After the Great Dao Died

Deep within Ancestral Mountain, the sky above held neither sun nor moon—only a heavy, ink-black veil of night.

Against that dark canopy, a sea of stars hung high.

Lin Suri stood beneath their starlight.

Though the spiritual qi around him had weakened to its absolute limit, he had no time to run a grand circulation cycle. He could only stare at the man before him.

This person had just voiced his deepest, most unspeakable schemes.

He had even casually laid bare the secret plans of his sect...

Immortal Slough.

Myriad Realms Projection.

Pool Soul Courtyard.

These words spilled from the man’s lips, effortlessly laying bare the mystery!Lin Suri watched Chen Lingxi, and Chen Lingxi watched him.

The night wind swept between them.

Standing several zhang away, Chen Lingxi held his head high, his expression composed.

”I am but a wandering swan between heaven and earth,” Chen Lingxi said leisurely. ”We both find ourselves in this Qi-Depleted Grotto-Heaven. You arrived through the Pool of Reincarnation to seek the opportunity of the Immortal Slough for the Under-Dao Academy, hoping to secure a serendipity for the Pool Soul Courtyard. As for me...”

He paused slightly, his gaze sweeping over Lin Suri’s face before a faint smile touched his lips. ”I have my own reasons. Why must you ask so many questions, fellow Daoist?”

Lin Suri suppressed the shock in his eyes.

Yet his heart pounded like a war drum.

That Myriad Realms Projection was a True Lord’s Cauldron Vessel. Only because the Dao Teacher had borrowed it could the Pool Soul Courtyard project cultivators into this grotto-heaven to seize the Immortal Slough.

This matter was his sect’s most heavily guarded secret. Within this Qi-Depleted Grotto-Heaven, he alone knew of it.

Even back in the Under-Dao Academy, only a handful of people were privy to the truth.

Yet the man before him... how did he know?

Lin Suri’s thoughts surged like a tide. He subconsciously suspected this was all an illusion.

Perhaps his recent, brutal battle with Xi Yuan had left him with far heavier injuries than he realized.

Perhaps this mysterious figure had planted some imperceptible brand within his Sea of Consciousness, and everything unfolding now was merely a hallucination born of his own inner thoughts.

This Chen Lingxi, this Immortal Slough, this sudden turn of events—perhaps they were all nothing more than a fever dream.

However, the three streaks of precious qi in his qi sea were still slowly circulating.

The Six Qi True Method kept his mind lucid. Though the spiritual pool within his qi sea was nearly dry, it continued to operate, gathering and refining the scarce spiritual energy from the surrounding world bit by bit, drawing it into the pool.

Lin Suri took a deep breath, realizing that this was absolutely no illusion.

He looked at Chen Lingxi again. The spiritual qi undulating around this person was clearly no higher than the Qi Circulation 6th Floor.

Although the spiritual liquid in his qi sea had condensed into a pool, it had not yet undergone repeated tempering. The density of his spiritual qi fell far short of Lin Suri’s own.

Yet this very person stood there with an imposing aura as tranquil as a bottomless, freezing abyss.

A profound, indescribable mystery lingered deep in those eyes, making Lin Suri feel as if he weren’t looking at a Qi Circulation 6th Floor cultivator at all, but rather some unfathomable entity wearing a 6th Floor skin.

’Immortal Slough... Projection...’

Lin Suri pondered quietly.

Finally, he took a deep breath and asked, ”Brother Daoist, you just said that the cultivators of my Pool Soul Courtyard projected themselves here, only to shatter and return?”

Chen Lingxi smiled without answering.

Lin Suri waited a moment. Seeing that the man remained silent, a faint glimmer flashed across his eyes. He spoke again, his tone carrying a hint of probing, ”What... does Brother Daoist want?”

He was a cultivator of the Greater World.

He knew perfectly well that there was no such thing as free help in this world. A figure like this wouldn’t just appear before him to reveal such deep secrets for nothing.

’He must want something,’ Lin Suri told himself, his mind already calculating rapidly.

’The greatest serendipity within Ancestral Mountain is the Ancestral Mountain Maternal Qi. Now that the Mother Qi is in my hands, could he have come for it?’

