After the Great Dao Died

Chen Lingxi remained seated in Cuojin Mountain, unmoving as a boulder.

But his mind had long since left the cave.

His perspective had followed Lin Suri into Ancestral Mountain.

Ancestral Mountain.

As mentioned before, Ancestral Mountain was not large.

Chen Lingxi had scouted this mountain.

The entire mountain spanned a mere few li across. Even a mortal could walk from its foot to the summit and back down in a single shichen.

Yet now, the interior of Ancestral Mountain had changed completely.

When Lin Suri stepped into that churning thick fog, it was like crossing through an invisible door.

Beyond the fog... lay a vast, boundless world!Chen Lingxi was astonished. ’To think Ancestral Mountain is this mystical!’

Outside Ancestral Mountain, it was broad daylight.

But in this realm, it was the dead of night.

Countless stars hung high in the sky.

The stars densely carpeted the night canopy. Varying in size and brightness, they formed constellations Chen Lingxi had never seen.

The starlight was not cold; instead, it bore a warm, almost milky-white luster, glowing faintly like countless luminous pearls embedded in a massive swath of pitch-black brocade.

The falling starlight illuminated this world as brightly as day.

Through Lin Suri’s eyes, Chen Lingxi could clearly see him looking around the landscape. There was no trace of fog left, nor any sight of the world outside.

The path he had taken was gone. The rolling fog was gone. Even Ancestral Mountain itself had vanished.

It was as if this place were an independent world, completely isolated from the outside.

Chen Lingxi frowned.

’There are too many profound mysteries in this world,’ he thought. When he had previously visited Ancestral Mountain, he had memorized its terrain down to the last detail.

The positions of the three main peaks, the flow of the streams, the locations of the ancient pines, the steepness of the cliffs—he had committed them all to memory, hoping to secure a geographical advantage when the Mother Qi appeared.

He had never expected Ancestral Mountain to undergo such a drastic transformation. It could no longer even be called a mountain; it was more like a minor grotto-heaven.

Though surprised, he never tore his gaze away from Lin Suri’s perspective.

Following Lin Suri’s line of sight, he carefully inspected this unfamiliar realm.

As he looked, Chen Lingxi realized that the flow of the leylines and the arrangement of the mountains in this minor grotto-heaven felt strangely familiar.

In the distance stood three rolling mountains arranged in a triangular formation. The peaks were not particularly steep, but they possessed a heavy, profound aura.

Clouds and mist wreathed their waists, obscuring the summits in a haze. He could only vaguely make out a few twisted, vibrantly green ancient pines growing at the top.

Chen Lingxi’s pupils shrank slightly.

He recognized them.

Those three mountains were the three peaks of Ancestral Mountain.

They were just countless times larger than before. The original Ancestral Mountain, barely a few li across, had been magnified more than a hundred times over in this minor grotto-heaven.

The three main peaks towered majestically, like three silent giants crouching beneath the starlight. Despite their gentle slopes, that heavy, profound aura was oppressive enough to leave one breathless.

His gaze swept past the three mountains, taking in the sights further away.

In the distance drifted a patch of ethereal clouds. Through the swirling mist, a heavenly lake faintly revealed itself.

The lake was incredibly vast. Suspended in midair, it looked like a bright mirror held aloft by the clouds. Its waters were a clear jade green, rippling under the starlight.

An extremely thin, faint white mist slowly drifted over the surface like a living veil, cloaking the entire heavenly lake in a mysterious halo.

Understanding dawned on Chen Lingxi.

That was the original summit.

Only, in this minor realm, some force had lifted the summit into the sky, transforming it into a floating heavenly lake.

He continued to look onward. Beneath the heavenly lake ran a river so massive he couldn’t see its end.

The river’s water was as clear and green as jade. It meandered across the land like a slumbering emerald python from antiquity, its surface shimmering as it reflected the cold light of the countless stars above.

Chen Lingxi couldn’t help but take a deep breath. Those were the streams that originally flowed along Ancestral Mountain’s waist.

Yet in this minor grotto-heaven, those streams, originally no more than a few chi across, had swelled into this mighty river.

’Just what kind of secrets... is Ancestral Mountain hiding?’

Chen Lingxi’s mind churned with questions.

While Chen Lingxi’s thoughts raced, Lin Suri suddenly heard a few voices.

The sounds came from the direction of the three mountains. At first, they were extremely distant and faint, but in the blink of an eye, they drew near.

