After the Great Dao Died

After sealing the cave, Chen Lingxi prepared to return to Mount Qiaoji.

Xi Mu still followed several zhang behind him, wreathed in mist like a ghost.

They traveled until the silhouette of Mount Qiaoji appeared faintly through the night.

The stunted pines lining the mountain path rustled in the northern wind. Moonlight slipped through the clouds, casting a sickly white glow over the winding trail.

Chen Lingxi’s footsteps suddenly halted.

He turned his head slightly, his brows furrowing beneath the Ghost Mask.

His own senses had not yet picked up anything, but Xi Mu’s perception—honed at the Qi Circulation 6th Floor—heard a disturbance far in the distance.

”Is someone searching the mountain?”

Chen Lingxi frowned.

His mind was linked with Xi Mu’s. As long as they were not too far apart, he would instantly know whatever Xi Mu sensed.The distant commotion was a rustling sound, like people carefully making their way through the brush—and more than just one person. He did not approach. With a mere thought, he had Xi Mu quietly sweep forward to hide within a surging patch of night mist.

He himself moved a few hundred zhang closer, tuning into Xi Mu’s perception.

It was a gentle slope on the western foothills of Mount Qiaoji. Over a dozen martial artists in fitted combat attire were scattered across the incline, spaced several zhang apart. They formed a fan shape, slowly advancing toward the summit.

Their movements were highly disciplined. Every few steps, they stopped to meticulously inspect the surrounding rock crevices, tree roots, and dirt pits. Some even used their scabbards to part the dense bushes and peered inside.

They were plowing the earth inch by inch, refusing to miss a single crevice that could hide a person.

”Their cultivation isn’t very high.”

Vitality surged around their bodies, and a faint silvery-white light shone from deep within their bones. The highest cultivation among them was only at Silver Bone Advanced Mastery.

”However, to use Silver Bone figures just to search a mountain...”

Chen Lingxi’s heart stirred. Through Xi Mu’s senses, he noticed four figures standing on a nearby cliff.

”Three... Jade Qi experts!”

Chen Lingxi’s gaze narrowed. ”And their leader...”

The leader was a middle-aged man around forty years old. He wasn’t particularly burly and simply stood with his hands clasped behind his back on a jutting rock at the top of the slope, looking down at the search parties swarming the mountain. He wore a blue official robe with a mandarin square embroidered with a golden pheasant spreading its wings. The stitching was extremely fine, shimmering with a faint silken luster under the moonlight.

That was the attire of a standard fifth-rank civil official of the Great Li.

Yet, this official’s imposing aura was completely unlike any ordinary civil servant.

He stood there with his back straight as a pine and his shoulders broad, his chin slightly raised. He resembled a legendary sword hidden in its scabbard—even undrawn, its piercing sharpness faintly leaked through the sheath.

This man undoubtedly held a high position and wielded real power. His mere posture, standing with his hands clasped behind his back, exuded a profound steadiness that could only be cultivated after holding the power of life and death for a long time.

Just then, a Jade Qi expert behind him spoke up. ”Lord Zhong.”

”We have combed through the western foothills of Mount Qiaoji once more. We didn’t miss a single rock crevice, cave, mountain stream, or thicket.

”But that official bondservant... is still nowhere to be found.”

The middle-aged man did not reply. His expression remained coldly indifferent.

The Jade Qi martial artist seemed to sense this silent pressure and lowered his head a bit further. ”Not just Mount Qiaoji.

Over these past many days, we subordinates have scoured twenty-seven mountains, twelve towns, and four small cities around Yuanjiang Prefecture, inch by inch.

”Cuojin Mountain, Mangyang Mountain, Ancestral Mountain, plus this Mount Qiaoji, and even along the banks of the Xia River and Zhuzhao River—we’ve searched them all. Let alone the person, we haven’t even found a single hair belonging to that official bondservant.”

He paused here before carefully adding, ”Lord, His Highness the Crown Prince has already handed down orders. He will be arriving again soon. When that time comes... how should we subordinates answer to His Highness?”