Thus, he continued questioning Chen Lingxi, ”Did you come to Ancestral Mountain for the Ancestral Mountain Maternal Qi, fellow Daoist?”

As he asked, he kept his gaze locked on Chen Lingxi’s face, refusing to miss even the slightest change in expression.

But Chen Lingxi disappointed him. That face maintained its indifferent look; upon hearing the words ”Ancestral Mountain Maternal Qi,” his expression remained placid, completely unchanged.

”Though the Ancestral Mountain Maternal Qi is precious to those seeking the truth, it is nothing to me,” Chen Lingxi said. ”It is nothing more than turning the marrow sea to silver, nothing more than stirring the tides in a hundred apertures. That is not enough to pique my interest.

”Furthermore... offering only the Ancestral Mountain Maternal Qi as payment... is far from enough for these Qi-less secrets.”

At these words, Lin Suri raised an eyebrow slightly.

What kind of serendipity was the Ancestral Mountain Maternal Qi? Consuming it granted the Spiritual Aperture Aptitude.

Even in the Greater World, with its abundant spiritual energy, the Spiritual Aperture Aptitude was an immense fortune that countless cultivators dreamed of but could never obtain.

In the Qi Circulation and Dao Foundation realms, possessing this Spiritual Aperture Aptitude would drastically elevate both one’s comprehension and their techniques for breathing and refining spiritual qi.

It was like a traveler who had only ever stumbled along muddy trails suddenly being placed on a broad, straight imperial highway, able to travel a thousand li a day without ever suffering the mud again.

He and that cultivator surnamed Chao had plotted for so long, risking their lives, fighting and stalling against various noble cultivators, all for this single wisp of Mother Qi.

Xi Yuan, Lu Baizhong, Imperial Consort Chun, and even those Great Zhou cultivators who had traveled from afar—were they not all here for this Mother Qi?

Yet this man before him actually claimed it was nothing?

The doubt in Lin Suri’s heart grew heavier. But a moment later, he seemed to figure it out.

’Mother Qi is incredibly precious, but to someone who can see through profound mysteries... is it truly all that valuable?’

’If this person really wanted to seize the Mother Qi... that would only prove... he isn’t quite as unfathomable as he seems...’

Lin Suri’s mind spun with countless thoughts.

Chen Lingxi suddenly looked straight into Lin Suri’s eyes and murmured, ”Even the great serendipity of the Immortal Slough isn’t actually worth much compared to the price the Pool Soul Courtyard will pay in this realm.”

He paused, his gaze growing ever deeper, much like the sunless, moonless starry sky above them.

”So... I have shown myself this time to meet with the fellow Daoist of the Under-Dao Academy because what I seek is truly immense. I fear you cannot grant it to me, Daoist Lin.”

Lin Suri stood firmly in place, his aura equally calm.

He remained silent for a moment before a solemn look finally appeared in his eyes. ”If Brother Daoist doesn’t voice it, how do you know I cannot grant it?”

The smile on Chen Lingxi’s face slowly faded. He said softly, ”I encountered a Dao tribulation and passed through reincarnation to shelter from it here... but this body of mine is holding me back.”

Saying this, he slightly lowered his head and looked at his own palm.

Spiritual qi flowed across his hand. While the qi could be considered robust, it ultimately fell short when compared to the likes of Lin Suri, Lu Baizhong, or Imperial Consort Chun. His gaze lingered on those strands of spiritual qi, his eyes full of regret.

Then, he suddenly raised his head, a piercing, radiant light surging in his eyes.

He stared straight at Lin Suri, his words striking like a thunderbolt from a clear sky: ”How about I calculate the entirety of this tribulation for the Pool Soul Courtyard and the Under-Dao Academy! I can spare the Dao Palace from suffering the fall of a Golden Portal!”

”In return, the Under-Dao Academy...” He took a deep breath. ”...must have the Dao Teacher use the Heaven-Determining Brush to decree a heavenly fate for this body of mine: ’Imperishable Against Tribulations’!”

