After the Great Dao Died

Chen Lingxi held his breath, staring at the transforming stone in his hand.

As the stone’s outer crust peeled away, it revealed its true form.

”Just as I thought. A flying dagger.”

The blade was barely the length of his palm—edgeless, entirely amber, and translucent.

What truly amazed Chen Lingxi was the beam of light sealed within. It remained concentrated and unscattered, as though someone had severed a ray of morning sunlight and trapped it inside the amber blade. No matter how much time had passed, it hadn’t dimmed in the slightest.

A minuscule hourglass was embedded at the end of the hilt.

No larger than a grain of rice, the hourglass was carved entirely from an unknown, crystal-clear gemstone.

Extremely fine sand trickled slowly within it, falling soundlessly from the narrow top to the bottom in an endless cycle.

Chen Lingxi gripped the flying dagger, focusing his gaze.

The blade felt slightly heavy in his hand and warm to the touch—a stark contrast to the icy stone it had been moments before.Through the perception of his divine sense, the beam of light sealed within the amber blade faintly exuded an indescribable, profound mystery. ”Incredible. I can’t comprehend even a sliver of its secrets.”

With a mere thought, he probed his divine sense into the flying dagger.

The instant his divine sense entered the blade, a massive deluge of information flooded his Sea of Consciousness like a bursting dam.

Enduring the swelling ache in his head, he sorted and assimilated the information thread by thread.

When he opened his eyes, they were filled with unrestrained delight.

This flying dagger was named Delayed Light.

The Delayed Light Flying Dagger had no edge and possessed no sharpness; its true might lay hidden within the tiny hourglass at the end of its hilt.

Once activated, the fine sand within the hourglass would flow, and the sealed beam of light would transform into an invisible, esoteric force that struck the enemy.

An enemy struck by Delayed Light would suffer no physical harm, nor would their divine sense be damaged.

However, their perception of time would be distorted.

The world they saw would begin to slow down, and their own movements would slow with it. Only the master of Delayed Light would retain their normal speed.

This asymmetric perception of time would last no more than a single breath. One breath.

It sounded extremely brief.

Yet in a life-and-death struggle between cultivators, a single breath was enough to determine victory or defeat.

Within that breath, all of the enemy’s reactions would slow. Their spells would warp, their defenses would reveal flaws, and every countermeasure would become riddled with errors due to their distorted sense of time.

But the most terrifying aspect was that the enemy would often remain completely unaware they were even under its effect.

This was Delayed Light...

It did not kill, it did not harm the body, and it did not destroy the divine sense.

It simply warped the sense of time between enemy and ally for the fleeting span of a single breath.

”So this is a dharma vessel or spiritual artifact, as mentioned in the Six Qi True Method! To think it could be so wondrous.”

Gripping the amber flying dagger, Chen Lingxi slowly rubbed his thumb across the blade. The layer of amber radiance atop the blade flowed like woven silk under the infusion of his spiritual qi.

The fine sand in the hourglass continued its slow, silent trickle in an endless cycle.

He then slowly stored the flying dagger in his Vast Void Pouch, raised his head, and took a deep breath. ”To think such a profound flying dagger was actually peddled as a common antique in the market.” ’If I didn’t have the Divine Chamber,’ Chen Lingxi sighed inwardly, ’I’m afraid I would have missed out on such a great treasure.’

As he marveled at this, another thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.

For this flying dagger to be so profound and mysterious, it could not possibly be native to the Qi-Depleted Grotto-Heaven.

It was highly likely a treasure from the Greater World. For some unknown reason, it had ended up in Yuanjiang Prefecture’s antique market, buried for who knew how many years before finally seeing the light of day again.

But why would such a momentous treasure fall into the Qi-less Realm?

He pondered for a moment before temporarily pushing these thoughts aside.

It was still too early to worry about such things. Although his cultivation had now crossed into the Qi Circulation 7th Floor, making him a figure of some note within this grotto-heaven, he knew full well that his path of the Dao remained incredibly long. He couldn’t afford to bite off more than he could chew.

Although he could activate the Delayed Light Flying Dagger now, he might not be able to unleash its full might.

He still needed to slowly refine it and carefully comprehend it in the future.

Chen Lingxi sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes to focus his mind, and began refining the Delayed Light Flying Dagger.

The refinement process was far easier than he had anticipated. His 7th Floor spiritual qi had already reached an extremely high level, with every drop of spiritual liquid condensed like a needle. Using it to refine a dharma vessel was as effortless as water naturally forming a channel.

Using his spiritual qi as a guide, the moment the energy entered the flying dagger, it effortlessly flowed through Delayed Light’s interior and took complete control.

It was as if it didn’t need to be refined at all.

’I can wield it just by reaching the required cultivation level... This is different from those ordinary dharma vessels, like Xi Mu’s ring,’

Chen Lingxi thought.

Several shichen passed. When he opened his eyes again, the amber flying dagger hovered quietly in the air before him.

The layer of radiance on the blade was more restrained than before. The fine sand in the hourglass still trickled slowly, but the artifact was now completely linked to his mind.

With a mere thought, the hourglass would abruptly accelerate, and the beam of light sealed within the blade would turn into an invisible, esoteric force and shoot toward the enemy.

Delighted, Chen Lingxi put the Delayed Light Flying Dagger away.

His gaze then fell upon the faintly discernible mountain ranges in the distance.