The middle-aged man finally turned around.

He didn’t look particularly fierce. His features were actually quite handsome—sword-like eyebrows, a straight nose, and lip lines as distinct as a knife’s cut.

But the look in his eyes made one shudder.

”If His Highness the Crown Prince wants someone, you must find him even if you have to dig three chi into the earth. If you cannot find him, then you will have to take a trip to the Crown Prince’s traveling palace.”

The reporting Jade Qi martial artist shuddered and buried his head even lower.

Through Xi Mu’s senses, Chen Lingxi heard this entire conversation clearly.

”The Crown Prince is coming again?”

Chen Lingxi frowned.

Ying Chi had visited Yuanjiang Prefecture a few months ago, using the beast gladiator banquet to complete the formation placed upon Lin Longyue.

Now that the formation was being dissolved day by day by his spiritual qi and Profound Qi, Ying Chi would definitely notice upon his arrival. ”Moreover, Ying Chi must be coming to look for me again.”

He stopped thinking about this. Concealing his presence and sharpening his focus, he moved even closer, hiding among the wild grass as he observed the middle-aged man from afar.

The Art of Qi Observation was quietly activated.

In an instant, the middle-aged man in his vision was no longer an ordinary body of flesh and blood.

Chen Lingxi’s pupils contracted slightly.

This person’s aura was concealed far too thoroughly.

He stood there without a single trace of vitality leaking out. He was like a pool of stagnant water, a stubborn rock, a middle-aged civil official as ordinary as one could be.

To the eyes of an ordinary martial artist, there wouldn’t be the slightest hint of abnormality.

But under the Art of Qi Observation, this man presented an entirely different scene.

A cyclone of qi, glowing white as jade, spun slowly within the man’s chest and abdomen.

It resembled a miniature nebula.

The edges of the cyclone shimmered with an extremely faint, soft jade-colored light, while the center burned as intensely bright as a blazing sun—so white one dared not look directly at it. His bones were even more extraordinary.

All two hundred and six bones exhibited a translucent, jade-like luster, crystal clear throughout, as if they were no longer human bones.

There was actually a sound coming from deep within his marrow, ringing like a symphony of jade chimes weaving together.

And this person’s eyes...

Under the Method of Qi Observation, the spinning reflection of that jade astral nebula could be faintly seen deep within his pupils.

They were like two miniature moons embedded in his eye sockets, slowly rotating, as if preparing to swallow the moonlight, the mountain shadows, and the fog all into the depths of a bottomless vortex.

”Jade Qi Peak Completion.”

Chen Lingxi took a deep breath.

Initially, he thought only the three figures behind the middle-aged man were Jade Qi experts.

He never imagined that the truly terrifying powerhouse was this middle-aged man!

For ordinary Jade Qi, vitality simply transformed into a jade-like substance. Their bones would take on a faint jade luster, and their every movement would be accompanied by the sound of ringing jade chimes.

But the man before him had completely fused the jade vitality throughout his body with his bones, looking as if he had transformed into a genuine immortal god carved from jade. This was the [Jade-Suppressing Precious Body] that could only be cultivated upon reaching Jade Qi Peak Completion.

When this so-called Jade-Suppressing Precious Body was activated, the entire body became indestructible, like a divine statue carved from ten-thousand-year cold jade. Swords striking it would be like striking a rock with an egg, and punches landing on it would vanish like a clay ox plunging into the sea.

’With the might of this Jade-Suppressing Precious Body, if one were to clash with it head-on, I’m afraid it would be enough to rival a cultivator at the Qi Circulation 6th Floor—perhaps even surpassing them in certain aspects.’

Chen Lingxi rapidly estimated this person’s combat prowess in his mind.

Aside from this middle-aged man, there were three others.

The jade vitality of two of them had yet to fully solidify. A jade light faintly circulated over their skin, but it appeared somewhat unstable. The light flickered bright and dim; when bright, it was like a brilliant moon in the sky, and when dim, it was like a dying candle about to go out.