”What Dao tribulation?” Lin Suri had been deep in thought, but the moment he heard ”suffering the fall of a Golden Portal,” his expression could no longer maintain its calm, and monstrous waves surged in his heart!

Lin Suri’s breathing grew ragged, his tone turning urgent. ”A True Person of my Dao Palace is going to fall? Which True Person is it?”

A Golden Palace True Person! How venerable were they?

Even in the Greater World, they were lofty figures who governed Profound Mystery and Dao marvels.

They were true Great Cultivators, Supreme Cultivators!

The Dao Palace had but six Golden Portals. Together, they assisted the Dao Teacher and supported the six courtyards of the Academy, revered by tens of thousands of cultivators.

When his Dao heart wavered and he volunteered to come to this Qi-less Realm to seek a Cauldron Vessel and the Immortal Slough to temper his mind, countless elders had opposed him—all because he had the potential to reach the Golden Portal!

And now, a Golden Portal of the Under-Dao Academy was about to fall? How could this be possible? Chen Lingxi’s thoughts flowed smoothly. Standing unmoving, he answered, ”You want your master, Chi Soul Master Jing Shijue, to verify this tribulation using the Tribulation-Viewing Pool Cauldron Vessel?”

Lin Suri wasn’t surprised that Chen Lingxi had guessed what he was thinking.

The Chi Soul Master’s Cauldron Vessel, the Tribulation-Viewing Pool, was hardly a secret in the Great World.

Chen Lingxi’s face, however, was full of candor. ”Why not?”

A light smile graced his face. His tone was casual, yet it unleashed another tidal wave: ”Let me tell you, this tribulation of a falling Golden Portal... centers squarely on your master!”

Lin Suri took a deep breath, completely unable to speak.

He knew in his heart that he couldn’t entirely trust Chen Lingxi’s words.

But this mysterious man before him knew far too many secrets that no one else should know, forcing him to believe it at least slightly.

”The fall of a Golden Portal... is this true?” Only after a long while did he gather his composure and ask again.

Chen Lingxi looked him up and down but did not answer directly. The smile on his face widened as he suddenly said, ”Fellow Daoist, as I stand across from you today and observe your Dao fate, I happen to see a woman in green whose destiny is deeply entangled with yours. I wonder if that is true?”

At these words, Lin Suri’s entire body shuddered.

His mind instantly flashed to the figure of a woman in green standing on a suspended mountain, facing a sea of clouds. She was the very woman who had caused his Dao heart to waver, driving him to cross through the Pool of Reincarnation and idle his years away in this Qi-Depleted Grotto-Heaven.

She was the deepest crack hidden in the depths of his heart.

He had never breathed a word of her to anyone.

Not even to his master had he uttered half a syllable about it.

Yet this man before him had seen right through it with a single sentence.

Lin Suri stood rooted to the spot, the spiritual qi undulating around him thrown into complete chaos.

He just stood there, staring blankly at Chen Lingxi. For the first time, a trace of near bewilderment surfaced in those perpetually profound and tranquil eyes.

The night wind swept in from the mouth of the valley, slightly loosening his meticulously tied hair crown. A few stray strands fell, clinging to his pale temples.

Completely oblivious to it, he stood there in silence for a long time.

Then, he took a deep breath, cupped his fists, and offered a deep bow to Chen Lingxi.

The bow was extremely solemn. He looked like a disciple seeking guidance from an elder—utterly respectful, not daring to show the slightest negligence.

”Senior,” he finally spoke, his voice carrying genuine awe for the first time. ”Please allow me to report this to my sect before discussing it further with you.” Senior.

When this word spilled from Lin Suri’s mouth, there was no reluctance, nor was there any hesitation.

It was as though he were addressing an elder who had wholly won him over, a master he willingly treated with the etiquette of a junior.

”This matter is of grave importance.” Chen Lingxi nodded, his indifferent face betraying no emotion, his voice as steady as ever. ”Naturally, you should do so.”

Lin Suri straightened up and turned to leave. He was likely seeking a quiet place to communicate with the Under-Dao Academy via that jade slip.

But he had barely taken two steps when Chen Lingxi’s voice rang out from behind him.

”Hold on.”

