron Vessel opportunity.’

He pulled back his wandering thoughts and remembered another matter.

It had only been two years since Lin Suri came to this grotto-heaven.

To have been reincarnated for a mere two years, yet to already cultivate to the Sixth Circulation Floor—

Counting from when he secretly learned the breathing techniques of the Six Truths Method in the reverse-facing room, Chen Lingxi had been cultivating for nearly a year.

During that time, he had experienced many lucky encounters and the assistance of the Divine Chamber.

But even so, he was still only at the Fourth Circulation Floor.

He made a rough estimate.

Even with the three spirit stones obtained from Xi Mu, plus the aid of the Pure Wondrous Qi Pivot Array in the Mount Qiaoji cave, it would still take him at least half a year to cultivate to the Fifth Circulation Floor.

The Sixth Circulation Floor was nowhere in sight.

Yet Lin Suri had stepped into that level a mere two years after his reincarnation.

’It seems that in terms of aptitude, this Lin Suri might not be any weaker than Xi Yu,’ Chen Lingxi thought.

Just as he was pondering these matters, his brow suddenly twitched.

He directed a wisp of spirit into his Vast Void Pouch. Inside, something was faintly glowing.

It was Crown Prince Ying Chi’s Spiritual Qi Orb, originally used by Qiu Chihu as a sacrifice to a Cauldron Vessel in the Crown Prince’s Beast-Fighting Palace before it fell into his hands.

Right now, the spiritual qi contained within it was depleting rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, it was completely exhausted.

The faint light went out.

Chen Lingxi frowned slightly.

He was just forming a guess when he sensed something and looked toward the door.

Right at that moment, someone knocked on the door to his inn room.

The knocking was neither rushed nor slow; it was perfectly measured.

Chen Lingxi’s breath suddenly caught.

His five senses were incredibly sharp. Ever since stepping into the Qi Circulation 4th Floor and cultivating the Golden Body, not a single blade of grass or breath of air within ten zhang could escape his perception.

But at this moment, he hadn’t sensed a thing.

Someone had arrived right outside his door.

Chen Lingxi’s mind raced.

The Hidden Edge Method circulated silently within him. The spiritual liquid in his qi sea slowly surged, and his golden fluid vital blood lay dormant deep within his bones, ready to erupt.

After a brief thought, he kept his face impassive. He merely raised his head, glanced at the tightly shut door, and spoke softly.

”Enter.”

The door was pushed open, revealing someone standing in the doorway.

It was an old eunuch.

He looked to be in his sixties or seventies. His white hair was combed meticulously, and his face was pale and beardless. He wore a dark blue python robe and held a horsetail whisk.

The old eunuch stood just outside the threshold, making no move to enter. He simply raised his head, let his somewhat cloudy eyes rest on Chen Lingxi, and offered a slight bow.

”This servant has come on the Crown Prince’s orders to invite Your Excellency,” the old eunuch said. His voice was high-pitched but not grating, his tone unhurried. ”His Highness is currently staying at Mangyang Mountain. He requests Your Excellency to ascend the mountain for a chat.”

He paused and straightened up. No emotion could be seen in his cloudy eyes. He simply gestured vaguely toward the outside and said, ”This servant has already prepared a carriage. I must trouble Your Excellency to depart.”

After speaking, he made a gesture of invitation.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Chen Lingxi didn’t move an inch.

His gaze fell upon the old eunuch, his expression unchanging.

This eunuch looked incredibly frail, as if a gust of wind could blow him over.

Yet when Chen Lingxi looked at him using the Art of Observation, he found the man’s vital blood to be unfathomably deep.

It was like a dormant giant python coiled deep within his body, revealing only the faintest, imperceptible traces.

Chen Lingxi had seen many vital blood experts. Zhao Yong was at Golden Body Consummation, his golden fluid vital blood as heavy and dense as mercury.

Zhao Qinglou was at Golden Body Great Completion, his Purple Gold Wheel indestructible.

The might of a single palm strike from that banner-guarding old servant in the Xuantong Observatory had nearly killed him even while he was using Absolute Perception.

But compared to the old eunuch before him, those people were like fireflies compared to the bright moon.

’This person—is at the Nine Revolutions realm!’

Chen Lingxi couldn’t help but feel shocked.

This was the strongest person he had seen in this world. Relying solely on vital blood cultivation, this eunuch’s combat prowess was likely far superior to the Undying Willow Puppet!

Simply standing there, he felt like an abyss.

A chill brushed past Chen Lingxi’s heart, though his face remained perfectly composed.

A wisp of his spirit had already silently connected with the shadows beneath the eaves outside the window.

There, Xi Mu hung silently in midair, his entire body concealed by Chen Lingxi’s Hidden Edge Method, looking like a thin mist dissolving into the shadows.

The moment Chen Lingxi gave the mental command, this Undying Willow Puppet would explosively unleash its Sixth Circulation Floor cultivation to launch a thunderous strike at the old eunuch.

He still had a few trump cards on him.

The Undying Willow Twig—and that blood talisman sealing the power of Xi Yu’s palm strike.

’Just this eunuch alone is already so formidable.’