The voices carried fluctuations of spiritual qi. It felt as though someone were using spiritual qi to drive a voice transmission technique, yet it was completely different from ordinary sound transmission spells.

”What thief dares to trespass into the spiritual land of our Dongchu Immortal Clan!”

The sharp shout exploded like a clap of thunder in the tranquil minor grotto-heaven.

Through Lin Suri’s perspective, Chen Lingxi saw several cultivators approaching from afar.

The cultivators moved incredibly fast, riding a strange pale green escape light. The light trailed behind them like cyan fireflies, tracing arcs under the starlight as they arrived before Lin Suri in a flash.

The leader was a middle-aged cultivator. He looked to be in his forties, dressed in a dark cyan brocade robe with a jade belt around his waist. On his head rested a jade crown inlaid with a green jewel.

Three young cultivators followed behind him. They were all in their twenties and dressed similarly to the middle-aged man, though the jewels in their jade crowns were slightly smaller and paler in color.

The moment they landed, the group surrounded Lin Suri.

The middle-aged cultivator looked Lin Suri up and down. His gaze lingered for a moment on the fierce tiger token at his waist and the two-foot Jade Sword. A faint trace of alarm flashed in his eyes before he quickly returned to his harsh, cold demeanor.

”Who are you?” he demanded. The spiritual qi fluctuations in his voice were deeper and thicker than before, striking the void like a heavy, invisible drum that made the surrounding air tremble slightly. ”Why have you trespassed into the territory of the Dongchu Immortal Clan?”

Lin Suri didn’t answer.

He barely even glanced at the middle-aged cultivator, merely tilting his head slightly as his eyes swept over the men surrounding him.

Then, he lightly flicked his finger.

A thick streak of Purple True Precious Qi shot out from his fingertip.

The Purple True Precious Qi was as thick as an arm, condensed almost into solid matter. It roared from his finger like a long-suppressed purple true dragon finally breaking free of its restraints.

The purple light was blindingly bright, outshining the starlight and forcing the cultivators to involuntarily squint.

The middle-aged cultivator’s pupils shrank drastically. He moved the very instant Lin Suri flicked his finger.

Swiping his right hand past his waist, a beam of spiritual light shot out from a small leather pouch. It expanded in the wind, transforming into a heavy stone shield that blocked his front.

The stone shield was about three chi square and half a chi thick. The surface was carved with intricate patterns, faintly rippling with earthy yellow spiritual light.

However, the other three young cultivators hadn’t even reacted yet!

The Purple True Precious Qi streaked forward like a dancing spiritual sword.

It slammed into the heavy stone shield.

And then, the stone shield split right down the middle.

The purple light pierced perfectly through the center of the shield, silent and completely unhindered.

The swirling earthy yellow spiritual light on the shield instantly dimmed. The surface fractured inch by inch, cracks spreading wildly outward from the center.

The middle-aged cultivator’s eyes shot wide open.

He looked down at his own chest. There was a finger-thick hole passing straight through to his back, its edges as smooth as glass.

Blood gushed from the wound, blooming into a dark red stain across his dark cyan brocade robe. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but only boiling hot blood welled up in his throat before he toppled straight backward.

The purple light had pierced the stone shield and his chest, but it still didn’t dissipate.

Pausing briefly in the air, it acted like a starving wolf that had caught the scent of blood. It suddenly split into three streaks, shooting toward each of the three young cultivators.

Before the trio could even react, a hole appeared perfectly between each of their brows.

Blood seeped from the holes, running down the bridges of their noses and dripping onto the grass below.

The four men collapsed to the ground.

It all happened in the span of a few breaths. From the moment Lin Suri flicked his finger to the moment the four men died, he had stood perfectly still. Not even the hem of his robe had been stirred by the wind.

Lin Suri walked over and looted the corpses. He untied the leather pouch from the middle-aged cultivator’s waist, then stripped the jade crowns, jade pendants, and pouches from the other three, stuffing everything into his Vast Void Pouch.

Chen Lingxi took in all of this through Lin Suri’s perspective.

But right now, his mind wasn’t on the spoils of war.

’Dongchu Immortal Clan?’

He chewed on those words repeatedly, a feeling of indescribable absurdity rising in his heart. Within this grotto-heaven, he had never seen nor heard of a single native who cultivated qi.