Such signs were the exact traits of Initial Entry into Jade Qi.

The other person was much steadier.

His jade light was deep and condensed, completely restrained from leaking out. Only during his breaths would an extremely faint jade luminescence occasionally seep from his pores before being sucked back into his body an instant later. This state of effortless control marked Jade Qi Minor Completion.

’One Jade Qi Peak Completion, one Jade Qi Minor Completion, and two Initial Entry into Jade Qi.’

Chen Lingxi quickly ran through the cultivation levels of these four in his mind, and his eyes narrowed slightly beneath the Ghost Mask.

Such a lineup would be considered exceedingly rare even within the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace. Take the middle-aged leader alone: a Jade Qi Peak Completion expert who had perfected the Jade-Suppressing Precious Body. In the Great Li Army, he would be an invincible fierce general capable of standing against ten thousand men, more than qualified to serve as a regional auxiliary general. If those other three Jade Qi figures were placed in local provinces, they would be genuine grandmasters.

But now, these four had been dispatched to this barren wilderness to scour the mountain like hunting dogs, all just to find an ”official bondservant” like him.

’To kill me, this Ying Chi is certainly willing to pay a heavy price.’

Chen Lingxi coldly snorted in his heart.

But on second thought, he understood.

That day, Lu Baizhong had intercepted him on the riverbank.

That old eunuch had been spying from the sidelines.

The Crown Prince knew he had Xi Mu—a Qi Circulation 6th Floor expert—by his side. If he only sent Golden Body martial artists, it would be no different from sending them to their deaths. Naturally, he had to dispatch Jade Qi experts.

As Chen Lingxi’s thoughts reached this point, a cold light suddenly flashed in his eyes.

’Why not... just kill them all?’

The Crown Prince was about to arrive in Yuanjiang Prefecture.

If these four Jade Qi experts converged with the Crown Prince, should his whereabouts be discovered, he would have to face four additional Jade Qi Realm powerhouses. It would be better to take advantage of the present to crush them one by one.

’Losing four Jade Qi experts should be enough to make the Crown Prince’s heart ache for a few days.’

Just as this thought settled in Chen Lingxi’s mind, at that very moment, the middle-aged man suddenly turned his head.

Those eyes, as warm and smooth as jade, looked straight toward where Xi Mu was hiding!

The rotation of the jade astral nebula within his body abruptly accelerated.

The moon-like reflection deep in his pupils brightened in tandem. The moonlight swirled and converged within his eyes, ultimately condensing into two tangible gazes that landed directly upon Xi Mu.

At Jade Qi Peak Completion, having perfected the Jade-Suppressing Precious Body, his overall perception had reached an unimaginable level of acuity.

Although Xi Mu used the mist to conceal his form and his Qi Circulation 6th Floor stealth techniques were exquisitely profound, the spying gaze itself was an extremely faint trace of energy.

Others might not have noticed, but this powerhouse—who had refined all two hundred and six bones in his body into jade—was like a spotless mirror wiped perfectly clean. Any trace of foreign energy falling upon the surface would trigger ripples.

He had detected it!

The man’s hands, resting behind his back, suddenly clenched into tight fists.

He stepped forward, and the jutting rock beneath his feet fractured inch by inch. The cracks spread outward from the soles of his boots in all directions, dense as a spider’s web. He took a deep breath, his chest expanding. The jade astral nebula within him abruptly accelerated its rotation, and the sound of jade chimes erupted loudly, as if someone had struck a massive jade bell inside his body!

A buzzing hum seeped out from deep within his bones, passed through his flesh, and echoed far across the mountain forest.

”I am the Crown Prince’s Martial Instructor, Zhong Wuzhu!” he roared loudly. His voice was like a booming bell that exploded in the silent night, startling the roosting birds into frantic flight and echoing endlessly through the valley. ”What demonic villain is spying on us!”

A cold glint flashed in Chen Lingxi’s eyes.

Since they had been discovered, there was no need to hide anymore.