’If I go up Mangyang Mountain, who knows how many more experts surround the Crown Prince.’

’He himself is a Sixth Circulation Floor cultivator, and he holds a treasure like the Purple True Treasure Vase.’

’With my current cultivation, even if I play all my trump cards and have the Xi Mu puppet’s help, I probably wouldn’t survive.’

Chen Lingxi’s mind raced.

Crown Prince Ying Chi sending someone to invite him must be because of the deaths of Commandery Princess Yunhe, Chu Linzi, and Yang Zhuri.

These three were all part of the Crown Prince’s core faction, harboring his Qi-Devouring Method and using people as medicine.

Now that all three had died consecutively at the hands of the Spirit-Wielding General, and the matter involved Lin Longyue—it seemed the Crown Prince was already suspecting him, this supposed ”senior expert.”

’Request Your Excellency to ascend the mountain for a chat?’

If he went, it wouldn’t be as simple as a ’chat’.

Chen Lingxi’s thoughts settled. He remained sitting on the bed, unmoving like a mountain.

His spine was straight as a pine, hands resting on his knees, breathing steady, and expression perfectly normal.

His eyes met the old eunuch’s gaze without a hint of evasion or fear.

Then, he shook his head slightly.

”Go and tell Ying Chi,” he spoke, his voice quiet and his tone flat, as if ordering the most ordinary trivial matter. ”Three months from now, have him come see me at Cuojin Mountain.”

At those words, the look in the old eunuch’s eyes finally changed.

He had never expected that this young man, who looked no older than twenty, would actually dare to defy orders.

Not only defying orders, but directly calling the Crown Prince by his given name.

Ying Chi.

When those two syllables left Chen Lingxi’s mouth, they carried not a shred of honorific or respect, as if he were calling a peer, or even a junior, by name.

Let alone in this Yuanjiang Prefecture, even across the entire Great Li empire, the people who dared call the Crown Prince by his name could probably be counted on one hand.

The old eunuch shook his head slightly.

Then, a trace of vital blood began to circulate around him.

That trace of vital blood was nothing more than an incredibly fine, pale crimson thread that seeped out from his back and spread silently through the air.

But just this tiny wisp of vital blood caused Chen Lingxi’s pupils to shrink sharply.

The power contained within that vital blood was incredibly dense and heavy. Even the banner-guarding old man in the Xuantong Observatory couldn’t match the sheer weight of this single thread of vital blood.

’This old eunuch—the strength of his vital blood is simply unimaginable.’

’Is he truly a Nine Revolutions martial cultivator?’

The so-called Nine Revolutions meant that after reaching Jade Qi Peak Completion, one would repeatedly temper, compress, and evolve the jade-like vital blood in their entire body. With every revolution completed, the vital blood would become several times purer.

Once all nine revolutions were achieved, a person’s vital blood would be like nine-times-refined true gold—indestructible and unstoppable.

At that point, they would be just one step away from the ultimate martial realm, Entering Profound.

Such a figure would be counted among the top experts even within the depths of the imperial palace.

Yet Chen Lingxi’s face still lacked the slightest change in expression.

He didn’t even look at the thread of vital blood flowing around the eunuch. He simply sat on the bed, raised his head slightly, and met the old man’s eyes.

His gaze was detached and deep, revealing not a hint of panic.

Right then, Chen Lingxi connected a wisp of spirit to the talisman tucked close against his body.

It was the Xi Yu Talisman he used as his life-saving trump card!

In that instant, a thread of spiritual qi linked with the talisman.

And then, an astonishing aura bloomed from Chen Lingxi’s body.

The immense power of the talisman leaked out just a sliver!

It was like a treasure vault sealed for eons letting a faint, ghostly breeze slip through the crack in its doors!

But just that leaked sliver carried an earth-shattering, terrifying might!

Like a calamitous tornado, it was unspeakably horrifying!

The old eunuch’s expression finally changed.

His aged eyes couldn’t help but stare at the young man sitting peacefully on the bed. The youth watched him with cold indifference as a mighty aura radiated outward, making the old eunuch feel, for a fleeting moment, as if he were looking at an immortal!

’Also an immortal?’

The old eunuch speculated inwardly.

His pupils shrank slightly, and for the first time, genuine gravity appeared in his cloudy eyes. The thread of vital blood flowing around him dissipated silently the instant that aura bloomed.

The old eunuch said no more.

He took a step back, rested his whisk back in the crook of his arm, and bowed to Chen Lingxi.

This bow was several times more respectful than his earlier one.

Then, he retreated outside and pulled the door shut without a sound.

Extremely light, fine footsteps echoed from the corridor. The footsteps drifted further away, quickly vanishing at the end of the stairs, leaving no trace behind.

Chen Lingxi remained sitting on the bed, entirely motionless.

Only after a full dozen breaths did he slowly exhale.

’My childhood friend really did me a huge favor.’ Chen Lingxi used his spiritual qi to sense the talisman tucked against his chest.

With a quiet sigh, he stood up. ’It seems the Crown Prince used his own spiritual qi within that orb to track my location.

’Now that the Crown Prince’s spiritual qi inside the orb is exhausted, he can no longer pinpoint me, but I still can’t stay here.’