After the Great Dao Died

Over an hour ago, two figures approached the foot of Mount Qiaoji.

Xiao Taozhuo wore a narrow longsword at her waist. The scabbard was engraved with dense flowing cloud patterns, gleaming with a cold, faint silver light in the twilight.

Her lips were slightly pursed and her brows furrowed. Her face, which should have been bright and high-spirited, now carried a suppressed sense of grievance as she followed closely behind a burly figure.

The man walking ahead of her had broad shoulders and a wide back, looking like a moving wall of iron.

A saber hung at his waist, over two fingers wider than an ordinary goose-quill blade. Its dark scabbard was completely unadorned, exuding only a heavy, unquestionable aura of slaughter.

The mountain wind rushed in through the pass, whipping his robes until they snapped.

He seemed completely oblivious, walking forward in long strides. Each step he took on the rugged, gravel-strewn mountain path let out a dull, firm thud.

Staring at his back, Xiao Taozhuo finally couldn’t hold it in anymore.

She quickened her pace, almost stepping on the hem of the man’s wind-blown black cloak. Her voice carried a hint of pleading. ”Second Uncle! Do you really have to drag me back? I finally managed to sneak out, and I haven’t even had enough fun yet.”

The saber-wielding man didn’t stop, only turning his head slightly.It was a chiseled, weather-beaten face with high brow ridges and deep-set eyes. An old saber scar slanted from the tip of his left eyebrow down to his cheekbone. Rather than making him look ugly, it gave him the cold, stern air of a fierce battlefield general. He glanced at Xiao Taozhuo. There was no anger in his eyes, only a deep sense of helplessness.

”Taozhuo,” he said, his voice deep and resonant. ”Your father is Xiao Changlv.”

”He is a man who will push straight for the throne,” the saber-wielding man continued, his pace still unyielding. ”In the Imperial Court, out in the vast martial world, and among the Nineteen Routes of Smoke and Dust, there are countless pairs of eyes watching him from the shadows. Countless people want to kill him!

”As his daughter, it is one thing for you not to share his burdens, but you actually dared to sneak into the capital region all alone.”

His tone finally grew heavier. ”Do you know what kind of place this is?

”At the feet of the Emperor, dragons and snakes mix. It may look like a tapestry of prosperity, but in reality, there is killing intent at every step. If you were caught...”

He paused, his voice turning solemn. ”Your father is currently facing off against the King of the East in Qinghua Province. With his temperament, he definitely wouldn’t come to save you...”

Before he could finish, Xiao Taozhuo suddenly raised her chin.

In that instant, the grievance on her face faded away, replaced by an expression of pride.

The mountain wind blew the loose hair on her forehead into a mess, revealing her smooth brow and a pair of intensely bright eyes.

”My father is Xiao Changlv.

”He is a great hero who saves the common people from fire and water, a figure who has already reached the Entering Profound realm. I naturally know all this. I know my limits and won’t cause trouble for my father, but right now, I have already cultivated to Golden Body Consummation.”

At this point, she no longer hid the sharp spirit unique to youth between her brows.

”I just can’t stand those people in the Great Li Imperial Court...”

She paused, as if weighing her words, and ultimately chose the most blunt term. ”Those pieces of trash... Just barely stepping into the Golden Body realm in their twenties, yet they dare to throw banquets in their estates to celebrate, dare to call themselves geniuses, and dare to flaunt their power in the taverns and teahouses.

”Bah!

”I insisted on coming to walk through this capital region just to see if any of their sort could stop me!”

She spoke faster and faster, her anger surging as her right hand subconsciously pressed against the hilt of her narrow longsword.

Under the reflection of the last ray of sunset, the flowing cloud patterns on the scabbard shimmered with a faint crimson-gold hue, resembling a smoldering cloud about to ignite.

”With my current strength, how could any ordinary figure capture me?”

She tilted her head up, looking at the saber-wielding man’s cold, hard face. Her eyes were filled with the unreasonable yet entirely self-assured confidence unique to the young.

The saber-wielding man listened in silence.

”Besides,” Xiao Taozhuo said. Seeing him stay silent, her voice suddenly softened. That sharp edge quietly receded like an ebbing tide, replaced by a nearly coquettish slyness. She leaned forward and lowered her voice as if sharing a critical secret. ”Even if my father couldn’t make it in time to save me, don’t I still have you, Second Uncle?”

She said these words incredibly softly and quickly, the final syllable rising slightly with a sense of rightful reliance.