Lin Suri’s steps paused, and he turned back around.

He saw that Chen Lingxi seemed to have suddenly remembered something else.

”Within Ancestral Mountain...” Chen Lingxi’s gaze drifted past Lin Suri, looking toward the heavenly pool suspended in the distance, and at the bizarre night sky where starlight and mist intertwined. A faint trace of solemnity flickered in his eyes. ”...there are a few oddities that seem to be connected to the Immortal Slough.”

He paused, withdrawing his gaze to fix it back on Lin Suri. ”I would like to borrow your Ancestral Mountain Maternal Qi for a moment to calculate the Dao marvels of this mountain, and divine the faint immortal opportunities hidden within.”

A hint of surprise flashed in Lin Suri’s eyes. ”Are you perhaps worried I might steal your Mother Qi?” Chen Lingxi shook his head. ”Do you have a Jade Precept Book on you?”

A Jade Precept Book.

Those words stirred Lin Suri’s heart when they fell on his ears.

The Jade Precept Book was a contractual artifact used to bind cultivators. Once signed, any breach of its promise would bring down divine retribution.

If the senior before him was truly willing to use a Jade Precept Book as a guarantee, then there was no need to worry about him trying to steal the Mother Qi.

Under normal circumstances, Lin Suri would never surrender a treasure from his hands.

Having cultivated for so long, he knew perfectly well that every shred of serendipity was hard-won, and every strand of spiritual energy had to be fought for with one’s life.

Much less this Ancestral Mountain Maternal Qi, which he had poured his blood and sweat into obtaining, nearly losing his life under Xi Yuan’s Longevity Bridge in the process.

Lending such a treasure to a complete stranger—even if it was just a ”loan”—was absolutely out of the question.

But at this moment, his heart was wavering.

’This person possesses the power to see through Dao marvels. Such a figure can likely peer into even deeper serendipities. It’s easy to see why a mere wisp of Mother Qi truly means nothing to someone like him.’

Furthermore, Lin Suri was rapidly calculating another critical point. If this man’s strength was overwhelming, he wouldn’t need to waste words; he could just take it by force.

If his strength really was just at the Qi Circulation 6th Floor, and he had only managed to fend off Xi Yuan relying on those few talismans and profound beads, then even if he borrowed the Mother Qi, he would just be killed by the others anyway. Why would he take such a risk?

Without refining the Mother Qi, Ancestral Mountain wouldn’t open. The Mother Qi wasn’t something that was useful just by holding it.

Inside Ancestral Mountain, a pack of wolves lay in wait. Imperial Consort Chun, Lu Baizhong, that young general—which one of them wasn’t glaring like a hungry tiger eyeing its prey?

Even if a Qi Circulation 6th Floor cultivator obtained the Mother Qi, it was absolutely impossible for them to walk out of this minor grotto-heaven alive.

Lin Suri’s mind whirled. These thoughts surged, clashed, and merged in his head, finally crystallizing into a clear judgment.

And so, Lin Suri ultimately flipped his palm.

His slender, powerful right hand emerged from his sleeve, fingers slightly parted, palm facing the sky.

A wisp of clear qi slowly rose from his palm.

The clear qi was about the size of a hand, resembling a sliver of crushed moonlight or a cluster of starlight trapped in his grasp.

It circulated slowly in the void, exuding an indescribably wondrous aura.

Contained within that aura was an impossibly dense spiritual energy. A single wisp was enough to vastly improve an ordinary cultivator’s cultivation base; a single thread was enough to drive those Qi Circulation cultivators mad. That clear qi was extraordinarily profound. The moment it appeared, all the starlight within several zhang converged upon it as if all rivers run into the sea, condensing into a small halo within his palm.

As the halo drifted, an incredibly faint, gentle spiritual hum sounded out. It was ethereal, as if someone were plucking a zither from miles away, or an immortal were chanting scriptures atop the clouds.

Chen Lingxi’s expression did not waver as he reached out and took the streak of clear qi.

The instant the clear qi touched his hand, he felt all the apertures in his body suddenly become lucid.