Even Xiao Changlv and Yuan Yuan, who were at the Entering Profound realm, exclusively practiced blood-qi martial arts without exception.

So where would an immortal cultivation clan come from in this Qi-less Realm?

On second thought, Ancestral Mountain had its own profound mysteries.

’Could it be... Ancestral Mountain connects to the outside world?’

The more Chen Lingxi thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

In his Qi-Depleted Grotto-Heaven, Ancestral Mountain was an ordinary peak shrouded in thick fog. The mountain wasn’t tall, and its spiritual qi was thin—it was just an unremarkable barren ridge.

But somewhere else, it was a mystical domain like this.

The Dongchu Immortal Clan was highly likely composed of local cultivators from that ”somewhere else.”

’Ancestral Mountain connects to other grotto-heavens, or secret realms, or even... the Greater World.’

Once that thought surfaced, he could no longer suppress it.

His gaze suddenly burned hot. ’If that’s true, could I use Ancestral Mountain to escape?’

The idea erupted in his heart like a roaring fire.

He had struggled bitterly in this Qi-Depleted Grotto-Heaven for so long, yet he still wasn’t free!

The root cause was simply that this grotto-heaven was on the verge of destruction, and he was nothing but an insignificant speck of dust within it.

When True Monarch Xi refined the grotto-heaven with the Realm-Refining Furnace, if he were still trapped inside, he would undoubtedly die. There would be zero chance of survival.

But if he could use Ancestral Mountain to escape... then the Xi family patriarch’s refinement of the grotto-heaven wouldn’t affect him.

Chen Lingxi took a deep breath, etching the thought firmly into his mind before returning his attention to Lin Suri’s perspective.

Just then, a booming noise echoed from afar.

At first, it was as distant and faint as muffled thunder rolling across the horizon, but in a flash, it swelled into an earth-shaking roar.

The entire minor grotto-heaven trembled slightly under the noise. Starlight shook, the mountains rumbled, and ripples spread across the clear, jade-like surface of the heavenly lake.

Lin Suri had clearly heard it as well.

Golden light flashed in his eyes as he activated his Art of Observation. Through Lin Suri’s perspective, Chen Lingxi saw the scene far in the distance.

On a faraway plain, three people were locked in combat.

More accurately, one person was suppressing the other two.

Chen Lingxi couldn’t be more familiar with the one holding the upper hand.

With red lips and white teeth, his handsome features seemed otherworldly. He wore a moon-white long robe with a longsword resting at his waist. The scabbard was pure silver-white, and a green jewel was embedded in the hilt.

It was Lu Baizhong.

At this moment, Lu Baizhong gripped his precious sword. It was already drawn, pale gold lightning crackling fiercely along the blade.

He was still using that exquisite Qi Circulation sword scripture. Once unleashed, his sword momentum was impenetrable. Wherever the sword light passed, countless tiny pale gold arcs leaped from the blade, showering down on his two opponents like an inverted golden rainstorm.

The two men were forced into a continuous retreat by the suffocating sword strikes. Hard-pressed from all sides, they were in a miserable state.

Through Lin Suri’s Art of Observation, Chen Lingxi got a clear look at their appearances.

Both men appeared to be in their thirties. One wore a black robe, while the other dressed in a moon-white brocade robe.

Their cultivation was exceptionally strong; both were at the Qi Circulation 7th Floor. Lu Baizhong casually flicked his longsword, sending an arm-thick pale gold lightning bolt shooting out.

The lightning moved with blinding speed, smashing the black-robed man’s spiritual astral aura to pieces before continuing on toward the brocade-robed man’s chest with unabated momentum.

The brocade-robed man threw up both hands, conjuring a phantom mountain just in time to block the lightning. However, a web of fine cracks shattered across the mountain phantom from the impact.

With supreme calm and ease, Lu Baizhong casually unleashed another sword strike.

This strike was light and airy, seemingly lacking any force, but the air was silently cleaved apart wherever the sword light passed, leaving behind a razor-thin, faint vacuum rift. The two men were in desperate straits!

Chen Lingxi’s gaze focused. ’Lu Baizhong has stepped into the Qi Circulation 7th Floor, and those two are 7th Floor cultivators as well!’

What shocked Chen Lingxi even more was that despite teaming up, two 7th Floor cultivators were still being completely suppressed by Lu Baizhong.

’They’re all at the 7th Floor, yet Lu Baizhong can fight two at once, and even seems to have strength to spare.’