The saber-wielding man finally stopped.

He turned around. The mountain wind surged from behind him, blowing his black cloak forward so that it billowed like a dark war banner.

He slowly shook his head.

”You inherited your father’s aptitude and are indeed a genius in ten thousand. Foundation Building at seven, entering the Iron Body realm at twelve, and reaching Copper Red Peak Completion at fifteen. Now, at merely twenty-two years of age, you’ve already attained Golden Body Consummation, only a step away from the Jade Qi realm.

”With such innate aptitude and such progress, let alone the capital region, even among the great clans across the world that style themselves as martial arts families, you would be considered a breathtaking talent.”

His tone carried genuine praise, yet his calm eyes held no trace of a smile.

”But, Taozhuo.” His words took a sharp turn, his voice suddenly dropping. ”The world is now in chaos, and monsters emerge endlessly.

”Not only do those rebel kings have clouds of experts under their command, but even this seemingly peaceful capital region hides countless unfathomable figures.

”Your cultivation of Golden Body Consummation at twenty-two makes you an outstanding leader among the younger generation, to be sure, but placed within this vast martial world...”

He didn’t finish his sentence, only shaking his head again. His meaning couldn’t be any clearer. Hearing this, Xiao Taozhuo wasn’t annoyed; instead, she raised her chin even higher.

”Among the youth, who could possibly defeat me?”

She spoke decisively, without a shred of hesitation, as if stating an indisputable fact.

The saber-wielding man frowned slightly at her proud demeanor.

He said nothing more, only turning back around to continue their journey.

Right at that moment, his footsteps suddenly halted.

He tilted his head slightly. Two points of piercingly sharp light suddenly flared in his calm eyes, cutting through the deepening twilight and the dense layers of the forest, staring straight into the distance.

In the distance, the silhouette of that mountain peak had already grown somewhat blurry in the twilight.

Yet over there, a thick wave of blood qi suddenly surged into the sky.

The fluctuation came without warning, like a volcano that had slumbered for ages suddenly erupting. The blazing, scalding blood qi, almost condensed into physical form, billowed upward like a signal fire.

The saber-wielding man narrowed his eyes.

Looking toward the mountain peak and the pillar of blood qi shooting into the sky, a slight smile appeared at the corners of his mouth. ’The Crown Prince’s martial instructor, Zhong Wuzhu.’

He thought.

”Just as well,” the saber-wielding man suddenly spoke aloud, his voice a notch deeper than before, carrying an indescribable... thrill?

”That day on Cuojin Mountain, I was ordered to kill the Crown Prince, but I was blocked.

”That saber strike failed to take his head. Whenever I think of it, I still feel regret.”

Saying this, the two sharp glints in his eyes suddenly blazed like charcoal doused in boiling oil.

He stared at the mountain peak and the signal-fire pillar of qi rising into the sky. His mouth slowly curled into a rather bright smile.

”If I cannot kill the Crown Prince today, I can at least kill this Zhong Wuzhu first.

”This man is the foremost running dog under the Crown Prince and the head of the Eastern Palace martial instructors. Slaying him is a good deed in itself.”

He paused and raised his head again, looking toward the direction where the blood qi fluctuations were the densest. A faint trace of doubt suddenly flashed through his eyes.

”However, who is facing him?”

”Zhong Wuzhu has cultivated the Suppressing Jade Precious Body. As someone at Jade Qi Peak Completion, ordinary people wouldn’t even be able to take a single blow from him. To force him to erupt with such dense blood qi, his opponent...” He pondered for a moment, ultimately shaking his head to temporarily suppress his chaotic thoughts.

He turned to look at Xiao Taozhuo. The thrill in his eyes had completely faded away, restoring him to the steady, cold, and stern Second Uncle.

”Wait here and do not wander off.” His tone brooked no debate, as though issuing a military order. ”I will be right back.”

Before his voice could fade, he launched himself off the ground.

The black cloak snapped open behind him, looking like a giant night owl spreading its wings.

He tapped his toe lightly against a jutting rock by the mountain path. The rock cracked inch by inch, and using the force, he swept out over ten zhang, vanishing into the depths of the dense forest in the blink of an eye.

Only Xiao Taozhuo was left standing on the mountain path.

The silhouettes of the mountains were extremely blurry in the dark, resembling deep black shadows or a herd of silent, giant beasts crouching between heaven and earth.

Xiao Taozhuo stood in place as the mountain wind swept past her.

She didn’t have to wait long.