He straightened his robes and slowly stood up from behind the patch of stunted pines.

The moonlight fell upon him, casting sharp contrasts of light and shadow across his profound black robes, while the night wind sent his hem violently snapping in the air.

Beneath the Ghost Mask, his calm, placid eyes locked gazes with Zhong Wuzhu from afar.

The five fingers of his right hand resting on the saber hilt at his waist slowly tightened.

The Gold-Slaughtering Precious Saber had not yet been drawn, but its chilling killing intent was already sweeping overwhelmingly toward the search party. It was like an invisible torrent of frost; wherever it passed, even the mountain wind stalled.

Not far away, Xi Mu slowly stepped out from the mist.

His moon-white long robes fluttered gently in the night wind as the spiritual qi around his body boiled and surged, his Qi Circulation 6th Floor cultivation released without any reservation. A vortex of qi currents swirled around him!

Pressed down by that vortex, the dozen-plus Silver Bone martial artists felt their body’s vitality suddenly stagnate, as if an invisible mountain had plummeted from the heavens to crush their shoulders.

Someone let out a muffled groan and involuntarily took a half-step back, only managing to steady himself when his spine slammed against a tree trunk behind him.

But Zhong Wuzhu did not waste a single word of nonsense.

He moved almost the very instant Chen Lingxi stood up!

This martial instructor to the Crown Prince obviously deeply understood the principle of striking first. Facing two mysterious figures that required the Crown Prince to dispatch him personally, any superfluous words would merely give the enemy a chance to breathe.

His strike landed with the force of ten thousand thunderbolts!

Zhong Wuzhu thrust the hands he had held behind his back sharply forward. With his fingers splayed wide, the jade astral nebula in his palms detonated with a boom.

A brilliant white light gushed out from his palms, as if he were clutching a shrunken, luminous moon.

The light traced up his arms to his shoulders, then flooded across his entire body, solidifying in a split second into a layer of jade armor several inches thick over his skin!

[Jade-Suppressing Precious Body].

Chen Lingxi’s pupils contracted slightly. He had seen the jade astral nebula within Zhong Wuzhu’s body using the Art of Qi Observation, and he had estimated the might of the Jade-Suppressing Precious Body. Yet, when this Jade Qi Peak Completion powerhouse unleashed it at full force, the crushing pressure still vastly exceeded his expectations.

The sheer aura radiating from that layer of jade armor caused the air within several zhang to grow viscous. It was as if this very pocket of heaven and earth had been captured by his jade energy, congealing into a block of invisible amber.

Zhong Wuzhu took a step forward.

As he stepped out, the mountain rocks beneath his feet shattered into pieces.

Then, shooting out like a fired cannonball, he crashed straight toward Chen Lingxi. His body tore through the air, detonating a visible white ring that blasted outward in ripples, violently launching the withered grass, crushed stones, and fallen leaves from the slope into the air.

How terrifying was the physical body of a Jade Qi Peak Completion expert!

The force of this collision was equal to a thousand jun; it could shatter even a small hill to pieces.

However, at the exact moment Zhong Wuzhu attacked, his left hand hidden behind his back had silently done something else.

That hand, fingers slightly cupped and concealed within his sleeve, pinched a tiny jade pendant between its fingertips.

The pendant was no larger than a thumb. It was purely white throughout, and a devastatingly simple and crude runic character was carved into its surface.

The exact moment he activated the Jade-Suppressing Precious Body, his thumb and index finger squeezed together slightly. A microscopic thread of vitality pierced out from his fingertips, silently sending a shock through the jade pendant.

The pendant shattered instantly, crumbling into a pinch of jade dust as fine as powder that sifted down between his fingers. As the dust fell to the ground, an incredibly faint, microscopic glint of spiritual light rose silently from the shattered jade.

The light was as thin as a hair and pale gold in color. In the dark night, it was completely undetectable without a close look.

Surging into midair, it abruptly accelerated, streaking toward the horizon and vanishing into the depths of the clouds in the blink of an eye.