His lightning sword scripture was simply too tyrannical. Every strike carried the might of heavenly thunder, the sword qi filled with highly condensed lightning power.

At that moment, Lu Baizhong suddenly spoke.

His tone was careless. ”To think truth-seekers of Great Zhou would know the mysteries of Ancestral Mountain!”

His gaze fell upon the black-robed man, a faint smile floating on his lips. The smile seemed innocent and bright, but his eyes held only a condescending, near-apathetic indifference.

”In this life, I was born in Great Li! Since you dare to come here, I will cripple your cultivation and seize your spiritual opportunities.”

Chen Lingxi’s heart trembled.

Great Zhou cultivators.

These two were actually from the Great Zhou Empire.

While he was lost in thought, the battlefield underwent a drastic change.

Lu Baizhong seemingly lost his patience and stopped playing with them.

He raised his sword high. The pale gold lightning on the blade reached its peak brilliance.

The light was so intense it was as if he held a miniature sun, painting the entire plain a blinding pale gold.

The expressions of the black-robed and brocade-robed men changed simultaneously.

They exchanged a look, seemingly making up their minds. They pushed their spiritual qi to the absolute limit without holding anything back.

Two profound spells hung high in the air, shooting spiritual light in all directions! The three clashed ferociously upon the plain.

For a split second, heaven and earth fell dead silent.

Immediately after, a terrifying shockwave of sound exploded outward from the point of impact.

Wherever the soundwave passed, a thick layer of earth was peeled away, sending crushed rocks and grass clippings flying into the sky!

Only after the dust settled did Chen Lingxi get a clear view of the battlefield.

Lu Baizhong still stood exactly where he was, unmoving.

The pale gold lightning on his sword had completely dissipated, leaving only a few faint, tiny arcs dancing at the tip of the blade.

On his boyish face with its red lips and white teeth, there wasn’t the slightest hint of strain.

Meanwhile, the black-robed and brocade-robed men had been blasted more than a hundred zhang away.

Right then, Lu Baizhong made his move.

He lightly flipped his sword. The dark halo on the blade faded, replaced by an even thicker, more condensed layer of pale gold lightning.

The lightning wasn’t as blindingly radiant as before; instead, it was heavily restrained, swirling tightly around the blade. He took a step forward. As his foot fell, the ground—already fractured by their clash—crumbled a little further.

He lunged forward like a bolt of pale gold lightning, closing the distance to within three zhang of the black-robed man in a flash.

His sword was raised high, the pale gold lightning blindingly bright. If this strike landed, the black-robed man’s head would undoubtedly fly.

’Lu Baizhong’s lethal power is simply astonishing!’ Chen Lingxi was amazed.

But at that very moment...

A sudden change occurred!

A massive bridge spanned across the sky.

It arrived without any warning. One second there was empty void, and the next, a towering bridge of spiritual light extended out, crossing the firmament!

The bridge was dozens of zhang long, overflowing with spiritual light.

At the end of the bridge stood a figure.

He looked to be in his thirties, wearing a Daoist robe. He stood at the head of the bridge with his hands clasped behind his back.

His appearance wasn’t striking—he had an ordinary face—but his eyes were unfathomably deep. He just stood there, his robe fluttering slightly in the wind.

Lu Baizhong’s guaranteed killing strike halted the moment the spiritual light bridge appeared.

His pupils shrank, a grave look finally entering his eyes. He forcefully wrenched the lightning sword shadow meant for the black-robed man, redirecting it toward the figure on the bridge.

Wherever the sword light passed, the air was scorched with countless fine burn marks, producing ear-piercing sizzles.

Yet the man on the bridge merely lifted his hand.

He raised his right hand and pressed down on empty air, his large sleeve billowing.

His hand seemed to casually push against the void, but with that single motion, the massive bridge suddenly extended forward. Like an invisible greatsword, it hacked down from the sky, suppressing everything.

The stone bridge smashed into the pale gold lightning like a heavy spiritual shield slamming into a fine needle.

The lightning shattered inch by inch, dissolving into a sky full of golden dust, while the bridge didn’t budge. Not a single new crack appeared among its intricate patterns.

Lu Baizhong frowned slightly and retreated several zhang.

He looked up at the stone bridge and the man standing there with his hands behind his back. For the first time, a faint trace of alarm flashed in his eyes.

”The Xi Family’s Longevity Bridge divine power?” The man said nothing.