After only about a quarter of an hour, a series of muffled, thunderous roars echoed from the direction of the distant mountain peak.

The booming sounds lasted for roughly the time it took to drink half a cup of tea before abruptly halting. Silence returned to the world.

Then, she saw a figure.

The figure walked slowly out of the dense forest with steady, unhurried steps.

His black cloak snapped in the mountain wind. The dark, broad-bladed saber at his waist remained in its sheath, without so much as a single new scratch on it.

It was her Second Uncle.

The saber-wielding man chuckled. ”Come with me to meet someone.”

—

Time returned to the present.

Mount Qiaoji, the cliffside cave.

Chen Lingxi suddenly felt an aura seep in from outside the cave.

Only a faint, distant thread of that aura drifted in, yet it instantly caused the spiritual pool in Chen Lingxi’s sea of qi to stagnate.

Deep within his bones, his jade-like blood qi was suppressed by this aura, circulating much more sluggishly. What alarmed him even more was that even the Undying Willow Puppet guarding the cave entrance hadn’t noticed the person’s approach in the slightest.

Chen Lingxi’s pupils shrank slightly.

He took a deep breath, but the spiritual qi in his sea of qi had already begun circulating silently, surging along his meridians straight into the Xi Yu Talisman tucked close to his body.

The talisman was like a dormant beast. The moment he willed it, it would explosively awaken and unleash the terrifying power of that palm strike.

Then, he raised his head and called out clearly, ”Since the guests have arrived, why not enter the cave!”

The patch of old vines at the entrance was brushed aside from the outside.

Two people, one in front and one behind, walked into the cave.

They were the very same two people from the foot of Mount Qiaoji.

Xiao Taozhuo was currently looking at Chen Lingxi with curiosity.

The saber-wielding man wore a slight smile on his face and nodded at Chen Lingxi.

Chen Lingxi was also looking at him.

With a single glance, he recognized him. ’This person...’

He had seen this man before through Lin Suri’s perspective.

This was the very same black-clad saber wielder on Cuojin Mountain who had slaughtered over a hundred cavalrymen with a single strike, his saber light streaking across the sky like a swath of silver silk.

At that time, this man had stepped out of the mountain mists entirely alone. His saber momentum was blazing, routing all who stood in his way, even forcing back the True Light within the rainbow beam with a single slash.

If the Crown Prince, Ying Chi, hadn’t brought out the Purple True Treasure Vase, the ending on Cuojin Mountain that day would likely have been an entirely different scene.

This man’s cultivation was overwhelmingly powerful. The might of that single saber strike still lingered in Chen Lingxi’s mind even now.

He was absolutely no match for this person.

Even with Xi Mu’s help, he feared they wouldn’t be able to block the saber at the man’s waist.

Yet his expression remained unchanged, though his spiritual qi continued to wrap around the Xi Yu Talisman.

His Ghost Mask had long been taken off and set by his knee, revealing a young face.

There was no trace of panic on that face. Even his breathing remained steady, as calm and unhurried as if he were receiving guests in his own courtyard.

He turned slightly and gestured toward two flat bluestones in the cave, his voice steady. ”Please, have a seat.” The saber-wielding man then stepped further into the cave, swept up his robes, and sat down on one of the bluestones.

Xiao Taozhuo followed him in and sat on the other bluestone. However, her gaze kept darting around Chen Lingxi, her eyes full of curiosity and bewilderment.

Chen Lingxi raised his eyes. His gaze first fell upon the woman, then shifted back to the saber-wielding man’s face as he asked, ”May I know your esteemed names?”

”My name is Xiao Zhushan,” the saber-wielding man said, his voice deep and resonant. ”Little friend... I know your origins, but I am not here to kill you.”

Hearing this, Xiao Taozhuo felt somewhat curious.

Xiao Zhushan, however, continued, ”I have come to make a trade with you.”

Chen Lingxi raised his brows slightly. Remaining calm and collected, he simply asked, ”What trade?”

Killing intent suddenly flashed in Xiao Zhushan’s eyes. ”Kill the Crown Prince... with me!”

Xiao Taozhuo whipped her head around, staring wide-eyed at her Second Uncle.

She looked at Xiao Zhushan’s hard face with eyes full of doubt, then looked back at the youth across from them who seemed even younger than her. She truly couldn’t wrap her head around it...

This person was so young, and his blood qi was completely dormant. Just what kind of ability did he have to be worthy of Second Uncle making a trade with him?

And a trade to kill the Crown Prince, no less!