Bathed in the clear qi, the spiritual pool in his qi sea leaped with joy. It began to circulate on its own, greedily devouring the few strands of incoming spiritual energy.

The one hundred and eight crucial apertures throughout his body felt like sweet rain falling after a prolonged drought. They simultaneously emitted an incredibly subtle, drawn-out hum, cheering and jumping for joy as if welcoming a long-awaited downpour.

Utterly profound!

Chen Lingxi was ecstatic; this was going even smoother than he had imagined.

He had thought Lin Suri would hesitate for a long time, test him several times, and perhaps even demand more conditions.

He never expected this Greater World figure, who was normally so cautious and steady, to hand the Mother Qi over so easily.

Just by holding the clear qi, he felt a wave of heavy spiritual energy rush in from his palm, flowing through his meridians all the way into his qi sea, causing his spiritual pool to tremble slightly.

’Marvelous, marvelous,’ he praised twice in his mind, but his face gave nothing away.

His indifferent face still wore the same unhurried look, though the smile on his lips deepened slightly.

He raised his eyes, just about to say something.

Right at that moment, the Method of Qi Observation swirled in Lin Suri’s eyes as he looked up at the sky.

Two clusters of blinding golden fire suddenly flared in his deep, well-like eyes. As the flames danced, his gaze became like two invisible arrows, piercing through the heavy starlight and layers of clouds to land far in the distance.

Chen Lingxi’s heart stirred, and he followed his gaze.

In the far distance, a bolt of lightning exploded.

Wrapped in terrifying might, the lightning swept toward them with a booming crash.

It was Lu Baizhong!

Amidst the pale gold lightning, a slender figure could faintly be seen.

The figure wore a moon-white long gown, with a silver-white longsword hanging at his waist. With red lips, white teeth, and handsome features, he looked completely unlike a mortal of the mundane world.

He arrived stepping on thunder. His robes fluttered fiercely as the lightning blazed around him. Like a deity of thunder and fire, his overwhelming might made others too afraid to look directly at him. Following Lu Baizhong, several more streaks of spiritual light soared over.

Some of those spiritual lights were strong, and some were weak. The fast ones were like meteors chasing the moon, while the slower ones resembled birds diving into a forest.

They converged on this place from all directions. Every streak of light radiated undisguised greed and killing intent, and every single one shared the exact same target.

The Ancestral Mountain Maternal Qi currently clutched in Chen Lingxi’s hand.

Lin Suri furrowed his brow slightly.

He was just about to speak when he suddenly caught sight of movement even farther away.

A short distance off, the young general approached, a large banner strapped to his back.

Behind him, the three hundred Silver Bone martial artists were nowhere to be found—they had likely been completely wiped out during the previous encirclement.

Even so, the tragic, slaughterous aura surrounding the young general had not diminished in the slightest. In fact, it was noticeably thicker than before.

It was as if the large banner had devoured the vitality and blood of those three hundred Silver Bones.

Lin Suri took a deep breath.

At that moment, his aura abruptly surged. The spiritual qi undulations that had been as weak as a candle in the wind suddenly became deep and weighty once more. Reaching into his robes, he produced a small Jade Ruler from somewhere.

The Jade Ruler was only about an inch square and entirely pitch-black. Engraved upon it was a fierce tiger identical to the one on the divine general token, posed as if descending a mountain. Its four claws were like hooks, its tail like a whip, and every strand of its fur was distinctly visible.

The instant the tiger’s pattern lit up, a blazing, rising aura erupted from his body, like a slumbering divine general finally opening its eyes.

’Lin Suri actually still had some trump cards on him,’ Chen Lingxi secretly rejoiced.

He really had considered taking advantage of the man’s injuries to seize the Mother Qi by force.

At the time, he had thought that if Lin Suri was heavily injured, he might actually have a chance to succeed by relying on his Qi Circulation 6th Floor cultivation, the Hidden Edge Method to mask his aura, and the Xi Mu puppet supporting him from the sidelines.

But looking at it now, Lin Suri’s profound foundations far exceeded his expectations.

Had he actually made a move, not only would he have failed to snatch the Mother Qi, he probably would have shattered this Absolute Perception.