He simply raised the hand pressed against the void and slowly squeezed toward Lu Baizhong.

With that grip, the surface of the spiritual bridge suddenly split apart. Countless arm-thick spiritual ropes shot out from the cracks. Like thousands of stone dragons waking all at once, they surged from every direction to entangle Lu Baizhong.

The two Great Zhou cultivators also got back on their feet at that moment.

They exchanged a glance, a ruthless glint flashing in their eyes. Forcing out whatever little spiritual qi they had left, they activated their spells and charged at Lu Baizhong.

Spiritual ropes in front, and two spells flanking from the sides—the three-pronged attack sealed off all of Lu Baizhong’s escape routes.

Lu Baizhong coldly snorted.

His sword abruptly flipped, and dark gold lightning flared brilliantly.

A talisman slowly rose into the air. It was blindingly bright, radiating an earth-shattering power!

Rumble!

Spiritual light violently exploded!

It stalled the three attackers for just a single moment! And in that instant, Lu Baizhong turned and fled.

Sheathing his sword, his figure blurred into a pale gold streak of light, darting toward the third of the distant mountains.

He moved terrifyingly fast, vanishing deep into the mountains without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Defeated, he fled far away.

Lin Suri chose this moment to act.

His figure flickered, silently chasing after him like a pale gold afterimage.

His speed was equally astonishing.

One trailing the other, the two sped toward the third mountain.

The third mountain was much more treacherous than the other two. Its cliffs were sheer, covered in twisted ancient pines and dense vines that cast overlapping shadows under the starlight.

Lu Baizhong’s sword light flashed halfway up the mountain before plunging into an extremely well-hidden cave.

Lin Suri followed closely behind, landing on the flat ledge outside the cave. Just as he was about to pursue him inside, a burst of drumming rang out in the distance.

The drums beat with a heavy, urgent rhythm, as if someone were pounding thousands of massive drums deep underground. It made the mountain rocks tremble and the starlight shake. Amidst the drumming, a large banner flew high.

The banner was incredibly large and tall. Its surface was dark red, made from an unknown beast’s hide.

Intricate patterns covered the banner, faintly glowing with spiritual light.

The banner hovered in midair.

Beneath it, three hundred Silver Bone martial artists waved large banners of their own, forming a battle formation.

All three hundred men wore silver armor and helmets, wielding long lances with dark red banners strapped to their backs.

The three hundred banners fluttered in the starlight, faintly assembling into a highly complex war array.

As spiritual qi poured in, the patterns on the flags lit up simultaneously. Three hundred beams of spiritual light merged into a colossally thick torrent of spiritual qi.

Before the torrent even reached him, Lin Suri found himself firmly locked in place.

Lin Suri furrowed his brow.

He turned his head to look in the direction of the three hundred Silver Bone warriors.

...Right then, Vision Roaming suddenly shattered.

Chen Lingxi opened his eyes.

He sat in silence for a moment before slowly getting to his feet.

Two exceptionally bright, deep flames ignited in his profound eyes.

’Lu Baizhong had bad luck. The moment he entered Ancestral Mountain, he ran into several powerful foes. Now he’s even injured.’

Chen Lingxi exited the King of the East’s Traveling Palace. Circulating his blood-qi, the mountain rocks beneath his feet fractured inch by inch as he launched himself into the air like a cannonball.

A Qi Sea Whirlpool erupted beneath his feet. Spiritual qi and blood-qi circulated simultaneously, sending him cutting a flawless arc through the sky, his robes billowing noisily in the wind.

’I will use the Absolute Perception Divine Chamber to pinpoint exactly where Lu Baizhong is healing... and when the time is right, I will kill him!’

Chen Lingxi’s gaze burned hotly.

The wind howled past his ears.

’The situation in Ancestral Mountain has already devolved into total chaos. The cultivators who arrived early are slaughtering each other.’

’Whether they are at the Qi Circulation 7th Floor or the Qi Circulation 8th Floor, in the face of the Mother Qi opportunity, they are all like starving wolves fighting over meat. No one is willing to take half a step back.’ He sneered coldly. ’This is the perfect time to fish in troubled waters.’ The distant Ancestral Mountain drew closer and closer.

Chen Lingxi’s eyes burned fiercely, like two cold stars blazing alone in the night.

’Lu Baizhong... an injured noble cultivator...’

’If his weakness is found, he will probably die too!’