Ancestral Mountain was located several dozen li west of Cuojin Mountain.

A single streak of Mother Qi had altered his innate aptitude, forged his spiritual aperture, and forcibly pushed his cultivation to the Qi Circulation 7th Floor. But within Ancestral Mountain, there was yet another streak of Mother Qi.

Chen Lingxi’s eyes flickered, the spiritual pool within his sea of qi churning.

Just one streak of Ancestral Mountain Maternal Qi had elevated him to the ranks of those with extraordinary talent.

If he obtained another streak, to what level would his aptitude rise?

’My spiritual qi is now dense and tyrannical, I have numerous foundations, and while in Absolute Perception, I seized many advantages!’

’When entering Ancestral Mountain in Absolute Perception, I had no choice but to hide my head and expose my tail, acting with the utmost caution.’

’But now... it’s time I collect some interest from those so-called experts.’

’Especially that Imperial Consort Chun.’

The thought was like a cluster of flames being ignited, roaring to life in his heart and becoming impossible to suppress.

He delayed no further. Descending Cuojin Mountain, he strode toward Ancestral Mountain.

Ancestral Mountain looked the same as always.

Thick fog surged like ocean waves, tightly wrapping the entire mountain so that nothing could be seen clearly beyond a few steps. Having traversed this dense fog many times in Absolute Perception, walking it now felt like traveling a familiar road. With an unhurried pace, he walked straight toward the wall of fog.

The moment he stepped inside, the fog naturally retreated three chi away from his body, revealing a clear path.

Following that path, he walked all the way into the mountain.

Although Ancestral Mountain was vast, he already knew it by heart.

After walking for about half a shichen, he suddenly stopped.

Before him was an extremely expansive valley.

The vegetation in the valley was lush and verdant. A winding mountain stream flowed right through its center, its water as clear and jade-green as a jewel, faintly visible through the fog.

Chen Lingxi walked slowly through the valley, unfurling his divine sense.

This was the very place where he had seen Lin Suri harvest that streak of precious qi in Absolute Perception.

He followed the stream downstream.

After another half a shichen or so, the stream converged into a larger river.

Shielding his entire body with spiritual qi, he leapt into the river. The water was bone-piercingly cold, but his barrier of spiritual qi completely isolated him from the current.

Sinking to the bottom of the river, he planted his feet on the smooth pebbles. He spread his divine sense, searching the riverbed inch by inch.

Then, he found it.

It was a broken sword, completely unremarkable.

Yet Chen Lingxi couldn’t look away.

Because this broken sword contained the very streak of precious qi he had seen in Absolute Perception.

He extended his right hand, spreading his five fingers slightly, and activated the qi harvesting method from the Six Qi True Method.

An invisible suction force surged from his palm, reaching out toward the broken sword.

Pulled by this suction, the precious qi on the broken sword was peeled away from the blade thread by thread.

The instant the precious qi left the sword, the broken weapon dissipated, just as it had in Absolute Perception.

And that streak of precious qi was successfully harvested into his grasp.

Looking down at the precious qi in his palm, the corners of Chen Lingxi’s mouth curled up slightly. He channeled the Six Qi True Method, slowly refining the precious qi into his own six qi.

The moment the precious qi entered his body, he trembled all over.

That sharp aura was like a roaming dragon that had been suppressed for ages. It roared as it surged into his meridians, colliding violently with his spiritual qi and his Profound Qi.

After the collision came fusion.

The Six Qi True Method circulated to its absolute limit within his body.

The spiritual pool in his sea of qi churned like boiling water, devouring, refining, and assimilating that precious qi thread by thread.

The precious qi was like a piece of profound iron thrown into a furnace. Scorched by the flames of his spiritual qi, it gradually softened and warped, ultimately fusing completely with his own aura.

Then, Chen Lingxi opened his eyes.

The river water flowed slowly around him, but the sharp aura surrounding his body forced the currents to part on their own several chi away. It was as if an invisible, sharp sword had shot up to the heavens from his body, cleaving the river water in half.

He raised his right hand, pressing his index and middle fingers together like a sword.

The cyan sharp edge of the Cyan Edge Method flickered unsteadily at his fingertips, but within that sharp edge, there was now an extra, extremely faint layer of silvery-white radiance.

That radiance was like a sword intent compressed to the extreme. Solidified on his fingertips, it was so sharp it made one’s scalp go numb. He understood it clearly.

This precious qi was not like Profound Qi, which could augment spells and elevate their might.

Its utility was far purer and more direct.

And that was sharpness.

With this precious qi, the sharpness of his Cyan Edge Method, Purple True Precious Qi, and even ordinary fist and leg techniques would skyrocket.

It was like coating all his killing methods with an invisible sword edge, capable of destroying any defense and breaking through anything.

Chen Lingxi retracted his fingers and let out a long breath of impure air.

The precious qi was his.

”With such sharpness, I might as well call it Sword Edge Qi. No wonder Lin Suri was able to fight against Eighth Floor figures while only at the Qi Circulation 7th Floor.”

”Aside from those few rare treasures, the assistance provided by this precious qi is definitely not small either.”

”With this precious qi, my killing power will definitely increase significantly.”

Murderous intent overflowed in Chen Lingxi’s eyes. ”I haven’t even tested out that Method of Life Devouring yet. Since I’m here in Ancestral Mountain, I might as well unleash a massacre and see just how great my killing power truly is now!”