Right at that moment, the clouds were pushed aside, forming a rift.

Within the rift, the lustrous white small boat hovered quietly.

The bottom of the boat was still over a zhang away from the surface of the clouds, yet it did not fall. It just hung there in midair, drifting idly.

A person stood at the bow of the boat. It was Imperial Consort Chun.

Her appearance was as beautiful as ever, but her graceful, luxurious face was deathly pale—even more so than before!

And yet, the imposing aura she gave off was significantly heavier than when she was surrounded and attacked earlier.

Standing at the bow of the boat, the spiritual qi pressure emanating from her was noticeably deeper than before.

That pressure descended from the sky like an invisible mountain, pressing out in all directions to blanket the world, causing the spiritual lights hurrying over to falter slightly under the weight.

’She must have used that wondrous, exotic treasure,’ Chen Lingxi speculated inwardly.

Right now, killing intent overflowed from Imperial Consort Chun’s eyes.

Not a trace of her usual graceful lethargy remained in those phoenix eyes; there was only pure, undisguised murderous intent.

The killing intent was so thick it was almost tangible, shooting from her eyes like two invisible arrows of freezing ice. Piercing through the starlight and layers of clouds, they landed on Lin Suri, and then on Chen Lingxi.

Sweeping her gaze over them, she finally locked onto Chen Lingxi.

”Interesting.” She tilted her head slightly. Her phoenix eyes scrutinized Chen Lingxi from head to toe, sweeping over the clear qi in his hand and the spiritual qi undulations around him that were no more than the Qi Circulation 6th Floor. A smile surfaced on her lips. ”To think a mere Qi Circulation 6th Floor would actually dare scheme against this consort.”

Her tone harbored an explosive rage and killing intent just waiting to erupt. It was like a true dragon that had been provoked by an ant.

That a lowly Qi Circulation 6th Floor cultivator would dare play tricks to drive tigers to swallow wolves right in front of her, that he would dare snatch the Ancestral Mountain Maternal Qi from right under her nose—it was the biggest joke in the world.

Lin Suri frowned, preparing to activate the Jade Ruler.

It was then that Chen Lingxi stood up.

He stood upon the rocky crag beneath the starlight, his robes snapping in the night wind.

He still held that streak of clear qi. It drifted slowly within his palm, emitting a soft, gentle light.

His eyes were as calm as water, entirely undisturbed and without a shred of fear. He just plainly watched the luxuriously dressed woman on the heavenly boat, whose pressure was like a prison, as if he were looking at a passerby who had nothing to do with him.

”Since when was it your turn to kill me?” he murmured softly.

Everyone was stunned.

A Qi Circulation 6th Floor pawn actually dared to say something so arrogant while facing an existence on par with Heaven-Facing cultivators like Imperial Consort Chun?

But in the next second, they witnessed something even more astonishing. Chen Lingxi casually stored the Mother Qi into his Vast Void Pouch.

His movements were unhurried, flowing like floating clouds and flowing water without the slightest trace of panic.

Then...

Standing there, Chen Lingxi raised his head and glanced at the two bright mirrors hanging high in the sky.

Of the two mirrors, one was blazing gold like a grand sun, and the other was silver-white like a bright moon. They were currently casting radiant pillars of light into every corner of this minor grotto-heaven.

He withdrew his gaze.

And then, under the shocked eyes of the crowd, he suddenly opened his mouth.

A streak of purple light burst from his lips.

Shooting from between his teeth, it drew a tiny, faint purple arc through the night before—piercing straight into Chen Lingxi’s own forehead.

Shk.

With an incredibly soft and subtle sound.

The final trace of light in Chen Lingxi’s pupils froze at this very moment. High above in the sky, the two bright mirrors suddenly erupted with blinding light.

One blazing gold, one silver-white—two pillars of light descended simultaneously, shining upon Chen Lingxi’s shattering body.

As the light flowed, the entire world began to twist, crack, and crumble.

Mountains and rivers rolled backward, pine forests crumbled to dust, and all things in heaven and earth were reduced to fine powder in this instant, vanishing into nothingness.

The Absolute Perception had ended.